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Go>tMENTARY 


ON 


Matthew 


John  \Ah<o.\'j.  ^ 


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83- 


PALESTINE 

INTHETIMEOF     CHRIST.  if 

Scale  of  English  Miles 


Longitude  E.  tf  Gtettiwicli. 


AN 


^AMERICAN  COMMENTARY 


ON    THE 


NEW   TESTAMENT. 


EDITED  BY 

ALVAH  HOVEY,  D.D.,  LL.D. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

AMERICAN  BAPTIST  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY, 

1420  CiiKSTNUT  Stkekt. 


COMMENTARY 


ON   THE 


GOSPEL  OF  MATTHEW. 


BY 

JOHN  A.    BROADUS.  D.  D.,  LL.  D. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

AMERICAN    BAPTIST   PUBLICATION    SOCIETY, 

1420  Chestnut  Street. 


a. 


STEREOTYPED  BY  GARDNER  COLBY. 


The  stereotype  plates  of  this  valuable  work  have  been  paid  for  out  of  the  legacy  of  the 
late  Gardner  Colby.  And  for  this  reason  the  book,  though  containing  664  pages,  is  sold  at  the 
low  price  of  $2.25. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1886,   by  the 

AMERICAN    BAPTIST    PUBLICATION    SOCIETY, 

In  the  Office  of  the   Librarian   of  Congress,   at  Washington. 


GENERAL  INTRODUCTION. 


I. 

THE  CANON  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT. 

For  the  purposes  of  this  Introduction  it  is  unnecessary  to  give  a  history  oi  the 
word  "  canon,"  or  even  a  list  of  the  significations  which  it  has  in  ancient  literature. 
As  applied  to  the  New  Testament,  it  means  "  the  collection  of  books  which  con- 
stitute the  original  written  rule  of  the  Christian  faith  "  (  Westcott).  If  there  is  any 
standard  of  religious  faith  and  practice  recognized  by  Christians  of  every  name  as 
authoritative,  it  is  this  collection  of  books  which  are  supposed  to  have  been  written 
by  the  immediate  disciples  of  Christ  and  their  associates. 

It  is  true  that  Christians  do  not  all  agree  in  holding  these  books  to  be  the  only 
authoritative  rule  of  faith  and  practice  in  matters  of  religion,  but  they  all  agree 
in  holding  them  to  be  an  original  and  authoritative  rule,  even  though,  as  some 
suppose,  their  teaching  must  be  supplemented  by  ecclesiastical  tradition.  It  is 
true,  again,  that  Christians  do  not  all  agree  as  to  the  complete  inspiration  and 
final  authority  of  these  books,  but  they  all  concede  to  them  very  high  authority  as 
the  only  original  documents  of  the  Christian  religion  now  extant.  It  is  also  true 
that  Christians  do  not  all  agree  in  their  interpretation  of  these  books,  or  in  their 
theory  as  to  the  persons  who  are  qualified  to  interpret  them,  but  they  all  admit 
the  high  importance  of  their  teaching,  whenever  it  is  ascertained. 

How  was  the  Canon  of  the  New  Testament  established? 

In  seeking  an  answer  to  this  question  it  will  be  found  that  the  ways  of  God 
are  not  like  our  ways ;  for  human  wisdom  would,  doubtless,  have  deemed  it  ex- 
pedient to  guard  against  possible  doubt  or  error  in  time  to  come  by  committing 
the  closing  up  of  the  Canon  to  the  last  of  the  apostles.  If  John,  residing  at  Epli- 
esus  in  his  old  age,  had  inserted  in  his  last  book  a  list  of  the  inspired  writings  of 
his  contemporaries,  with  such  a  sketch  of  their  contents  as  would  make  it  easy  to 
identify  them ;  if  he  had  testified  that  the  number  of  such  writings  was  then  com- 
plete ;  and  if  he  had  joined  with  this  statement  a  warning  against  any  addition  to 
or  subtraction  from  the  number  or  the  teaching  of  th&se  books  (like  that  in  Kcv. 
22  :  18,  19), — this,  it  may  be  thought,  would  have  fixed  the  Canon  of  the  New 
Testament  beyond  any  possibility  of  doubt  or  debate,  and  this,  surely,  would  have 
been  a  very  natural  course  for  human  wisdom  to  take  in  the  circumstances. 

But  it  might  have  proved  to  be  a  mistake  after  all,  giving  to  Christians  less 


iv  GENERAL  INTRODUCTION. 

stable  grounds  for  confidence  than  they  now  have.  Would  it  not  have  led  them 
to  overlook  all  other  evidence,  and  to  depend  exclusively  on  the  witness  of  this 
apostle  ?  Would  it  not  have  excited  in  critical  minds  suspicions  of  human  calcu- 
lation or  fear,  and  demands  for  impossible  proof  that  John  himself  wrote  the  book 
containing  the  list  described,  or  at  least  the  paragraph  in  which  the  list  was  found? 
Would  it  not  have  provoked  the  assertion  that  such  a  proceeding  was  unexampled 
and  uncalled  for  by  the  circumstances  of  Christians  at  that  time,  since  they  must 
have  known  who  were  the  writers  of  the  Gospels  and  Epistles  which  they  had  re- 
ceived? These  and  similar  criticisms  would  certainly  have  been  made  if  the 
course  suggested  had  been  taken,  even  though  that  course  was  the  safest  and  best 
possible  in  the  eyes  of  human  wisdom. 

But  it  was  not  taken.  The  Spirit  of  God,  who  is  wiser  than  men,  and  who 
presided  over  the  work  of  the  apostles,  chose  another  way  of  establishing  the 
Canon,  another  way  of  making  known  to  Christians  the  authoritative  documents 
of  their  religion  in  distinction  from  other  books  pertaining  to  it.  And  the  way 
chosen  by  the  Spirit  was  perfectly  obvious  and  natural.  It  was  to  make  use  of 
the  prudence  and  piety  of  the  churches  in  accomplishing  this  work,  by  commit- 
ting to  them  the  writings  of  men  who  were  known  to  be  inspired  teachers  of  Chris- 
tian truth.  Eor  the  prudence  and  piety  of  the  churches  would  be  morally  certain 
to  preserve  these  writings  as  a  sacred  trust,  and  to  hand  them  down,  with  the 
names  of  their  authors,  from  generation  to  generation  as  authoritative  expositions 
of  their  religion. 

If,  for  example,  the  churches  of  Philippi  and  Corinth  received  from  Paul 
letters  that  were  instinct  with  the  spirit  of  love,  wisdom,  and  authority — letters 
that  praised  their  virtues,  reproved  their  sins,  corrected  their  errors,  relieved  their 
perplexities,  scattered  their  doubts,  and  brightened  their  hopes — they  would  not 
fail  to  preserve  these  letters  with  the  utmost  care,  or  to  leave  them  as  precious 
treasures  to  their  successors  in  the  church.  While  they  would  be  very  willing  to 
have  them  read  and  copied  by  disciples  of  Christ  from  other  churches,  they  would 
"be  likely  to  insist  upon  retaining  them  in  their  own  custody.  And  since  the  let- 
ters directed  to  a  single  church  were  fcAV  in  number  (rarely  if  ever  more  than 
tAvo),  there  would  never  be  the  slightest  danger  of  mistake  as  to  their  authorship. 

Thus,  by  a  natural  process,  under  the  control  of  good  sense  and  right  feeling, 
would  nearly  all  the  writings  of  "apostles"  and  "apostolic  men"  {TertuUian)  be 
kept  distinct  from  the  writings  of  those  who  could  not  declare  the  will  of  Christ 
with  equal  authority.  For  example,  the  Epistles  of  Paul  to  the  Corinthians 
would  never  for  a  moment  be  put  on  a  level  with  the  epistle  which  they  received, 
a  third  of  a  century  later,  from  the  church  in  Rome,  and  which  was  written  by 
Clement,  Bishop  of  that  church.  Even  if  the  latter  were  sometimes  read  in  the 
church  at  Corinth,  or  were  copied  into  the  same  manuscript  with  the  former,  there 
would  be  no  danger  of  confusion.  For  if  we  look  merely  at  the  general  contents 
of  the  two  Epistles  of  Paul  to  "  the  church  of  God  in  Corinth,"  and  of  the  first 
epistle  of  Clement  to  that  church,  it  is  manifestly  absurd  to  ascribe  them  all  to 
the  same  author,  or  to  ascribe  the  canonical  epistles  to  Clement  and  the  eccle- 
siastical epistle  to  Paul.     Besides,  the  former  purport  to  be  from  the  apostle,  while 


GENERAL  INTRODUCTION. 


the  latter  purports  to  be  from  the  church  in  Rome.  There  may  have  been  cases 
where  the  possibility  of  mistaking  a  non-apostolical  for  an  apostolical  writing  is 
less  incredible  than  in  the  case  mentioned,  but  there  were  none,  it  is  believed,  where 
such  a  mistake  can  be  regarded  as  probable. 

And,  in  spite  of  modern  doubts  and  denials,  it  is  evident  from  a  variety  of  cir- 
cumstances that  the  early  Christians  were  reasonably  cautious  about  the  sources 
of  their  knowledge.  It  is  evident,  for  example,  from  the  four  great  Epistles  of 
Paul  (viz.  Romans,  First  and  Second  Corinthians,  and  Galatians),  which  are  ac- 
cepted as  genuine  by  the  boldest  criticism,  that  special  and,  indeed,  absolute  con- 
fidence was  reposed  in  the  teaching  of  those  admitted  to  be  apostles  (1  Cor.  12  : 
28,  29  ;  2  Cor.  11:5;  12  :  11,  12 ;  Gal.  2:7-9;  Eph.  2  :  20 ;  4  :  11).  They  were 
looked  upon  as  entitled  to  speak  with  authority  on  all  matters  relating  to  the  per- 
son and  work  of  Christ  or  the  duty  of  his  followers.  Naturally,  therefore,  their 
writings  would  be  preserved  and  consulted  with  the  greatest  respect.  It  is  also 
evident  from  hints  in  the  New  Testament,  and  from  the  language  of  the  Christian 
Fathers,  that  along  with  the  teaching  of  the  apostles  was  placed  the  teaching  of 
their  companions,  such  as  Mark  and  Luke,  either  because  their  doctrine  was  sup- 
posed to  be  received  directly  from  apostles,  and  to  be  fully  endorsed  by  them,  or 
because,  in  addition  to  their  intimacy  with  apostles,  they  were  believed  to  have  a 
special  gift  of  inspiration  to  qualify  them  for  their  work. 

If,  now,  as  history  appears  to  show,  the  formation  of  the  New  Testament 
Canon  was  left  to  the  prudence  and  piety  of  the  early  churches,  several  things 
which  may  be  said  to  characterize  the  actual  process  of  formation  are  seen  to  be 
natural,  if  not  inevitable.     A  few  of  these  may  be  named  in  this  place. 

1.  The  Principal  Reason  for  admitting  a  Book  to  the  Canon  was  found  in  its 
Authorship. — If  the  sacred  books  of  the  New  Covenant  had  been  selected  by  the 
apostle  John,  the  names  and  relations  of  their  writers  might  have  been  a  matter 
of  no  vital  importance  to  any  one.  Enlightened  by  the  Spirit,  this  apostle  might 
have  discerned  the  pure  gold  of  truth  with  no  admixture  of  error  in  anonymous 
productions,  and  these  productions,  stamped  with  his  approval,  might  have  been 
welcomed  by  the  churches  without  much  desire  or  effort  to  ascertain  who  were 
their  authors.  The  great  name  and  authority  of  John  would  have  proved  suf- 
ficient for  a  time  to  satisfy  reason  and  blunt  the  edge  of  curiosity.  But  if  books 
were  to  be  pronounced  authoritative  and  assigned  a  place  in  the  Canon  by  the 
common  judgment  of  churches  composed  of  uninspired  men,  it  could  only  be 
done  on  the  ground  of  confidence  in  their  authors  as  men  who  were  commissioned 
by  the  Lord  to  declare  his  truth,  and  assisted  to  do  this  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  And 
this  appears  to  have  been  the  principal,  if  not  the  sole,  ground  on  which  the  books 
of  the  New  Testament  were  accepted  by  the  churches,  in  preference  to  all  others, 
as  authentic  statements  of  fact,  of  doctrine,  and  of  duty. 

2.  The  Formation  of  the  Canon  was  a  Sloiv  but  Safe  Process. — To  understand 
this,  the  reader  must  picture  to  himself  the  condition  of  the  churches  wiien  the 
last  of  the  apostles  died  in  Ephesus.  For  that  condition  was  not  such  as  to  sug- 
gest the  necessity  of  collecting  at  once  the  standard  documents  of  Chri^•tianity 
into  a  single  volume.     Had  John  ever  directed  them  to  collect  those  documents  ? 


viii  GENERAL  INTRODUCTION. 

though  these  would  be  sought  by  the  ministry  for  a  special  reason,  the  instruction 
■which  they  give  as  to  the  qualifications  and  duties  of  pastors.  Again,  such  a  book 
as  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  might  be  chiefly  used  at  first  by  churches  composed 
of  Jewish  converts,  for  whose  special  benefit  it  was  written. 

Still  further :  local  or  temporary  enthusiasm  for  a  certain  doctrine  might  lead 
to  a  more  extensive  and  diligent  use  of  the  book  in  which  it  was  supposed  to  be 
taught  than  was  made  of  other  books  no  less  interesting  to-day,  while  local  or 
temporary  dislike  of  certain  doctrines  might  lead  first  to  neglect,  and  then  to 
ignorance,  of  the  books  supposed  to  teach  them.  This  was  probably  true  of  the 
doctrine  of  Chiliasm  as  affecting  the  use  or  neglect  of  the  Apocalypse. 

For  these  reasons  it  is  plain  that  the  evidence  for  the  canonicity  of  certain 
books  of  the  New  Testament  would  appear  to  be  less  compulsory  in  the  fourth 
century  than  that  for  the  canonicity  of  others.  A  uniform  and  universal  tradi- 
tion would  commend  a  large  part  of  these  Scriptures  to  the  confidence  of  every 
upright  inquirer,  but  other  portions  would  be  supported  by  testimony  from  certain 
quarters  and  periods  only. 

From  this  general  survey  of  the  process  by  which  the  New  Testament  Canon 
was  established  in  the  early  church  it  is  now  proper  to  turn  to  a  consideration  of 
the  question — 

Why  should  this  Canon  of  the  New  Testament  be  accepted 

as  Trustworthy? 

The  first  and  most  obvious  reason  for  this  is  our  confidence  in  the  good  sense 
and  piety  of  those  who  united  their  voices  in  adopting  it.  But  if  their  repute  for 
intelligence  and  fairness  of  mind  were  less  than  it  is,  there  are  two  circumstances 
in  fheir  favor :  the  matter  to  be  determined  was  not  likely,  on  the  whole,  to  en- 
kindle partisan  strife,  and  the  evidence  on  which  to  found  their  decision  was  much 
more  abundant  then  than  it  is  now ;  for,  as  the  writings  of  Eusebius  clearly  prove, 
a  large  part  of  that  evidence  has  disappeared  with  the  numerous  volumes  in  which 
it  was  found. 

In  the  light  of  these  statements,  the  conclusions  adopted  by  churches  and 
councils  in  the  latter  part  of  the  fourth  century,  even  though  they  were  but  a 
ratification  or  declaration  of  the  views  of  Christians  in  different  parts  of  the  em- 
pire, are  presumably  correct,  and  should  be  received  with  confidence  unless  they 
can  be  proved  erroneous.  The  "  burden  of  proof"  rests  upon  those  who  reject 
any  portions  of  the  New  Testament  as  unworthy  of  a  place  in  the  Canon  of  Holy 
Scripture.  Unless  well-attested  facts,  inconsistent  with  the  view  that  these  books 
were  written  by  "  apostles  "  or  "  apostolic  men,"  and  were  received  with  veneration 
by  those  to  whom  they  were  first  sent,  can  be  produced,  the  books  are  entitled  to 
retain  the  high  position  which  was  then  accorded  to  them.  This  state  of  the  case 
should  be  borne  in  mind  by  every  one  who  undertakes  to  review  the  arguments 
for  and  against  the  limits  to  the  New  Testament  Canon  which  have  been  generally 
accepted  by  Christians  since  the  close  of  the  fourth  century.  For  the  judgment 
of  men  having  much  evidence  since  lost  must  not  be  set  aside  as  of  no  value.  To 
restate  our  position :  Since  the  churches  and  councils  of  the  fourth  century  fixed 


GENERAL  INTRODUCTION.  ix 

the  limits  of  the  New  Testament  Canon  with  the  aid  of  all  the  evidence  which  we 
now  have  and  of  much  that  has  been  lod,  it  would  be  unreasonable  to  change  those 
limits  unless  they  are  found  to  be  irreconcilable  with  ascertained  facts.  Yet  a 
brief  survey  of  the  evidence  which  remains  will  be  of  service  to  those  who  cannot 
study  that  evidence  minutely,  and  perhaps  of  nearly  equal  service  to  persons  who 
desire  to  recall  the  principal  features  of  that  evidence  or  to  prepare  themselves 
for  the  study  of  it. 

First  Period — that  of  the  Apostolical  Fathers,  to  a.  d.  120. 

Very  little  Christian  literature  from  this  period  has  been  preserved.  The 
peculiar  relation  of  the  apostles  to  Christ,  and  the  special  inspiration  which  guided 
them  in  their  work,  gave  them  a  vast  influence  over  those  who  received  the  gospel 
from  their  lips.  Hence,  naturally,  the  spiritual  leaders  of  the  churches,  after  the 
apostolic  age,  were  preachers,  not  writers.  They  were  simply  heralds  of  the  truth 
which  they  had  received  from  men  whom  they  felt  to  be  vastly  superior  to  them- 
selves in  knowledge  and  authority.  Most  of  their  own  work  was  done  with  the 
voice,  and  not  with  the  pen  ;  but  whatever  they  did  with  the  pen  was  chiefly  done 
by  letters  of  a  practical  character,  rather  than  by  treatises  or  full  discussions.  It 
is  not,  therefore,  surprising  that  few  exact  quotations  from  books  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament occur  in  their  writings,  or  that  these  quotations  are  informal.  For  they 
probably  had  no  occasion  to  enumerate  the  Christian  books  which  they  esteemed 
sacred,  and  little  or  no  occasion  to  point  out  the  source  of  any  expressions  which 
they  drew  from  those  books. 

That  a  man  bearing  the  name  of  Clement  was  one  of  the  early  pastors  of  the 
church  in  Rome  cannot  be  seriously  denied ;  for,  according  to  Irenreus,  who  wrote 
within  less  than  a  hundred  years  of  the  time  when  Clement  was  supposed  to  have 
stood  at  the  head  of  the  Roman  Church,  he  was  the  successor  of  Anencletus, 
while  Anencletus  was  the  successor  of  Linus,  the  first  overseer  of  the  church  {B. 
iii.  33) ;  and,  according  to  Eusebius,  Linus  was  Pastor  in  Rome  from  a.  d.  68-80 ; 
Anencletus,  from  a.  d.  80-92 ;  and  Clement,  from  a.  d.  92-101  (H,  E.,  iii.  13,  15). 
Of  the  many  writings  once  ascribed  to  Clement  of  Rome,  only  one  is  now  believed 
to  be  genuine — an  epistle  of  the  church  in  that  city  to  the  church  in  Corinth — and 
this  appears  to  have  been  written  about  A.  d.  95.  It  is  commonly  called  the 
"  First  Epistle  of  Clement,"  because  there  is  evidence  that  it  was  written  by 
Clement  in  the  name  and  on  behalf  of  the  Roman  Church,  and  because  another 
production,  once  supposed  to  be  a  second  letter,  was  early  associated  with  the  name 
of  Clement  and  with  this  epistle.  That  production  is  at  last  ascertained  to  be  a 
homily  belonging  to  some  author  who  lived  before  the  middle  of  the  second  cen- 
tury.    It  is  therefore  probably  the  oldest  Christian  homily  extant. 

Of  the  first  and  genuine  epistle  it  may  be  remarked — (1)  That  it  is  full  of 
Christian  thought  and  sentiment.  One  who  reads  it  attentively  will  i)erceive  that 
the  spirit  of  its  author  was  thoroughly  Christian,  and  that  he  nmst  have  been  at 
home  with  all  the  great  truths  of  Scripture.  (2)  That  it  blends  together  in  a 
very  natural  way  the  several  types  of  doctrinal  statement  which  have  been  i'ound 
in  the  different  books  of  the  New  Testament,  and  expresses  views  and  feelings 


GENERAL  INTRODUCTION. 


which  would  be  produced  in  a  candid  mind  by  perusing  with  reverence  all  these 
books.  So  manifest  is  this  that,  in  the  language  of  the  epistle,  we  seem  to  hear 
again,  as  it  were,  though  in  fainter  tones,  the  voices  of  Christ  and  of  Peter,  of 
John  and  of  Paul.  (3)  That  many  passages  of  Scripture  are  reproduced  with 
Blight  changes,  as  if  from  memory,  and  that  expressions  from  different  books  or 
chapters  are  blended  together  in  quotation,  as  if  they  belonged  to  the  same  para- 
graph of  the  sacred  record.  Such  a  method  of  quotation  may  not  be  commended 
as  scholarly  or  critical,  but  it  was  certainly  very  natural,  especially  if  the  writer 
supposed  his  readers  to  be  familiar  with  the  Septuagint  and  with  the  books  of  the 
New  Testament.^  (4)  That  it  refers  particularly  to  Paul's  First  Epistle  to  the 
Corinthians,  probably  because  that  Epistle  was  addressed  to  the  same  church 
when  it  was  in  somewhat  similar  circumstances ;  but  the  author  appears  to  have 
been  "  well  acquainted  with  the  writings  of  Paul "  (Donaldson).  Important  ex- 
tracts are  made  from  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  though  without  describing  the 
source  from  which  they  were  derived.  (5)  That  the  contents  and  language  of 
this  epistle  are  accounted  for  by  supposing  that  its  writer  knew  and  reverenced 
the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  the  New  Testament,  while  they  cannot  easily  be 
accounted  for  if  he  was  ignorant  of  any  considerable  part  of  the  latter  volume.'' 

The  brief  references  in  early  Christian  writers  to  Ignatius  warrant  the  belief 
that  he  was  for  a  considerable  time  Bishop  of  Antioch,  and  that,  either  about 
A.  D.  107  or  about  a.  d.  116,  he  was  sent  as  a  condemned  Christian  to  Rome, 
where  he  suffered  martyrdom.  The  epistles  ascribed  to  him  are  preserved  in  three 
forms,  the  longest  of  which  may  be  pronounced  quite  unworthy  of  confidence. 
But  of  the  other  two  forms  it  is  difficult  to  say  which  has  the  best  claim  to  be  re- 
garded genuine.  The  tendency  of  criticism  seems,  however,  to  be  just  now  more 
favorable  to  the  seven  epistles  of  the  shorter  recension  in  Greek  than  to  the  three 
epistles  in  Syriac,  the  latter  being  regarded  as  made  up  of  extracts  from  three  of 
the  former.  Without  undertaking  to  decide  between  the  claims  of  these  two  forms 
of  the  Ignatian  letters,  and  without  afiirming  positively  that  Ignatius  wrote  even 
the  three  in  the  form  published  by  Cureton,  it  may  be  remarked  (1)  that  the  seven 
contain  many  more  references  to  the  New  Testament  than  the  three.  But  even  the 
testimony  of  the  seven  as  to  the  New  Testament  will  be  found  to  be  indirect  instead 
of  direct,  and  implied  instead  of  expressed.  For  they  do  not  formally  appeal  to  the 
sacred  books  of  the  New  Covenant,  but  presuppose  their  existence  by  the  use  of 
words,  sentences,  and  thoughts  which  those  books  contain.  (2)  The  author  of  these 
epistles  must  have  been  well  acquainted  with  the  writings  of  Paul  and  of  John, 
and  by  no  means  ignorant  of  other  New  Testament  Scriptures.     Charteris  recog- 

1  "  We  must  remember  that  the  ancient  writer  had  not  a  small,  compact  reference  Bible  at  his 
side,  but,  when  he  wished  to  verify  a  reference,  would  have  to  take  an  unwieldy  roll  out  of  its 
case,  and  then  would  not  find  it  divided  into  chapter  and  verse,  like  our  modern  books,  but  would 
have  only  the  columns,  and  those  not  numbered,  to  guide  him.  We  must  remember,  too,  that  the 
memory  was  much  more  practised  and  relied  upon  in  ancient  times,  especially  among  the  Jews." 
(Sanday,  The  Gospels  in  the  Second  Century,  pp.  29,  30.) 

^  Westcott  (On  the  Canon  of  the  New  Testament,  p.  44)  gives  the  following  books  of  the  New 
Testament  as  certainly  or  possibly  referred  to  by  Clement :  Romans,  Ephesians,  First  Timothy  (?), 
Titus  (?),  Hebrews,  James. 


GENERAL  INTRODUCTION. 


nizes  citations  from  Matthew,  John,  Acts,  Romans,  First  Corinthians,  Ephesians, 
Philippians,  First  Thessalonians,  First  Timothy,  and  Revelation,  and  "  echoes  "  of 
passages  in  Matthew,  Mark,  John,  Acts,  Romans,  First  and  Second  Corinthians, 
Galatians,  Ephesians,  Philippians,  Colossians,  First  and  Second  Timothy,  Titus, 
Hebrews,  First  and  Second  Peter,  First  and  Third  John,  and  Revelation.  (3)  The 
style  of  Ignatius  is  rugged,  forcible,  positive,  and  his  spirit  bold,  earnest,  and  per- 
haps slightly  fanatical.  This  is  said  on  the  assumption  that  the  seven  Vossiau 
epistles  are  substantially  genuine.  But  if  it  is  assumed  that  only  the  three  Syriac 
epistles  are  genuine,  the  references  to  the  New  Testament  are  few,  though  the  spirit 
and  phraseology  are  such  as  we  have  described,  and  are  best  accounted  for  by  sup- 
posing Ignatius  familiar  with  the  writings  of  Paul  and  of  John. 

PoLYCARP  was  the  living  link  between  the  apostles — especially  John — and 
Irenseus,  a  well-known  bishop  and  writer  who  flourished  in  Gaul  during  the  last 
quarter  of  the  second  century.  For  Polycarp  was  a  disciple  of  John,  and  Irenseus 
a  disciple  of  Polycarp.  Irenieus  testifies  that  in  his  youth  he  himself  had  heard 
Polycarp  "  describe  his  intercourse  with  John  and  with  the  rest  who  had  seen  the 
Lord,"  and  that  Polycarp  "  survived  long,  and  departed  this  life,  at  a  very  great 
age,  by  a  glorious  and  most  notable  martyrdom."  According  to  the  Martyrium 
Polycarpi — which,  if  not  wholly  authentic,  appears  to  be  founded  on  fact — Poly- 
carp declared  that  he  had  served  Clrrist  eighty-six  years,  so  that,  if  converted  in 
childhood,  he  was  probably  more  than  ninety  years  old  at  the  time  of  his  death. 
But  scholars  are  not  agreed  as  to  the  date  of  his  death,  some  placing  it  about 
A.  D.  155,  and  others  about  a.  d.  1  %Q),  eleven  years  later.  If  the  former  date  be 
accepted  as  correct,  he  was  probably  born  about  a.  d.  GO — if  the  latter,  he  may 
have  been  born  about  a.  d.  74.  In  one  case  he  was  about  thirty-five  years  old 
when  the  apostle  John  died ;  in  the  other,  he  was  perhaps  twenty-six  years  old ;  in 
either,  he  might  have  known  the  apostle  ten  or  fifteen  years.  On  tlie  other  hand, 
Irenseus  may  have  been  born  as  early  as  A.  D.  125  or  130,  and  may  therefore  have 
been  a  hearer  of  Polycarp  many  years  before  leaving  Asia  Minor  for  Gaul. 

In  a  letter  to  Florinus,  who  had,  as  he  believed,  fallen  into  grievous  errors,  Ire- 
nseus says :  "  These  opinions,  Florinus,  that  I  may  speak  without  harshness,  are  not 
of  sound  judgment ;  these  opinions  are  not  in  harmony  with  the  church,  but  in- 
volve those  adopting  them  in  the  greatest  impiety  ;  these  ojjinions  even  the  heretics 
outside  the  pale  of  the  church  have  never  ventured  to  broach  ;  these  opinions  the 
elders  before  us,  who  also  were  disciples  of  the  apostles,  did  not  hand  down  to  thee. 
For  I  saw  thee,  when  I  was  still  a  boy,  in  Lower  Asia  in  company  with  Polycarj), 
while  thou  wast  faring  prosperously  in  the  royal  court  and  endeavoring  to  stand 
well  with  him.  For  I  distinctly  remember  the  incidents  of  that  time  better  than 
events  of  recent  occurrence  ;  for  the  lessons  received  in  childhood,  growing  with 
the  growth  of  the  .soul,  become  identified  with  it,  so  that  1  can  describe  the  very 
place  in  which  the  blessed  Polycarp  used  to  sit  wheii  he  discoursed,  and  his  goings 
out  and  his  comings  in,  and  his  manner  of  life,  and  his  personal  appearance,  and 
his  intercourse  with  John  and  with  the  rest  who  had  seen  the  Lord,  and  how  ho 
would  relate  their  words.  And  whatsoever  things  he  had  heard  from  them  about 
the  Lord,  and  about  his  miracles,  and  about  his  teaching,  Polycarp,  as  having  re- 


GENERAL  INTRODUCTION. 


which  would  be  produced  in  a  candid  mind  by  perusing  with  reverence  all  these 
books.  So  manifest  is  this  that,  in  the  language  of  the  epistle,  we  seem  to  hear 
again,  as  it  were,  though  in  fainter  tones,  the  voices  of  Christ  and  of  Peter,  of 
John  and  of  Paul.  (3)  That  many  passages  of  Scripture  are  reproduced  with 
slight  changes,  as  if  from  memory,  and  that  expressions  from  different  books  or 
chapters  are  blended  together  in  quotation,  as  if  they  belonged  to  the  same  para- 
graph of  the  sacred  record.  Such  a  method  of  quotation  may  not  be  commended 
as  scholarly  or  critical,  but  it  was  certainly  very  natural,  especially  if  the  writer 
supposed  his  readers  to  be  familiar  with  the  Septuagint  and  with  the  books  of  the 
New  Testament.'  (4)  That  it  refers  particularly  to  Paul's  First  Epistle  to  the 
Corinthians,  probably  because  that  Epistle  was  addressed  to  the  same  church 
when  it  was  in  somewhat  similar  circumstances ;  but  the  author  appears  to  have 
been  "  well  acquainted  with  the  writings  of  Paul "  (Donaldson).  Important  ex- 
tracts are  made  from  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  though  without  describing  the 
source  from  which  they  were  derived.  (5)  That  the  contents  and  language  of 
this  epistle  are  accounted  for  by  supposing  that  its  writer  knew  and  reverenced 
the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  the  New  Testament,  while  they  cannot  easily  be 
accounted  for  if  he  was  ignorant  of  any  considerable  part  of  the  latter  volume.'' 

The  brief  references  in  early  Christian  writers  to  Ignatius  warrant  the  belief 
that  he  was  for  a  considerable  time  Bishop  of  Antioch,  and  that,  either  about 
A.  D.  107  or  about  a.  d.  116,  he  was  sent  as  a  condemned  Christian  to  Rome, 
where  he  suffered  martyrdom.  The  epistles  ascribed  to  him  are  preserved  in  three 
forms,  the  longest  of  which  may  be  pronounced  quite  unworthy  of  confidence. 
But  of  the  other  two  forms  it  is  difficult  to  say  which  has  the  best  claim  to  be  re- 
garded genuine.  The  tendency  of  criticism  seems,  however,  to  be  just  now  more 
favorable  to  the  seven  epistles  of  the  shorter  recension  in  Greek  than  to  the  three 
epistles  in  Syriac,  the  latter  being  regarded  as  made  up  of  extracts  from  three  of 
the  former.  Without  undertaking  to  decide  between  the  claims  of  these  two  forms 
of  the  Ignatian  letters,  and  without  affirming  positively  that  Ignatius  wrote  even 
the  three  in  the  form  published  by  Cureton,  it  maj'  be  remarked  (1)  that  the  seven 
contain  many  more  references  to  the  New  Testament  than  the  three.  But  even  the 
testimony  of  the  seven  as  to  the  New  Testament  will  be  found  to  be  indirect  instead 
of  direct,  and  implied  instead  of  expressed.  For  they  do  not  formally  appeal  to  the 
sacred  books  of  the  New  Covenant,  but  presuppose  their  existence  by  the  use  of 
words,  sentences,  and  thoughts  which  those  books  contain.  (2)  The  author  of  these 
epistles  must  have  been  well  acquainted  with  the  writings  of  Paul  and  of  John, 
and  by  no  means  ignorant  of  other  New  Testament  Scriptures.     Charteris  recog- 

'  "  We  must  remember  that  the  ancient  writer  had  not  a  small,  compact  reference  Bible  at  his 
side,  but,  when  he  wished  to  verify  a  reference,  would  have  to  take  an  unwieldy  roll  out  of  its 
case,  and  then  would  not  find  it  divided  into  chapter  and  verse,  like  our  modern  books,  but  would 
have  only  the  columns,  and  those  not  numbered,  to  guide  him.  We  must  remember,  too,  that  tlie 
memory  was  much  more  practised  and  relied  upon  in  ancient  times,  especially  among  the  Jews." 
(Sanday,  The  Gospels  in  the  Second  Century,  pp.  29,  30.) 

*  Westcott  {On  the  Canon  of  the  New  Testament,  p.  44)  gives  the  following  books  of  the  New 
Testament  as  certainly  or  possibly  referred  to  by  Clement :  Romans,  Ephesians,  First  Timothy  (?), 
Titus  (?),  Hebrews,  James. 


GENERAL  INTRODUCTION. 


nizes  citations  from  Matthew,  John,  Acts,  Romans,  First  Corinthians,  Ephesians, 
Philippians,  First  Thessalonians,  First  Timothy,  and  Revelation,  and  "echoes"  of 
passages  in  Matthew,  INIark,  John,  Acts,  Romans,  First  and  Second  Corinthians, 
Galatians,  Ephesians,  Philippians,  Colossians,  First  and  Second  Timothy,  Titus, 
Hebrews,  First  and  Second  Peter,  First  and  Third  John,  and  Revelation.  (3)  The 
style  of  Ignatius  is  rugged,  forcible,  positive,  and  his  spirit  bold,  earnest,  and  per- 
haps slightly  fanatical.  This  is  said  on  the  assumption  that  the  seven  Vossiau 
epistles  are  substantially  genuine.  But  if  it  is  assumed  that  only  the  three  Syriae 
epistles  are  genuine,  the  references  to  the  New  Testament  are  few,  though  the  spirit 
and  phraseology  are  such  as  we  have  described,  and  are  best  accounted  for  by  sup- 
posing Ignatius  fp,miliar  with  the  writings  of  Paul  and  of  John. 

PoLYCARP  was  the  living  link  betweeu  the  apostles — especially  John — and 
Irenseus,  a  well-known  bishop  and  writer  who  flourished  in  Gaul  during  the  last 
quarter  of  the  second  century.  For  Polycarp  was  a  disciple  of  John,  and  Irenaeus 
a  disciple  of  Polycarp.  Irenteus  testifies  that  in  his  youth  he  himself  had  heard 
Polycarp  "  describe  his  intercourse  with  John  and  with  the  rest  who  had  seen  the 
Lord,"  and  that  Polycarp  "  survived  long,  and  departed  this  life,  at  a  very  great 
age,  by  a  glorious  and  most  notable  martyrdom."  According  to  the  Martyrium 
Polycarpi — which,  if  not  wholly  authentic,  appears  to  be  founded  on  fact — Poly- 
carp declared  that  he  had  served  Clwist  eighty-six  years,  so  that,  if  converted  in 
childhood,  he  was  probably  more  than  ninety  years  old  at  the  time  of  his  death. 
But  scholars  are  not  agreed  as  to  the  date  of  his  death,  some  placing  it  about 
A.  D.  155,  and  others  about  a.  d.  1 66,  eleven  years  later.  If  the  former  date  be 
accepted  as  correct,  he  was  probably  born  about  a.  d.  60 — if  the  latter,  he  may 
have  been  born  about  a.  d.  74.  In  one  case  he  was  about  thirty-five  years  old 
when  the  apostle  John  died  ;  in  the  other,  he  was  perhaps  twenty-six  years  old  ;  in 
either,  he  might  have  known  the  apostle  ten  or  fifteen  years.  On  the  other  hand, 
Irenseus  may  have  been  born  as  early  as  A.  D,  125  or  130,  and  may  therefore  have 
been  a  hearer  of  Polycarp  many  years  before  leaving  Asia  Minor  for  Gaul. 

In  a  letter  to  Florinus,  who  had,  as  he  believed,  fallen  into  grievous  errors,  Iro- 
najus  says :  "  These  opinions,  Florinus,  that  I  may  speak  without  harshness,  are  not 
of  sound  judgment ;  these  opinions  are  not  in  harmony  with  the  church,  but  in- 
volve those  adopting  them  in  the  greatest  imi)iety ;  these  opinions  even  the  heretics 
outside  the  pale  of  the  church  have  never  ventured  to  broach  ;  these  opinions  the 
elders  before  us,  who  also  were  disciples  of  the  apostles,  did  not  hand  down  to  thee 
For  I  saw  thee,  when  I  was  still  a  boy,  in  Lower  Asia  in  company  with  Pdlycarp, 
while  thou  wast  faring  prosperously  in  the  royal  court  and  endeavoring  to  stand 
well  with  him.  For  I  distinctly  remember  the  incidents  of  that  time  better  than 
events  of  recent  occurrence  ;  for  the  lessons  received  in  cliildhood,  growing  with 
the  growth  of  the  soul,  become  identified  with  it,  so  that  I  can  describe  the  very 
place  in  which  the  blessed  Polycarp  used  to  sit  when  he  discoursed,  and  his  goings 
out  and  his  comings  in,  and  his  manner  of  life,  and  his  personal  appearance,  and 
his  intercourse  with  John  and  with  the  rest  who  had  seen  the  Lord,  and  how  he 
would  relate  their  words.  And  wluitsoever  things  he  had  iieard  from  them  about 
the  Lord,  and  about  his  miracles,  and  about  his  teaching,  Polycarp,  as  having  re- 


xii  GENERAL  INTRODUCTION. 

ceived  them  from  eye-witnesses  of  the  life  of  the  Word,  would  relate  altogether  in 
accordance  with  the  Scriptures.  To  these  [discourses]  I  used  to  listen  at  the  time 
with  attention  by  God's  mercy,  which  was  bestowed  upon  me,  noting  them  down, 
not  on  paper,  but  in  my  heart ;  and  by  the  grace  of  'God  I  constantly  ruminate 
upon  them  faithfully." 

Moreover,  in  his  work  Against  Heresies,  Irenaeus  refers  to  him  again,  after 
speaking  of  the  succession  of  Roman  bishops  through  whom  the  true  doctrine  had 
been  handed  down  to  his  own  times:  "And  Polycarp  also — who  not  only  was 
taught  by  apostles,  and  lived  in  familiar  intercourse  with  many  that  had  seen 
Christ,  but  also  received  his  appointment  for  Asia  by  apostles  in  the  church  that 
is  in  Smyrna,  an  overseer,  whom  also  we  have  seen  in  the  beginning  of  our  life, 
for  he  remained  a  long  time,  and  at  an  exceedingly  old  age,  having  borne  his 
testimony  gloriously  and  most  notably,  departed  this  life — always  taught  these 
things,  which  also  he  learned  from  the  apostles,  which  also  he  gave  to  the  church, 
and  which  alone  are  true.  To  these  doctrines  testimony  is  also  borne  by  all  the 
churches  throughout  Asia,  and  by  those  who  have  been  up  till  this  time  the  suc- 
cessors of  Polycarp,  who  was  a  much  more  trustworthy  and  secure  witness  of  the 
truth  than  Valentinus  and  Marcion  and  the  rest,  who  held  wicked  opinions. 
Moreover,  there  is  an  epistle  of  Polycarp  addressed  to  the  Philippians,  which  is 
most  adequate,  and  from  which  both  his  manner  of  life  and  his  preaching  of  the 
truth  may  be  learnt  by  those  who  desire  to  learn  and  are  anxious  for  their  own 
salvation  "  (B.  iii.  3). 

To  the  genuineness  of  this  letter  several  objections  have  been  urged,  but  these 
objections  are  greatly  outweighed  by  the  evidence  in  its  favor ;  so  that,  whatever 
may  be  thought  of  ch.  13,  the  rest  of  the  epistle  must  be  accepted  as  the  work  of 
Polycarp.  Indeed,  it  would  be  difficult  to  name  any  ancient  writing  which  is 
better  authenticated  than  this.  It  may  therefore  be  used  without  fear  as  a  fair 
sample  of  Christian  counsel  and  exhortation  soon  after  the  beginning  of  the  second 
century.  And  it  is  specially  noticeable  (1)  that  the  tone  of  the  letter  accords 
with  the  testimony  of  Irenseus  that  its  author  had  listened  to  the  venerable  apos- 
tle John  and  to  others  who  had  seen  the  Lord.  For  this  experience,  whether  in 
youth  or  early  manhood,  would  be  likely  to  make  a  deep  impression  on  a  suscept- 
ible mind,  and  would  be  unfavorable  to  originality  of  thought  or  expression.  (2) 
That  the  phraseology  of  the  letter  agrees  with  the  alleged  circumstances  of  the 
writer.  For  if  Polycarp  was  Bishop  of  the  church  in  Smyrna  and  a  disciple  of 
John,  it  is  extremely  probable  that  he  was  familiar  with  the  writings  of  Peter, 
Paul,  and  John,  all  of  whom  had  been  connected,  more  or  less  closely,  with  the 
churches  of  Asia  Minor.  And  the  mind  of  the  writer  of  this  epistle  evidently 
moved  in  the  thoughts  and  language  of  these  apostles  and  of  Christ.  (3)  That  a 
very  considerable  part  of  the  letter  is  couched  in  sentences  borrowed  from  the 
New  Testament.  These  sentences  are  not  generally  quoted  with  an  express  refer- 
ence to  sources,  but  they  are  naturally  appropriated  and  made  the  vehicle  of  ex- 
pression, as  if  the  writer  were  perfectly  familiar  with  them,  and  could  count  upon 
their  being  recognized  by  his  readers.  Especially  marked  is  his  use  of  the  Pas- 
toral Epistles  and  of  the  First  Epistle  of  Peter.     Charteris  finds  in  the  letter  of 


GENERAL  INTRODUCTION. 


Polycarp  "  quotations  "  from  Matthew,  Acts,  Romans,  First  and  Second  Corinth- 
ians, Galatians,  Ephesians,  Philippians,  First  Thessalonians,  First  and  Second 
Timothy,  First  Peter,  First  John,  and  "  echoes "  from  Matthew,  Acts,  Romans, 
First  Corinthians,  Galatians,  Ephesians,  Philippians,  Colossians,  First  Thessa- 
lonians, First  and  Second  Timothy,  Hebrews,  James,  First  and  Second  Peter, 
First  John,  Jude. 

Three  special  references  may  be  quoted  as  indicative  of  the  importance  which 
these  Fathers  attached  to  apostolic  writings.  "  Take  up  the  Epistle  of  the  blessed 
Paul  the  apostle.  What  wrote  he  first  unto  you  in  the  beginning  of  the  gospel  ? 
Of  a  truth,  he  charged  you  in  the  Spirit  concerning  himself  and  Cephas  and 
Apollos,"  etc.  (Clement,  1  Ep.,  ch.  47).  "  Ye  are  initiated  into  mysteries  with 
Paul,  the  sanctified,  the  martyred,  worthy  of  all  blessing,  in  whose  footsteps  may 
I  be  found  when  I  obtain  God !  who  in  every  part  of  his  letter  makes  mention  of 
you  in  Christ  Jesus."  "  Not  as  Peter  and  Paul  do  I  command  you ;  those  were 
apostles,  I  am  a  condemned  man"  (Ignatius,  ad  Eph.,  ch.  12;  ad  Bom.,  ch.  4). 
"  For  neither  I,  nor  any  other  like  me,  is  able  to  follow  the  wisdom  of  the  blessed 
and  glorious  Paul,  who,  being  among  you,  taught  accurately  and  firmly,  in  the 
presence  of  the  men  then  living,  the  word  respecting  truth,  who  also  departing 
wrote  you  epistles,^  into  which,  if  ye  look  diligently,  ye  will  be  able  to  be  built  up 
into  the  faith  given  to  you  "  (Polycarp,  ad  Phil.,  ch.  3). 

Early  tradition  (Clement  Alex.,  Origen,  Jerome)  ascribes  the  Epistle  of  Bar- 
nabas to  the  well-known  companion  of  Paul  (Acts  4  :  36,  37)  ;  and  this  tradition 
is  somewhat  favored  by  the  fact  that  the  epistle  was  appended  to  the  books  of  the 
New  Testament  in  the  Codex  Sinaiticus.  But  there  are  statements  in  the  letter 
itself  which  render  it  extremely  doubtful  whether  it  could  have  been  written  by  a 
Levite  and  an  associate  of  the  apostles.  For  Jewish  sacrifices  and  fasts  are  de- 
nounced (chs.  3,  4),  and  serious  mistakes  are  made  in  speaking  of  the  great  day 
of  atonement  (ch.  7),  and  of  the  red  heifer  as  a  type  of  Christ  (ch.  8).  In- 
deed, it  is  evident  that  the  author  "  was  neither  accurately  acquainted  with  the 
text  of  the  law,  nor  had  [he]  even  seen  the  celebration  of  the  day  of  atonement " 
{Donaldson).  Moreover,  it  is  surely  very  improbable  that  the  Cyprian  Bamabius 
would  have  said  that  Christ  chose  for  his  own  apostles  "  those  who  were  lawless, 
beyond  the  bounds  of  all  ordinary  sin,  that  he  might  show  he  came  not  to  call  the 
righteous,  but  sinners  "  (ch.  5). 

But  while  the  author  of  the  epistle  is  unknown,  competent  scholars  are  agreed 
in  believing  that  it  was  written  in  the  first  quarter  of  the  second  century,  perhaps 
about  A.  D.  120.  In  studying  the  relation  of  this  epistle  to  the  New  Testament 
it  will  be  observed  (1)  That  the  doctrines  which  are  taught  in  respect  to  God, 
Christ,  salvation,  and  morality  are  in  substantial  agreement  with  those  of  the  New 
Testament.  The  author's  mistakes  in  explaining  the  Old  Testament  "  must  not," 
says  Charteris,  "  cause  us  to  forget  how  pure  is  his  theology,  how  unfaltering  is  his 
faith  in  the  one  Almighty  Maker  and  Ruler  of  all,  and  how  his  constant  endeavor 
is  to  show  that  the  Son  of  God  was  incarnate,  and  taught,  and  suffered,  and  died. 


*  On  this  plural  see  Hefele  ad  he. 


GENERAL  INTRODUCTION. 


and  rose,  and  revived,  that  he  might  be  Lord  of  both  the  dead  and  living."  (2) 
That  in  doctrine  this  epistle  represents  exclusively  neither  Paul  nor  Peter  nor 
John,  but  rather  all  of  them.  Hilgenfeld  maintains  that  his  teaching  is  Pauline, 
though  tending  to  Gnosticism.  Dorner  says  that  "  with  the  fundamental  thoughts 
of  Peter  he  combats  Judaism  within  Christianity."  And  Charteris  remarks,  "  Not 
only  does  Barnabas  regard  Christ's  incarnation  in  the  same  way  as  John  does,  but 
the  facts  of  Christ's  life  as  recorded  by  John  seem  to  be  the  indispensable  basis  of 
his  theology."  All  are  doubtless  correct ;  and  this  fact  is  best  accounted  for  by 
supposing  that  Barnabas  was  familiar  with  the  writings  of  all  these  apostles.  (3) 
That  this  epistle  first  quotes  a  passage  from  the  New  Testament  with  the  biblical 
formula,  "  It  is  written "  (ch.  4 ;  cf  Matt.  22  :  14).  There  is  also  no  sufficient 
reason  for  doubting  that  it  uses  the  words  of  Matt.  9  :  13  in  ch.  5:  ["In  order 
that  he  might  show  that]  he  came  not  to  call  the  righteous,  but  sinners."  Several 
pretty  distinct  reminiscences  of  the  language  of  the  Fourth  Gospel  may  also 
be  traced. 

Of  the  writer  of  this  epistle  Donaldson  says :  "  However  weak  and  misdirected 
his  intellectual  powers  may  be,  and  however  light  his  head  may  occasionally  seem, 
his  heart  always  beats  right.  There  is  not  one  expression  contrary  to  the  soundest 
morality,  and  much  that  stands  out  in  magnificent  contrast  to  the  morality  of  his 
age,  even  of  its  highest  philosophers." 

The  Age  of  Greek  Apologists — a.  d.  120-a.  d.  170. 

The  circumstances  of  Christians  in  this  period  led  them  to  write  a  considerable 
number  of  books,  treating  a  great  variety  of  topics.  But  of  these  books  many, 
and  indeed  those  of  the  greatest  value,  perished  in  the  early  ages.  Among  these 
were  the  Diatessaron  of  Tatian,  the  Expositions  of  Papias,  the  Ecclesiastical  His- 
tory of  Hegesippus,  and  the  works  of  Melito  and  Apollinaris,  which,  it  is  said, 
ranged  over  the  wide  domain  of  theology,  interpretation,  morals,  apologetics,  and 
church  polity,  and  which  must  have  been  much  richer  in  materials  for  ascertain- 
ing what  books  of  the  New  Testament  were  deemed  authoritative  than  most  of  the 
works  that  have  come  down  from  about  the  middle  of  the  second  century. 

But  nearly  all  these  writings  were  in  the  hands  of  Eusebius,  and  it  is  therefore 
a  matter  of  importance  to  know  the  principles  which  guided  him  in  his  use  of 
them.  Fortunately,  Bishop  Lightfoot  has  discovered  those  principles  by  a  careful 
interpretation  of  his  "  prefatory  statements "  and  a  thorough  verification  of  the 
meaning  assigned  to  them.  He  has  thus  proved  "  that  the  main  object  of  Euse- 
bius was  to  give  such  information  as  might  assist  in  forming  correct  views  respect- 
ing the  Canon  of  Scripture  ;"  that  he  "  was  therefore  indifferent  to  any  quotations 
or  references  in  early  Christian  writings  which  went  toward  establishing  the 
canonicity  of  those  books  which  had  never  been  disputed  in  the  church ;"  and 
"that  to  this  class  belonged  the  four  Gospels,  the  Acts,  and  thirteen  Epistles 
of  Paul." 

Hence  it  is  claimed  that  "  the  silence  of  Eusebius  respecting  early  witnesses  to 
the  fourth  Gospel  is  an  evidence  in  its  favor.  Its  apostolic  authorship  has  never 
been  questioned  by  any  church-writer  from  the  beginning,  so  far  as  Eusebius  was 


GENERAL  INTRODUCTION.  xv 


aware,  and  therefore  it  was  superfluous  to  call  witnesses "  {Cont  Review,  ISlo, 
pp.  1 76-183).  As  regards  a  most  important  part  of  the  whole  New  Testament — 
viz.  the  four  Gospels,  the  Acts,  and  thirteen  Epistles  of  Paul — he  contents  him- 
self with  preserving  any  anecdotes  which  he  may  have  found  illustrating  the  cir- 
cumstances under  which  the  books  in  question  were  written.  Accordingly,  the 
statement  of  Bishop  Lightfoot  as  to  the  bearing  of  the  silence  of  Eusebius  respect- 
ing early  witnesses  to  the  Fourth  Gospel  may  be  applied  to  his  silence  respecting 
early  witnesses  to  the  four  Gospels,  the  Acts,  and  the  thirteen  Epistles  of  Paul. 
That  silence  proves  the  universal  reception  of  these  books.  It  was  useless  to  bring 
forward  evidence  of  that  which  no  one  doubted,  or,  as  far  as  his  reading  went, 
had  ever  doubted. 

But  in  respect  to  other  books  of  the  New  Testament  he  was  careful  to  bring 
the  evidence,  both  for  them  and  against  them,  which  he  found  in  early  writers. 
Hence  we  are  indebted  to  him  for  several  important  testimonies  which  he  selected 
from  writings  since  lost,  but  belonging  to  the  period  of  the  Greek  Apologists — 
t.  e.  A.  D.  120-A.  D.  170. 

Thus  he  refers  to  Papias,  Bishop  of  Hierapolis  in  Phrygia  during  a  consider- 
able part  of  the  first  half  of  the  second  century,  for  the  double  purpose  of  de- 
claring that  he  made  use  of  certain  books  as  authoritative  which  were  not 
received  with  full  confidence  by  all  the  churches,  and  of  borrowing  from  him 
certain  anecdotes  or  traditions  about  the  origin  of  other  books  that  were  never 
doubted.  Papias  was  a  friend  of  Polycarp,  and,  according  to  Irenseus,  a  hearer 
of  the  apostle  John.  At  any  rate,  he  loved  to  converse  with  those  who  had 
listened  to  one  or  more  of  the  apostles.  For  he  says :  "  Unlike  the  many,  I  did 
not  take  pleasure  in  those  who  have  so  very  much  to  say,  but  in  those  Avho  teach 
the  truth.  And  again,  on  any  occasion  when  a  person  came  who  had  been  a 
follower  of  the  elders,  I  would  inquire  about  the  discourses  of  the  elders — what 
was  said  by  Andrew,  or  by  Peter,  or  by  Philip,  or  by  Thomas  or  James,  or  by 
John  or  Matthew,  or  any  other  of  the  Lord's  disciples,  and  what  Aristion  and  the 
presbyter  John,  the  disciples  of  the  Lord,  say.  For  I  did  not  think  that  I  could 
get  so  much  profit  from  the  contents  of  books  as  from  the  utterances  of  a  living 
and  abiding  voice." 

There  is  no  good  reason  to  suppose  that  Papias  meant  by  "  books,"  as  here 
used,  the  "  Oracles  of  the  Lord,"  which  his  work  was  written  to  interpret,  or 
indeed  any  apostolical  writings.  It  is  far  more  probable  that  he  had  in  mind 
books,  already  becoming  numerous,  which  were  filled  with  Gnostic  speculations 
about  the  meaning  of  Scripture.  "  Papias  judged  rightly,"  remarks  Lightfoot, 
"that  any  doctrinal  statement  of  Andrew  or  Peter  or  John,  or  any  anecdote  of 
the  Saviour  which  could  be  traced  distinctly  to  their  authority,  would  be  far  more 
valuable  to  elucidate  his  text  than  the  capricious  interpretations  which  he  found 
in  current  books"  (Cont.  Review,  1875,  p.  290). 

According  to  Eusebius,  Papias  "  has  made  use  of  testimonies  from  the  former 
Epistle  of  John,  and  from  that  of  Peter  likewise."  From  another  source  we  learn 
that  he  maintained  "the  divine  inspiration"  of  the  Apocalypse,  and  Eusebius 
represents  him  as  saying  "  that  there  would  be  a  certain  millennium  after  the 


xvi  GENERAL  INTRODUCTION. 

resurrection,  and  that  there  would  be  a  corporeal  reign  of  Christ  on  this  very 
earth ;  which  things  he  appears  to  have  imagined,  as  if  they  were  authorized  by 
the  apostolic  narratives."  Probably  his  views  of  the  millennium  were  founded  on 
what  he  supposed  to  be  the  meaning  of  Christ's  language  in  the  twenty-fourth 
chapter  of  Matthew,  in  connection  with  the  well-known  passage  concerning  "  the 
thousand  years  "  in  Revelation,  twentieth  chapter.  By  "  the  former  Epistle  of 
John  "  Eusebius  doubtless  meant  his  First  Epistle ;  for  he  testifies  in  a  previous 
chapter  that  "  besides  the  Gospel  of  John,  his  First  Epistle  is  acknowledged  with- 
out dispute,  both  by  those  of  the  present  day  and  also  by  the  ancients.  The  othet 
two  Epistles,  however,  are  disputed  "  {H.  E.,  iii.  24). 

Eusebius  also,  according  to  his  plan,  quotes  from  Papias  certain  accounts 
respecting  the  origin  of  two  of  the  Gospels  which  that  writer  had  received  from 
the  elders  Aristion  and  John.  Thus :  "  So  then  Matthew  composed  the  Oracles 
in  the  Hebrew  language,  and  each  one  interpreted  them  as  he  was  able."  This 
declaration  obviously  refers  to  a  period  that  was  already  past  when  Papias  wrote 
his  "  Expositions,"  and  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  "  Oracles  "  composed 
by  Matthew  were  known  to  Papias  in  their  Hebrew  form.  His  knowledge  of 
their  existence  in  that  form  was  derived  from  "  the  elders."  Nor  is  there  any 
good  reason  to  believe  that  the  word  "  Oracles  "  was  not  used  of  historical  as  well 
as  of  didactic  writings,  being,  in  fact,  as  comprehensive  as  the  word  "  Gospel." 
Indeed,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  Eusebius  copied  this  statement,  because  he 
understood  it  to  refer  to  the  first  draft  and  original  form  of  the  canonical  Gospel 
of  Matthew.  Hence  the  Aramaic  "  Oracles  "  must  have  been  superseded  by  the 
Greek  "  Gospel "  before  the  close  of  the  first  century ;  and  it  is  difficult  to  believe 
that  they  contained  anything  essentially  different  from  what  is  found  in  that 
Gospel. 

Again,  Eusebius  quotes  from  Papias  the  following  account  of  Mark :  "  And 
John  the  Elder  said  also  this:  Mark,  having  become  the  interpreter  of  Peter, 
wrote  down  accurately  everything  that  he  remembered,  without,  however,  record- 
ing in  order  what  was  either  said  or  done  by  Christ.  For  neither  did  he  hear  the 
Lord,  nor  did  he  follow  him ;  but  afterward,  as  I  said,  [he  heard  and  followed] 
Peter,  who  adapted  his  instructions  to  the  needs  [of  his  hearers],  but  had  no 
design  of  giving  a  connected  account  of  the  Lord's  Oracles  (or  discourses).  So 
then  Mark  made  no  mistake  while  he  thus  wrote  down  some  things  as  he  remem- 
bered them ;  for  he  made  it  his  care  not  to  omit  anything  that  he  heard,  or  to  set 
down  any  false  statement  therein." 

According  to  this  tradition,  received  by  Papias  from  contemporaries  of  the 
apostles,  the  work  of  Mark  here  referred  to  was  a  careful  memoriter  record  of  what 
Peter  rehearsed  in  his  preaching  from  the  words  and  deeds  of  Christ.  And  as 
Peter  adapted  his  preaching  to  the  needs  of  those  addressed,  it  could  not,  in  the 
nature  of  the  case,  furnish  a  complete  or  chronological  narrative  of  Christ's  life. 
Are  we  then  justified  in  supposing  that  the  work  of  Mark,  referred  to  in  this 
extract,  was  the  second  of  our  four  Gospels? 

(1)  That  Gospel  is  the  briefest  of  the  four.     It  gives  no  genealogy,  no  account 
of  the  birth  of  John  the  Baptist  or  of  Jesus  the  Christ,  no  outline  of  the  longer 


GENERAL  INTRODUCTION.  xvii 


discourses  of  the  Lord,  and  no  report  of  many  of  his  parables.  It  is  certainly, 
then,  a  very  incomplete  narrative  of  the  Lord's  words  and  works,  and  to  that 
extent  it  agrees  with  the  tradition  given  by  Papias.  (2)  That  Gospel,  in  common 
with  the  First  and  the  Third,  appears  to  disregard  in  many  cases  the  chronological 
order  of  events,  at  least  as  compared  with  the  Gospel  of  John.  This  statement  is 
not  inconsistent  with  the  conclusion  of  Dr.  Sanday,  that,  "  so  far  as  there  is  an 
order  in  the  Synoptic  Gospels,  the  normal  type  of  that  order  is  to  be  found  pre- 
cisely in  St.  Mark,  whom  Papias  alleges  to  have  written  not  in  order  "  ( The  Gos- 
pels in  the  Second  Century,  p.  149).  For  it  is  natural  to  assume,  with  Dr.  Light- 
foot,  that  the  standard  of  comparison  for  the  elders  of  Asia  Minor  in  the  second 
century  was  the  Gospel  of  John.  (3)  Eusebius  evidently  supposed  that  the  Gos- 
pel of  Mark,  as  known  to  himself,  was  referred  to  in  the  account  which  Papias 
had  from  "  the  elders,"  and  it  is  pretty  safe  to  assume  that  Eusebius  understood 
tlie  true  relevancy  of  that  account.  In  any  case,  his  view  deserves  most  respect- 
ful consideration.  (4)  If  "  the  elder "  really  described  the  origin  of  an  "  Ur- 
Marcus,"  this  fact  must  be  inferred  from  the  contents  of  the  Synoptic  Gospels, 
and  not  from  any  known  tradition  of  the  second  century.  But  the  proof  which 
is  alleged  for  the  existence  of  such  a  document  seems  to  us  unsatisfactory. 

It  is  greatly  to  be  regretted  that  the  work  of  Papias  is  lost,  for  he  lived  and 
labored  during  a  period  from  which  few  Christian  writings  have  been  preserved. 
But  all  have  not  perished,  and  we  now  turn  to  some  that  have  been  spared. 

Justin  Martyr  was  born  in  Flavia  Neapolis,  formerly  Shechem,  about  the 
close  of  the  first  century.  He  appears  to  have  had  some  knowledge  of  Christians, 
and  especially  of  their  fortitude  under  persecution,  even  before  his  own  con- 
version, which  took  place  when  he  was  (probably)  twenty-five  or  thirty  years  old. 
Having  been  addicted  to  philosophical  studies  before  conversion,  he  continued  to 
wear  the  philosopher's  cloak  after  that  event,  and  was  disposed  to  look  upon  the 
Christian  religion  as  a  sort  of  divine  philosophy.  But  he  exhibited  great  zeal  and 
firmness  in  advocating  the  new  faith,  and  by  intercourse  with  Christians  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  empire  he  became  well  acquainted  with  their  creed,  worship,  and 
manner  of  life.  It  may  therefore  be  presumed  that  he  was  familiar  with  the 
books  from  which  they  drew  their  knowledge  of  the  public  ministry  of  Christ. 

But  in  Justin's  two  Apologies,  and  his  Dialogue  with  the  Jew  Trypho,  he  had 
no  occasion  to  make  formal  references  to  any  part  of  the  New  Testament  as  pos- 
sessing divine  authority,  for  neither  Roman  emperors  nor  unbelieving  Jews  would 
have  any  particular  reverence  for  the  names  of  Peter,  John,  and  Paul.  The  facts 
of  Christ's  life  as  fulfilling  the  predictions  of  the  Old  Testament,  together  with  tlie 
moral  character  and  religious  worship  of  Christians,  would  be  far  more  likely  to 
impress  the  minds  of  Pagan  rulers  and  hostile  Jews  than  would  any  definite 
appeals  to  the  writings  of  the  apostles.  Hence,  if  Justin  Martyr's  acciount  of 
events  and  sayings  in  the  ministry  of  Jesus  Christ  is  found  to  agree  substaniially 
with  that  which  is  given  in  the  Gospels  (cf  Sanday,  pp.  91-98) ;  if  his  citations 
from  the  words  of  Christ  appear  to  be  made,  tliough  in  a  free  way,  from  the  same 
Gospels  (cf.  E.  Abbott,  p.  20,  sq.)  ;  if  there  is  just  sucli  a  difference  as  one  miglit 
expect  between  his  use  of  the  Gospels  in  his  two  Apologies  and  his  use  of  tlie 


xviii  GENERAL  INTRODUCTION. 

same  in  his  Dialogue  with  Trypho  (  Westcott)  ;  if  his  use  of  the  Gospels  is  quite  as 
frequent  as  their  use  in  later  Apologies  (e.  g.  that  of  Tertullian) ;  and  if  his  lan- 
guage suggests  an  acquaintance  with  the  vocabulary  as  well  as  with  the  doctrine 
of  Paul, — it  is  as  much  as  any  thoughtful  scholar  ought  to  expect  on  the  assump- 
tion that  Justin  knew  and  honored  the  writings  of  the  apostles  as  sacred.  And 
just  these  things  are  found  to  be  true  of  his  two  Apologies  and  of  his  Dialogue 
with  Trypho,  a  Jew. 

Justin  in  his  first  Apology  refers  three  times  to  the  Memorabilia  of  the  Apostle^, 
stating  in  one  place  that  in  them  were  "  taught  all  things  concerning  our  Saviour, 
Jesus  Christ "  (I.  33),  in  another,  that  they  were  read,  together  with  the  writings 
of  the  prophets,  in  the  weekly  meetings  of  Christians  (I.  67),  and  in  another,  that 
they  "  were  called  Gospels "  (I.  66).  In  the  Dialogue  with  Trypho  he  quotes 
them  ten  times  as  the  Memorabilia  of  the  Apostles  and  five  times  as  the  Memora- 
bilia. An  interesting  passage  of  the  Dialogue  contains  these  words :  "  In  the 
Memorabilia,  which  I  say  were  composed  by  the  apostles  and  those  who  followed 
them,  [it  is  written]  that  sweat  as  drops  streamed  down  as  he  was  praying  and  say- 
ing, Let  this  cup,  if  it  be  possible,  pass  away  from  me"  (cf.  Luke  22  :  44).  As  he 
was  making  a  quotation  from  Luke,  it  seemed  proper  to  call  attention  to  the  fact 
that  the  Apostolic  Memorabilia  were  not  all  written  by  apostles,  but  rather  by  the 
apostles  and  their  followers. 

With  this  statement  should  be  compared  the  language  of  Tertullian :  "  We  lay 
down,  in  the  first  place,  that  the  Evangelic  Instrument  has  apostles  for  its  authors, 
on  whom  this  charge  of  publishing  the  gospel  was  laid  by  the  Lord  himself;  if 

also  apostolic  men,  yet  not  these  alone,  but  with  apostles,  and  after  apostles 

In  fine,  of  the  apostles,  John  and  Matthew  implant  faith  in  us — of  their  followei*s, 
Luke  and  Mark  refresh  it."  As  the  form  of  Justin's  explanation  agrees  so  per- 
fectly with  the  general  statement  of  Tertullian,  it  cannot  reasonably  be  denied 
that  the  interpretation  of  his  own  statement  by  Tertullian  is  a  just  interpretation 
of  Justin's  language  also.  And  if  so,  Justin  knew  and  received  the  same  four 
Gospels  which  Irenseus  and  his  contemporaries,  forty  years  later,  received,  and 
which  Tertullian  and  his  contemporaries,  fifty  or  sixty  years  later,  received.  It  is 
also  to  be  considered  that  Justin  must  have  been  for  a  long  time  (say  twenty-five 
years  at  least)  a  contemporary  of  Polycarp,  and  Irenseus  for  the  first  twenty  or 
thirty  years  of  his  life  a  contemporary  of  both  Justin  and  Polycarp,  and  Ter- 
tullian for  as  long  a  time  a  contemporary  of  Irenseus.  Whether  Irenseus  ever  met 
Justin  Martyr  we  have  no  means  of  knowing,  but  they  lived  in  the  same  period 
long  enough  to  transmit  the  traditions  of  that  period  to  the  next ;  so  that  we  can- 
not assume  the  occurrence  of  any  great  and  sudden  change  in  the  written  sources 
of  Christian  knowledge  which  left  no  trace  of  itself  in  their  works. 

It  is  manifestly  impossible  to  bring  within  the  limits  of  an  Introduction  the 
critical  processes  by  which  the  Memorabilia  of  Justin  are  shown  to  be  identical 
with  our  four  Gospels.  But  the  reader  will  find  a  good  illustration  of  them  in 
Dr.  Ezra  Abbott's  recent  work  on  The  Authorship  of  the  Fourth  Gospel.  He 
aflBrras  that  "  Justin  nowhere  expressly  quotes  the  '  Memoirs '  for  anything  which 
is  not  substantially  found  in  our  Gospels ;  and  there  is  nothing  in  his  deviations 


GENERAL  INTRODUCTION.  xix 

from  exact  correspondence  with  them,  as  regards  matters  of  fact  or  the  report  of 
the  words  of  Christ,  which  may  not  be  abundantly  paralleled  in  the  writings  of 
the  Christian  Fathers  who  used  our  four  Gospels  as  alone  authoritative."  And 
after  a  minute  examination  of  the  evidence  for  this  statement  he  concludes  thus : 
"  It  is  not,  then,  I  believe,  too  much  to  say,  that  the  strong  presumption  from  the 
universal  reception  of  our  four  Gospels  as  sacred  books  in  the  time  of  Irenseus, 
that  Justin's  '  Memoirs  of  Christ,  composed  by  apostles  and  their  companions ' 
were  the  same  books,  is  decidedly  confirmed  by  these  evidences  of  his  use  of  the 
Fourth  Gospel "  (p.  52). 

In  a  valuable  work  by  Dr.  Sanday,  on  The  Four  Gospels  in  the  Second  Century, 
he  examines  the  quotations  made  by  Justin,  and  remarks :  "  If  Justin  did  not  use 
our  four  Gospels  in  their  present  shape  as  they  have  come  down  to  us,  he  used 
them  in  a  later  shape,  not  in  an  earlier.  His  resemblances  to  them  cannot  be 
accounted  for  by  the  supposition  that  he  had  access  to  the  materials  out  of  which 
they  were  composed,  because  he  reproduces  features  which  by  the  nature  of  the 
case  cannot  have  been  present  in  those  originals,  but  of  which  we  are  still  able  to 
trace  the  authorship  and  the  exact  point  of  their  insertion.  Our  Gospels  form  a 
secondary  stage  in  the  history  of  the  text — Justin's  quotations,  a  tertiary.  In 
order  to  reach  the  state  in  which  it  [the  text]  is  found  in  Justin,  the  road  lies 
through  our  Gospels,  and  not  outside  of  them." 

Besides  the  four  Gospels,  there  are  in  Justin's  Apologies  and  Dialogue  distinct 
traces  of  the  Acts,  Romans,  First  and  Second  Corinthians,  Galatians,  Philippians, 
Colossians,  Second  Thessalonians,  First  Timothy,  Hebrews,  James,  First  Peter, 
First  John,  and  the  Apocalypse.  The  last  he  ascribes  to  "  John,  one  of  the  apos- 
tles of  Christ,  [who]  in  a  revelation  that  was  made  to  him  prophesied  that  those 
who  believe  in  our  Christ  will  live  a  thousand  years  in  Jerusalem  "  {Dial,  with 
Trypho,  ch.  81). 

To  the  period  of  the  Greek  Apologists  may  also  be  assigned  the  Second  Epistle 
of  Clement  (a  homily),  which  makes  use  of  Matthew  and  Luke,  together  with  the 
Epistles  to  the  Ephesians  and  Timothy ;  the  Epistle  to  Diognetus,  which  contains 
many  reminiscences  of  the  New  Testament  in  thought  and  expression,  and  de- 
clares that  by  Christians  "  the  fear  of  the  Law  is  chanted,  and  the  grace  of  the 
prophets  is  recognized,  and  the  faith  of  the  Gxispels  is  established,  and  the  tradi- 
tion of  the  apostles  is  guarded,  and  the  grace  of  the  church  has  free  and  exulting 
course"  (ch.  11);  the  Shepherd  of  Hernias,  y;hich,  though  it  makes  no  quotations 
from  Scripture,  has  many  points  of  connection  with  the  Epistle  of  James  and  the 
Apocalypse,  some  allusions  to  the  Gospel  of  John  and  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles, 
and  a  few  echoes  of  language  found  in  First  Corinthians  and  Ephesians ;  and  the 
Memoirs  of  Hegesippus,  who  appears  to  have  made  use  of  our  present  Gospels, 
vhile  he  took  certain  things  from  "  the  Gospel  to  the  Hebrews,"  of  which  very 
little  is  known. 

To  the  same  period  should  probably  be  assigned  the  Muratorian  Fragment  on 
the  Canon,  the  Latin  version  of  the  New  Testament  in  North  Africa,  and  the 
earliest  Syriac  version. 

(1)  The  Fragment  on  the  Canon,  discovered  by  Muratori,  begins  now  with  the 


XX  GENERAL  INTRODUCTION. 

last  words  of  a  sentence  which  probably  referred  to  the  Gospel  of  Mark.  It  then 
proceeds  to  speak  of  the  Third  Gospel  as  written  by  Luke  the  physician,  who  did 
not  see  the  Lord ;  of  the  Fourth  Gospel  as  written  by  John,  a  disciple  of  the 
Lord,  at  the  request  of  his  fellow-disciples  and  his  elders,  with  a  reference  also  to 
his  Epistles,  and  a  quotation  from  the  First ;  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  as  com- 
posed by  Luke ;  of  the  Epistles  of  Paul — to  the  Corinthians  the  first,  to  the 
Ephesians  the  second,  to  the  Philippians  the  third,  to  the  Colossians  the  fourth, 
to  the  Galatians  the  fifth,  to  the  Thessalonians  the  sixth,  to  the  Romans  the 
seventh ;  also  to  the  Corinthians  and  Thessalonians  a  second  each,  to  Philemon 
one,  to  Titus  one,  and  to  Timothy  two,  on  account  of  love  and  affection  (thirteen 
in  all).  It  then  speaks  of  two  spurious  Epistles  that  were  ascribed  to  Paul — one 
to  the  Laodiceans  and  another  to  the  Alexandrians — and  adds  that  one  Epistle 
of  Jude  and  two  superscribed  of  John  are  received  by  catholic  Christians. 
Finally,  that  "  we  receive  also  only  the  Revelations  of  John  and  Peter,  which 
[latter]  some  of  us  are  unwilling  to  have  read  in  the  church."  There  is,  more- 
over, a  reference  to  "  Wisdom,  written  by  the  friends  of  Solomon  in  his  honor," 
which  Westcott  thinks  may  imply  a  lost  clause  mentioning  the  Epistle  to  the  He- 
brews as  written  by  a  friend  of  Paul.  The  same  scholar  discovers  indications  of 
two  breaks  in  the  Fragment  where  the  Epistles  of  James,  First  and  Second  Peter, 
and  Hebrews  may  have  been  named  in  the  original  Greek  list.  This  is  of  course 
conjecture,  but  there  are  several  peculiarities  of  the  list  as  it  now  stands  which 
seem  to  render  it  in  a  certain  measure  probable.  At  any  rate,  this  list  appears  to 
embrace  the  four  Gospels,  the  Acts,  thirteen  Epistles  of  Paul,  two  of  John,  one  of 
Jude,  and  the  Revelation  of  John.  And  if  the  two  Epistles  of  John  referred  to 
near  the  end  of  the  list  are  the  Second  and  the  Third,  Bishop  Lightfoot's  con- 
jecture that  the  First  Epistle  of  John  was  then  connected  with  his  Gospel  is  ex- 
tremely natural  (see  Cont.  Review,  1875,  p.  835),  especially  as  the  opening  verse 
of  that  Epistle  is  quoted  by  the  Fragment  in  giving  an  account  of  the  origin  of 
the  Gospel.  Moreover,  in  view  of  the  other  testimonies  of  this  period,  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  believe  that  the  First  Epistle  of  Peter  could  have  been  omitted  from  the 
list ;  and  it  is  surely  more  likely  that  there  was  a  reference,  by  way  of  com- 
parison, to  a  book  of  "  Wisdom,  written  by  the  friends  of  Solomon  in  liis  honor," 
than  to  suppose  that  a  book  with  that  title  was  reckoned  among  the  Christian 
Scriptures. 

(2)  The  earliest  Latin  version  of  the  New  Testament  was  prepared  before 
A.  D.  170,  and,  according  to  Mr.  Westcott,  "  it  contained  the  four  Gospels,  the 
Acts,  thirteen  Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  the  three  Catholic  Epistles  of  St,  John,  the 
First  Epistle  of  St.  Peter,  the  Epistle  of  St.  Jude,  and  the  Apocalypse.  To  these 
the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  was  added  subsequently,  but  before  the  time  of  Ter- 
tullian,  and  without  the  author's  name.  There  is  no  external  evidence  to  show 
that  the  Epistle  of  St.  James  or  the  Second  Epistle  of  St.  Peter  was  included  in 
the  Vetus  Latina  "  ( On  the  Canon  of  the  N.  T.,  p.  225). 

(3)  The  early  Syriac  version,  called  the  Peshito,  is  commonly  supposed  to  have 
been  made  in  the  first  half  of  the  second  century,  and  may  safely  be  assumed  to 
have  been  in  use  before  a.  d.  170.     It  has  all  the  books  of  the  New  Testament 


GENERAL  INTRODUCTION. 


but  the  Second  and  Third  Epistles  of  John,  the  Second  Epistle  of  Peter,  the 
Epistle  of  Jude,  and  the  Apocalypse. 

Turning  now  to  heretical  leaders  and  writings,  they  will  be  found  to  furnish 
evidence  that  many  books  of  the  New  Testament  were  received  as  authoritative 
documents  in  respect  to  the  Christian  religion  during  the  age  of  the  Greek  Apol- 
ogists. Basilides  is  admitted  to  have  been  a  teacher  in  Alexandria  in  the  reign 
of  Hadrian  (a.  d.  117-137).  He  was  therefore  a  younger  contemporary  of  Poly- 
carp  and  of  Justin  Martyr.  The  doctrines  taught  by  him  and  by  his  followers 
are  described  by  Hippolytus  and  Epiphanius,  while  the  works  of  Clement  of 
Alexandria  and  of  Origen  have  occassional  references  to  them.  He  appears  to 
have  accepted  the  liistorical  facts  recorded  in  our  Gospels ;  and  Westcott  remarks 
that  "  in  the  few  pages  of  his  writings  which  remain  there  are  certain  references  to 
the  Gospels  of  St.  Matthew,  St.  Luke,  and  St.  John,  and  to  the  Epistles  of  Paul 
to  the  Romans,  Corinthians,  Ephesians,  and  Colossians,  possibly  also  to  the  First 
Epistle  to  Timothy,"  and,  still  further,  to  the  First  Epistle  of  Peter.  But  he  is 
believed  to  have  rejected  the  Pastoral  Epistles  (unless  First  Timothy  be  an  ex- 
ception) and  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews.  It  is  noticeable  also  that  he  introduces 
language  from  the  New  Testament  Scriptures  as  that  "which  is  said"  or  "written," 
or  by  the  phrase  "the  Scripture  saith,"  using  the  same  formulas  of  quotation  which 
were  commonly  employed  in  appeals  to  the  language  of  the  Old  Testament. 

Valentinus,  a  younger  contemporary  of  Basilides,  began  his  career  as  an 
heretical  teacher  in  Alexandria,  but  soon  repaired  to  Rome,  and  made  that  city 
the  centre  of  his  activity.  Irenseus  says  ( C  Hcer.,  iii.  4,  3)  that  "  he  came  to 
Rome  during  the  episcopate  of  Hyginus  (perhaps  about  A.  D.  140),  was  in  his 
prime  under  Pius  (142-150),  and  lived  until  the  time  of  Anicetus."  Tertullian 
says  that  "  he  seems  to  use  '  the  whole  Instrument,'  yet  perverting  the  meaning  by 
his  method  of  interpretation."  In  this  way  he  was  thought  to  be  a  more  crafty 
assailant  of  Christian  truth  than  was  Marcion,  who  boldly  mutilated  the  Scrip- 
tures. By  "  the  whole  Instrument "  Tertullian  means,  of  course,  the  books  of  the 
New  Testament  that  were  recognized  as  sacred  in  North  Africa  at  the  close  of  the 
second  century — i  e.  all  the  books  of  our  New  Testament  save  the  Epistles  of 
James  and  Second  Peter.  In  the  brief  extracts  that  have  come  down  to  us  from 
the  writings  of  Valentinus  (or  of  his  school)  there  are  citations  from  the  Epistle 
to  the  Romans,  the  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephcsiuns, 
and  references  to  the  Gospels  of  Matthew,  Luke,  and  John ;  also,  perhaps,  to  the 
First  of  John  and  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews. 

Marcion  flourished  at  the  same  time  as  Valentinus.  In  his  first  Apology 
(a.  d.  140-147)  Justin  declares  that  Marcion  "  had  in  every  nation  of  men  cause<l 
many  to  blaspheme"  (I.  26),  and  also  that  "many  had  been  convinced  by  him" 
(I.  58).  Probably,  then,  he  settled  in  Rome  and  began  to  teach  his  peculiar  views 
about  138-142  a.  d.  He  did  not  receive  all  the  books  of  the  New  Testament  as 
canonical,  but  constructed  a  Canon  for  himself  Irom  the  Gospel  of  Luke  and  ten 
Epistles  of  Paul.  This,  at  lea.st,  is  the  statement  of  Tertullian,  Epiphanius,  and 
Irenoeus.  And  it  appears  that  one  of  the  two  following  hypotheses  is  true  :  Either 
Marcion's  Gospel  was  formed  by  mutilating  our  Third  Gospel,  or  our  Third  Gos- 


GENERAL  INTRODUCTION. 


pel  was  formed  by  interpolating  that  of  Marcion.  After  comparing  the  two,  Dr. 
Sanday  says :  "  The  Gospel  [of  Marcion]  stands  to  our  Synoptic  entirely  in  the 
relation  of  defect.  We  may  say  '  entirely,'  for  the  additions  are  so  insignificant — 
some  thirty  words  in  all,  and  those  for  the  most  part  supported  by  other  authority 
— that  for  practical  purposes  they  need  not  be  reckoned.  With  the  exception  of 
these  thirty  words  inserted,  and  some,  also  slight,  alterations  of  phrase,  Marcion 's 
Gospel  presents  simply  an  abridgment  of  our  St.  Luke."  Again :  "  In  Germany 
it  seems  to  be  agreed  at  the  present  time  that  the  hypothesis  of  a  mutilated  Luke 
suits  the  dogmatic  argument  better  than  that  of  later  Judaizing  interpolations." 
Once  more,  after  a  careful  analysis  of  the  language  of  Luke's  Gospel,  Dr.  Sanday 
remarks :  "  The  total  result  may  be  summarized  thus :  Accepting  the  scheme  of 
Marcion 's  Gospel  given  some  pages  back,  which  is  substantially  that  of  '  Super- 
natural Religion,'  Marcion  will  have  omitted  a  total  of  three  hundred  and  nine 
verses.  In  those  verses  there  are  found  one  hundred  and  eleven  distinct  peculiar- 
ities of  St.  Luke's  style,  numbering  in  all  one  hundred  and  eighty-five  separate 
instances ;  there  are  also  found  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight  words  peculiar  to  or 
specially  characteristic  of  the  third  evangelist,  with  two  hundred  and  twenty-four 
instances.  In  other  words,  the  verified  peculiarities  of  St.  Luke's  style  and  dic- 
tion (and  how  marked  many  of  these  are  will  have  been  seen  from  the  examples 
above)  are  found  in  the  portions  of  the  Gospel  omitted  by  Marcion  in  a  proportion 
averaging  considerably  more  than  one  to  each  verse."  It  is  therefore  evident  that 
the  three  hundred  and  nine  verses  were  written  by  Luke,  and  were  stricken  from 
his  Gospel  by  Marcion ;  for  an  interpolator  could  not  have  imitated  the  style  and 
vocabulary  of  Luke  so  perfectly  as  it  is  represented  in  these  verses. 

But  was  Luke's  Gospel  a  new  production  when  it  was  adopted  ,by  Marcion 
about  A.  D.  140  ?  Or  does  the  text  which  he  uses  prove  upon  examination  to  be 
one  that  had  been  corrupted  more  or  less  by  transcription  ?  In  answer  to  this 
question  Dr.  Sanday,  in  a  work  distinguished  for  caution  and  moderation  of  state- 
ment, affirms  that  the  textual  phenomena  "show  that  Marcion's  Gospel,  so  far 
from  being  an  original  document,  has  behind  it  a  deep  historical  background, 
and  stands  at  the  head  of  a  series  of  copies  which  have  already  passed  through  a 
number  of  hands,  and  been  exposed  to  a  proportionate  amount  of  corruption." 
Again :  "  I  think  it  is  a  safe  proposition  to  a.ssert  that,  in  order  to  bring  the  text 
of  Marcion's  Gospel  into  the  state  in  which  we  find  it,  there  must  have  been  a  long 
previous  history,  and  the  manuscripts  through  which  it  was  conveyed  must  have 
parted  far  from  the  parent  stem." 

It  may  be  added  that  Marcion  appears  to  have  treated  the  ten  Epistles  of 
Paul  which  he  accepted  in  the  same  way  as  he  treated  the  Gospel  of  Luke ;  that 
is,  as  far  as  he  accepted  the  Epistles  at  all,  he  accepted  the  text  as  he  found  it, 
without  making  any  changes ;  but  from  the  Epistles,  as  from  the  Gospel,  he 
omitted  such  verses  or  paragraphs  as  did  not  agree  with  his  doctrinal  opinions. 
(See  the  conclusive  argument  by  Sanday,  pp.  204-237.) 

To  this  period  also  must  probably  be  assigned  the  so-called  "  Homilies  of 
Clement,"  a  theological  fiction  of  Judaizing  tendency,  though  scholars  are  not 
yet  agreed  as  to  the  time  when  it  was  written.     Those  who  have  given  the  subject 


GilNERAL  INTRODUCTION.  xxiii 


most  attention  are,  however,  united  in  the  belief  that  it  was  before  A.  D.  180,  and 
the  best  authorities  assign  it  to  the  third  quarter  of  the  second  century.  Accord- 
ing to  Charteris,  Sanday,  and  others,  the  Homilies  make  use  of  every  one  of  the 
four  Gospels.  Sanday  indeed,  as  in  the  case  of  Justin  Martyr,  admits  a  possible 
alternative,  saying,  "  Either  the  Clementine  writer  quotes  our  present  Gospels,  or 
else  he  quotes  some  other  composition  later  than  them,  and  which  implies  them. 
In  other  words,  if  he  does  not  bear  witness  to  our  Gospels  at  first  hand,  he  does  at 
second  hand,  and  by  the  interposition  of  a  further  intermediate  stage."  And  if 
this  second  hypothesis  be  correct,  he  represents  the  "  composition  "  supposed  as  in 
all  likelihood  a  harmony  of  the  four  Gospels,  and  suggests  that  it  may  have  been 
"  begun,  and  used,  and  left  in  a  more  or  less  advanced  stage,  by  Justin,"  but  made 
public  afterward  by  Tatian. 

The  evidence  which  has  been  briefly  noticed  does  not  embrace  every  allusion 
to  our  New-Testament  Scriptures  which  may  be  found  in  the  fragments  of  Chris- 
tian or  heretical  literature  that  have  come  down  to  us  from  the  age  of  the  Greek 
Apologists.  But  it  embraces  the  most  important  testimonies  and  allusions,  and 
may  therefore  be  allowed  to  stand  for  the  whole  in  a  rapid  survey  like  the  present. 
And  if  the  reader  will  simply  bear  in  mind  these  circumstances — that  all  the 
books  of  tlie  New  Testament  were  not  yet  probably  united  in  a  single  volume ; 
that  only  brief  extracts  have  come  down  to  us  from  most  of  the  great  Christian 
writers  of  this  period  ;  that  Apologists,  addressing  their  pagan  rulers,  would  gain 
nothing  by  definite  appeals  to  the  writings  of  Matthew,  John,  Peter,  or  Paul ;  that 
it  was  too  early  for  the  existence  of  many  translations,  especially  of  the  whole  New 
Testament ;  and  that  heretics  would  be  very  likely  to  have  their  favorite  books, 
rejecting  or  neglecting  others, — he  will  perhaps  be  gratified  at  the  amount  and 
character  of  the  evidence  now  within  our  reach,  rather  than  surprised  at  any  de- 
fects in  the  same  which  critics  may  be  able  to  discover. 

Having,  examined  very  closely  a  considerable  part  of  the  evidence — namely, 
that  which  has  a  natural  connection  with  the  school  of  John  in  Asia  Minor — 
Bishop  Lightfoot  speaks  as  follows :  "  Out  of  a  very  extensive  literatun;,  by  which 
this  school  was  once  represented,  the  extant  remains  are  miserably  few  and  frag- 
mentary ;  but  the  evidence  yielded  by  these  meagre  relics  is  decidedly  greater,  in 
proportion  to  their  extent,  than  we  had  any  right  to  expect.  As  regards  the 
Fourth  Gospel,  this  is  especially  the  case.  If  the  same  amount  of  written  matter 
— occupying  a  very  few  pages  in  all — were  extracted  accidentally  from  the  cur- 
rent theological  literature  of  our  own  day,  the  chances,  unless  I  am  mistaken, 
would  be  strongly  against  our  finding  so  many  indications  of  the  use  of 
this  Gospel." 

Fkom  a.  d.  170-a.  d.  400. 

About  the  year  170  a.  d.  the  long  period  of  historical  twilight  as  to  Christian 
afTairs  begins  to  give  place  to  the  dawning  of  a  tolerably  clear  day.  A  Christian 
literature,  composed  in  great  measure  of  fragments  preserved  in  later  writings, 
begins  to  be  followed  by  a  literature  embracing  several  treatises  that  have  <i»ine 
down  to  us,  either  complete  or  only  slightly  mutilated.  After  the  shorter  works 
of  Tatian  (so  far  as  preserved;,  Athenagoras,  and  Theo|)hilus  of  Antioch  we  pass 


xxiv  GENERAL  INTRODUCTION. 


to  the  more  extended  productions  of  Irenseus,  Clement  of  Alexandria,  Tertullian, 
and  Origen,  finding  conclusive  evidence  that  many  books  of  the  New  Testament 
were  received  by  all  the  churches  in  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa  as  indisputably 
apostolic.  These  were  the  four  Gospels,  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  thirteen  Epis- 
tles of  Paul,  and  the  First  Epistles  of  Peter  and  John.  No  competent  scholar 
will  deny  that  from  this  time  onward  these  writings  were  esteemed  sacred  and 
authoritative  by  the  whole  Christian  world,  just  as  truly  as  they  were  so  esteemed 
at  the  beginning  of  the  present  century.  They  were  nowhere  questioned,  but 
everywhere  accepted  as  parts  of  the  Canon.  Of  the  remaining  books,  some  were 
received  here,  and  others  there,  with  absolute  confidence,  while  none  of  them  were 
received  without  doubt  everywhere  and  by  all.  From  this  time  forward  our 
attention  will  therefore  be  directed  more  and  more  to  the  doubtful  books.  Yet  it 
will  be  instructive  to  notice  the  manner  in  which  the  undisputed  books,  and  espe- 
cially the  four  Gospels,  as  well  as  the  disputed  books,  are  characterized  by  the 
leading  writers. 

In  the  following  passage  Iren^us  sets  forth  his  estimate  of  apostolic  teaching — 
an  estimate  which  was  shared,  without  doubt,  by  the  great  body  of  Ciiristians  in 
his  day  :  "  For  we  have  learned  to  knoAV  the  economy  of  our  salvation  through  no 
others  but  those  by  whom  the  gospel  came  to  us ;  w  hich  gospel  they  then  preached, 
but  afterward  by  the  will  of  God  delivered  to  us  in  Scriptures,  that  it  might  be  a 
ground  and  pillar  of  our  faith.  For  it  is  not  right  to  say  that  they  preached 
before  they  had  a  perfect  knowledge,  as  some  dare  to  affirm,  boasting  that  they 
are  correctors  of  the  apostles.  For  after  our  Lord  rose  again  from  the  dead  they 
indeed  were  clothed  with  power  from  on  high,  through  the  Holy  Spirit  coming 
upon  them — were  filled  with  the  Spirit  for  all  duties  and  had  perfect  knowledge ; 
they  went  forth  to  the  end  of  the  earth,  preaching  good  news  of  blessings  to  us 
from  God,  and  announcing  celestial  peace  to  men,  because  they  all  and  each  had 
the  gospel  of  God  "  (  C.  Hcer.,  iii.  1). 

Of  the  authorship  of  the  four  Gospels  he  thus  speaks:  "Matthew  indeed 
among  the  Hebrews  in  their  own  language  published  a  written  Gospel,  while  Peter 
and  Paul  in  Rome  were  preaching  the  gospel  and  founding  the  church.  Ar.d 
after  their  departure  Mark  himself,  the  disciple  and  interpreter  of  Peter,  delivered 
to  us  in  writing  that  which  was  preached  by  Peter.  Moreover,  Luke,  the  follower 
of  Paul,  put  down  in  a  book  the  Gospel  that  was  preached  by  him.  Afterward, 
John,  the  disciple  of  the  Lord,  who  also  leaned  back  on  his  bosom,  himself  pub- 
lished the  Gospel  while  he  was  residing  at  Ephesus  in  Asia  "  (ibid.). 

Of  the  general  recognition  of  these  Gospels  even  by  heretics  he  bears  witness 
in  another  place:  "  And  so  great  is  this  firmness  [of  evidence]  about  the  Gospels 
that  even  the  heretics  themselves  bear  testimony  to  them,  and  each  one  of  them, 
by  starting  from  the  same,  is  compelled  to  confirm  their  teaching.  For  the  Ebion- 
ites,  using  only  the  Gospel  according  to  Matthew,  are  proved  by  that  to  make 
false  suppositions  concerning  the  Lord.  But  Marcion,  though  nmtilating  the  Gos- 
pel according  to  Luke,  is  shown  by  those  portions  which  are  still  preserved  by  him 
to  be  a  blasphemer  against  the  only  existing  God.  Moreover,  those  who  separate 
Jesus  from  the  Christ,  and  say  that  Christ  remained  impassible,  but  Jesus  only 


GENERAL   INTRODUCTION.  xxv 


suffered,  and  who  prefer  the  Gospel  according  to  Mark,  can  be  corrected  if  they 
read  this  [Gospel]  with  a  love  of  truth.  Also  those  who  follow  Valentiiius  and 
use  most  fully  the  Gospel  according  to  John  for  the  purpose  of  setting  forth  their 
conjunctions,  are  detected  by  this  Gospel  as  teaching  nothing  rightly,  as  we  have 
shown  in  our  first  book.  Since,  therefore,  our  opponents  bear  witness  for  us  and 
use  these  Gospels,  our  proof  from  them  is  firm  and  true  "  (iii,  11,  7;. 

To  prove  that  there  could  properly  be  neither  more  nor  fewer  than  four  Gos- 
pels, he  writes  thus  in  the  next  section :  "  Since  there  are  four  zones  of  the  world 
in  which  we  are,  and  four  general  winds,  and  [since]  the  church  is  scattered  over 
all  the  earth,  but  the  Gospel  and  Spirit  of  life  are  a  pillar  and  ground  of  the 
church,  it  [the  church]  should  properly  have  four  pillars,  breathing  immortality 
from  every  side,  and  vivifying  men  afresh.  From  which  it  is  evident  that  the 
Word,  the  Architect  of  all  things,  who  sitteth  upon  the  cherubim  and  holdeth 
together  all  things,  having  been  manifested  to  men,  gave  us  a  gospel  in  four  forms, 
but  bound  together  by  one  Spirit"  (iii.  11,  8). 

It  may  also  be  remarked  that  Irenseus  makes  abundant  use  of  passages  from 
the  Acts,  from  the  Epistles  to  the  Romans,  First  and  Second  Corinthians,  Gala- 
tians,  Ephesians,  Philippians,  Colossians,  First  and  Second  Thessalonians,  First 
Peter,  First  John,  and  from  the  Apocalypse ;  also  occasional  use  of  extracts  from 
First  and  Second  Timothy,  Titus,  Hebrews,  James,  and  Second  John,  together 
with  the  expression,  a  day  with  the  Lord  is  as  a  thousand  years,  which  appears  to 
be  taken  from  2  Pet.  3  :  8.  The  only  books  of  our  New  Testament  which  are  not 
employed  by  him  at  all  are  the  brief  Epistle  to  Philemon,  the  briefer  Third  Epis- 
tle of  John,  and  the  Epistle  of  Jude — all  of  them  amounting  to  scarcely  more 
than  an  average  chapter  in  the  Gospel  of  Luke,  and  no  one  of  them  holding  a 
prominent  place  among  the  apostolical  writings  or  likely  to  be  needed  in  refuting 
the  strange  heresies  of  the  second  century. 

Such  is  the  evidence  of  Irenseus  to  the  Canon  of  the  New  Testament.  And 
the  fact  must  not  be  lost  sight  of  that  he  was  personally  acquainted  with  Polycarp 
and  his  associates,  the  disciples  of  the  apostle  John  in  Asia  Minor ;  that  he  was  a 
contemporary  of  Justin  Martyr,  Tatian,  Athenagoras,  Theophilus  of  Antioch,  on 
the  one  hand,  and  with  Basilides,  Marcion,  Valentinus,  and  Celsus,  on  the  other ; 
that  he  was  in  most  respects,  if  not  all,  a  man  of  sober  judgment,  familiar  with 
the  doctrinal  views  of  both  the  Asiatic  and  the  Western  churches,  and  that  he 
made  the  heresies  of  the  second  century  a  subject  of  special  investigation,  com- 
paring them  with  the  apostolic  writings,  and  refuting  them  by  testimonies  drawn 
from  these  writings,  which  were  deemed  authoritative  by  Christians  throughout 
the  known  world. 

Clement  of  Alexandria  flourished  about  a.  d.  200,  and  was  probably  a 
more  learned  man  than  Irenaius.  He  thus  speaks  of  a  treatise  wiiich  he  was  com- 
posing (called  Stromaleis,  or  "  iMiscellanies")  and  of  the  sources  of  his  know- 
ledge :  "  Now  this  work  is  not  a  Avriting  artistically  composed  for  display,  but 
memoranda  are  stored  up  [in  it]  for  myself  against  old  age  as  a  remedy  of  fbrget- 
fulness,  an  inartistic  image  and  rough  sketch  of  those  clear  and  vivid  discourses 
which  I  was  thought  worthy  to  hear,  aud  of  blessed  and  truly  remarkable  men. 


xxvi  GENERAL  INTRODUCTION. 

Of  these,  one,  the  Ionian,  was  in  Greece,  and  others  in  Magna  Grsecia.  One  of 
them  was  of  Ccele-Syria,  another  from  Egypt,  and  others  in  [or  through]  the  East. 
Of  this  region  that  of  Assyria  was  one,  and  another  in  Palestine,  a  Hebrew  by 
descent.  When  I  met  with  the  last  (he  was  first  in  ability),  having  hunted  him 
up  concealed  in  Egypt,  I  found  rest.  He,  a  true  Sicilian  bee,  plucking  the  flowers 
of  both  the  prophetic  and  the  apostolic  meadow,  begat  in  the  souls  of  his  hearers 
a  pure  substance  of  knowledge.  But  they,  preserving  the  veritable  tradition  of 
the  blessed  doctrine  directly  from  Peter  and  James,  John  and  Paul,  the  holy 
apostles,  son  receiving  it  from  father  (but  few  are  they  who  are  like  their  fathers), 
came  indeed  by  the  will  of  God  to  deposit  in  us  also  those  ancestral  and  apostolic 
seeds ;  and  well  I  know  that  they  will  rejoice,  not,  I  mean,  as  being  pleased  with 
this  description,  but  with  the  mere  preservation  of  truth  as  it  was  noted  down  " 
(Mi(<ceU.,  i.  1,  11).  It  is  generally  admitted  that  the  person  whom  Clement  here 
calls  his  last  and  ablest  teacher  was  Pantsenus,  head  of  the  catechetical  school  in 
Alexandria.  Photius  represents  Pantsenus  as  a  hearer  of  the  apostles,  and,  as  far 
as  age  is  concerned,  he  might  possibly  have  been  so.  At  any  rate,  he  appears  to 
have  been  a  diligent  student  of  the  prophetic  and  apostolic  Scriptures,  and,  as 
Westcott  has  said,  "  there  is  not  the  slightest  ground  for  assuming  any  organic 
change  in  the  doctrine  of  the  Alexandrian  Church  between  the  age  of  the  apostles 
and  Pantsenus,"  the  teacher  and  predecessor  of  Clement.  The  latter  was  at  the 
head  of  the  Christian  school  in  Alexandria  from  about  A.  D.  189  to  A.  d.  202, 
when  he  was  compelled  to  leave  the  city  by  the  persecution  under  Severus. 

Clement  makes  use  of  the  four  Gospels,  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  the  Epistles 
to  the  Romans,  the  Corinthians  (First  and  Second),  the  Galatians,  the  Ephesians, 
the  Colossians,  the  Philippians,  the  Thessalonians  (First  and  Second),  Timothy 
(First  and  Second),  Titus,  Philemon,  Hebrews,  the  First  Epistle  of  Peter,  the 
First  of  John,  the  Epistle  of  Jude,  and  the  book  of  Revelation ;  but  he  appears 
to  have  no  quotations  from  the  Epistles  of  James,  Second  Peter,  and  Third  John. 
Eusebius  testifies  that  "  in  the  work  called  Hypotoposes,  Clement  has  given  us  con- 
cise explanations  of  the  whole  canonical  Scripture,  without  omitting  the  disputed 
books :  I  mean  the  Epistle  of  Jude  and  the  remaining  Catholic  Epistles,  as  well  as 
the  Epistle  of  Barnabas  and  the  so-called  Revelation  of  Peter.  Moreover,  he  says 
that  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  is  Paul's,  but  that  it  was  written  to  the  Hebrews 
in  the  Hebrew  language,  and  that  Luke,  having  carefully  translated  it,  published 
it  for  the  use  of  the  Greeks."  It  will  be  observed  that  although  Eusebius  associates 
the  Catholic  Epistles  with  the  Epistle  of  Barnabas  and  the  so-called  Revelation 
of  Peter,  he  yet  distinguishes  the  former  from  the  latter,  making  thereby  in  some 
sense  two  classes  of  "  disputed  books."  Very  noteworthy  is  the  language  of 
Clement  in  respect  to  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  though  there  are  strong  objec- 
tions to  his  view  that  our  Greek  Epistle  is  a  translation. 

To  the  testimony  of  Clement  may  be  subjoined  that  of  Origen,  his  successor 
after  a  time  in  the  Alexandrian  school,  and  the  most  learned  biblical  critic  of  the 
Ante-Nicene  Church.  If  perfect  reliance  could  be  placed  on  the  translation  of 
Rufinns,  the  following  passage  from  his  Homilies  on  Joshua  (vii.  2)  would  be 
conclusive  as  to  his  view  of  the  New  Testament  Canon :  "  So  too  our  Lord  Jesus 


GENERAL  INTRODUCTION.  xxvii 


Christ,  whose  advent  was  typified  by  that  earlier  son  of  Nun,  when  he  came  sent 
his  apostles  as  priests  bearing  well-wrought  trumpets,  the  glorious  and  heavenly 
doctrine  which  they  preached.  Matthew  first  sounded  with  priestly  trumpet  in 
his  Gospel.  Mark  also,  Luke  and  John,  each  gave  forth  a  strain  on  their  priestly 
trumpets.  Peter  moreover  sounds  with  the  two  trumpets  of  his  Epistles ;  so  also 
James  and  Jude.  None  the  less  does  John  blow  the  trumpet  by  his  Epistles  and 
Apocalypse,  and  Luke,  by  describing  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  Lastly  came  he 
who  said,  1  think  that  God  hath  set  forth  us  apostles  last  of  all,  and  thundering  with 
the  fourteen  trumpets  of  his  Epistles  threw  down  to  the  ground  the  walls  of  Jeri- 
cho, even  all  the  instruments  of  idolatry  and  the  doctrines  of  philosophy."  But 
it  is  known  that  Rufinus  sometimes  modified  the  teaching  of  Origen  according  to 
his  own  belief  of  what  was  true,  and  therefore  it  is  possible  that  he  has  done  so  in 
this  place.  Yet  there  is  ample  evidence  to  be  found  in  the  untranslated  writings 
of  Origen  that  he  received  all  the  books  that  were  received  by  Clement.  He  ac- 
cepted our  four  Gospels  as  canonical,  and  rejected  the  authority  of  all  others. 
Of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  he  says :  "  If  I  were  to  express  my  own  opinion,  I 
should  say  that  the  thoughts  are  the  apostle's,  but  the  diction  and  composition 
that  of  some  one  who  recorded  from  memory  the  apostle's  teaching,  and,  as  it  were, 
illustrated  with  a  brief  commentary  the  sayings  of  his  master.  It  was  not  with- 
out good  reason  that  the  men  of  old  time  have  handed  it  down  as  Paul's.  But 
who  it  was  that  wrote  the  Epistle,  God  only  knows  certainly."  He  accepted  the 
Apocalypse  as  an  undoubted  work  of  the  apostle  John  (  Westeott).  He  quoted  the 
Epistle  of  Jude  as  a  work  of  "  the  Lord's  brother."  He  referred  to  "  the  Epistle 
in  circulation  under  the  name  of  James,"  But  he  does  not,  it  is  said,  quote  the 
Second  Epistle  of  Peter  or  the  Second  and  Third  Epistles  of  John,  though  the 
Second  Epistle  of  Peter  is  quoted  several  times  in  the  Latin  version  of  the 
Homilies. 

Tertitllian,  the  earliest  great  representative  of  the  North  African  Church, 
was  probably  born  in  Carthage  about  A.  D.  160,  and  was  therefore  a  contemporary 
of  Irenseus,  Clement  of  Alexandria,  and  Origen.  His  literary  activity  may  be 
chiefly  assigned  to  the  first  quarter  of  the  third  century.  He  speaks  of  the  "  an- 
cient Scripture"  in  contrast  with  the  "New  Testament"  (Ad  Prax.,  ch.  15).  He 
distinguishes  between  "the  Gospels  and  the  apostles"  (ibid.),  meaning  by  the 
latter  the  writings  of  the  apostles.  And  he  declares  that  "  the  gospel  Instrument 
has  for  its  authors  apostles  on  whom  this  oflice  of  proclaiming  the  gospel  was  im- 
posed by  the  Lord  himself;  and  if  also  apostolic  men,  yet  not  these  alone,  but 
with  apostles  and  after  apostles  "  (Adv.,  iv.  2).  Referring  to  the  church  at  Rome, 
which  he  pronounces  "  happy,  because  there  apostles  poured  forth  their  doctrine 
with  their  blood,"  he  declares  that  "  she  unites  in  one  volume  the  law  and  the 
prophets  with  the  writings  of  evangelists  and  apostles,  and  thence  drinks  in  her 
faith  "  (De  Prcesc.  Hwret,  ch.  36).  He  says  that  the  germs  of  later  heresies  were 
present  in  the  first  age,  and  remarks  that  "  Paul  in  the  First  to  the  Corinthians 

marks  those  who  denied  and  doubted  the  resurrection Writing  to  the  Gala- 

tians,  he  assails  those  who  practise  and  defend  circumcision  and  the  law 

Instructing  Timothy,  he  also  condemns  such  as  'forbid  to  marry'  (1  Tim.  4  :  :} '. 


xxviii  GENERAL  INTRODUCTION. 

....  Equally  does  he  smite  such  as  said  that  '  the  resurrection  was  already  past ' 

(2  Tim.  2  :  3j When  he  mentions   'endless  genealogies'   (1   Tim.  1  :  4) 

Valentinus  is  recognized,"  etc Again,  "  John  in  the  Apocalypse  is  com- 
manded to  chastise  those  '  who  eat  things  offered  to  idols  and  commit  fornication ' 
(Rev.  2  :  20).  But  in  the  Epistle  he  calls  those  antichrists  in  a  special  sense  who 
deny  that  Clirist  has  come  in  the  flesh,  and  who  do  not  think  that  Jesus  is  the  Son 
of  God  "  {De  Frcescnp.  Hceret,  ch.  33). 

Tertullian  recognizes  in  his  writings  the  four  Gospels,  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles, 
thirteen  Epistles  of  Paul,  First  Peter,  First  John,  Jude,  the  Apocalypse,  and 
(though  as  written  by  Barnabas  and  of  second-rate  authority)  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews — i.  e.  all  the  books  of  our  New  Testament  except  the  Epistles  of  James, 
Second  Peter,  and  Second  and  Third  John  {Charteris). 

It  is  important  to  bear  in  mind  the  localities  with  which  these  great  writers 
must  have  been  familiar.  Irenajus,  connected  with  Polycarp,  with  Pothinus,  and 
with  some  of  the  bishops  of  Rome,  may  be  said  to  reflect  the  belief  of  Asia  Minor, 
Gaul,  and  Italy ;  Clement  of  Alexandria,  the  pupil  of  Pant^enus,  and  Origen,  the 
distinguished  scholar  who  was  at  home  both  in  Egypt  and  in  Palestine,  may  be 
said  to  reflect  the  belief  of  Christians  in  Egypt,  Palestine,  and  Greece ;  and  Ter- 
tullian, the  fiery  and  powerful  teacher  at  Carthage,  must  be  presumed  to  reflect 
the  belief  of  the  churches  of  North  Africa,  with  which  he  was  well  acquainted, 
and  of  the  churches  in  and  about  Rome,  where  many  of  the  heretics,  whom  he 
assailed  with  resistless  torrents  of  argument  and  denunciation,  resided.  Thus 
these  writers  represent,  if  they  do  not  doubly  or  trebly  represent,  the  several 
great  provinces  where  Christians  had  become  numerous  and  powerful. 

Noticeable  also  is  the  high  authority  which  these  writers  attribute  to  the  Old 
and  New  Testaments.  Irenseus  afiirms  that  "the  Scriptures  are  indeed  perfect, 
because  they  were  spoken  by  the  Word  of  God  and  his  Spirit"  (C.  Hcer.,  ii. 
28,  2).  Clement  proposes  to  show  that  "  the  Scriptures  which  we  have  believed 
were  ratified  by  Omnipotent  Authority,"  and  "  to  show  from  them  to  all  the 
heresies  that  there  is  one  God  and  Lord  Omnipotent,  who  has  been  truly  preached 
by  the  law  and  the  prophets,  and  in  addition  to  these  by  the  blessed  gospel" 
(^Miseell.,  iv.  1).  Tertullian,  by  a  variety  of  testimonies,  as  well  as  by  the  use 
"which  he  makes  of  the  New  Testament,  proves  that  for  him  its  teaching  is  ulti- 
mate and  divine.  With  no  less  reverence  does  Origen  treat  the  Scriptures  of  the 
New  Testament. 

A  few  remarks  may  now  be  made  in  respect  to  the  seven  disputed  books  of  the 
New  Testament — viz.  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  the  book  of  Revelation,  and  .the 
Epistles  of  James,  Jude,  Second  and  Third  John,  and  Second  Peter. 

(1)  The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  was  generally  received  in  Alexandria  and  the 
East,  while  it  was  doubted  or  rejected  for  a  long  time  in  North  Africa  and  the 
West.  It  is  found  in  the  Peshito,  but  not  in  the  Fragment  of  Muratori  on  the 
Canon,  or  in  the  earliest  form  of  the  Latin  version.  Origen  ascribes  it  habitually 
to  Paul,  though  he  appears  to  have  believed  that  tiie  thoughts  only  were  the  apos- 
tle's, while  the  composition  was  by  some  other  person.  Tertullian  ascribes  it  to 
Barnabas,  the  companion  of  Paul,  and  claims  for  it  no  more  than  secondary 


GENERAL  INTRODUCTION.  xxix 

authority.  Yet  Clement  of  Rome  was  certainly  familiar  with  it,  and  treated  it 
with  special  respect ;  it  is  also  probably  referred  to  by  Justin  Martyr.  Dionysius, 
a  distinguished  pupil  of  Origen,  became  president  of  the  school  at  Alexandria 
about  A.  D.  231,  and  afterward  bishop  of  the  Christians  in  that  city.  Fragments 
of  his  letters  have  been  preserved  in  which  are  numerous  references  to  the  New 
Testament,  and  quotations  from  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  as  the  "  testimony  of 
Paul."  The  voice  of  the  churches  of  Egypt  and  of  tlie  East  prevailed,  and  at 
last  this  Epistle  was  accepted  as  canonical  by  the  churches  of  the  West  also.  Its 
earlier  and  unhesitating  reception  in  the  East  was  probably  due  to  the  circum- 
stance that  the  Hebrew  Christians  to  whom  it  was  first  sent  resided  in  Egypt  and 
the  East. 

(2)  The  Apocalypse,  it  will  be  recollected,  is  expressly  attributed  by  Justin 
Martyr  to  the  apostle  John :  "  A  certain  man  among  us,  whose  name  was  John, 
one  of  the  apostles  of  Christ,  predicted  in  a  revelation  given  to  him  that  those  who 
had  believed  in  our  Christ  should  spend  a  thousand  years  in  Jerusalem,  and  that 
afterward  the  universal  and,  to  speak  briefly,  the  eternal  resurrection  and  judg- 
ment of  all  would  take  place  together"  {Dial.  c.  Try.,  ch.  81).  There  is  also 
satisfactory  evidence  that  Papias  was  familiar  with  the  Apocalypse,  and  was  pecu- 
liarly interested  in  its  Chiliastic  teaching.  (See  Andreas  Coes.  in  Apoc,  ch.  34, 
8erm.  12,  Edit.  Morel. ;  0pp.  S.  Chrya.,  p.  52 ;  and  Euseb.,  H.  E.,  iii.  39.)  Among 
the  writings  of  Melito,  Bishop  of  the  church  in  Sardis,  which  were  known  to 
Eusebius,  was  one  on  the  Revelation  of  John  {H.  E.,  iv.  26).  Irena^us,  who  spent 
his  early  life  in  Asia  Minor,  ascribes  the  Apocalypse  to  John  the  disciple  of  the 
Lord,  and  a  careful  consideration  of  his  language  shows  that  by  "  disciple "  he 
meant  the  apostle  John,  who  was  called,  by  way  of  preference,  "  the  disciple," 
because  he  was  "the  disciple  whom  Jesus  loved"  (i>.,  iv.  20,  11;  v.  2(),  1;  30, 
3 ;  8).  This  testimony  is  very  important.  Tertullian  cites  the  ,  Apocalypse  re- 
peatedly as  a  work  of  the  apostle  John  {e.  g.  Adv.  Mar.,  iii.  14 ;  iv.  5 ;  De  Prws. 
H(£ret.,  ch.  33).  Clement  of  Alexandria  and  Origen  both  make  use  of  it  as 
authoritative  and  written  by  John  (Strom.,  vi.  13;  Paid.,  ii.  12;  Com.  in  Matt,  t.  16, 
torn.  iii.  p.  711 ;  Com.  in  Joan.,  t.  1,  also  t.  2).  Hippolytus  does  the  same  (De 
Christo  et  Antichr.,  ch.  36).  It  is  included  in  the  Fragment  of  Muratori  on  the 
Canon.  But  for  some  reason  it  was  not  made  a  part  of  the  Peshito ;  and  Dio- 
nysius of  Alexandria,  while  agreeing  that  it  was  the  work  of  some  "  holy  and 
inspired  man  "  by  the  name  of  John,  doubts  whether  it  was  written  by  the  evan- 
gelist. It  is,  however,  noteworthy  that  his  reasons  for  doubting  are  not  historical, 
but  critical,  or,  in  other  words,  derived  from  the  style  of  the  book  as  compared 
with  John's  Gospel  and  First  Epistle  (Euseb.,  H.  E.,  vii.  25).  In  like  manner 
Eusebius  appears  to  have  hesitated  about  ascribing  it  to  the  apostle  John,  But  it 
is  at  lea.st  possible  that  they  were  predisposed  to  reject  the  book  by  their  strong 
opposition  to  the  Chiliasm  of  their  day.  At  any  rate,  their  doubts  made  hut  a 
slight  impression  on  the  minds  of  Christians,  and  before  the  close  of  the  fourtli 
century  the  Apocalypse  was  everywhere  received  as  apostolic  and  divine.  And 
surely  there  was  no  lack  of  external  evidence  for  the  apostolic  authorship  of  this 
remarkable  book. 


XXX  GENERAL  INTRODUCTION. 

(3)  The  Epistle  of  James,  like  that  to  the  Hebrews,  was  addressed  to  believing 
Israelites  who  did  not  reside  in  Palestine ;  and  this  circumstance  accounts  for  the 
non-universal  reception  of  the  Epistle  in  the  early  church.  "  It  was  meant  only 
for  Jewish  believers,  and  was  not  likely,  therefore,  to  circulate  widely  among  Gen- 
tile Christians"  (Smith's  Diet  of  the  Bible,  p.  1208).  Hence,  too,  it  was  included 
in  the  Peshito,  but  not  in  the  Muratorian  Canon  or  in  most  of  the  MSS.  of  the 
early  Latin  version.  As  might  have  been  expected,  it  was  received  as  canonical 
in  Alexandria.  Thus  Origen  says:  "For  if  there  may  be  something  called  faitli, 
but  existing  without  works,  such  a  faitli  is  dead,  as  we  have  read  in  the  current 
Epistle  of  James"  {Com.  in  Joan.,  F.  19).  Again  :  "As  also  James  the  apostle 
says.  Every  good  gift  and  every  perfect  gift  is  from  above,  coming  down  from 
the  Father  of  lights"  {Com.  in  Ep.  ad  Rom.,  ix.).  "Eusebius  tells  as  a  matter 
of  fact  that  some  counted  it  spurious,  and  that  there  was  a  lack  of  early  testi- 
mony to  it;  but  he  himself  quotes  it  as  apostolic"  {Charteris).  Athanasius,  a 
younger  contemporary  of  Eusebius,  accepted  it  as  inspired  and  canonical  {Ath. 
0pp.,  tom.  p.  38).  The  objections  to  the  letter  derived  from  its  contents  are  of  no 
force,  and  there  appears  to  be  no  good  reason  to  doubt  that  the  churches  and  their 
teachers  were  guided  by  sufficient  evidence  in  assigning  to  this  Epistle  a  place  in 
the  Canon  of  Scripture. 

(4)  The  Epistle  of  Jude  purports  to  have  been  written  by  "  the  brother  of 
James,"  who  must  therefore  have  been  well  known  to  Christians.  This  James  is 
generally  believed  to  have  been  "the  Lord's  brother,"  spoken  of  in  Gal,  1  :  19, 
the  writer  of  the  Epistle  noticed  above,  and  for  many  years  the  Bishop  of  the 
church  at  Jerusalem.  The  Muratorian  Canon  numbers  the  Epistle  of  Jude  with 
the  sacred  books  of  the  New  Testament.  It  was  also  in  the  Old  Latin  version, 
though  not  in  the  Syriac.  Clement  of  Alexandria  appeals  to  it  in  both  the  Paida- 
gogos  and  the  Siromateis  {Paid.,  iii.  44;  Sir.,  iii.  11)  ;  moreover,  the  Latin  Adxim- 
brationes  found  in  the  editions  of  Clement  contain  notes  written  by  him  on  this 
Epistle,  as  well  as  on  the  First  Epistle  of  Peter  and  the  first  two  Epistles  of  John 
(Wes<co<^,  pp.  310,  311).  Origen  agrees  W'ith  Clement  in  the  use  of  Jude  as  a 
part  of  the  New  Testament  {Com.  in,  Matt,  t.  10,  ch.  17,  and  others).  Tertullian 
speaks  of  the  apostle  Jude  as  bearing  testimony  to  Enoch  or  the  book  of  Enoch 
{De  Cultu  j'emin,  i.  3).  Eusebius,  while  placing  it  with  the  disputed  books,  says 
that  the  Catholic  Epistles,  including  Jude,  are  publicly  used  with  the  rest  in  most 
of  the  churches  {H.  E.,  ii.  ch.  23).  It  is  considered  authoritative  and  canonical 
by  Athanasius,  by  the  Laodicean  Council  (about  A.  D.  364 — Chatteris),  and  by 
Cyril  of  Jerusalem  {Cateches.,  iv.  p.  36,  sq.). 

(5  and  6)  It  is  difficult  to  see  why  the  Second  and  Third  Epistles  of  John 
should  have  been  called  "  catholic "  or  "  general,"  for  they  are  manifestly  brief 
letters  to  individuals,  of  no  more  interest  to  the  churches  than  was  the  letter  to 
Philemon,  and  of  much  less  general  significance  than  the  Epistles  to  Timothy  and 
Titus,  Charteris  says  that  they  "  were  at  an  early  date  supposed  to  be  general, 
the  '  elect  lady '  and  '  Gaius '  being  supposed  to  denote  the  Christian  church." 
But  the  fact  that  they  are  brief  personal  letters  accounts  for  their  being  so  little 
known  to  the  great  body  of  the  early  Christians.     The  writer  designates  himself 


GENERAL  INTRODUCTION. 


"  the  elder  " — a  title  which  may  have  been  naturally  applied  with  special  rever- 
ence to  the  apostle  John  during  the  last  years  of  his  life  in  Asia  Minor,  and  which 
therefore  would  have  been  sufficiently  explicit  and  at  the  same  time  modest  on  his 
lips.  Irenseus  speaks  of  "  John's  First  Epistle "  (Euseb.,  H.  K,  v.  8),  showing 
thereby  that  he  knew  of  more  than  one,  and  also  quotes  a  passage  from  his  Second 
Epistle  (v.  11),  declaring  that  it  was  a  "  saying  of  John  the  disciple  of  the  Lord  " 
(B.,  i.  16,  3).  Clement  of  Alexandria  cites  the  words  of  1  John  5  :  16  as  being 
in  his  "  greater  Epistle,"  thus  intimating  that  he  knew  of  a  smaller  one  (Strom.,  ii. 
ch.  15,  66).  Origen  says  of  John,  who  reclined  on  the  bosom  of  Jesus,  that  "  he 
has  also  left  an  Epistle  consisting  of  very  few  lines ;  perhaps,  too,  a  second  and  a 
third,  since  not  all  say  that  these  are  genuine,  but  both  together  do  not  contain  a 
hundred  lines  "  (Euseb.,  H.  E.,  vi.  25).  Dionysius  of  Alexandria  mentions  that 
"  a  Second  and  a  Third  Epistle  ascribed  to  John  were  in  circulation,"  and  in  such 
a  way  as  to  imply  his  acceptance  of  them  as  works  of  the  apostle  (Euseb.,  H.  E., 
vii.  25).  These  minor  Epistles  appear  to  be  recognized  (one  of  them  certainly, 
and  probably  both)  in  the  Fragment  of  Muratori,  and  both  of  them  were  also  in 
the  earliest  Latin  version. 

(7)  The  historical  evidence  for  the  genuineness  of  the  Second  Epistle  of  Peter 
is  less  conclusive  than  that  for  any  other  book  of  the  New  Testament.  If  genuine, 
its  circulation  must  have  been  restricted  for  a  comparatively  long  time  to  a  small 
number  of  churches.  The  earliest  passage  manifestly  based  upon  it  appears  to  be 
in  the  so-called  Second  Epistle  of  the  Roman  Clement  (ch.  16,  3),  which,  how- 
ever, is  now  understood  to  be  a  Christian  homily  from  the  middle  of  the  second 
century.  Yet  there  seem  to  be  pretty  clear  reminiscences  of  the  Epistle  in  Justin 
Martyr,  in  the  Shepherd  of  Hermas,  and  perhaps  in  some  of  the  Ignatian  epis- 
tles, which  were  written  as  early,  at  least,  as  a.  d.  150.  The  same  may  be  said  of 
Meiito  of  Sardis  {Charteris,  p.  314),  of  Theophilus  of  Antioch  (Ad  AutoL,  ii.  9, 
13),  and  of  Irenseus  (iv.  36,  4 ;  v.  23,  2 ;  and  v.  28,  3).  Clement  of  Alexandria 
is  said  to  have  written  short  expositions  of  all  the  Scriptures,  not  passing  by  those 
that  are  disputed — viz.  Jude  and  the  other  Catholic  Epistles  (Euseb,,  H.  E,  vi. 
14).  And  it  is  surely  improbable  that  Clement  would  have  written  even  short 
expositions  of  a  book  which  he  did  not  esteem,  in  some  proper  sense  of  the  words, 
holy  Scripture.  Origen  appears  to  have  looked  upon  the  E})istle  as  a  genuine 
work  of  Peter,  though  he  says  that  it  was  questioned  in  his  day  (Euseb.,  H.  E., 
vi.  25).  Eusebius,  speaking  as  an  historian,  classes  it  with  the  disputed  books 
{H.  E.,  iii,  3,  25),  but  Athanasius  (De  S.  Trin.,  Dial.  i. ;  Contra  Ariattos,  Orat.  i.), 
Cyril  of  Jerusalem  (Cateches.,  iv.  p.  36,  sq.),  Gregory  of  Nazianzus  (Carm., 
33,  v.  31),  Epiphanius  (Hcer.,  ii.  t.  2,  h.  66 ;  iii.  t.  1,  h.  76),  and  Jerome  (De  Vir. 
III.,  ch.  i. ;  also  Ep.  ad  Hedih.  Quceit,  xi.),  receive  it  as  a  work  of  the  inspired 
apostle. 

Thus  slowly,  and  not  without  careful  inquiry,  did  the  several  disputed  books 
of  the  New  Testament  take  their  place  in  the  Canon  with  other  books  acknow- 
ledged by  all  the  churches  from  the  first  age.  It  was  ascertained  to  the  satis- 
faction of  intelligent  men,  by  evidence  that  must  have  been  derived  from  the 
churches  where  these  books  were  first  known,  that  they  were  written  by  apo.«tles 


xxxii  GENERAL  INTRODUCTION. 

or  associates  of  apostles,  and  were  therefore  authentic  statements  of  the  original 
facts  and  doctrines  of  the  Christian  religion. 

Meanwhile,  other  books,  with  which  many  Christians  were  particularly  pleased, 
were  associated  more  or  less  with  these,  and  were  occasionally  read  in  certain  pub- 
lic meetings  of  some  of  the  churches.  The  First  Epistle  of  Clement  to  the  Cor- 
inthians, the  so-called  Epistle  of  Barnabas,  and  the  Shepherd  of  Herraas,  are  per- 
haps the  most  important  of  these.  But  they  seem  never  to  have  been  considered 
of  equal  authority  with  apostolic  and  inspired  Scripture,  and  they  were  all  in  due 
time  assigned  without  hesitation  to  their  true  place  outside  the  Canon. 


IL 

OEDER  OF  BOOKS  IN  THE  CANON. 

This  has  not  always  been  the  same.  By  the  present  arrangement  the  His- 
torical part  holds  the  first  place,  the  Doctrinal  part  the  second,  and  the  Pro- 
phetical part  the  third.  And  to  this  general  order  there  seems  to  be  no  good 
objection.  The  life  and  work  of  Jesus  Christ  are  the  logical  foundation  and 
starting-point  of  Christianity ;  hence  the  evangelical  narratives  ought  to  precede 
everything  else  in  the  Christian  Canon.  But  the  early  work  of  the  apostles — 
until  the  gospel  had  gained  a  secure  foothold  among  both  Jews  and  Greeks — was 
inseparably  connected  with  the  preaching  of  Jesus  and  with  the  beginnings  of  the 
Christian  religion  ;  accordingly,  by  common  consent,  the  story  of  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles  is  made  to  follow  the  Gospels.  With  equal  propriety  do  the  Epistles, 
which  set  forth  the  doctrines  of  Christianity  for  the  edification  of  believers,  in- 
structing, admonishing,  and  encouraging  the  disciples  of  the  Lord  Jesus  in  their 
conflict  with  evil,  follow  the  historical  books,  though  it  is  not  quite  so  obvious 
what  is  gained  by  disregarding  chronology  in  the  arrangement  of  Paul's  Epistles 
or  by  placing  the  Catholic  Epistles  after  those  of  Paul.  And  as  to  the  Apoca- 
lypse, it  takes  the  position  of  a  final  book,  partly  because  of  its  relation  to  the 
future,  and  partly  because  of  the  time  when  it  was  supposed  to  have  been  written 
— that  is,  near  the  close  of  the  first  century,  and  after  nearly  or  quite  all  the  other 
books  of  the  New  Testament  had  been  given  to  the  churches. 

This  is  the  natural  order,  yet  in  some  of  the  manuscripts,  as  well  as  in  the 
Complutensian  edition  of  the  New  Testament  (1514),  the  Epistles  of  Paul  pre- 
cede the  Acts.  In  one  manuscript  the  order  is  said  to  be  this:  the  Acts,  the 
Pauline  Epistles,  the  Catholic  Epistles,  the  Gospels.  In  another  the  Apocalypse 
is  placed  between  the  Acts  and  the  Catholic  Epistles.  Besides  these,  a  few  in- 
stances are  mentioned  by  Scrivener  (Introd.  to  the  Crit.  of  the  N.  T.,  p.  67)  in  which 
the  three  great  divisions  of  the  New  Testament  do  not  stand  in  their  natural  order. 
But  these  instances  are  strictly  exceptional.  The  general  order  is  the  following: 
the  Gospels,  the  Acts,  the  Catholic  Epistles,  the  Pauline  Epistles,  the  Apocalypse. 

But  when  we  turn  our  attention  from  this  general  order  to  the  arrangement 
of  books  under  the  first  and  second  divisions,  a  certain  variety  appears.     The  four 


GENERAL  INTRODUCTION.  xxxiii 

Gospels  do  not  always  succeed  one  another  in  the  order  to  which  we  are  accus- 
tomed— viz.  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke,  and  John.  In  the  Codex  Bezse  they  stand 
Matthew,  John,  Luke,  Mark ;  and  "  this,  according  to  Scrivener  (p.  68),  is  the 
true  Western  order,  found  in  the  copies  of  the  Old  Latin  d,  e,  f,  and  in  the  Gothic 
version."  It  may  have  been  adopted  for  the  purpose  of  giving  a  certain  pre- 
cedence to  the  Gospels  written  by  apostles.  In  this  arrangement  it  is  easy  to  see 
why  Matthew  was  placed  before  John,  for  it  was  believed  to  have  been  written 
much  earlier,  and  it  was  doubtless  felt  to  be  a  better  connecting-link  between  the 
old  economy  and  the  new.  But  it  is  difficult  to  imagine  why  Luke  was  put  before 
Mark.  Had  the  order  of  these  two  been  reversed,  we  might  have  surmised  that 
the  references  in  Luke  to  the  relation  of  Christ  to  all  mankind,  and  the  close 
connection  of  this  Gospel  with  the  Acts,  written  also  by  Luke,  had  led  to  the 
arrangement ;  but  for  the  actual  order  it  seems  impossible  to  assign  any  reason. 
In  the  Curetonian  Syriac  version  the  succession  is  Matthew,  Mark,  John,  Luke ; 
and  this  certainly  is  preferable  to  the  "  Western  "  order,  though  it  is  perhaps  less 
satisfactory  than  that  which  closes  with  the  Gospel  of  John.  For  both  the  doc- 
trinal character,  and  the  time  when  it  was  written,  are  valid  reasons  for  giving 
the  last  place  among  the  Gospels  to  that  of  John,  even  as  the  contents  and  the 
time  of  writing  are  valid  reasons  for  assigning  the  last  place  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament to  the  Revelation  by  John. 

In  respect  to  the  second,  or  Doctrinal,  part  of  the  New  Testament,  which  is 
composed  of  Epistles  to  Christians  in  general,  to  particular  churches,  and  to  cer- 
tain individuals,  the  principal  variations  have  been  (1)  In  the  place  assigned  to 
the  Catholic  Epistles.  These  were  generally  put  before  the  Pauline  Epistles  in 
the  Greek  manuscripts,  but  in  a  few  instances,  as  stated  above,  they  were  put  after 
them.  We  know  of  nothing  decisive  in  favor  of  the  one  order  or  of  the  other. 
(2)  In  the  place  assigned  to  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews.  This  was  frequently 
placed  after  the  undoubted  Epistles  of  Paul,  partly  perhaps  because  there  was  felt 
to  be  some  uncertainty  in  respect  to  its  origin,  and  partly  perhaps  because  it  was 
a  sort  of  general  Epistle,  and  might  on  that  account  be  put  with  those  of  James, 
Peter,  John,  and  Jude.  But  it  was  sometimes  placed  in  the  midst  of  Paul's  Epis- 
tles, and  before  the  personal  ones,  because  of  its  great  doctrinal  importance  and 
of  its  somewhat  general  destination.  The  reasons  for  the  former  position  seem  not 
inferior  to  those  for  the  latter,  and  we  may  therefore  be  satisfied  with  the  place 
which  this  Epistle  holds  in  the  Textus  Receptus  and  the  Common  Version. 

But  would  not  something  be  gained  by  arranging  the  Epistles  of  Paul  chrono- 
logically, beginning  with  First  Thessalonians  and  ending  with  Second  Timothy? 
An  affirmative  answer  must  be  made  to  this  question.  For  these  letters  chrono- 
logically arranged  would  connect  themselves  more  naturally  than  they  now  do 
with  the  history  of  Paul's  missionary  life  as  related  in  the  Acts — the  letters  inteN 
preting  the  history,  and  the  history  interpreting  the  letters,  and  both  together 
giving  a  clearer  view  of  the  progress  and  conflicts  of  the  new  religion  than  can 
be  easily  gained  from  them  now.  Moreover,  thus  arranged  the  Pauline  Epi.^tles 
would  serve  as  a  spiritual  biography  of  the  apostle.  The  difference  of  tone  be- 
tween his  earlier  and  his  later  Epistles  would  be  observed  by  the  ordinary  reader 


xxxiv  GENERAL  INTRODUCTION. 

as  well  as  by  the  trained  scholar.  The  letters  to  the  Thessalonians,  the  Corinth- 
ians, the  Galatians,  the  Romans,  which  were  composed  bejore  his  first  imprison- 
ment in  Rome,  and  while  he  was  pushing  forward  his  missionary  work  in  every 
direction  possible,  would  be  perceived  to  differ  in  a  perfectly  natural  way  from  the 
letters  to  the  Philippians,  the  Colossians,  the  Ephesians,  and  Philemon,  which 
were  written  during  his  first  imprisonment  in  Rome,  and  after  his  two  years'  con- 
finement at  Csesarea,  while  the  letters  to  Timothy  and  Titus  would  be  found  in 
harmony  with  a  still  later  period  of  life.  Without  being  confident  as  to  the  mode 
of  its  production,  we  are,  on  the  whole,  inclined  to  connect  the  Epistle  to  the  He- 
brews with  the  mind  of  Paul  as  its  primary  source,  and  to  assign  it  to  the  period 
of  his  confinement  in  Csesarea  and  Rome  (a.  d.  59-63). 

If  the  Catholic  Epistles  retain  their  present  place  between  the  writings  of 
Paul  and  the  book  of  Revelation,  there  might  be  some  slight  advantage  in  putting 
the  three  Epistles  of  John  ajter  the  Epistle  of  Jude — thus :  James,  Peter,  Jude, 
John.  And  if  it  were  a  settled  result  of  biblical  criticism  that  Jude  was  written 
before  Second  Peter,  it  might  be  still  better  to  make  the  order  James,  Jude,  Peter, 
John.  For  then  the  really  general  Epistles  by  James,  Jude,  and  Peter  would 
follow  the  general  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  the  order  of  succession  in  the  Testa- 
ment would  agree  with  the  true  relation  between  Jude  and  Second  Peter,  and  the 
Epistles  and  Apocalypse  of  John  would  appear  together  as  a  final  group.  But 
biblical  scholars  are  by  no  means  certain  that  Jude  was  written  before  Second 
Peter,  and  therefore  its  appropriate  situation  remains  at  present  in  doubt. 


ni. 

GEEEK  TEXT  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT. 

Aky  commentary  worthy  of  the  name  must  take  account  of  the  Greek  text  of 
the  New  Testament.  It  may  expound  for  the  most  part  a  current  version  of  that 
text,  but  it  can  never  do  this  in  a  safe  and  satisfactory  manner  without  comparing 
it  with  the  Greek  original.  But  that  original,  as  it  came  from  the  hands  of  the 
apostles  and  their  associates,  is  no  longer  in  existence.  How,  then,  can  we  ascer- 
tain as  nearly  possible  what  it  was  ?  If  the  autographs  have  all  perished,  how 
can  we  learn  what  they  contained  ? 

(1)  From  Manuscripts  of  an  early  age  or  from  copies  of  manuscripts  that  were 
made  in  an  early  age.  A  few  of  these  manuscripts,  distinguished  for  their  an- 
tiquity and  importance,  are  written  in  capital  letters,  and  are  therefore  called  un- 
cials. It  is  not  incredible  that  some  of  the  inspired  autographs  were  in  the  hands 
of  those  who  prepared  the  oldest  existing  manuscripts,  yet  there  is  no  evidence, 
and  but  little  probability,  of  this.  A  great  majority  of  known  manuscripts  are  writ- 
ten in  small  letters  connected  with  one  another,  and  are  therefore  called  cursives. 

(2)  From  Versions  of  an  early  age.  Only  those  that  were  made  during  the 
first  three  centuries  are  of  much  account  in  establishing  the  original  text ;  and  of 
the  early  versions  the  most  literal  are  the  most  useful  in  this  respect.    A  free, 


GENERAL  INTRODUCTION.  xxxv 


paraphrastic  translation,  however  truly  or  idiomatically  it  may  express  the  sense 
of  the  original,  is  of  little  service  in  revealing  the  inspired  text. 

(3)  From  Quotations  made  by  the  early  Christian  writers.  These  quotations 
differ  in  value  for  textual  criticism  according  to  the  age  in  which  a  given  writer 
lived,  the  degree  of  exactness  with  which  he  cited  ptissages  of  Scripture,  and 
the  language  which  he  employed.  Citations  of  the  Greek  Testament  by  Greek 
writers  like  Origen,  Athanasius,  Hippolytus,  Cyril  would  often  afford  decisive 
evidence  of  the  text  as  found  in  the  manuscripts  used  by  them,  while  citations 
in  Latin  by  Tertullian  or  Cyprian  or  Augustine  would  be  less  decisive  in  their 
evidence. 

(4)  From  Critical  Editions  of  the  New  Testament  founded  on  a  careful  exami- 
nation of  the  preceding  sources.  If  all  the  best  editors  agree  in  a  particular  read- 
ing, there  is  strong  reason  to  believe  it  genuine.  If  they  differ,  there  is  presuma- 
bly some  ground  for  doubt,  and  at  all  events  a  commentator  is  compelled  to  look 
closely  at  the  sources  of  evidence.  Of  the  critical  editors,  Lachmann,  Tischen- 
dorf,  Tregelles,  Westcott  and  Hort,  deserve  special  attention. 

Returning  to  the  subject  of  manuscripts,  it  may  be  observed  that  all  the  oldest 
Greek  copies  of  the  New  Testament  are  written  in  uncial  (or  capital)  letters. 
This  form  prevailed  until  about  the  tenth  century.  But  in  the  ninth  or  tenth 
century  cursive  letters  began  to  be  used,  and,  with  various  ligatures  and  con- 
tractions, continued  to  be  employed  until  the  introduction  of  printing.  By  reason 
of  their  age,  therefore,  the  uncial  manuscripts  are,  as  a  class,  of  pre-eminent  value; 
but  are  there  any  marks  by  which  the  earlier  manuscripts  of  this  class  can  be  dis- 
tinguished from  the  later?  According  to  Scrivener,  "persons  who  have  had  much 
experience  in  the  study  of  manuscripts  are  able  to  distinguish  [them]  from  one 
another  in  respect  of  style  and  character ;  so  that  the  exact  period  at  which  each 
was  written  can  be  determined  within  certain  inconsiderable  limits"  (p.  28).  And 
after  pointing  out  as  critically  as  possible,  by  means  of  fac-sirailes  and  verbal  notes, 
the  changes  which  took  place  in  various  uncial  letters  of  the  alphabet,  he  sums  up 
tlie  results  in  two  propositions :  "i^tV«<,  that  the  upright  square  uncials  are  more 
ancient  than  those  which  are  narrow,  oblong,  or  leaning.  Secondly,  that  the  sim- 
pler and  less  elaborate  the  style  of  writing,  the  more  remote  its  probable  date  " 
(p.  38).  Of  these  propositions  there  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt,  but  the  cliangcs 
from  century  to  century  must  be  traced  with  peculiar  exactness,  and  none  but  ex- 
perts can  speak  with  the  highest  confidence  respecting  them.  Fortunately,  how- 
ever, the  number  of  experts  in  this  branch  of  learning  is  not  likely  to  diminish, 
but  to  increase. 

Moreover,  the  oldest  manuscripts  of  the  New  Testament  are  written  upon  vel- 
lum— i.  e.,  speaking  strictly,  the  delicate  skins  of  young  calves ;  or  upon  ])arch- 
ment — i.  e.  the  skins  of  sheep  or  of  goats.  Indeed,  the  oldest  are  said  ])y  Scriv- 
ener to  be  "  almost  invariably  inscribed  on  the  thinnest  and  whitest  vellum  that 
could  be  procured,  while  manuscripts  of  later  ages  are  usually  composed  of  parch- 
ment, thick,  discolored,  and  coarsely  grained."  Yet  paprjms  was  a  cheaper  mate- 
rial, very  generally  used  instead  of  vellum  or  parchment  at  the  time  when  the 
New-Testament  Scriptures  were  written,  and  "  its  frail  and  brittle  quality  "  ma> 


xxxvi  GENERAL  INTRODUCTION. 

perhaps  account  for  the  fact  that  no  original  manuscript  of  any  book  of  the  New 
Testament  is  known  to  be  in  existence. 

In  Jorm  the  manuscripts  commonly  resemble  printed  books.  A  few  only  are 
folios,  more  are  octavos,  but  the  greater  part  are  quartos,  their  height  slightly  ex- 
ceeding their  breadth.  Many  copies  have  two  Greek  columns  on  a  page,  but  the 
Codex  Vaticanus  has  three,  and  the  Codex  Sinaiticus  four.  In  the  early  uncial 
manuscripts  there  is  no  space  between  the  diiferent  words :  an  unbroken  succession 
of  letters  must  be  separated  by  the  reader  into  words  as  his  eye  passes  along  the 
uniform  line.  But  "the  Sinaitic  and  Vatican  manuscripts  have  a  single  point 
here  and  there  on  a  level  with  the  top  of  the  letters,  and  occasionally  a  very  small 
break  in  the  continuous  uncials,  with  or  without  the  point,  to  denote  a  pause  in 
the  sense"  {Scrivener).  Abbreviated  words  are  somewhat  frequent,  but  they 
rarely  occasion  any  ambiguity,  since  they  are  almost  never  resorted  to  unless  the 
words  are  familiar — e.  g.  6q  for  6e6q,  xq  for  xOpiuq,  Iq  for  ^hjffuuq,  A'q  for  Xpiazoq, 
Ilva  for  Hveufia. 

The  following  manuscripts  must  be  frequently  named  in  the  Commentary,  and 
should  therefore  be  briefly  described : 

(1)  The  Codex  Sinaiticus  (or  n)  is  now  in  St.  Petersburg,  and  is  the  property 
of  the  Russian  emperor.  "  It  is  made  of  the  finest  skins  of  antelopes,  and  its 
leaves  are  so  large  that  a  single  animal  would  ftirnish  only  two  "  ( Cod.  Fred.- 
Aug.  Proleg.,  §  i.).  "  It  consists  of  3452  leaves  of  vellum,  147i  of  which  contain 
the  whole  New  Testament,  the  Epistle  of  Barnabas,  and  a  fragment  of  the  Shep- 
herd of  Hermas.  Each  page  contains  four  columns,  with  48  lines  in  a  column." 
It  is  supposed  to  have  been  written  about  the  middle  of  the  fourth  century — i.  e. 
about  A.  D.  350.  In  1862  the  Emperor  of  Russia  published  a  facsimile  edition 
of  three  hundred  copies,  edited  by  Tischendorf,  who  discovered  the  manuscript  in 
the  Convent  of  St.  Catharine,  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Sinai,  in  1844. 

(2)  The  Codex  Alexandrinns  (or  A)  is  in  the  British  Museum.  It  is  written 
on  vellum  in  uncial  letters.  Each  page  has  two  columns  of  50  lines  each.  The 
fourth  volume,  of  134  leaves,  contains  most  of  the  New  Testament,  also  the  First 
Epistle  of  Clement  of  Rome,  a  small  part  of  the  so-called  Second  Epistle,  and 
three  beautiful  Christian  hymns.  Matthew's  Gospel  is  wanting  from  the  begin- 
ning to  25  :  6 ;  John's,  from  6  :  50  to  8  :  52  (two  leaves) ;  and  Second  Corinth- 
ians, from  4  :  13  to  12  :  6  (three  leaves).  All  the  other  books  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment are  complete.  The  Catholic  Epistles  follow  the  Acts,  and  the  Pastoral 
Epistles  that  to  the  Hebrews.  This  manuscript  is  ascribed  on  good  grounds  to  the 
beginning,  or  at  the  latest  the  middle,  of  the  fifth  century,  a.  d.  400-450.  It  is 
believed  to  have  been  taken  from  Alexandria  to  Constantinople  by  the  patriarch 
Cyril  Lucas,  who  sent  it  to  Charles  I.,  King  of  England,  through  the  English 
ambassador,  Sir  Thomas  Roe,  about  1628. 

(3)  The  Codex  Vaticanus  (or  B)  is  in  the  Vatican  Library  at  Rome.  "  All 
who  have  inspected  the  Codex  are  loud  in  their  praises  of  the  fine,  thin  vellum, 
the  clear  and  elegant  hand  of  the  first  penman,  and  the  simplicity  of  the  whole 
style  of  the  work  "  {Scrivener).  The  New  Testament  fills  142  leaves  (out  of  759 
for  the  whole  Bible).    Each  of  the  three  columns  on  a  page  has  42  lines,  with  16 


GENERAL  INTRODUCTION.  xxxvii 


or  18  letters  in  a  line — the  letters  being  somewhat  smaller  than  those  of  Codex  A, 
and  considerably  smaller  than  those  of  Codex  x.  There  are  no  intervals  between 
the  words,  and  no  enlarged  capitals  a  prima  manu  at  the  beginning  of  sentences. 
It  contains  the  New  Testament  complete  to  Heb.  9  :  14  by  the  original  copyist, 
while  the  rest  of  Hebrews,  the  four  Pastoral  Epistles,  and  the  Apocalypse  are  said 
to  have  been  supplied  in  the  fifteenth  century  from  a  manuscript  belonging  to 
Cardinal  Bessarion.  By  general  consent  of  critics  this  manuscript  is  assigned  to 
the  middle  of  the  fourth  century,  A.  D.  350.  A  so-called  Jac-simile  of  it  has  been 
published  by  the  Roman  Curia. 

(4)  The  Codex  Ephraemi  (or  C)  is  in  the  Royal  Library  of  Paris.  It  is  a 
palimpsest',  containing  fragments  from  all  parts  of  the  New  Testament  on  145 
leaves,  but  amounting  in  all  to  less  than  two-thirds  of  the  volume.  About  37 
chapters  of  the  Gospels,  10  of  the  Acts,  42  of  the  Epistles,  and  8  of  the  Apoca- 
lypse have  perished.  It  is  written  on  vellum,  very  good,  but  not  so  fine  as  that 
of  Codex  A  and  some  others.  It  has  but  one  column  on  a  page,  with  from  40  to 
46  lines  in  the  column.  The  letters  are  a  little  larger  and  more  elaborate  than 
those  of  A  or  B.  The  writing  is  continuous,  with  but  a  single  i^oint  for  punc- 
tuation, and  this  point  commonly,  but  not  always,  put  on  a  level  with  the  top  of 
the  preceding  letter.  This  manuscript  belongs  to  the  fifth  century  (about  a.  i>. 
450),  and  is  of  "first-rate  importance"  as  far  as  it  goes. 

(5)  The  Codex  Bezce  (or  D  of  the  Gospels  and  Acts)  is  in  the  Library  of  Cam- 
bridge (England),  to  which  University  it  was  presented  by  Theodore  Beza  in 
1581.  It  is  a  vellum  manuscript,  though  the  material  is  not  quite  as  fine  as  that 
of  K,  A,  or  B.  The  Greek  text  on  the  left  of  each  page  is  accompanied  by  a 
Latin  version  on  the  right— line  being  as  nearly  opposite  and  parallel  to  line  as 
possible.  The  letters  are  of  the  same  size  as  in  Codex  C.  Both  Davidson  and 
Scrivener  say  of  this  manuscript  that  "  its  singularly  corrupt  text,  in  connection 
with  its  great  antiquity,  is  a  curious  problem  which  cannot  easily  be  solved." 
"The  best  judgment  of  the  age  of  this  MS.  appears  to  be  that  which  assigns  it  to 
the  sixth  century."  "  Taking  the  peculiarities  of  this  IMS.  into  consideration,  it 
may  be  said  that  its  evidence  tvhen  alone,  especially  in  additions,  is  of  scarcely 
any  value  as  to  the  genuine  text,  but  of  the  very  greatest  when  corroborated  by 
other  very  ancient  authority  "  ( Tregelles). 

(6)  The  Codex  Regkis  (or  L)  is  in  the  Royal  Library  of  Paris.  It  consists  of 
257  leaves  of  thick  vellum,  with  two  columns  of  25  lines  each  on  a  page,  and 
contains  most  of  the  four  Gospels.  It  was  published  by  Tischendorf  in  liis  Monn- 
menta  Sacra  Inedita,  1846.  Written  in  the  eighth  or  ninth  century,  it  bears  a 
strong  resemblance  in  its  text  to  Codex  B,  to  the  quotations  of  Origen,  and  to  the 
marginal  readings  of  the  Philoxenian  Syriac  (a.  d.  616),  and  is  therefore  highly 
esteemed  by  the  best  critics. 

The  following  remarks  of  Westcott  merit  attention:  (1)  "That  B  deserves  the 
first  place  as  an  authority;  (2)  That  K  and  D  have  much  in  common,  and  a  text 
of  very  high  antiquity,  dating  from  the  end  of  the  second  century ;  (3)  That  the 

'  /.  e.  a  Codex  Kescriptus,  the  original  writing  being  partially  obliterated  and  a  second  treatise 
written  over  it. 


xxxviii  GENERAL  INTRODUCTION. 

characteristic  readings  of  C  and  L  indicate  careful  grammatical  revision ;  (4) 
That  in  the  Gospels  A  gives  a  revised  text,  the  basis  of  the  later  Alexandrine 
text ;  (5)  That  the  characteristic  readings  of  B,  of  N,  D,  and  of  C  L,  have  all 
more  or  less  support  in  the  Ante-Nicene  age;  and  (6)  That  very  few  readings  in 
the  Gospels  will  stand  the  test  which  are  not  supported  by  N  or  B  or  D." 

ISIore  than  fifteen  hundred  cursive  manuscripts  of  the  whole  or  of  parts  of  the 
New  Testament  are  known  to  be  in  existence — all  of  them  written  since  A.  D.  900. 
But  only  a  few  of  this  great  number  have  been  thoroughly  "  collateu."  Some  of 
these  deserve  notice  in  this  place : 

1.  The  Codex  Basiliensis  is  an  illuminated  manuscript  at  Basle,  ascribed  to  the 
tenth  century.  It  has  been  collated  by  Wetstein,  C.  L.  Roth,  and  Tregelles. 
"In  the  Gospels  the  text  is  very  remarkable,  adhering  pretty  closely  to  the 
uncials  B  L  and  others  of  that  class"  (Scrivener). 

13.  The  Codex  Regius  50  of  the  twelfth  century  is  regarded  (together  with  69, 
124,  and  346)  as  a  transcript  from  a  manuscript  whose  text  was  substantially  the 
same  as  that  of  the  uncial  D, 

33.  The  Codex  Regius  IJf.  is  a  folio  of  the  twelfth  century,  containing  all  the 
New  Testament  but  the  Apocalypse.  The  text  is  very  valuable,  resembling 
Codices  B,  D,  L  more  than  does  that  of  any  other  cursives.  "  After  Larroque, 
Wetstein,  Griesbach,  Begtrup,  and  Scholz,  it  was  most  laboriously  collated  by 
Tregelles  in  1850 "  (Scrivener). 

157.  The  Codex  Urbino-Vatlcanus  of  the  twelfth  century,  pronounced  by  Birch 
the  most  important  MS.  of  the  New  Testament  in  the  Vatican,  after  B.  Among 
the  cursives  it  stands  next  in  value  to  Codex  33. 

205  and  209,  belonging  to  the  Library  of  St.  Mark's,  Venice,  supposed  by 
Burgon  to  be  copies  from  the  same  archetype,  have  a  text  much  like  that  of  B,  at 
least  in  the  Gospels.  They  are  assigned  respectively  to  the  fifteenth  and  to  the 
twelfth  centuries. 

For  a  more  detailed  account  of  the  manuscripts  of  the  New  Testament  the 
reader  is  referred  to  the  fourth  vol.  of  Home's  Introduction  to  the  Critical  Study 
.  ...  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  new  edition  (1866),  this  volume  being  written  by 
S.  P.  Tregelles ;  to  Scrivener's  Introduction  to  the  Criticism  of  the  Neiv  Testament. 
second  edition  ;  to  The  Story  of  the  ManuscripU,  by  Rev.  Geo.  E.  Merrill ;  and  to 
The  Critical  Handbook,  by  E.  C.  Mitchell,  D.  D. 

Parsing  now  to  a  consideration  of  early  versions  as  affording  evidence  in 
respect  to  the  Greek  text  at  the  time  when  they  were  made,  we  cannot  do  better 
than  to  quote  the  following  remarks  of  Tregelles :  "  The  value  of  the  testimony 
of  versions  to  the  genuine  ancient  text  is  considerable ;  for  although  they  have 
been  subjected  to  the  same  casualties  of  transcription  as  has  the  text  of  the  orig- 
inal Greek,  and  though  at  times  they  have  been  remodelled  in  some  sort  of  con- 
formity to  the  Greek  copies  then  current,  yet  in  general  they  are  representatives 
of  the  Greek  text  from  which  they  were  formed.  The  casualties  of  transmission 
would  rarely,  if  ever,  affect  documents  in  different  languages  in  a  way  precisely 
similar,  and  we  may  in  this  manner  account  for  not  a  few  divergences  in  the  ver- 
sions as  they  have  come  down  to  us ;  yet  when  we  find  an  avowedly  ancient  trans- 


I 


GENERAL  INTRODUCTION.  xxxix 

lation  according  in  peculiar  readings  with  some  of  the  more  ancient  and  valuable 
of  the  ancient  MSS.,  it  is  an  important  proof  of  the  antiquity  at  least  of  such 
readings ;  and  thus,  if  they  are  not  genuine,  the  proof  must  be  sought  in  the 
counter-evidence  that  may  be  adduced." 

Again,  he  says  of  ancient  versions :  "  They  follow  the  Greek  from  which  they 
were  taken  with  an  almost  scrupulous  exactitude,  and  they  so  often  preserve  even 
the  order  of  the  words  that  they  can  be  quoted  as  authorities  on  such  points.  At 
times,  of  course,  the  translator  may  have  failed  in  vigilance ;  he  may  have  passed 
by  words  which  are  omitted  in  no  Greek  copy,  and  he  may  have  confused  the  text 
from  which  he  was  rendering,  just  in  the  same  manner  as  was  done  by  Greek 
copyists.  But  the  admission  of  all  this  in  the  fullest  manner  does  not  afford  any 
ground  for  the  statement  that  the  testimony  of  versions  is  of  little  moment  in  the 
question  of  the  insertion  or  omission  of  a  whole  clause,  or  that  '  a  version  need  be 
very  literal '  if  it  is  to  show  whether  important  words  were  or  were  not  recognized 
by  the  Greek  text  from  which  it  was  taken  "  (Home,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  225  and  228). 

But  Tregelles  admits  that  special  caution  is  needed  in  the  use  of  early  versions 
as  testimony  to  the  early  Greek  text.  For  "  a  copyist  of  a  version,  if  he  pos- 
sessed any  acquaintance  with  the  original,  was  in  danger  of  correcting  by  the 
Greek  text  with  which  he  was  familiar ;  and  thus  he  might  introduce  mixed  read- 
ings :  this  is  an  addition  to  the  usual  causes  of  transcriptural  mistake ;  and  for  all 
these  allowance  must  be  made.  We  are,  however,  often  able  to  revert  to  very 
ancient  copies  of  versions,  and  then,  just  as  in  the  case  with  such  MSS.  of  the 
originals,  we  are  brought  back  to  the  condition  of  the  text  nearly  or  quite  iden- 
tical with  that  in  which  the  translation  first  appeared  "  (Id.,  p.  228). 

Even  a  moderately  correct  version  of  the  New  Testament  must  be  of  great 
Value  as  evidence — (1)  As  to  the  presence  or  absence  of  certain  disputed  clauses, 
verses,  or  paragraphs  in  the  manuscript  from  which  it  was  made.  In  this  respect 
the  evidence  afforded  by  a  version  would  be  almost  independent  of  its  literary 
qualities.  For  a  poor  translation  would  be  just  as  useful  as  a  good  one  in  answer- 
bg  the  question.  Was  the  doxology  of  Matt.  6  :  13,  or  the  last  part  of  Mark,  16  : 
9-20,  or  the  account  of  an  angel  troubling  the  waters  of  Bethesda,  John  5  :  4,  or 
the  pericope  respecting  the  woman  taken  in  adultery,  John  7  :  53-8  :  11,  in  the 
source  from  which  it  was  made?  (2)  As  to  certain  important  words  concerning 
■which  existing  manuscripts  may  leave  the  critic  in  doubt.  Thus,  if  the  translator 
had  before  him  a  Greek  text  which  read  "  God  only-begotten,"  instead  of  "  the 
only-begotten  Son,"  in  John  1  :  18,  or  "the  Lord,"  instead  of  "God,"  in  Acts 
20  :  28,  or  "  who,"  instead  of  "  God,"  in  1  Tim.  3  :  16,  his  version,  though  not 
distinguished  for  accuracy,  would  be  likely  to  indicate  these  readings. 

But  the  present  text  of  every  early  version  of  the  New  Testament  has  suffered 
80  many  changes  by  transcription  and  correction  that  a  critical  study  of  its  his- 
tory, by  means  of  the  most  ancient  copies  extant  and  through  the  citations  of  tlie 
earliest  writers  who  employed  it,  is  very  necessary  before  much  reliance  can  be 
placed  on  its  testimony  as  a  clue  to  the  text  used  by  the  translator.  The  value  of 
an  early  version  for  critical  purposes  will  therefore  depend  upon  three  tilings:  (a) 
Upon  the  time  when  it  was  made;  (b)  Upon  the  literal  exactness  with  which  it 
D 


xl  GENERAL  INTRODUCTION. 

reproduced  the  original ;  and  (c)  Upon  the  certainty  with  which  its  own  primary 
text  can  now  be  made  out.  Judged  by  these  tests,  it  is  believed  that  the  most 
important  versions  for  critical  purposes  are — (1)  The  Old  Latin  and  the  Syriac 
(Peshito  and  Curetonian) ;  (2)  The  Coptic  (Memphitic  and  Thebaic),  the  Latin 
Vulgate,  the  Harclean  Syriac,  and  perhaps  the  Gothic. 

As  we  have  already  observed,  the  first  Latin  version  was  made  in  North 
Africa,  and  is  now  fitly  called  the  Old  Latin  Version.  It  can  be  traced  in  several 
manuscripts,  especially  a,  b,  c,  and  the  fragments  of  i,  compared  with  quotations 
from  the  New  Testament  found  in  the  writings  of  the  Fathers  who  lived  in  North 
Africa — e.  g.  Tertullian,  Cyprian,  Arnobius,  Lactantius,  Augustine,  and  in  the 
ancient  Latin  version  of  Irenseus  Against  Heresies.  On  these  and  similar  author- 
ities Tregelles  remarks :  "  In  one  respect  the  testimony  of  the  early  Latin  copies 
can  hardly  be  estimated  too  highly.  The  translators  adhered  so  closely  to  the 
Greek  text  from  which  the  version  was  formed  that  they  practically  made  it  their 
rule  to  follow  as  far  as  they  could  even  the  order  of  the  Greek  words"  {Home,  iv., 
p.  256).  But  he  distinctly  concedes  that  "  the  Versio  Vettcs,  as  unaltered,  contains 
both  readings  and  corruptions  which  are  more  ancient  than  the  time  of  Jerome  " 
— readings  sustained  by  paramount  early  evidence,  and  defects  which  were  re- 
moved by  the  recension  of  Jerome.  The  Old  Latin  Version  was  probably  in 
existence  as  early  as  the  year  170,  and  perhaps  much  earlier.  And  Scrivener 
asserts  that  "  although  the  testimony  of  versions  is  peculiarly  liable  to  doubt  and 
error,  the  Peshito  Syriac  and  Old  Latin  translations  of  the  Greek  Testament  stand 
with  a  few  of  the  most  ancient  manuscripts  of  the  original  in  the  very  first  rank 
as  authorities  and  aids  for  the  critical  revision  of  the  text." 

There  has  been  some  difference  of  opinion  among  scholars  as  to  the  critical 
value  of  the  Syriac  Version  of  portions  of  the  New  Testament,  published  by  Dr. 
Cureton  in  1858,  as  compared  with  the  critical  value  of  the  Peshito.  Dean  Al- 
ford  spoke  of  the  former  as  "  perhaps  the  earliest  and  most  important  of  all  tlie 
versions,"  and  Tregelles  afiirms  that  "  the  readings  "  [of  this  translation  are]  "  in 
far  greater  accordance  with  the  oldest  authorities  of  various  kinds  than  is  the  case 

in  the  previously-known  Peshito Probably  this  older  form  of  Syriac  text 

was  known  to  the  translator  of  the  Peshito  Gospels,  and  from  it  he  took  much 
that  would  suit  his  purpose,"  etc.  On  the  other  hand.  Scrivener  uses  this  lan- 
guage concerning  the  Peshito :  "  For  the  present  we  can  but  assent  to  the  ripe 
judgment  of  Michaelis,  who,  after  thirty  years'  study  of  its  contents,  declared 
that  he  could  consult  no  translation  with  so  much  confidence  in  cases  of  difficulty 
and  doubt.  While  remarkable  for  its  ease  and  freedom,  it  very  seldom  becomes 
loose  or  paraphrastic.  The  Peshito  has  well  been  called  '  the  queen  of  versions ' 
of  Holy  Writ,  for  it  is  at  once  the  oldest  and  one  of  the  most  excellent  of  those 
whereby  God's  providence  has  blessed  and  edified  the  church  "  (p.  280).  West- 
cott  classifies  the  Syriac  Versions  thus:  "The  Old  (Curetonian)  Syriac,  the  Vul- 
gate Syriac  (Peshito),  the  Harclean  Syriac,"  showing  that  he  agrees  with  Tre- 
gelles and  Cureton  as  to  the  comparative  age  of  the  two  versions. 

For  the  two  Egyptian  or  Coptic  versions,  the  Memphitic  and  the  Thebaic,  we 
may  assume  a  very  early  origin.     They  may  have  been  made  before  the  close  of 


GENERAL  INTRODUCTION.  xli 

the  second  century.  This  is  admitted  by  Lightfoot,  who  also  remarks  that,  "  with 
the  single  exception  of  the  Apocalypse,  the  Memphitic  New  Testament,  as  far 
back  as  we  can  trace  its  history,  contained  all  the  books  of  our  present  Canon  ;" 
and  from  the  omission  of  the  Apocalypse  he  infers  that  the  completion  or  codifi- 
cation of  this  version  was  effected  about  the  middle  of  the  third  century,  when, 
for  a  short  time,  doubts  were  entertained  in  Egypt  concerning  the  authorship  of 
the  Apocalypse.  The  order  of  books  in  this  version  is  given  as  follows :  Gospels, 
Pauline  Epistles,  Catholic  Epistles,  Acts.  "  The  Pauline  Epistles  include  the  He- 
brews, which  is  placed  after  First  and  Second  Thessalonians  and  before  First  and 
Second  Timothy,  as  in  the  Greek  MSS.  N,  A,  B,  C,"  etc.  "  Of  all  the  versions, 
the  Memphitic  is  perhaps  the  most  important  for  the  textual  critic.  In  point  of 
antiquity  it  must  yield  the  palm  to  the  Old  Syriac  and  the  Old  Latin ;  but, 
unlike  them,  it  preserves  the  best  text  as  current  among  the  Alexandrian  Fathers, 
free  from  the  corruptions  which  prevailed  so  widely  in  the  copies  of  the  second 
century "  {Scrivener,  pp.  344,  345). 

The  Thebaic  Version  exists  only  in  fragments,  though  these  fragments  now 
embrace  a  large  part  of  the  New  Testament.  In  this  version,  as  well  as  in  the 
Memphitic,  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  is  evidently  ascribed  to  Paul,  for  it  stood 
between  Second  Corinthians  and  Galatians.  Its  textual  value  is  pronounced  by 
Lightfoot  only  second  to  that  of  the  Memphitic  Version,  of  which  it  is  wholly 
independent. 

These  are  the  most  important  of  the  early  versions  in  the  matter  of  textual 
criticism,  and  a  wise  editor  of  the  Greek  Testament  will  be  careful  to  consult 
them.  Others  are  of  less  value,  though  not  unworthy  of  attention  in  the  study  of 
doubtful  passages. 

Lastly,  some  use  may  be  made  in  textual  criticism  of  the  numerous  Quotations 
which  are  found  in  the  writings  of  the  Christian  Fathers.  But  these  quotations 
are  of  far  less  service  in  establishing  the  true  text  than  they  are  in  proving  the 
existence  of  the  New-Testament  Scriptures  at  an  early  day,  the  respect  which  was 
paid  to  them  by  Christians,  and  their  substantial  agreement  with  the  books  we 
now  have.  In  these  latter  respects  their  testimony  is  of  the  highest  value :  in  the 
former  respect,  it  must  be  used  with  very  great  caution,  for  the  following  reasons : 

(1)  The  quotations  of  the  Fathers  were  often  made  from  memory.  This  is  ad- 
mitted by  those  most  familiar  with  early  Christian  literature.  Nor  is  it  at  all 
surprising.  For  if  those  writers  were  sure  of  the  substance  of  a  passage  which 
they  desired  to  use,  this  was  generally  enough  for  their  purpose.  Verbal  accu- 
racy could  only  be  attained  by  consulting  the  manuscript  in  almost  every  in- 
stance, and  this  process,  at  once  slow  and  laborious,  was  felt  to  be  unnecessary. 

(2)  Their  quotations  were  in  many  cases  made  up  of  expressions  from  different 
parts  of  Scripture,  loosely  put  together,  and  giving  no  more  from  the  several  pas- 
sages than  suited  their  immediate  object.  Citations  thus  made  can  be  of  l)ut  little 
service  in  showing  what  was  the  reading  of  any  passage  from  which  a  particular 
clause  had  been  taken.  (3)  Their  quotations  have  been  changed,  more  or  less,  in 
many  instances,  by  copyists  or  editors.  Perhaps  the  circumstance  that  they  were 
loosely  made  has  seemed  to  copyists  and  editors  a  reason  for  changing  them  in  the 


xlii  GENERAL  INTRODUCTION. 


interest  of  accuracy ;  but  if,  in  doing  this,  they  have  been  guided  by  the  readings 
found  in  manuscripts  of  their  own  times,  they  have  injured  the  citations  for  pur- 
poses of  textual  criticism. 

Nevertheless,  it  is  certainly  possible  to  underrate  the  importance  of  Patristic 
quotations  as  a  guide  to  the  original  text  of  the  New  Testament.  For  there  are 
places,  though  few,  where  the  Fathers  appeal  to  the  codices  of  their  own  early 
day  as  reading  thus  and  so,  or  where  they  discriminate  between  codices,  saying 
that  many  of  them  have  a  particular  reading,  and  implying  that  others  have  it 
not.  There  are  places  also  where  they  show,  by  exposition  or  by  argument,  what 
must  have  been  the  reading  accepted  by  them,  though  it  is  doubtful  to  us.  Espe- 
cially valuable  in  this  respect  are  the  commentaries  of  Greek  writers ;  and  it  is 
not  too  much  to  say  that  the  works  of  Origen  and  of  some  others  may  be  profit- 
ably studied  with  reference  to  ascertaining  the  original  text  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment. Yet  until  the  writings  of  the  Christian  Fathers  have  been  edited  with 
peculiar  care,  and  witli  the  use  of  the  earliest  manuscripts  preserved,  they  ought 
to  be  appealed  to  with  the  utmost  caution. 

In  the  light  of  these  facts  as  to  the  sources  of  evidence  respecting  the  original 
text  of  the  New  Testament,  it  is  manifest  that  interpreters  are  called  upon  to  de- 
cide for  themselves  what  that  evidence  requires,  at  least  in  cases  where  the  critical 
editors  disagree ;  and  the  writers  of  this  Commentary  have  sometimes  done  this. 
It  will  be  observed,  however,  that  they  have  proceeded  in  this  matter  with  very 
great  caution,  rarely  favoring  a  change  of  the  text  from  which  the  Common  Ver- 
sion was  made  unless  that  change  is  adopted  by  some  of  the  best  editors  and  re- 
quired by  early  and  weighty  evidence.  In  other  language,  they  have  labored  dili- 
gently to  discover  the  pure  word  of  God  as  it  was  delivered  to  early  Christians  by 
inspired  men,  and  no  less  diligently  to  ascertain  the  precise  meaning  of  that  word, 
ai\d  to  place  that  meaning  in  the  clearest  manner  possible  before  the  reader's  mind. 

As  an  aid  to  the  accomplishment  of  this  purpose  it  has  been  thought  desirable 
to  print  the  Revised  Version  (1881)  side  by  side  with  the  Common  Version  (1611) 
at  the  top  of  the  page.  For,  to  say  nothing  of  improvements  in  translation,  the 
Greek  text  adopted  by  the  Revisers  must  be  regarded  as  one  of  great  excellence, 
approaching  more  nearly  perhaps  than  any  one  yet  prepared  to  that  which  existed 
in  the  autographs  of  the  sacred  writers.  We  shall  not  go  too  far,  therefore,  if  we 
assert  that  the  Revised  Version  must  hold  a  position  co-ordinate  with  that  of  the 
Common  Version — first,  because  it  represents  in  perspicuous  English  a  remarkably 
pure  text  of  the  original ;  and  secondly,  because  it  is  likely  to  be  in  the  hands  of  a 
vast  majority  of  those  who  read  the  New  Testament  at  all. 

AVith  these  remarks  this  Introduction  might  be  closed.  But  it  may  not  be 
improper  to  add  a  few  words  of  explanation.  (1)  Special  introductions  to  the 
several  books  of  the  New  Testament  will  be  given  by  the  writers  upon  those 
books — the  present  Introduction  being  of  a  general  nature,  applicable  to  the  New 
Testament  as  a  collection  of  sacred  writings,  but  not  aiming  to  give  all  the  evi- 
dence for  the  authorship  and  authority  of  particular  books.  (2)  The  undersigned 
is  only  responsible  for  the  selection  of  the  writers  who  prepare  this  Commentary, 


GENERAL   INTRODUCTION.  xliii 

and  for  the  general  character  of  the  Commentary  itself,  but  not  for  the  details  of 
interpretation  in  particular  passages.  Yet  he  has  in  a  few  instances  inserted  brief 
notes  over  his  own  initials  (A.  H.).  (3)  As  may  be  inferred  from  our  General 
Introduction,  due  regard  is  paid  by  the  writers  of  this  Commentary  to  the  results 
of  modern  biblical  scholarship  as  to  the  authenticity,  the  original  text,  and  the 
true  meaning  of  the  New-Testament  Scriptures.  (4)  Yet  the  results  of  careful 
and  critical  study  are  presented  in  the  clearest  terms  possible.  Greek  words  are 
vexy  rarely  introduced  ;  indeed,  never,  unless  they  are  deemed  necessary  to  justify 
the  interpretation  given ;  and,  when  introduced,  they  are  carefully  translated — 
the  object  of  the  writers  being  distinctly  this,  to  render  the  Commentary  useful  to 
all  who  desire  a  knowledge  of  God's  word.  Hence  the  practical  bearings  of 
divine  truth  are  often  insisted  upon  in  the  Commentary. 

Note. — The  remaining  volumes  of  the  Commentary  will  be  published  as  rapidly  as  circum- 
stances will  permit.  The  work  on  many  of  them  is  far  advanced,  and  it  is  confidently  expected 
that  two  or  more  volumes  will  be  published  yearly,  until  the  series  (probably  consisting  of  twelve 
volumes)  is  complete. 

ALVAH  HOVEY. 
Newton  Centbe,  July  5,  1881, 


TO  THE  CHERISHED  MEMORY  OF 

GESSNER  HARRISON,  M.D., 

FOR  MANY  YEARS  PROFESSOR  OF  ANCIENT  LANGUAGES  IN  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  VIRGINIA. 

At  your  feet  I  learned  to  love  Greek,  and  my  love  of  the  Bible  was  fostered  by  your 
earnest  devoutness.  Were  you  still  among  us,  you  would  kindly  welcome  the  fruit  of 
study,  which  now  I  can  only  lay  upon  your  tomb;  and  woidd  gladly  accept  any  help  it 
can  give  towards  understanding  the  blessed  xcord  of  God,  the  treasure  of  our  common 
Christianity,  whose  consolations  and  hopes  su,stained  you  in  life  and  in  death,  and  went 
with  you  into  the  unseen  and  eternal. 

NOMEN  MtTLTIS  CXARCM  ET  VENERABILE. 
MlHI  ADHUC  MAOISTEB  ATQUE  PATER. 

J.  A.  B. 


PREFACE. 


This  Commentary  is  designed  primarily  for  persons  who  have  no  knowledge  of 
Greek.  But  the  effort  has  been  made  to  add,  in  foot-notes,  some  matters  interesting 
to  scholars,  in  regard  to  Greek  Grammar,  and  especially  to  Text-Criticism.  These 
will  not  embarrass  the  general  reader,  being  entirely  detached  and  printed  in 
smaller  type. 

The  basis  of  the  work  is  of  course  ray  personal  study  of  the  Greek,  maintained 
through  many  years  of  teaching  as  Professor  of  the  Interpretation  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, and  renewed  for  this  task  with  the  help  of  lexicons,  grammars,  and  concord- 
ances. I  have  been  far  from  seeking  novel  interpretations  for  their  own  sake,  but 
it  is  believed  that  some  new  light  has  been  thrown  upon  a  good  many  points. 

At  the  same  time,  help  has  been  constantly  sought  from  ancient  versions  and 
Christian  "  Fathers,"  as  well  as  from  a  wide  range  of  later  commentators.  The 
early  versions  constantly  employed  were  the  Peshito  Syriac,  the  Memphitic  (Cop- 
tic), the  Old  Latin  in  various  forms  and  Latin  Vulgate,  and  the  Gothic' 

The  Fathers  found  most  helpful  have  been  Origeu,  Jerome,  and  Chrvsostom, 
with  the  latter's  faithful  followers,  Theophylact  and  Euthymius,  and  Augustine. 
Numerous  others  have  of  course  been  consulted  on  particular  passages  or  questions  ; 
and  on  two  or  three  passages  some  contribution  has  been  made  to  the  history  of 
interpretation. 

Copious  materials  of  illustration  have  been  derived  from  the  Jewish  writings. 
As  regards  Josephus  and  Philo,  the  apocryphal  and  apocalyptic  books,  and  the 
Mishna  (chiefly  in  the  Latin  of  Surenhusius"),  I  have  commonly  quoted  them  after 
personal  examination.  For  the  Talmud  of  Jerusalem  I  iiave  used  Schwab's  French 
translation  so  far  as  it  has  appeared.  The  Talmud  of  Babylon,  the  Targums, 
Midrasiiim,  etc,  are  quoted  at  second  hand  from  the  extracts  given  by  Lightfoot, 
Schoettgen,  Wetstein,  Gill,  and  others,  including  especially  the  recent  works  of 
Wiinsche  and  Edersheim,  who  have  furnished  many  valuable  additions  and  cori-ec- 

'  For  Old  Latin,  besides  the  collections  of  Sabatier  and  BianchinI,  I  have  been  interested  in  the  mixed  text 
of  Matthew  edited  l)y  Wordsworth.  Along  with  the  common  printed  text  of  the  Viilxate  Latin,  I  liave  used 
Tischendorfs  revised  text  of  the  Vulgate.  The  Peshito  is  well  known  to  be,  as  regards  exegesis,  a  delightful 
version.  Itishop  LIghtfoot's  article  in  Scrivener's  "  Introduction  to  Text-Crlticlsni  "  (second  and  third  editions) 
has  shown  the  great  importance  of  the  Egyptian  versions  in  regard  to  text.  I  can  testify  that  with  only  a 
slender  knowledge  of  the  Coptic  language  one  will  find  the  Memphitic  version  very  lielpful  for  exegesis  nlso 
and  the  language  very  curious  and  iuteresting.  The  Gothic  can  bo  easily  acquired  by  those  who  know  Kiigli-h 
and  German,  and  very  easily  if  they  knr)w  Anglo-.Saxou.  I  shall  be  glad  to  answer  inquiries  from  studcnt.->, 
concerniDg  books  for  learning  Coptic  and  Gothic. 

xlvii 


xlviii  .  PREFACE. 


tions.  It  is  hoped  that  the  frequent  refereuces  to  Josephus  may  lead  some  persous 
to  make  themselves  familiar  with  his  writings,  which  many  now  unwisely  neglect. 
The  references  to  the  Old  Testament  Apocrypha  are  not  intended  to  treat  those 
writings  as  in  any  sense  a  part  of  the  Bible,  but  they  are  used,  like  the  other 
Jewish  works,  to  show  Jewish  opinion  or  custom,  or  to  exemplify  certain  uses  of 
language. 

Many  of  the  illustrative  quotations  from  Greek  and  Latin  classics  are  from 
Wetstein,  others  drawn  from  various  sources. 

Of  all  these  studies  the  commentary  aims  to  present  only  the  results,  and 
everywhere,  it  is  hoped,  in  a  form  intelligible  to  the  English  reader. 

Among  modern  commentators,  I  am  of  course  most  indebted  to  Meyer.  Life- 
long study  of  his  works,  and  the  early  adoption  of  similar  lex i co-grammatical 
methods  of  exegesis,  render  it  difficult  to  determine  what  may  have  been  originally 
due  to  him  ;  special  acknowledgment  has  been  made  wherever  there  was  conscious 
indebtedness,  and  this  general  acknowledgment  is  added.  I  have  also  long  found 
the  commentaries  of  Bishop  Ellicott  a  highly  profitable  discipline  in  grammatical^ 
and  those  of  Bishop  Lightfoot  in  historical  interpretation ;  and  the  various  works  of 
Canon  Westcott  have  been  of  great  assistance.  Except  in  the  case  of  Meyer  and 
Alexander,  I  have,  in  preparing  this  work,  usually  taken  versions,  Fathers,  and 
later  commentaries  in  chronological  order.  Thus  before  examining  recent  writers 
I  had  comm<m]y  been  over  the  same  ground.  The  result  would  naturally  be  fre- 
quent coincidence  of  opinion,  and  sometimes  included  curious  resemblance  of 
expressions.  Wherever  any  explanation  or  remark  has  been  derived  from  older  or 
more  recent  works,  there  is  express  acknowledgment.  The  writings  of  Calvin, 
Maldonatus,  Bengel,  Keim,  Weiss,  Lutteroth,  Pluraptre,  Morison,  and  Edersheim 
have  been  very  often  helpful,  and  others  that  cannot  be  particularly  named. 

As  to  the  sources  of  the  material  common  to  Matthew  and  other  Gospels,  no 
theory  has  been  adopted.  Those  who  hold  that  Matthew  and  Luke  Avere  built  on 
Mark,  or  the  like,  can  render  this  view  plausible  by  examples  selected  for  the  pur- 
pose. But  go  steadily  through,  observing,  for  example,  the  attempts  of  Keim  to 
show  at  every  point  that  Mark  has  drawn  from  Matthew,  and  of  Weiss  to  show 
that  Matthew  has  built  on  Mark,  and  one  can  scarcely  fail  to  perceive  that  both 
hypotheses  break  down,  notwithstanding  that  Keim  and  Weiss  are  men  of  rare 
ability,  the  finest  scholarship,  curious  ingenuity,  and  unhesitating  freedom  in 
manipulating  the  materials.  Nor  have  the  recent  publications  of  E.  A.  Abbott  and 
Rushbrooke  made  any  very  important  advance  upon  the  similar  work  of  Ewald. 
As  to  the  apparent  contradictions,  or  "  discrepancies,"  between  Matthew  and  the 
other  Gospels,  I  have  oflfered  such  explanations  as  seemed  reasonable,  without 
encouraging  a  nervous  solicitude  to  explain  everything,  where  our  information  is 
limited,  and  the  points  of  disagreement  are  such  as  must  always  arise  in  diflTerent 
reports  of  the  same  event  or  discourse,  though  each  thoroughly  correct. 

In  all  such  cases  of  uncertainty  about  the  Greek  text,  as  would  affect  the 
translation  or  interpretation,  I  have  intended  to  state  the  preferable  reading  with  a 


PREFACE.  xlix 


confidence  varying  according  to  the  evidence;  and  in  all  that  are  of  considerable 
interest  the  evidence  has  been  more  or  less  fully  presented  in  foot-notes.  Besides 
persons  acquainted  with  text-criticism,  other  readers  who  feel  curiosity  in  regard  to 
the  subject  will  be  likely  to  examine  these  foot-notes ;  and  I  have  endeavored  to 
present  the  internal  evidence,  viz.,  the  intrinsic  probabilities  (as  to  what  the  author 
wrote),  and  the  transcriptional  probabilities  (as  to  changes  likely  to  have  been  made 
by  well-meaning  students  or  copyists),  in  such  terms  as  might  be  intelligible  to  the 
general  reader.  As  it  is  usually  much  easier  to  state  transcriptional  than  intrinsic 
probabilities,  I  may  seem  to  have  attached  a  greater  relative  importance  to  the 
former  than  was  intended.  In  a  good  many  cases  the  foot-note  gives  a  tolerably 
full  discussion.'  It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  reader  will  be  able  to  judge 
more  safely  of  such  questions  in  proportion  as  he  has  gained  experience. — The  solici- 
tude, and  even  alarm,  which  some  persons  feel  in  regard  to  the  encroachments  of 
text-criticism,  must  be  regarded  as  without  cause.  Instead  of  shaking  faith  in 
Scripture,  these  researches  will  ultimately  strengthen  faith.  When  the  shock  of 
abandoning  a  familiar  expression  has  passed,  one  almost  invariably  begins  to  see 
tiiat  the  true  text  is  best.  The  general  teachings  of  the  New  Testament  as  to  doc- 
trine and  duty  are  now  known  to  be  established  independently  of  all  passages  that 
contain  doubtful  readings.  And  why  should  we  Avonder  if  it  is  sometimes  difficult 
to  determine  the  true  text?  There  is  well  known  to  be  a  similar  uncertainty  as  to 
the  translation  and  interpretation  of  some  passages.  This  excites  no  alarm  or  anx- 
iety, nor  should  we  feel  disturbed  about  occasional  uncertainty  of  text.  And  the 
danger  of  subjective  bias  in  judging  as  to  the  text,  is  no  greater  than  in  regard  to 
interpretation  and  translation. 

The  commentary  is  based  on  the  Common  English  Version,  as  printed  by  the 
American  Bible  Society,  but  witlj  constant  comparison  of  the  recent  Anglo-Ameri- 
can Revision.  This  revision  in  its  English  form  originally  constituted  the  basis ; 
the  common  version  was  substituted  in  the  office  of  publication,  in  order  that  the 
work  niight  correspond  to  other  volumes  of  the  series,  and  the  American  form  of 
the  revision  was  printed  instead  of  the  English.  These  adaptations  were  carefully 
made  by  a  competent  hand,  and  will  not  embarrass  or  mislead  the  reader  unless  it 
be  in  one  respect.  The  Revised  Version  seems  often  to  be  presented  as  a  mere 
alternative  rendering ;  while  I  am  fully  persuaded  that  it  is  almost  uniformly 
superior  to  the  Common  Version,  and  often  greatly  superior.     Wherever  its  render- 

1  The  general  eonf  ribiitlons  to  text-criticism  made  by  Westcott  and  Ilort  are  invaluable,  and  most  of  their 
Jtidt;nients  as  to  particular  paosagcs  seem  to  nie  correct.  But  in  a  number  of  cases  I  have  felt  Ijound  to  dissent, 
and  to  give  the  reasons  a»  fully  and  strongly  as  the  character  and  limits  of  this  work  allowed.  Hence  arises  a 
certain  polemical  attitude  towards  writers  to  whom  I  feel  deeply  indebted  and  cordially  grateful. — It  may  be 
well  to  Slate  in  a  general  way,  that  Westcott  and  Ifort  appear  to  me  substantially  right  in  their  theory  as  to  a 
"Syrian"  and  a  "  Western"  type  of  Greek  text ;  but  their  supposed  "  Neutral"  type  is  by  no  means  disentangled 
from  the  "Alexandrian."  And  while  they  have  nobly  rehabilitated  Internal  evidence,  building  their  system 
originally  upon  thdt  basis,  they  seem  to  err  in  some  particular  judgments  by  following  a  small  group  of  docu- 
ments in  opposition  to  internal  evidence  which  others  cannot  but  regard  as  decisive. — Wlicre  I  have  stated  thi; 
documentary  evidence,  it  has  been  taken  from  Tischendorf,  with  some  additions  from  Westcott  ant\  Ilort,  and 
a  few  from  my  own  reading.  In  particular,  I  have  added,  where  it  seemed  desirable,  the  readings  of  the  newly 
found  Codex  KoBunensis  ^S). 


1  PREFACE. 


ings  seem  of  questionable  propriety,  the  fact  is  distinctly  brought  out  in  the  com- 
mentary. The  marginal  renderings  of  the  Common  and  the  Revised  Version  are 
usually  noticed.  The  early  English  translations  are  mentioned,  when  likelv  to 
profit  the  general  reader,  omitting  points  of  merely  philological  or  literary  interest. 
These  versions  have  been  quoted  from  Bagster's  English  Hexapla,  and  where  "  early 
English  versions"  in  general  are  referred  to,  only  those  given  in  that  collection  are 
meant  unless  the  contrary  is  stated.  Certain  recent  English  translations  are  also 
frequently  cited,  particularly  those  of  the  American  Bible  Union,  Noyes,  Darby, 
and  Davidson. 

The  references  to  all  parts  of  the  Bible  are  the  result  of  painstaking  examina- 
tion, and  the  minister  or  Sunday-school  teacher  who  desires  to  make  careful  study 
of  a  particular  passage  will  find  his  reward  in  searching  out  all  that  are  given. 
The  frequent  cross-references  may  require  justification.  Commentaries  are  chiefly 
used,  not  in  the  way  of  continuous  reading,  but  in  the  study  of  particular  sentences 
or  paragraphs.  lu  that  case  it  becomes  highly  convenient  to  find  references  to 
other  parts  of  the  work,  iu  which  a  word  or  phrase  may  be  found  specially 
explained,  or  a  kindred  topic  more  fully  discussed. 

The  descriptions  of  places  and  sketches  of  personal  history  are  given  for  the 
sake  of  numerous  readers  who  have  no  Bible  Dictionary,  and  because  others  who 
would  not  hunt  up  the  book  of  reference  might  read  the  brief  account  here  given. 
These  articles  are  constructed  with  a  special  view  to  the  illustration  of  the  Gospels. 
The  materials  of  description  are  drawn  from  many  sources,  notably  from  Robinson's 
"  Biblical  Researches,"  and  Thomson's  "  Land  and  Book,"  in  its  earlier  and  its  later 
forms ;  also  from  the  recent  explorations  of  the  English  and  American  Societies, 
particularly  as  represented  by  the  writings  of  Warren,  Wilson,  and  Conder,  and  of 
Merrill.  I  have  of  course  been  aided  in  the  use  of  these  materials  by  my  own  visit 
to  Palestine ;  extracts  from  my  journal  are  given  in  some  places  where  the  matter 
appeared  to  be  interesting,  and  has  not  been  found  elsewhere. 

Quotations  from  the  Old  Testament  need  special  attention,  for  they  are  very 
numerous  in  this  Gospel,  and  some  of  them  present  serious  difficulty.  The  form  of 
the  quotation  has  been  carefully  compared  with  the  Hebrew  and  the  Septuagint, 
and  the  differences  of  language  staled  and  so  far  as  possible  accounted  for ;  the 
meaning  has  beeii  still  more  carefully  examined,  so  as  to  see  how  far  we  can  perceive 
the  ground  for  asserting  a  prophetic  relation.  Great  pains  have  been  taken,  in 
these  passages  and  everywhere,  to  state  nothing  as  certain  that  is  only  probable,  and 
frankly  to  recognize  all  diflSculties. 

The  phrase  "  Homiletical  and  Practical "  became  familiar  to  me  when  transla- 
ting and  editing  the  portion  thus  designated  of  Lange  (Erdmann)  on  1  and  2 
Samuel.  There  arc  some  advantages  in  giving  homiletical  and  practical  remarks 
upon  an  entire  paragraph,  rather  than  upon  successive  verses.  Yet  the  line  cannot 
be  sharply  drawn,  and  much  in  the  way  of  general  discussion  and  practical  observ- 
ation will  be  found  in  immediate  connection  with  the  explanations.  Besides  de- 
tached statements  of  truth  and  suggestions  of  duty  and  consolation,  I  have  under 


PREFACE.  li 


this  head  very  often  given  schemes  of  thought,  lioping  that  these  would  be  more 
readable,  and  make  a  more  lasting  impression,  than  disconnected  remarks.  Where 
such  schera.es  amount  to  plans  of  sermons,  they  may  suggest  to  ministers  the  prac- 
ticability of  constructing,  by  similar  methods,  better  sermons  of  their  own.  The 
extracts  added  have  been  vigorously  limited  to  brief  and  pithy  passages  from  the 
Greek  and  Latin  Fathers,  from  Luther  and  Calvin,  from  Jeremy  Taylor,  Bishop 
Hall,  and  Matthew  Henry,  with  some  from  miscellaneous  sources,  particularly  on 
chap.  5-7.  At  the  outset,  a  good  many  extracts  were  made  from  the  excellent 
homiletical  works  of  D.  Thomas,  Joseph  Parker,  and  Bishop  Ryle ;  but  as  the  book 
was  growing  too  large  for  its  design,  and  as  these  works  are  current  and  not  costly, 
it  was  thought  best,  in  the  final  revision,  to  strike  out  most  of  what  had  been  drawn 
from  these  sources.  The  extracts  have  sometimes  been  condensed,  or  otherwise 
slightly  altered. 

This  commentary  does  not  profess  to  be  undenominational.  Matters  upon  which 
our  religious  bodies  differ  have  been  discussed  with  entire  frankness,  but  also,  it  is 
hoped,  with  true  Christian  respect  and  regard.  After  all,  there  are  but  few  passages 
of  the  Gospel  in  regard  to  which  evangelical  opinion  is  seriously  at  variance. 

The  better  class  of  Sunday-school  teachers  have,  in  preparing  these  expositions, 
been  constantly  before  my  mind.  It  has  been  interesting  to  observe,  in  the  last 
revision,  how  very  often  my  paragraphs  agree  with  the  legsons  of  the  International 
Series  upon  this  Gospel,  which  will  extend  from  July  1,  1887  to  July  1,  1888.  The 
teacher  who  is  hurried  will  find  it  easy  to  practice,  in  regard  to  occasional  prolonged 
discussions,  what  a  high  literary  authority  has  called  "judicious  skipping";  for  as 
the  portions  explained  are  printed  in  blackfaced  type,  the  eye  will  quickly  pass  from 
one  word  or  phrase  to  another.  Some  teachers  will  derive  useful  practical  instruc- 
tion for  their  pupils  from  the  paragraphs  headed  "  Homiletical  and  Practical." 

This  work  has  been  on  hand  more  than  twenty  years,  having  been  pushed 
forward  ut  different  periods,  and  for  several  years  past  with  rarely  interrupted 
application.  Considerable  portions  have  been  twice  or  thrice  rewritten.  I  have 
labored  to  make  a  clear,  sound,  and  useful  commentary,  and  I  shall  be  very  glad 
and  thankful  if  it  proves  acceptable  and  helpful  to  earnest  readers  of  the  Bible. 
Louisville,  November,  1886.  J.  A.  B. 

For  various  reasons,  no  Introduction  to  Matthew  has  been  prepared.  The 
author's  views  as  to  the  origin  and  authority  of  this  Gospel  would  be  substantially 
the  same  as  may  be  found  in  Salmon's  "  Introduction  to  the  New  Testament " ; 
Hovey's  "  General  Introduction  ";  the  works  of  Westcott  and  Charteris  on  tlie 
"  Canon  of  the  New  Testament,"  etc. 

At  the  close  of  the  volume  will  be  found  an  Index  of  the  writers  quoted,  with 
explanation  of  abbreviated  names,  and  some  elementary  information  as  to  tlie 
authors  and  their  works  ;  and  a  second  Index  of  terms  and  topics,  persons  and 
places,  of  which  some  general  account  is  given  in  the  commentary  upon  the  pas- 
sages indicated. 


THE 


GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  MAHHEW. 


CHAPTER  I. 


THE  book  of  the  generation  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  son 
of  David,  the  son  of  Abraham. 


1     1  The  book  of  the  *  generation  of  Jesus  Christ,  the 
son  of  David,  the  son  of  Abraham. 


1  Or,  TXt  genealogy  of  Jau»  Chritt 2  Or,  MrtA;  Bslnver.  18. 


Ch.  1 :  1-17.  The  Genealogy  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

Traditional  Title.  Before  the  middle  of 
the  second  century,  we  find  the  name  Gospel 
already  applied  to  the  narratives  of  our  Sav- 
iour's life.  Justin  Martyr  says:  "The  apos- 
tles, in  the  memoirs  made  by  them,  which  are 
called  Gospels."  The  Greek  word  so  rendered, 
which  signifies  "a  good  message,"  "good 
news,"  "glad  tidings,"  is  found  a  few  times 
in  Matthew  and  Mark  (e.  g..  Matt.  4:  23;  26: 
13;  Mark  8:  35;  16:  15)  as  denoting,  in  gen- 
eral, the  good  news  of  Christ's  reign,  and  of 
salvation  through  him;  and  its  subsequent 
application  to  our  four  narratives  of  Christ's 
life  and  teachings  was  natural  and  appro- 
priate. The  best  early  authorities  for  the  text 
give  the  title  in  the  simple  form.  Gospel 
according  to  JMaUhew,  some  of  them  hav- 
ing only  "According  to  Matthew,"  where  the 
word  "Gospel"  is  implied,  though  not  ex- 
pressed. To  say  "Saint  Matthew,"  a  practice 
which  many  persons  retain  from  "Romanist 
usage,  is  useless,  if  not  improper.  No  one 
thinks  it  irreverent  to  speak  of  Moses  or 
Isaiah  without  any  such  prefix.  The  peculiar 
expression  of  the  traditional  title,  "according 
to  Matthew,"  implies  that  the  gospel  has  been 
reported  by  different  persons  under  different 
aspects,  and  this  is  the  way  in  which  Matthew 
has  presented  it.  The  English  word  "gospel " 
has  long  been  supposed  (it  is  so  interpreted 
even  in  the  eleventh  century)  to  be  derived 
from  the  Anglo-Saxon  godspell,  signifying 
good  story,  good  tidings,  and  to  be  thus  a 
literal  translation  of  the  Greek.  But  recent 
etymologists  go  far  to  prove,  by  the  compari- 
son of  kindred  languages,  that  it  is  from  God 
and  spell,  meaning  a  narrative  of  God,  and  so 
the  history  of  Christ.  (See  Skeat,  "Etym. 
Diet,  and  Supplement."* 


Matthew  begins  his  Gospel  with  the  gene- 
alogy of  our  Lord.  Designing  to  prove, 
especially  to  the  Jews,  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth 
is  the  Messiah,  he  shows  at  the  outset  that 
Jesus  is  a  descendant  of  David,  as  it  had  been 
predicted  that  the  Messiah  would  be.  In 
order  to  establish  this  fact  according  to  Jewish 
law,  it  must  be  shov/n  that  the  legal  father  of 
Jesus  was  a  descendant  of  David,  as  this  gene- 
alogy does;  and  to  give  the  argument  greater 
impressiveness,  he  goes  back  to  trace  the  de- 
scent from  Abraham,  the  father  of  the  Jewish 
race,  to  whose  "seed"  the  promise  was 
spoken  (Gen. iv:  7;  oai.3:  16).  Lukc,  who  had  no 
special  reference  to  the  Jews,  but  wrote  for 
all,  gives  the  genealogy  some  distance  after 
the  beginning  of  his  book  (Luke  3:23),  and 
carries  it  up  to  Adam,  the  father  of  all 
men.  (As  to  apparent  discrepancies  between 
Matthew  and  Luke,  see  below  on  v.  17). 
Mark,  in  his  short  narrative,  gives  no  gene- 
alogy, but  simply  begins  by  describing  Jesus 
Christ  as  "the  Son  of  God"  (Marki:i).  John, 
wishing  to  correct  errors  already  rife,  when 
he  wrote,  as  to  both  the  human  and  the  divine 
nature  of  our  Lord,  goes  back  to  his  eternal 
pre-existence  as  the  Word,  his  divinity  and 
creatorship,  and  then  states  his  incarnation, 
showing  him  to  be  not  merely  in  appearance 
but  in  reality  a  man  (John  i :  1-5,  u).  This  com- 
parison makes  it  plain  that  Matthew's  first 
paragraph,  indeed,  his  opening  sentence, 
strikes  the  key-note  to  his  treatise,  which  is 
throughout  a  Gospel  for  the  Jews. 

Some  have  supposed  that  the  Evangelist 
adopted  this  genealogy  as  a  whole  from  some 
public  or  private  record  existing  among  the 
Jews.  There  would  be  nothing  derogatory 
in  this  idea,  and  the  document  thus  adopted 
would  have  for  us  the  sanction  of  inspiration 
as  to  its  correctness;  but  it  seems  more  natural 

1 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  I. 


to  think  that  Matthew  framed  the  list  himself 
from  the  Old  Testament  and  the  Jewish 
records.  Some  of  its  peculiarities,  c.  g.,  the 
incidental  mention  of  certain  females  (see 
below),  are  best  explained  as  having  been 
introduced  by  him,  with  a  special  design. 
That  the  Jews  did,  in  the  first  century,  still 
possess  genealogical  records,  at  least  of  im- 
portant families,  is  shown  by  various  facts. 
Thus  Paul  asserted  without  reserve  that  he 
wasof  the  tribe  of  Benjamin  (Rom.  ii:  i;  Phii.  3:5). 
Josephus  ("  Life"  g  1)  gives  his  own  priestly 
and  royal  descent  for  several  generations,  and 
adds:  "I  present  the  descent  of  our  family 
as  I  found  it  recorded  in  the  public  tablets, 
and  to  those  who  try  to  slander  us  I  wish 
much  joy."  This  unquestionable  evidence 
made  him  feel  perfectly  secure.  And  in  the 
book  against  Apion  (i.  7)  he  describes  the 
pains  taken  by  priests  residing  in  Egypt, 
Babylon,  and  other  foreign  countries,  to  send 
to  Jerusalem  properly  certified  statements  as 
to  marriages  and  births  in  their  families;  and 
declares  that  after  any  great  war,  such  as  that 
which  had  recently  occurred,  the  surviving 
priests  prepared  new  copies  from  the  old 
records.  The  story  told  by  Julius  Africanus 
(Euseb.  "Hist."  I.  7,  13)  that  Herod  burnt 
the  genealogies  of  the  Jews,  in  order  to  pre- 
vent his  own  inferiority  as  an  Idumsean  from 
being  manifest,  conflicts  with  these  and  all 
the  other  statements  on  the  subject,  and  cer- 
tainly cannot  be  true  in  its  full  extent.  We 
are  told  that  Rabbi  Hillel,  a  contemporary  of 
Jesus,  proved  from  a  genealogical  table  at 
Jerusalem  that  he  was  a  descendant  of 
David.  ("  Bercshith  Rabba,"  f.  98,  quoted  by 
Godet,  "Com.  on  Luke,"  3:  23. )  There  is  also 
a  story  that  Domitian  (a.  d.  81-%)  ordered 
all  descendants  of  David  to  be  slain,  and  cer- 
tain heretics  accused  as  such  the  descendants 
of  Jude,  a  brother  of  the  Saviour,  who  being 
summoned  before  the  emperor  acknowledged 
that  they  were  descended  from  David,  but 
stated  that  they  lived  by  tilling  their  little 
farms,  and  showed  their  hands  hard  with  toil, 
(from  which  we  see,  with  Weiss,  that  the 
family  of  Jesus  were  still  poor),  so  that  the 
emperor  disnussed  them  as  persons  not  likely 
to  excite  revolution.  (Hegesippus  in  Euseb. 
"Hist."  iii.  19,  20.)  On  the  other  hand,  all 
this  is  changed  at  the  present  day.  The 
Jewish  records  have  long  since  completely 


perished,  and  no  Jew  could  now  prove  him- 
self a  descendant  of  David.  If  one  claiming 
to  be  the  Messiah  should  now  arise,  as  some 
Jews  still  expect,  no  such  evidence  could  be 
furnished  as  that  with  which  Matthew  here 
begins. 

1.  The  opening  words  signify  either,  Boob 
of  the  generation,  i.  e.,  descent-book, 
pedigree,  genealogy,  thus  referring  only  to 
V.  2-17  (comp.  Gen.  5:  1;  11:  27),  or,  Book 
upon  the  birth,  referring  to  the  whole  ac- 
count of  the  birth  of  Jesus  in  ch.  1  and  2. 
(Compare  the  use  of  the  same  term  in  v.  18, 
there  rendered  'birth').  The  choice  between 
these  two  meanings  of  the  phrase  must  remain 
a  matter  of  doubt,  and  is  of  no  real  import- 
ance. The  view  of  some  that  "book  of  the 
generation  "  here  denotes  a  history  in  general 
(as  perhaps  in  Gen.  25:  19;  37:  2),  must  pretty 
certainly  be  rejected.  Jesus,  the  same  as 
Joshua  (see  on  v.  21),  is  our  Lord's  private  or 
personal  name ;  Christ  is  his  official  name, 
being  a  translation  into  Greek  of  the  Hebrew 
word  'Messiah,'  which  signifies  'anointed' 
and  with  the  article,  'the  anointed  one.' 
(Comp.  1  Sam.  24:  6,  10;  Psa.  2:  2;  105:  15; 
Isa.  45:  1 ;  Dan.  9:  25,  26;  John  1 :  20,  25,  41 ; 
4:  25,29;  Acts  4:  26).  It  appears  in  the  Gos- 
pels as  a  proper  name  only  here,  together  with 
V.  16,  18,  and  probably  16 :  21  (comp.  also  v. 
16,  and  27:  17);  Mark  1 :  1;  John  1  :  17;  17: 
3.  Everywhere  else  in  the  Gospels  it  denotes 
the  promised  Messiah  or  anointed  one,  some- 
times without  reference  to  J  esus  at  all,  but  usu- 
ally applied  to  him  either  by  direct  assertion 
or  by  implication.  When  not  a  proper  name 
it  commonly  has  the  article,  'the  Christ,' 
which  is  often  omitted  in  Common  English 
Version  (see  on  2:  4).  In  John  1 :  41 ;  4:  25, 
we  find  Messias,  a  Greek  form  of  Messiah. 
Whether  Jesus  was  the  Messiah,  was  during 
his  ministry  an  open  question,  and  the  Evan- 
gelists do  not,  in  their  history  of  him,  assume 
it  as  then  settled.  But  after  his  ascension  the 
apostles  would  naturally  take  this  for  granted 
in  their  expressions,  and  accordingly  'Christ' 
or  'Jesus  Christ,'  is  very  often  used  in  the 
Acts  and  Epistles  as  a  proper  name.  In  like 
manner  Matthew,  Mark,  and  John,  in  writing 
their  Gospels,  use  the  same  now  familiar  ex- 
pression in  the  introduction,  though  in  the 
body  of  their  narrative  they  speak  according 
to  the  state  of  the  question  when  the  events 


Ch.  I.] 


MATTHEW. 


2  Abraham  begat  Isaac ;  and  Isaac  begat  Jacob ;  and 
Jacob  begat  Judas  and  his  brethren ; 

3  And  Judas  begat  Phares  and  Zara  of  Thamar ;  and 
Phares  begat  Esrom  ;  and  Esrom  begat  Aram  : 

4  And  Aram  begat  Aminadab;  and  Aminadab  begat 
JJaasson;  and  Naasson  begat  Salmon: 

5  And  Salmon  begat  Booz  of  Rachab ;  and  Booz  begat 
Obed  of  Ruth ;  and  Obed  begat  Jesse ; 


2  Abraham  begat  Isaac ;  and  Isaac  begat  Jacob :  and 

3  Jacob  begat  Judah  and  his  brethren ;  and  Judah  be- 
gat Perez  and  Zerah  of  Tamar;   and  Perez  begat 

4  Hezron ;  and  Hezron  begat  i  Ram ;  and  i  Ram  begat 
Amminadab;  and  Amminadab  begat  Nabshon ;  and 

5  Nabshon  begat  Salmon  ;  and  Salmon  begat  Boaz  of 


occurred.  In  16:  21  we  may  see  a  special 
reason,  as  there  pointed  out.  And  so  Jesus 
himself,  in  John  17:  3,  when  praying  in  the 
presence  of  his  disciples  at  the  close  of  his 
ministry,  speaks  as  taking  his  Messiahship  for 
granted;  as  in  Mark  9:  41,  'because  ye  are 
Christ's,'  he  is  anticipating  the  future  con- 
viction of  his  followers.  Son  of  Abraham 
maybe  in  apposition  either  with  'David'  or 
with  'Jesus  Christ,'  the  Greek  being  am- 
biguous, like  the  English.  But  either  sense 
involves  what  the  other  would  express,  and 
60  both  amount  to  the  same  thing:  in  Jesus 
were  fulfilled  the  prophecies  that  the  Mes- 
siah should  descend  from  David  and  from 
Abraham. 

3.  Among  the  sons  of  Jacob,  Jndas,  or  Ju- 
dnh,  is  singled  out,  because  he  is  the  one  from 
whom  David  and  Jesus  were  descended ;  but 
his  brethren  are  also  mentioned  by  the  Evan- 
gelist, perhaps  simply  because  it  was  common 
to  speak  of  the  twelve  patriarchs  and  the 
twelve  tribes  all  together  (aou  ^  •.  s,  9) ;  or,  it  may 
be,  with  the  design  of  reminding  his  readers 
that  all  the  other  tribes  were  of  the  same 
descent  as  Judah,  and  thus  all  were  interested 
in  the  Messiah. 

Many  of  the  names  in  this  list  are,  in  the 
Common  English  Version,  more  or  less  dif- 
ferent in  form  from  the  corresponding  names 
in  our  version  of  the  Old  Testament,  and 
throughout  the  New  Testament  the  same 
thing  frequently  occurs.  The  New  Testa- 
ment writers  have  usually  employed  that 
form  of  a  name  which  was  already  familiar 
to  their  readers,  who  were  generally  accus- 
tomed, Jews  as  well  as  Gentiles,  to  read,  not 
the  original  Hebrew  of  the  Old  Testament— 
for  the  Hebrew  proper  was  then  little  used  in 
conversation  (the  Aramaic  having  largely 
supplanted  it)— but  the  Greek  translation 
known  as  the  Septuagint.  The  authors  of 
that  translation  often  failed  to  express  the 
Hebrew  names  in  Greek  as  exactly  as  they 
might  have  done.     Besides,  the  Greek   lan- 


guage is  in  some  respects  less  able  to  express 
Hebrew  words  than  the  English  is,  particu- 
larly in  respect  to  the  letter  h,  which  abounds 
in  Hebrew  names,  and  which  the  Greek  can- 
not represent  at  all  except  at  the  beginning  of 
a  word,  or  in  the  combinations  ch,  th,  ph. 
Accordingly,  Noah  was  written  Noe  (2*:87), 
Korah  written  Core  (Judeu),  and  Elisha  be- 
came Eliseus  (Luke  4: 27).  It  thus  appears  that 
not  only  have  the  names  in  our  version  of  the 
New  Testament  undergone  a  two-fold  change, 
— presenting  us  the  English  form  of  the  com- 
mon Greek  form  of  the  Hebrew  words — but 
the  difference  is  increased  by  the  fact  that  in 
our  version  of  the  Old  Testament,  rendered 
directly  from  the  Hebrew,  we  have  the  name 
often  more  exactly  expressed  than  coukl  be 
done  in  Greek.  The  writers  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament gave  their  readers  the  form  of  the 
names  that  they  were  all  familiar  with  in 
reading  the  Septuagint ;  so  that  they  had  the 
same  form  in  both  Testaments.  And  this 
result  will  be  secured  for  English  readers,  if 
in  the  New  Testament  we  should  put  into 
English  letters  not  the  Greek  form  of  the 
name  as  there  given,  but  the  Hebrew  form  as 
it  occurs  in  the  Old  Testament.  Then  the 
reader  of  our  version,  like  the  reader  in  the 
apostle's  days  will  find  the  name  in  the  same 
form  throughout  his  Bible,  and  will  thus 
feel  that  it  is  the  same  name.  There  muft 
be  a  few  exceptions;  as,  for  example,  it  would 
hardly  be  proper  to  write  our  Saviour's  name 
Joshua,  though  we  should  thus  be  much  more 
vividly  reminded  of  the  origin  and  associa- 
tions of  the  name;  and  it  is  probably  best  to 
retain  the  Greek  form,  Judas,  for  the  traitor 
disciple,  and  employ  Judah  for  the  patriarch 
and  others,  and  Jude  for  the  writer  of  the 
Epistle.  But  in  general,  the  Hebrew  forms 
can  be  used  in  the  New  Testament  without 
difficulty  or  imjiropriety. 

3-5.  Commentators  have  always  noticed 
that  while  this  genealogy,  according  to  cus- 
tom, gives  only  the  names  of  the  men,  it 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  I. 


6  And  Jesse  begat  David  the  king;  and  David  the 
king  begat  Sulomuu  of  her  that  had  been  the  wife  of 
Urias; 

7  And  Solomon  begat  Roboam ;  and  Roboam  begat 
Abia;  and  Abia  begat  Asa; 

8  And  Asa  begat  Josaphat ;  and  Josaphat  begat  Joram ; 
and  Joraiu  begat  Ozi;is ; 

9  And  Ozias  begat  Joatham;  and  Joatham  begat 
Aebaz;  and  Achuz  begat  Ezekias; 

10  And  Kzekias  begat  Manasses;  and  Manasses  begat 
Anion  ;  and  Amun  begat  Josias  ; 

1 1  And  Josias  l)egat  Jechonias  and  his  brethren,  about 
the  time  they  were  carried  away  to  Babylon: 

12  And  after  they  were  brought  to  Babylon,  Jechonias 
begat  Salathiel ;  and  Salathiel  begat  Zorobabel ; 


6  Rahab ;  and  Boaz  begat  Obed  of  Ruth ;  and  Obed 
begat  Jesse ;  and  Jesse  begat  David  the  king. 

And  David  begat  Solomon  of  her  that  hail  been  the 

7  wife  of  Uriah;   and  Solomon  begat  Rehoboam ;  and 
Rehoboam  begat  Abijah  ;   and  Abijah  begat  'Asa ; 

8  and  'Asa  begat  Jehoshaphat;  and  Jehoshaphat  be- 

9  gat  Joram ;  and  Joram  begat  tlzziah ;  and  Uzziah  be- 
gat Jotham ;  and  Jotham  begat  Ahaz ;  and  Ahaz  be- 

10  gat  Hezekiah;  and  Hezekiah  begat  ilanasseh ;  and 
Manasseh  begat  =Amon  ;  and^Amon  begat  Josiah  ; 

11  and  Josiah   begat  Jechoniah  and  his  brethren,  at 
the  time  of  the  ^ carrying  away  to  Babylon. 

12  And  after  the  ^carrying  aw'ay  to  Babylon,  Jech- 
oniah begat  *  Shealtiel ;  and  <Shealteil  begat  Ze- 


! 


1  Or,  A$aph 2  Or.  Amos.  ...3  Or,  removal  to  Babylon 4  Or.  Salathiel. 


turns  aside  to  make  incidental  mention  of  four 
women — Thamar,  Rahab,  Ruth,  and  the 

wife  of  Uriah — of  whom  three  were  polluted 
by  shameful  wickedness,  and  the  fourth  was 
by  birth  a  heathen.  This  appears  to  have 
been  done  simply  because  each  of  the  four 
became  a  mother  of  the  Messianic  line  in  an 
irregular  and  extraordinary  way,  as  in  re- 
counting a  long  list  of  names  one  is  very  apt 
to  mention  anything  unusual  that  attaches  to 
this  or  that  individual.  The  mystical  mean- 
ings which  some  find  in  the  introduction  of 
these  names,  cannot  be  accepted  by  a  sober 
judgment;  and  the  notion  (Lange)  that 
Tamar,  for  example,  really  acted  under  the 
impulse  of  a  fanatical  faith,  "being  resolved 
at  all  hazards  to  become  one  of  the  mothers 
of  God's  chosen  race,"  is  a  particularly  wild 
fancy. — The  introduction  of  both  Phares  and 
Zara,  while  throughout  the  list  only  one 
person  is  usually  given,  is  probably  due  to 
the  fact  that  Tamar  their  mother  has  been 
mentioned  (comp.  1  Chron.  2:  4),  and  that 
she  bore  them  both  at  one  birth. — There  is  no 
sufficient  reason  to  question  that  the  Rahab 
here  mentioned  is  the  famous  woman  of 
Jericho;  nor  that  she  had  pursued  the  dis- 
graceful calling  commonly  supposed. — The 
length  of  time  between  Salmon  and  David 
makes  it  likely  that  some  names  have  been 
here  omitted  (as  also  in  Ruth  4:  21  f..  and  1 
Chron.  2:  11),  most  probably  between  Obed 
and  Jesse ;  but  this  is  not  certain,  as  the  general 
chronology  of  that  period  is  doubtful,  and 
the  parents  in  some  cases  may  have  been  ad- 
vanced in  years  when  the  children  were  born. 
6.  David  the  king  is  thus  signalized,  prob- 
ably as  being  the  first  of  this  line  who  attained 
that  dignity,  and  he  to  whom  the  promise  was 
made  of  a  seed  that  should  reign  forever.  In 
the  second  sentence  of  this  verse,  '  the  king '  in 


the  common  text  is  a  mere  addition  from  the 
first  sentence,  wanting  in  several  of  the  best 
early  documents. 

8.  Between  Joram  and  Uzziah,  three  names 
are  omitted,  Ahaziah,   Joa«h,  and  Amaziah 

(2  Kings  8:  24;  1  Chron.  3  :  U;  2  Chron.  22  :  1,11;  24:27).    This 

was  probably  done  to  secure  symmetry,  by 
bringing  the  number  of  names  in  each  dis 
course  to  fourteen  (see  on  v.  17) ;  and  these 
particular  persons  might  naturally  be  selected 
for  omission,  because  they  were  immediate 
descendants  of  Ahab  and  Jezebel. 

11,  12.  Here  also  a  name  has  been  omitted, 
that  of  Jehoiakim,  who  was  the  son  of  Josiah, 
and  father  of  Jehoiachin,  or  Jeconiah  (2  Kings 
23:  34;  24:  6).  As  in  V.  8,  we  may  suppose  one 
name  to  have  been  purposely  omitted  by  the 
Evangelist,  and  this  particular  person  to  have 
been  chosen  because  in  his  reign  occurred  the 
events  which  led  to  the  captivity.  As  to  the 
further  difficulty  on  which  some  have  insisted, 
that  while  we  read  here  of  Jechonias  and 
his  brethren,  in  1  Chron.  3:  16,  but  one 
brother  of  his  is  mentioned, — it  is  enough  to 
recall  the  familiar  fact  that  genealogical  lists 
such  as  that  very  often  omit  some  of  a  man's 
children,  mentioning  only  those  which  be- 
longed to  the  line  of  succession,  or  which 
there  was  some  special  reason  for  including; 
and  so  there  might  very  well  have  been  other 
brothers  known  from  genealogies  existing  in 
Matthew's  time,  but  whom  the  compiler  of 
Chronicles  had  no  occasion  to  include  in  his 
list.— The  expression,  the  time  they  were 
carried  away  to  Babylon  —  or,  the  re- 
moval, mar.  of  Rev.  Ver., — is  of  course  not  to 
be  pressed  as  involving  an  exact  coincidence  of 
the  two  events,but  to  be  understood  in  the  more 
general  way,  which  is  natural  in  such  cases. 
Josiah  died  some  years  before  the  removal  to 
Babylon  (2  chron.  36).     This  great  event  was 


:\\ 


,Ch.  I.] 


MATTHEW. 


13  And  Zorobabel  begat  Abiud;  and  Abiud  begat 
Eliakiiu  ;  and  Eliukim  begat  Azor ; 

14  And  Azor  begat  SaUoc;  and  Sadoc  begat  Achini ; 
and  Aehiui  begat  Eliud; 

15  And  Eliud  begat  Eleazer;  and  Eleazer  begat  Mat- 
tlian;  and  Matthan  begat  Jacob; 

16  And  Jacob  begat  Joseph  the  husband  of  Mary,  of 
whom  was  born  Jesus,  who  is  called  Christ. 

17  So  all  the  generations  from  Abraham  to  David  are 
fourteen  generations;  and  from  David  until  the  carry- 
in  t,' away  into  Babylon  are  fourteen  generations;  and 
iiwm  the  carrying  away  into  Babylon  unto  Christ  are 
loiirteen  generations. 


13  rubbabel;  and  Zerubbabel  begat  Abiud;  and  Abiud 

14  begat  Eliakim ;  and  Kliakim  oegat  Azor ;  and  Azor 
begat  Sadoc;  and  Sadoc  begat  Achim;  and  Achim 

15  begat  Eliud;  and  Eliud  begat  Eleazer;  and  Eleazer 

16  begat  Matthan;  and  Matthan  begat  Jacob;  and 
Jacob  begat  Joseph  the  husband  of  Mary,  of  whom 
was  born  Jesus,  who  is  called  Christ. 

17  So  all  the  generations  from  Abraham  unto  David 
are  fourteen  generations;  and  from  David  unto  the 
1  carrying  away  to  Babylon  fourteen  generations; 
and  from  the  i  carrying  away  to  Babylon  unto  the 
Christ  fourteen  generations. 


1  Or,  Removal  to  Babylon, 


really  a  forcible  tratisportation,  but  the  Evan- 
gelist uses  the  milder  term  'removal'  or 
'migration,'  which  was  frequently  employed 
in  the  familiar  Greek  translation  of  the  Old 
Testament,  and  would  be  less  painful  to  the 
Jewish  readers  he  had  especially  in  view.' — In 
making  Zerubbabel  the  son  of  Shealtiel,  the 
Evangelist  agrees  with  Ezra  3:2;  5:2;  Neh. 
12:  1;  Hag.  1:  1;  2:  2,  while  1  Chron.  3:  19, 
makes  him  the  son  of  Pedaiah,  a  brother  of 
Shealtiel.  The  explanations  of  this  discrep- 
ancy which  have  been  proposed  are  hardly 
satisfactory.  It  is  not  surprising  that  there 
should  be  some  slight  differences  in  these  lists 
of  names  which,  with  our  imperfect  informa- 
tion, we  are  now  unable  to  explain.  A  ner- 
vous solicitude  to  explain  at  all  hazards,  is 
uncalled  for  and  unbecoming. 

13.  The  nine  names  from  Abiud  to  Jacob 
(t.  is)  are  not  elsewhere  mentioned,  as  they  be- 
long to  the  period  subsequent  to  the  close  of 
the  Old  Testament  records,  the  "interbibli- 
cal "  period.  They  were  doubtless  taken  from 
some  public  or  private  genealogy,  such  as 
would  cause  the  Evangelist's  Jewish  readers 
to  receive  them  without  gainsaying.  The 
number  of  names  being  scarcely  proportioned 
to  the  time  over  which  they  extend,  some 
have  thbught  that  here  also  a  few  names  may 
have  been  omitted,  as  in  v.  8,  11. 

16.  Tlie  Evangelist  does  not  connect  Joseph 
and  Jesus  as  father  and  son;  but  altogether 
departs  from  the  usual  phraseology  of  the 
genealogy,  so  as  to  indicate  the  peculiarity  of 


•  The  genitive  Babulonot  speclfles  this  as  the  Babylon- 
removal,  thus  distinguishing  it  from  other  removals. 
This  is  the  proper  force  of  the  genitive,  as  the  generic 
or  specifying  case.  The  Babylon-removal,  so  far  as  the 
mere  form  of  the  expression  goes,  might  mean  the  re- 
moval of  Babylon,  the  removal  to  Babylon,  or  the  re- 
moval from  Babylon ;  but  the  well-known  historical 
facts  left  no  d<mbt  as  to  the  real  meaning.  See  similar 
uses  of  the  genitive  In  4:  15;  10:  5;  John  7:  35;  10:  7. 


the  Saviour's  birth.  The  name  Jesus  (i.  e., 
Joshua,  see  on  v.  21),  being  common  among 
the  Jews  (comp.  Col.  4:  11 ;  Acts  13:  6),  the 
person  here  meant  is  distinguished  as  Jesus, 
who  is — or,  the  one — called  Christ,  (so  in 
27:  17,  22,  and  comp.  "Simon,  the  one  called 
Peter,"  in  4:  18;  10:  2.) 

17.  Three  Sets  OF  Fourteen.  The  gath- 
ering of  this  long  list  of  names  into  three 
groups  of  fourteen  each  appears  to  have  been 
partly  for  the  sake  of  aiding  the  memory, 
and  partly  in  order  to  indicate  the  three  great 
periods  of  the  history,  viz :  from  Abraham, 
the  father  of  the  nation,  to  "  David  the  king  " 
(see  on  v.  6),  from  David  to  the  destruction  of 
the  monarchy  at  the  removal  to  Babylon,  and 
from  that  event  to  the  coming  of  Messiah. 
These  three  periods  are  distinguished  in  many 
ways;  among  others  by  the  form  of  govern- 
ment, which  was  in  the  successive  periods  a 
Theocracy,  a  Monarchy,  and  a  Hierarchy,  or 
government  by  the  priests,  this  being  for  the 
most  part  the  form  after  the  return  from  the 
captivity.  Finding  that  the  names  from 
Abraham  to  David  amount  to  fourteen,  the 
Evangelist  omits  some  in  the  second  period 
(see  on  v.  8,  11),  and  perhaps  in  the  third  also 
(see  on  v.  13),  so  as  to  leave  each  of  these 
periods  the  same  number  as  the  first.  This 
happened  to  be  twice  the  sacred  number 
seven,  so  that  the  whole  list  of  names  is  di- 
vided into  three  sets  of  two  sevens  each. 
Similarly  a  Rabbinical  writer  says:  "From 
Abraham  to  Solomon  are  fifteen  generations, 
and  then  the  moon  was  at  the  full ;  from  Sol- 
omon to  Zedekiah  are  again  fifteen  genera- 
tions, and  then  the  moon  was  eclipsed,  and 
Zedekiah's  eyes  were  put  out."  The  omission 
of  some  names  presents  no  difficulty,  being 
occasionally  found  in  Old  Testament  lists 
likewise.  "  It  was  a  common  practice  with 
the  Jews  to  distribute  genealogies  into  divis- 


6 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  I. 


ions,  eaoh  containing  some  favorite  or  mysti- 
cal number,  and  in  order  to  this,  generations 
were  either  repeated  or  left  out.  Thus  in 
Philo  the  generations  from  Adam  to  Moses 
are  divided  into  two  decads  (sets  of  ten),  and 
one  hebdomad  (set  of  seven),  by  the  repetition 
of  Abraham.  But  in  a  Samaritan  poem  the 
ver3'  same  series  is  divided  into  two  decads 
only,  by  the  omission  of  six  of  the  least 
important  names."  (Smith's  "Diet.,"  Art. 
"  Genealogy  of  Jesus.")  "We  are  told  that  the 
Arabians  now  abbreviate  their  genealogies  in 
the  same  manner,  and  give  the  descent  by  a 
few  prominent  names.  So,  in  fact,  often  do 
the  English,  or  any  other  people;  the  object 
being,  in  such  cases,  not  to  furnish  a  complete 
list  of  one's  ancestors,  but  simply  to  establish 
the  descent  from  a  certain  line.  Where  such 
omissions  are  made  in  the  Scripture  genealo- 
gies, the  usual  term  "begot"  (or,  as  in  Luke, 
"  son  of")  is  retained,  and  must  of  course  be 
then  understood  not  literally,  but  as  denoting 
progenitorship  or  descent  in  general,  a  sense 
very  common  in  the  language  of  Scripture, 
and  common  throughout  the  East,  both  in 
ancient  and  modern  times.  (Comp.  v.  1). 
Matthew's  three  fourteens  have  been  variously 
made  out  by  expositors.  It  seems  best  either 
to  count  from  Abraham  to  David,  from  David 
again  to  Josiah,  and  from  Jechoniah  to  Jesus, 
or,  from  Abraham  to  David,  from  Solomon  to 
Jechoniah,  as  representing  the  time  of  the  re- 
moval, and  from  Jechoniah  again  to  Jesus. 
The  fact  that  either  of  these  modes  of  reckon- 
ing (and,  indeed,  one  or  two  others)  may  be 
plausibly  supported,  concurs  with  the  omis- 
sion of  some  names  to  show  that  the  Evangel- 
ist did  not  design  this  division  to  be  pressed 
with  literal  exactness,  but  only  to  be  taken 
in  a  certain  general  way,  for  purposes  such  as 
those  above  suggested. 

The  Genealogies  of  Matthew  and 
Luke.  There  is  an  obvious  discrepancy  be- 
tween the  two  genealogies,  (comp.  Luke  3: 
23,  flfl),  which  has  always  attracted  attention, 
and  to  explain  which,  we  find  various  theo- 
ries suggested.  Most  scholars  at  the  present 
day  are  divided  between  two  of  these,  and 
either  of  them  is  sufficiently  probable  to  set 
aside  objection  to  the  credibility  of  the  Evan- 
gelists on  the  ground  of  the  discrepancy.  The 
two  genealogies  diverge  after  David,  Mat- 
thew's passing  down  through  Solomon,  and 


Luke's  (which  is  stated  in  the  opposite  order), 
through  Nathan,  and  they  do  not  afterwards 
agree,  unless  it  may  possibly  be  in  the  case  of 
Shealtiel  and  Zerubbabel,  as  these  two  names 
occur  together  in  both  lists. 

1.  One  explanation  supposes  that,  while 
Matthew  gives  the  genealogy  of  Joseph,  the 
reputed  and  legal  father  of  Jesus,  Luke  really 
gives  that  of  Mary,  but  simply  puts  her  hus- 
band's name  instead  of  hers,  because  it  was 
not  customary  for  a  woman's  name  to  appear 
in  a  genealogy,  but  that  of  her  husband  in- 
stead. This  is  a  mere  supposition,  of  course, 
but  it  is  a  perfectly  possible  and  reasonable 
one,  and  it  has  the  great  advantage  of  show- 
ing that  Jesus  was  not  only  a  descendant  of 
David  legally,  through  his  reputed  father, 
but  also  actually,  through  his  mother.  There 
is  good  reason  besides  to  believe  (Luke  i:  32;  Acts 

2:  30;  Rom.  1:3;  2  Tim.  2:8),  that  Mary  WaS   hcrSclf  a 

descendant  of  David,  as  held  by  Justin  Mar- 
tyr,^ Irenaeus,  TertuUian,  and  other  Fathers. 
The  fact  that  Elisabeth,  the  wife  of  a  priest, 
was  Mary's  "kinswoman,"  (Luke  1.  36,  the 
term  denotes  relationship,  but  without  indi- 
cating its  degree),  is  no  proof  that  Mary  was 
not  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  since  persons  of  the 
different  tribes  sometimes  intermarried;  in- 
deed the  earliest  known  Elizabeth,  Aaron's 
wife,  appears  to  have  been  of  the  tribe  of  Ju- 
dah.    (Ex.6:23;  Numb.  2:3.)        This    theory    WOUld 

accord  with  the  special  characteristics  and 
manifest  design  of  the  two  Gospels.  Matthew, 
who  wrote  especially  for  Jews,  gives  the  legal 
descent  of  Jesus  from  David,  through  Joseph, 
it  being  a  rule  of  the  Kabbins  that  "the  de- 
scent on  the  father's  side  only  shall  be  called  a 
descent;  the  descent  by  the  mother  is  not 
called  any  descent."  Luke,  who  wrote  with- 
out any  special  reference  to  the  Jews,  for  gen- 
eral circulation,  gives  the  real  descent  from 
David.  In  like  manner  Matthew  mentions 
the  angelic  appearance  to  Joseph  ;  Luke  that 
to  Mary.  This  explanation  is  adopted  sub- 
stantially, by  Luther,  Lightfoot,  Bengel,  01s- 
hausen,  Ebrard,  Wieseler,  Bleek  (in  part), 
Lange,  Kobinson,  Alexander,  Godet,  Weiss. 
Andrews  hesitates.     (See  a  valuable  discus- 


1 

1 


1  Tf  we  simply  suppose  that  Justin  adopted  this  theory 
of  the  genealogies,  viz :  that  Luke  gives  that  of  Mary, 
there  will  be  none  of  that  conflict,  between  his  state- 
ments on  this  subject  and  our  Gospels,  upon  which  the 
author  of  " Supernatural  Religion"  so  much  insists. 


Ch.  I.] 


MATTHEW. 


sion  by  Warfield  in  the    "Presb.   Ruview," 
Vol.  II,  p.  388-397). 

2.  Most  of  the  Fathers,  and  many  recent 
writers  (as  Winer,  Meyer),  hold  that  both 
Gospels  give  the  genealogy  of  Joseph,  and 
then  attempt  in  various  wa3's  to  remove  the 
discrepancy,  or  pass  it  by  as  irreconcilable. 
The  best  explanation  upon  this  view  is  that 

I  recently  oflFered  by  Lord  Hervey,  viz.:  the 
hypothesis  that  Matthew  gives  the  line  of 
succession  to  the  throne,  and  that  upon  a 
failure  of  the  direct  line,  Joseph  became  the 

I  next  heir;  while  Luke  gives  Joseph's  private 
genealogy,  as  a  descendant  of  David  by  a 
younger  line,  which  at  this  point  supplied  the 
failure  in  the  older  branch,  and  furnished  the 
heir  to  the  throne.  This  theory  is  ably  advo- 
cated in  Lord  Hervey' s  volume  on  the  Gene- 
alogies, and  his  article  in  Smith's  "Diet.,"' 
"Genealogy  of  Jesus  Christ,"  and  is  now  quite 
popular  with  English  writers,  as  Mill,  Alford, 
Wordsworth,  Ellicott,  Westcott,  Fairbairn, 
Farrar.  It  is  altogether  possible,  and  when 
presented  in  detail  has  several  striking  points; 
yet  the  former  explanation  is  believed  to  be  in 
some  respects  preferable.  We  are  little  con- 
cerned to  show  which  of  them  is  best,  and 
under  no  obligation  to  prove  that  either  of  them 
is  certainly  correct ;  for  we  are  not  attempting 
to  establish  from  the  Genealogies  the  credi- 
bility of  Matthew's  Gospel.  When  the  object 
is  simply  to  refute  an  objection  to  that  credi- 
bility, founded  on  an  apparent  discrepancy 
between  two  statements,  it  is  sufficient  to  pre- 
sent any  hypothetical  explanation  of  the 
difficulty  which  is  possible.  If  the  explana- 
tion be  altogether  reasonable  and  probable,  so 
much  the  better.  And  if  there  be  two,  or 
several,  possible  explanations,  these  reinforce 
each  other  in  removing  the  ground  for  objec- 
tion, and  it  is  not  necessary  to  choose  between 
thorn. 

The  names  Shealtiel  and  Zerubbabel  in  the 
genealogies  need  not  be  supposed  to  represent 
the  same  persons.  There  are  various  in- 
stances in  the  Old  Testament  lists,  of  a  strik- 
ing similarity'  between  several  names  in  lines 
that  arc  unquestionably  distinct. 

HOMILETICAL    AND   PRACTICAL. 

Besides  the  value  of  this  genealogy,  to  the 
Jews  and  to  us,  in  showing  that  Jesus  was  a 
descendant  of  David,  as  it  had  been  predicted 
that  the  Messiah  would  be, — the  apparently  | 


barren  list  of  names  might  suggest  much 
thought  to  a  mind  familiar  with  the  Old  Tes- 
tament. During  all  this  long  period,  the  prov- 
idential arrangements  were  going  on,  whicli 
prepared  for  the  coming  of  the  "seed"  prom- 
ised to  Abraham.  Every  person  in  this  gene- 
alogy— the  wicked  as  well  as  the  devout, 
even  the  woman  of  stained  character — formed 
a  link  in  the  chain  of  providences.  Through 
all  the  troubled  centuries,  through  all  the  na- 
tional changes,  whether  reigning  in  splendor, 
or  dethroned  and  in  captivity,  or  afterwards 
subsiding  into  insignificance  under  the  rule  of 
the  high  priests  or  of  Herod,  the  appointed 
line  was  preserved ;  until  among  the  rude 
population  of  an  obscure  village,  are  found 
the  hard-working  carpenter  and  the  poor 
maiden,  who  are  chosen  to  rear  the  seed  of 
Abraham,  the  son  of  David. 

V.  1.  Christ,  as  1)  the  son  of  Abraham  (oni. 
3:  16),  2)  the  son  of  David.  The  Jews  are  the 
only  race  of  mankind  that  can  trace  their 
origin  in  authentic  history  to  a  single  ances- 
tor.—V.  2  ff.  The  Old  Testament  history,  1)  a 
history  of  Providence,  2)  a  history  of  Re- 
demption ;  each  finding  its  climax  and  con- 
summation in  Christ. — V.  8-5.  The  divine 
sovereignty  and  condescension,  in  causing  the 
Saviour  to  spring  from  a  line  containing  some 
persons  so  unworthy  of  the  honor,  and  who 
reflected  so  little  credit  on  their  descendants. 
And  a  rebuke  to  that  excessive  pride  of  an- 
cestry, to  which  the  Jews  were  so  prone,  and 
which  is  so  common  among  mankind  in  gen- 
eral. Chrys. :  "He  teaches  us  also  hereby, 
never  to  hide  our  face  at  our  forefathers'  wick- 
edness, but  to  seek  after  one  thing  alone,  even 
virtue." — V.  7  ff.  Bad  men  linked  to  good 
men,  1)  as  descendants  of  the  good,  2)  as  an- 
cestors of  the  good. — V.  11.  The  removal  to 
Babylon,  as  a  step  in  the  preparation  for  Mes- 
siah.— V.  17  The  three  great  periods  of  Jewish 
history  before  Christ,  as  all  preparing  in  va- 
rious ways  for  his  coming  and  his  work. 

18-25.  Jesus  Born  of  a  Virgin  Mother. 

Having  presented  the  genealogy  of  Jesus, 
the  inspired  writer  commences  the  narrative 
proper  with  matters  pertaining  to  Jesus'  birth 
and  infancy,  (i :  is,  to3:2.r)  The  passage  now 
before  us  is  designed  to  show  that  he  was  born 
of  a  virgin  mother.  Matthew  does  not  men- 
tion the  annunciation  to  Mary,  nor  the  birth 
of  the  forerunner  (Luirn),  but  begins  at  the 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  I. 


18  Now  the  birth  of  Jesus  Christ  was  on  this  wise : 
When  as  his  mother  Mary  was  espoused  to  Joseph,  be- 
fore they  came  together,  she  was  louud  with  child  of 
the  Holy  Ghost. 


18  Now  the  1  birth  *of  Jesus  Christ  was  on  thb* 
wise:  When  his  mother  Mary  had  been  betrothed 
to  Joseph,  l)efore  they  came  together  she  was  found 


1  Or,  Gtfteration:  an  in  ver.  1 2  Soiue  auoieut  uuthortciea  reiid,o/(Ae  Christ. 


time  when  it  became  apparent  that  Mary 
was  with  child,  which  would  besoon  after  her 
return  from  the  visit  to  Elisabeth  (Luie  i :  56), 

18.  The  birth'  of  Jesus  Christ  was  on 
this  wise.  It  has  already  been  intimated 
(t.  16)  that  he  was  not  in  the  ordinary  way  the 
son  of  Joseph ;  and  this  point  is  now  distinctly 
stated.  His  mother  Mary.  It  is  no  doubt 
wisely  provided  that  we  know  very  little  con- 
cerning the  personal  history  of  "Mary  the 
mother  of  Jesus."  (Act3i:u.)  The  traditions 
relating  to  her,  so  highly  prized  by  Roman- 
ists, are  of  no  value.  She  was  probably  (see 
on  1 :  17)  a  descendant  of  David.  "We  know 
nothing  of  her  parents,  or  of  any  brothers; 
there  is  allusion  to  a  sister  (Johu  19:25),  who 
is  by  some  identified  with  "  Mary  the  wife  of 
Clopas,"  mentioned  just  after,  and  who  upon 
that  supposition  must  have  borne  the  same 
name  (see  on  13  :  65).  "We  are  informed  that 
Elisabeth  was  her  kinswoman  (Lukei:36),  so 
that  Jesus  and  his  forerunner  were  remote 
relatives.  Mary's  early  home  appears  to  have 
been  Nazareth,  and  she  probably  lived  a  life 
of  poverty  and  toil.  As  to  her  character,  we 
are  somewhat  better  informed.  In  Luke's 
narrative  she  appears  before  us  as  a  deeply 
pious  maiden,  prompt  to  believe  what  God  re- 
vealed (i.nkei:  38, 45),  and  anxious  to  have  all 
diflBculties  in  the  way  of  her  faith  removed 
(Lnkei:S4);  as  humbly  rejoicing  in  the  high 
privilege  secured  to  her  by  the  divine  promise 
(Lukei:  46-55),  and  through  the  j'ears  which  fol- 
lowed thoughtfully  pondering  the  things 
which  occurred  in  connection  with  her  child. 


1  The  correct  text  of  the  Greelc  is  genesis,  'origin,' 
and  so  birth,  rather  than  gennesis,  prob.  derived  from 
egennethe  in  v.  16.  A  few  very  early  versions  and  Fa- 
thers here  omit  'Jesus,'  reading  simply  'the  birth  of 
the  Christ,'  and  this  is  adopted  by  Treg.,  W  H.,  and 
McCIellan.  The  question  is  quite  interesting,  for  the 
principles  Involved,  to  students  of  text-criticism  (see 
Treg.,  Tisch.,  Scriv,,  W  H.) ;  but  it  does  not  seem  allow- 
able to  leave  the  reading  of  all  the  Greek  MSS.  and 
most  versions.  The  practical  difference  is  not  very  im- 
portant (see  on  v.  1).  In  the  second  clause  omit  gnr  of 
the  common  Greek  text,  leaving  the  simple  genitive 
absolute.  Matthew  quite  frequently  employs  this  con- 
struction. (Weiss). 


(Lnke  2 :  19.)  The  familiarity  with  Scripture 
manifested  by  her  song  of  thanksgiving 
(Lukei.  46ff,),  shows  how  loviugly  she  had  been 
accustomed  to  dwell  on  the  word  of  God. 
Mary  was  of  course  not  faultless,  but  her 
character  was  worthy  of  her  high  providen- 
tial position,  and  she  deserves  our  admiration 
and  gratitude.  Above  all  the  "mothers  of 
the  wise  and  good  "  may  we  call  her  '  happy ' 
(Lukei:48)j  and  cherish  her  memory.  The 
utterly  unscriptural,  absurd,  and  blasphe- 
mous extreme  to  which  the  Romanists  have 
gradually  carried  their  veneration  of  Mary, 
must  not  drive  us  into  the  opposite  extreme. 
The  name  '  Mary  '  is  the  same  as  Miriam, 
and  is  often  written  Mariam  in  the  Greek, 
particularly  when  applied  to  the  mother  of 
our  Lord  (e.  g.,  v.  20).  Its  original  meaning 
of  rebelliousness  was  quite  suitable  for  the 
sister  of  Moses. 

Of  Joseph  likewise  but  little  is  known. 
Though  of  the  old  royal  family,  he  appears 
to  have  been  quite  poor,  and  to  have  followed 
the  lowly  calling  of  wood-workman,  prob- 
ably what  we  call  a  carpenter  (comp.  on  13: 
55).  He  is  here  declared  (v.  19,  Rev.  ver.)  to  be  a 
'righteous'  man,  and  we  shall  presently  find 
him  faithfully  attentive  to  his  precious  charge 
(eh- 2);  but  beyond  this  the  Scriptures  give  us 
no  information  (comp.  at  end  of  ch.  2). 

Espoused,  Rev.  Yer.  gives  betrothed.  So 
Wye,  Tyn.,  Gen.  The  Com.  "Ver.  followed 
Rheims  in  giving  "espoused,"  which  for- 
merly meant  betrothed.  It  appears  to  have 
been  a  custom  among  the  Jews  for  a  betrothed 
maiden  to  remain  still  for  some  time  in  her 
father's  house,  before  the  marriage  was  con- 
summated; and  before  they  came  together, 
probably  refers  to  their  coming  to  live  in  the 
same  home,  though  it  may  be  taken  in  the 
other  sense,  which  is  obvious  (comp.  1  Cor.  7: 
5).  She  was  found,  does  not  imply  an 
attempt  at  concealment,  but  merely  states 
that  it  was  then  ascertained.  The  expression 
is  consistent  with  the  view  that  she  herself 
discovered  the  fact,  and  then,  through  infor- 
mation conveyed  in  some  suitable  way,  it  was 
ascertained   by    Joseph.      The    narrative    is 


Ch.  L] 


MATTHEW. 


19  Then  Joseph  her  husband,  being  a  just  man,  and 
not  willing  to  make  her  a  public  example,  was  minded 
to  put  her  away  privily. 

20  But  while  he  thought  on  these  things,  behold,  the 
angel  of  the  Lord  appeared  unto  him  in  a  dream,  say- 
ing, Joseph,  thou  son  of  David,  fear  not  to  take  unto 
thee  Mary  thy  wife :  for  that  which  is  conceived  in  her 
is  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 


19  with  child  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  And  Joseph  her  hus- 
band, being  a  righteous  man,  and  not  willint:  to 
make  her  a  public  example,  was  minded  to  put  her 

20  away  privily.  But  when  he  thought  on  these  things, 
behold,  an  angel  of  the  Lord  appeared  unto  him  in 
a  dream,  saying,  Joseph,  thou  son  of  David,  fear  not 
to  take  unto  thee  Mary  thy  wife:  for  that  which  is 


marked  by  great  delicacy.  A  little  reflection 
will  suggest  reasons  why  a  divine  revelation 
on  the  subject  was  made  to  Mary  beforehand, 
and  to  Joseph  only  after  the  fact  had  become 
apparent.  A  different  course  with  regard  to 
either  of  them  would  have  occasioned  addi- 
tional embarrassment  and  distress.  Ghost  is 
an  Anglo  Saxon  word  of  the  same  meaning 
as  the  Latin  'Spirit,'  and  having  the  same 
primary  sense  of  'breath'  (see  on  16:  25). 
It  has  in  modern  times  given  way  to  the  Latin 
term,  and  become  obsolete,  except  (1)  as  de- 
noting a  spirit  of  a  dead  person  supposed  to 
become  visible,  (2)  as  used  in  the  phrase  'to 
give  up  the  ghost'  (=expire),  and  (3)  as 
applied  to  the  third  person  of  the  Trinity. 
In  this  last  sense  our  Common  English  Ver- 
sion employs  it  only  in  those  passages  of  the 
New  Testament  in  which  'holy'  is  prefixed, 
so  as  to  mai<e  the  personal  designation  'The 
Holy  Ghost';  and  employs  it  in  all  such 
passages,  except  Luke  11:  13;  1  Thess.  4:  8. 
When  u.sed  without  'holy'  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament and  everywhere  in  the  Old  Testament, 
the  word  is  'Spirit.'  (Comp.  as  to  'hallow,' 
on  6:  9).  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  Rev.  Ver. 
did  not  uniformly  adopt  '  Holy  Spirit,'  with 
Amer.  Revisers.  Comp.  on  3:  11;  12:  32; 
28:  19.  Of  the  Holy  Ghost,  Hiterally  out 
of,  marking  the  Holy  Spirit  as  the  source  or 
cause  of  her  condition),  is  here  not  meant  to 
be  understood  as  a  part  of  the  discovery,  but 
is  a  fact  appended  by  the  narrator. — Under 
ordinary  circumstances,  Mary's  condition 
would  have  involved  a  crime  which,  by  the 
law  of  Moses,  was  punished  with  death  by 
stoning  (uv.  zorio).  And  a  betrothed  woman 
must  be  treated  in  this  respect  as  if  already 
married  (oeut.  22:23  r). 

19.  From  the  time  of  betrothal  the  parties 
were  legally  bound  to  each  other,  so  as  to  be 
called  husband  and  wife  (".20;  Deut.22: 24),  and 
80  that  unchastity  in  either  would  be  adul- 
tery. An  unrighteous  man  would  have 
cherished  a  passionate  anger,  and  sought  to 
punish  as  severely  as  possible.  Joseph,  being 
a  just  (Rev.  Ver.  righteous),  man,  (comp.  1 


Sam.  24:  17),  was  not  inclined  to  extreme  sever- 
ity, but  was  disposed  to  divorce  her  privately. 
(So  Bleek,  Grimm,  Cremer).  Or  it  may 
be  understood  thus:  Joseph,  being  righteous 
(and  therefore  feeling  that  in  such  circum- 
stances he  could  not  take  her  as  his  wife), 
and  yet  not  willing  to  expose  her  publicly, 1 
was  disposed  to  pursue  a  middle  course,  and 
divorce  her  privately.  (So  Meyer,  Weiss, 
Morison.)  The  statement  has  been  frequent- 
ly made  (so  Chrysostom,  Grotius),  that  the 
Greek  word  rendered  '  righteous '  may  sig- 
nify 'good,  kind,'  but  it  has  not  been  shown 
to  have  that  meanin_g  anywhere  in  the  New 
Test.,  and  the  common  meaning  gives  a  good 
sense,  in  either  of  the  above  ways.  It  would 
appear  that  the  law  (Deut.  22;  23f.),  was  not 
regarded  as  compelling  a  husband  to  accuse 
his  wife  as  an  adulteress,  and  so  Joseph  would 
not  be  violating  the  law  if  he  should  avoid  the 
extreme  course,  and  divorce  her,  and  this 
without  stating  his  reason  in  the  "writing  of 
divorcement,"  (5: 31).  Edersh.  shows  such  a 
course  to  accord  with  custom  and  Rabbinical 
opinion. 

20.  The  angel,  more  probably  an  an- 
gel, although  the  Greek  might  be  under- 
stood as  definite  because  of  the  Lord  being 
appended.  As  to  the  angels,  see  on  18:  lO- 
Divine  comm.unications  by  means  of  dreams 
are  mentioned  by  Matt,  in  1:  20;  2:  12  13,  19 p 
27: 19;  and  referred  to  in  Acts  2:  17;  not  else- 
where in  New  Test.  Edersh.  shows  that  the 
Jews  attached  great  importance  to  dreams. 
There  was  probably  something  connected  with 
such  dreams  as  really  gave  divine  guidance 
to  distinguish  them  from  ordinary  dreams. 
Joseph  is  addres.«ed  as  son  of  David,  and 
thereby  somewhat  prepared  for  the  remark- 
able disclosure  about  to  be  made.  He  prob- 
ably knew  that  his  was  a  leading  branch  of  the 
royal  family  (see  on  v.  17).     Mary  thy  wife. 


1  The  earliest  MSS.  read  deigmatisai,  'make  her  a 
spectacle,'  the  common  Greek  text  parmhif/matUai, 
'make  her  an  example.'  It  is  somewhat  dltlicult  to 
decide  which  is  the  correct  reading,  but  the  difference 
in  meaning  is  unimportant. 


10 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  I. 


21  And  she  shall  briug  forth  a  son,  and  thou  shalt  I  21  >  conceived  in  her  is  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  And  she 
call  his  name  JE6US:  for  he  shall  save  his  people  from  shall  bring  forth  a  son;  and  thou  shalt  call  his  name 
their  sins.  {       jKSirs;  lor  it  is  he  that  shall  save  his  people  from 

1  Gr,  begotten* 


the  betrothed  woman  heing  frequently  spoken 
of  as  a  wife.  (Deut.  22:  24.)  So  as  to  'Joseph 
her  husband,'  in  v.  19.  Of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Accordingly  in  v.  21  it  is  not,  shall  bring  forth 
a  son  *unto  thee,'  as  was  said  to  Zaoharias, 

(Lukel:  13.) 

21.  Jesus  is  the  same  name  as  Joshua,  a 

contraction  of  Jehoshuah  (Num.  13:16;  IChr.  7:27), 

signifying  in  Hebrew  'Jehovah  is  helper,' 
or  'Help  of  Jehovah.'  In  the  later  books, 
(e.g.,  Neh.  7:  7;  8:  17;  Ezra  2:  2,  etc.),  it 
sometimes  takes  the  form  Joshua  (Jeshuah), 
and  this  the  Greek  translators  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament expressed  (comp.  on  v.  2)  by  Jesus. 
(In  the  Jewish  books  subsequent  to  Chris- 
tianity it  is  frequently  Jeshu).  The  name 
Joshua  is  everywhere  in  the  Septuagint  found 
in  this  form,  Jesus,  and  so  in  the  two  passages 
of  the  New  Testament  in  which  Joshua  is 
mentioned  tActs  7:  45;  Heb.  4:  8).  As  ap- 
plied to  our  Lord  there  is  of  course  a  certain 
niodiflcationof  the  idea  conveyed  by  the  name, 
but  the  leading  thought  is  the  same,  viz.,  de- 
liverance, salvation,  and  that  springing  from 
Jehovah.  Like  Joshua,  who  led  Israel  into 
the  promised  land,  Jesus  was  to  be  the  leader 
and  ruler  of  his  people,  the  "captain  of  their 
salvation"  (Heb.2:io),  under  whose  guidance 
they  would  be  delivered  from  all  dangers 
and  brought  safe  to  the  rest  that  remaineth 
(Heb.  4:9).  Like  the  high-priest  Joshua,  who 
was  associated  with  Zerubbabel  in  bringing 
the  Jews  back  from  the  captivity  (Eira2:2;Zech. 
s:iff),  Jesus  was  to  be  the  high-priest  of  his 
people.  He  thus  answered  at  the  same  time 
to  the  civil  and  religious  rulers  of  the  nation, 
at  once  King  and  Priest.  Comp.  "he  shall 
be  a  priest  upon  his  throne,"  said  of  Joshua 
in  Zech.  6:  13.' — Mary  had  also  been  told  (Luke 
1:  sir.)  that  the  child  must  be  named  Jesus,  but 
without  the  reason  for  it  here  given.  For 
he   shall   save.    In  Kevised  Version,  it  is 

1  Other  persons  named  Joshua  or  Jesus  are  found  in 
1  Sam.  6:  14,  18;  2  Kings  23:  8;  Luke  3:  29;  Col.  4:  11; 
Ecclus.  Prologue  and  50:  27  ;  Josephus,  "Ant."  vi.  6,  6  ; 
xi.  7,  1 ;  xii.  5,  1 ;  xv.  3,  1.  See  also  Bar-Jesus,  Acts  13: 
6.  Jason,  in  Acts  17:  5;  Rom.  16:  21  is  the  same  name 
altered  into  a  form  sounding  better  in  Greek,  as  .Tews 
among  us  often  give  their  names  a  more  English  shape. 


he  that  shall  save.  The  word  'he'  is  here 
pretty  clearly  emphatic  in  the  Greek,  he  him- 
self, he  and  no  other,  though  Revised  Version 
rather  exaggerates  the  emphasis.'  The  word 
rendered  'save'  signifies  primarily  to  'pre- 
serve,' secondarily  to  'deliver,'  and  it  often 
conveys  both  ideas  at  the  same  time.  It  is 
applied  to  physical  dangers  (8: 25),  death  (24: 221 
27:40,42),  disease  (s:  21,22;  jamesS:  15).  and  to  sin 
and  its  consequences,  which  is  the  common 
use.  From  their  sins,  from  both  the  conse- 
quences and  the  dominion,  both  the  penalty 
and  the  ^ower  of  their  sins.  Messiah  did  not 
come,  as  the  Jews  commonly  supposed  he 
would,  simply  to  save  his  people  from  the  do- 
minion of  foreigners ;  it  was  something  deeper 
and  higher,  to  save  them  from  their  sins.  And 
not  to  save  them  in  their  sins,  but  from  their 
sins.  His  people  would  to  Joseph  naturally 
mean  Israel.  It  may  have  been  meant  to  de- 
note the  spiritual  Israel,  including  some  of 
the  nation,  though  not  all  (Kom.  9:  6,  27,  31 ;  11 :  7), 
and  some  Gentiles.  (Rom.  9:  25,  26,  30.)  Or  the 
angel  may  have  meant  simply  the  people  of 
Israel,  i.  e.,  the  truly  pious  among  them,  not 
intending  to  exclude  the  Gentiles  from  being 
saved  by  Jesus,  but  confining  the  view  at 
present  to  the  salvation  of  the  Jews.  So  the 
angel  announces  to  the  shepherds  "great  joy, 

which  shall  be  to  all  the  people."  (Luke  2:  10,  Re- 
vised version.)  Ecclus.  46:  1  says  of  Joshua, 
"Who  according  to  his  name  became  great 
for  the  salvation  of  his  elect"  (God's  elect), 
which  shows  that  the  meaning  of  the  name 
would  be  readily  apprehended,  and  the  con- 
nection in  Ecclus.  clearly  confines  the  "elect" 
to  Israel.  Comp.  the  restriction  of  our  Lord's 
ministry,  and  the  temporary  restriction  of  the 
ministry  of  the  Twelve,  to  "  the  lost  sheep  of 


i  Winer,  Fritzsche,  Meyer,  and  others,  hold  that  atUo* 
in  Nom.  is  always  emphatic.  But  the  New  Testament 
has  some  examples  (see  Buttmann,  p.  107,  Grimm  IL  2) 
in  which  it  cannot  without  great  violence  be  so  under- 
stood, and  we  seem  compelled  to  admit  that  it  is  occa- 
sionally only  an  unemphatic  '  he,'  etc.  (Latin  is).  It  is 
freely  so  used  in  modern  Greek  (Mullach),  and  there  is 
a  partly  similar  use  of  ipse  in  late  Latin  (Ronsch). 
Uomp.  Ellicott  on  Col.  1:17;  Moulton's  note  to  Winer, 
p.  187. 


Ch.  I.] 


MATTHEW. 


11 


22  Nowr  all  this  was  done,  that  it  might  be  fulfilled  i  22  their  sins.     Now  all  this  is  come  to  pass,  that  it 
which  was  spokeu  ot°  the  Lord  by  the  prophet,  sayiiig,         might  be  fulfilled  which  was  spokeu  by  the  Lord 

I        through  the  prophet,  sayiug, 


the  house  of  Israel."  (is:  2*;  lo:  »,  6.)  The  same 
question  as  in  this  case  arises  in  Acts  5:  31,  Re- 
vised Version,  "to  give  repentance  to  Israel, 
and  remission  of  sins." 

S2.  All  this  was  done,  etc.  The  state- 
ment and  quotation  in  v.  22  f.  has  been  un- 
derstood by  some  expositors  (Chrys.,  Alex- 
ander) as  a  part  of  the  words  of  the  angel. 
They  render:  'And  all  this  has  taken  place,' 
that  it  may  be  fulfilled,'  etc.,  and  the  lan- 
guage, so  far  as  that  goes,  warrants  their  in- 
terpretation. In  26:56,  the  same  form  of 
expression  is  commonly  referred  to  the 
speaker  of  what  precedes,  and  not  to  the 
Evangelist  (comp.  Mark  14:  49j ;  in  21:  4,  the 
connection  will  admit  of  either  view  (see  note 
there).  In  the  present  case,  however,  we 
should  have  to  suppose  the  angel  to  be  antici- 
pating when  he  says:  "All  this  has  taken 
place,"  for  most  of  the  events  to  which  he 
refers  were  yet  future ;  and  in  21 :  4,  no  part 
of  the  event  in  question  has  taken  place  when 
the  Saviour  speaks.  Matthew  has  not  else- 
where than  in  these  three  passages  the  pre- 
cise expression,  'all  this  has  taken  place  in 
order  that,'  etc.,  but  he  remarks  upon  the  de- 
signed fulfillment  of  prophecy  much  oftener 
than  the  other  Evangelists,  so  that  it  is  quite 
natural  to  refer  this  statement  to  him  ;  which 
on  the  whole  seems  decidedly  best.  Looking 
back  upon  the  events,  Matthew  connects  them 
with  the  time  at  which  he  is  writing,  and  thus 
very  naturally  says:  'All  this  has  taken 
place  that  it  might  be  fulfilled,  etc.  * 

Falfilled  is  the  translation  of  a  Greek  word 
signifying  to  'make  full,' to  'fill  up.'  (So  the 
English  fill  full  or  fulfill).  It  is  often  used  in 
New  Testament,  both  literally,  as  to  fill  a  \  al- 
ley, boat,  etc.,  and  figuratively,  as  to  fill  with 
gladness,  knowledge,  etc.  In  a  derivative  sense 
it  signifies  to  'perform  fully,'   'accomplish,' 


I  The  word  rendered  in  the  Common  English  Version 
'  was  done,'  properly  signifies  to  'come  to  be,'  'come  to 
pass,'  'happen,'  eic,  and  this  meaning  is  very  import- 
ant for  the  exact  exposition  of  many  pa.s.«age»  in  the 
New  Testament.  The  student  should  look  out  for  this 
word,  and  not  be  content  to  render  It  loosely. 

'The  peculiar  idiom  of  the  Greek  makes  it  equally 
proper  to  render  '  that  It  may,'  or  'that  it  might,'  ac- 
cording to  the  connectioD. 


being  applied  to  a  work  or  a  duty,  and  to  pre- 
dictions, as  here.  This  last  very  important 
use,  to  fulfill  (a  prediction),  is  found  frequently 

in  Matthew  (1:22;2:  15,  17,  23;*:  14;8:  17;12:17;13:»5; 
21:  4;  26:  54,  56;  27:  9),   and  in  John  ( 12  :  38;  13  :  18;  15:  26; 

17:12;  18:  9,3  ;  19:24.36);   several  timcs  in   Luke 

(1 :  20;  4:  21 :  21 :  22  ;  24  :  44),  and  in  ActS  (l :  16;  3 :  18 ;  13  :  27); 

once  in  Mark  (i4:4»)  and  in  James  (2:23.)  An 
examination  of  these  passages  would  show  that 
in  general  they  will  admit  only  the  strict 
sense  of  fulfill,  implying  a  real  prediction, 
and  that  no  one  of  them  requires  the  quite  dif- 
ferent meaning  attached  to  the  term  by  some 
expositors,  viz. :  that  while  there  was  no  real 
prediction,  the  New  Testament  occurrence 
reminded  the  Evangelist  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment passage,  or  so  resembled  the  Old  Testa- 
ment occurrence  as  to  warrant  the  application 
to  it  of  the  same  language.  This  serious  de- 
parture from  the  etymology  and  regular  use 
of  the  word  is  supposed  by  such  expositors  to 
be  required  by  a  few  passages  in  which  it  is 
difficult  for  us  to  see  that  there  exists  the 
strict  relation  of  prediction  and  fulfillment. 
But  such  passages,  it  will  be  found,  all  admit 
of  at  least  a  possible  explanation  in  consist- 
ency with  the  idea  of  a  real  fulfillment  (see 
on  2:  15,  18),  and  we  have  no  right  to  take 
this  or  any  other  word  in  a  sense  alien  to  its 
origin  and  use,  unless  there  be  found  passages 
in  which  it  cannot  possibly  have  the  usual 
meaning.  The  strict  application  of  this  rule 
of  interpretation  is  here  a  matter  of  import- 
ance, as  the  question  involved  seriously  affects 
the  prophetic  relation  between  the  Old  and 
the  New  Testament. 

But  two  things  are  to  be  observed.  (1)  The 
New  Testament  writers  sometimes  quote  Old 
Testament  expressions  as  applicable  to  gospel 
facts  or  truths,  without  saying  that  they  are 
prophecies  (e.  g.,  Rom  10:  18),  and  in  some 
cases  it  is  doubtful  how  they  intend  the  quota- 
tion to  be  regarded.  (2)  It  is  often  unneces- 
sary, and  sometimes  impossible,  to  suppose 
that  the  prophet  himself  had  in  mind  that 
which  the  New  Testament  writer  calls  a  ful- 
fillment of  his  prediction.  Some  predictions 
were  even  involuntary,  as  that  of  Caiaphas. 
(John  11: 50.)  Many  prophecies  received  fulfill- 
ments which  the  prophet  does  not  appear  to 


12 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  I. 


23  Behold,  a  virgin  shall  be  with  child,  and  shall 
bring  forth  a  son,  and  they  shall  call  his  name  £ui- 
nianuel,  which  being  interpreted  is,  God  with  us. 


Behold,  the  virgin  shall  be  with  child,  and  shall 

bring  forth  a  son. 
And  they  shall  call  his  name  ^  Immanuel ; 


1  Gr.  Smrtianuel. 


have  at  all  contemplated.  But  as  God's  provi- 
dence often  brought  about  the  fulfill ment 
though  the  human  actors  were  heedless  or  even 
ignorant  of  the  predictions  they  fulfilled  (e.  g., 
John  19:  24),  so  God's  Spirit  often  contem- 
plated fulfillments  of  which  the  prophet  had 
no  conception,  but  which  the  Evangelist 
makes  known.  And  it  is  of  a  piece  with  the 
general  development  of  revelation  that  the 
later  inspiration  should  explain  the  records  of 
earlier  inspiration,  and  that  only  after  events 
have  occurred  should  the  early  predictions  of 
them  be  fully  understood. 

Some  still  insist  that  the  phrase  that  it 
might  be  fulfilled  should  be  rendered,  or  at 
any  rate  should  be  understood  as  denoting, 
'so  that  it  was  fulfilled,' expressing  only  the 
result;  but  the  best  scholars  are  now  very 
nearly  unanimous  in  maintaining  that  we 
must  hold  fast,  in  this  and  all  similar  ptissages, 
to  the  established  meaning  of  the  phrase.  The 
design  expressed  is  often  not  merely,  and  in 
some  cases  not  at  all,  that  of  the  liuman 
agents, but  the  design  of  God  in  his  providence. 
It  is  probably  the  failure  to  note  this  simple 
distinction — while  it  was  clearly  perceived 
that  in  some  passages  no  such  design  as  that 
stated  can  have  been  entertained  by  the  actors 
themselves — that  has  led  numerous  earlier  in- 
terpreters, including  some  of  the  Greek  Fa- 
thers, to  accept  the  sense  of  result ;  and  the 
disposition  to  do  so  has  doubtless  been 
strengthened  in  some  minds  by  dislike  to  the 
idea  of  divine  predestination.  Notice  that  the 
term  which  here  precedes  does  not  exactly 
signify  'was  done'  (which  would  direct  our 
thoughts  to  the  human  actors),  but,  as  above 
explained,  'has  occurred,'  'has  taken  place,' 
f.  e.,  in  the  course  of  providence.  (Comp.  on 
2:  17,  and  6:  10). 

23.  The  quotation  is  from  Isa.  7:  14.  Pro- 
posing to  give  Ahaz  a  sign  of  speedy  deliver- 
ance from  his  enemies,  Ephraim  and  Syria, 
the  prophet  speaks  as  here  quoted,  adding 
(Alexander's  version):  "Curds  and  honey 
shall  he  eat  until  he  shall  know  (how)  to  re- 
ject the  evil  and  choose  the  good  ;  for  before 
the  child  shall  know  (how)  to  reject  the  evil 
and  choose  the  good,  the  land  of  whose  two 


kings  thou  art  afraid  shall  be  forsaken."     A 
certain  woman  (to  us  unknown),  then  a  vir- 
gin, would  bear  a  son  ;  and  before  he  should 
arrive  at  the  early  age  indicated,  i.  e.,  in  the 
course  of  a  few  years,  Ahaz  would  be  deliv- 
ered from  the  dreaded  kings  of  Syria  and  Is- 
rael   by  the  coming  of  the  Assyrians,  who 
would  lay  those  countries  waste.    Then  Judah 
would   prosper,  and  the  growing  child  would 
have  other  food  than  merely  curds  and  honey. 
It  is  not  necessary  to   maintain  that  Isaiah 
himself  saw  anything  further  in  the  predic- 
tion.    But  as  'spoken  by*  the  Lord,  through 
the  prophet,'  we  learn  from  Matthew  that  it 
also   pointed   forward  to  the  birth  from   the 
more  notable  virgin,  of  one  who  should  be 
not  merely  a  pledge  of  divine  deliverance, 
but  himself  the  Deliverer;    who  should  not 
simply  give  token  by  his  name  of  God's  pres- 
ence  to   protect,  but  should   himself  be  the 
present  and  manifest  Deity.     We   need  not 
suppose    that   Matthew   would   in   argument 
with   a  Jew  have  appealed  to  this  passage  as 
by  itself  proving  to  the  Jew  that  Jesus  was 
the  Messiah — for  we  have  no  information  that 
the  Jews  understood  it  as  a  Messianic  passage 
— but  it  is  one   of  many   predictions,   some 
more  and  some  less  plain,  which  all  combined ; 
would   furnish   conclusive  proof.      Ana   we, 
who  might  never  have  perceived  such  a  refer- 
ence in  the  prophet" s  words,  accept  it  on  thej 
authority  of  the  Evangelist,  and  do  so  without! 
difficulty,  because  we  see  how  fully  the  pro-j 
phetic  books  are  pervaded  by  the  Messianic! 
idea.    (Acts  lO:  43.)     '  To  him  all   the  prophetsl 
bear  witness.'     Some  expositors  of  Isaiah  (a^f 
Hengstenberg,  Alexander)  understand  an  eavl 
elusive  reference  to  the  birth  of  Jesus;  but' 
how  could  that  possibly  become  a  sign  to  Ahaz 
of   his    speedyi  deliverance  from  Syria   and 
Ephraim?  The  Hebrew  is,  literalfy,  "Behold, 
the  maiden  conceiving  and  bringing  forth  a 
.son,  and  calling"  etc.     As  the  calling  is  fu- 
ture, it  is  natural  to  take  the  other  participles 
as  future  also  (Toy.)     The  last  Hebrew  verb 

1  For  the  principal  actor  old  English  commonly  said 
'of  (same  word  as  Latin  ah,  Greek  apo);  in  modern 
English  it  is  '  by.'  The  intermediai-y  we  now  most 
clearly  express  by  '  through.' 


I  I 


Ch.  I.] 


MATTHEW. 


13 


24  Then  Joseph  being  raised  from  sleep  did  as  the 
angel  of  the  Lord  had  bidden  him,  and  took  unto  him 
his  wife: 

25  And  knew  her  not  till  she  had  brought  forth  her 
firstborn  son:  and  he  called  his  name  JE8US. 


24  which  is,  being  interpreted,  God  with  us.  And 
Joseph  arose  from  his  sleep,  and  did  as  the  angel  of 
the  Lord  commanded  him,  and  took  unto  him  his 

25  wife;  and  knew  her  not  till  she  had  brought  forth  a 
son :  and  he  called  his  name  Jesus. 


might  mean  'thou  shalt  call,'  and  so  the  Sept. 
has  "Behold,  the  virgin  shall  conceive  and 
bring  forth  a  son,  and  thou  shalt  call,"  etc. 
Matthew  has  substantially  the  same  as  the 
Sept.  (which  he  commonly  follows,  comp.  on 
3:3,)  only  changing  the  last  verb  to  'they 
shall  call,'  i.  e.,  people  shall  call— he  shall  be 
so  recognized.  (Comp.  Isa.  8:  3.)  The  He- 
brew substantive  signifies  'maiden.'  No  case 
has  been  found  in  which  it  must  mean  a  mar- 
ried woman  ;  the  only  examples  adduced  by 
Gesenius  and  others  (Prov.so:  i9;  cant.6:  8)  fail  to 
prove  the  point.  The  Sept.  here  translates 
'virgin,'  Matthew  confirms  that  by  his  au- 
thority, and  all  the  efforts  have  failed  to  show 
that  it  is  wrong.i  Immanuel.  One  of  the 
forms  of  the  principal  Hebrew  word  for  God 
is  el ;  and  immnnu  signifies  '  with  us.'  While 
this  was  to  be  the  actual  name  of  the  child 
born  in  the  time  of  Ahaz,  it  was  for  Jesus  not 
a  name  actually  borne,  but  only  a  description 
of  his  character  and  position.  Comp.  the 
name  Jedediah,  '  beloved  of  Jehovah,'  which 
Nathan  gave  to  Solomon  at  his  birth  (.iSani. 
ij:25),  but  which  was  not  actually  borne  by 
him,      Comp.  also  Isa.  60:  18;  Ezek.  48:  35. 

24.  Joseph,  believing  and  obedient,  at  once 
married  his  betrothed,  with  all  the  customary 
ceremonies,  taking  her  to  his  house,  where 
she  would  have  his  protection  and  tender 
care.    They  lived  in  Nazareth.  (Seeon2:23.) 

23.  Till  she  brought  forth  her  firstborn 
son.  The  Revised  Version  properly  omits 
the  phrase,  '  her  firstborn.'  *    Though  not  said 


here,  it  is  said  in  Luke  2:  7,  that  he  was  'her 
firstborn.'  This  phrase  of  Luke,  and  Mat- 
thew's 'till,'  naturally  suggest  that  Mary 
afterwards  bore  other  children,  but  do  not 
certainly  prove  it.  The  word  'till'  is  some- 
times employed  where  the  state  of  things  does 
not  change  after  the  time  indicated.  Yet  the 
examples  adduced  (the  best  are,  perhaps,  Ps. 
112:  8;  110:  1;  less  apposite  are  Gen.  8:7; 
Deut.  34 :  6 ;  1  Sam.  15 :  35 ;  2  Sam.  6 :  23 ;  Isa. 
22:  14;  1  Tim.  4:  13)  are  none  of  them  really 
similar  to  the  one  before  us.  The  word  will 
inevitably  suggest  that  afterwards  it  was 
otherwise,  unless  there  be  something  in  the 
connection  or  the  nature  of  the  case  to  forbid 
such  a  conclusion.  In  like  manner  the  dedi- 
cation of  the  firstborn  son  (Exoiiuaisris)  gave  a 
sort  of  technical  sense  to  the  term  'firstborn,' 
which  might  cause  it  to  be  applied  to  an  only 
child.  Still,  this  would  be  very  unnatural  for 
Luke,  writing  long  afterwards,  and  perfectly 
knowing  that  there  was  no  other  oflTspring,  if 
such  was  the  case.  Combine  these  separate 
strong  probabilities  furnished  by  'till'  and 
'firstborn'  with  the  third  expression  'brethren' 
or  'brothers'  and  even  'sisters'  (see  on  13: 
55),  and  the  result  is  a  very  strong  argument 
to  the  eflTect  that  Mary  bore  other  children. 
The  Romanists,  hold  marriage  to  be  a  less 
holy  state  than  celibacy,  and  so  they  set  aside 
all  these  expressions  without  hesitation. 
When  some  Protestants  (as  Alexander),  on 
grounds  of  vague  sentiment,  object  to  the 
idea  that  Mary  was  really  a  wife,  and  repeat- 


'Thls  Hebrew  word  is  almah.  Another  word,  hethu- 
lah.  generally  means  virgin,  but  In  Joel  1  :  8  is  clearly 
applied  to  a  young  wife.  If  such  an  instance  had 
been  found  for  almnh,  it  would  have  been  claimed  as 
triumphant  proof  that  'virgin'  is  not  here  a  proper 
translation.  The  other  Greek  translations  of  Isaiah 
render  by  neanU,  a  young  woman  ;  but  it  must  be  re- 
membered that  the  Christians  early  began  to  use  this 
passage  against  the  .Tews,  and  that  of  the  three  trans- 
lators Aqnila  was  a  Jew,  Theodotlon  a  Jew  or  a 
heretic,  8ynimnchus  an  Eblonlte  (Judaizer,)  which 
makes  their  rendering  suspicious.  Buxtorf  and  Levy 
give  no  Aramaic  (C'haldee)  examples  in  which  almah 
must  mean  a  married  woman.  The  result  seems  to 
be  that  almah  does  not  certainly  prove  a  virgin  birth 


but  fully  admits  of  that  sense,  which  Matthew  con- 
firms. 

*This  is  the  reading  of  the  two  oldest  (B  and  K),  and 
several  other  Important  Greek  MSS.  (Z.  1, 3.3),  and  of  the 
four  oldest  versions  (old  Latin,  old  Syriac,  and  the  two 
Egyptian.)    The  additional  words,  '  her  firstborn,' are 
obviously  added  from  Luke  2  :  7,  where  the  text  does 
not  vary.    We  can  see  why  many  copies  should  have 
inserted  them  here,  to  make  Matthew  similar  to  Luke, 
I  and  can  see  no  reason  why  any  copy  should  have 
I  omitted  them  here,  when  well  known  to  exist  in  Luke. 
I  Observation  shows  that  assimilation  of  parallel  pas- 
sages was  almost  always  effected  by  Insertion  in  the 
i  shorter,  and  the  probable  reason  is  that  it  would  have 
I  beon  held  irreverent  by  students  and  copyists  to  omit 
I  anything  from  the  lunger  text. 


14 


MATTHEW. 


rcH.  II. 


CHAPTER  II. 


NOW  when  Jesus  was  born  in  Bethlehem  of  Juilea 
in  the  days  of  Herod  the  king,  behold,  there  came 
wise  men  from  the  east  to  Jerusalem, 


1      Now  when  Jesus  was  born  in  Bethlehem  of  Judsea 
in  the  days  of  Herod  the  king,  behold,  i  wise  men 


1  Or.  Magi.    Compare  Esther  1 :  13  ;  Dun.  2  :  13. 


edly  a  mother,  they  ought  to  perceive  that 
the  Evangelists  had  no  such  feeling,  or  they 
would  certainly  have  avoided  using  so  many 
expressions  which  naturally  suggest  the  con- 
trary. 

It  was  inevitable  that  Jesus  should  be  com- 
monly regarded  as  the  son  of  Joseph  (i3:55; 
John  1:46),  for  the  divinc  communications  to 
Joseph  and  Mary  could  not  at  present  be 
made  known.  Accordingly  even  Mary  says, 
'thy  father    and    I,'    and    even    Luke    'his 

parents'.   (Luke2:«,43,  48.) 

HOMILETICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

V.  18  f.  The  most  '  highly-favored '  of  all 
women  has  to  bear  for  a  time  the  deepest  re- 
proach a  woman  can  suffer.  (Edersh. :  "The 
first  sharp  pang  of  the  sword  which  was  to  pierce 
her  soul.")  But  it  proves  only  a  step  in  the 
progress  to  everlasting  honor. — V.  19  f.  Divine 
guidance  in  perplexity.  ( 1 )  A  perplexity  here 
of  the  most  cruelly  painful  sort.  (2)  The  per- 
plexed man  is  unselfishly  anxious  to  do  right. 
(3)  He  takes  time  and  reflects.  (4)  The  Lord 
directs  him.  Personal  righteousness  and  pray- 
erful reflection  will  often  carry  us  through; 
and  the  result  may  be  the  highest  joy.  Jer. 
Taylor :  "In  all  our  doubts  we  shall  have  a 
resolution  from  heaven,  or  some  of  its  minis- 
ters, if  we  have  recourse  thither  for  a  guide, 
and  be  not  hasty  in  our  discourses,  or  incon- 
siderate in  our  purposes,  orrash  in  judgment." 
— V.  20.  Jesus  and  the  Holy  Spirit.  (1)  Hishu- 
manity  due  to  the  Holy  Spirit.  (2)  His  whole 
life  controlled  by  the  Holy  Spirit  (4:  1;  12: 
28;  John  3:  34;  Heb.  9:  14).  (3)  His  mission 
vindicated  and  commended  by  the  Holy  Spirit. 
(1  Tim.  3:  16;  John  16:  8-11.)  (4)  His  work 
continued  by  the  Holy  Spirit  (John  14:  16; 
16:  13;  Acts  16:  7;  'the  Spirit  of  Christ,' 
Bom.  8:  9.)— V.  21.  The  three  Joshuas.— Owr 
Saviour.  I.  What  he  is.  (1)  God  with  us.  (2) 
Born  of  a  woman.  (3)  Thus  the  God-man. 
II.  What  he  does.  (1)  He  will  save.  (2)  He 
will  save  his  people.  (3)  He  will  save  his  people 
from  their  sins. — The  gospel  not  merely  gives 
us  religious  instruction,  but  makes  known  a 
personal  Saviour.    Its  power  does  not  reside 


in  propositions,  but  in  a  person. — V.  22.  Provi- 
dence fulfilling  prophecy. — V.  21-'23.  NicoLL: 
"Jesus  Christ  was,  (1)  The  child  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  who  had  existed  from  eternity,  and 
now  entered  into  the  sphere  of  sense  and  time ; 
(2)  Born  into  the  world  with  a  distinct  mission  \ 
— his  name  was  called  Jesus,  because  he  was 
tosave."— V.  23.  Mary.  (1)  The  Mary  of  pro-' 
phecy.  (2)  The  Mary  of  history.  (3)  The 
Mary  of  modern  fancj'.  See  Milton's  "Hymn 
on  the  Nativity,"  and  Mrs.  Browning's  noble 
poem,  "The  Virgin  Mary  to  the  Child  Jesus." 
LoRiMER :  'Such  a  mother  must  have  ex- 
erted a  marked  influence  on  the  character  of 
her  child.  To  question  it  would  be  to  ques- 
tion the  reality  of  his  humanity." 

The  Incarnation,  as  to  its  nature,  is  of  ne- 
cessity unfathomably  mysterious ;  but  as  a 
fact,  it  is  unspeakably  glorious,  and,  with  the 
Atonement  and  Intercession,  it  furnishes  a 
divinely  simple  and  beautifnl  solution  of  the 
otherwise  insoluble  problem  of  human  salva- 
tion. Many  things  the  world  accepts  and  uses 
as  vitally  important  facts,  concerning  the  na- 
ture of  which  there  may  yet  be  questions  it  is 
impossible  to  answer. 


Ch.  2:  1-12.    The  Visit  of  The  Magi. 

Having  spoken  of  the  birth  of  Jesus  (comp. 
on  1:  18,)  the  Evangelist  now  adds  (ch.  2)  two 
incidents  of  his  infancy,  viz.,  the  visit  of  the    ! 
Magi  (v.  1-12),  and  closely  connected  therewith 
the  flight  into  Egypt  and  return,    (v.  13-23 )  The    ! 
first  tends  to  show  that  Jesus  was  the  Messiah,    1 
apd  to  honor  him,  in   bringing  out  the  sig-   ' 
nal  respect  paid  him  by  distinguished  Gen- 
tiles, (as  often  predicted  of  the  Messiah,  e.  g.,    ' 
Isa.  60:  3,)  and  in  stating  the  appearance  of  a  \ 
star  in  connection  with  his  birth  ;  the  second   ! 
incident  exhibits  God's  special   care  of  the  ' 
child.     Both  are  connected  with  extraordinary 
divine    communications    (v.  12,  is,  19),   designed  ; 
for  his  protection,  and  with  the  fulfillment  of   j 
prophecies  concerning  the  Messiah,  such  as  1 
the  birth  at  Bethlehem  (5),  the  calling  out  of   I 
Egypt  (15),  the  disconsolate   mourners  (18),  , 
and  the  residence  at  Nazareth  (23).     Compar- 
ing this  section   with  Luke,   ch.   2,  we   see 


Ch.  II.] 


MATTHEW. 


15 


that  Matthew  records  such  incidents  of  the 
infancy  as  furnish  proofs  that  Jesus  is  the 
Messiah — to  prove  which  is  a  special  aim  of  his 
Gospel.  One  of  these  proofs,  to  a  Jew,  was 
the  homage  of  Gentiles  ;  while  Luke,  writing 
more  for  Gentiles,  who  knew  that  the  major- 
ity of  the  Jews  had  rejected  Jesus  as  their 
Messiah,  mentions  the  recognition  of  the  child 
hy  the  conspicuously  devout  Jews,  Simeon 
and  Hannah. 

1.  The  narrative  goes  right  on.  The  pre- 
ceding sentence  ended  with  the  name  Jesus, 
and  this  begins:  Now  when  Jesus  was 
born,  etc.  Literally,  the  Jesus,  the  one  just 
mentioned;  'this  Jesus'  would  be  too  strong 
a  rendering,  but  it  may  help  to  show  the  close 
connection, 

Bethlehem  is  a  very  ancient  but  always 
small  village,  prettily  situated  on  a  hill  about 
five  miles  south  of  Jerusalem.  Its  original 
name  was  Ephrath  or  Ephratah  (Gen.  35:  i6,  is, 
48:7,)  probably  applied  to  the  surrounding 
country,  as  well  as  to  the  town.  The  Israel- 
ites named  it  Beth-lehem,  '  house  of  bread,' 
or,  as  we  should  say,  '  bread-town,'  which  the 
Arabs  retain  as  Beit-lahm.  This  name  was 
doubtless  given  because  of  the  fruitfulness  of 
its  fields,  which  is  still  remarkable.  It  was 
called  Bethlehem  Ephratah,  or  Bethlehem  Ju- 
dah,  to  distinguish  it  from  another  Bethlehem 
not  far  from  Nazareth  in  the  portion  of  Zab- 
ulon.  (Josh.  19: 15.)  Judea  here  must  conse- 
quently be  understood,  not  as  denoting  the 
whole  country  of  the  Jews,  Palestine,  but  in 
a  narrower  sense,  Judea  as  distinguished 
from  Galilee  (see  on  2:  22).  A  beautiful  pic- 
ture of  life  at  Bethlehem  is  found  in  the  Book 
of  Ruth.  It  was  the  birthplace, of  David, 
but  he  did  nothing  to  increase  its  importance  ; 
nor  did  the  'Son  of  David,'  who  was  born 
there,  ever  visit  it,  so  far  as  we  know,  during 
his  public  ministry,  which  appears  not  to  have 
extended  south  of  Jerusalem.  In  like  man- 
ner the  present  population  is  only  about  4,000, 
some  of  whom  cultivate  the  surrounding  hills 
and  beautiful  deep  valleys,  while  many  make 
their  living  by  manufacturing  trinkets  to  sell 
to  pilgrims  and  travelers.  .In  itself,  Bethle- 
hem was  from  first  to  last  "little  to  be  among 
the  thousands  of  J  udah"  (Micah,  Rev.  Ver. ); 
yet  in  moral  importance  it  was  "in  no  wise 
least,"  among  them  (Matt.,  Rev.  Ver.),  for 
from  it  came  forth  the  Messiah.     The  tradi- 


tional localities  of  particular  sacred  events 
which  are  now  pointed  out  there,  are  all  more 
or  less  doubtful ;  but  the  general  locality  is 
beyond  question  that  near  to  which  Jacob 
buried  his  Rachel,  where  Ruth  gleaned  in 
the  rich  wheat  fields,  and  David  showed  his 
youthful  valor  in  protecting  his  flock,  and 
where  valley  and  hill-side  shone  with  celestial 
light  and  echoed  the  angels'  song  when  the 
Saviour  was  born. 

Matthew  here  first  mentions  a  place.  He 
does  not  refer  to  a  previous  residence  of 
Joseph  and  Mary  at  Nazareth  (Luke  1:26,27), 
but  certainly  does  not  in  the  least  exclude 
it;  and  in  fact  his  way  of  introducing  Beth- 
lehem seems  very  readily  to  leave  room  for 
what  we  learn  elsewhere,  viz.,  that  the  events 
he  has  already  narrated  (i :  18-25)  did  not  occur 
at  that  place. 

Herod  the  king  would  be  well  known, 
by  this  simple  description,  to  Matthew's  first 
readers,  who  knew  that  the  other  royal 
Herods  (Antipas  and  Agrippa)  belonged  to 
a  later  period.  (Luke  also,  1;  5,  places  the 
birth  of  Jesus  in  his  reign.)  The  Maccabean 
or  Hasmonean'  line  of  rulers,  who  had  made 
the  second  century  b.  c,  one  of  the  most 
glorious  periods  in  the  national  history,  had 
rapidly  degenerated,  and  after  the  virtual 
conquest  of  Judea  by  the  Romans  (b.  c,  63), 
an  Idumean  named  Antipater  attained,  by 
Roman  favor,  a  gradually  increasing  power 
in  the  State,  and  his  son  Herod  was  at  length 
(b.  c,  40)  declared,  by  the  Senate  at  Rome,  to 
be  king  of  the  Jews.  Aided  by  the  Roman 
arms,  Herod  overcame  the  opposition  of  the 
people,  and  in  B.  c.  37,  established  his  au- 
thority, which  he  sought  to  render  less  un- 
popular by  marrying  the  beautiful  Mariamne, 
the  heiress  of  the  Maccabean  line.  Adroit 
and  of  pleasing  address,  Herod  was  a  favorite 
successively  of  Antony  and  Augustus,  and 
even  the  fascinating  Cleopatra  was  unable  to 
circumvent  him.  Amid  the  confusion  of  the 
Roman  civil  wars,  he  appears  to  have  dreamed 
of  founding  a  new  Eastern  empire;  and  pos- 
sibly with  this  view  he  made  costly  jtresents 
to  all  the  leading  cities  of  Greece,  and  secured 
the  appointment  of  President  of  the  Olympic 
Games,      Meantime   he  strove   to   please   his 

iThey  were  called  Maccabean  from  Judas  Maccabeus, 
and  Hasnionean  or  Asaiuoueaa  from  Cliasmon,  one  of 
hia  aucestoi's. 


16 


MATTHEW. 


Ch.  IL 


own  people,  while  ulso  gratifying  his  personal 
tastes,  by  erecting  many  splendid  buildings 
in  various  cities  of  his  dominions;  among 
others  rebuilding  the  Temple  in  a  style  of 
unrivaled  magnificence.  That  he  could  com- 
mand ineans  for  such  lavish  expense  at  home 
and  abroad,  at  the  same  time  courting  popu- 
larity by  various  remissions  of  taxes,  shows 
that  his  subjects  were  numerous  and  wealthy, 
and  his  administration  vigorous.  But  besides 
being  a  usurper, — not  of  the  Davidic  nor  of 
the  Maccabean  line — supported  by  the  hated 
Romans,  and  a  favorer  of  foreign  ideas  and 
customs,  and  even  of  idolatry,  he  was  ex- 
tremely arbitrary  and  cruel,  especially  in  his 
declining  years.  Mariamne  herself,  whom 
he  loved  with  mad  fondness,  and  several  of 
his  sons,  with  many  other  persons,  fell  victims 
to  his  jealousy  and  suspicion.  Bitterly  hated 
by  the  great  mass  of  the  Jews,  and  afraid  to 
trust  even  his  own  family,  the  unhappy  old 
tyrant  was  constantly  on  the  watch  for  at- 
tempts to  destroy  him,  or  to  dispose  of  the 
succession  otherwise  than  he  wished.  These 
facts  strikingly  accord  with  the  perturbation 
at  hearing  of  one  'born  kingof  the  Jews,'  and 
the  hypocrisy,  cunning,  and  cruelty,  which 
appear  in  connection  with  the  visit  of  the 
Magi.  (See  on  v.  20,  22,  and  read  the  copious 
history  of  Herod  in  Josephus,  "Antiquities 
[Ancient  History]  of  the  Jews,"  Book  XIV.- 
XVIII.,  a  history  which  throws  much  light 
on  the  New  Testament  times.) 

The  wise  men,  or  Magi  (see  margin  Eev. 
Ver. ),  were  originally  the  priestly  tribe  or 
caste  among  the  Medes,  and  afterwards  the 
Medo-Persians,  being  the  recognized  teachers 


of  religion  and  of  science.^  In  the  great  Per- 
sian Empire  they  wielded  the  highest  influ- 
enceand  power.  Astoscience,  they  cultivated 
astronomy,  especially  in  the  form  of  astrology, 
with  medicine,  and  every  form  of  divination 
and  incantation.  Their  name  graduall3'  came 
to  be  applied  to  persons  of  similar  position  and 
pursuits  in  other  nations,  especially  to  diviners, 
enchanters.  It  is  used  in  the  Greek  transla- 
tion of  Dan.  1:  20;  2:  27;  5:  7,  11,  16,  to 
render  a  word  signifying  '  diviner,'  etc.  So 
in  the  New  Testament  it  is  employed  to  de- 
scribe Barjesus  (Acts  13:  6,  8,  translated  'sor- 
cerer'), and  words  derived  from  it  applied  to 
Simon  at  Samaria  (Acts  8  :  9,  11,  'sorceries'), 
who  is  commonly  spoken  of  as  Simon  Magus 
(comp.  also  Wisdom  17:  7) ;  and  from  it  come 
our  words  magic,  magician,  etc.  It  is  how- 
ever probable  that  these  magi  from  the  East 
were  not  mere  ordinary  astrologers  or  diviners, 
but  belonged  to  the  old  Persian  class,  many 
members  of  which  still  maintained  a  high  po- 
sition and  an  elevated  character.  (Comp. 
Upham.)  So  it  is  likely,  but  of  course  not 
certain,  that  they  came  from  Persia  or  from 
Babylonia;*  in  the  latter  region  Jews  were 
now  very  numerous  and  influential,  and  in 
Persia  also  they  had  been  regarded  with  spe- 
cial interest,  as  far  back  as  the  time  of  Cyrus. 
However  this  may  be,  the  visit  and  homage 
of 'magi  from  the  East'  would  be  esteemed 
by  the  Jews,  and  was  in  fact  a  most  impressive 
tribute  to  the  infant  Messiah.  The  tradition 
that  they  were  kings,  found  as  early  as  Ter- 
tuUian,  doubtless  grew  out  of  the  supposed 
prophecy  that  kings  should  do  homage  to 
Messiah  (Psa.  88: 29, 31;  72:io);3  and  the  traditional 


1  The  word  is  clearly  Indo-European.  The  Old  Per- 
sian (Zend)  language  has  a  root  mrti/a  — greatness,  evi- 
dently the  same  root  as  Latin  mag-nus,  Sanskrit  mah-at, 
Greek  nieg-a(l)s,  Gothic  mik-ils,  Scotch  raick-le,  muck- 
le,  English  much.  As  in  Latin  niag-ister  is  '  superior,' 
and  hence  'instructor'  (which  we  borrow  as  master, 
school-master),  so  from  mag-a  came  mag-avash  (found 
in  the  Zend  Avesta),  or  contracted  mag-ush  (found  in 
the  cuneiform  inscriptions),  which  in  Syriac  appears  as 
megush,  and  in  Greek  took  the  form  of  magos  ;  just  as 
Korush  was  written  Kuros,  Cyrus.  (Comp.  Curtius  Gr. 
Etym.,  Haug  in  Upham,  Keil,  Rawlinsou.)  Similarly 
the  Hebrew  rab,  rabbi,  rabboni,  signifies  superior,  and 
hence  teacher.  It  is  still  a  question  whether  Rab-mrr^ 
(Jer.  39 :  3,  13)  Is  connected  with  raaeos  (see  Gesen.) ;  if 
so,  it  would  combine  the  Shemitic  with  the  Indo-Euro- 
pean term  for  '  great  one,'  or  it  might  meau  the  '  ruling 


magus.'    The  use  of  magos  in  the  Greek  of  Daniel  does 
not  at  all  show  that  this  word  was  employed  among  the 
Babylonians  themselves.     The  argument  of  Zocklor 
(Herzog,  ed.  2)  that  the  magi  existed  among  the  early  ; 
Accadians  of  Babylonia,  is  far  from  conclusive 

2'  East'  is  in  the  Greek  here  plural,  'eastern  regions'; 
but  it  does  not  differ  substantially  (Upham  wrong)  from 
the  singular  (see  8:  11 ;  24:  27  ;  Luke  13:  29.) 

3  Matthew  can  hardly  have  regarded  their  coming  as 
the  fulfillment  of  any  particular  prophecy,  or  according 
to  his  custom  he  would  have  been  apt  to  mention  it^ 
Weiss.:  "The  critfcs  who  maintain  that  he  luoditied 
facts  and  perverted  predictions  in  order  to  find  varied 
fulfillment  of  Messianic  prophecy,  ought  to  account  for 
this  neglect  of  such  notable  passages  as  those  ju»t 
quoted  from  the  Psalms." 


Ch.  II.] 


MATTHEW. 


17 


2  Saying,  Where  is  he  that  is  born  King  of  the  Jews?  |    2  from  the  east  came  to  Jerusalem,  saying,  iWhere  is 
for  we  have  seen  his  star  in  the  east,  and  are  come  to  he  that  is  born  King  of  the  Jews?  for  we  saw  his 

worship  him.  { 


1  Or,  Where  it  the  King  of  the  Jewt  that  is  born  t 


number  three  was  apparently  drawn  from  the 
number  of  their  gifts.  These,  with  the  tradi- 
tional names,  are  of  no  authority,  and  of  no 
consequence  except  as  connected  with  modern 
Christian  art.— Wise  men  from  the  East. 
The  Greek  is  ambiguous,  but  more  probably 
means  this  than  "wise  men  came  from  the 
East."  To  Jerusalem,  the  capital  of  the 
country,  these  strangers  would  naturally 
come,  as  there  they  could  most  readily  obtain 
information  concerning  the  new-born  king. 
(As  to  Jerusalem,  see  on  21 :  10.) 

2.  His  star.  Two  non-supernatural  ex- 
planations have  been  offered.  (1)  One  was 
first  suggested  by  the  astronomer  Kepler  (d. 
l(i;50),  and  is  well  presented  by  Alford  (last 
ed.).  In  the  year  747  of  Rome  there  were 
three  different  conjunctions  (in  the  constella- 
tion Pisces)  of  the  planets  Jupiter  and  Saturn, 
in  May,  October,  and  November.  The 
astrology-loving  Magi  may  have  somehow 
connected  this  conjunction  with  the  birth  of 
a  Jewish  king;  even  as  the  Jewish  writer, 
Abarbanel  (a.  d.  1453),  thought  the  Messiah 
was  at  hand  in  his  day  because  there  had  been 
a  conjunction  of  Jupiter  and  Saturn  in  Pisces, 
a  conjunction  of  which  planets  tradition  rep- 
resented as  associated  with  the  birth  of  Moses. 
It  is  supposed  that  after  the  May  conjunction 
the  Magi  set  out,  and  in  Jerusalem  saw  the 
October  or  November  conjunction,  either  of 
which  at  certain  hours  would  have  been  in 
the  direction  of  Bethlehem.  But  the  Greek 
word  is  aster,  'star,'  and  not  astron,  which 
i.s  used  for  a  group  of  stars.  The  two  planets 
cannot  have  "appeared  as  one  star,"  for  a 
recent  English  astronomer  shows  (Smith's 
"Diet.")  that  they  were  never  nearer  each 
other  than  one  degree,  which  is  about  double 
the  apparent  diameter  of  the  moon.  Some 
hold  that  'star'  must  here  be  taken  in  a 
general  sense,  denoting  a  group;  but  the 
distinction  between  the  two  Greek  words  is 
uniformly  observed.     It  is  also  objected  to 


time  a  passage  from  a  minor  Midrash  about 
the  Messiah,  to  the  effect  that  two  years  before 
his  coming  "the  star  shall  shine  forth  in  the 
east,  and  this  is  the  star  of  the  Messiah."  But 
these  minor  Rabbinical  treatises  are  of  un- 
certain date,  and  there  would  be  much  room 
for  suspecting  that  the  statement  in  question 
was  imitated  from  Matthew.  (2)  Some  "va- 
riable stars"  (see  any  recent  work  on  as- 
tronomy) vary  so  widely  as  at  times  to  become 
invisible  and  afterwards  re-appear;  aad  it 
has  been  supposed  (Lutteroth)  that  such  a 
disappearing  and  re-appearing  star  was  seen 
by  the  Magi. — Either  of  these  theories  is  in 
itself  possible,  and  a  reasonable  natural  expla- 
nation would  obviously  be  better  than  the 
unnecessary  introduction  of  the  miraculous. 
But  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  reconcile  these 
theories  with  the  language  of  v.  9,  'the  star 
.  .  .  went  before  them,  till  it  came  and  stood 
over  where  the  j'oung  child  was.'  If  a 
heavenly  body  be  considered  as  moving  for- 
ward in  advance  of  them  from  Jerusalem,  it 
would  be  equally  in  advance  when  they 
arrived  at  Bethlehem,  and  in  no  sense  stand- 
ing over  that  place.  Taking  Matthew's  lan- 
guage according  to  its  obvious  import,  we 
have  to  set  aside  the  above  explanations,  and 
to  regard  the  appearance  as  miraculous;  con- 
jecture as  to  its  nature  will  then  be  to  no 
profit.  The  supernatural  is  easily  admitted 
here,  since  there  were  so  many  miracles  con- 
nected with  the  Saviour's  birth,  and  the  visit 
of  the  Magi  was  an  event  of  great  moral  sig- 
nificance, fit  to  be  the  occasion  of  a  miracle. 
Why  did  they  call  it  his  star?  Upon 
theory  (1)  we  should  suppose  some  astrologi- 
cal ground,  as  above  intimated.  Otherwise 
we  are  unable  to  explain.  Some  hypothcti- 
cally  connect  it  with  Balaam's  prophecy  of  a 
star  out  of  Jacob  (Num.24:  n),  whicli  all  the 
Targums  refer  to  Messiah  (Wiinsche),  and 
which  on  this  hypothesis  is  supposed  to  have 
led  to  an  eastern  tradition.     Others  connect  it 


this  theory  that  other  data  for  the  time  of :  with  the  fact  attested,  towards  a  century  later 
Christ's  birth  would  place  it  at  least  two  years  j  than  the  visit  of  the  Magi,  by  Josephus,  Sue- 
later  than  A.  u.  c,  747,  though  the  conclusion  tonius,  and  Tacitus,  that  it  had  long  been 
from  those  data  is  not  certain.  Edcrsh.  rather  I  believed  throughout  the  East  that  juT'oriH 
iavors  this  theory,  and  adduces  for  the  first  I  sprung    from     Judca    would    gain    supreme 

B 


18 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  II. 


3  When  Ilerod  the  king  had  heard /Acjc  things, he\fa.s 
troubled,  and  all  Jenisaleiu  with  him. 

4  And  when  he  had  gathered  all  the  chief  priests  and 
scribes  of  the  people  together,  he  demanded  of  them 
where  Christ  should  be  born. 


3  star  in  the  east,  and  are  come  to  1  worship  him.  And 
when  Herod  the  king  heard  it,  he  was  troubled,  and 

4  all  Jerusalem  with  niiu.  And  gathering  together 
all  the  chief  priests  and  scribes  of  the  people,  he 
inquired  of  them  where  the  Christ  should  be  born. 


1  The  Greek  work  denotes  un  act  of  reverence,  whether  paid  to  man  (see  oh.  18 :  26),  or  to  God  (see  ch.  4 :  10). 


power  (Jos.  "War,"  vi.  6,  4;  Suet.  "Vesp." 
4;  Tac.  "Hist."  v.  13)  ;  but  there  is  in  those 
writers  nothing  of  a  star,*  and  Suetonius  and 
Tacitus  appear  to  have  merely  borrowed  from 
Josephus. 

In  the  east  might  here  mean  '  at  its  rising ' ; 
but  V.  9  leaves  no  doubt.  Worship.  But 
do  homage  is  much  more  probably  the  cor- 
rect rendering  here  (the  Greek  word  mean- 
ing either),  because  there  is  no  reason  to 
believe  that  they  regarded  the  new  born  king 
as  in  any  sense  divine,  though  they  appar- 
ently expected  his  reign  to  influence  other 
nations. 

3.  Herod  was  troubled  at  the  idea  of  a 
rival  (see  on  v.  1);  and  while  many  depend- 
ants of  Herod  would  really  share  his  feelings, 
being  interested  in  the  permanence  of  his  gov- 
ernment, all  the  people  would  be  disturbed  at 
the  same  time,  through  fear  of  new  tyrannies 
and  cruelties  as  the  effect  of  his  jealous  fears. 

4.  As  the  question  to  be  asked  was  a  relig- 
ious-political one,  the  king  assembled  all  the 
leading  students  of  the  law  to  answer  it. 
The  chief  priests  and  scribes  might  mean 
the  Sanhedrin,  as  in  20:  18,  the  elders  being 
here  omitted,  as  in  27 :  1  the  scribes  are  omit- 
ted. But  the  word  all,  with  the  additional 
phrase  of  the  people,  makes  it  more  natural 
to  understand  a  general  assemblage  of  teach- 
ers, including  many  scribes,  who  did  not  be- 
long to  the  Sanhedrin.  This  would  accord 
with  the  idea  of  great  uneasiness  on  his  part ; 
comp.  the  similar  course  of  Nebuchadnezzar 
and  Belshazzar.  (Dan. 2:2;  5:7.)  The  'chief 
priests'  comprised  the  high  priest  at  the  time, 
any  persons  who  had  previously  occupied  that 
oflice  (as  Herod  and  the  Romans  made  frequent 
changes),  and  probably  also  the  heads  of  the 
twenty-four  courses  of  priests  (Lukeiis),  for  the 
languageof  Josephus("Ant."xx.  8, 8;  "  War," 
iv.  3,  9)  implies  that  the  number  of  'high 
priests'  was  considerable.  The  term  'scribes' 
(in  the  Old  Testament  meaning  military  sec- 


retaries) had  now  for  several  centuries  denoted 
those  who  supervised  the  copying  of  the 
Scriptures,  which  Jewish  feeling  required  to 
be  performed  with  the  most  scrupulous  care. 
Their  minute  acquaintance  with  the  text  of 
Scripture  would  naturally  lead  to  their  being 
consulted  as  to  its  meaning;  and  in  the  time 
of  our  Lord  they  were  by  common  consent 
regarded  as  authorized  expounders  of  the 
j  law  (hence  called  'lawyers,'  22:  35),  and  be- 
I  sides  answering  the  inquiries  of  individuals  as 
j  to  questions  of  truth  and  duty,  many  of  them 
gave  public  instruction  on  such  subjects, 
(hence  called  'doctors — or  teachers — of  the 
j  law,'  Luke  5:  17),  particularly  at  the  schools 
in  the  temple  courts.  Their  instructions  and 
practical  decisions  were  at  this  time  seldom 
the  result  of  their  own  thinking,  but  con- 
sisted of  sayings  handed  down  from  earlier 
teachers,  or  traditional  decisions  of  tribunals 
in  former  times.  (Comp.  on  7:  29.)  Those 
scribes  who  acted  as  teachers  were  among  the 
persons  called  Rabbi.  Altogether,  they  pos- 
sessed very  great  influence  and  distinction, 
and  some  of  their  number  were  united  with 
the  'chief  priests'  and  the  'elders'  to  form 
the  Sanhedrin  (see  on  26:  57,  59).  Filled 
with  ambition  and  vanity,  they  exposed 
themselves  to  the  severe  censure  of  our  Lord, 
who  gives  a  vivid  picture  of  them  in  Luke 
'20:  46.  Some  of  the  scribes  were  Sadducees, 
but  most  of  them  Pharisees ;  and  hence  we 
frequently  find  the  'scribes  and  Pharisees' 
mentioned  together,  since  the  policy  and  the 
special  faults  which  characterized  the  scribes 
extended  also  to  all  the  rest  of  the  great 
Pharisaic  party. 

Christ,  literally,  the  Christ.  The  article 
should  by  all  means  be  retained  in  the  Eng- 
lish. It  is  proper  to  use  in  translation  the 
Greek  word  'Christ' ;  but  we  may  often  see 
more  clearly  how  such  expressions  presented 
themselves  to  the  original  Jewish  hearers,  by 
substituting  'the  Messiah.'  (Try  this,  e.  g.,  in 


1  The  position  of  axUou,  '  his,'  does  not  necessarily 
show  emphasis,  the  star  that  signifies  bim  and  no 
other  (Meyer,  Weiss),  for  these  genitive  pronouns  are 
often  put  ttefore  their  uoun,  without  emphasis,  where 


some  strong  word  precedes  on  which  they  may  lean 
— the  matter  being  regulated  by  mere  taste  as  to  the 
harmonious  successioa  of  words.  (See  Winer,  p. 
165  [193].) 


i 


Ch.  II.] 


MATTHEW. 


19 


5  And  they  said  unto  hira,  In  Bethlehem  of  Judea: 
for  thus  it  is  "written  by  the  prophet, 

6  And  tliou  IJethlehem,  in  the  land  of  Juda,  art  not 
the  least  among  the  princes  of  Jiida:  for  out  of  thee 
shall  come  a  Governor,  that  shall  rule  my  people  Israel. 

7  Then  Herod,  when  he  had  privily  called  the  wise 
men,  inquired  of  them  diligently  what  time  the  star 
appeared. 


5  And  they  said  unto  him.  In  Bethlehem  of  Judsea: 
for  thus  it  is  written  through  the  prophet, 

6  And  thou  Bethlehem,  land  of  Juduh, 

Art  in  no  wise  least  among  the  princes  of  Judah : 
For  out  of  thee  shall  come  forth  a  governor. 
Who  shall  be  shepherd  of  my  people  Israel. 

7  Then    Herod    privily   called    the  *  wise    men,  and 
learned  of  them  carefully  ^  what  time  the  star  ap- 


1  Or,  Where  is  the  King  of  the  Jewt  that  U  bom  t 2  Or,  the  time  of  the  etar  that  appeared. 


22:  42;  24:  6,  23;  Mark  12:  35;  Luke  24:  26, 
46;  John  7:  27,  31,  41,  42;  Acts  17:  3;  18:  28.1 
As  to  the  meaning  of  'Christ,'  see  on  1 :  1. 
Shonid  be  born,  viz.,  according  to  the  pro- 
phets, or  any  other  means  of  knowing;  where 
is  the  appointed  or  expected  place  of  Mes- 
siah's birth.  1 

5,  6.  They  could  answer  without  hesita- 
tion, in  Bethlehem  of  Judea,  for  thus  (to 
this  effect,  viz.,  that  the  Messiah  is  to  be 
born  there)  it  is  written  (has  been  written, 
and  stands  now  written,  is  on  record)  by 
(properly  through,  see  on  1 :  22)  the  pro- 
phet, viz.,  Micah  5:  2.  The  application  of 
this  prediction  to  the  birth  of  the  Messiah 
at  Bethlehem  is  obvious  and  generally  ad- 
mitted, and  was  familiar  in  the  time  of  our 
Lord  (Lightfoot,Wetstein,Wunsche,  Edersh.) 
It  is  here  quoted  with  some  changes  of  phrase- 
ology which  may  be  readily  explained.  Mi- 
cah, as  is  often  done  in  poetry,  uses  an  antique 
name — Bethlehem  Ephratah  (Gen  48:  7;  see 
on  V.  1);  Matthew  takes  the  common  Old 
Testament  form,  Bethlehem- Judah  (Ruth  i.- 
i.etc.),  though  not  the  purely  Greek  form  Ju- 
dea, as  in  V.  1,  5;  and  prefixes  '  land,'  as  when 
we  say,  '  Richmond,  State  of  Virginia'  (Alex- 
ander). Micah  says,  'Thou  art  little  to  be 
among  the  thousands  of  Judah,  (yet)  out  of 
thee,'  etc.,  (Rev.  Ver.),  meaning  that  it  is  a 
small  and  insignificant  place  (see  on  v.  1), 
scarcely  worthy  to  be  numbered  among  the 
towns  of  Judah — yet  out  of  it  would  come, 
etc.;  while  Matthew's  mind  turns  towards 
the  moral  importance  of  Bethlehem  as  de- 
rived from  this  very  fact,  and  so  he  puts  it, 
'art  in  no  wise  the  least  among  the  leaders  of 
Judah,  for  out  of  thee,'  Rev.  Ver.  'Thou- 
sands' was  an  antique  designation  of  the  great 
families  into  which  the  tribes  were  subdivided 


( Jndg.  6 :  15,  margin  ;  1  Sam.  10:  19;  23:  23),  and  WaS  ap- 
plied by  Micah  to  a  town  as  the  residence  of 
such  a  family  ;  while  Matthew  uses  the  more 
familiar  term,  'governors'  or  'princes,'  mean- 
ing those  who  by  birth  stood  at  the  head  of 
the  great  families,  and  might  therefore  repre- 
sent them  or  their  abode.  (Or  Matthew's 
Hebrew  text  may,  perhaps,  have  had  a 
slightly  different  word  which  signifies  'lead- 
ers.) Shall  rule.  This  is  a  general  term  used 
by  Micah,  but  Matthew  uses  the  specific  word 
shepherd,  who  shall  shepherd  my  people, 
which  includes  both  governing,  protecting, 
and  feeding — a  form  of  expression  applied 
to  kings,  both  in  Scripture  and  the  classics, 
and  repeatedly  used  in  Messianic  prophecies.2 
The  other  slight  differences  require  no  ex- 
planation. It  thus  appears  that  the  changes 
in  phraseology  which  Matthew  here  makes 
in  quoting  do  not  introduce  any  idea  foreign 
to  the  original,  but  bring  out  more  plainly 
its  actual  meaning;  and  the  same  thing  is 
true  in  many  other  New  Testament  quota- 
tions from  the  Old  Testament.  It  was  com- 
mon among  the  Jews  of  that  age  to  interpret 
in  quoting  (see  Edersh.,  ch.  8).  We  see  from 
John  7:  42  that  the  Jews  understood  this  pas- 
sage of  Micah  as  Messianic;  and  in  like  man- 
ner the  Targum  (Toy)  puts  it,  "Out  of  thee 
shall  come  forth  before  me  the  Messiah." 
7  f.  Then  is  a  favorite  word  of  transition 

with  Matthew    (2:  16;  3:13;  4:  I.etc.)      Privily,  Of 

privately.  In  public,  Herod  doubtless  affect- 
ed unconcern  ;  besides,  if  his  inquiries  should 
become  known,  the  parties  affected  might 
take  the  alarm  and  escape.  What  time  the 
star  appeared.  This  would  give  some  indi- 
cation as  to  the  age  of  the  child.  He  there- 
fore inquired  dilig^ently,  or,  learned  care- 
fully, Rev.  Ver. — sought  exact  (or  accurate) 


'  It  Is  not  likely  that  Matthew  intended  anything; 
more  than  variety  in  using  two  words  for  '  born,'  v.  1, 
i,  and  v.  2. 

'The  English  verb  'to  shepherd'  is  much  wanted 
here  and  in  various  other  pasisnges  (e.  ff.,  John  21 :  16; 
Acts  20 :  28 ;  1  Peter  5:2;  Rev.  7 :  17).    It  is  given  aa  a 


word  of  'rare'  use  by  Webster  and  Worcester,  and  is 
employed  here  by  Darby  and  by  Davidson.  Though 
not  so  familiar  as  to  ^uit  a  popular  version,  it  may, 
perhaps,  be  allowable  as  a  strict  rendering.  Kev.  Ver., 
'  which  shall  be  shepherd  of  my  people.' 


20 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  II. 


8  And  he  sent  them  to  Bethlehem,  and  said,  Go  and 
search  diligently  fi)r  the  young  child ;  and  when  ye 
have  found  him,  bring  uie  word  again,  that  I  may  come 
and  worship  him  al.so. 

9  When  they  hud  beard  the  king,  they  departed; 
and,  lo,  the  star,  which  they  saw  in  the  east,  went  be- 
fore them,  till  it  came  and  stood  over  where  the  young 
child  was. 

10  When  they  saw  the  star,  they  rejoiced  with  ex- 
ceeding great  joy. 

11  And  when  they  were  come  into  the  house,  they 
saw  the  voung  child  with  Mary  his  mother,  and  fell 
down,  and  worshipped  him :  and  when  they  had  opened 
their  treasures,  they  presented  unto  him  gifts;  gold, 
and  frankincense,  and  myrrh. 


8  peared.  And  he  sent  them  to  Bethlehem,  and  said, 
Go  and  search  out  carefully  concerning  the  young 
child ;  and  when  ye  have  found  him,  bring  me  word, 

9  that  I  also  may  come  and  worship  him.  And  they, 
having  heard  the  king,  went  their  way ;  and  lo,  the 
star,  which  they  saw  in  the  east,  went  before  them, 
till  it  came  and  stood  over  where  the  young  child 

10  was.    And  when  they  saw  the  star,  they  rejoiced 

11  with  exceeding  great  joy.  And  they  came  into  the 
house  and  saw  the  young  child  with  Mary  his 
mother;  and  they  fell  down  and  worshipped  him; 
and  opening  their  treasures  they  offered  unto  him 


knowledge  on  that  point.  'Diligently'  in 
Com.  Ver.  was  drawn  from  the  Vulgate 
Latin.  It  is  likely  that  when  the  Magi  first 
came  he  had  inquired  why  they  believed  the 
star  to  signify  that  a  king  of  the  Jews  was 
born.  And  now,  having  learned  the  place 
and  age,  he  takes  steps  to  learn  the  person. 
Go  and  search  diligently,  or  investigate 
accurately,  the  expression  in  v.  8  being  fuller 
and  stronger  than  in  v.  7.  He  treats  the  mat- 
ter as  highly  important,  and  he  is  a  man  who 
never  leaves  any  stone  unturned. 

9,  10.  The  Magi  were  not  well  acquainted 
with  Herod's  character,  and  appear  not  to 
have  suspected  his  real  design ;  so  they  set 
about  carrying  out  his  directions.  It  has  al- 
ways been  quite  common  in  the  East  to  travel 
at  night.  And  lo,  a  phrase  to  call  attention. 
The  Greek  word  is  used  very  often  by  Matt. 
(1 :  20,  23;  2:  1,  9, 13, 19,  etc.),  and  Luke,  rarely 
by  Mark  or  John.  It  was  long  ago  that  they 
saw  the  star  in  the  East,  and  here  it  is  again. 
Went  before  them,  literally,  led  them  for- 
ward, and  the  Greek  has  the  imperfect,  natu- 
rally suggesting  that  as  they  moved  forward 
it  moved  also.  (Comp.  on  v.  2).  It  appears 
to  have  indicated  to  them  not  merely  the  town 
— showing  that  the  scribes  were  right — but  the 
quarter  of  the  town,  if  not  the  very  house, 
(v.  n.)  Notice  the  strong  expression  of  v.  10, 
as  to  their  joy. 

11.  The  house,  i.  e.,  the  particular  house 
in  which  he  was,  as  referred  to  in  v.  9,  or  per- 
haps the  house  over  which  the  star  stood. 
We  are  not  to  think  here  of  the  place  in 
which  the  shepherds  had  found  the  child, 
on  the  morning  after  his  birth.  (Luke 2:  le.)  It 
had  in  all  probability  been  some  time  since 


then :  the  presentation  in  the  temple,  forty 
days  after  the  birth  (Luke2: 22;  Lev.  12:  1-4),  must 
have  taken  place  before  this  visit  which 
troubled  all  Jerusalem,  and  which  was  im- 
mediately followed  by  the  flight  into  Egypt. 
There  had  possibly  also  been  a  journey  to 
Nazareth  (Luke  2: 39),  and  Joseph  seems  to  have 
been  now  making  Bethlehem  his  home. 
(Comp.  on  V.  23.)  1  To  speak  of  a  little 
child  with  his  mother  is  so  natural  that  no 
stress  should  be  laid  on  the  omission  of 
Joseph,  who  is  mentioned  by  Luke  (2:  is)  in 
describing  the  previous  visits  of  the  shepherds. 
Observe  that  it  is  the  child  with  Mary  his 
mother.  (Comp.  v.  13.)  Our  modern  Ro- 
manists would  have  been  sure  to  say,  "the 
blessed  "Virgin  with  her  child."  Fell  down 
and  worshipped,  or,  did  homage.  See  on  v. 
2. — Presented.  Offered,  as  in  all  English 
Versions  before  King  James,  is  the  literal 
and  common  rendering,  and  more  expressive 
of  respect  than  "presented."  The  word 
rendered  treasures  here  more  probably 
means  treasure-chests,  or  the  like,  i.  e.,  the 
vessels  or  packages  containing  the  treasures. 
The  refinements  and  spiritualizings  of  numer- 
ous ancient  and  modern  expositors  as  to  the 
number  and  significance  of  the  gifts  pre- 
sented, are  wholly  unwarranted.  It  was, 
and  still  is,  an  Oriental  custom  and  regarded 
as  of  great  importance,  that  one  must  never 
visit  a  superior,  especially  a  king,  without 
some  gift  (comp.  Gen.  43  :  11 ;  1  Sam.  9 :  7,  8; 
1  Kings  10:  2;  Psalm  72:  10);  and  nothing 
could  be  more  appropriate,  or  was  more  cus- 
tomary, than  gold  and  costly  spices.  Frank- 
incense (English  name  from  its  giving  forth 
its  odor  freely)  is  a  glittering,   bitter,   and 


'In  here  reading  they  nhw.  Com.  Ver.  rightly 
forsakes  the  text  of  both  Stephens  and  Beza  (who  read 
'  found,'  comp.  Luke  2 :  16),  being  guided  by  Stephens' 
statement  of  authorities  and  Beza's  note.    It  shows  the 


same  unusual  independence  in  10:  10  'staves'— though 
wrongly  there— and  in  a  few  passages  of  other  books. 
(See  Westcott  and  Abbott  in  Smith's  Diet.,  Am.  ed., 
p.  2132  note). 


Ch.  II.] 


MATTHEW. 


21 


12  And  being  warned  of  God  in  a  dream  that  they 
should  nut  return  to  Herod,  they  departed  into  their 
own  country  another  way. 


12  gifts,  gold  and  frankincense  and  myrrh.  And  being 
warned  of  God  in  a  dream  thal'they  sliould  not 
return  to  Herod,  they  departed  into  tlieir  own 
country  another  way. 


odorous  gum,  obtained  by  incisions  into  the 
hark  of  a  peculiar  tree.  The  ancients  pro- 
cured it  chiefly  from  Arabia,  the  moderns 
bring  it  from  the  East  Indies.  Myrrh  is  the 
gum  familiar  to  us,  which  exudes  from  a  tree 
found  in  Arabia  and  Abyssinia.  It  was  much 
valued  by  the  ancients  as  a  perfume  (ps*.  45:  s; 
Soiigof  8oi..'»:  6),  also  as  a  spice,  a  medicine,  and 
a  means  of  embalming.   (John  i9:  39). 

12.  Warned  of  God,  or,  divinely  in- 
structed. The  Greek  word  denotes  the  recep- 
tion of  a  response  or  communication,  as  from 
an  oracle,  and  in  the  Scriptures  from  God, 
though  the  name  of  God  is  not  mentioned. 
It  commonly,  but  not  necessarily,  implies  a 
previous  prayer  or  application  for  direction, 
which  may  or  may  not  have  been  made  in 
this  case.  In  a  dream.  See  on  1 :  20. — De- 
parted, more  exactly,  retired,  withdrew,  as 
in  V.  13,  14,  22.  Thus  the  execution  of 
Herod's  deep-laid  plan  was  delayed,  and  he 
was  prevented  from  knowing  precisely  what 
child  his  jealousy  should  strike;  while  the 
well-meaning  Magi  escaped  all  complication 
with  his  further  schemes.  Their  route  of  re- 
turn may  have  been  towards  the  northern  end 
of  the  Dead  Sea — as  travelers  now  frequently 
go,  leaving  Jerusalem  some  miles  to  the  left 
— or  around  its  southern  end,  which  would 
carry  them  far  away  from  Herod  in  a  few 
hours. 

HOMILETICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

1.  These  Magi  from  the  East  will,  like  the 
Queen  of  the  South  and  the  men  of  Nineveh 
(»:  41, «),  rise  up  in  the  judgment  and  con- 
demn all  who  have  had  clearer  light  concern- 
ing the  Messiah  than  they  had,  and  have  re- 
jected him.  2.  The  'King  of  the  Jews'  was 
destined  to  become  also  King  of  the  Gentiles 
(P...I:  8,8),  King  of  the  world  (Rcv.hms.)  3. 
Tiiere  were  those  that  did  not  want  the  ex- 
isting situation  disturbed,  even  to  introduce 
the  Messianic  reign.  The  most  beneficent 
and  indispensable  changes  will  be  opposed, 
and  often  by  well-meaning  people.  4.  Herod 
inquires  the  teachings  of  Scripture  only  that 
he  may  work  against  them.  By  political  craft 
and  might  he  will  make  even  divine  predic- 
tions serve  his  own   selfish   purpose.     Often 


now  do  political  tricksters  appeal  to  religious 
teachers  to  promote  mere  secular  ends,  and 
sometimes  even  at  the  expense  of  religion. 
5.  'It  is  written.'  Not  only  have  revelations 
been  made  to  men  in  the  past,  but  many  of 
them  stand  on  record,  "  a  possession  forever." 
Luther:  "Never  mind  the  scribes;  what 
saith  the  Scripture?"  The  scribes  should  be 
a  warning  to  all  religious  teachers,  in  the  pul- 
pit, the  Sunday-school,  the  family;  they  told 
others  where  to  find  the  Saviour,  but  did  not 
go  to  him  themselves.  Augustine:  "They 
were  like  mile-stones;  they  pointed  out  some- 
thing to  travelers,  but  themselves  remained 
stolid  and  motionless."  6.  That  which  is  ma- 
terially '  little '  may  be  morally  '  by  no  means 
least.'  An  insignificant  spot  has  often  been 
the  scene  of  events  possessing  the  greatest  im- 
portance and  the  highest  moral  grandeur.  So 
with  our  little  earth  as  the  scene  of  redemp- 
tion. 7,  8.  More  secret  than  diplomacy, 
deeper  than  the  investigations  of  the  wise,  and 
mightier  than  all  kingly  power,  is  the  provi- 
dence of  God. — 'I  also.'  The  hoary  h\-po- 
crite!  9.  God  often  overrules  the  errors  of 
honest  men,  to  lead  them  to  truth.  Astrology 
promoted  the  study  of  astronomy,  alchemy 
produced  the  science  of  chemistry.  The  su- 
perstition of  the  Magi  had  part  in  their  find- 
ing the  Messiah.  11.  The  joy  of  beholding 
that  which  we  have  traveled  far  to  find. 
Hall  :  "  The  east  saw  that  which  Bethlehem 
might  have  seen;  ofttimes  those  which  are 
nearest  in  place  are  furthest  off  in  affection." 
Luther:  "The  star  stood  over  the  land  (if 
the  Jews  and  over  their  heads,  and  they  saw 
it  not ;  so  ever  since  as  to  the  light  of  the  gos- 
pel. The  only  monarch  who  ever  deserved 
that  man  should  fall  down  before  him  was  a 
child  of  poverty,  whose  life  was  spent  in 
teaching,  and  who  died  an  ignominious 
death."  Observe  that  they  did  homage  to 
the  child,  not  to  his  mother.  Gifts  were  offer- 
ed to  an  Oriental  king,  not  as  needed  by  him, 
but  as  the  natural  expres.«ion  of  reverence  and 
love  ;  so  with  our  gifts  to  God.  12.  Theslight- 
est  touch  of  the  supernatural  may  thwart  the 
profoundest  human  sagacity.  Hall:  "Those 
sages  made  a  happy  voyage;  for  now  they 


22 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  II. 


13  And  when  they  were  departed,  t)eho1d,  the  angel 
of  the  Ivord  apfH'ureth  to  Jonciih  In  a  dream,  saying. 
Ariw,  and  tukt;  the  young  child  and  hln  mother,  anu 
flee  Into  KL'ypt,  und  l)«  thou  there  until  I  bring  thee 
word:  for  llerod  will  seek  the  young  child  to  destroy 
him. 

14  When  he  arose,  he  took  the  young  child  and  his 
mother  by  night,  and  departed  into  Kgypl: 

15  And  was  there  until  the  death  ol  llcrod :  that  it 


13  Now  when  they  were  departed,  behold,  an  angel 
of  the  Lord  appeareth  U)  Joseph  in  a  dream,  saying, 
Arise,  und  take  the  young  child  and  his  mother,  and 
flee  Into  I'^gynt,  and  be  thou  there  until  1  tell  thee; 
for  Ilerod  will  seek  the  young  child  to  destroy  hint. 

14  And   he  arone  and  took  the   young  child  atid  his 

15  mother  by  night,  and  departed  Into  Kgynt;  and  wns 
there  until  the  death  of  ilerml:  that  it  might  be 
fulfilled  which  was  spoken  by  the  Lord  through 


grew  into  further  acquaintance  with  God." 
Luthkr:  We  gee  here  how  Christ  has  three 
kind.>*  of  dinciples,  1,  The  priests  and  scribes, 
who  know  the  Scripture  and  teach  it  to  every- 
body, and  do  not  come  up  to  it  themselves. 
2.  Herod,  who  believes  the  Scripture,  that 
Christ  is  now  born  ;  and  yet  goes  right  against 
it,  trying  to  prevent  what  it  says  from  being 
done.  3.  The  pious  Magi,  who  left  country 
and  house  and  home,  and  made  it  their  one 
concern  to  find  Christ. 

What  a  vast  horizon  opens  with  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Gospels.  The  genealogies  point 
back  to  Abraham  and  to  Adam,  and  John's 
preface  points  back  to  eternity.  The  census, 
by  order  of  Cscsar  Augustus,  reminds  us  of 
imperial  Rome  and  all  her  history.  The 
Magi,  probably  of  Aryan  descent,  and  full  of 
the  oldest  Chaldsean  learning,  remind  us  of 
the  hoary  East.  All  the  previous  history  of 
Western  Asia  and  of  Southern  Europe  stand 
in  relation  to  this  babe  in  Bethlehem.  More- 
over, 'the  city  of  David,'  and  'Messiah  the 
Lord,'  recall  the  long-cherished  Messianic 
hope.  And  the  angelic  song  treats  this  lowly 
birth  as  an  occasion  of  praise  in  heaven  and 
peace  on  earth, 

13-18.  TiiK  Flight  into  Eoypt. 

13.  Departed,  withdrawn,  same  word  as 
in  V.  12,  14,  22.  It  is  also  employed  in  de- 
scribing another  rapid  series  of  withdrawals, 
14:  13;  15:  21.— The— rather  aw— angel,  the 
Greek  having  here  no  article.  Appeareth 
in  a  dream,  see  on  1 :  20. — Take,  more  ex- 
actly, take  along,  take  with  you,  as  in  26:  87. 
— Egypt  was  at  this  time  a  well-governed  Ro- 
man province,  and  beyond  the  jurisdiction  of 
Herod.  A  journey  of  some  seventy-five  miles 
southwest,  would  bring  Joseph  to  the  bor- 
der, towards  the  isthmus,  and  a  hundred  miles 
more  would  take  him  into  the  heart  of  the 
country.  Besides  being  thus  easy  of  access, 
and  having  in  earlier  days  been  a  place  of 


refuge  for  fugitives  from  Judoa  (i  King»ni«j 
jpr.  «:7),i  Egypt  was  now  thronged  with  Jew- 
ish residents.  Alexander  tlie  Great,  in  laying 
out  his  new  city  of  Alexandria,  assigned  a 
place  to  the  Jews,  granting  them  equal  privi- 
leges with  the  Macedonians.  The  early  Ptol- 
emies pursued  a  similar  course,  transferring 
some  from  Palestine  by  force,  and  encour- 
aging the  immigration  of  others.  In  Egypt 
was  made  the  greater  part,  probably  the  whole, 
of  the  famous  translation  of  the  Old  Testament 
from  Hebrew  into  Greek,  commonly  called 
the  Septuagint.  About  150  n.  c,  a  separate 
temple  was  built  for  the  Jews  in  Egypt,  at 
once  evincing  and  tending  to  increase  their 
importance.  Somewhat  earlier  began  the  suc- 
cession of  Jewish  Alexandrine  philosophers, 
the  most  remarkable  of  whom,  Philo,  was  now 
twenty  to  thirty  years  old.  In  a  treatise  writ- 
ten about  A.  D.  40,  he  says  the  Jews  in  Egypt 
numbered  near  a  million.  These  facts  afford 
reasons  for  Joseph's  being  directed  to  flee  into 
Egypt.  At  the  same  time  all  was  providen- 
tially arranged  with  a  view  to  the  fulfillment 
of  prophecy  (v.  16).  A  late  tradition  names 
the  village  of  Matarea,  near  Leontopolis,  the 
site  of  the  Jewish  temple,  as  the  residence  of 
the  "holy  family."  Late  apocryphal  writings 
have  many  marvelous  stories  of  the  flight  and 
sojourn,  and  of  the  infancy  of  Jesus  in  gen- 
eral, which  have  passed  freely  into  Christian 
art,  but  are  otherwise  unimportant.  We  may 
conjecture  that  the  gifts  of  the  Magi  aided  in 
the  support  of  the  refugees;  a  carpenter  dwell-  , 
ing  as  a  foreigner  in  a  crowded  country,  was  , 
not  likely  at  once  to  find  adequate  employ- j 
ment. 

14.  He  arose  at  once,  and  set  out  by  night. 
The  child  is  named  first,  as  the  more  import 
ant  person,  and  the  one  endangered;  and  the 
whole  expression  (hero  and  in  v.  18)  reminds 
us  that  Joseph  was  not  really  his  father. 

15.  That  it  might  be  fulfilled  ....  of 


tThe  writer  was  told  in  Southern  Palestine,  in  1S71 
officials,  tLDil/led  to  Eyyjil. 


of  a  man  who  bad  incurred  the  wrath  of  the  Turkish 


^iHCu.  II. 


MATTHEW. 


23 


^__bt  be  fulfllled  which  was  spoken  of  the  Lord  by  the 
pronliul,  HavtiiK,  Out  of  KKypt  bavu  I  called  my  Hon. 

16  Then  HitikI,  when  he  huw  thut  he  wns  niockod  of 
till)  wi.Hi;  iiu;n,  wus  exceeding  wroth,  mid  ii<int  forth, and 
slew  nil  the  children  that  were  in  Kcthleheiii.and  in  all 
ttie  c<iu.st8  thereof,  fk-oin  two  years  old  and  under,  ac- 
oordinK  to  the  time  which  ho  had  diligently  inquired 
of  the  wise  men. 


the  prophet,  saying,  Out  of  Egvpt  did  I  call  niy 
16  son.  Then  Herod,  when  he  saw  tliut  he  was  mocked 
of  the  'wise  men.  was  exceediiiK  wroth,  and  sent 
forth,  and  slew  all  the  male  children  that  were  in 
Bethlelieiii,  and  in  all  the  borders  thereof,  from  two 
year:«  old  and  under,  according  to  the  time  which 


I  Or.  Magi. 


the  Lord  by.  On  'of  and  'by,'  see  on  1: 
22.  Have  I  called.  Did  I  calL,  is  u  liteml 
translation  of  the  Greek,  and  certainly  better 
8uit8  the  statement  of  a  remote  event.  The 
prediction  quoted  is  from  Hos.  11 :  1.  In 
form  it  follows  the  Hebrew  exactly,  while  the 
Suptuagint  is  here  quite  erroneous.  Iloseu 
cltjarly  refers  to  the  calling  of  Israel  out  of 
Kj^ypt,  the  nation  being  elsewhere  spoken  of  as 

God's    'son.'       (Kx.  i:2>;  Jar.  31:  9;  oomp.  WUdom  IS:  13. ) 

But  there  is  an  evident  typical  relation  be- 
tween Lsraol  and  Messiah.  Thus  in  Isa.,  ch.  42 
to  6!},  the  'servant  of  Jehovah'  is  primarily 
the  nation,  but  the  predictions  have  been 
more  completely  fulfllled  in  Christ,  who 
'iiibodied  and  consummated  the  mission  of 
Israel.  (See  below,  at  the  beginning  of  ch. 
24,  and  conip.  Edersh.,  ch.  5).  In  like  manner 
here.  As  Israel  in  the  childhood  of  the  na- 
tion was  called  out  of  Egypt,  so  Jesus.  Wo 
may  even  tliid  resemblance  in  minute  details; 
his  temptation  of  forty  days  in  the  desert,  re- 
sembles Israel's  temptation  of  forty  years  in  the 
desert,  which  itself  corresponded  to  the  forty 
days  spent  by  the  spies.  (Num.  u:»4.)  Thus  we  see 
how  llosea's  hi.storical  statement  concerning 
Israel  may  have  been  also  a  prediction  con- 
'  rning  Messiah,  as  the  Evangelist  declares  it 
v:ig.  It  is  not  necessary  to  suppose  that  this 
was  present  to  the  prophet's  consciousness. 
Exalted  by  inspiration,  a  prophet  may  well 
have  said  things  having  deeper  m(>anings  than 
he  was  distinctly  aware  of,  and  which  only  a 
later  inspiration,  coming  when  the  occasion 
arose,  could  fully  unfold. 

16.  Ilcrod  (k-emed  that  the  Magi  were  tri- 
fling with  him  They  got  from  him  the  in- 
formation they  needed,  and  then  coolly  went 
oflT  without  bringing  back  the  information  he 
required  and  •  expected.  A  despot  easily 
conies  to  regard  the  slightest  neglect  to  do  his 
bidding    as    a    gross    insult.       Already,    no 


doubt,  designing  to  make  way  with  the  child, 
the  king  was  now  greatly  incensed  at  this  in- 
sulting neglect,  and  the  delay  it  caused;  and 
in  the  blind  rage  of  a  tyrant,  he  perpetrated 
an  act  which  may  seem  to  us  not  merely 
cruel  but  unnecessary,  since  his  officers  might 
easily  have  found  out  the  child  which  the 
Magi  had  visited,  and  also  ill-suited  to  his 
design,  since  in  an  indiscriminate  massacre 
the  child  sought  might  escape.  Such  blind 
cruelty  is,  under  all  the  circumstances,  natural 
enough.  And  probably  all  this  occurred  with- 
in twenty-four  hours,  Bethlehem  being  only 
flve  miles  ofi".  The  Magi  went  at  niglitfall, 
and  being  warned  in  a  dream,  departed  during 
the  night.  As  they  did  not  return  next  day, 
Herod  would  send  messengers  to  inquire,  and 
these  would  report  that  the  Magi  were  gone, 
and  the  child  massing.  Herod  might  conclude 
that  the  child  was  simply  conceabtd  in  the 
village  or  its  neighborhood,  and  so  the  cruel 
order,  to  bo  executed  the  same  ev»!iiing, 
would  seem  likely  to  accomplish  its  |)urpose. 

All  the  children.  Properly,  all  the  mnle 
children,  as  in  Rev.  Ver.,  the  original  mark- 
ing the  gender.*  The  borders.  The  Eng- 
lish word  'coasts'  formerly  signified  borders 
in  general;  the  border  of  the  Mississippi 
Kiver,  for  hundreds  of  miles  from  its  m<tutli, 
is  still  called  the  'coast.'  The  term  'borders' 
is  often  used  for  the  territory  they  iiifiose, 
and  here  means  the  little  district  belonging  to 
the  town.  From  two  years  old  and  under, 
etc.,  does  not  prove,  as  some  have  inffrred, 
that  the  star  had  appeared  to  the  Magi  two 
years  before,  or  even  one  year.  A  child 
would  be  called  two  years  old  as  soon  as  it 
entered  the  second  year;  and  Herod  would 
be  apt  to  go  a  good  way  beyond  the  age  indi- 
cated by  the  time  of  its  appearance,  in  order 
to  make  sure. 

Ecclesiastical  tradition  (making  it  fourteen 


•  It  Is  projterly  renilercd  In  the  Hyrloc  and  the  Vnl- 
gste,  in  the  (innpvn  and  the  Kheims,  and  by  Itcr.a.  Ktit 
Wyollf,  throuKh  translating  the  V'liluate,  has  simply 
'children,'  and    so  Tyndale,  and  Craumer,  and   also 


Lnthcr;  and  Common  Version  followcil  thes*-.  It  must 
have  been  supposed  tliot  thi-  mAseuline  expreHMlmi  wiis 
meant  to  comprclicncl  both  cexes;  but  sm<'Ii  n  ime  can 
never  be  OBSumed  unless  the  connection  requires  It. 


24 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  II. 


17  Then  was  fulfilled  that  which  was  spoken  by 
Jeremy  the  prophet,  saying, 

18  lii  Kaniu  uus  there  a  voice  heard,  lamentation, 
and  weeping,  and  great  mourning,  Kaehel  weeping 
for  her  children,  and  would  not  be  comforted,  because 
they  are  not. 


17  he  had  carefully  learned  of  the  '  wise  men.  Then 
was  fulfilled  that  which  was  spoken  through  Jere- 
miah the  prophet,  saying, 

18  A  voice  was  heard  in  Bamah, 
Weeping  and  great  mourning, 
Kaehel  weeping  for  her  children  : 
And  she  would  not  be  comforted,  because  they  1 


1  Or.  Magi. 


thousand),  and  modern  popular  opinion  have 
greatly  exaggerated  the  number  of  children 
slain,  which  by  any  just  calculation  from  the 
probable  population  of  the  little  town  and  its 
district  must  have  been  very  small,  say  fif- 
teen, or  twenty.  We  can  thus  see  how  little 
foundation  there  is  for  the  objection  taken  by 
certain  critics  to  the  authenticity  of  this  inci- 
dent, on  the  ground  that  it  is  not  mentioned 
by  Josephus.  Amid  the  numerous  and  ag- 
gravated cruelties  which  marked  the  closing 
period  of  Herod's  life,^  the  massacre  of  a  few 
children  in  an  obscure  village  might  have 
been  easily  overlooked  by  the  historian.  And 
when  it  is  said  that  the  connection  of  this 
massacre  with  a  person  supposed  to  be  Mes- 
siah made  it  a  prominent  fact,  we  may  reply 
that,  supposing  this  connection  known  to 
Josephus  (who  was  not  born  till  some  forty 
years  afterwards),  it  would  have  made  him 
all  the  more  disposed  to  omit  the  incident, 
seeing  that  he  has  the  impudence  to  represent 
the  Messianic  hopes  of  the  nation  as  fulfilled 
in  his  patron,  Vespasian.  In  like  manner, 
when  professing  to  state  the  teachings  of  John 
the  Baptist,  he  makes  no  allusion  to  John's 
announcement  of  the  coming  of  Messiah. 
(See  on  3  :  2. )'' 
17,  18.  Then  was  fulfilled.    So  in  27:  9. 


Everywhere  else  Matthew  says,  'that  it  might 
be  fulfilled.'  In  these  two  cases  he  probably 
felt  an  instinctive  reluctance,  in  which  we 
can  sympathize,  to  associate  directly  the 
divine  purpose  with  a  deed  of  enormous 
wickedness.  He  says,  in  these  instances,  as 
in  the  others,  that  the  event  '  fulfilled'  a  pre- 
diction; but  avoids  saying,  what  is  true  in  a 
just  sense,  but  would  seem  to  require  explana- 
tion, that  the  event  was  providentially  brought 
about  for  that  purpose.  By — or,  through — 
following  the  correct  text.^  For  the  mean- 
ing of  the  preposition,  comp.  on  1 :  22.  The 
quotation  is  from  Jer.  31 :  15.  The  words 
lamentation  and  are  here  not  genuine.* 

This  quotation  presents  serious  difiBculty. 
When  Nebuchadnezzar  ordered  that  the 
people  should  be  carried  into  captivity,  the 
persons  selected  were  assembled,  previous  to 
setting  out,  at  Kamah,  which  ma^-  have  been 
Ramah  in  the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  about  five 
miles  north  of  Jerusalem  (and  ten  miles  from 
Bethlehem),  or  else  some  place  of  that  name 
near  Bethlehem  (Thomson  II.,  28).  This  cap- 
tivity seemed  to  threaten  the  complete  de- 
struction of  the  nation,  with  all  their  national 
hopes;  and  the  bitter  grief  of  the  people  is 
poetically  described  by  representing  Rachel, 
one  of  the  mothers  of  the  nation — the  mother 


1  Besides  the  details  given  by  Josephus,  observe  the 
following  general  statement  ("Ant.,"  17, 6, 1) :  "And  de- 
spairing of  surviving  he  grew  utterly  savage,  acting 
with  unrestrained  anger  and  bitterness  towards  all ; 
and  the  cause  was  his  belief  that  he  was  despised,  and 
that  the  natiort  took  pleasure  in  his  misfortunes." 

*  The  Latin  writer,  Macrobius,  an  official  under  the 
Christian  emperor  Theodosius  (5th  century),  among 
various  witty  sayings  of  the  first  Augustus,  gives  the 
following:  "  Hearing  that  among  the  boys  under  two 
years  old,  whom  Herod,  King  of  the  Jews,  ordered  to 
be  killed,  his  own  son  also  was  slain,  Augustus  said, 
"Better  be  Herod's  pig  than  his  son."  (In  Greek, 
which  Augustus  habitually  spoke,  "  Better  be  Herod's 
hyn  than  his  hyion")  The  tradition  associated  with 
the  jest,  has  obviously  mingled  the  killing  of  Antipater, 
Herod's  grown  son,  with  the  story  of  the  children  at 
Bethlehem.    It  is  not  at  all  likely  that  the  two  inci- 


dents were  originally  connected  by  Augustus,  who  knew 
all  about  the  death  of  Antipater  and  his  brothers.  The 
confusion  is  manifestly  due  to  a  later  time,  and  the  story 
of  the  boys  under  two  years  most  probably  came  from 
Christian  sources,  though  that  question  cannot  be  de- 
termined. 

3  Sfime  students  or  copyists  doubtless  considered  it 
an  error  of  previous  copyists,  observing  that '  the  Lord ' 
is  not  here  mentioned,  as  in  1 :  22 ;  2 :  15,  and  com- 
monly, and  so  altered  it  to  '  by.'  (A  few  MSS.  have  a 
similar  change  to  '  by  '  in  v.  2.3.)    Similarly  in  3 :  3. 

*  They  were  no  doubt  inserted  by  some,  because 
found  in  the  original  of  the  prophet.  Few  forms  of  al- 
teration in  the  New  Testament  text  are  more  common 
than  such  assimilation  of  quotations  to  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, it  being  erroneously  taken  for  granted  that  the 
New  Testament  writers  always  quoted  with  verbal  ex- 
actness. 


I 


Ch.  II.] 


MATTHEW. 


25 


19  But  when  Herod  was  dead,  behold,  an  angel  of  the    19 
Lord  appeareth  in  a  dream  to  Joseph  in  Egypt,  | 


But  when  Herod  was  dead,  behold,  an  angel  of  the 


of  that  tribe  in  whose  territory  the  exiles  were 
assembled — as  risen  from  the  grave,  and  be- 
wailing their  destruction;  while  the  prophet 
comforts  her  with  the  assurance  that  there  is 
hope  for  the  future,  for  the  people  will  be  re- 
stored. Now,  when  this  poetical  passage  is 
said  by  Matthew  to  be  'fulfilled'  in  the  case 
of  the  massacre  at  Bethlehem,  how  are  we  to 
understand  him?  (1)  If  we  are  unable  to 
see  in  the  language  of  Jeremiah  any  distinct 
reference  to  this  massacre,  it  will  not  follow 
that  the  Evangelist  has  merely  made  an  apt 
quotation.  He  and  his  Jewish  readers  had 
the  general  conviction  that  everything  in  the 
history  of  their  nation  was  sacred  and  signifi- 
cant. And  wherever  Matthew  saw  a  resem- 
blance between  an  event  in  the  history  of 
Israel  and  an  event  in  the  life  of  Messiah, 
he  might  consider  that  this  resemblance  was 
divinely  designed,  and  wish  his  readers  to 
take  the  same  view.  He  may  have  used  the 
word  'fulfill'  in  this  sense,  not  intending  to 
assert  that  there  is  here  (as  in  most  cases)  a 
definite  prediction,  distinctly  fulfilled,  but 
only  a  discernible  and  noteworthy  point  in 
tlie  general  relation  between  the  older  sacred 
history  and  the  new.  Thus  understood,  the 
passage  would  leave  the  term  'fulfill'  a  real, 
though  weakened  sense,  and  we  may,  if  neces- 
say,  regard  it  as  similarlj'  used  in  various 
other  passages,  while  we  must  in  every  case 
inquire  whether  there  is  not  a  fulfillment  in 
the  complete  sense  of  the  word.  (2)  And 
may  we  not  here  trace  some  indications  of 
a  specific  relation  between  the  events?  The 
massacre  at  Bethlehem,  like  the  occurrence 
at  Ramah,  threatens  to  destroy  the  nation's 
future,  which  all  really  depends  on  Messiah. 
If  the  infant  Messiah  is  slain,  then  is  Israel 
ruined.  Suppose  only  that  some  at  Bethle- 
hem, who  had  heard  of  the  shepherds  and 


the  Magi,  now  despondingly  believed  that 
the  new-born  king  was  slain,  and  their 
mourning  would  really  correspond  to  that 
mourning  at  Ramah,  which  Jeremiah  poeti- 
cally described.  In  both  cases,  too,  the  grief 
at  actual  distresses  is  unnecessarily  embittered 
by  this  despair  as  to  the  future,  for  the  youth- 
ful Messiah  had  not  reallj'  perished,  just  as 
the  captivity  would  not  really  destroy  Israel. 
In  both  cases  the  would-be  destroyer  fails, 
and  blessings  are  in  store  for  the  people  of 
God.  This  view  may  seem  fine-spun,  and 
should  not  be  too  much  insisted  on,  but  it 
is  possible.  (Comp.  Calvin,  Fairbairn,  Keil.) 
The  poetical  introduction  of  Rachel  as  repre- 
senting the  common  grief  of  Israel,  is  only 
a  subordinate  and  incidental  thing,  and  we 
need  not  seek  anj'  special  connection  between 
Rachel  personally  and  Herod's  massacre,  such 
as  some  have  sought  in  the  fact  that  she  was 
buried  near  Bethlehem,  though  it  would  not 
be  wholly  unreasonable  to  regard  that  also 
as  significant.  The  tomb  of  Rachel  is  still 
marked  near  the  village,  and  quite  probably 
at  the  real  place. 

19-23.  Joseph  Returns  from  Egypt, 
AND  Makes  His  Home  at  Nazareth. 

The  angel  appears  again,  as  he  had  prom- 
ised, (v.  13.)  The  death  of  Herod  (comp.  on 
v.  1)  occurred  in  the  spring  (just  before  the 
Passover)  of  the  year  of  Rome  750.  Josephus 
mentions  an  eclipse  of  the  moon  ("Ant.,"  17, 
6,  4)  as  taking  place  shortly  before  his  death, 
and  astronomical  calculations  enable  us  to  fix 
the  year  with  practical  certainty.  (Wieseler, 
Andrews,  Caspari,  Nicholson.)  The  birth  of 
Jesus  must  have  preceded  Herod's  death  by 
several  months,  if  not  longer,  and  must  there- 
fore have  occurred  at  least  four  years  before 
the  common  Christian  era,  the  first  year  of 
which  coincides  with  the  year  of  Rome  754.' 


'  Upon  this  nearly  all  scholars  are  now  agreed,  from 
other  data  as  well  as  the  death  of  Herod,  and  some 
suppose  there  is  an  error  of  as  much  as  five  or  six 
years.  Our  era  was  determined  In  the  sixth  century, 
and  it  is  not  stranpe  that  an  error  should  have  been 
committed.  The  mode  in  which  we  count  time,  Anno 
Domini,  'In  the  year  of  our  Lord.'  cannot  now  be 
changed.  We  have  .simply  to  bear  in  mind  that  the  Viirth 
of  Christ  actually  occurred  nt  least  four  years  earlier 
than  our  era,  and  similarly  as  to  his  public  ministry, 


and  death.  As  he  was,  when  he  began  his  ministry, 
'about  thirty  years  of  age'  (i<"ke.i:  M)^  this  would  make 
A.  D.  26,  perhaps  in  the  autumn;  and  If  his  ministry 
lasted,  as  is  probable,  for  tlirce  and  a  half  years,  hia 
death  occurred  a.  d.  30.  Most  books  of  history  and 
tables  of  chronology  still  fail  to  give  these  dates  cor- 
rectly, probably  from  fear  of  confusing  the  i>opular 
mind.  There  can  however  be  no  danger  of  such  con- 
fusion, if  the  simple  facts,  as  just  stated,  receive  the 
slightest  attention. 


1 


26 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  II. 


20  Saying,  Arise,  and  take  the  young  child  and  his 
mother,  aud  go  into  the  land  of  Israel:  for  they  are  i 
dead  which  sought  the  young  child's  life.  | 


20  Lord  appeareth  in  a  dream  to  Joseph  in  Egypt,  say- 
ing. Arise  and  take  the  young  child  and  his'moiher, 
and  go  into  the  land  of  Israel:  for  they  are  deaa 


The  poor  old  tynint  died  of  a  most  loathsome 
and  torturing  disease  (see  Jos.  "Ant.,"  17,  6, 
6),  in  the  seventieth  year  of  his  life,  and  the 
thirty-seventh  of  his  nominal,  or  thirty- 
fourth  of  his  actual  reign.  (Jos.  "War,"  1, 
33,  8;   "Ant.,"  17,  8,  1.) 

20.  Take  the  child  and  go,  not  now  '  flee,' 
as  before  (v.  13).  They  are  dead.  The  ex- 
pression was  probably  suggested  by  Ex.  4: 
19.  Tor  all  are  dead  that  sought  thy  life' 
(Sept.),  and  so  it  takes  a  general  form.  There 
are  none  now  that  seek  the  child's  life — all 
such  are  dead.  This  might  be  said  (the  ex- 
pression being  borrowed)  without  specific 
reference  to  any  death  but  that  of  Herod. 
(So  Bengel,  Bleek,  Keil.)  It  is  also  possible 
to  understand  the  plural  as  a  mere  general 
statement  of  a  particular  fact,  such  as  is  com- 
mon in  all  languages,  and  without  any  ref- 
erence to  Ex.  4:  19.  (Meyer).  The  idea 
(Euthym.,  Clark,  Lutteroth)  that  Antipater 
is  included,  who  was  slain  a  few  days  before 
HeroJ's  death,  assumes  that  he  had  shared 
his  fathers  hostility  to  the  child,  an  assump- 
tion unsujiported  and  improbable.  —  To  seek 
the  life  of  any  one  is  a  Hebrew  idiom,  Rom. 
11:  3;  Jer.  44:  30;  Ex.  4:  19.  The  land  of 
Israel  was  said  partly,  perhaps,  in  contrast 
to  the  heathen  land  in  which  they  had  been 
sojourning,  but  also  as  a  designation  of  the 
whole  country,  the  term  '  Judea  '  being  pres- 
ently applied  (v.  22)  to  a  particular  district. 
'Land  of  Israel'  is  not  elsewhere  found  in 
the  New  Testament,  but  see  'cities  of  Israel' 
in  10 :  23.  But  when  he  heard.  '  Notwith- 
standing,' in  Com.  Ver.,  is  quite  too  strong  for 
the  Greek  connective.  Judea,  always  in 
Matthew,  Mark,  and  John,  and  sometimes 
in  Luke  and  Acts,  means  the  southern  district, 
as  distinguished  from  Galilee,  Samaria,  and 
Perea.  Elsewhere  in  Luke  and  Acts,  and 
always  in  the  Epistles,  it  denotes  the  whole 
country.     In  v.  22  the  only  fact  of  import- 


ance to  Joseph  is  that  Archelaus  reigns  over 
Judea,  where  he  has  intended  to  live;  and 
we  need  not  suppose  that  'Judea'  here  in- 
cludes Samaria,  which  was  also  under  Arche- 
laus' dominion.  1  After  many  changes  of  his 
will,  Herod  at  the  last  moment  divided  his 
dominions  among  three  of  his  sons  (Jos. 
"Ant.,"  18,  8-11).  (1)  Herod  Antipas  was 
made  Tetrarch  of  Galilee  and  Perea.  (The 
Greek  word  'tetrarch'  signified  originally 
the  ruicr  of  the  fourth  part  of  a  province  or 
district,  as  in  Galatia;  but  was  applied  by 
the  Eomans  in  the  time  of  our  Lord  to  the 
ruler  of  any  considerable  part  of  a  province 
or  people.)  He  is  the  Herod  who  appears  in 
connection  with  John  the  Baptist  and  the 
public  ministry  of  our  Lord  (14:  1  fiT).  (2) 
Herod  Philip,  Tetrarch  of  Iturea,  Trachonitis, 
and  some  adjacent  districts,  is  not  mentioned 
in  the  Gospel  history,  except  in  Luke  3:  1. 
It  was  another  Herod  Philip,  one  left  in  a 
private  station,  that  married  their  niece  Hero- 
dias,  and  was  forsaken  by  her  for  Antipas;  the 
daughter  of  this  other  Pliilipand  Herodias  was 
Salome,  the  dancer,  who  subsequently  married 
Philip  the  Tetrarch.  Among  the  ten  wives  and 
numerous  children  of  Herod  the  Great,  the 
same  names  frequently  recur.  Philip  the  Te- 
trarch is  described  by  Joseph  us  as  a  worthy 
man,  and  a  just  ruler;  apparently  the  best 
man  of  the  Herod  family.  Our  Lord,  towards 
the  close  of  his  ministry'  in  Galilee,  repeatedly 
retires  from  the  dominions  of  the  weak  and 
cunning  Antipas  to  those  of  Philip  (14:  13; 
15:  29;  16:  13).  (3)  To  Archelaus  were  given 
Judea  (with  Idumea)  and  Samaria,  making 
at  least  one  half  of  his  father's  kingdom,  and 
yielding  twice  as  much  revenue  as  both  the 
tetrarchies  combined  (Jos.  "Ant.,"  17,  11,  4). 
Herod  assigned  him  the  title  of  'king,'  and 
he  was  saluted  as  such  after  his  father's 
death,  and  so  regarded  in  Judea  for  a  con- 
siderable period  (Jos.  "Ant.,"  17,  8,  If.  and  ch. 


*  The  name '  Palestine '  means  the  land  of  Philistines, 
the  form  being  a  little  changed  in  passing  through  the 
Greek.  (In  Com.  Ver.  of  Old  Testament,  '  Palestina' 
and  '  Philistia.')  As  the  Philistines  occupied  the 
maritime  plain,  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  first  visiting 
the  t^wns  near  the  coast,  afterwards  extended  the 
name  of  the  coast  to  'the  adjacent  region  inland,  as 


they  did  in  many  other  cases,  and  thus  Palestine  be- 
came a  common  name  for  the  whole  country,  being  so 
used  sometimes  even  by  Philo  and  Josephus.  Though 
not  found  in  New  Testament,  it  has  continued  to  rival 
the  name  Judea  to  the  present  day.  The  redoubtable 
Philistines  still  live  in  geography. 


I 


Ch.  IL] 


MATTHEW. 


27 


21  And  he  arose,  and  took  the  young  child  and  his 
mother,  and  came  into  the  land  of  Israel. 

22  But  when  he  heard  that  Archelaus  did  reign  in 
Judea  in  the  room  of  his  father  Herod,  he  was  afraid 
to  go  thither:  notwKhstanding,  being  warned  of  God 
in  a  dream,  he  turned  aside  into  the  parts  of  (ialilee: 

23  And  he  came  and  dwelt  in  a  city  called  Nazareth : 
that  it  might  be  fulfilled  which  was  spoken  by  the 
prophets,  lie  shall  be  called  a  Nazarene. 


21  that  sought  the  young  child's  life.  And  he  arose 
and  took  the  young  child  and  his  mother,  and  came 

22  into  the  land  of  Israel.  But  when  he  heard  that 
Archelaus  was  reigning  over  Juda;a  in  tlie  rooui  of 
his  father  Herod,  he  was  afraid  to  go  thither;  and 
being  warned  of  God  in  a  dream,  he  withdrew  into 

23  the  parts  of  (ialilee,  and  came  and  dwelt  in  a  city 
called  Nazareth  •.'that  it  might  be  fulfilled  which  was 
spoken  through  the  prophets,  that  he  should  be 
called  a  Nararene. 


9,  1-5),  though  the  Emperor  Augustus  finally 
allowed  him  only  the  title  of  ethnarch  (ruler 
of  a  nation  or  people,  a  rather  more  honor- 
able title  than  tetrarch),  with  the  promise 
to  declare  him  king  if  he  should  deserve 
it.  The  expression  did  reign,  or  was 
reigning,  i.  e.,  was  king,  is  thus  minutely 
correct  for  the  period  immediately  follow- 
ing Herod's  death.  It  may,  however,  be 
understood  as  used  loosely,  just  as  'king' 
is  applied  to  any  ruler,  from  the  Koman 
Emperor  (i  Peter  2:  13)  to  Herod  Antipas  the 
Tetrarch  (i«:  9;  Mark  6:  14).  So  Joscphus  ("Life " 
g  1)  says  his  own  father  was  born  "while 
Archelaus  was  reigning  the  tenth  year." 
Joseph  is  surprised  and  disappointed  at 
learning  that  Archelaus  is  appointed  King 
of  Judea,  for  it  had  been  understood  that  An- 
tipas was  to  succeed  his  father  in  the  whole 
kingdom,  and  Herod  made  the  change  just 
before  his  death  (Jos.  "Ant.,"  17,  6,  1;  8,  1; 
9,  4). 

On  warned  and  turned  aside,  or  with- 
drew, see  on  v.  V2.  The  parts  of  Galilee, 
those  parts  of  the  country  which  were  com- 
prised in  that  district  (comp.  16:  13;  Acts 
20:  2). 

23.  The  town  of  Nazareth^  is  not  men- 
tioned in  Old  Testament,  which  is  notsurpris- 
ing,  as  the  Old  Te-stament  history  rarely  ex- 
tends to  any  part  of  Galilee.  Nor  need  we 
wonder  that  Josephus  does  not  name  it,  as  it 
was  a  small  town  remote  from  the  principal 
roads,  and  did  not  fail  in  the  way  of  any  of 
the  military  operations  which  he  describes. 
It  was  situated  about  fifty-five  miles  north  of 
Jerusalem,  in  an  elevated  basin,  such  as  is 
frequently  found  in  Samaria  and  Galilee. 
This  basin  is  about  a  mile  long  by  less  than 
half  a  mile  wide,  opening  southward  by  a 
narrow  and  winding  pass  into  the  great  plain 
of  Esdrffilon.  Split  a  pear  endwise  and  the  I 
lower  half,  with  the  crooked  stem,  will  give 
the  shape  of  the  valley  of   Nazareth.     The  I 


encompassing  slope  is  divided  by  depressions 
on  its  face  into  some  seventeen  distinct  hills. 
On  the  western  side  of  this  elevated  valley, 
and  sloping  a  little  way  up  the  western  hill, 
lies  the  modern  town,  and  there  is  no  reason 
to  think  the  site  has  materially  changed. 
Higher  up  the  slope  is  a  limestone  clift'  thirty 
or  forty  feet  high,  which  (or  one  of  the  simi- 
lar ones  not  far  from  it)  may  well  have  been 
the  "brow  of  the  hill  where»^n  their  city  was 
built,"  from  which  the  mob  proposed  to  cast 
their  rejected  prophet  (Luke4:-.9j,  n  scene  ab- 
surdly located  by  monkish  tradition  at  a  pre- 
cipice two  miles  away,  overlooking  the  plain 
of  Esdraelon.  The  vale  of  Nazareth  is  green 
and  very  fertile,  with  many  fruit  trees  and  a 
fine  fountain  near  the  village,  altogether  pre- 
senting a  beautiful  scene  ;  and  from  the  high 
western  hill  is  a  view  among  the  most  exten- 
sive in  Palestine,  embracing  Tabor  and  the 
great  plain,  Carmel  and  the  blue  Mediterra- 
nean, the  mountain-wall  east  of  thedepre.«sed 
Jordan  valley,  and  on  the  north  the  far-oflT 
snowy  summit  of  Hermon.  Yet,  as  so  often 
happens,  the  dwellers  amid  all  these  beauties 
of  nature  were  rude,  violent,  and  of  evil  re- 
pute. The  question  of  Nathanael  f  john  i :  46,  Kev. 
Ver.):  'Can  there  anything  good  come  out 
of  Nazareth?"  is  not  suflBciently  accounted 
for,  as  some  have  thought,  by  the  contempt 
for  Galilee  in  general  which  was  felt  by  the 
people  of  Judea  ;  for  Nathanael  himself  lived 
at  "Cana  of  Galilee"  (John 21:2),  only  a  few 
miles  distant.  Nor  can  it  be  easily  regarded 
as  an  unjust  prejudice,  for  Nathanael  was  a 
man  of  singularly  good  character.  (John  1:47.) 
And  so  the  unparalleled  violence  of  the  rabble 
(Luke 4 :  28-30),  and  the  persistent  unbelief  even 
on  a  second  visit  which  excited  the  wonder  of 
Jesus  himself  (M«rk8:«),  are  not  fully  explained 
by  the  fact  that  he  was  a  prophet  "in  his  own 
country,"  but  lead  us  to  think  of  them  as  an 
intractable  and  disorderly  people,  deserving 
their  bad  reputation.       But  hero   lived   the 


^Ttae  original  Aramsio  form  of  the  name  was  probably  Nazara(8ee  Keim). 


28 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  II. 


righteous  Joseph,  and  the  meek,  devout 
Miiry  ;  and  here  "increased  in  wisdom  and 
stature,  and  in  favor  with  God  and  man" 
(Lake  2: 52),  tile  child,  the  boy,  the  youth,  the 
man,  who  was  in  due  time  to. come  forth  from 
this  obscure  village  as  the  consolation  of  Is- 
rael, as  the  Saviour  of  the  world.  Here  he 
wrought  (»iark6:3)  at  the  humble  and  laborious 
calling  of  his  reputed  father  (see  on  13  :  55) ; 
here  he  worshipped  every  Sabbath,  with  such 
worship  as  only  the  perfect  could  pay,  in  the 
synagogue  from  which  he  was  afterwards  to 
be  rudely  thrust  forth  ;  and  often,  no  doubt, 
he  would  climb  this  western  hill  as  the  sun 
was  sinking  in  the  Mediterranean,  and  look 
down  with  pure  pleasure  upon  the  beautiful 
valley,  or  far  away  over  the  magnificent  pros- 
pect, and,  as  his  human  mind  gradually  un- 
folded to  comprehend  his  mission,  would 
think  great  thought's  of  the  kingdom  that 
should  fill  the  whole  earth  and  should  have 
no  end.  (See  copious  and  pleasing  descriptions 
in  Renan  and  Geikie). 

That  he  should  be  called,  is  as  natural  a 
translation  of  the  Greek  as  He  shall  be 
caliedf  and  better  suits  the  most  probable 
interpretation  of  this  passage.  The  words, 
'  He  shall  be  called  a  Nazarene,^  are  not  found 
in  the  Old  Testament.  The  difficulty  thus 
presented  has  been  variously  explained.  (1) 
Chrys.,  Hanna,  and  some  others,  suppose  a 
lost  prophecy.  But  this  is  a  mere  make-shift. 
The  term  'the  prophets'  in  New  Testament, 
everywhere  means  the  canonical  prophets. 
(Mej'er.)  Ewald's  suggestion  that  it  may  be 
from  an  apocryphal  book,  is  likewise  a  make- 
shift. (2)  Jerome,  Calvin,  and  others,  con- 
nect it  with  the  law  as  to  the  Nazirites.  But 
Nazareth  andNazarene  are  almost  certainly 
not  derived  from  nazir,  'consecrated,'  but 
from  ne/zer, 'branch,'  'shoot,'  as  shown  by  the 
Syriac  and  the  Rabbinical  forms  of  the  word 
Nazarene  (Robinson,  Evang.,  and  Mishna); 
or  else  from  some  kindred  word  formed  on 
the  same  root.  (Grimm,  i'  Moreover,  Jesus 
was  in  no  sense  a  Nazirite,  being  quite  dif- 
ferent, as  he  himself  declares  (n:i8, 19),  from 
John  the  Baptist.  Observe  that  Rev.  Ver.  in 
Num.  6:2;  Judg.  13:  5,  etc.,  spells  not  Naza- 


rite,  but  Nazirite,  according  to  the  Hebrew 
nazir.  (3)  Fritzsche,  Meyer,  Bleek,  Weiss, 
Edersh.,  and  others,  suppose  a  reference  to 
Isa.  11:  1,  where  Messiah  is  called  a  'branch,' 
Hebrew  netzer.  An  equivalent  though  dif- 
ferent Hebrew  word  is  applied  to  him  in  Jer. 
23:  5;  33:  15;  Zech.  3;  8;  6:  12.  From  the 
passage  in  Isaiah,  reinforced  by  the  others,  it 
may  have  become  common  (Bleek  supposes) 
to  call  the  Messiah  simply  netzer,  'branch,' 
as  is  perhaps  implied  in  Zech.  3:8.  So  the 
prediction  of  the  'prophets'  led  to  Messiah's 
being  'called'  Netzer,  and  as  a  resident  at 
Netzer  or  Natzara,  Jesus  was  called  Naza- 
rene. This  is  ingenious  and  may  be  true, 
though  it  seems  far-fetched.  (4)  Olshausen, 
Lange,  Westcott  (Int.),  and  others,  under- 
stand it  as  referring  to  the  various  predictions 
(e.  g.,  Psa.  22;  Isa.  63),  that  Messiah  would 
be  despised  and  reviled,  as  was  done  when  he 
was  'called'  a  Nazarene.  Had  he  been  called 
Jesus  the  Bethlehemite,  it  would  have  seemed 
honorable;  but  to  be  called  Jesus  the  Naza- 
rene, would  at  once  awaken  the  contempt  of 
the  Jews,  and  would  be  a  prima  facie  argu- 
ment against  his  claims  to  be  regarded  as 
Messiah,  the  son  of  David;  and  we  know 
that  such  an  argument  was  once  actually 
used.  (John7:«.)«  As thus  Understood,  the  pas- 
sage is  best  translated  as  in  Rev.  Ver.  This 
seems,  upon  the  whole,  to  be  decidedly  the 
best  view.  The  Mohammedans  in  Palestine, 
now  commonly  call  Christians  Nazarenes. 
(Thomson,  II.,  316.)  (5)  Hengstenberg,  Alex- 
ander, Ellicott,  Keil,  combine  (3)  and  (4),  un- 
derstanding Isaiah  11 :  1  to  represent  Messiah 
as  "a  shoot  from  the  prostrate  trunk  or  stem 
of  Jesse,  i.  e.,  as  from  the  royal  family  of 
Judah  in  its  humble  and  reduced  estate." 
(Alex.).  But  this  mode  of  connecting  the 
two  theories  appears  artificial.  It  is  better  to 
be  content  with  one  or  the  other,  as  either  of 
them  is  quite  possibly  correct.  (6)  Lutteroth 
has  a  new  explanation  :  Joseph  saw  that  a  life 
in  Bethlehem  would  be  perilous  for  the  child, 
and  in  order  that  he  might  live,  and  the  pro- 
phecies concerning  him  as  Messiah  might  be 
fulfilled,  Joseph  took  him  to  dwell  in  Naza- 
reth, 'because  he  would  be  called  a  Naza- 


1  McClellan  begs  the  question,  and  actually  translates, 
'  He  shall  be  called  a  Nazarite.' 

>  It  has  been  remarked  that  Plutarch  flrequently  quotes 


Plato  as  saying  something  which  cannot  be  found  in 
Plato's  works  in  so  many  words,  but  is  substantially 
contained  in  various  passages.  Indeed  the  same  thing 
is  done  by  many  writers,  and  is  perfectly  natural. 


I 


Ch.  II.] 


MATTHEW. 


29 


rene,'  and  not  a  Bethlehemite,  and  thus  would 
be  less  likely  to  incur  hostility  than  if  known 
to  be  from  the  city  of  David.  This  is  quite 
ingenious,  but  strained  and  improbable.  The 
translation,  "because  he  would  be  called,''  is 
possible. 

The  plural,  by,  through,  the  prophets, 
is  favorable  to  (4).  Yet  in  (3)  it  is  possible  to 
suppose  reference  also  to  the  other  prophets 
^be3ides  Isa.  11:  1),  in  which  another  but 
equivalent  Hebrew  word  is  employed.  And 
the  plural  might  be  used  with  especial  refer- 
ence to  a  single  prediction,  as  in  John  6:  46; 
Acts  13:  40;  15:  15,  though  this  is  unusual, 
and  never  found  in  Matthew.  (Comp.  26:  56.) 
That  it  might  be  fulfilled,  as  in  1 :  22,  the 
providential  purpose. 

On  comparing  the  two  first  chapters  of  Mat- 
thew and  of  Luke,  there  appears  to  be  some 
conflict  as  to  the  order  of  events.  Not  in  the 
fact  that  Matthew  makes  no  mention  of  the 
previous  residence  at  Nazareth,  which  was 
simply  not  necessary  to  his  own  chief  object 
of  showing  that  Jesus  was  the  Messiah.  But 
Luke  (2:39),  makes  the  return  to  Nazareth 
follow  the  presentation  in  the  temple,  thus 
apparently  leaving  no  room  for  the  visit  of 
the  Magi  and  the  flight  into  Egypt.  The  pre- 
sentation, it  is  true,  might  possibly  have  fol- 
lowed the  visit  of  the  Magi — the  distance  being 
only  five  miles — before  Herod  concluded  that 
the  Magi  had  mocked  him.  But  this  ill  ac- 
cords with  the  expressions  of  v.  13,  14,  and  the 
gifts  of  the  Magi  would,  if  previously  received, 
have  enabled  the  parents  to  present  the  regu- 
lar offerings,  without  being  restricted  to  those 
permitted  to  the  poor.  (Luke2:24;Le¥.  12:8.)  More- 
over, Luke  would  still  seem  to  exclude  the 
flight  into  Egypt.  To  meet  this  difficulty, 
some  suppose  that  immediately  after  the  pre- 
sentation they  returned  to  Nazareth  (Luke), 
and  having  there  made  the  necessary  arrange- 
ments, removed  to.  Bethlehem,  intending  to 
rear  the  child  in  the  city  of  David,  an  inten- 
tion still  apparently  retained  by  them  on 
returning  from  Egypt,  (y-n.)  But  though 
tenable  (adopted  in  Clark's  Harmony),  this 
supposition  is  less  simple  and  natural  than  to 
understand  that  Luke,  omitting  all  interme- 
diate events,  passes  at  once  from  the  presenta- 
tion in  the  temple  to  that  return  to  Nazareth 
which  Matthew  also  records.  And  if  Luke 
seems  to  leave  no  room  for  any  intervening 


occurrences,  this  arises  from  the  necessity  of 
the  case  in  a  brief  narrative  which,  being 
compelled  to  omit  much,  must  bring  together 
events  not  immediately  successive,  and  must 
do  this  without  leaving  a  break  at  the  point 
of  omission,  or  else  altogether  destroy  its  own 
continuity,  and  become  not  a  narrative  but  a 
mass  of  fragments.  If  Providence  designed 
that  there  should  be  four  independent  Gospels, 
and  each  was  to  be  a  simple  and  readable 
story,  apparent  disagreements  of  this  sort  are 
inevitable.  It  follows  that  such  cases  cannot 
with  propriety  be  understood  as  involving  any 
real  conflict.  And  we  see  that  it  is  becoming 
to  eschew  the  nervous  harmonizing  practiced 
by  some,  as  well  as  the  disposition  of  others 
to  magnify  discrepancies,  and  eagerly  pro- 
nounce them  irreconcilable. 

HOMILETICAL    AND    PRACTICAL. 

V.  13.  God  had  promised  thatthis  child  should 
save  others  (1  =  21),  yet  now  he  must  flee  for  his 
own  life.  So  Paul  at  the  shipwreck.  (Act«27; 
22,31.)  The  supernatural  comes  in  only  where 
natural  powers  would  not  suffice.  The  child 
is  not  preserved  from  Herod's  designs  by  mir- 
acle, nor  miraculously  transported  intoEgj-pt, 
after  the  fashion  of  the  legendary  miracles, 
but  there  is  simply  a  supernatural  warning 
that  he  must  be  carried  away.  The  revela- 
tion is  not  all  given  at  once.  Bengel:  "  Jo- 
seph must  quietly  wait  an  uncertain  time,  'till 
I  bring  thee  word.' "  Jer.  Taylor.  "Andso 
for  all  his  sons  by  adoption,  God  will  deter- 
mine the  time,  and  ease  our  pains  and  refresh 
our  sorrows,  and  give  quietness  to  our  fears 
and  deliverance  from  our  troubles,  and  sanc- 
tify it  all  and  give  a  crown  at  last,  and  all  in 
his  good  time,  if  we  but  wait  the  coming  of 
the  angel,  and  in  the  meantime  do  our  duty 
with  care,  and  sustain  our  temporals  with  in- 
differency." 

V.  14.  Henry:  "  Those  that  would  make  sure 
work  of  their  obedience,  must  make  quick 
work  of  it."  V.  15.  Israel  and  Messiah,  both  so- 
journing in  Egj'pt — occasion  in  each  case,  and 
result.  V.  16.  Cruelty.  (1)  Fostered  by  the  pos- 
session of  despotic  power.  (2)  Inflamed  by 
fancied  insult.  (3)  Recklessly  smiting  the  in- 
nocent. (4)  Blindly  missing  its  object.  V.  IT, 
18.  The  old,  old  story — the  dead  babe  and  the 
heart-stricken  mother.  '  And  would  not  bo 
comforted.'  When  we  are  willing  to  be  com- 
forted,   divine    comfort    is    not    fur   away. 


30 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  II. 


Luther  represents  the  Magi  in  their  own 
country  as  the  first  New  Testament  preachers, 
and  the  murdered  innocents  as  the  first  mar- 
tyrs. 

V.  19  (and  13).  If  we  wait  and  watch  for  the 
guidance  which  God  has  promised,  it  will 
come,  and  at  the  right  time.  V.  20.  He  that 
'fled'  in  alarm  (t.  is)  now  'goes'  in  safety. 
Alas  I  for  the  human  being  whose  death 
brings  a  feeling  of  relief  to  the  innocent  and 
the  good.     V.  22.  Like  father,  like  son. 

V.  23.  The  truest  greatness  usually  grows  up 
in  retirement,  often  in  obscurity ;  and  the 
greatest  personage  in  history  was  not  an  ex- 
ception to  this  rule.  In  our  day  of  hot  haste, 
and  especially  of  youthful  impatience  to  be  at 
work,  it  is  well  to  remember  that  he  who 
knew  his  ministry  could  last  but  a  few  years, 
spent  thirty  years  in  the  most  quiet  prepara- 
tion. 

THE   YOITTH   OF  JESTTS. 

As  to  the  Saviour's  life,  from  the  point  now 
reached  to  his  baptism  (s:i3),  we  have  no  in- 
formation in  Matthew,  and  none  in  the  other 
Gospels,  save  the  interesting  and  instructive 
incident  of  Luke  2:  41-52.  There  we  find 
him  at  the  age  of  twelve,  highly  intelligent 
and  trusted  by  his  parents;  devoted  to  the 
study  of  the  Scriptures,  showing  a  wonderful 
acquaintance  with  them  (comp.  Josephus, 
"Life,"  §2),  and  asking  questions  in  the  eager 
desire  to  know  more;  beginning  to  perceive 
that  God  is  in  some  peculiar  sense  his  'Fa- 
ther,' and  fond  of  attendance  at  his  '  Father's 
house ' ;  shrinking  already  from  the  sensation 
he  produces,  retiring  into  obscurity  and  sub- 
ject to  his  parents;  and  growing  in  wisdom 
as  he  grows  in  stature  (or  age).  It  is  a  bright 
and  inspiring  glimpse,  and  perfectly"  harmo- 
nious with  his  character  and  life  as  a  public 
teacher. 

To  meet  the  curiosity  always  felt  as  to  his 
childhood  and  youth,  a  variety  of  marvelous 
stories  were  invented  during  the  early  centu- 
ries, which  were  recorded  in  apocrj-phal  Gos- 
pels or  passed  into  tradition.  Though  many 
of  these  are  sanctioned  by  the  Romish  Church, 
they  are  often  absurd,  and  sometimes  blas- 
phemous; and  the  recital  of  them  would  be 
to  no  profit,  unless  it  were  in  the  way  of  illus- 
trating by  contrast  the  simplicity,  the  reserve, 
the  perfect  good  taste,  of  the  inspired  narra- 
tive. 


The  external  conditions  under  which  Jesus 
grew  up,  are  known  to  us  from  general  sources 
of  information.  His  development  must  have 
been  influenced  by  such  outward  circum- 
stances as  the  following:  (1)  Home.  (2)  Na- 
ture (see  as  to  Nazareth,  on  v.  23).  His  deep 
love  of  nature  appears  repeatedly  in  his  public 
ministry.  (3)  The  Scriptures.  (4)  The  syn- 
agogue. (5)  Labor;  he  was  a  worker  in  wood 
(Mark  6: 3),  and  it  is  Stated  in  a  very  early  tradi- 
tion that  he  made  "ploughs  and  yokes"  (Jus- 
tin Martyr,  "  Trypho,"  88).  It  is  not  improb- 
able that  after  Joseph's  death  (comp.  below), 
the  growing  youth's  labor  aided  in  the  sup- 
port of  that  loved  mother  for  whom  he  took 
pains  to  provide  when  he  was  about  to  die 
(jobni9:26, 27.)  That  he  Spent  much  time  in  re- 
flection, and  in  prayerful  communion  with  his 
Father,  is  naturally  inferred  from  his  course 
at  a  later  period.  (On  this  paragraph,  comp. 
Keim  and  Edersheim). 

Among  the  outward  events  of  these  twenty- 
eight  or  twenty-nine  3-ears,  a  few  at  least 
ought  to  be  here  recalled. 

When  Jesus  was  about  ten  years  old,  a.  d. 
6,  such  serious  complaints  against  Arehelaus 
were  made  at  Home,  that  he  was  deposed 
from  the  ethnarchate  of  Judea  and  Samaria, 
and  banished  to  Vienna,  in  Gaul.  (Jos. 
"Ant.,"  17,13,  2.)  At  that  time  the  earlier 
history  of  Arehelaus  (see  on  v.  22)  would  be 
much  talked  about,  and  thus  becoming  famil- 
iar to  Jesus,  might  have  afterwards  suggested 
the  Parable  of  the  Pounds.  (  Luke  is :  12.  ir. )  For 
there  is  a  striking  resemblance  in  many  lead- 
ing points:  (1)  Arehelaus  went  away  to  Rome 
to  receive  royal  power,  and  return  to  exercise 
it,  and  left  his  supporters  in  charge  of  his 
aflfairs.  (2)  The  Jews  hated  him,  and  sent  an 
embassy  of  fifty  persons  to  Rome  to  say  that 
they  did  not  want  Arehelaus  as  their  king. 
("Ant."  17,  11,  If)  l3)  When  Arehelaus 
returned,  though  Augustus  had  enjoined 
moderation,  he  punished  with  great  severity. 
(17,  13,  2.)  After  the  banishment  of  Arehe- 
laus, his  dominions  were  made  a  Roman  prov- 
ince. Many  of  the  Jews  had  desired  this  at  the 
death  of  Herod,  and  now  entreated  that  it  be 
done,  being  weary  of  their  weak  native  rulers, 
and  expecting  greater  quiet  and  better  pro- 
tection for  property  and  business  under  a 
Roman  governor.  Exactly  similar  changes, 
and  for  similar  reasons,  now  often  occur  in 
British  India,  and  under  the  Russian  rule  in 


Ch.  III.] 


MATTHEW. 


31 


CHAPTER  III. 


IN  those  days  came  John  the  Baptist,  preaching  in  I    1     And  in  those  days  cometh  John  the  Baptist,  preach- 
the  wilderness  oi'  Judea,  I 


Central  Asia,  and  were  then  taking  place  in 
other  parts  of  the  Roman  Empire  (e.  g.,  Tac. 
"Ann.,"  11.42),  Butother  Jews  violently  op- 
posed such  a  change,  clinging  to  the  bare 
shadow  of  independence,  and  accounting  it  a 
sin  that  the  people  of  God  sliould  be  directly 
subject  to  heathen  rulers,  especially  tliat  they 
should  pay  them  taxes.  A  portion  of  these 
broke  out  into  rebellion  under  Judas,  the 
Galilean  or  Gaulonite.  (Jos.  "Ant.,"  18,  1; 
Acts  5:  37. )  This  movement,  and  other  similar 
insurrections  in  following  years,  were  easily 
quelled  by  the  Romans,  but  the  sentiment 
which  produced  them  remained.  (Comp.  a  sec- 
tion of  the  German  Anabaptists,  the  Fifth  Mon- 
archy men  in  England,  etc.)  From  it  came 
the  question,  "  Is  it  lawful  to  give  tribute  to 
Cesar?  "  (i^-  "■)  Some  of  its  supporters  were 
subsequently  associated  as  Cananites  or  Zel- 
otae,  including  Simon,  who  became  one  of 
the  twelve  apostles.  (io:4.)  Degenerating  by 
degrees  into  mere  robbers,  the  men  of  this 
opinion  still  commanded  popular  sympathy, 
ns  was  perhaps  shown  in  the  case  of  Barabbas. 
(J7:i6.)  The  same  smouldering  sentiment 
broke  out  in  a.  d.  66,  leading  (Jos.  "Ant.,"  18, 
1,  6)  to  the  war  which  ended  in  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem,  and  in  which  the  Zealots 
took  a  prominent  part.  The  Roman  Gov- 
ernors of  Judea  and  Samaria  were  called  pro- 
curators, the  sixth  of  whom,  Pontius  Pilatus 
(":  J),  ruled  from  A.  D.  26  (when  the  ministry 
of  John  and  of  Jesus  probably  began),  to  a.  d. 
36.  Meantime,  the  quiet  dwellers  at  Naz- 
areth were  not  directly  concerned  in  these 
changes  and  commotions,  remaining  under 
the  rule  of  Herod  Antipas  (see  on  v.  22), 
which  continued  to  A.  d.  39. 

The  youthful  carpenter  was  probably  in  his 
nineteenth  year  (a.  d.  14)  when  the  great 
Emperor  Augustus  died,  and  was  succeeded 
by  Tiberius,  who  reigned  throughout  the  re- 
maining life  of  Jesus,  and  for  some  seven 
years  longer  (a.  d.  37). 


It  seems  nearly  certain  that  Joseph  died  at 
some  time  between  the  visit  to  Jerusalem  of 
Luke  2:  41  (probably  A.  D.  8),  and  the  bap- 
tism of  Christ  (probably  A.  D.  26).  Not  only 
is  he  never  mentioned  in  the  history  of  our 
Lord's  public  ministry,  but  Mary  is  spoken 
of  in  such  ways  as  seem  to  imply  that  she  was 
then  a  widow.  That  several  sons  and  daugh- 
ters were  born  to  Joseph  and  Mary  is  proba- 
ble, but  not  certain.  (Comp.  on  1 :  25,  and  13 : 
55.) 

A  very  full  account  of  whatever  will  throw 
light  on  this  period  in  the  life  of  Christ,  in- 
cluding the  home  life  and  school  life  of  a 
Jewish  child,  the  social  influences,  public 
worship,  and  religious  sentiments  of  the  time, 
the  political  changes,  and  the  growing  and 
shifting  expectations  of  the  Messiah,  may  be 
found  in  Geikie,  ch.  xii-xxiii,  and  Edersh,  ch. 
ix,  X.  See  also  Ewald,  Keim,  Hausrath, 
Edersheim's  "Sketches  of  Jewish  Social 
Life,"  and  other  writers. 


Ch.  3 :  1-12.  Ministry  'of  John  the 
Baptist. 

The  second  great  division  of  this  Gospel 
comprises  ch.  3:  to  4:  11,  and  narrates  the 
events  connected  with  the  entrance  of  our 
Lord  upon  his  public  work,  including  the 
appearance  and  ministry  of  John  the  Bap- 
tist (8:1-12),  the  baptism  of  Jesus  (i^f-n),  and 
his  temptation.  (*:i-n.).  Here  for  the  first 
time  Mark  (i:i-«),  and  Luke  (s^'is),  become 
really  parallel  to  Matthew;  for  Luke's  ap- 
parently parallel  matter  heretofore  has  been 
entirely  distinct  frym  Matthew. 

1.  In  those  days.  The  Rev.  Ver.  has. 
And  inA  This  signifies,  in  the  days  in  which 
Joseph  and  his  family  dwelt  at  Nazareth, 
as  recorded  in  the  preceding  sentence.  This 
event  and  the  appearance  of  .John  are  thrown 
together  as  belonging  to  the  same  period,  no 
account  being  taken  of  the  uneventful  inter- 
vening time,   which,   in  this  case,   was  near 


•The  Greek  has  a  particle  of  transition,  de,  which  we  I  (?o  rlpht  on  without  any  marked  Interruption.  The 
Jften  render  '  and,' '  but,'  or  '  now ' ;  and  sometimes  we  "  Western  "  form  of  Greek  text  omitted  the  it'',  prob- 
oegin  more  naturally  without  any  conjunction.  It  is  ably  because  it  was  thought  there  «ught  to  be  a  pause. 
tett  to  render  it  here,  because  the  narrative  seems  to  | 


32 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  III. 


thirty  years.  (LukeSiM.)  So  Ex.  2:  11,  "in 
those  days,"  passes  over  the  whole  time 
from  Moses'  early  youth,  when  his  mother 
returned  liim  to  Pharaoh's  daughter,  until 
he  was  forty  years  old.  (Acta  7: 23.)  In  other 
cases  the  expression  is  equally  indefinite, 
though  the  time  passed  over  is  shorter  (e.  g., 
Isa.  38:  1;  Mark  1:  9;  Acts  1:  15).  The 
same  use  of  tiie  phrase  is  found  in  classic 
writers  also,  where  nothing  is  aimed  at  but 
a  general  designation  of  the  time.  Luke 
(3:1)  here  gives  the  date  of  John's  appear- 
ance with  great  particularity.  Pontius  Pi- 
late became  procurator  A.  D.  26-6.  The 
fifteenth  year  of  Tiberius  is  probably  to  be 
counted  from  the  time  when  he  was  associ- 
ated with  Augustus  (two  years  before  the 
latter' s  death),  which  would  be  A.  D.  12. 
There  cannot  be  much  doubt  that  John  ap- 
peared in  A.  D.  26.  Came,  or  rather,  ar- 
rives, presents  himself.  The  word  is  several 
times  used  to  denote  the  arrival  or  public  ap- 
pearance of  an  official  personage  (comp.  1 
Mace.  4:  46;  Heb.  9:  11;  and  below,  v. 
13) ;  and  it  may  be  intended  here  to  denote 
John's  appearance  in  his  official  character. 
The  Greek  has  here  the  present  tense,  pre- 
cisely as  in  V.  13. 

John  the  Baptist.— The  most  probable 
date  for  the  beginning  of  the  Baptist's  min- 
istry is  A.  D.  26,  say  in  the  spring.  (Comp.  on 
2 :  19. )  The  name  John  ( Johanan  =  Jehovah 
graciously  gave)  had  become  common  since 
the  time  of  the  popular  ruler  Johii  Hyrca- 
nus  (died  B.  c.  106);  thirteen  persons  of  that 
name  are  mentioned  in  Josephus;  and  in  the 
New  Testament,  besides  the  Baptist  and  the 
Evangelist,  we  meet  with  John  Mark  (aomK: 
k),  and  John  of  the  high-priestly  family.  (Acts 
♦:  6.)  John  the  forerunner  was  well  known  to 
Matthew's  first  readers  as  the  '  Baptist,'  or 
Baptizer  (comp.  14:  2,  8);  we  find  Josephus 
also  ("Ant.,"  18,  6,  2)  mentioning  him  as 
"John,  who  was  surnamed  Baptist."  This 
name,  the  Baptizer,  was  of  course  given  him 
in  consequence  of  the  remarkable  rite  he  per- 
formed, which  attracted  universal  attention, 
and  was  repeatedly  used  ns  the  characteristic 
representative  of  his  whole  work  (see  on 
21:  25). — The  circumstances  connected  with  ' 
John's  birth  are  given  only  by  Luke.  Of  his 
history  since  childhood  we  onh*  know  that  he  ■ 
'was  in  the  deserts  till  the  day  of  his  shewing  I 


unto  Israel.'  (Luitei:8o.)  His  father  would  be 
anxious  to  give  to  the  child  of  such  hopes  the 
best  priestly  education,  and  it  is  probable  that 
he  retired  to  'the  deserts'  after  the  death  of 
his  parents,  who  were  of  advanced  age  at  the 
time  of  his  birth.  Such  a  step  would  be  natu- 
ral only  when  grown,  or  nearly  so.  In  the 
wild  region  between  Jerusalem  and  the  Dead 
Sea  (see  below),  he  probably  spent  his  time  in 
religious  meditation,  ripening  for  his  great 
mission.  Y  t  that  he  knew  human  nature, 
and  observed  the  men  of  his  own  time,  appears 
from  Luke  3  :  10-14.  In  this  same  wild  region 
dwelt  the  Essenes  (see  on  v.  7),  and  here  also 
Josephus  ("Life,"  2)  locates  the  teacher 
Banus,  with  whom  he  spent  three  years  in 
seclusion,  at  a  period  about  thirty  years  later 
than  John's  public  appearance.  It  had  been 
appointed  (Luke  i:  15)  that  from  the  beginning 
of  John's  life  he  should  not  'drink  wine  or 
strong  drink,'  i.  e.,  should  live  as  a  Nazirite 
(Nnra.6:  i-2i),  implying  extraordinary  and  life- 
long consecration  to  God's  service.  A  child 
of  the  mountains,  and  living  a  temperate  life 
in  the  open  air,  he  probably  became  strong  in 
body,  as  well  as  'grew  strong  in  spirit.'  (Luke 
1:  80.)  Comp.  on  v.  4.  It  is  probable  (see  on 
V.  13)  that  he  began  his  ministry  when  about 
thirty  years  old.  "This  protracted  period  of 
private  discipline  and  preparation  in  the  life 
both  of  Christ  and  his  forerunner,  is  in  striking 
contrast  with  our  own  impatience  even  under 
the  most  hurried  superficial  processes  of  edu- 
cation." (Alexander). — That  a  priest  should 
be  called  to  be  a  prophet  was  not  strange; 
comp.  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel. — For  a  further 
account  of  John,  see  throughout  this  chapter, 
and  on  4:  12;  9:  Mfl'". ;  11:  2-19;  14:  1-13; 
17  :  10-13 ;  21 :  26,  32.  Kohler  :  "  Though  the 
historical  information  is  very  limited,  there 
are  few  persons  of  whom  we  can  form  so  clear 
and  lively  a  conception.  .  .  .  An  imposing 
figure,  in  whose  posture  and  traits  of  coun- 
tenance were  depicted  iron  will,  and  deep, 
holj'  earnestness,  yet  without  passing  into 
hardness.  In  general,  John  may  be  called  a 
classical  example  of  the  manifestation  of  love 
in  the  garb  of  severity.  We  cannot  doubt 
his  profound  compassion  for  the  unhappy  con- 
dition of  his  people,  sunken  in  sin  and  exposed 
to  judgment,  although  itwould  hardly  occur  to 
us  to  conceive  of  him  as  weeping,  like  the  Lord 
Jesus,  over  the  coming  fate  of  Jerusalem." 


I 


Ch.  III.] 


MATTHEW. 


33 


2  And  saying,  Repent  ye:  for  the  kingdom  of  lieaven  I    2  ing  in  the  wilderness  of  Judeea,  saying,  Repent  ye  ; 
is  at  hand.  I 


Preaching.  See  on  4:  17.  The  word 
wilderness  is  used  both  in  Old  Testament 
and  New  Testament  to  denote  a  region  not 
regularly  built  up  and  cultivated,  portions  of 
which  were  quite  sterile,  while  other  portions 
might  be  not  destitute  of  herbage  and  other 
spontaneous  productions.  Such  a  tract  was 
commonly  used  for  pasturage  (Psa.  65:  12;  Joei  2: 
22;  Luke  15: 4),  and  somctimcs  contained  watch- 
towers  (2  chron.  26: 10),  settled  inhabitants  (Judges 
1:18),  and  even  cities.  (joshi5:6i;  isa.42: 11.)  The 
'wilderness  of  Judea'  was  a  region  of  no 
very  well  marked  boundaries,  lying  west  of 
the  Dead  Sea,  and  of  the  extreme  southern 
part  of  the  Jordan,  occupying  about  one- 
third  of  the  territory  of  Judah  (Keim),  and 
extending  up  into  that  of  Benjamin.  The 
narrow  plain  of  the  Jordan,  from  the  Sea  of 
Galilee  to  the  Dead  Sea,  is  also  called  by 
Josephus  ("War,"  3,  10,  17)  a  desert,  and  de- 
Bcribed  by  him  as  parched,  unhealthy,  and 
destitute  of  water,  except  the  river.  (So  also 
Thomson,  II.  159  f.)  Now  Luke  (3:2,3)  says: 
'The  word  of  God  came  unto  John,  in  the 
wilderness,  and  he  came  into  all  the  country 
about  Jordan  preaching,'  and  John  (1:2s) 
speaks  of  him  as  engaged  in  baptizing,  a  little 
later  than  this,  at  Bethany,  beyond  Jordan. 
We  thus  conclude  that  Matthew,  as  in  many 
other  cases,  contents  himself  with  the  general 
statement  that  John's  preaching  and  bap- 
tizing took  place  in  the  wilderness  of  Judea, 
which  included  the  lower  part  of  the  Jordan 
valley,  and  being  without  definite  boundaries, 
did  not  need  to  be  carefully  distinguished 
from  the  similar  desert  region  extending  far- 
ther up  the  river,  into  which  (as  we  gather  from 
the  other  Evangelists)  John  gradually  moved, 
at  length  crossing  the  river  (John  1 :  28;  10 :  40), 
and  at  a  later  period  (John  3: 23),  crossing  back 
and  removing  to  Enon,  which  was  certainly 
west  of  the  Jordan.'    There  is  thus  no  occa- 


sion for  inferring,  as  some  do,  from  Luke's 
expression,  that  John  first  preached  for  some 
time  in  the  wilderness  at  a  distance  from  the 
Jordan,  and  afterwards  came  to  the  river.  It 
should  be  observed  that  events  described  as 
occurring  in  'the  wilderness,'  or  'the  wilder- 
ness of  Judea,'  must  of  necessity  be  referred 
to  diflPerent  parts  of  that  quite  extensive  dis- 
trict. John  had  probably  lived  (Luke  i:  so)  in 
the  southwestern  part,  towards  Hebron;  the 
scene  of  his  baptizing  was  in  the  northeastern 
part;  and  the  tract  mentioned  in  John  11 :  54, 
apparently  formed  the  northwestern  part.  As 
to  the  scene  of  the  temptation,  see  on  4:1. 
The  same  Greek  word  is  used  in  all  the  pas- 
sages of  New  Testament  in  which  the  Com. 
Ver.  has  'wilderness'  or  'desert.'  (See 
further  on  14:  13.) — John  called  the  people 
away  from  the  seats  of  government  and  of 
fixed  social  influences,  into  the  wilder  regions, 
where  thought  more  readily  becomes  free,  and 
where  the  mind  is  at  once  drawn  out  towards 
God,  and  driven  in  upon  itself.  (Keim.)  In 
such  a  region  was  given  the  law  of  Moses, 
and  pretenders  to  a  prophetic  mission,  after 
our  Lord's  time,  repeatedly  drew  crowds  into 
the  wilderness.  (Acts  *21 :  38;  Matt.  24:  26; 
Jos.  "Ant.,"  20,  5,  1;   "War,"  7,  11,  1.) 

2.  This  verse  gives  a  summary'  statement  of 
the  substance  of  John's  preaching.  Repent. 
To  understand  the  precise  New  Testament  use 
of  this  highly  important  term,  we  must  dis- 
tinguish between  the  Greek  word,  the  English 
(borrowed  from  an  imperfect  Latin  render- 
ing), and  the  Hebrew  expressions  in  Old  Tes- 
tament. The  Greek  word  here  and  common- 
ly used  in  New  Testament  {metfinoein),  signi- 
fies to  change  the  thought,  and  so  to  change 
the  opinion  or  purpose.  This  inner  change 
naturally  leads  to,  and  thus  the  expression 
may  be  said  practically  to  include,  a  corre- 
sponding change  of  the  outward  life,  which 


« Prof.  Warfield  (Expositor,  April,  1885,)  suggests  that 
the  Bethany  of  John  1 :  28,  was  north  of  the  Sea  of 
Galilee,  and  so  John  the  Baptist  "traversed  the  whole 
length  of  Palestine,  preaching  repentance."  But  the 
CTidence  of  a  site  called  Bethany  in  that  vicinity  is  very 
slender,  and  his  argument  from  John's  narrative  is  far 
from  satisfactory.  Jesus  might  easily  encounter  sev- 
eral persons  from  B<'thsaida,  and  one  from  Cana, 
among  the  great  crowd*  attending  John's  baptism,  oo 


matter  where  It  was;  forthe  people  came  from  all  parts  of 
the  country.  And  the  assumption  that  "  the  third  day  " 
of  John  2:  1,  is  to  be  counted  not  from  v.  43,  but  from 
v.  3.J  (so  as  to  place  Jesus  at  Cana  the  day  after  he  was 
with  John),  is  arbitrary,  unnatural,  and  in  fact,  when 
one  compares  the  series  of  successive  days  in  v.  28,  29, 
35,43,  and  then  "the  third  day"  in  2:  1,  it  seems  to  be 
out  of  the  question.  We  can  sec  no  reason  to  believe 
that  the  Baptist  ever  reached  Oalilee. 


34 


MATTHEW. 


[Cii.  III. 


we  usually  describe  by  the  word  '  reform.'  A 
change  of  thought  does  not  necessarily  in- 
volve grief;  and  the  word  is  sometimes  used 
by  Greek  writers  for  a  mere  change  of  opin- 
ion or  judgment,  where  there  was  no  occasion 
for  regret.  But  in  all  moral  uses  of  the  term 
there  will  of  course  be  grief  at  the  previous 
wrong  course  that  one  now  determines  to 
abandon.  Whenever  this  Greek  work  is  em- 
ployed in  New  Testament  (unless  we  except 
Heb.  12:  17),  the  reference  is  to  changing  the 
mind,  purpose,  from  sin  to  holiness,  and  no 
one  will  do  this  who  does  not  feel  deep  sorrow 
for  the  sin  he  has  already  committed.  Sorrow 
is  thus  not  expressed  by  the  word  itself,  but  in 
New  Testament  use  is  always  suggested  from 
the  nature  of  the  case,  and  thus  becomes  as- 
sociated with  the  word.  To  repent,  then,  as  a 
religious  terra  of  New  Testament,  is  tochange 
the  mind,  thought,  purpose,  as  regards  sin 
and  the  service  of  God — a  change  naturally 
accompanied  by  deep  sorrow  for  past  sin,  and 
naturally  leading  to  a  change  of  the  outward 
life.  A  different  Greek  word  {metamelesthai), 
signifying  to  change  the  feeling  of  care  or 
concern,  to  regret,  is  employed  in  21 :  29  (30), 
32 ;  27 :  3,  and  in  Kom.  11 :  29 ;  2  Cor.  7  :  8, 10; 
('repented  of),  Heb.  7  :  21.  This  regret  might 
of  course  lead  to  change  of  purpose  and  con- 
duct, but  the  term  does  not  denote  any  such 
change,  though  the  circumstances  sometimes 
suggest  it.  It  is  only  the  first  Greek  word 
that  New  Testament  uses  to  denote  repenting 
of  sin.  The  distinction  between  the  two  must, 
however,  not  be  too  strongly  pressed,  as  shown 
by  their  use  in  the  Septuagint  (see  below).  A 
changed  feeling  might  imply,  or  at  least  sug- 
gest, a  changed  purpose,  and  a  changed  pur- 
pose a  changed  feeling,  so  that  both  would 
sometimes  yield  substantially  the  same  sense. 
The  Hebrew  word  for  '  repent '  denotes  pain, 
grief,  and  sometimes  suggests  change  of 
thought  and  purpose  :  the  Septuagint  translate 
it  sometimes  by  the  second  and  sometimes  by 


the  first  of  the  above-mentioned  Greek  words.* 
It  is  noticeable  that  the  prophets  nowhere  ex- 
hort men  to  '  repent'  (though  telling  them  to 
mourn  and  weep  over  their  sins),  but  use  the 
simple  and  practical  word  '  turn.'  The  New 
Testament  also  frequently  employs  this  gen- 
eral and  practical  term,  variously  translated 
into  English  by  'turn,'  'return,'  'be  con- 
verted' ;  and  in  Acts  3:  19;  26:  20,  both  are 
combined,  '  repent  and  turn  '  (comp.  Acts  11 : 
21,  'believed  and  turned').  It  thus  appears 
that  the  New  Testament  exhortation  is  sub- 
stantially the  same  as  that  of  the  prophets 
(e.  g.,  Joel  2:  12,  13;  Isa.  55:  7;  Ezek.  33: 
11,  15;  Zech.  1:3,  4);  but  the  New  Testa- 
ment term  [metanoein)  rendered  '  repent '  is 
more  specific,  and  strictly  denotes  the  inward 
change,  leaving  the  outward  change  to  be  in- 
ferred as  a  consequence,  or  sometimes  distinct- 
ly expressing  it  by  adding  the  word  '  turn.' 
In  both  the  Old  Testament  and  the  New  Tes- 
tament exhortation  the  element  of  grief  for 
sin  is  left  in  the  background,  neither  word  di- 
rectly expressing  grief  at  all,  though  it  must 
in  the  nature  of  things  always  be  present. 

But  great  difficulty  has  been  found  in  trans- 
lating this  Greek  work  into  other  languages. 
The  Syriac  versions,  unable  to  give  the  precise 
meaning,  fall  back  upon  'turn,'  the  same 
word  as  in  Hebrew.  The  Latin  versions  give 
'  exercise  penitence '  (pcenitentiam  agere).  But 
this  Latin  word,  penitence,  apparently  con- 
nected by  etymologj'  with  pain,  signifies  grief 
or  distress,  and  is  rarely  extended  to  a  change 
of  purpose,  thus  corresponding  to  the  Hebrew 
word  which  we  render  'repent,'  but  not  cor- 
responding to  the  terms  employed  in  Old 
Testament  and  New  Testament  exhortations. 
Hence  a  subtle  and  pernicious  error,  pervad- 
ing the  whole  sphere  of  Latin  Christianity,  by 
which  the  exhortation  of  New  Testament  is 
understood  to  be  an  exhortation  to  gi-ief  over 
sin,  as  the  primary  and  principal  idea  of  the 
term.     One  step  further,  and  penitence  was 


1  This  Hebrew  term  is  repeatedly  applied  to  Rod,  as 
grieving  over  sometliing  he  hpd  done  (the  Sept.  using 
both  Greek  words').  The  people  are  said  to 'repent' 
(Sept.  metamelesthai)  in  Ex.  13 :  17  ;  Jud.  21 :  6,  15,  and 
in  Job  42 :  6 ;  (in  these  the  Sept.  mistranslates).  As 
applied  to  grieving  over  sin,  it  is  found  in  Jer.  8:6: 
•No  man  repenteth  of  his  wickedness,'  and  31:  19: 
'  After  my  turning,  I  repent,'  (in  both  passages  the 
Sept.  has  m«/anoein).  Comp.  Ecelus.  48: 11.  The  other 
passages  of  Old  Testament  in  which  English  Version 


represents  men  as  repenting,  have  l.i  the  original 
'  turn  '  (1  Kings  8 :  47 ;  Ezek.  14 :  6 ;  18 :  30).  But  in  the 
Apocrypha,  Ecelus.  17  :  24  exhorts  men  to  turn  to  the 
Lord  and  forsake  their  sins,  and  says, '  Unto  those  that 
repent  (metanoein)  he  grants  return  to  hini.'  Wisdom 
11:  24,  'Thou  overlookest  men's  sins  that  they  may 
repent.'  Comp.  Wisdom  12:  10,  19.  Ecelus.  44:  16 
speaks  of  Enocli  as  '  a  pattern  of  repentance  (metanoia) 
to  the  generations.'    Comp.  also  Wisdom  5 :  3. 


i 


Ch.  III.] 


MATTHEW. 


35 


contracted  into  penance,  and  associated  with 
medieval  ideas  unknown  to  New  Testament, 
and  the  English  Versions  made  by  Koman- 
ists,  now  represent  John,  and  Jesus,  and 
Peter,  as  saying  (pcenitentiam  agite),  'do 
penance.'  From  a  late  Latin  compound 
{repcenitere)  comes  our  English  word  're- 
pent,' which  inherits  the  fault  of  the  Latin, 
making  grief  the  prominent  element,  and 
change  of  purpose  secondary,  if  expressed  at 
all.  Thus  our  English  word  corresponds  ex- 
actly to  the  second  Greek  word  {metameles- 
thai),  and  to  the  Hebrew  word  rendered  '  re- 
pent,' but  sadly  fails  to  translate  the  exhorta- 
tion of  the  New  Testament.  It  is  therefore 
necessary  constantly  to  repeat  the  explanation 
that  the  New  Testament  word  in  itself  denotes 
simply  change  of  purpose  as  to  sin,  leaving  us 
to  understand  from  the  nature  of  things,  the 
accompanying  grief  and  the  consequent  ref- 
ormation.' 

But  while  John's  exhortation  is  substan- 
tially the  same  as  that  of  the  prophets,  it  is  en- 
forced by  a  new  and  strong  motive,  the  near 
approach  of  the  long-expected  Messianic  reign. 
Is  at  hand,  or  more  literally,  has  come  near. 
(So  4:  17;  10:  7.)  This  is  here  mentioned  by 
Matthew  alone,  who  writes  especially  for 
Jews.  They  continually  spoke  of  Messiah  as 
'the  coming  one'  ('i^a),  of  the  Messianic 
period  as  'the  coming  age'  (Heb. 6:5),  and 
John  tells  them  that  Messiah's  reign  has 
drawn  near.  He  does  not  say.  Repent,  and  so 
the  reign  will  draw  near,  but  Repent,  for  it 
has  drawn  near  (Calvin).  The  word  basileia, 
which  everywhere  in  English  Version  is  ren- 
dered kingdom,  means  (1)  kingship,  the  pos- 
session of  royal  authority,  e.  g.,  Rev.  11  :  15; 
'.the  kingship  (sovereignty),  over  the  world  is 
become  our  Lord's  and  his  Christ's' ;  comp. 
Rev.  17:  18;  Matt.  16:  28;  Ps.  22:  28.  (2) 
'reign,'  the  exercise  of  royal  power,  or  the 
period  during  which  it  is  exercised  ;  (3)  'king- 
dom,' the  subjects,  the  organization  (i«:m),  or 
the  territory,  i*-^)  In  the  sense  of  the  terri- 
tory it  is  not  used  in  New  Testament  concern- 
ing Messiah's  kingdom,  and  probably  not  in 


this  sense  of  organization.  Of  the  renderings 
kingship,  reign,  and  kingdom,  two  would 
frequently  be  necessary,  and  sometimes  all 
three  at  once,  to  express  the  full  sense  of  the 
original  term.  As  we  have  to  choose  one,  the 
word  'reign'  is  in  this  and  many  other  pas- 
sages a  more  nearly  adequate  rendering  than 
'kingdom,'  and  less  likely  to  mislead.  The 
kingdom  {reign)  of  heaven  is  an  expression 
used  more  than  thirty  times  by  Matthew, 
though  he  sometimes  (12 :  28 ;  19 :  24 ;  21 :  31, «)  uses 
the  one  always  found  in  the  other  Evangelists, 
'kingdom  {reign)  of  Goa.'  'Heaven' is  in 
this  phrase  always  plural  in  the  Greek,  '  the 
heavens,'  an  imitation  of  the  plural  (dual) 
form,  which  the  word  always  has  in  Hebrew, 
and  not  differing  in  meaning  from  the  singular. 
Heaven,  regarded  as  the  special  residence  of 
God,  is  sometimes  very  naturally  used  to  repre- 
sent God  himself  (e.  g.,  Dan.  4 :  26 ;  1  Mace.  3 : 
60;  Luke  15:  18,  21),  just  as  we  say,  'heaven 
grant,'  etc.,  and  so  'kingdom  of  heaven'  is 
equivalent  to  '  kingdom  of  God.'  The  Jews, 
scrupulous  about  using  the  name  of  God,  fre- 
quently substituted  '  heaven  '  (e.  g.,  1  Mace.  3 : 
50,  60;  4:  55),  and  the  Talmud  often  has  the 
phrase  'kingdom  of  heaven.'  It  was  natural 
that  Matthew,  writing  especially  for  Jews, 
should  respect  their  feeling,  and  commonly 
use  this  expression. 

The  New  Testament  idea  of  the  'kingdom 
{reign)  of  God '  has  its  roots  in  the  prophetic 
writings.  In  Isaiah  (ch.  ]  :  39j  and  Micah,  it 
is  declared  that  God  will  raise  up  a  righteous 
king,  who  shall  deliver  his  people  and  give 
them  prosperity  (e.  g.  Isa.  9:  6,  7;  11:  1-10; 
Micah  4:  1-8).  This  hope  is  presented  with 
modifications  by  Jeremiah  and  his  contempo- 
raries (e.  g.  Jer.  28 :  5,  6;  Ezek.  37:  24), 
pointing  now  not  to  an  individual  king,  but  to 
a  Davidic  dynasty  (comp.  2  Chron.  13:  8), 
guiding  the  mission  of  the  chosen  people. 
But  in  Daniel,  when  Israel  is  fallen  low,  there 
is  given  assurance  that  "the  God  of  heaven" 
will  establish  a  universal  monarchy,  with 
"one  like  a  son  of  man  "  as  the  king.  (i)«".2:«4; 
7 :  IS,  14.)    This  idea  must  have  fermented  in  the 


*  A  pamphlet,  by  Treadwell  Walden,  entitled  "An  .  lar  version.  The  discussion  is  interestinj?  and  proflt.i- 
Undeveloped  Chapter  in  the  Life  of  Christ"  (New  York,  ble.  But  we  think  the  author  cxaKtierates  tho  iniport- 
Whittaker,  1882),  Is  devoted  to  the  word  mr.tanoia.  It  ance  of  his  theme,  a.s  nionoRraplis  arc  apt  to  do,  and  is 
presents  forcibly  the  grievous  incorrectness  of  the  quite  mistaken  in  supposing  that  the  word  expresses 
translation  '  repentance,'  but  does  not  show  what  Eng-  simply  an  intellectual  change,  a  transfigured  theory  of 
lisb  word  or  phrase  could  now  be  substituted  in  a  popu-  I  moral  truth. 


36 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  III. 


3  For  this  is  he  that  was  spoken  of  by  the  prophet  I 
E^aias,  sayiug,  The  voice  uf  cue  cryiug  iu  the  wilder-  | 


3  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand.  For  this  is  he 


minds  of  at  least  some  Jews,  till  it  took  the 
form  we  find  in  the  Gospels,  when  devout 
persons  are  not  only  "  waiting  for  the  consola- 
tion of  Israel,'"  and  "  for  the  redemption  of 
Jerusalem  "  (Luke  2: 25,  ss),  but  "waiting  for  the 
kingdom  of  God"  (Luie23: 51 ;  17:20) ;  the  Bap- 
tist says,  "the  kingdom  of  heaven  (God)  has 
drawn  near,"  as  something  which  all  will  un- 
derstand. The  Jews  of  that  period  had  many 
fanciful,  confused,  and  sometimes  fanatical 
notions  in  regard  to  the  character  of  this  ex- 
pected divine  reign,  as  shown  bj'  the  book  of 
Enoch,  the  Targums,  and  the  Talmud,  (see 
Lightfoot,  Wetstein,  Gill,  and  Drummond, 
"The  Jewish  Messiah"),  but  the  New  Testa- 
ment is  of  course  responsible  only  for  its  own 
use  of  the  phrase.  We  see  also  that  the  state- 
ment in  Daniel  has,  before  the  New  Testament 
times,  led  to  the  belief  that  a  "son  of  man," 
called  also  the  Messiah,  will  reign  in  God's 
promised  kingdom,  for  this  is  expressly  as- 
serted in  the  book  of  Enoch,  (much  of  which 
was  pretty  certainly  written  before  the  Chris- 
tian era),  and  the  Talmud  abounds  in  refer- 
ences to  "King  Messiah."  This  persuasion 
our  Lord  confirms  in  13 :  41 ;  25 :  31,  34 ;  John 
18:  36.  It  was  one  great  object  of  Matthew's 
Gospel  to  show  how  Jesus  corrected  the  Jew- 
ish errors  as  regards  the  nature  of  the  expect- 
ed Messianic  reign.  Much  error  has  diffused 
itself  through  the  Christian  world  from  con- 
founding "  the  kingdom  "  with  what  is  popu- 
larly called  "the  church."  Edersh.:  "We 
must  dismiss  the  notion  that  the  expression 
Kingdom  of  Heaven  refers  to  the  church, 
wliether  visible  (according  to  the  Roman 
Catholic  view)  or  invisible,  (according  to  cer- 
tain Protestant  writers."  Comp.  below  on 
13 :  37  flF. 

The  statement  of  Josephus  ("Ant.,"  18,  5, 
2)  concerning  John's  teachings  and  baptism, 
is  marked  by  his  usual  affectation  of  a  philo- 
sophical tone,  and  his  usual  omission  of  all 
Messianic  references:  "John,  who  was  sur- 
named  Baptist a  good  man,  and  one 


who  bade  the  Jews  in  the  exercise  of  virtue, 
and  in  the  practice  of  righteousness  towards 
one  another  and  piety  towards  God,  to  come  to 
baptism;  for  that  so  would  the  baptism  also 
appear  acceptable  to  him,  if  they  used  it,  not 
for  the  forgiveness  of  certain  sins,  but  for  the 
purification  of  the  body,  it  being  supposed  that 
the  soul  also  had  previously  been  cleansed  by 
righteousness."  Josephus  adds  that  the  peo- 
ple were  greatly  excited  by  John's  preaching, 
and  that  Herod  imprisoned  and  slew  him  be- 
cause he  feared  revolution — a  statement  which 
perhaps  points  to  John's  proclamation  in  re- 
gard to  the  near  approach  of  the  kingdom  of 
God.  It  was  natural  that  Josephus  should 
omit  all  distinct  reference  to  this  Messianic 
reign,  for  he  had  long  before  committed  him- 
self to  the  essentially  absurd  but  politic  state- 
ment that  the  Messianic  hope  of  Israel  was 
fulfilled  in  his  patron  Vespasian  ("War,"  6, 
5,  4).  Both  Jews  and  heathen  constantly  in- 
clined to  think  that  ablution  was  itself  the 
means  of  cleansing  the  soul  from  sin  ;  and 
against  this  notion  Josephus  declares  that 
John's  baptism  was  not  expected  to  bring  for- 
giveness of  sins,  but  that  the  soul  must  have 
been  previously  cleansed  by  turning  from  sin 
to  righteousness.  Comp.  Tertullian :  "We 
are  not  washed  that  we  may  cease  to  sin,  but 
because  we  have  ceased :  since  we  have  al- 
ready been  bathed  in  heart." 

3,  This  is  by  some  expositors  taken  as  the 
words  of  John,  who  certainly  did  on  one  oc- 
casion apply  the  prophecy  to  himself  (John  i :  2s); 
but  here  the  reference  is  much  more  naturally 
understood  as  made  by  the  Evangelist — the 
present  tense  is  expressing  the  general  fact 
that  John  is  the  predicted  forerunner.  For 
gives  the  reason  why  John  appeared  in  the 
wilderness  and  bade  the  people  prepare  for 
the  Messianic  reign,  viz.,  because  John  is  the 
person  spoken  of  by — through — the  prophet 
('through,'  see  on  2:  17),  as  destined  to  do  so. 
The  voice  of  one  crying,'  etc.,  Isa.  40:  3. 
In  the  Hebrew  the  accents  indicate,  and  the 


1  Or  more  exactly, 'a  voice  of  one  crying.'    It  seems  I  crying.    (So  Rheims,  Davidson.)    Darby, '  Voice  of  him 
smoother  in  English  to  say  '  The  voice  of  one  crying,'    that  crieth,'  errs  in  making  the  latter  clause  definite, 
but  the  noun  is  not  really  made  definite  here  by  the  1  for  '  him  that  crieth  '  would  require  the  article  before 
succeeding  genitive,  for  the  crier  is  himself  indefinite,    the  Greek  participle. 
A  voice  is  heard  by  the  prophet,  a  voice  of  a  person  '  ^ 


i 


Ch.  III.] 


MATTHEW. 


37 


ness.  Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord,  make  his  paths 
Btraigbt. 

4  And  the  same  John  bad  bis  raiment  of  camel's 
hair,  and  a  leathern  girdle  about  bis  loins;  and  bis 
meat  was  locusts  and  wild  honey. 


that  was  spoken  of  through  Isaiah  the  prophet,  say- 

ingi 

The  voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness, 
Make  ye  ready  the  way  of  the  Lord, 
Make  his  paths  struigbt. 
4  Now  John  himself  bad  bis  raiment  of  camel's  hair, 

and  a  leathern  girdle  about  his  loins  ;  and  bis  food 


parallelism  proves,  that  'in  the  wilderness' 
belongs  to  'prepare';  andsoRev.Ver.,  Isaiah. 
Matthew  (as  also  Mark  and  Luke)  follows  the 
Septuagint  in  connecting  that  phrase  with 
'crying,'  and  in  omitting  the  parallel  phrase 
'in  the  desert'  from  the  next  clause.  This 
change  does  not  affect  the  substantial  meaning, 
and  it  makes  clearer  the  real  correspondence 
between  the  prediction  and  the  fulfillment, 
'preaching  in  the  wilderness'  (v.  1),  'crying 
in  the  wilderness'  (v.  3).  It  might  without 
impropriety  be  supposed  that  Matthew  him- 
self altered  the  phraseology  to  bring  out  this 
correspondence,  but  in  many  similar  cases  it 
is  plain  that  he  has  simply  followed  the  fa- 
miliar Septuagint.  Prepare  ye.  Make  ye 
ready,  was  here  substituted  by  Eev.  Ver.  for 
'prepare,'  because  in  the  parallel  passage  of 
Mark  (i:  s),  the  same  word  is  translated 
'make  ye  ready,'  in  order  to  keep  it  distinct 
from  another  Greek  word  rendered  'prepare' 
in  Mark  1 :  2.  Such  pains  to  render  the  same 
Greek  word  everywhere  by  the  same  English 
word  will  prove  very  useful  in  concordance 
work,  and  all  minute  study,  but  it  strikes  the 
casual  reader  as  useless  alteration  of  the  trans- 
lation.— The  immediate  reference  of  the  pro- 
phecy in  Isaiah  is  probably  to  Jehovah,  as 
leading  his  people  back  through  the  eastern 
desert  from  their  captivity  in  Babylon:  the 
remote  reference  is  to  the  coming  of  Messiah, 
and  spiritual  deliverance.  Here,  as  often  in 
the  prophets  (see  on  2:  15),  there  is  a  typical 
relation  between  the  history  of  Israel  and  that 
of  Messiah. — Great  public  roads  were  rare  in 
the  East  until  introduced  by  the  Romans. 
When  an  Oriental  monarch  was  designing  to 
journey  into  a  certain  region,  he  sent  messen- 
gers in  advance  to  require  that  a  graded  road 
should  bo  prepared.  Hence  the  image,  here 
denoting  spiritual  preparation.  Notice  that 
in  Isa.  40:  4,  every  part  of  the  process  of 
grading  is  mentioned. 

4,  And  the  same  John  had,  or,  ^And  lie, 
John,  had.'  The  difference  in  meaning  be- 
tween these  renderings  is  unimportant.  Af- 
ter remarking  upon  the  prediction  fulf.lled 
in  John,  the   Evangelist  proceeds  to  speak 


further  of  John  himself.  The  clothing  of 
camel's  hair  was  a  coarse  cloth  made  by 
weaving  camel's  hair,  and  such  cloth  is  still 
often  worn  in  the  East  by  the  poor.  There  is 
no  evidence  that  garments  of  camel-skin,  like 
those  made  of  sheep-skins  and  goat-skins  (Heb. 
11:37)  have  ever  been  worn  in  the  East  (as 
imagined  by  the  painters,  and  by  Fritzsche 
and  Smith,  "Diet.,"  art.  Camel);  and  the  ex- 
pression here  distinctly  forbids  such  a  notion, 
being  literally  'of  camel's  hairs'  (sotheGreek 
of  Mark  1:  6,  'camel's  hairs').  So  Meyer, 
Bleek,  Weiss.  A  girdle  was  a  necessary  and 
almost  universal  part  of  an  Oriental's  dress 
(comp.  10:  9,  marg.  of  Rev.  Ver. ;  Acts 21: 11), 
being  required  to  bind  the  long,  loose  robe 
(se^  on  5:  40),  in  order  to  active  labor,  or  rapid 
locomotion,  and  it  was  often  very  costly  and 
showy  (comp.  Rev.  1:  13).  John's  girdle  was 
made  of  leather,  cheap  and  rude,  as  was  Eli- 
jah's. (2  KiD«8  1:  8.)  Meat,  or  food.  The 
word  'meat'  is  used  in  Com.  Ver.  to  trans- 
late several  Greek  words,  but  all  of  them 
signify  food,  nutriment,  sustenance.  This 
would  sometimes  include  flesh,  to  which,  in 
modern  English,  the  term  meat  is  exclusively 
applied.  (Comp.  1  Cor.  8:  13,  'If  food  makes 
my  brother  sin,  I  will  eat  no  more  flesh.'  Bib. 
Un.  Ver.)  The  law  of  Moses  (Lev.  n: 22)  al- 
lowed locusts,  at  least  of  certain  kinds,  to  be 
eaten;  and  a  treatise  in  the  Talmud  copiously 
discusses  the  marks  by  which  'clean'  locusts 
might  be  distinguished.  To  eat  these  is  still 
common  in  the  East  among  the  poor.  The 
heads,  legs,  and  wings  being  removed,  they 
are  boiled,  stewed,  or  roasted,  and  sometimes 
dressed  with  butter.  They  are  eaten  both 
fresh,  and  dried,  or  salted.  They  are  very 
different  from  what  we  call  locusts.  The 
notion  that  John  ate  the  fruit  of  the  tree 
which  we  call  locust,  is  utterly  unwarranted, 
and  forbidden  by  the  Greek  word.  The  wild 
honey  is  thought  by  some  able  writers  (as 
Fritzsche,  Robinson,  Meyer,  Bleek,  Grimm, 
Weiss)  to  have  been  the  gum  exuding  from 
a  tree,  but  on  very  slender  grounds  (comp. 
Kf'il).  Much  more  probably  it  was,  as  com- 
monly supposed,  the  honey  of  wild  bees,  do- 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch,  III. 


5  Then  went  out  to  him  Jerusalem,  and  all  Judea, 
and  all  the  region  round  about  Jordan, 


5  was  locusts  and  wild  honey.    Then  went  out  unto 
him  Jerusalem,  and  all  Judsea,  and  all  the  region 


posited  in  trees,  rocks,  etc.,  such  as  is  men- 
tioned in  Old  Testament  ( Judg.  u :  8  r. ;  i  Sam.  u : 
siff.i  p».  81:16),  und  found  at  the  present  day 
also  in  the  wild  regions  in  which  John 
lived.  This  was  very  abundant,  and  con- 
sidered cheap  and  poor  food  (comp.  Isa. 
7:  15).  Eustathius  says  (Wet.)  that  Pyth- 
agoras lived  very  poorly,  often  contenting 
himself  with  honey  alone. 

It  had  been  predicted  (Mai.  4:5 f.)  that  Elijah 
the  prophet  should  be  sent  before  the  advent 
of  Messiah  to  prepare  the  people  for  his  com- 
ing. This  was  explained  by  the  angel  (Luke  i :  n) 
as  to  be  fulfilled  in  John,  who  would  go  before 
the  Lord  'in  the  spirit  and  power  of  Elijah,' 
and  was  also  declared  by  Jesus  to  have  been 
fulfilled  in  John  (see  on  11 :  14 ;  17 :  10-13). 
The  ministry  of  each  consisted  mainly  in 
severe  reproof  and  exhortation  to  amend- 
ment, and  there  was  something  appropriate 
to  such  a  work  in  seclusion  of  life,  with 
rude  fare  and  coarse  clothing,  and  in  auster- 
ity of  manner.  "Even  his  appearance  called 
men  to  repentance."  (Theophylact).  This  was 
hardly  personal  asceticism,  but  appears  to 
have  been  designed,  like  the  numerous  sym- 
bolical acts  employed  by  other  prophets,  to 
attract  attention,  and  give  greater  impressive- 
ness,  to  the  reformer's  rebukes  of  a  luxurious 
and  worldly  minded  generation.  It  was  what 
we  call  an  "object-lesson."  We  may  im- 
agine the  effect  when  Elijah  suddenly  issued 
from  his  retreats,  and,  arrayed  like  some 
Bedouin  or  savage  Dervish  of  to-day,  stood 
before  a  weak  and  self-indulgent  king,  with 
stern  look  and  tone,  and  harsh  words  of 
merited  reproof.  And  similar  must  have 
been  the  effect  of  John's  appearance  and 
known  mode  of  life.  (Comp.  on  11:  8.) 
Elijah  is  described  as  'an  hairy  man' 
(2King«i:8),  literally  'a  possessor  of  hair,'  and 
this  is  best  understood  as  meaning  that  he 
wore  a  garment  made  of  hair  (margin  Kev. 
Ver.),  especially  as  his  girdle  is  mentioned 
immediately  after.  This  characteristic  dress 
of  Elijah  appears  to  have  been  imitated  by 
succeeding  prophets;  for  we  find  in  Zech. 
13:  4  the  prediction  of  a  time  when  the  false 
prophets  would  become  ashamed  of  their  im- 
postures, and  would  not  'wear  a  garment  of 
hair  to  deceive.'    On  the  part  of  John,  these 


peculiarities  were  not  a  mere  imitation  of  his 
prototype,  for  they  had  the  same  appropriate- 
ness and  significance  in  both  cases. — There  is 
little  propriety  in  the  notion  of  some  artists 
and  writers  that  John  was  attenuated  through 
much  fasting.  Doubtless  he  did  fast  (see  on 
9:  14),  but  so  did  many  Jews,  and  not  neces- 
sarily to  attenuation.  His  out-door  life  and 
homely  food  might  (see  on  v.  2)  even  promote 
bodily  health  (compare  Elijah),  and  physical 
force  seems  naturally  implied  in  his  preaching 
to  great  crowds  in  the  open  air,  and  boldly 
facing  the  most  jealous  and  powerful.  John 
was  also  like  Elijah  in  that  he  was  not  a 
writing  prophet,  but  left  his  work  to  be  re- 
corded by  others.   (Pressens^). 

5.  After  a  general  account  (v.  1-4)  of  John's 
public  appearance  and  preaching,  with  the 
fact  that  in  him  a  prophecy  was  fulfilled,  and 
after  a  description  of  his  peculiar  dress  and 
manner  of  life,  we  have  now  (v.  5  f. )  a  general 
statement  that  the  people  went  forth  to  him 
in  large  numbers  and  were  baptized,  and  this 
is  followed  (v.  7-12)  by  a  specimen  of  his 
preaching,  given  more  in  detail. 

Then,  Matthew's  favorite  term  of  transi- 
tion, resumes  the  time  of  v.  1.  2.  Not  only 
Jerusalem,  but  the  entire  district  of  Judea, 
and  all  the  region  round  about, — or,  the 
circuit  of  the — Jordan,  only  part  of  which 
was  included  in  Judea,  came  forth.  The 
Hebrew  phrase,  'round  of  the  Jordan'  or, 
'circuit  of  the  Jordan,'  i.  e.,  the  country 
about  the  river,  is  inadequately  rendered  in 
Com.  Ver.  by  'plain'  (Gen.  13:  10,  11; 
margin  Eev.  Ver.  'circle'  ;  1  Kings  7:  46;  2 
Chron.  4:  17).  The  cases  of  its  occurrence  in 
Old  Testament  refer  particularly,  as  here,  to 
the  lower  part  of  the  river,  towards  the  Dead 
Sea.  All,  is  of  course,  to  be  understood  as  an 
hyperbole,  strongly  expressing  the  fact  that 
verj-  many  of  the  people  came  forth.  (Comp. 
8:  34.)  Similar  hyperbolical  expressions 
abound  in  all  languages  and  periods.  We 
learn  from  John  (i:  35-45;  21:2),  that  some  came 
from  Galilee  also,  but  this  was  perhaps  at  a 
later  period,  when  John  was  baptizing  higher 
up  the  river.  The  year  to  which  John's  early 
ministry  probably  belongs,  A.  D.  26,  was  a 
Sabbatical  year  (Wieseler),  when  the  people 


1 


Ch.  III.] 


MATTHEW. 


39 


6  And  were  baptized  of  him  in  Jordan,  confessing  ,    6  round  about  Jordan ;  and  they  were  baptized  of  him 
their  sins.  I 


who  strictly  observed  the  law  would  have 
more  than  ordinary  leisure. 

It  was  centuries  since  a  prophet  had  ap- 
peared, and  the  Jews  had  often  longed  for 
prophetic  guidance.  Thus  Judas  Maccabeus 
and  his  followers  laid  away  the  stones  of  the 
desecrated  altar  "until  a  prophet  should  ap- 
pear to  answer  concerning  them"  (i  Maco. 4:46) ; 
and  the  woman  of  Samaria,  as  soon  as  she 
perceived  that  here  was  a  prophet,  asked  him 
to  settle  the  long-disputed  question  concern- 
ing the  proper  place  to  worship.  (John4:i9r.) 
In  the  time  of  Christ,  some  were  expecting  the 
personal  re-appearance  of  Jeremiah  (below, 
16:  14),  and  many  that  of  Elijah  (John  i;2i;  Luke 

9:8;  Matt.  16:14;  17:  10;  27:49);      while     OthcrS     WCrC 

looking  for  the  prophet  like  unto  Moses.  (Joim 
1 :  21 ;  Deui.  18: 15, 18.)  And  uow  the  report  spread 
far  and  wide,  that  at  last  a  prophet  had 
come,  who  in  dress  and  place  of  abode  re- 
sembled the  great  Elijah,  who  might  be  Mes- 
siah, or  at  least  a  forerunner  of  Messiah,  for 
he  declared  that  the  Messianic  reign  was  near, 
who  performed  a  very  striking  rite,  and  spoke 
severe  rebukes  and  earnest  exhortations  to 
turn  from  evil  ways,  such  as  had  been  spoken 
by  all  the  prophets,  such  as  will  alwaj's  arrest 
the  attention  of  mankind.  No  wonder  the 
Jews,  from  all  the  country  adjacent  to  the 
scene  of  his  ministry,  and  for  many  months, 
continually  poured  forth  to  sec  and  hear  him, 
and,  more  or  less,  impressed  by  his  announce- 
ment of  the  Messianic  reign  and  his  call  to 
repentance,  confessed  their  sins  and  submitted 
to  his  baptism. 

6.  Baptized.  The  Greek  word  baptizo, 
which  we  borrow,  was  of  very  common  use, 
as  is  seen  in  every  period  of  trreek  literature. 


and  was  applied  to  a  great  variety'  of  matters, 
including  the  most  familiar  acts  of  every-day 
life.  It  was  thus  a  word  which  every  Greek- 
speaking  hearer  and  reader  in  apostolic  times 
would  at  once  and  clearly  understand.  It 
meant  what  we  express  by  'immerse'  and 
kindred  terms, ^  and  no  one  could  then  have 
thought  of  attributing  to  it  a  wholly  ditferent 
sense,  such  as  'sprinkle,'  or  'pour,'  without 
distinct  explanation  to  that  etlect.  The  people 
who  speak  Greek  at  the  present  day  wholly 
reject  and  ridicule  the  idea  of  using  this  Greek 
word  in  any  other  than  its  own  definite  and 
well-known  sense ;  and  the  Greek  Church 
still  holds  nothing  to  be  baptism  but  immer- 
sion. But  the  newly  discovered  treatise  called 
the  Didache,  or  "Teaching,"  written  some 
time  in  the  second  century,  probably  in  the 
latter  half  of  the  century,  shows  that  in  some 
region  of  tlie  Christian  world  there  was  a  dis- 
position to  allow  a  substitute  when  water  was 
scarce.  Thus  ch.  7,  "Baptize  ...  in  living 
water  (t.  e.  of  a  stream,  fountain,  or  pool,  as 
opposed  to  standing  or  dead  water).  And  if 
thou  have  no  living  water,  baptize  in  other 
water;  and  if  thou  canst  not  in  cold,  then  in 
warm.  And  if  thou  have  neither,  pour  water 
upon  the  head  thrice."  Here  it  is  evident  that 
baptize  means  only  immerse,  but  if  water  be 
scarce,  pouring  may  be  substituted  for  baptiz- 
ing. In  like  manner  we  find  in  the  West, 
towards  the  middle  of  the  third  century,  that 
in  case  of  severe  sickness  some  allowed  pour- 
ing, and  after  awhile  some  thought  sprink- 
ling suflScient,  and  these  more  convenient 
substitutes  grew  increasingly  common,  thouch 
often  condemned  by  the  ecclesiastical  author- 
ities, until   in  the  thirteenth    century   their 


*  Bapto,  'dip,'  had  the  root  haph,  ak!n  to  bath  in  balh- 
<u,  'deep'  (Curtiiis),  just  as  dip  and  deep,  German 
la^ffn  and  lief  have  the  same  root.  From  bapio,  came 
the  verbal  adjective  bapto.i,  '  dipt,'  and  from  tliis  was 
made  the  verb  bapt-izo,  as  if  in  English  we  should  say 
dipt-izo,  viz.,  to  put  into  a  dipt  condition.  The  usual 
way  of  bringing  one  into  a  dipt  condition  would  be  to 
dip  him.  But  sometimes  it  might  be  otherwise  con- 
ceived ;  as  f.  g.,  land  overflnwe<i  by  water  might  l)e  de- 
scribed as  baptized,  being  now  in,  within  the  water, 
just  as  an  object  dipt  would  !>«  within  it.  There  is  in 
lanniage  a  general  tendency  to  use  stronger  derivative 
or  compound  words  (f.  g.,  verbs  compounded  with  prei>- 
Qsitlons)  in  place  of  the  original  and  siiupler  word. 


I  until  finally  the  compound  or  derivative  is  no  stronger 

\  in   many  uses  than  the  simple  word.    Thus  rnnt-izo 

j  means  exactly  the  same  as  rninn '  sprinkle ' ;  conip.  slatizo 

I  and  histemi,  kanmalizo  and  knio,  and  many  siinihircasos. 

Now  baptizo  did  not  become  exactly  and  uniformly 

equivalent   to  bnpto.    The  sense  'dye'  is  confined  to 

bapto,  and  there  are  various  uses  of  baptizo,  'diptize'  in 

which  bapto,  'dip,'  would  ha  inadequate;  but  in  many 

cases  they  are  substantially  equivalent,  like  rantizoawi 

rnino.    The  often   repeated   statement   that  baplizn  is 

frequentative,  signifying  '  dip  fre<iuenlly,'  is  erroneous, 

and  would   never  have  iw-en   made  but  for  a  failure  to 

perceive  the  etymology  of  the  word  as  alwvo  given. 


40 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  III. 


general  use  was  sanctioned  by  the  Pope. 
Luther  and  Calvin  (16th  cent.)  both  explicitly 
declared  that  the  priniitive  baptism  was  im- 
mersion, and  the  former  said  it  ought  to  be 
restored;  but  they  allowed  the  existing  prac- 
tice to  remain  undisturbed.  In  the  course 
of  time  many  Protestants  came  to  perceive 
that  it  was  very  awkward  to  rest  their  prac- 
tice in  this  respect  on  the  authority  of  the 
Church  of  Rome,  and  being  accustomed  and 
attached  to  the  practice  they  very  naturally 
sought  countenance  for  it  in  Scripture.  Such 
are  the  unavoidable  defects  of  language,  that 
strongly  biased  and  ingenious  minds  can  al- 
ways cast  some  apparent  doubt  over  the  mean- 
ing of  the  plainest  words  ;  as  has  been  done, 
for  example,  with  respect  to  words  teaching 
the  divinity  of  Christ,  the  atonement,  and 
eternal  punishment.  It  is  therefore  not  sur- 
prising that  a  good  many  able  and  conscien- 
tious men  in  Great  Britain  and  America  (very 
few  in  Germany)  have  succeeded  in  persuading 
themselves  that  perhaps,  or  even  quite  prob- 
ably, baptizo  might  be  understood  as  meaning 
pour  or  sprinkle,  or  purify  in  general,  or  some- 
thing that  would  sanction  the  practice  handed 
down  from  revered  fathers ;  and  that  a  few 
very  bold  spirits  should  even  venture  to  cut 
the  knot  and  assert,  that  not  only  sprinkling 
may  be  baptism,  but  nothing  else  can  be. 
These  considerations  should  promote  charity, 
and  may  serve  to  explain  the  rise,  in  modern 
times,  of  so  much  controversy  about  a  very 
plain  word. 

This  controversy  has  led  to  a  wide  exami- 
nation of  Greek  literature  with  reference  to 
this  term,  and  in  all  the  instances  of  its  use 
that  have  been  found,  whether  literal  or  figu- 
rative, its  fundamental  meaning  (whatever 
may  be  the  particular  rendering  most  suitable 
to  the  connection  and  to  English  idiom)  is 
always  'immerse,'  that  being  in  the  great  mass 
of  cases  the  onl^'  possible  sense,  and  in  all  cases 
appropriate  and  natural.  (See  a  full  list  of 
classified  examples  inConant  "On  Baptizein," 
Philadelphia.)  So  it  is  defined  and  explained 
in  most  Greek  Lexicons  that  are  of  any  author- 
ity (csf.,  in  Liddelland  Scott,  Grimm,  Soph- 
ocles' Greek  Lex.  of  the  Roman  and  By- 
zantine periods,  Boston),  without  a  hint  of 
any  other  meaning;  and  so  it  is  interpreted 
by  almost  all  commentators  in  Germany,  the 
land  of  scholars,  and  by  very  many  in  the 


Church  of  England.  But  some  good  Lexi- 
cons  of  classical  Greek  (as  Rost  and  Palm) 
add  such  meanings  as  'moisten,'  'drench,' 
'overwhelm,'  justifying  them  only  by  certain 
figurative  uses  of  the  word,  in  which  drunk- 
ards are  called  'the  baptized,'  or  men  are 
said  to  be  baptized  in  (or  with)  debts,  mis- 
misfortunes,  etc;  some  Lexicons  of  New 
Testament  Greek  (as  Robinson)  urge  that  in 
certain  passages  of  New  Testament  and  Sep- 
tuagint  (e.  £r.,  Mark?:  4;  Luke  11:  38;  Acts 
2:  41;  10:  48;  16:  33;  Judith  12:  7),  the 
circumstances  make  it,  in  the  lexicographer's 
judgment,  unlikely  that  an  immersion  was 
performed;  and  some  others  (as  Creiner, 
comp.  Stephen's  "Thesaurus"),  suppose  that 
the  Jews  came  to  use  the  Hebrew  tabaL  'dip,' 
and  therefore  used  baptizo,  as  a  general  term 
for  religious  washing,  which  might  then  be 
sometimes  performed  in  other  ways.  Yet  all 
the  lexicographers  who  thus  present  an  ad- 
ditional meaning  give  'immerse'  as  the  pri- 
mary and  general  meaning  of  the  word. 
Now  it  is  a  most  important  principle  in  the 
interpretation  of  language,  without  the  ob- 
servance of  which  all  interpretation  becomes 
uncertain  and  unreliable,  that  whatever  is 
the  common  and  regular  meaning  of  a  word, 
as  shown  by  its  origin  and  general  use,  must 
be  held  to  be  its  meaning  everywhere,  until 
there  shall  be  found  some  passage  in  which 
it  cannot  have  that  sense.  Upon  this  prin- 
ciple, whether  formally  recognized  or  not, 
scholars  are  constantly  working.  But  no 
passage  has  been  pointed  out  in  which  this 
word  must  have  some  other  than  its  ordinary 
meaning;  indeed,  none  in  which  that  mean- 
ing is  not  both  possible  and  appropriate. 
Thus  the  classical  expressions  solely  relied 
on  by  Rost  and  Palm  for  another  meaning, 
are  given  by  Liddell  and  Scott  (6th  and  7th 
ed. )  as  examples  of  the  primarj'  sense  '  to  dip 
in  or  under  water,'  and  compared  with  the 
English  phrases  'soaked  in  wine,'  'over  head 
and  ears  in  debt,'  such  expressions  being  ob- 
viously figurative  in  both  languages.  In  the 
passages  cited  by  Robinson,  nothing  more  can 
be  claimed  than  that  in  those  cases  immersion 
would  have  been  inconvenient  or  difficult,  and 
is  therefore  thought  unlikely  ;  while  a  due  con- 
sideration of  Jewish  scrupulosity  and  known 
customs  makes  immersion  not  only  possible 
in  such  cases,  but  natural  enough — and  these 


Cn.  III.] 


MATTHEW. 


41 


passages  are  so  explained  by  a  multitude  of 
German  and  English  writers  who  are  certainly 
not  prejudiced  in  favor  of  immersion,  for  they 
practice  sprinkling,  on  the  authority  of  the 
church,  or  on  the  ground  that  it  is  a  matter  of 
little  consequence.  To  the  argument  of  Cre- 
mer  that  the  Talmud  sometimes  uses  ^  tabal,' 
'dip,'  with  reference  to  purifications  in  which 
Old  Testament  directed  them  to  'sprinkle,' 
(rachatz),  and  that  so  tabal  and  baptizo  seem 
to  have  been  employed  as  general  terms  for 
religious  washing,  however  performed,  it  is 
enough  to  reply  that  the  Jews  had  become  so 
extremely  scrupulous  as  frequently  to  employ 
the  most  complete  form  of  purification  (tabal) 
in  cases  in  which  only  the  less  complete  [ra- 
ehatz)  was  required,  wishing  thus  to  make 
perfectly  sure  that  no  touch  of  impurity  had 
failed  to  be  removed.  So  already  in  Sirach 
31  (34) :  30  (Eng.  Ver.  Ecclus.  34  :  25),  '  One 
who  immerses  himself  from  a  dead  body  and 
again  touches  it,  what  profit  did  he  gain  by  his 
bath'  (comp.  Lev.  22:  4-6),  in  Judith  12:  7, 
and  Mark  7  :  4  (see  Meyer)  ;  and  so  in  the  pros- 
elyte-immersion of  a  later  period  (see  below.) 
This  explanation  is  at  least  as  probable  in  itself 
as  the  theory  of  Cremer,  and  accords  with  the 
well-known  scrupulosity  of  the  Jews. — It  thus 
appears  that  in  none  of  the  ways  mentioned  is 
warrant  found  for  giving  baptizo  any  such 
meaning  as  pour,  sprinkle,  orwash  religiously, 
or  any  other  than  its  own  proper  and  well- 
known  sense.  The  argument  that  because 
baptism  suggested  (John  3:  25)  a  dispute 
about  purification,  therefore  any  form  of  puri- 
fication is  baptism  (Ed.  Beecher  on  "Bap- 
tism," New  York),  is  as  if  from  the  fact  that 
a  case  of  yellow  fever  led  to  a  dispute  about 
malarial  diseases,  it  should  bo  argued  that  any 
form  of  malarial  disease  is  yellow  fever.  Dale 
("Classic Baptism,"  "Judaic  Baptism,"  "Jo- 
hannic  Baptism,"  "Christie  and  Patristic 
Baptism,"  four  separate  volumes,  Philadel- 
phia), defines  baptizo  as  meaning  '  intuspose,' 
(t.  «.,  'put  within,'  comp.  Liddell  and  Scott), 
'merse,'  'immerse,'  and  then  by  a  novel  and 
ingenious,  but  purely  fanciful  and  unreason- 
able process  explains  it  all  awa^',  and  reaches 
the  conclusion  that  immersion  is  not  baptism 
at  all.i    Some  attempt  has  been  made  to  con- 


struct an  argument  as  to  baptizo  from  the  word 
used  in  the  Syriac  New  Testament,  in  reply 
to  which  see  a  tract  by  C.  H.  Toy  on  Amad 
(Louisville.)  These  several  theories  add  no 
force  to  the  efforts  of  the  lexicographers  above 
mentioned,  to  justify  some  departure  from  the 
plain  and  recognized  meaning  of  this  Greek 
word. 

It  was  once  quite  generally  held  (see  es- 
pecially Lightfoot),  and  is  still  maintained  by 
some,  that  John's  baptism  was  an  imitation 
of  what  is  called  Jewish  proselyte-baptism. 
The  resemblance  between  the  two  is  but  par- 
tial ;  for  Maimonides  (twelfth  cent.)  describes 
the  ceremony  as  consisting  in  the  person's 
standing  in  the  water  and  dipping  himself, 
thus  making  it  a  self-purification.  Eecent 
investigation  shows  that  there  is  no  ground 
for  believing  this  Jewish  practice  of  a  later 
time  to  have  existed,  as  a  distinct  initiatory 
rite,  in  the  time  of  our  Lord.  Not  only  is 
there  no  allusion  to  such  a  rite  in  the  Old  or 
New  Testament,  or  in  the  Apocryphal  books, 
but  none  in  Philo  or  Josephus,  although  each 
of  these  writers  has  various  passages  in  which 
it  seems  almost  impossible  tiiat  he  should 
have  failed  to  mention  the  rite  had  it  then  ex- 
isted, nor  any  in  the  early  Christian  Fathers, 
some  of  whom  search  every  page  of  Old  Tes- 
tament for  rites  or  expressions  bearing  any, 
the  most  fanciful  resemblance  to  baptism.  It 
is  not  mentioned  in  the  Mishna  (about  A.  d. 
2(X)),  nor  clearly  referred  to  in  any  of  the  other 
Jewish  writings  belonging  to  the  early  cen- 
turies after  Ciirist,  the  first  distinct  account  of 
it  being  in  the  Babylonian  Talnmd(Gemara), 
written  in  the  fifth  century.  The  origin  of 
the  rite  among  the  Jews  is  readily  explained. 
When  a  proselyte  (see  on  '2^\ :  15)  was  received 
(before  the  destruction  of  the  temple),  he  waa 
circumcised,  and  then  before  performing  his 
first  act  as  a  Jew,  viz.,  offering  sacrifice,  he 
must  be  purified;  but  this  purification  was 
not  distinctively  initiatory  (peculiar  to  a 
proselyte),  for  the  Jewish  child  also  must  be 
purified  after  circumcision,  wliic'h  itself  made 
one  unclean.  There  were  thus  three  acts  per- 
formed in  admitting  a  proselyte — the  circum- 
cision (which  really  made  him  a  Jew),  tiie 
consequent  purification  (which   us  described 


>  See  review  of  Dale's  different  vnlutues  In  "Baptist  i  175.    See  also  a  tract  on  "  IninierRlon  Fjtuentlal  to  Chris- 
Quarterly  "  (Pliiladelphia),  by  A.  C.  Kendriclc,  1869,  p.    tiaa  Baptism,"  by  J.  A.  Broadus  (I'hiladelpbia.) 
U"9,  J.  A.  Broadus,  1875,  p.  245,  W.  U.  Whitsitt,  1877,  p.  ' 


42 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  III. 


by  Maimonides,  was  an  immersion),  and  then 
sacrifice,  in  which  he  publicly  acted  as  a  Jew. 
After  the  temple  was  destroyed,  the  sacrifice 
became  impossible,  and  then  the  purification 
became  the  closing,  and  in  the  case  of 
women,  the  only  act  performed;  and  so  it 
naturally  attracted  greater  attention,  and  by 
the  fifth  century  had  come  to  be  regarded  as 
distinct  from  all  other  purifications,  and  as 
possessing  a  very  high  importance,  equal,  if 
not  superior,  to  that  of  circumcision.  This 
view  takes  away  all  force  from  the  otherwise 
plausible  argument  that  the  so-called  prose- 
lyte-baptism must  have  been  ancient,  on  the 
ground  that  the  Jews  would  never  have 
adopted  it  from  the  hated  Christians;  for  we 
see  that  it  was  not  so  adopted  at  all,  but  was 
simply  one  of  their  own  purifications,  which 
from  the  force  of  circumstances  came,  in  the 
course  of  some  centuries  after  the  destruction 
of  the  temple,  to  be  regarded  as  a  peculiar 
initiatory  rite.  And  if  later  Jewish  writers 
assert  that  it  was  ancient,  even  that  it  origi- 
nated at  Mount  Sinai,  they  make  the  same 
claim  for  every  usage  existing  among  them, 
however  unquestionably  late  in  its  origin ;  and 
besides,  we  have  seen  that  the  essence  of  this 
practice  was  ancient,  though  it  afterwards 
assumed  its  peculiar  character  and  conse- 
quence.^ 

There  is  thus  no  reason  for  supposing  that 
John's  baptism  was  a  mere  modification  of 
some  existing  rite.  Our  Lord  distinctly  in- 
timated (21:25)  that  the  baptism  of  John  was 
"from  heaven."  The  forerunner  himself 
testified  that  God  "sent"  him  "to  baptize  in 
water."  (John i: 33.)  KoMev :  "So  the  baptism 
of  John  is  a  highly  significant  and  expressive 
rite,  which  in  its  grand  simplicity  bears  the 
distinct  stamp  of  a  divine  ordering." 

In  Jordan.  The  expression  thus  translated 
affords  a  strong,  though  in  itself  not  an  abso- 
lute proof,  that  the  action  of  baptizing  was 


performed  within  the  limits  of  the  stream. 
This  is  the  natural  and  regular  meaning  of  the 
phrase,  and  must  be  everywhere  adhered  to 
unless  there  is  something  in  the  connection  to 
forbid  it.  But  the  Greek  preposition  en  is 
used  in  some  connection  not  found  in  English ; 
as,  for  example,  we  cannot  say,  "a  city  was 
situated  in  the  EuxineSea,"  "an ambush  was 
laid  in  a  river,"  but  the  Greek  has  these  ex- 
pressions, meaning  that  the  sea  or  river  was  in 
a  certain  general  sense  the  locality  in  which 
the  city  or  ambush  was  situated,  though  not 
in  the  strict  sense  which  our  'in'  would  indi- 
cate, seeing  that  such  a  sense  is  in  those  in- 
stances not  possible  from  the  nature  of  the 
ease.  So  in  English  we  say  'the  man  is  in  the 
mountain,'  meaning  not  the  earth  composing 
it,  but  the  mountain  in  a  more  general  sense. 
Now  if  the  action  of  baptizing  were  one 
which  could  not  be  performed  in  the  river  in 
the  strict  sense,  we  might  understand  'in  the 
Jordan '  as  meaning  only  in  that  general  local- 
ity (comp.  Mark  4:1,  'in  the  sea ' ).  But  until 
it  is  shown  that  the  signification  of  the  term 
baptize  is  incompatible  with  the  idea  of  its 
being  performed  strictly  in  the  river,  i.  e.,  in 
the  water,  we  are  bound  to  take  the  preposi- 
tion in  its  proper  and  ordinary'  sense.  Now 
even  those  who  maintain  that  'baptizo'  is  at 
times  used  with  a  certain  latitude,  generally 
agree  that  its  regular  and  usual  sense  is  one 
which  does  not  forbid,  but  entirely  accords 
with,  the  idea  of  its  being  performed  in  the 
water.  We  have  therefore  the  natural  and 
almost  uniform  use  of  'in'  concurring  with 
the  established  meaning  of  the  verb,  and  rein- 
forcing the  argument  by  which  that  meaning 
is  established.  (Comp.  'in  water'  v.  11,  Kev. 
Ver.,  margin).  The  Kev.  Ver.  reads,  the  river 
Jordan.*  The  word  Jordan,  always  with  the 
article  in  the  Hebrew  and  the  Greek,  signifies 
'the  descender,'  and  was  so  named  from  its 
rapid  descent  in  a  long  and  deep  valley  or 


iThe  explanation  of  its  rise  was  first  given  by  Schnec- 
kenburger,  whose  excellent  little  work  "  How  Old  is 
the  Jewish  Proselyte-Baptism"  (1828),  has  not  been 
translated  from  the  German.  The  most  complete  and 
satisfactory  discussion  of  the  subject  is  by  Toy,  in 
Baptist  Quarterly,  1872,  p.  .301  ff.  See  also  among  many 
writers.  Gill,  "Body  of  Divinity,"  Vol.  II.,  and  Leyrer 
(and  Oelitzsch)  in  Herzog.  Recent  leading  writers  gen- 
erally concur  In  Schneckenburger's  view,  e.  g.,  Winer, 
Meyer,  Ewald,  Bleek,  Cremer,  Keim,  Keil,  Godet;  on 
the  other  hand,  Edersh.  ( App.  xii.)  urges  that "  previous 


to  Christ,  the  baptism  of  proselytes  was  customary"; 
but  he  gives  neither  evidence  nor  argument  for  any- 
thing else  than  the  above-mentioned  purification  be- 
fore sacrifices,  which  was  a  matter  of  course.  Schdrer 
also  advocates  the  same  opinion,  but  presents  nothing 
new. 

*  The  word  '  river '  (as  in  Mark  1 :  5)  is  here  given  by 
B,  X.  C.  M.  A.  2.  and  more  than  thirty  cursive  MSS 
and  by  all  the  early  versions  except  the  Latin,  and  is 
adopted  by  Lach.,  Treg.,  Tisch.,  Alf.,  Weiss,  W  H.  Yet 
while  Mark  would  naturally  tell  bis  Gentile  readers 


M 


Ch.  III.] 


MATTHEW. 


43 


fissure.  The  highest  of  its  three  principal 
fountains  on  the  slopes  of  Hennon  is  seven- 
teen hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  Med- 
iterranean ;  the  first  lake  it  forms,  Huleh,  has 
its  surface  only  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet 
above  the  Mediterranean,  while  the  second, 
the  Lake  of  Galilee,  is  six  hundred  and  eighty- 
two  feet  (Conder)  below  the  level,  and  the 
third  Lake,  the  Dead  Sea,  is  twelve  hundred 
and  ninety-two  feet  below  the  level  of  the 
Mediterranean,  besides  being  itself  some 
thirteen  hundred  ffeet  deep.  The  fissure  or 
valley  varies  in  width,  south  of  the  Lake  of 
Galilee,  from  two  to  six  miles,  and  nearer 
the  Dead  Sea  it  becomes  fourteen  miles  wide 
(Conder).  Winding  about  in  this  long,  narrow 
valley  is  another  depressed  vallej'  (forty  to 
one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  deeper),  of  several 
hundred  yards  in  width  ;  and  within  this  the 
actual  bed  of  the  river  sinks  deeper  still.  The 
distance  in  a  straight  line  from  its  highest 
source  to  the  southern  end  of  the  Dead  Sea  is 
about  one  hundred  and  sixty  miles,  or  exclud- 
ing the  Dead  Sea,  about  one  hundred  and  fif- 
teen miles.  But  so  extremely  crooked  is  the 
winding  river  that  Lynch  estimates  it  to  be 
near  two  hundred  miles  between  the  Lake  of 
Galilee  and  its  mouth  (which  is sixty-fivemiles 
in  a  straight  line),  and  though  less  crooked 
higher  up,  its  whole  length  must  be  at  least 
two  hundred  and  seventy-five  miles,  not  in- 
cluding the  Dead  Sea.  The  width  and  depth 
of  course  vary  at  diflferent  seasons,  as  it  is 
swollen  in  February  and  March  by  the  rains, 
and  in  May,  the  "time  of  harvest"  (Jo»h.s:i5), 
by  the  melting  snows  of  Hermon.  Above 
Lake  Hiileh  it  is  some  forty  feet  wide,  and  is 
deep  and  rapid,  but  fordable  almost  every- 
where. Towards  the  Lake  of  Galilee  it  is  about 
sixty  feet,  and  easily  forded  at  several  places. 
For  some  miles  below  the  lake  Lynch  found 
it  about  seventy-five  feet  wide,  and  at  points 
ten  feet  deep  (middle  of  April),  but  on  one 
of  the  numerous  rapids  only  eight  inches 
deep.    About  five  miles  below  the  lake  an  im< 


portant  tributary  enters  from  the  east,  and 
below  this  the  usual  depth  varies  from  two 
and  one  half  to  six  feet  (Kitter).  About  half 
way  from  the  Lake  of  Galilee  to  the  Salt 
(Dead)  Sea,  the  Kiver  Jabbok  enters  from  the 
east,  and  smaller  streams  come  in  at  various 
neighboring  points  on  both  sides.  It  here  be- 
comes from  eiglity  to  one  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  wide,  and  from  five  to  twelve  feet  deep 
(McCiintock  and  Crooks,  "Cyc").  Nearthe 
mouth  it  widens  to  some  five  hundred  and 
fifty  feet,  and  the  depth  diminishes  to  two  or 
three  feet  (Lynch).  The  principal  fords  are 
not  many  (though  Conder  collected  the 
names  of  about  forty  in  all).  (1)  About 
two  miles  above  the  mouth  (Fish).  Several 
miles  higher  up  is  the  traditional  place  of  our 
Lord's  baptism,  nearly  opposite  Jericho,  and 
somewhat  above  this  is  (2)  a  ford  used  at  some 
seasons.  At  the  traditional  place  the  river  is, 
in  spring  (when  most  travelers  visit  it),  both 
too  deep  and  too  swift  for  fording.  Yet  just 
before  Easter  several  thousand  Greek  and  Ori- 
ental pilgrims  (in  the  Middle  Ages  there  were 
sometimes  100,000)  go  to  this  place  —  men, 
women,  and  children — and  immerse  them- 
selves as  a  sacred  bath,  many  of  them  changing 
their  garments  amid  the  dense  thickets  of 
shrubbery  which  extend  for  some  distance 
from  the  stream  ;  and  almost  every  year,  in 
the  vast  fanatical  throng,  crowding  in  to- 
gether, some  are  drowned.  Several  miles 
above  this  place  is  now  a  ferry-boat  (comp.  2 
Sam.  19:  18),  which  is  handled  with  difficulty, 
the  current  being  in  March  excessively  strong. 
(3)  Ten  miles  below  the  mouth  of  tlio  Jabbok 
is  a  ford  now  much  used  in  going  from  Nabu- 
lus  to  Es-Salt  (Van  de  Veide).  (4)  Above  the 
Jabbok  is  the  ford  of  Succoth,  where  Jacob 
crossed  with  his  family  and  flocks  (Gen.  32: 
10,  22.)  (5).  Near  Beisan  is  a  ford,  which 
Robinson  (III.,  325)  crossed  with  difliculty, 
but  which,  on  March  24,  1871,  the  Modin  of 
Beisan  said  would  only  reacli  the  horses'  bel- 
lies.    In  this  neighborhood  Conder,  in  April, 


that  the  Jordan  was  a  river  (like  many  other  explana- 
tions he  gives),  this  was  quite  needless  for  Matt.,  and 
contrary  to  his  usage  in  similar  cases.  Translators  and 
copyists  in  foreign  countries  would,  however,  tliinlt  the 
word  necessary  here,  even  as  X  and  Old  Syriac  have  in- 
serted it  in  .John  1 :  28.  We  thus  see  that  Matt,  is  not 
likely  to  have  written  it  and  copyists  would  be  likely  to 
insert  it.  This  strong  union  of  intrinsic  and  transcrip- 
tional evidence  might  even  outweigh  the  very  strong 


documentary  evidence  in  favor  of  the  word,  hut  for  the 
fact  that  D  and  son>e  copies  of  Old  I^atlii  omit '  river' 
in  Mark  1  :  .'5,  as  well  as  here,  which  indicates  that  the 
"  Western"  text  was  hostile  to  the  word,  and  thus  ac- 
counts for  its  omission  in  many  copies  of  Matt.  Thin 
word  must  therefore  be  accepted  as  a  part  of  .Matthew's 
text,  yet  not  without  some  lingering  doubt.  The  ques- 
tion has  obviously  no  practical  importance,  however 
interesting  to  the  textual  critic. 


44 


MATTHEW. 


Ch.  III. 


7  But  when  he  saw  luanv  of  the  Pharisees  and  Saddu- 
cees  come  to  his  baptism,  he  said  unto  them,  O  geuera- 
tioii  of  vipers,  who  hath  warned  you  to  flee  from  the 
wraih  to  come  ? 


7  in  the  river  Jordan,  confessing  their  sins.  But  when 
he  saw  many  of  the  I'harisees  and  Sadducees  coming 
ito  his  baptism,  he  said  unto  them,  Ye  oflspriDji;  of 
vipers,  who  warned  you  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to 


1  Or,  for  baptUm. 


found  twenty-one  possible  fords  within  seven  1 
miles.  About  ten  miles  above  Beisan  is  a  i 
Saracenic  bridge  (the  only  one  now  crossing 
the  river),  upon  the  road  from  Nabulus  to  i 
Damascus,  and  above  it  are  said  to  be  several 
difficult  and  little-used  fords.  (6)  Not  far 
below  the  Lake  of  Galilee  is  an  important  ford, 
which  the  Jews  of  our  Lord's  time  must  have 
constantly  used  in  going  from  Galilee  through 
Perea  to  Jerusalem.  At  this,  on  March  2o, 
1871,  the  water  came  nearly  to  the  root  of  a 
horse's  tail. — But  in  summer  the  river  falls 
much  lower,  and  must  be  easily  fordable  at 
many  points. — The  outer  and  principal  part 
of  the  Jordan  valley  is  nearly  all  entirely  un- 
productive without  irrigation,  justifying  the 
statement  of  Josephus  that  the  Jordan  flows 
through  a  desert  ("  War,"  3,  10,  7).  But  the 
banks  of  the  river  are  everywhere  fringed 
with  trees  (willow,  balsam,  etc.),  amid  which 
the  birds  sing,  and  in  whose  pleasant  shade 
the  multitudes  could  gather  to  hear  the  voice 
of  the  new  prophet.  As  to  the  scene  of  the 
baptism  of  Jesus,  see  on  v.  13. 

The  people  received  this  solemn  rite  con- 
fessing their  sins.  The  Scriptures  promise 
forgiveness  on  condition  of  confession  (Prov.  28: 
13;  ijobni:  9),  tliough  of  coursc  this  is  not  the 
meritorious  ground  of  forgiveness.  It  was  re- 
quired by  the  Mosaic  Law  (Lev-SiS:  i6:2i;  26:4o; 
Num.  5: 7),  and  is  often  recorded  as  practiced  by 
the  penitent  (e.  5-,  2  Chron.  30:  22;  Psa.  32: 
5;  Neh.  9:  2,  3;  Dan.  9:  20;  Acts  19:  18). 
The  term  here  used  appears  to  denote  an  ac- 
tually spoken  confession,  and  the  present  par- 
ticiple shows  that  it  was  made  in  immediate 
connection  with  the  act  of  baptism.  Most 
probably  the  confession  was  not  made  to  the 
multitude,  but  simply  to  John,  and  was  not 
uniform,  but  varied  according  to  every  man's 
calling,  character,  etc.,  (comp.  John's  specific 
exhortations  to  different  classes,  Luke  3:  10- 
14).  The  act  of  submitting  to  baptism  was  itself 
also  (Kohler)  a  confession  of  faith,  namely,  of 
faith  in  the  good  news  of  the  kingdom.    (Mark  i : 

15;  ACUI9:  4.^ 


"We  have  now  (v.  7-12)  a  specimen  of  John's 
teachings  given  more  in  detail. 

7.  The  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  were 
the  two  great  parties,  at  once  religious  and 
political,  among  the  Jews  at  the  time  of 
Christ.  The  date  of  their  origin  is  unknown, 
and  they  no  doubt  arose  gradually.  In  the 
centuries  immediately  following  the  return 
from  the  Captivity  there  must  have  been  va- 
rious divisions  of  public  sentiment.  Some 
insisted  on  conforming  to  all  decisions  of 
tribunals  and  opinions  of  leading  teachers, 
others  thought  it  enough  to  observe  the 
original  directions  of  the  law;  some  busied 
themselves  in  developing  many  real  or  sup- 
posed germs  of  truth  contained  in  the  law 
and  the  prophets,  others  said  they  wanted  no 
religious  teaching  but  that  of  the  sacred 
books,  especially  the  Pentateuch  ;  some  were 
extremely  zealous  for  their  religion,  and 
ready  to  die  in  its  defence,  others  were  more 
ready  to  suit  their  action  to  changing  circum- 
stances ;  some  cherished  a  bitter  hatred  to 
foreigners,  others  were  friendly  to  them,  etc. 
Such  divergencies  of  opinion  on  many  ques- 
tions of  truth  and  duty  would  gradually  asso- 
ciate themselves,  by  sympathy  or  antagonism, 
with  some  one  leading  division,  so  as  to  form 
two  distinct,  though  at  first  not  well  defined, 
parties.  Then  when  any  new  religious  or 
political  issue  arose  (the  religious  and  politi- 
cal being  always  more  or  less  blended,  from 
the  nature  of  the  Jewish  institutions),  the 
mere  fact  that  one  party  took  one  side  of  the 
question  would  decide  the  opposite  party  to 
take  the  other  side.  Thus  by  degrees  the 
parties  became  sharply  defined,  compact,  an- 
tagonizing at  all  points.'  Josephus  held  that 
the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  were  distinct 
parties  in  B.  c.  145.  ("  Ant.,"  13,  5,  9.)  Cer- 
tainly in  the  later  years  of  John  Hyrcanus 
(died  B.  c.  106),  they  were  politically  antago- 
nistic. ("Ant.,"  13,  10,  5.)  By  the  time  of 
our  Lord's  ministry,  the  division  had  doubt- 
less become  more  pronounced.  The  history 
of  their  hostility  was  known  to  run   back  to 


iThe  above  was  written  before  the  appearance  of  |  fying  support  in  his  elaborate  discussion.  (Book  iii., 
Edersheim's  work,  and  the  view  presented  finds  grati-  '  chap.  2.) 


I 


Ch.  III.] 


MATTHEW. 


45 


the  Maocabean  struggle,  the  Pharisees  now 
representing  the  patriots  of  that  time,  and  it 
had  included  many  fierce  political  conflicts 
and  wars  under  the  successors  of  John  Hyr- 
canus  ("  Ant.,"  13,  15,  5;  13, 16,  5),  which  left 
a  bitter  and  lasting  hatred.  At  the  time  of 
Christ,  the  Sadducees  were  comparatively  few 
in  number,  but  embraced  a  large  proportion 
of  wealthy  and  influential  men  ("Ant.,"  18, 
1,  4),  including  many  members  of  the  Sanhe- 
drim (Acts 5: 17),  and  were  more  likely  to  have 
the  sympathy  of  the  Koman  rulers.  But  the 
Pharisees  were  far  more  numerous,  and  on 
account  of  the  patriotic  record  and  pious 
reputation  of  the  party,  possessed  the  sym- 
pathies and  support  of  the  people  at  large. 
Yet,  while  political  antagonism  had  caused 
bitterness,  the  chief  differences  between  the 
two  parties  had  always  been  religious.  The 
Pharisees  held  to  many  traditional  interpret- 
ations of  Scripture  (e.  g.,  5:  21,  33,  43),  some 
of  them  not  merely  erroneous,  but  subversive 
of  its  great  truths,  and  also  to  many  tradi- 
tional rules  for  the  conduct  of  life,  particu- 
larly as  to  externals,  some  of  these  likewise 
tending  to  set  aside  the  teachings  of  God's 
word.  (i5:2fr.)  These  they  claimed,  as  most 
Jews  have  ever  since  done,  to  be  of  almost 
equal  authority  with  the  law;  indeed,  they 
were  called  the  "oral  law,"  and  held  to  have 
been  given  orally  to  Moses  at  Mount  Sinai, 
and  handed  down  from  him.  About  two 
centuries  after  Christ  many  of  these  tradi- 
tions were  written  down,  and  form  what  is 
called  the  Mishna,  or  'second,'  i.  e.,  the 
second  law.*  All  these  traditional  inter- 
pretations and  rules  the  Sadducees  rejected, 
acknowledging  no  authority  but  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  especially  'the  law,'  i.  e.,  the 
five  books  ascribed  to  Moses.  But  the  in- 
terpretations of  the  later  centuries  before 
Christ,  as  received  among  the  Pharisees, 
had    elicited    from    the    Scriptures    various 


true  and  important  doctrines,  as  that  of 
the  separate  existence  of  spirits,  and  a  cer- 
tain approach  to  the  Christian  doctrine  of 
the  resurrection  from  the  dead  (comp.  on 
22:  23);  while  the  Sadducees,  in  avoiding 
traditionalism,  went  to  the  opposite  extreme 
of  rationalism,  and  wholly  rejected  these  doc- 
trines, and  even  the  belief  in  angels  (Acts 23:  a), 
though  this  last  is  so  plainly  and  repeatedly 
taught  in  Old  Testament.  "The  Pharisees,  in 
their  fanatical  zeal  for  the  law  of  purifica- 
tions, and  the  numerous  rules  which  tradi- 
tion had  added,  shrank  from  all  association 
with  "sinners,"  i.  e.,  persons  who  notoriously 
violated  the  law  (Luke  7: 39),  and  thought  it  in-  . 
excusable  in  Jesus  to  do  otherwise.  (9:iii  Luke 
15:2.)  Thus,  when  they  came  from  market, 
where  they  might  possibly  have  touched  some 
person  or  thing  that  was  ceremonially  'un- 
clean,' they  were  wont  to  perform  a  com- 
plete purification,  '  immersed  themselves,' 
before  they  would  eat.  (Mark  t:  4.)''  This 
scrupulosity  in  separating  themselves  prob- 
ably led  to  the  name  Pharisees,  'separa- 
ters.'  The  name  Sadducees  most  likely 
meant  'righteous,'  as  denoting  that  they 
contented  themselves  with  being  simply 
righteous  men,  and  did  not  care  for  new- 
fangled beliefs  and  strait-laced  observances.' 
Our  Saviour  less  frequently  referred  to  the 
errors  of  the  Sadducees,  great  as  they  were, 
doubtless  because  the  people  in  genera}  were 
little  likely  to  be  misled  by  them;  he  does 
however  caution  his  disciples  against  their 
doctrine  (and  that  of  the  Phar.)  in  16:  11. 
They  appear  'tempting'  him  in  16:  1,  and 
22:  23.  But  the  Pharisees  had,  with  some  ex- 
ceptions (such  as  Nicodemus,  Gamaliel, 
Paul),  lost  the  true  patriotism  and  especially 
the  true  piety  which  had  gained  their  party 
so  much  popular  favor,  and  were  striving  by 
the  most  shameful  hypocrisy  to  retain  an  in- 
fluence which  they  no  longer  deserved,  and 


'Commentaries  upon  the  Mishna  (with  supplement- 
ary traditions  also)  were  afterwards  written,  and  Icnown 
as  Gemara, 'completion,"  because  they  completed  the 
Mishna.  The  Jerusalem  Gemara  was  written  in  the 
fourth  century  after  Christ,  and  that  of  Babylon  in  the 
fifth  century.  The  Mi»hna,  with  one  or  the  other  of 
these,  is  commonly  meant  by  the  term  Talmud  ('in- 
struction '). 

*8o,  if  an  Egyptian  touched  a  swine,  he  went  to  the 
river  and  'dipped  himself  from  it'  (bapto),  clothes  and 
all  (Her.  II.  47). 


I  'The  common  .Jewish  derivation  from  a  siipposod 
founder  named  Zadok  is  now  almost  universally  n-- 
jected.  Oeiger's  recent  theory,  tliat  the  Sadducees  were 
an  aristocratic,  priestly  class,  'the  priests  of  the  seed 
of  Zadok'  (Etek.  4.1 :  19),  is  adopted  by  Iluusrath  and 
Schflrer,  by  Twisleton  in  Smith's  Diet.,  Geikie  and 
(Jlnsbiirg  in  Kitto,  but  is  extremely  far-fetched,  and 
does  not  explain  the  facts.  See  in  opposition  to  it, 
Edersh.  Vol.  I.  p.  322.  The  best  rrocnl  treatises  are 
tbooe  of  Wellhausen  and  Montet.  (See  Index.) 


46 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  III. 


which  they  abused  to  the  worst  ends;  and  our 
Lord  rebuked  their  hj'pocrisy  on  various  oc- 
casions, and  unsparingly  exposed  it  in  the  last 
public  discourse  of  his  ministry,  ch.  23.  The 
continued  rivalry  between  Pharisees  and  Sad- 
ducees  was  the  providential  means  of  securing 
freedom  from  persecution  for  several  years 
after  the  ascension  of  Christ  (Aot»,ch.  4-6),  and 
was  made  useful  even  at  a  later  time  by  Paul. 
(Aot823:6.)  No  Writings  of  Sadducees  remain 
to  us,  and  we  know  them,  besides  the  few  ref- 
erences in  New  Testament,  only  from  writers 
who  were  Pharisees,  viz.,  Josephus  and  the 
Talmud,  and  who  may  have  done  them  scant 
justice.  They  seem  to  have  ceased  to  exist 
soon  after  the  destruction  of  the  Jewish  State, 
which  was  the  natural  fate  of  a  rationalistic 
party,  having  little  devout  earnestness,  and 
whose  standing  had  been  social  and  political 
rather  than  religious. 

The  term  'sect'  applied  in  Eng.  Ver.  to  the 
Pharisees  and  the  Sadducees  (Acta  5 ;  it  ;  i5 : 5 ;  26 : 5) 
does  not,  according  to  its  present  use,  correctly 
repder  the  Greek  word  nor  correctly  repre- 
sent the  facts  of  the  case ;  they  were  parties, 
with  the  peculiarity  above  mentioned,  that 
they  were  at  the  same  time  religious  and  polit- 
ical parties.  But  there  was  a  'sect,'  in  our 
sense,  then  existing  among  the  Jews,  called 
the  Essenes,  who  had  a  strictly  exclusive  or- 
ganization and  worship,  and  indeed  lived  in 
seclusion,  much  like  the  monks  of  later  times. 
They  were  few  in  number,  having  small  com- 
munities scattered  over  Palestine,  and  the 
largest  on  the  western  shore  of  the  Dead  Sea. 
They  were  probably  an  offshoot  of  the  Phari- 
sees, whose  leading  views  they  shared.  Their 
comparative  insignificance,  their  never  attend- 
ing the  temple-worship,  and  this  apparent  re- 
lation to  the  Pharisees,  will  account  for  the  fact 
that  they  are  never  mentioned  in  N.  T.,  nor  in 
the  Talmud,  being  known  to  us  only  through 
the  writings  of  Philo,  Josephus,  and  Pliny. 
All  attempts  to  show  that  some  ideas  or  prac- 
tices were  derived  from  them  by  John  the 
Baptist  or  hy  Jesus,  have  proved  a  failure; 
but  their  teachings  do  throw  light  on  the 
heresy  Paul  attacked  at  Colosse  (see  an 
admirable  essay  in  Lightfoot  on  Colossians). 
Josephus  says  (•' Ant.,"i3:5, 9)  that  the  Essenes 
were  utter  fatalists,  the  Sadducees  held  to  ex- 
treme views  of  free-will,  substantially  reject- 


ing providence,  while  the  Pharisees  occupied 
a  middle  ground,  recognizing  both  human 
freedom  and  responsibility,  and  divine  con- 
trol. 

Come — or,  coming — to  his  baptism,  that 
is,  coming  to  be  baptized  by  him.^  The  ex- 
pression many  of  the  Pharisees  and  Sad- 
ducees, with  only  one  article,  throws  the  two 
parties  together  as  both  needing  sharp  rebuke. 
(Comp.  16:  6,  11,  12.)— What  is  here  given  as 
addressed  to  them,  really  applied,  more  or 
less,  to  the  people  at  large,  and  was  intended  to 
apply  to  all  it  fitted,  and  Luke  (s:  7)  gives  it  as 
addressed  to  'the  crowds  that  came  forth  to  be 
baptized  by  him.'  So  in  Matthew,  the  people 
at  large  are  evidently  addressed  in  what  im- 
mediately follows,  V.  9  ff.  Perhaps  also  Mat- 
thew here  refers  to  a  particular  case,  while 
Luke  states  a  general  fact,  as  his  tenses  (in  the 
Greek)  may  imply. — We  learn  from  Luke?  : 
29  f.,  that  the  Pharisees  and  lawyers  who  on  a 
certain  occasion  in  Galilee  heard  the  teach- 
ings of  Jesus  concerning  John,  had  not  been 
baptized  by  John,  as  the  people  present  and 
the  publicans  had  been  ;  but  this  ought  not  to 
be  relied  on  as  proving  that  no  Pharisees  had 
been  baptized  by  John.  Only  a  portion  of 
them  were  at  all  disposed  to  seek  his  baptism, 
and  some  of  these  were  doubtless  repelled  by 
John's  stern  rebuke  and  rigorous  require- 
ments.    (Comp.  on  21:  32.) 

O  generation,  or,  Ve  offspring— of  vi- 
pers, merely  a  phrase  of  reproach,  describ- 
ing them  as  noxious  and  odious,  and  perhaps 
also  as  insidious.  (Comp.  12:  34;  23:  33;  Isa. 
14:  29;  59:  5;  Psa.  58:'4.)  Classic  writers 
present  similar  expressions.  The  idea  that 
they  are  meant  to  be  described  as  children  of 
the  devil,  the  old  serpent,  seems  fanciful. 
Warned,  is  stronger  than  the  original,  which 
signifies  to  show  secretly  or  partially,  and 
thus  to  intimate,  suggest,  indicate,  or  more 
generally,  to  make  known.  To  flee  from, 
may  either  mean  'to  escape,'  as  in  23:  33,  or 
to  'avoid,'  'shun,'  as  in  1  Cor.  10:  14.  With 
the  former  meaning  it  would  be,  'Who 
intimated  to  you  that  you  would  escape  the 
coming  wrath?'  viz.,  when  there  was  so  little 
reason  to  believe  they  would  escape;  with 
the  latter :  '  Who  suggested  to  you  to  flee 
from,'  etc.,  the  surprise  being  that  any  one 
should  take  the  trouble,  with  so  little  pros- 


>  Tisch.  and  W  H.    omit  '  his,'  but  on  insufficient  grounds. 


I 


Ch.  III.] 


MATTHEW. 


47 


8  Bring  forth  therefore  fruits  meet  for  "repentance: 

9  And  think  not  to  say  within  yourselves,  We  have 
Abraliaui  to  our  father:  fori  say  unto  you,  that  God  is 
able  of  these  stones  to  raise  up  children  unto  Abraham. 

10  And  now  also  the  axe  is  laid  unto  the  root  of  the 
trees:  therefore  every  tree  which  bringeth  not  forth 
good  fruit  is  hewn  down,  and  cast  into  the  tire. 


8  come?  Bring  forth  therefore  fruit  worthy  of  irepent- 

9  ance:  and  think  not  to  say  within  yourselves,  We 
have  Abraham  to  our  father:  fori  say  unto  you,  that 
God  is  able  of  these  stones  to  raise  up  children  unto 

10  Abraham.  And  even  now  the  axe  lieth  at  the  root 
of  the  trees:  every  tree  therefore  that  bringeth  not 
forth  good  fruit  is  hewn  down,  and  cast  into  the  tire. 


a  Or,  antwerable  to  amendment  of  life. 1  Or,  your  repentance. 


pect  of  any  good  result.  The  latter  is  the 
more  natural  sense.  The  wrath  to  come— 
or,  coming  wrath.  It  was  expected  among 
the  Jews  (as  the  book  of  Enoch  shows),  that 
in  connection  with  Messiah's  appearance 
there  would  be  an  outburst  of  God's  wrath 
upon  his  enemies,  t.  e.,  upon  the  Gentiles. 
But  John,  in  accordance  with  the  whole  tenor 
of  his  teaching,  describes  'the  coming  wrath' 
as  threatening  all  God's  enemies,  including 
impenitent  Jews;  and  this  was  already  im- 
plied in  Mai.,  ch.  3  and  4.  Similarly  Paul  in 
1  Thess.  1 :  10. 

8.  Fruits, /rwii  (singular),  is  the  correct 
reading.^  Bring  forth,  literally,  make.  The 
rendering  'bring  forth,'  common  from  Tyn- 
dale  down,  mixes  the  metaphors.  '  Produce,' 
though  not  pleasing,  would  be  allowable, 
and  suits  exactly  in  v.  10.  Therefore, 
presents  the  exhortation  as  the  consequence 
of  what  precedes,  or  is  naturally  supplied. 
"As  you  profess  repentance  and  wish  to  be 
baptized,  therefore  produce  fruit  worthy  of 
repentance,  and  thus  prove  that  you  really  do 
repent."  This  exhortation  he  might  natu- 
rally address  to  all  (Luke  3:8),  while  it  was  es- 
pecially appropriate  to  the  Pharisees  and 
Sadducees.  It  is  not  probable  that  he  required 
them  to  go  off  and  prove  their  repentance 
before  he  could  baptize  them;  he  only  gave 
them  a  special  charge. 

9.  A  great  hindrance  to  a  true  repentance  on 
their  part,  was  the  idea  generally  entertained 
among  the  Jews,  that  all  the  descendants  of 
Abraham  must  certainly  escape  wrath,  would 
assuredly  be  saved  (see  John  8  :  33,  39).  John 
proceeds  therefore  to  correct  this  error.  Think 
not  to  say,  is  an  exact  imitation  of  the  Greek, 
and  signifies  either  '  do  not  think  yourselves  at 
liberty  to  say,'  'warranted  in  saying,'  (comp. 
Phil.  3:  4),  or  more  probably,  'do  not  think 
you  will  say,'  'do  not  propose  to  yourselves 
to  say  '  (comp.  Luke's  '  do  not  begin  to  say ' ). 
To  say  within  yourselves,  corresponds  to 


a  well-known  Hebrew  expression,  'to  say  in 
his  heart'  (2*:  *8;  paa.«.  «;  lo:  6;  14:  i),  and  is  used 
also  in  9:  21;  Luke  7:  39,  49;  Rev.  18:  7. 
We  have  Abraham  to — or,  foi — our  father, 
with  emphasis  on  '  father,'  as  shown  in  Greek 
by  the  order  of  the  words.  Descended  as  they 
were  from  Abraham,  they  thought  themselves 
perfectly  safe  from  the  Messianic  wrath,  and 
in  little  need  of  repentance.  One  Rabbi  in  a 
Midrash  even  says  (Wet.),  "In  the  age  to 
come  Abraham  sits  beside  the  gates  of  Ge- 
henna, and  suffers  no  circumcised  Israelite  to 
go  down";  though  the  Rabbi  does  make  in- 
genious provision  for  an  exception  in  the  case 
of  those  who  have  sinned  excessively.  Edersh  : 
"No  principle  was  more  fully  established  in 
the  popular  conviction,  than  that  all  Israel 
had  part  in  the  world  to  come,  and  this  spe- 
cifically because  of  their  connection  with 
Abraham.  This  appears  not  only  from  the 
New  Test.,  from  Philo,  and  Jose]>hus,  but 
from  many  Rabbinic  passages."  I  say  unto 
you,  calls  attention  to  what  he  is  about  to  say, 
as  being  important.  (Comp.  on  5:  18).  Of, 
or,  otit  of,  as  the  material  (translated  'out  of 
by  Noyes  and  Davidson).  He  perhaps  pointed 
to  the  loose  stones  lying  on  the  river-bank. 
The  fact  that  God  could  with  such  perfect 
ease  raise  up  children  to  Abraham,  and  so  was 
not  dependent  on  them  for  the  continuation  of 
Abraham's  posterity,  would  suggest  that  thej' 
might  readily  be  set  aside  from  enjoying  tlie 
blessings  promised  to  Abraham's  descendants. 
So  God  once  threatened  to  Moses  that  he 
would  destroy  the  nation,  and  raise  up  a  new 
people  from  him. — This  representation  that 
the  Messianic  blessings  would  not  neccssarilj' 
be  enjoj'ed  by  all  Jews  as  such,  accords  with 
that  of  John  1:  29,  that  they  would  not  bo 
limited  to  Jews,  but  that  Messiah  'takes  away 
the  sin  of  the  world.'  Conij).  also  Paul's  ar- 
gument in  Gal.  3 :  7,  and  Rom.  4:  10. 

10.  Now   also,   or,  already.     Not  only  is 
there  a  coming  Messianic  wrath,  but  already 


1  Not  only  is  the  singular  best  supported,  but  we  can  see  how  the  plural  might  be  introduced  in  assimilation 
to  Luke  3:  8. 


48 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  III. 


11  I  indeed  baptize  you  with  water  unto  repentance: 
but  he  that  coiueth  alter  rae  is  miKiitier  than  I,  wliose 
shoes  I  am  not  worthy  to  bear:  be  shall  baptize  you 
with  the  Uoly  Ubost,  and  ivit/i  tire  : 


11  I  indeed  baptize  you  lin  water  unto  repentance: 
but  he  that  conieth  alter  uie  is  mightier  than  I,  whose 
shoes  I  am  not  ^^  worthy  to  bear :  he  shall  baptize  you 


1  Or,  with 'i  Or.  tuffieient. 


there  is  beginning  a  Messianic  discrimination 
among  the  descendants  of  Abraham.  It  is 
therefore  high  time  to  repent  (Weiss).  'Also ' 
must  be  omitted;  it  was  doubtless  inserted 
from  Luke  3  :  9.  Even  now  translates  '  now  ' 
in  its  emphatic  position.  Is  laid  unto,  or,  lies 
at,  the  root.  Noyes.  The  verb  is  exactly 
Mies.'  The  Greek  preposition  leads  many  to 
render  '  is  laid  to  the  root,'  i.  e.,  applied  to  it  in 
actual  cutting;  and  timber  being  very  scarce 
in  Palestine,  it  is  now  common  to  cut  down  a 
tree  at  the  ground  (Thomson,  ii.,  291).  But 
the  meaning  more  probably  is  that  it  has  been 
brought  to  the  tree  and  lies  there  ready  for 
use.  Therefore,  i.  e.,  since  such  is  the  de- 
sign with  which  the  axe  has  been  placed  there. 
Bringcth  not  forth  good  fruit,  is  the  same 
image  as  in  v.  8;  but  instead  of  the  specific 
idea  of  fruit  appropriate  to  repentance,  we 
have  here  the  more  general  idea  of  good  fruit. 
Hewn  down,  literally  'cut  out,'  viz.,  out  of 
its  place  in  the  vinej'ard.  (So  Davidson).  The 
present  tenses,  'is  cut  out'  and  '  is  cut,'  de- 
scribe the  action  as  actually  going  on;  the 
discrimination  is  already  beginning,  'even 
now.'  In  7:  19,  the  present  tense  denotes 
what  is  customary  in  the  case  of  all  such 
trees.  Every,  the  most  honored  and  privi- 
leged of  the  nation  (v.  v)  not  excepted.  There 
was  beginning  a  severe  scrutiny  of  all,  and 
the  unworthy  would  be  utterly  excluded 
from  that  share  in  Messiah's  kingdom  which 
the  persons  addressed  so  confidently  antici- 
pated. 

At  this  point  Luke  mentions  various  classes 
as  inquiring  of  the  preacher,  '  What  are  we  to 
do  then?'  viz.,  by  way  of  producing  good 
fruit,  fruit  worthy  of  repentance  ;  and  gives 
gome  piquant  and  highly  suggestive  replies. 

(LulteS:  10-11.) 

11.  The  idea  of  v.  10  is  now  (r.  iif.)  brought 
out  by  John  more  explicitly  by  contrasting 
with  his  own  work  that  of  the  greatly  supe- 
rior personage  who  is  coming  after  him,  whose 
work  will  be  far  more  discriminating  and 
thorough.  The  most  striking  and  character- 
istic thing  about  his  own  ministry  being  the 
baptism  he  administered  (comp.  on  21 :  25),  he 


employs  that  in  stating  the  contrast.  And  it 
could  be  very  naturally  thus  employed,  since 
immersion  in  water  furnished  an  apt  and  ex- 
pressive image  for  representing  the  soul  as 
being  as  it  were  immersed  in,  bathed  in, 
brought  completely  under  the  influence  of, 
thoroughly  affected  by,  the  operations  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  The  risen  Saviour  afterwards 
used  the  same  image,  and  made  the  same  con- 
trast with  John's  baptism,  in  promising  to  the 
disciples  the  Holy  Spirit's  influences,  to  be 
given  after  his  ascension.  (Aotsi:5)  The  con- 
trast here  is  certainly  not,  as  some  have  imag- 
ined, between  John's  baptism  and  that  actu- 
ally performed  by  Jesus,  through  his  disciples 
(john3:22;  4:2),  for  that  was  as  much  a  "  water- 
baptism"  as  John's.  Nor  does  it  seem  proper 
to  confine  the  view  in  any  respect  to  the  per- 
sonal ministry'  of  Jesus,  but  to  understand  a 
reference  to  the  entire  work  of  the  coming 
Messiah,  including  what  followed  his  personal 
ascension.  This  work  of  Messiah  would  dif- 
fer from,  and  be  superior  to,  the  merely  in- 
troductory work  of  the  forerunner  in  the  way 
stated. 

Indeed  here  represents  a  very  peculiar 
Greek  particle  (men)  which  denotes  that  to 
the  clause  in  which  it  stands  there  will  pres-j 
ently  be  opposed  or  contrasted  some  otner- 
statement  (commonly  introduced  by  'but'). 
We  have  nothing  exactly  like  this  in  Eng- 
lish, and  have  to  say  'indeed,'  'truly,'  'to  be 
sure,'  etc.,  and  often  we  use  no  word,  and  ex- 
press the  idea  by  a  mere  emphasis:  "/  bap- 
tize in  water  ....  but  he  that  is  coming,' 
etc.  (Comp.  especially  men,  truly,  on  9: 
37.)  With— rather,  in  water  (margin  and 
Amer.  App.),  is  the  proper  rendering  of  the 
preposition  and  case  here  employed.  In  a 
few  expressions  the  Greek  has  en,  'in'  (with 
its  case),  to  denote  merely  the  instrument  or 
means,  not  merely  in  phrases  which  we  can 
imitate,  as  'In  what  shall  it  be  salted?'  (5:  is), 
'In  what  measure  ye  measure'  (7:2),  but  also, 
in  imitation  of  a  Hebrew  use,  in  connections 
where  the  English  idiom  could  not  employ 
'in,'  as  'Trample  them  with  (in)  their  feet' 
(7;  6,  see  note),  'Smite  with  (in)  the  sword.' 


Ch.  III.] 


MATTHEW. 


49 


(Liike22:49.)  Here  the  action  was  originally 
conceived  as  in  a  certain  sense  located  in 
the  feet,  the  sword,  a  conception  foreign  to 
our  idiom.  But  it  must  he  observed  that  this 
use  of  the  preposition  is  rare,  and  it  cannot 
with  propriety  be  so  understood  unless  the 
connection  is  such  as  altogether  to  exclude 
the  common  and  natural  meaning.  Show, 
on  grounds  apart  from  this  expression,  that 
baptizing,  from  the  nature  of  the  action,  can- 
not have  been  performed  'in  water'  in  the 
strict,  local  sense,  and  it  will  be  lawful  to 
interpret  the  preposition  (with  its  case)  as 
here  used  in  a  looser  local  sense,  denoting 
the  instrument  or  means.  But  here  the 
common  and  natural  sense  of  the  preposi- 
tion exactly  agrees  with  the  nature  of  the 
action.  (Comp.  on  v.  6,  and  also  com  p.  1  Cor. 
10:  2,  'in  the  cloud  and  in  the  sea,'  and 
2  Kings  5:  10,  14.)  So  here  Meyer,  Weiss, 
McClellan,  etc. 

But  we  are  told  by  some  that  while  John 
(1:26.31,33)  has  this  same  'in  water,'  Luke,  in 
the  parallel  passage  to  this  (3:i«),  and  also  in 
Acts  (1 :  5,  repeated  in  Acts  11 :  16),  uses  the 
simple  case  of  the  noun  without  any  prepo- 
sition (and  so  probably  in  Mark  1:  8),'  and 
that  this  certainly  means  'with  water,'  de- 
noting merely  an  instrument,  which  makes  it 
more  likely  that  the  same  was  meant  in 
Matthew  and  John.  Then  it  is  argued  that 
an  instrument  is  always  wielded,  and  applied 
to  the  object  affected  by  the  action,  and  so 
that  "baptize  with  water"  cannot  denote  an 
immersion.  But  these  positions  are  unten- 
able. The  simple  Greek  case  may  itself 
mean  'in  water,'  that  is,  it  may  be  not  the 
instrumental  but  the  locative  case.^  And 
granting  it  to  be  the  instrument,  an  instru- 


•  In  Mark  1 :  8,  the  authorities  are  so  dividetl,  and  the 
probabilities  of  assimilation  to  Matt,  and  John  or  to 
Luke  arc  »o  balanced,  that  it  is  bard  to  decide.  But 
'baptize'  would  naturally  Lave  suggested  'in'  to  the 
copyists  (some  topics  have  it  even  in  Luke  8:  10),  and 
this  makes  it  more  likely  that  the  original  text  of  .Mark 
was  like  that  of  Luke  (W  H.)  In  Matt,  and  John, 
aod  in  Acts,  there  is  no  variation  in  the  copies. 

*Seeprobal)leexaniplesof  the  locative  with  haptizo,  in 
Conant,  "  on  Baptizeln,"  example  71,  78,  also,  jjcrhaps, 
60,  73,  76,  86.  Compare  Latin  immergo  alto,  unda,  etc., 
where  the  ca.se  is  necessarily  locative  and  not  iustru- 
uiental. 

'Hfre,  as  in  Mark  1 :  8,  some  copies  (some  very  koo<1 
ones  here)  insert  en  'in,'  probably  for  the  same  reason 
as  there,  that  the  circumstances  suggested  it.   John  21 : 


ment  must  be  used  according  to  its  natural 
relation  to  the  action.  There  is  a  curious 
parallel  in  14:  13,  'Jesus  withdrew  in  a  boat' 
(en  ploio);  here,  Mark  6:  32,  has  the  simple 
case  without  a  preposition  {to  ploio).^  This 
also  may  mean  'in  the  boat,'  but  grant  that 
it  is  instrumental,  the  waj'  to  make  a  boat  the 
instrument  of  going  across  the  lake  is  to  put 
yourself  in  the  boat.  So  the  above  argument 
from  '  with  water'  falls  to  the  ground. — Luke, 
in  both  the  passages  (3:i6;  Aoi3i:5j  has  en  j)neu- 
-)nati,  'in  the  Spirit,'  and  so  Mark  1:8,  the 
reason  probably  being  that  the  local  reference 
was  obvious  in  speaking  of  'water'  as  con- 
nected with  baptize,  but  needed  to  be  more 
distinctly  brought  out  in  speaking  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  that  the  figure  of  immersion  in 
the  Spirit  might  not  be  overlooked.* 

Unto  repentance.  The  most  natural  way 
to  understand  this  preposition  (with  its  case), 
in  Greek  as  in  English,  would  be  '  in  order 
that  you  may  repent.'  So  the  same  expres- 
sion in  Wisdom  11:  23,  'Thou  overlookest the 
sins  of  men  unto  repentance.'  The  difficulty 
is  that  John's  baptism  evidently  presupposed 
repentance,  and  was  to  be  followed  by  'fruits 
worthy  of  repentance.'  Accordingly,  some 
urge  that  the  preposition  eis  (with  its  case), 
'unto,'  must  here  denote  the  occasion  or 
ground  of  the  baptizing,  a  meaning  which  it 
clearly  has  in  12:  41,  and  which  is  ascribed  to  it 
here  by  the  Greek  commentator  Eutliyniius.* 
This,  however,  is  a  very  unusual  and  difficult 
use  of  the  preposition,  though  certainly  i)()s- 
sible.  Others  take  it  to  mean  generally,  'with 
reference  to  repentance'  (so  Tyndale,  'in 
token  of).  Such  a  meaning  the  preposition 
with  its  case  does  somewhat  frequently  have," 
and  that  gives  here  a  very  good  sense  (as  it 

I  8  has  a  similar  expression,  to  phiario  (no  preposition), 
I  and  without  variation  in  the  copies,  and  the  exprcs- 
j  sion  in  the  common  text  of  Mark  is  at  any  rate  Creek, 
'  if  it  be  not  the  true  text. 

j  ■'Here  also  (.Mark)  W  II.  omit  the  preposition,  but 
i  with  slender  evidence,  and  apparently  through  their 
\  curious  devotion  to  15. 

I  i*  Eulhymius  (I'ith  centurj-)  expressly  says,  "  ris  mrln- 
noinn  instead  of  dia  ten  metanoiaii,"  ('  In'cause  of  re- 
pentance') and  argues  "  for  he  baptized  them  confessing, 
which  is  equivalent  to  repenting,  becausetlu-y  ro)H'nteii. 
And  such  a  baptism  was  a  proof  of  refientauce." 

•  See  «t.»,  trail  slat  etl  concerning,  Acts  2:  2.1,  and  snoh 
phrases  as  "to  jeer  at  a  man  eis  his  rags"  (Aristopli.), 
"to  reproach  ein  friendship"  (Xeu.),  "to  ditfer  from 
one  eis  virtue,"  (I'lat.) 


50 


MATTHEW. 


[Cii.  III. 


would  also  in  Luke  3:  3;  Mark  1 :  4,  'unto 
remission  of  sins').  But  it  is  best  to  adhere 
if  possible  to  the  common  and  most  natural 
sense  'in  order  to.'  And  it  may  perhaps  be 
so  understood  if  we  revert  (Cremer)  to  v. 
7,  8,  the  special  occasion  of  what  John  is 
saying.  Those  whom  he  baptized  all  pro- 
fessed repentance,  but  concerning  some  it 
was  very  doubtful  whether  there  was  a  real 
change  of  thought  and  purpose  (see  on  v.  2), 
and  he  exhorts  them  to  show  by  the  appro- 
priate fruits  that  such  was  the  case.  He 
might  therefore  say,  "I  baptize  you  in  order 
that  you  may  really  repent,"  including  in 
the  one  view  and  one  expression,  the  pri- 
mary change  of  purpose  and  the  subsequent 
results  and  proof  thereof.  This  makes  the 
design  that  of  John  in  baptizing  (so  Hofman 
in  Keil),  and  not  exactly  the  design  of  the 
baptism  itself  (as  Meyjer,  and  many).  In 
the  parallel  passages  of  Mark  and  Luke 
(Mnrki:  8;  Lnke3:i6),  this  phrase,  'unto  repent- 
ance,' is  not  given,  probably  because  each  of 
them  had  just  before  spoken  of  it  as  a  'bap- 
tism of  repentance.'     That  expression  (Marki: 

4:  LuVe3:3;  alw  Acts  13 :  24 ;  19:  4)  is  Still  morC  Indefi- 
nite than  the  other ;  by  it  the  baptism  Is  sim- 
ply distinguished  from  other  baptisms,  char- 
acterized as  a  repentance-baptism  (comp. 
'  Babylon— removal '  1 :  11),  and  we  are  left  to 
determine,  from  the  nature  of  the  case  and 
the  known  circumstances,  what  precise  rela- 
tion existed  between  the  baptism  and  repent- 
ance. 

He  that  cnmeth  after  me.  Literally, 
the  {one)  coming  behind  me.  The  expres- 
sion implies  that  tbej-  had  heard  of  this 
coming  personage  before.  And  we  know 
from  the  Talmud  that  the  Jews  frequently 
spoke  of  Messiah  as  Habba,  'the  coming 
(one;')  (comp.  11:  3;  21:  9),  perhaps  origi- 
nally deriving  it  from  such  expressions  as 
Zech.  9:9;  Mai.  3:1;  Psa.  118 :  26.  Mark 
and  Luke,  not  writing  especially  for  Jews,  do 
not  here  use  this  Jewish  phrase.  (Mark  i :  7;  Lake 
8: 16.)  Mightier  than  I,  not  only  superior  in 
position,  but  more  powerful,  able  to  accom- 
plish what  he  could  not.  Not  worthy  to 
bear,  or,  more  exactly,  in  colloquial  phrase, 
'  not  fit  to  carri'.'  The  word  rendered  shoes 
(or,  sandals)  signifies  'what  is  bound  under,' 
and  denotes  the  sole  of  leather,  raw  hide,  or 
wood  which  they  wore  under  the  foot,  and 


which,  fastened  to  the  foot  by  a  thong  or  strap, 
constituted  its  entire  covering.  A  Bedouin 
from  beyond  Jordan  may  be  seen  to-day  with 
just  such  sandals  of  untanned  sheepskin.  It 
was  the  office  of  the  lowest  menial  among  all 
the  slaves  of  a  household,  to  carry  his  mas- 
ter's sandals,  as  when  he  went  to  the  bath,  or 
to  untie  and  remove  them  when  he  entered 
the  house ;  this  last  being  the  expression  given 
by  Mark  and  Luke  as  used  here  or  on  a  simi- 
lar occasion.  Somewhat  similar  among  us 
would  be  the  task  of  removing  muddy  over- 
shoes. A  like  menial  service  was  that  of 
washing  the  feet  after  removing  the  sandals. 
(Lute  7: 44;  John  13:3  ff.)  We  Icam  from  LukeS: 
15  that  the  people  were  beginning  to  meditate 
whether  John  himself  might  be  the  Messiah, 
and  it  was  partly  to  meet  this  that  John  told 
them  he  was  so  immensely  inferior  to  the 
Coming  One.  In  general,  John  is  singularly 
free  from  self-assertion.  While  boldlj-  rebuk- 
ing the  most  influential  classes  (v.  7),  and]j 
braving  the  wrath  of  Herod  Antipas  (i4:4),  he^' 
speaks  of  himself  onlj'  in  the  way  of  declar- 
ing the  imcomparable  superiority  of  the  Com- 
ing One  (comp.  John  3:  '28  ff.).  Great  force  of 
character,  united  with  great  humility  and 
modesty,  must  command  hearty  admiration. 

He,  emphatic,  as  in  1 :  21.  With  the  Holy 
Ghost  and  with  fire.  Better,  in  the  Holy 
Spirit  and  fire.  Rev.  Ver.  The  original  has 
no  article,  and  some  propose  to  render  'ia 
Holy  Spirit,'  i.  e..  In  holy  spiritual  influences. 
But  the  phrase  Holy  Spirit  was  so  definite  by 
reason  of  its  common  use,  as  to  be  for  Mat- 
thew's readers  virtually  a  proper  name,  so 
that,  like  other  proper  names,  it  could  be  used^ 
with  or  without  the  article;  and  It  is  used 
without  the  article  in  numerous  instances, 
particularly  when  in  connection  with  a  prepo- 
posltion,  as  here.  English  idiom  requires  the 
article,  as  in  many  other  cases  where  the 
Greek  maj'  omit  it.  Comp.  '  holy  covenant' 
in  1  Mace.  1 :  15,  and  'all  Scripture'  in  2 
Tim.  3:  16.  As  to  'Ghost,'  and  'Spirit,'  see 
on  1 :  18.  Observe  how  helpful  it  would  be  to 
have  the  same  word  '  Spirit '  here  as  in  3  :  16, 
and  4 :  1.  This  statement  of  John's  Is  plainly 
a  figure,  as  in  v.  10,  12.  To  say  that  John's 
baptism  was  only  in  water,  and  Christian  bap- 
tism is  both  in  water  and  the  Spirit,  is  curi- 
ously to  mix  the  image  and  that  which  it  signi- 
fies.   But  such  mixing  need  not  surprise  us, 


A 


Ch.  III.] 


MATTHE\y. 


51 


for  much  confusion  has  arisen  in  Christian 
thought  from  the  wide-spread  notion  of  bap- 
tismal regeneration.  John  here  says  that 
while  he  immersed  men  in  water,  the  symbol 
of  a  new  and  pure  life,  the  mightier  Coming 
One  would  (so  to  speak)  immerse  them  in  the 
Holy  Spirit,  who  really  produces  such  a  life. 
Jesus  did  not  literally  immerse  men  in  the 
Spirit,  any  more  than  he  literally  smote  men 
with  an  ax  (v.  lo),  or  cleansed  them  with  a  fan. 
(t.  12.)  Plumptre :  "  As  heard  and  understood 
at  the  time,  the  baptism  with  the  Holy  Ghost 
would  imply  that  the  souls  thus  baptized 
would  be  plunged,  as  it  were,  in  that  creative 
and  informing  Spirit  which  was  the  source  of 
life  and  holiness  and  wisdom."  It  is  likewise 
explained  as  a  figurative  immersion  by  Nean- 
der,  Meyer,  Bleek.  This  figurative  use  of  the 
term  resembles  such  expressions  of  profane 
writers  as  'immersed  in  ignorance,'  'in  sor- 
row,' '  in  debts,'  as  also  our  Saviour's  descrip- 
tion of  his  own  dreadful  sufferings  as  a 
baptism.  (Luke  12;  so.)  In  English  too  we  are 
constantly  saying,  'immersed  in  business,' 
'plunged  in  despair,'  'bathed  in  delight,'  etc. 
But  what  is  meant  by  t'le  additional  words, 
and  fire?  Observe  that  in  the  preceding 
verse  the  fire  receives  the  unfruitful  trees,  and 
in  the  next  verse  the  fire  consumes  the  chaff. 
V.  11  evidently  teaches  the  same  general  les- 
son, and  it  would  therefore  be  natural  to  un- 
derstand the  fire  which  ends  each  of  the  three 
parallel  sentences  in  essentially  the  same  way 
as  a  fire  which  consumes  the  wicked.  And 
notice  that  Luke  (3:  le)  who  also  gives  'and 
fire,'  has  the  other  images  of  burning  the  un- 
fruitful trees  and  the  chaff  (Luk8  3:9,  17),  while 
in  Mark  1:8;  John  1:  33;  and  Acts  1:5; 
11 :  16,  where  the  other  images  are  not 
mentioned,  neither  are  the  words  'and 
tire'  given.  This  would  seem  to  leave  no 
doubt  as  to  the  meaning  of  these  words. 
The  objection  is  that  in  the  other  images 
(r.  10,  ij)  two  classes  are  distinguished,  and 
the  destiny  of  each  is  separately  stated; 
while  here  it  is  simply  'shall  baptize  you,' 
one  class  of  persons,  'in  the  Holy  Spirit  and 
tire,'  without  even  repeating  the  preposition 
before  'tire' — as  if  it  meant  one  class  and  one 
destiny,  though  stated  by  means  of  two  terms. 
But  the  'you'  whom  John  is  addressing  are 
not  simply  the  believing  and  penitent,  but 
the  Jews  in  general,  with  special  reference  at 


the  outset  (v.  7  r.)  to  the  Pharisees  and  Saddu- 
cees.  Now  it  had  been  predicted  by  Malachi 
(3: Iff.)  that  the  messenger  of  the  covenant 
would  come  and  purify  the  nation  (especially 
the  Levites,  who  were  necessary  to  a  bettered 
worship  and  national  life),  as  silver  is  purified 
in  a  furnace;  and  this  does  not  simply  mean 
that  he  would  purify  individuals  by  consum- 
ing what  was  faulty  in  them,  but  Mai.  4:  1-3 
shows  it  to  mean  that  he  would  purify  the 
nation  by  consuming  the  wicked  individuals 
like  'stubble,'  and  then  the  truly  righteous  of 
the  nation  would  rejoice  and  prosper.  The 
nation  would  be,  as  it  were,  thrown  into  a  fur- 
nace of  fire,  which  would  consume  the  wicked 
among  them,  and  leave  a  purified  nation.  In 
like  manner,  John  says,  the  mighty  Coming 
One  will  'plunge  you,'  the  Jews  whom  he 
is  addressing,  'in  the  Holy  Spirit  and  fire'; 
some  will  be  consumed  and  some  preserved, 
a  purified  people.  Just  how  far  tlie  'Holy 
Spirit'  in  John's  mouth  differs  from  the 
O.  T.  and  approaches  the  N.  T.  idea,  it  would 
be  very  difficult,  and  is  not  necessary,  to  de- 
termine. But  it  can  scarcely  be  questioned 
that  John's  thought  is  connected  with  that 
of  Malachi,  and  if  so,  the  explanation  just 
offered  is  in  all  probability  correct.  Comp. 
Bleek.  More  or  less  similar  is  the  view 
of  Origen,  Fritzsche,  Neander,  de  "VVette, 
Hengstenbcrg,  Meyer,  Reynold.s.  —  Many, 
however,  suppose  that  the  'Holy  Spirit'  is  to 
be  taken  in  the  strictly  N.  T.  sense,  and  'fire' 
is  simply  appended  as  an  image  of  the  Spirit's 
purifying  work  upon  the  individual,  consum- 
ing his  faults.  So  Chrys.,  mo^t  Roman  Cath- 
olic commentators,  Calvin,  Olshausen,  Ewald, 
Godet,  Edersh.,  Morison,  and  a  number  of 
others.  Some  of  those  think  we  have  a  simi- 
lar expression  in  John  3:  5,  'born  of  water 
and  the  Spirit,'  and  some  refer  to  the  tongues 
of  fire  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  as  an  actual 
exhibition  of  the  image  which  Jolin  here  em- 
ployed. Such  a  view  disregards  tlte  striking 
parallelism  of  Matthew's  three  sentences,  and 
rejects  the  guidance  of  Malachi.  Our  Lord 
promised  the  disciples  (Aot»i:5)  a  baptism  in 
the  Holy  Spirit  ere  numy  days,  which  was 
fulfilled  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  and  on 
that  day  appeared  tongue-shaped  flames  sit- 
ting on-  their  heads,  and  obviouj^iy  symboliz- 
ing the  power  of  speaking  with  other  tonj^nies. 
And  it  is  maintained  that  this  is  what  John 


52 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  III. 


12  Whose  fan  is  in  his  hand,  and  he  will  thoroughly  I  12  i  in  the  Holy  Spirit  and  in  fire:  whose  fan  is  in  his 

Eurge  his  tioor,  and  gather  his  wheat  into  the  garner;  hand,  and  he  will  thoroughly  cleanse  his  tlireshiug- 

ui  lie  will  burn  up  the  chaU'witb  unquenchable  fire.  floor:  and  he  will  gather  his  wheat  into  the  garner, 

I       but  the  chatf  he  will  burn  up  with  unquenchable  fire. 


meant.  But  Jesus  did  not  in  his  promise  add 
'and  fire,'  and  there  is  no  mention  of  fiery 
tongues  in  the  case  of  Cornelius  and  his 
household,  when  Peter  expressly  recognized 
(Acuii:  16)  a  fulfillment  of  the  Saviour's  prom- 
ise. Nay,  the  forerunner  meant  something 
deeper  and  broader  than  the  power  of  speak- 
ing with  tongues;  he  was  describing  the  great 
work  of  discrimination,  by  which  some  would 
be  destroyed  and  the  rest  purified. 

That  diflSculty  was  long  ago  felt  as  to 
the  meaning  of  'fire,'  appears  from  its  being 
omitted  here  by  many  late  MSS.,  and  a  few 
late  versions  and  Fathers ;  yet  none  of  them 
omit  it  in  Luke  3:  16.  "Wiclif  and  Eheims 
have  'in  the  Holy  Ghost  and  fire.'  Tyndale 
introduced  'with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with 
fire,'  (altering  the  preposition  and  repeating 
it),  followed  by  the  other  early  Protestant 
versions,  and  now  by  Alford  and  Darby. 
'In  the  Holy  Spirit  and  fire'  is  the  ren- 
dering of  Bible  Union  Revision,  of  Noyes 
('in  fire')  and  Davidson,  and  Amer.  App. 
to  Rev.  Ver. 

12.  A  third  image  for  the  work  of  scrutiny 
and  separation,  and  here  expressly  referred, 
as  in  ver.  11,  to  Messiah.  Fan,  more  exactly 
a  winnowing-shovel ;  with  this  the  Jews  threw 
up  their  wheat  against  the  wind,  which  would 
blow  awaj"  the  chaff  (comp.  Psa.  1:4;  Dan.  2 : 
35;  Hos.  13 :  3),  while  the  grain  fell  in  a  heap. 
The  '  thresh ing-fioor,'  a  circular  space  of 
beaten  earth,  was  then  cleaned  up,  and  the 
straw  and  chaff  sometimes  burned.  (See  Isa. 
5 :  24).  Thoroughly  purge,  or,  cleanse. 
The  examination  and  discrimination  will  be 
complete.  The  garner,  or  granary,  barn, 
literally,  place  for  putting  away.  The  Jews 
often  used  underground  granaries,  cut  in  the 
solid  rock,  like  cisterns,  or  vaulted  and  ce- 
mented. In  these  grain  could  be  kept  for 
years.  The  term  rendered  chaff  includes  also 
bits  of  straw,  broken  by  the  treading.  With 
unquenchable  fire.  We  may  here  render 
'with  fire,'  instrumental,  or  'in  fire,'  locative, 
just  as  in  v.  11  and  13  :  40.  Comp.  '  into  fire,' 
V.  10,  and  Mark  9:  43.  By  saying  unquench- 
able fire,  he  turns  attention  away  from  tli^e 


literalities  of  tht  image  to  the  eternal  things 
represented.  So  with  '  eternal  tabernacles ' 
in  Luke  16 :  9.    Rev.  Ver. 

Luke  adds  (3:  18,  B.  XJ.  Ver.)  that 'with 
many  other  exhortations  he  published  the 
good  tidings  to  the  people,'  varying  his  prac- 
tical exhortations  while  adhering  to  the  same 
general  good  news  that  the  reign  of  heaven 
was  near  at  hand.  This  statement,  as  shown 
by  what  follows  in  Luke,  is  designed  to  cover 
the  whole  period  of  John's  ministrj'.  In  John 
1 :  26  f.,  we  have  two  instances  of  testimony  to 
Jesus  after  his  baptism,  somewhat  similar  to 
that  of  V.  10-12,  borne  before  the  event. 

HOMILETICAL  AND  PRACTICAL. 

The  personal  character  of  John  the  Baptist 

(1)  His  courageous  severity,  v.  7;  14:  4.  (2) 
His  practical  wisdom,  Luke  3  :  10-14.  (3)  His 
humility  and  unselfishness,  v.  11;  John  3: 
'27-30. — Religious  benefits  of  solitude,  as  illus- 
trated by  the  case  of  John. — The  ministry  of 
John.  (1)  Its  subjects  and  spirit.  (2)  Its  re- 
lation to  the  ministry  of  Jesus.  (3)  The  great 
effects  it  produced,  v.  5;  11:  11. — Jer.  Tay- 
lor :  "  John  was  like  the  morning  star,  or  tbtf 
blushings  springing  from  the  windows  of  th« 
east,  foretelling  the  approach  of  the  Sun  of 
righteousness."  Luther:  "New  things.  1) 
A  new  prophet;  2)  A  new  ceremony;  3)  A 
new  preaching;  4)  A  new  king." — V.  2.  The 
calls  to  repentance,  (1)  By  the  prophets,  (2) 
By  John,  (3)  By  Jesus,  (4)  By  the  apostles. — 
The  old -exhortation,  'repent,'  and  the  new 
motive,  ' for  the  reign,'  etc. — Hexry:  "True 
penitents  have  other  thoughts  of  God  and 
Christ,  and  sin  and  holiness,  and  this  world 
and  the  other,  than  they  have  had,  and  stand 
otherwise  affected  toward  them.  The  change 
of  the  mind  produces  a  change  of  the  wr/y."— 
V.  3.  Preparation  for  Christ's  reign  :  (1)  In 
what  it  consists — confessing  and  forsaking  sins. 

(2)  How  it  is  exhibited,  (a)  by  baptism,  v.  6, 
(b)  by  fruit,  v.  8.  (3)  How  rpen  are  induced 
to  make  it — by  the  voice  of  one  cr^nng.— Ed. 
Irving:  "I  do  therefore  consider  the  Bap- 
tist as  our  pattern  and  permission  to  take 
strong  weapons  of  argument  and  terrible  de- 


ji 


Ch.  III.] 


MATTHEW. 


53 


13  Then  conieth  Jesus  from  Galilee  to  Jordan,  unto  I  13      Then  cometh  Jesus  from  Galilee  to  the  Jordan 
John,  to  be  baptized  of  him.  | 


nunciation,  wherewith  to  clear  away  obstruc- 
tions, and  malce  a  highway  for  the  descent  of 
our  Lord.  Christ  came  not  until  the  Baptist 
had  come.  The  gospel  of  salvation  cometh 
not  until  the  fear  of  condemnation  and  ruin 
hath  seized  us.  The  Baptist  rested  his  lever 
upon  the  instant  coming  of  Christ,  and  from 
that  fulcrum  took  his  purchase  upon  the  pres- 
ent." Chrysostom:  "The  Prophet  and  the 
Baptist  go  upon  the  same  ideas;  the  Prophet 
says,  'Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord,"  the 
Baptist,  '  Produce  fruits  worthy  of  repent- 
ance.'"  V.  4.  The  first  Elijah  and  the  second 
Elijah  (comp.  11:  14).  Bengel:  "Even 
Ji/hn's  food  and  raiment  preached." — Jer. 
Taylor:  "The  preacher's  life  is  his  best 
sermon." — Ed.  Irving:  "And  what  is  there 
good  that  cometh  not  out  of  suffering?  and 
what  is  there  great  that  cometh  not  out  of  self- 
denial?  what  is  there  new,  in  knowledge  or 
in  virtue,  that  cometh  not  out  of  solitary 
thought?  and  what  is  there  noble  and  lasting 
in  purpose  that  cometh  not  out  of  long  nursing 
and  strengthening  in  the  secret  chambers  of 
the  mind?"— Hall:  "Never  will  Christ 
come  into  that  soul,  where  the  herald  of  re- 
pentance hath  not  been  before  him."' 

V.  6.  Relations  between  confession  of  sin 
and  baptism.  V.  7.  The  wrath  to  come. 
(1)  There  is  still  a  wrath  to  come.  (2)  We 
ought  to  flee  from  it.  (3)  We  ought  to  in- 
duce others  to  flee.  (4)  Mere  alarm  will 
not  secure  escape. — Coming  to  baptism  un- 
worthily: (1)  With  superficial  views  and 
impressions,  v.  7.  (2)  With  proud  self-re- 
liance, V.  9.  (3)  With  no  intention  to  live 
accordingly,  v.  8.  Ed.  Irving:  "But 
rougher  far  than  hairy  raiment  or  rocky 
wild  was  that  ungentle  voice  which  was  rung 
among  the  thousands  of  Israel.  Such  a  salu- 
tation as  he  opened  with  perhaps  never  smote 
the  pride  of  any  assembly,  'O  generation  of 
vipers!'  It  was  bitterly,  it  was  uncourtly, 
but  oh,  it  was  truly  said."  V.  8.  Theophy- 
LACT  :  "  We  must  not  only  flee  evil,  but  also 
produce  fruits  of  virtue." — Christianity  is 
positive. — V.  0.  Human  pride  humbled  by 
remembering  divine  sovereignty.— Folly  of 
rdying  on  a  pious  ancestry,  when  not  pious 
ourselves.    Christianity  does  not  propose  to 


save  men  by  nations  or   by  races,   but  in- 
dividually-. 

V.  10-12.  Christianity  discriminates:  (1)  The 
righteous  and  the  wicked  living  together. 
(2)  How  Christianity  discriminates  between 
them.  (3)  The  resulting  rewards  and  punish- 
ments. V.  10.  Theophylact:  "Not  'that 
did  not  produce,'  but  'that  does  not  produce' ; 
for  we  must  be  always  bearing  fruit.  If  you 
showed  mercy  yesterday,  but  plunder  to-day, 
you  do  not  please"  (God).  V.  11.  Henry: 
"  It  is  a  great  comfort  to  faithful  ministers,  to 
think  that  Jesus  Christ  is  mighter  than  they, 
can  do  that /or  them,  and  that  by  them,  which 
they  cannot  do;  his  strength  is  perfected  in 
their  weakness.  .  .  .  Those  whom  God  puts 
honor  upon,  are  thereby  made  very  humble 
and  low  in  theirown  eyes."  V.  12.  John's  illus- 
trations are  all  drawn  from  familiar  objects, 
and  mainly  rural — from  fruit-trees,  cutting 
with  an  ax,  threshing  and  winnowing  grain, 
stones  that  lie  around,  a  servant  carrying  his 
master's  sandals,  the  baptism  he  is  perform- 
ing, the  customs  as  to  marriage.  (Johns:  29.)  — 
Luther:  "Such  preaching  as  John's  does 
not  pass  away  without  fruits." 

13-17.— Baptism  of  Jesus. 

The  baptism  of  Jesus  forms  the  transition 
from  the  ministry  of  John  to  that  of  Jesus 
himself.  It  is  less  fully  described  by  ilark 
(1:9-11),  and  Luke.  (3:21,22.)  John's  Gospel 
gives  no  immediate  account  of  it,  but  per- 
haps alludes  to  it  afterwards.  (John  3 :  26.) 

13.  Then  is  a  connective  frequently  em- 
ployed by  Matthew  (e.  g.,  v.  5,  15;  4:  1,  0, 
10,  11).  In  some  cases  it  is  used  strictly,  in 
others  loosely,  designating  a  period  of  con- 
siderable extent,  like  the  phrase  'in  those 
days'  in  v.  1,  which  is  here  used  by  Murk. 
(1:  9.)  Matthew  does  not  here  mean  tlint  Jesus 
appeared  at  the  moment  when  Jolin  was 
speaking  the  preceding  words,  but  in  general, 
at  the  tinie  when  John  was  engageil  in  l)ii|i- 
tizing  and  preaching,  as  just  described.  AV'e 
have  no  means  of  a.scertaining  how  long  ho 
had  been  thus  engaged  before  Jesus  api>eare(I. 
We  learn  from  Luke  (»=  «.  Bev.  v»r.),  that 
Jesus,  when  ho  began  to  teach,  was  about 
thirty  years  of  age;  and  supposing  that  John 


54 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  Ill 


14  But  John  forbade  him,  saying,  I  have  need  to  be  I  14  unto  John,  to  be  baptized  of  him.    But  .Tohn  would 
baptizt:d  ol  iliue,  and  coiuest  thou  to  me?  |       have  hindered  hiiu,  sayiug,  I  have  need  to  be  bap- 


began  at  the  same  age,  his  ministry  had  al- 
ready been  exercised  some  six  months. 
(Luka  1 :  26.)  But  it  is  a  mistake  to  say  that  John 
must  liave  begun  at  the  age  of  thirty,  for  the 
age  fixed  by  the  law  as  to  Levites  (Num.  4:3, 33), 
was  shortly  afterwards  lowered  to  twenty-five 
(Num. 8: -24),  and  by  David  was  for  a  special 
reason  further  reduced  to  twenty  (ichron.  23: 
s*-27) ;    and    so    continued    under    Hezekiah 

(2Chrou.  31:  17),   aud  after  the    captivity  (Ezras:  8), 

and  most  likely  in  the  time  of  Christ,  when 
David's  courses  of  priests  were  certainly 
maintained,  and  probably  also  his  general 
arrangement  as  to  Levites.  Luke  says  it  was 
'when  all  the  people  were  baptized'  (of  course 
a  general  expression,  not  strictly  universal), 
which  implies  the  lapse  of  at  least  several 
months,  if  we  consider  the  journeys  neces- 
sary. As  Galilee  is  not  mentioned  in  v.  5, 
we  may  suppose  that  the  people  of  Galilee  in 
general  came  later  than  those  of  Judea,  and 
we  should  thus  have  an  external  reason  also 
for  Jesus'  late  arrival,  besides  his  internal 
reasons.  (Keim).  Others  from  Galilee  are 
soon  after  mentioned  (John  i;  35-47)  as  disciples 
of  John.  The  traditional  day  of  our  Lord's 
baptism  is  6  January  ('Epiphany,'  manifesta- 
tion), but  that  is  unlikely.  More  probablj' 
John  began  in  spring,  and  Jesus  was  baptized 
the  following  autumn,  of  A.  D.  26;  but  no 
exact  determination  is  made. 

Cometh,  arrives,  makes  his  appearance,  as 
in  v.  1.  From  Galilee,  i.  e.,  Nazareth  (2:22f.), 
as  Mark  here  expressly  states.  At  Nazareth, 
Jesus  has  been  living  since  his  infancy  (see 
above  at  close  of  chap.  2).  As  to  Galilee,  see 
on  4:  12.  To  Jordan.  The  traditional  place 
is  nearly  opposite  Jericho.  (See  on  v.  6.)  But 
the  place  cannot  be  determined.  John's  tes- 
timony to  Jesus,  apparently  a  few  weeks 
later,  was  given  at  Bethany  beyond  Jordan 
(John  1 :  '28.  Bethabara  is  a  false  reading), 
but  we  do  not  know  where  this  Bethany  was, 


besides  that  John  may  have  moved  in  the 
meantime,  as  he  certainly  moved  once(JohH 
3: 23),  and  probably  more  than  once.  (Joun  lo:  40.) 
Conder  and  Geikie  (comp.  Stanley)  think  the 
place  of  our  Lord's  baptism  was  far  up  the 
river,  near  Bethleh  m,  where  Conder  found  a 
ford  now  called  Abarah,  'crossing.'  This  lo- 
cality would  suit  the  circumstances,  but  the 
reading  Bethshean,  must  unquestionably  be 
rejected.  Bethany  might  (Kohler)  very  well 
mean  'ship-town'  (aniyah,  'ship'),  as  Beth- 
abara means  '  ford-town  '  or  '  ferry  town.' 
A  village  supported  by  boating  on  the  river 
might  perish  after  the  desolation  of  the  country 
by  the  Komans,  and  so  Origen  could  not  hear 
of  it,  and  avowedly  changed  Bethany  to  Beth- 
abara. The  similar  name  of  the  village  near 
Jerusalem  probably  signified  'date-town,'  or 
'poor-town.'  To  be  baptized.  The  con- 
struction of  the  original  distinctly  implies, 
what  the  connection  also  would  indicate,  that 
he  came  with  that  design.  Of  him,  where 
modern  English  would  say  'by.'  (See  on 
1:  22.) 

14  f.  The  reluctance  of  John  to  baptize 
Jesus,  with  what  was  said  by  them  on  the 
subject,  is  recorded  by  Matthew  alone.^ 

But  John  forbade— literally,  was  hinder' 
ing  him.  The  imperfect  tense  is  occasion- 
ally thus  used  to  denote  an  attempted  action, 
since  some  actions,  if  engaged  in  but  not 
completed,  must  be  afterwards  regarded  as 
only  attempted.  This  sense,  in  all  cases, 
grows  out  of  the  nature  of  the  action  and  the 
circumstances,  the  tense  itself  having  the 
same  meaning  as  elsewhere.''  The  verb  ren- 
dered 'hinder'  is  compounded  with  a  prepo- 
sition, which  increases  its  force,  'was  com- 
pletely hindering,'  'earnestly  sought  to 
hinder.'  In  the  next  clause,  all  the  pronouns 
are  emphatic :  '  /  have  need  to  be  baptized  by 
thee,  and  thou  comest  to  wie/'  or,  'and  couiest 
thou    to    me?'    an    expression    of    surprise, 


1 B,  N  and  the  Sahidic  version,  followed  by  Tisch.  and 
W  H.,  omit  'John,' and  then  the  Greek  signifies 'but 
he.'  It  is  easier  to  explain  this  subsequent  insertion  of 
'John  '  than  its  omission,  and  so  the  shorter  reading  is 
very  likely  correct ;  but  the  question  can  hardly  be  set- 
tled, and  is  practically  unimportant. 

-  The  rendering  of  Rev.  Ver., '  would  have  hindered 
bim,'  gives  the  idea  with  tolerable  success.    But  to  call 


this  (Bp.  Lightfoot  on  Revision)  a  "conditional  sense 
of  the  imperfect"  is  quite  unwarranted  and  unwise, 
for  it  is  merely  carrying  back  into  the  Greek  a  concep- 
tion suggested  by  the  approximate  translation  into 
English.  It  is  instructive  to  observe  how  often  able 
grammarians  fall  into  this  mistake  of  first  translating, 
and  then  supposing  the  original  to  contain  the  same 
forms  of  conception  as  the  conjectural  translation. 


Ch.  III.] 


MATTHEW. 


55 


whether  it  be  understood  as  an  exclamation 
(Euthyrn.),  or  as  a  question.  (Comp.  John  13: 
6.)  In  like  manner,  John's  mother  had  felt 
unworthy  of  a  visit  from  the  mother  of  her 
Lord.  (Luke  1:43.)  It  may  be  (Lutteroth)  that 
as  John  received  the  confession  of  others, 
and  administered  to  them  the  symbol  of  puri- 
fication, he  often  remembered  that  he  too  had 
sins  to  confess  and  turn  away  from,  and  there- 
fore felt  on  this  occasion  that  he  would  gladly 
receive  baptism  from  his  recognized  superior. 
There  is  no  sufficient  ground  for  supposing 
that  he  distinctly  expected  to  receive  this,  but 
he  felt  the  'need'  of  confession,  repentance, 
and  symbolical  purification.  And  the  idea 
of  Jesus,  administering  baptism  would  not  be 
strange,  for  he  did  afterwards  baptize  many,  by 
the  hands  of  his  disciples.  ( John 3 :  aa ;  * :  i  f.)  The 
notion  of  some  Fathers  (as  Chrys.)  that  John 
was  afterwards  actually  baptized  by  Jesus,  is 
not  only  without  warrant,  but  seems  excluded 
by  the  language  of  John  3:  26-28;  for  John's 
followers  would  in  that  case  have  expressed 
no  surprise,  and  John  would  have  settled  the 
matter  at  once.  (A  Lapide).  To  understand 
John  as  here  indicating  the  expectation  that 
Jesus  will  baptize  him  in  the  Holy  Spirit 
(Gill,  others),  is  strangely  to  confound  the 
literal  and  the  figurative,  as  wild  allegorizing 
often  leads  men  to  do.  Suffer  it  to  be  so 
now,  or,  perhaps,  'suffer  me  now,'  as  indi- 
cated by  the  last  clause,  'then  he  suffers  him.' 
Suffer  now  that  I  take  the  position  of  inferi- 
ority to  thee  by  receiving  baptism  at  thy 
hands;  the  time  has  not  yet  come  for  me  to 
assume  my  destined  position.  Becometh  us. 
Some  understand  'us'  of  Jesus  alone,  but 
against  all  probability,  since  in  the  preced- 
ing verse  both  persons  were  made  emphatic, 
and  since  the  reference  to  John  as  well  as 
himself  suits  the  connection.  John  thought 
it  would  be  presumption  in  him,  and  un- 
worthy condescension  in  this  superior  person- 
age, if  he  should  baptize  Jesus ;  but  Jesus 
declares  it  quite  appropriate,  becoming,  for 
them  both — putting  the  declaration,  however, 
in  the  form  of  a  general  statement:  for  thus  it 
becometh  us  to  fulfil  all  righteousness, 
'every  (kind  of)  righteousness.'  Fulfil,  see 
on  1 :  22,  here  signifies  to  perform  fully. 
Baptism  was  divinely  commanded  (sec  21: 
2-')),  and  though  coupled  with  the  confession 
I'f  sin  and  avowal  of  repentance,  was  at  the  i 


same  time  the  expression  of  a  readiness  to 
welcome  the  approach  of  the  reign  of  heaven, 
and  of  a  desire  to  share  therein.  It  was 
therefore  right  for  all  good  men  to  be  bap- 
tized; and  Jesus,  as  a  man,  was  under  obli- 
gations to  do  whatever  was  incumbent  on 
other  good  men.  The  remarkable  relation 
which  he  and  John  sustained  to  each  other 
and  to  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  did  not  prevent 
its  being  proper  for  each  of  them  fully  to  per- 
form everything  that  was  righteous;  and  so 
in  this  case  did  not  prevent  its  being  proper 
that  he  should  be  baptized,  and  that  John 
should  baptize  him.  (Comp.  Gill).  Such 
seems  to  be  the  obvious  and  simple  meaning 
of  this  expression. 

But  many  theories  have  been  presented  as 
to  the  significance  and  propriety  ofour  Lord's 
baptism.  (1)  Some  hold  that  Jesus  was  bap- 
tized as  a  consecration  to  the  office  and  work 
of  Messiah.  But  was  purification  a  consecra- 
tion? It  was  sometimes  preliminary  to  con- 
secration, but  the  latter  was  effected  by  lay- 
ing on  the  altar.  And  if  the  Messiah,  '  the 
anointed,'  was  to  be  consecrated  by  any  cere- 
mony, it  would  naturally  have  been  by 
anointing.  (2)  Others  say  that  in  baptism 
he  was  consecrated  as  priest.  But  Jesus  was 
not  literally  a  priest.  He  had  no  connection 
whatever  with  the  priestly  line,  and  he  did 
not  do  the  work  of  a  Jewish  priest.  As  "a 
priest  after  the  order  of  Melchizedek  "  he  had 
nothing  to  do  with  ceremonies.  (3)  Many 
have  adopted  the  view  given  already  by  Jus- 
tin Martyr  ("Tryph."  88):  "Jesus  did  not 
come  to  the  river  as  himself  needing  to  be  bap- 
tized, or  needing  the  Spirit's  descent  upon 
him;  but  just  as  he  was  born  and  crucified  not 
as  needing  them  but  for  the  benefit  of  the  hu- 
man race,  so"  ....  while  men  thougiit  of 
him  as  a  carpenter,  "the  Holy  Spirit  for  tlie 
sake  of  mankind  flew  down  upon  hin\  in  the 
form  of  a  dove,"  and  a  voice  declared  him 
the  Son  of  God.  (So  in  substance  Clirys., 
Euthym).  This  view,  as  developed  and  ex- 
pressed in  modern  theological  i)hrase,  is  tliat 
lie  was  baptized  vicariously'.  (Comp.  John  1: 
29).  But  what  Christ  did  for  men  vicariously 
he  did  because  men  could  not  do  it  and  tliat 
they  might  escape  the  penalty  of  their  failure; 
was  that  in  any  sense  true  of  baptism?  Jus- 
tin's statement  is  in  a  general  sense  true,  but 
the  vicarious  theory  cannot  be  sustained.     In 


56 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  III. 


' 


15  And  Jesus  answering  said  unto  him,  SuflTer  il  to  be 
so  now:  lor  thus  it  becometh  us  to  lulBl  all  righteous- 
ness.   Then  he  sutJered  him. 

lij  And  Jesus,  wheu  lie  was  baptized,  went  up  straight- 
way out  ol  the  water:  and,  lo,  the  heavens  were  opened 
unto  him,  and  he  saw  tlie  Spirit  of  tiod  descending  like 
a  dove,  and  lighting  upon  him : 


15  tized  of  thee,  and  coniest  thou  to  me?  But  Jesus  an- 
swering said  unto  him.  Sutler  ^it  now.  for  thus  it 
becometh  us  to  fultil  all  righteousness.     Then  he 

16  sulfereth  him.  And  Jesus,  when  he  was  baptized, 
went  up  straightway  Irom  the  water:  and  lo,  the 
heavens  were  opened  2  unto  him,  and  he  saw  the 
Spirit  of  (jod  descending  as  a  dove,  and  coming  upon 


1  Or,  me 'i  Some  auoleni  authoriti<u  omit  unto  him. 


general,  we  ought  to  beware  of  forcing  the 
ideas  of  vicarious  action  and  imputed  right- 
eousness upon  tliose  portions  of  Scripture 
which  do  not  clearly  present  them.  (4)  A 
recent  writer  ^Kirtley  on  "Design  of  Bap- 
tism") sa3's  that  the  chief  object  of  the  bap- 
tism of  Jesus  was  to  symbolize  at  the  begin- 
ning the  crowning  acts  of  his  work  ;  that  our 
Lord  "did  '  fulfil  all  righteousness,'  actually 
in  his  work,  symbolically  in  his  baptism"; 
and  that  he  "  associates  his  followers  with 
himself  in  this  matter,"  saying,  "In  this 
ordinance  it  is  fitting  that  I  and  my  followers 
should  fulfil  all  righteousness."  This  fancy 
is  ingenious  but  far-fetched,  and  the  latter 
part  quite  baseless,  (b)  The  simple  and  nat- 
ural view,  for  all  who  do  not  insist  on  carry- 
ing back  the  Pauline  doctrine  of  imputed 
righteousness,  is  the  one  already  stated.  It 
was  proper  for  all  devout  Jews  to  be  baptized  ; 
therefore  it  was  proper  for  Jesus.  If  one  so 
deeply,  though  hitherto  quietly  devout,  had 
stayed  away  from  the  ministry  and  baptism 
of  the  new  prophet,  it  would  have  been  set- 
ting a  very  bad  example,  unless  explained ; 
and  explanation  of  his  future  position  and 
work  could  not  then  be  given,  even  if  it  was 
then  entirely  plain  to  his  own  inind.  Not- 
withstanding the  peculiar  mission  of  John  and 
Jesus,  it  was  becoming  that  they  should  fully 
perform  everything  righteous.  (So  in  sub- 
stance, Meyer,  Ewald,  Bleek,  Farrar,  Geikie, 
Edersh. ;  Grotius  alreadj',  and  comp.  Cal- 
vin. Davidson  translates 'every  duty.'  Hase, 
Keim,  and  others,  regard  baptism  in  the 
case  of  Jesus  as  simply  a  votn  of  devotion  to 
the  approaching  Messianic  reign,  which  is 
part  of  the  truthV  A  somewhat  similar  case 
occurs  in  17:  24  ff.  Jesus  there  intimates 
that  he  might,  as  the  Son  of  God,  claim  ex- 
emption from  the  payment  of  the  temple- 
contributions,  but  that  the  rulers  might  make 
his  refusal  an  excu.se  for  rejecting  him,  and  so 
he  will  do  as  all  devout  Jews  do,  and  pay  it. 

16.  Straightway,  or,  immediately.     The 
stress  laid  on  his  going  up  immediately  might 


possibly  be  understood  as  meaning  that 
whereas  in  that  warna  climate  the  newly  bap- 
tized often  stood  some  time  in  the  river, wait- 
ing till  others  had  been  baptized  and  many 
could  ascend  together,  Jesus  was  alone  in  this 
matter  and  ascended  without  delay.  Euthyni- 
ius  mentions  the  view  that  others  were  de- 
tained by  John  in  the  water  till  they  confessed 
their  sins,  and  Jesus  went  up  immediately 
because  he  had  no  sins  to  confess;  but  it 
would  seem  much  more  likely  that  the  con- 
fession was  made  before  than  after  the  bap- 
tism. The  true  explanation  seems  to  be 
furnished  by  Mark,  who  says  (i:io),  'and 
straightway,  coming  up  out  of  the  water,  he 
saw  the  heavens  opened.'  This  makes  it 
likely  that  in  Matthew  also  the  real  thought 
is  that  the  opening  of  the  heavens  and  descent 
ofthe  dove  followed  immediately  upon  the  bap- 
tism. Events  followed  each  other  quickly — 
baptized,  ascended,  saw.  (Keim.)  The  sense  is 
brought  out  by  putting  only  a  comma  after 
'  water,'  and  reading  right  on.  Luke  3 :  21  has 
not  the  word  '  immediately,'  but  what  he  says 
isto  the  same  efl^ect.  Out  of ,  or,  from.  This 
preposition- does  not  in  itself  show  whether  he 
had  been  in  the  water.  The  correct  text  in 
Mark  1 :  10  is  'out  of,'  and  does  show  that  he 
had  been  in  the  water;  and  so  in  Acts  8:  39. 
When  we  say  that  a  person  has  just  come 
'from  the  house,'  '  from  the  town,'  we  regard 
the  house  or  town,  so  far  as  this  expression  is 
concerned,  as  the  point  of  departure;  the  cir- 
cumstances will  usually  indicate  whether  he 
was  in  the  house  or  town  before  coming; 
(e.^.,  Acts  13:  13;  16:11;  25:1).  So  the  same 
action  is  frequentlj'  described  by  '  from '  and 
'out  of,'  the  latter  expressly  stating  what  the 
former  leaves  to  be  understood.  Thus  in  7 :  4, 
Kev.  Ver. :  'Let  me  cast  out  the  mote 
from  thine  eye,'  (most  MSS.);  and  in  v. 
5,  'out  of  thine  eye.'  In  17:  18,  departed, 
or  came  forth  from  him,  while  Mark  9: 
25  has  'out  of  him.'  Comp.  on  24:  1. 
So  in  .Tobit  6:3.  'A  fish  leaped  up  from 
the  river,   and   wished  to  devour   the    lad.' 


Ch.  III.] 


MATTHEW. 


57 


Certainly  the  fish  had  been  in  the  river.  Here 
in  Matthew  the  connection  and  circumstances 
make  it  phiin  tliat  Jesus  had  been  in  the  water, 
and  so  Tyndale  transhxted  'out  of,'  followed 
by  other  English  A'ersions  down  to  the  com- 
mon version.  Even  the  Eheims,  abandoning 
"Wyclif's  'fro,'  and  taking  liberties  with  the 
Vulgate  de,  renders  'out  of.'  The  correct 
translation  in  Matthew  is  however  'from,' 
and  so  all  recent  versions.  But  the  rendering 
of  the  older  versions  shows  that  they  plainly 
saw  what  the  facts  were.  (Tyndale  and  his 
followers  render  similarly  in  14:  13  and  Luke 
12:  54.  Text.  Rec.)  As  to  the  exact  force  of 
the  expression  'out  of  (Mark  and  Acts)  in 
such  a  case,  comp.  below  on  17:  9,  literally, 
'out  of  the  mountain.'  This  means  that  they 
had  been  in,  within,  the  limits  represented  b^' 
the  mountain,  though  not  under  its  soil. 
And  so  it  is  conceivable  that  'out  of  the 
river,^  if  that  were  the  expression  here,  might 
under  peculiar  circumstances  be  used  where 
one  had  only  been  amid  the  reeds  on  the 
shore,  or  under  the  steep  bank — anywhere 
within  the  space  denoted  by  the  river  (comp. 
on  3:  6).  Such  an  expression  would  be  pos- 
sible in  such  a  sense,  however  unlikely  to  be 
u^ed.  But  'out  of  the  water'  must  signify 
that  the  person  had  been  within  the  limits 
denoted  by  the  water;  and  the  bank,  though 
in  some  sense  a  part  of  the  river,  is  in  no 
sense  a  part  of  the  water.  Of  course  these  ex- 
pressions do  not  of  themselves  show  that  the 
person  has  been  enveloped  in  the  water;  we 
may  speak  of  a  man  as  'in  the  water'  when 
he  is  simply  standing  in  it.  It  w^ould  thus  be 
possible — however  improbable  and  unnatural 
— if  we  had  no  guide  here  but  the  preposition 
'out  of  in  Mark  and  the  circumstances  in 
Matthew,  to  understand  that  Jesus  merely 
•tood  in  the  stream  and  had  water  put  upon 
his  head.  But  when  these  expressions  stand 
in  connection  with  bnptizo,  which  everybody 
agrees  j)rimarily  and  commonly  meant  'im- 
merse,' then  the  inference  is  inevitable. 

The  heavens  were  opened  unto  him^i 
not  merely  signifyingso  that  hecould  see  into 
tlie  heavens,  but  for  him,  for  his  benefit,  so  as 
to  affect  or  concern  him.  '  Him  '  is  naturally 
understood  as  referring  to  Jesus,  the  subject 


of  the  preceding  clause.  Some  writers  urge 
that  John  is  the  subject  of  the  preceding 
verses,  and  thus  of  the  whole  connection;  but 
V.  16  introduces  a  distinct  subdivision  of  the 
narrative. — Luke  mentions  (3: 21)  that  Jesus 
was  at  the  time  praying.— The  opening  of  the 
heavens  was  doubtless  an  actual  miraculous 
appearance,  such  as  is  frequently  mentioned 

elsewhere.   (Ezek.   l:  l;  Isa.  64:  1;    Acts?:  56;   Rev.  4:  I.) 

Mark,  in  his  vivid  way  has,  literally,  'he  saw 
the  heavens  splitting,'  in  the  act  of  parting 
asunder.  An«l  he  saw,  i.  e.,  Jesus  saw. 
Mark  (i:  lo)  unmistakably  refers  the  se'eing  to 
Jesus,  and  it  is  natural  so  to  understand  here. 
Some  say  that,  if  so,  'him'  at  the  end  of  the 
sentence  would  have  to  be  '  himself,'  but  this 
is  a  mistake  (Winer,  151  [189J.  Comp.  John 
1  :  48).  We  learn  from  John  1:  32  that  the 
Baptizer  also  saw,  as  it  had  been  promised  he 
should.  Luke  merely  states  the  objective 
fact  that  the  heaven  opened  and  the  Spirit 
descended,  without  saying  who  saw.  We 
cannot  decide  whether  any  one  else  thaa 
Jesus  and  John  saw  and  heard,  but  prob- 
ably not.  On  the  occasion  spoken  of  in 
John  12:  28  AT.,  the  people  heard  a  sound 
from  heaven,  which  they  thought  was  thun- 
der, but  did  not  distinguish  words.  At  the 
appearance  of  Jesus  to  Saul  (Act<9: 7;  22:  9),  they 
that  were  with  him  saw  the  light  and  heard  a 
sound,  but  did  not  distinguish  the  words.  So 
probably  here.  True,  the  testimony  as  given 
by  Matthew,  'This  is,'  etc.,  was  addressed  to 
some  other  than  Jesus  himself,  but  it  is 
enough  to  understand  that  it  was  addressed  to 
John,  as  in  17:  5,  to  but  a  few  persons.  John 
shortly  afterwards  (.i«hn  1:32-34)  testified  to  what 
he  had  seen.  Descending  like  a  dove,  lit- 
erally, as  if.  The  expression  leaves  it  doubt- 
ful whether  the  comparison  is  with  the  form 
of  a  dove,  or  with  a  dove's  manner  of  descend- 
ing. Precisely  the  same  expression  'as  if  is 
employed  by  Mark,  Luke,  and  John.  (i:S2.) 
Lukesays,  'descendedin  bodily  shape,  like(rt.<t 
if)  a  dove,'  which  naturally,  though  not  neces- 
sarily, indicates  that  it  was  in  th(>  shajie  of  a 
dove.  Expositors  are  here  greatly  divided. 
But  it  is  certain  that  some  bodily  form  was 
assumed.  That  of  the  gentle  and  guileless 
dove  (comp.  10:  16)   would  bo  natural   and 


' 'Unto  him' Is  wanting  In  several  of  theearliest  and  .  place, as  appoarlnjf  to  confine  the  view  to  him.  The 
hest  authorilies,  and  not  found  in  Luke  3:  21.  It  might '  question  is  difficult,  and  MninipDrtant,  but  the  exprcs- 
bave  »eeiued  to  some  copyists  and  translators  out  of  I  sion  is  most  probably  gcnuiue. 


1 


58 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  hi. 


17  And  lo  a  voice  from  heaven,  saying,  This  is  my  |  17  him;  and  lo,  a  voice  out  of  the  heavens,  saying;,  iTliis 
beloved  Sjou,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased.  |       is  my  beloved  Son, in  whom  I  am  well  pleased. 

1  Or,  Thit  it  my  Son  ;  my  betovtd  in  wAom  /  am  weU  pleated.    See  cb.  xil.  18. 


suggestive,  while  a  dove's  manner  of  descend- 
ing is  hardly  so  peculiar  and  striking  that  a 
mere  resemblance  to  it  in  movement  would 
have  been  carefully  recorded  by  each  of  the 
Evangelists.  It  seems  therefore  reasonable 
to  adhere  to  the  ancient  opinion  (Justin 
Martyr,  Origen,  Chrys.,  and  others),  that  the 
Spirit  descended  in  the  form  of  a  dove.  It 
has  been  often  repeated  that  a  Eabbinical  in- 
terpretation of  Gen.  1 :  2,  lilcens  the  Spirit  of 
God  'brooding  upon  the  fiice  of  the  waters' 
to  a  dove.  But  Edersh.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  287,  quite 
explains  this  away,  and  also  states  that  the 
Targum  on  Song  2:  12,  which  declares  'the 
voice  of  the  turtle'  to  be  the  voice  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  dates  considerably  later  than  the 
Talmud.  So  there  seems  to  be  no  ground  for 
the  Jewish  claim,  that  this  appearance  of  a 
dove  has  earlier  Rabbinical  parallels.  Yet  if 
the  claim  were  well  supported,  it  would  not 
be  surprising.  We  recognize  it  as  one  of  the 
excellencies  of  the  Scriptures,  that  the  form 
of  the  revelation  is  constantly  in  accordance 
with  the  modes  of  conception  natural  to  man, 
and  even  sometimes  conformed  to  the  peculiar 
ways  of  thinking  of  the  people  chosen  to  re- 
ceive it.  Comp.  on  7:  3-5.  Morison  quotes 
Varenius  as  saying,  "  It  was  not  as  an  eagle, 
but  as  a  dove;  an  animal  corresponding 
among  birds  to  thelamb  among  beasts."  And 
lighting,  or  coming,  upon  him.  It  was  idle 
to  translate  the  plain  'coming'  by  'lighting.' 
The  Baptizer  afterwards  testified  {Johni:3i) 
that  it  'abode,'  or  'remained,  on  him,'  i.  e., 
probably  for  some  time,  thus  symbolizing  the 
'great  fact  that  the  Mediator  was  to  be  hence- 
forth permanently  and  peculiarly  in  union 
with  and  under  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
Accordingly  we  find  immediately  after  (4:i) 
that  Jesus  is  said  to  be  '  led  up  by  the  Spirit,' 
etc.  (Comp.  John  3:  34.)  The  coming  of  the 
Spirit  upon  our  Lord  was  so  very  peculiar  in 
its  relation  to  his  office,  that  we  are  scarcely 
warranted  in  taking  it  as  the  ground  of  a  peti- 
tion that  the  Spirit  would  bles,s  any  ordinary 
baptismal  occasion.  Such  a  blessing  should  be 
fervently  sought,  but  hardly  on  this  ground. 
17.    And  lo!    a   voice  from*  —  out  of— 


heaven — rather,  the  heavens,  plural,  as  in 
the  preceding  verse  (see  on  v.  2).  So  Mark, 
while  Luke  uses  the  singular.  We  also  often 
say  'heaven'  and  'the  heavens'  indiflerently. 
The  Talmud  has  many  stories  of  a  voice  from 
heaven,  coming  to  decide  questions,  to  com- 
mend certain  teachers,  etc.,  and  calls  it  Bath 
kol,  'daughter  of  a  voice,'  perhaps  meaning 
a  faint  sound  as  if  coming  from  a  great  dis- 
tance. See  Lf.,  Gill,  Wiinsche.  Edersh.  in- 
sists that  there  is  no  real  analogy  between  the 
Bath  kol  and  this  voice  from  heaven.  There 
is  no  intrinsic  objection  to  the  idea  of  a  re- 
semblance. Here  also,  as  in  v.  16,  we  see 
that  revelation  adapts  its  choice  of  a  form 
to  the  popular  mind.  Other  instances  of  a 
voice  from  heaven,  see  in  John  12:  28;  and 
to  a  certain  extent  in  Matthew  17  :  5;  Acts  9: 
4;  Rev.  1:  10.  Comp.  Acts  2:  2.  This  is. 
Mark  1 :  11  (according  to  the  best  authorities 
for  the  text)  and  Luke  3:  22,  have  'Thou  art 
my  beloved  son,  in  thee,'  etc.  Of  course,  it 
cannot  be  that  both  of  these  are  the  words 
actually  spoken.  As  to  the  authenticity  of 
the  narrative,  such  slight  and  wholly  un- 
important variations  really'  confirm  it,  be- 
ing precisely  such  as  always  occur  in  the 
independent  testimony  of  dift'erent  witnesses. 
As  to  the  complete  inspiration  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, we  must  accept  it  as  one  of  the  facts  of 
the  case  that  the  inspired  writers  not  unfre- 
quently  report  merely  the  substance  of  what 
was  said,  without  aiming  to  give  the  exact 
words.  So,  for  example,  at  the  institution  of 
the  Supper  (26:26ff.),  in  Gethsemane  (26:39fr.), 
in  the  inscription  on  the  cross  (27  =  37),  etc.  In 
some  instances  of  such  variation  we  may  sup- 
pose that  the  exact  expressions  given  by  the 
diflPerent  writers  were  all  employed  in  the  con- 
nection, but  in  other  cases  that  hypothesis  is 
unwarranted.  While  such  facts  as  these 
should  make  us  cautious  in  theorizing  as 
to  verbal  inspiration,  they  do  not  require  us 
to  lay  aside  the  belief  that  the  inspiration  of 
Scripture  is  complete,  that  the  inspired  writers 
have  everywhere  told  us  just  what  God  would 
have  us  know. 
The  words  spoken  are  the  same  that  were 


iTyndale  and  followers  translated  apo  by  'out  of  in  v.  16,  and  ek  by  'from'  in  v.  17. 


[Ch.  III. 


MATTHEW. 


69 


uttered  on  the  Mount  of  Transfigunition. 
(17:5;  2 Pet.  1:17.)  The  persoH  referred  to  was 
known  in,  that  case  by  the  transfigured  ap- 
pearance, and  here  by  the  descent  of  the  dove 
upon  him.  The  Greek  is  more  emphatic: 
'ihis  is  my  son,  the  beloved.' — There  is  no 
propriety  in  saying,  with  some  expositors,  that 
'beloved'  signifies  'only  begotten.'  As  ap- 
plied to  our  Lord,  the  two  terms  are  to  a 
certain  extent  equivalent,  and  they  are  some- 
times confounded  by  the  Sept.  translators, 
but  there  is  of  course,  a  distinction  between 
them.  Ill  whom  I  am — or,  was— well 
pleased,  or,  '  in  whom  I  delighted.'  The  tense 
of  the  verb  may  be  understood  as  denoting 
what  took  place  at  some  indefinite  past  time, 
and  from  the  nature  of  the  case  still  holds 
good;  as  in  23:  2,  literally,  'The  Scribes  and 
the  Pharisees  sat  down  in  Moses'  seat,'  and 
so  are  sitting  there  now — where  in  English 
we  should  say,  'have  sat  down.'  (So  Wi- 
ner, 278  [347],  Buttm.,  198.)  If  this  view  be 
adopted,  the  rendering  of  the  Common  Ver- 
sion expresses  the  substantial  meaning  pretty 
well.  But  the  Greek  tense  more  naturally 
denotes  some  past  time,  to  be  determined  from 
the  connection,  from  the  nature  of  the  case, 
or  from  other  teachings  of  Scripture.  The 
time  here  referred  to  might  be  that  indicated 
by  Ps.  2:  7;  by  Isa.  42:  1  (which  is  perhaps 
alluded  to  here,  and  is  quoted  below  in  12: 
18);  also  by  John  17:  24;  Eph.  1:4.  In  the 
depths  of  eternity,  before  creation  began, 
God  loved,  delighted  in,  his  Eternal  Son; 
and  now  at  the  baptism  and  the  transfigura- 
tion, he  bears  witness  to  him,  alluding  to 
-uch  declarations  as  the  above,  and  saying: 
This  is  my  Son,  the  beloved,  in  whom  my 
>oul  delighted.'  This  latter  explanation  is 
perhaps  preferable,  but  it  is  hard  to  decide; 
and  both  agree  as  to  the  main  resulting  sense, 
that  the  Father  delights  in  him  now.  This 
declaration  might  make  more  real  to  the 
human  mind  of  Jesus  that  peculiar  sonship 
to  God  of  which  he  had  in  childhood  already 
indicated  consciousness.  (i.uke2:<9.)  Such  a 
view  connects  itself  (Calvin)  with  the  fact 
that  he  was  praying  (Luke3:2i,22)  when  the 
voice  came.  It  was  also  a  commendation  of 
him  to  John,  who  soon  after  bore  witnes.s 
before  all  (Johiius*)  'that  this  is  the  Son  of 
God' ;  just  as  at  the  transfiguration  the  voice 
came  to  the  three  disciples  also,  who  were  to 


testify  at  the  proper  time,  (n:  9.)— Apocryphal 
writers  in  the  second  and  third  centuries 
make  fanciful  additions  to  this  account,  as 
that  a  great  light  shone  round  the  place,  that 
a  fire  was  kindled  in  the  Jordan  (perhaps  a 
fancy  wrought  out  of  3:  11),  and  that  the 
voice  added,  'I  to-day  have  begotten  thee.' 

HOMILETICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

Keil  :  "  The  baptism  of  Jesus  the  culmina- 
tion of  John's  ministry,  and  the  beginning  of 
that  of  Jesus."  Ewald  :  "The  birth-hour  of 
Christianity."  Unknown  in  Aquinas:  "As 
when  the  morning  star  has  risen,  the  sun 
does  not  wait  for  that  star  to  set,  but  rising  as 
it  goes  forward,  gradually  obscures  its  bright- 
ness ;  so  Christ  waited  not  for  John  to  finish 
his  course,  but  appeared  while  heyet  taught." 

V.  13.  Importance  of  Baptism  :  Not  as  car- 
rying with  it  regeneration,  or  procuring  re- 
mission, but  1)  an  imitation  of  Clirist's  exam- 
ple; 2)  an  act  of  Christ's  own  appointment 
*28:  19;  3) an  oath  of  allegiance  to  Ciirist,  'in 
the  name' ;  4)  a  symbol  of  purification  from 
sin  through  Christ,  Acts  22:  16;  5)  a  symbol 
of  burial  and  resurrection  in  union  with 
Christ,  Kom.  6:  4.  V.  14.  How  often  are 
well-meant  but  utterly  mistaken  efllbrts  made 
to  dissuade  persons  from  what  is  entirely 
right.  Such  eflPorts  frequently  proceed,  as 
here,  from  the  misapplication  of  something 
that  is  true.  John's  twofold  difficulty  (comp. 
Lange)  ;  1)  to  baptize  the  Piiarisees  and  Sad- 
ducees,  who  were  unworthy  of  his  baptism; 
2)  To  baptize  Jesus,  of  whom  his  baptism  was 
unworthy. — Jolin's  baptism  highly  honored: 

1)  It  was  of  divine  appointment,  John  1 :  33; 

2)  It  gave  name  to  his  whole  work,  'the  bap- 
tism of  John'  (21:25),  John  tlie  Baptizer;  3) 
It  was  received  by  great  multitudes ;  4)  Even 
the  Saviour  submitted  to  it;  5)  Jesus  baptized 
on  like  conditions,  John  3:  22;  4:  1,  2;  Mark 
1 :  14). 

V.  15.  Here  for  the  first  time  in  this  Gospel 
our  Lord  |)re.sents  an  example  to  us.  L(!t  us 
bo  careful  in  all  that  follows  to  seek  his  foot- 
steps and  learn  to  walk  in  thcni.  (i  ivt.  2:  21 ; 
ijobn2: 6;  1  Cor.  11: 1.) — A  regard  for  wliat  is  hc- 
cominff  requires  us  not  merely  to  consider  the 
opinions  of  mankind,  but  our  own  n-al  char- 
acter and  relations.  To  consider  in  tliis  high 
sen.se  what  becomes  us,  is  an  exalted  and  in- 
spiring view  of  life.      Comp.    Ileb.  2:    10. — 


60 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  IV. 


T 


HEN  was  Jestis  led  up  of  th%  Spirit  into  the  wilder- 
ness to  be  tempted  of  the  devil. 


CHAPTEE IV. 

Then  was  Jesus  led  up  of  the  Spirit  into  the  wilder^ 


Our  Lord's  baptism  as  an  example:  1)  It  is 
right  for  those  who  wish  to  take  part  in  the 
Messiah's  reign  to  be  baptized.  (Jesus  re- 
garded this  as  a  part  of  righteousness.)  2) 
The  most  extraordinary  character  and  cir- 
cumstances do  not  make  it  becoming  to 
neglect  this  duty.  3)  The  mistaken  oppo- 
sition of  devout  friends  should  not  prevent 
our  performing  it.  4)  Loving  obedience  is 
apt  to  be  followed  by  an  approving  testimony. 
Hexry:  "They  who  are  of  greatest  attain- 
ments in  gifts  and  graces  should  yet  in  their 
place  bear  their  testimony  to  instituted  ordi- 
nances by  a  humble  and  diligent  attendance 
on  them,  that  they  may  give  a  good  example 
to  others."  Ambrose:  "Also  like  a  wise 
master  inculcating  his  doctrines  as  much  by 
his  own  practice  as  by  word  of  mouth,  he  did 
that  which  he  commanded  his  disciples  to  do. 
The  Roman  Cato  said,  'Submit  to  the  law 
•which  thou  thyself  hast  enacted.'  " 

V.  16.  Griffith:  "Just  as  the 'veil  of  the 
temple  was  rent  in  twain'  to  symbolize  the 
perfect  access  of  all  men  to  God  (Heb.  lo:  i9,  20), 
so  here  the  heavens  are  'rent  asunder '(same 
Greek  word),  to  show  how  near  God  is  to 
Jesus  and  Jesus  is  to  God.  So  in  John  1 :  51, 
Kev.  Ver.,  'Ye  shall  see  heaven  opened,  and 
the  angels  ascending  and  descending'  (to  and 
fro  between  me  and  God),  that  is.  You  shall 
see  that  I  am  living  in  uninterrupted  com- 
munication with  the  Father."  —  Luther: 
"Highest  things.  1)  The  highest  preacher, 
God.  2)  The  highest  pulpit,  the  heavens. 
3)  The  highest  sermon:  'This  is  my  be- 
loved Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased.'  " 


Ch.  4:  1-11.    The  Temptation. 

The  Temptation  concludes  Matthew's  ac- 
count of  events  connected  with  our  Lord's 
entrance  upon  his  public  work  (see  on  3 :  1, 
13).  That  work  was  now  about  to  begin,  and 
he  was  doubtless  meditating  upon  it.  Some 
recent  critics  go  to  great  lengths  in  speculating 
upon  the  '"plan"  of  Jesus,  at  this  and  subse- 


quent periods.  There  is  little  or  no  indication 
of  any  plan,  and  such  unsupported  specula- 
tions seem  unprofitable  and  unwise.  But  his 
meditations  in  beginning  his  work  would  fur- 
nish the  natural  occasion  for  such  special 
temptations  as  are  here  depicted.  These  are. 
also  recorded  by  Luke  (*:i-i3),  and  briefly 
mentioned  by  Mark,  (i:  12  f.) 

1.  Then  (see  on  3 :  13),  viz.,   when  he  had 
been    baptized.      Luke    implies,    and    Mark^ 
states,  that  it  was   'immediately'   after  the 
baptism.     Led  up,  i.  e.,   from  the  valley  of 
the  Jordan  (see  on  3 :  G)  into  the  higher  land.^ 
Into  the  wilderness  (see  on  3:  1).     Some 
recent  writers  (Stanley,  Plumptre)   make  it, 
east  of  the  Jordan,  but  the  general  use  of  theJ 
term  in  the  N.  T.  favors  the  common  viewa 
that  it  was  on  the  west.     Luke's  'returned^ 
(♦:  1)  also  favors  this  view,  but  does  not  settle 
the  question,  for  Jesus  may  have  crossed  be- 
low the  Lake  of  Galilee,  and  come  through 
Perea  to  be  baptized,  as  the  Galileans  often! 
took  this  route  to  Jerusalem.     The  notion  that , 
it  was  the  wilderness  of  Sinai  is  founded  only 
on  the  fact  that  there  occurred  the  fortj'  days' 
fast  of  Moses  and  of  Elijah. — It  was  certainly 
a  very  retired  and  wild  part  of  the  '  wilder- 
ness,'  for  Mark  says,   with  one  of  his  vivid 
descriptive  touches,  '  and  he  was  with  the  wild  j 
beasts.'    A  tradition  which  appears  first  in  the' 
time  of  the  Crusades  places  it  in  a  mountain 
just  west  of  Jericho,  hence  called  Quaranta-] 
nia,  (a  place  of  forty  days  ;  comp.  quarantine^ 
a  forty  days'   detention).     This  mountain  is' 
six  or  eight  miles  from  the  traditional  place  of 
the  baptism,  and  rises  some  fifteen  hundred 
feet  almost  perpendicularly  from  the  plain  of 
the  Jordan,  which  is  here  at  its  widest  part. 
In  the  rocky  face    of    the  mountain  are  the 
openings  of  numerous  artificial  caves,  made 
by  monks  of  the  Crusading  period,  perhaps 
some  of  them  by  old  Jewish  Eremites.     But  to 
our  modern  feeling  it  seems  unlikely  that  our 
Lord  withdrew  to  a  cave,  and  probable  that 
he  went  further  away  from  the  populous  plain 
of  Jericho.     Some  think  (Schaff)  that  Quar- 


1  The  meaning  of  thla' up'  was  obscured  to  early  and  1  have  simply  'was  led.'     Tyndale  gave  Medd  awaye,' 
later  translators  by  their  ignorance  of  the  geography  of    and  was  followed  by  Cranmer  and  Geneva. 
Palestine.     The  Latin  versions  and  the  Pesh.  Syriac  ' 


Ch.  IV.] 


MATTHEW. 


61 


antania  may  have  been  the  place  of  the  third 
temptation,  if  not  of  those  preceding,  which 
is  quite  possible.  After  all,  it  may  be  that  a 
special  providence  caused  the  precise  locality 
of  this  and  many  other  events  in  our  Lord's 
history  to  be  left  unknown,  for  the  purpose 
of  restraining  superstition.  The  Spirit,  viz., 
the  Spirit  of  God,  well  known  and  just  men- 
tioned. (3:18.)  Luke  says  he  was  'full  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.'  From  the  time  of  his  baptism 
(see  on  3:  16)  we  find  frequent  statements  that 
the  God-man,  the  Mediator,  was  specially  and 
powerfully  under  the  influence  of  the  Holy 

Spirit  (JobD  3:  31;  Luie  4:  14;  Matt.  12:  28;  Acts  1:  2),  aS 
had  been  predicted.    (Isa.  42:1;  Matt.  12:  is ;  Isa.  61:1; 

Luke4:i8.)  The  tcmi  led,  employed  also  by 
Luke,  appears  to  denote  only  an  internal  im- 
pulse wrought  by  the  Spirit.  Mark  (1  =  12) 
expresses  the  same  idea  by  a  strong  figure, 
literally',  'tiie  Spirit  casts  him  forth  into  the 
wilderness.'  "This  is  the  language  of  the 
prophet-paroxysm,  seized  with  an  irresistible 
impulse;  so  the  'holy  men  of  old'  were  im- 
pelled by  the  Spirit.  (Kiek.40:2.)"  (Beecher.) 
To  be  tempted.  The  Greek  word  signifies 
to  try,  or  make  trial  of,  to  test.  The  motive 
of  such  testing  or  trial  may  be  good  or  bad. 
(1)  The  object  may  be  to  ascertain  character, 
to  develop  and  make  manifest  its  excellen- 
cies, or  to  expose  its  faults,  that  they  may 
be  mended.  So  in  John  6:  6,  'prove' ;  2  Cor. 
13:  5,  'examine';  Rev.  2:  2,  'tried';  Gen. 
22:  1  (God  'did  tempt'  Abraham;  Rev.  Ver., 
'prove');  Ex.  20:  20,  'prove,'  etc.  (2)  The 
object  may  be  unfriendly,  bad.  (a)  Men 
'tempt'  God,  test  him,  in  some  improper 
way,  because  they  lack  confidence  in  the 
fnlfillment  of   his  promises  or  threats.     So 

below  in  V,  7    (Deui.6:16);    Ex.  17  :  2,  7  (P»  l'5:9)  ; 

Isa.  7:  12;  Acts  5:9;  15:  10.  ib)  Men,  or 
Satan  and  his  subordinates,  'tempt'  men,  test 
them,  with  a  view  to  draw  out  evil  tendencies, 
and  entice  into  sin.  So  here,  and  in  1  Cor. 
7:  5;  1  Thess.  3:  6,  etc.  (This  sense  does  not 
occur  in  the  O.  T.  )i  In  all  cases  there  is  a 
testing,  trying,  and  the  difl'erence  lies  in  the 
nature  and  design  of  it.  Our  English  word, 
'tempt,'  was  formerly  used  in  all  these  senses, 
but  is  now  restricted  to  the  bad  sense;   and 


some  confusion  arises,  for  example,  in  the 
translation  of  James  1:  2-15,  where  there 
is  a  transition  from  the  good  to  the  bad — 
from  'trials'  to  'temptations.'  Of  the 
devil.  The  Greek  word  diabolos  (borrowed 
in  Latin  as  diabolus,  from  which  come  Italian 
diavolo,  French  diable,  English  devii,  Ger- 
man teufel,  etc.),  is  the  term  regularly  em- 
ployed in  the  Sept.  to  translate  the  Hebrew 

name    Satan.     (Job  l:  6  ff.;    2:  l;   1  Chron.  21:  1;   Zsoli. 

3:i,2.)2  The  latter  signifies  'adversary,'  'op- 
poser,'  while  diabolos  strictly  signifies  'slan- 
derer,' '  false  accuser,'  but  in  the  N.  T.  is  used  ' 
as  practically  equivalent  to  Satan.  So  Mark 
1 :  13  has  'tempted  by  Satan,'  and  see  below, 
v.  10.  (Comp.  16:  23  and  John  6:  70;  also  Rev. 
12:  9.)  The  term  'devil'  in  the  N.  T.  is 
strictly  a  proper  name,  as  much  so  as  Satan; 
his  subordinates  should  be  called  'demons,' 
as  in  the  Greek  (see  on  8:  28).  To  the  real 
existence  and  personality  of  the  devil  the 
Scriptures  are  fully  committed.  He  is  re- 
presented as  the  chief  of  the  fallen  angels 
(26:  41;  comp.  9:  34),  and  through  these  he  is 
able,  though  nut  omnipresent,  to  be  carrying 
on  the  temptation  of  many  persons  at  the 
same  time.  He  is,  of  course,  limited  in 
knowledge,  though  immeasurably  superior 
to  man. 

How  could  Jesus  be  tempted?  Was  it  pos- 
sible for  him  to  sin?  If  this  was  in  no  sense 
possible,  then  he  was  not  really  tempted,  cer- 
tainly not  'like  as  we  are.'  (Heh. 4:i5.)  But 
how  can  it  have  been  possible  for  him  to  sin? 
If  we  think  of  his  human  nature  in  itself, 
apart  from  the  co-linked  divinity,  and  apart 
from  the  Holy  Spirit  that  filled  and  led  him, 
then  we  must  say  that,  like  Adam  in  his  state 
of  purity,  like  the  angels  and  every  other 
moral  creature,  his  humanity  was  certainly 
in  itself  capable  of  sinning,  and  thus  the 
temptation  was  real,  and  was  felt  as  such,  and 
as  such  overcome;  while  yet  in  virtue  of  the 
union  with  the  divine  nature,  and  of  the 
power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  that  filled  him,  it 
was  morally  impossible  that  he  should  sin. — A 
substantially  similar  view  is  well  stated  by 
Edersheim. — Jesus  was  tempted  on  other 
occasions  also,  as  is  implied  in  Luke  4  :  13, 


lAlford  remarks  that  the-Oreek  word  here  employed, 
pelrazo,  does  not  have  this  sense  In  the  classics.  True ; 
but  the  simpler  and  more  comiuon  toirva,  peirao,  is  re- 
peatedly BO  used. 


spiumptre  erroneously  stales  that  the  (Jrcek  word  is 
different  in  Zech.  3:  1,  2.  In  iiMnji  nil  coniiii<nfarles, 
including  the  present  one,  roatlurs  will  Und  it  worth 
while  to  "  rerify  the  references." 


62 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  IV, 


2  And  when  he  had  fasted  forty  days  and  forty  nights,  | 
he  was  afterward  an  hungered.  I 


2  ness  to  be  tempted  of  the  devil.    And  when  he  ha^ 
fasted  forty  days  and  forty  nights,  he  afterward 


and  affirmed  in  Luke  22:  28,  and  Heb.  4:  15. 
It  has  been  remarked  (Ullmann)  tliat  there 
are  in  the  nature  of  things  two  great  classes 
of  temptations,  the  one  to  commit  positive  evil, 
and  the  other  to  shrink  from  what  is  right. 
In  the  former  way  Jesus  was  tempted  here, 
and  when  the  people  wanted  him  to  be  king 
(joho6:i5);  in  the  latter  way  he  was  tempted 
in  Gethsemane,  and  when  Peter  tried  to  dis- 
suade him.    (16:42,23.) 

Why  should  Jesus  be  tempted?  We  can 
see  some  of  the  reasons.  (1)  It  gave  proof  of 
his  true  humanity,  proof  that  he  possessed  a 
real  human  soul.  (2)  It  was  part  of  his  ex- 
ample to  us.  (3)  It  formed  part  of  his  per- 
sonal discipline  (Heb. 5:7-9);  and  (4)  of  his 
preparation  to  be  a  sympathizing  intercessor. 
(Heb. 2: 18;  4:15.)  (5)  It  formed  &  part  of  that 
great  conflict  in  which  the  "seed  of  the  wo- 
man" was  to  "bruise  the  serpent's  head." 
(Gen. 3:15.)  In  this  first  great  struggle  of  the 
conflict  the  destined  conqueror  came  ofl*  com- 
pletply  victorious. 

During  the  forty  days  (Luke4:2),  and  at  other 
times,  our  Lord  was  doubtless  tempted  bj' 
suggestion  to  his  mind,  as  we  are;  but  in  the 
three  signal  and  final  temptations  here  de- 
scribed, it  seems  to  be  distinctly  declared  that 
Satan  appeared  in  bodily  form  and  with 
actually  spoken  words,  and  this  fitted  the 
scene  for  distinct  and  impressive  description. 
To  make  it  a  mere  vision,  is  without  the 
slightest  warrant.  And  while  it  is  possi- 
ble to  regard  the  history  as  merely  a  vivid 
description  of  a  series  of  internal  temptations, 
it  does  no  small  violence  to  the  language  and 
the  entire  color  of  the  narrative.  Note  es- 
pecially the  correspondence  of  the  two  ex- 
pressions, 'the  devil  leaves  him.  .  .  .  angels 
came  and  ministered  to  him,'  where  few  who 
believe  the  Bible  at  all  will  question  that  the 
angels  appeared  in  bodily  form,  as  on  so  many 
other  occasions.  The  desire  of  many  com- 
mentators to  reduce  the  scene  to  internal  sug- 
gestion, apparently  arises  from  two  causes. 
(1)  Some  wish  to  lessen  the  difficulties  of  the 
narrative.  But  those  who  are  repelled  by 
the  idea  of  Satan's  personal  appearance  will 
be  equally  reluctant  to  admit  his  personality ; 
so  that  there  is  nothing  gained,  and  the  dif- 
ficulties of  the  subject  are  in  fact  inherent 


and  have  to  be  accepted.     (2)  Others  wish  toj 
assimilate  the  Saviour's  temptations  to  oui 
own.  (Heb.  4:15.)    But  this  dcsirc  is  amply  meS 
by  considering    his  temptations  during  thel| 
forty  days  and  throughout  his  career.    (See 
above.)      Every  point    connected   with    this! 
series  of  temptations  has  occasioned  a  vastl 
amount  of  speculation,  often  of  the  wildestJ 
character.      Yet    the  subject   from   its  very| 
nature  calls  for  guarded  interpretation,  greaM 
moderation  in  conjecture,  and  willingness  to 
remain  ignorant   where  we  have  no   means 
of  knowing;  and  it  requires  to  be  discussed 
in  a  spirit  of  profound   reverence  and  hu- 
mility.    Familiar  as  we  have  grown  with  thej 
simple  narrative,  it  presents  one  of  the  mostl 
wonderful,    mysterious,   awful  scenes  of  th« 
world's  history.    O  dark  and  dreadful  enemy,] 
ever  plotting  our  ruin  and  exulting  in  oui 
woe,  here  thou   wast  completely  conquered! 
on  earth,  conq'iered  by   a  man,  and   in  the 
strength  of  that  Spirit  whose  help  is  offered 
to  us  all. 

2,  It  is  best  to  understand  the  fasting  as 
entire  abstinence  from  food.  The  word  does 
not  necessarily  mean  this,  nor  does  even  the 
strong  expression  of  Luke,  'he  did  not  eat 
anj'thing  in  those  days,'  for  Luke  uses 
equally  strong  language  of  Paul'j  compan- 
ions in  Acts  27:  33,  where  he  can  only  mean 
that  they  had  taken  very  irregular  and  inad- 
equate food,  as  it  were  nothing  at  all.  (Comp. 
below  11:  18.)  Still,  the  literal  n"ieaning  is 
preferable  here,  because  there  is  here  nothing 
to  forbid  it,  because  also  in  the  corresponding 
cases  of  Moses  and  Elijah  the  fasting  is  usually 
understood  to  have  been  entire,  and  because 
we  thus  best  see  the  force  of  the  statement, 
'afterwards  he  was  hungry,'  or,  as  Luke, 
'and  when  they  (the  forty  days)  were  com- 
pleted he  was  hungry,'  leading  us  to  suppose 
that  during  the  forty  days  he  was  not  hungry, 
but  .supernaturally  sustained.  The  time  was 
the  same  as  in  the  case  of  Moses  (Ex.  34: 28),  and 
Elijah  (i  Kings  19: 8),  and  was  perhaps  typically 
related  also  to  the  forty  years  spent  by  Israel 
in  the  wilderness  (see  on  2:  15).  We  do 
not  know  what  originally  caused  the  adop- 
tion of  forty  as  a  sacred  or  solemn  number. 

(Gen. 7:12;    Deiit.  9:25;    10:10;    Eiek.  4:  6;    Acts  7:23,  and 

often.)     "  Jesus  had  forty  days  before  his  public 


Ch.  IV.] 


MATTHEW. 


63 


3  And  when  the  tempter  came  to  him,  he  said,  If  i 
thou  be  the  Son  of  God,  command  that  these  stones  be 
made  bread.  I 


3  hungered.    And  the,  tempter  came  and  said  unto 
him,  If  thou  art  the  Son  of  God.  command  that 


appearance ;  forty  days,  as  if  for  preparation, 
before  his  ascension.  (Actai:3.)"  (Bengel).  And 
forty  nights,  added  (by  Matt,  alone)  perhaps 
because  the  Jews  were  accustomed  to  speak  of 
the  night  and  day  as  together  constituting  one 
period  (see  on  12:  40),  or  because  they  fre- 
quently fasted  during  the  day  and  then  ate  at 
night  (2 Sam.  1: 12),  while  here  it  was  day  and 
night,  as  in  Esth.  4:  16.  The  design  of  the 
Spirit  that  he  should  be  tempted  was  proba- 
bly not  the  sole  design  of  this  retirement ; 
our  Lord,  thus  secluded  and  supernaturally 
sustained,  doubtless  spent  his  time  in  prayer- 
ful communion  with  his  Father,  as  often 
afterwards  (Luke 6: 12 ;  John 6:  is),  and  probably 
also  (see  on  v.  1)  in  meditation  upon  the  great 
work  he  was  about  to  commence.  So  Moses 
and  Elijah,  as  lawgiver  and  reformer.  Our 
Lord's  fasting  was  not  an  act  of  self-mortifi- 
cation, if  he  was  preternaturally  sustained, 
and  is  not  an  example  to  us.  To  make  it  the 
authority  for  a  regular  annual  "fast"'  of  forty 
days  by  all  Christians  ("Lent")  is  wholly 
unwarranted,  and  very  strange.  (Comp.  Al- 
exander.) 

3.  Came  to  him — we  cannot  tell  in  what 
form— if  thou  be — art — the  Son  of  God. 
The  form  of  expression  in  Greek  is  most  natur- 
ally understood  as  assuming  that  the  supposi- 
tion is  fact,  as  shortly  before  declared,  (s:  n.) 
Wyclif 'art';  Tyndale  to K.  James  'be.'  The 
Greek  is  not  subjunctive  but  indicative.  The 
tempter  puts  the  matter  in  this  form  in  order 
to  invite  Jesus  to  establish  the  fact  by  a  mir- 
acle, and  in  ordertointimate  that  he  certainly 
has  the  right  thus  to  .satisfy  his  hunger.  'Son  ' 
is  by  its  position  in  the  Greek  emphatic. 
God's  ordinary  creatures  may  suffer,  they 
cannot  help  it;  but  if  thou  art  hiSiS'ora,  it  is 
unworthy  of  thee  tlius  to  suffer,  and  unneces- 
sary— 'speak,  that  these  stones  may  become 
loaves.'  Itdoes  not  follow,  on  this  view,  that 
Satan  fully  understood  what  was  involved  in 
Jesus' being  God's  Son;  and  this  ignorance 
will  account  for  an  attempt  otherwise  not  only 
audacious  but  absurd.  Tiiose  who  prefer  the 
view  that  he  really  doubted  whether  Jeeus  was 
God's  Son,  are  at  liberty'  so  to  interpret  the 


phrase,  'if  thou  art'  etc.,  though  it  is  a  less 
natural  and  less  common  use.  Command, 
etc., — or,  speak  that  .  .  .  may  become.  (Comp. 
the  same  construction  in  20:  21.')  Luke 
(«:3)  has  '  speak  to  this  stone,  that  it  may  be- 
come a  loaf,'  as  if  pointing  to  a  particular  one. 
(Comp.  3:  9;  7:  9).  'Become'  is  the  literal 
and  exact  translation.  These  stones,  lying 
around,  as  in  3  :  9.  The  English  word  '  bread  ' 
being  only  used  collectively,  we  have  to  in- 
troduce 'loaf,'  'loaves'  to  give  the  exact  idea. 
(Comp.  Rev.  Ver.  margin,  and  see  on  26:  26). 
This  first  temptation  thus  appears  to  be  two- 
fold (and  so  of  the  others) ;  he  is  tempted  to 
satisfy  hunger,  and  in  such  a  way  as  will 
prove  him  to  be  the  Son  of  God.  Our  bodily 
appetites  form  the  occasion  of  many  of  our 
severest  temptations.  Yet  these  appetites  are 
not  sinful  in  themselves;  the  sin  consists  in 
seeking  excessive  or  essentially  improper 
gratification  of  them,  or  in  seeking  lawful 
gratification  by  improper  means.  Jesus  was 
tempted  to  work  a  miracle  in  order  to  relieve 
his  hunger.  We  could  not  say  beforehand 
whether  this  would  be  right,  but  we  see 
throughout  his  history  that  he  never  per- 
formed miracles  merely  for  his  own  benefit; 
they  were  all  wrought  to  do  good  to  others, 
and  to  attest  his  divine  mission. — And  this  at- 
testation was  never  given  to  those  who  asked 
it  from  improper  motives.  (i2:»8(r. ;  16:  irr.)  He 
paid  no  heed  to  the  taunt  (":  *o)  :  'If  thou 
be — or  art — the  Son  of  God,  come  down  from 
the  cross'  (the  first  clau.<e  being  precisely'  the 
same  as  here).  And  so  he  takes  no  notice,  in 
replying  to  the  tempter,  of  the  proposition 
that  he  should  by  the  miracle  prove  himself 
the  Son  of  God.  Nor  does  he  condescend  to 
refer  to  the  attesting  voice  from  heaven.  (»■  i') 
We  have  no  reason  to  believe  tliat  our  Lord 
had  ever  wrought  a  l#iracle  up  to  tliis  time, 
the  'beginning  of  his  miracles  '  (JohuJ:ii)  tak- 
ing place  shortly  after.  He  would  not  begin 
till  his  'hour'  had  'come.'  (John 2: 4.)  The 
miracles  of  his  childhood,  so  numerous  in 
some  apocryphal  gospels,  are  without  liistori- 
cal  foundation,  and  most  of  them  quite  un- 
worthy of  him,  as  child  or  man. 


1 A  uon-flual  use  of  hina,  see  ou  5:  29. 


64 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  IV. 


4  But  he  answered  and  said,  It  is  written,  Man  shall 
not  live  by  bread  alone,  but  by  every  word  that  pro- 
ceedetli  out  of  the  luouih  of  (.iod. 

5  Then  the  devil  taketh  hiui  up  into  the  holy  city, 
and  settelh  him  on  a  pinnacle  of  the  temple, 


4  these  stones  become  i  bread.  But  he  answered  and 
said,  It  is  written,  Man  shall  not  live  by  bread  alone, 
but  by  every  word  that  proceeik'th  out  of  the  mouth  oi 

6  (jod.    Then  the  devil  taketh  him  into  the  holy  city ; 


1  Gr.  loavet. 


4.  It  is  written,  perfect  tense,  it  stands 
written  (ao  in  2:  5,  and  below  in  v.  6,  7, 10,  and 
often).  Our  Lord  meets  every  temptation  by  a 
quotation  from  Scripture.  The  Father's  word 
was  to  him  the  sword  with  wliich  he  conquered 
the  great  spiritual  enemy.  (Eph.6:  n.)  This  quo- 
tation is  from  Deut  8 :  3,  and  the  two  below 
are  from  the  same  book,  which  is  rich  in  spir- 
itual and  devotional  matter.  Notice,  too, 
that  all  the  passages  he  thus  applies  to  himself 
are  from  precepts  given  to  Israel  in  the  wil- 
derness, at  the  opening  of  the  national  career 
— there  being  a  typical  relation  between  Israel 
and  the  Messiah  (see  on  2:  15).  Possibly 
(Godet)  he  had,  during  his  retirement,  been 
specially  meditating  on  the  account  of  Israel's 
forty  years  in  the  wilderness.  This  quotation 
agrees  with  the  Sept.,  and  differs  from  the 
Hebrew  only  in  inserting  '  word,'  where  the 
Hebrew  has  simply  'all  that  goes  forth  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Lord.'  And  this  is  really 
the  meaning  of  the  Greek,  'every  word  that 
goes^  forth,'  etc.,  i.  c,  whatever  he  says  that 
man  shall  live  on.  There  is  no  propriety  in 
understanding  here  a  reference  to  the  spiritual 
life  as  sustained  b3' God's  word,  viz.,  by  the 
Scriptures ;  the  Hebrew  phrase  and  the  con- 
nection in  Deuteronomy  quite  forbid  such  an 
idea.  God  fed  Israel  with  manna,  a  thing 
unknown  to  them  and  their  fathers,  "that  he 
might  make  thee  know  that  man  shall  not  live 
on  bread  only,  but  on  all  that  goes  forth  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Lord  shall  man  live'" — that 
the  support  of  life  is  not  absolutely-  dependent 
on  ordinary  food,  but  it  maj-  be  sustained  on 
whatever  God  shall  choose  to  say,  to  appoint. 
'And  so  Jesus  will  not  work  the  miracle  to 
obtain  ordinary  food,  because  God  can,  if  he 
should  think  proper,  command  food  to  be 
supplied  him  in  an  extraordinary  way.  And 
this  appears  to  have  been  done,  through  angels 
(see  on  v.  11).  To  insist  on  making  the  pas- 
sage, in  spite  of  the  connection  in  Deuter- 
onomy, and  here,  apply  also  to  spiritual  food, 
R8  80  many  do,  is  unreasonable,  and  dishonor- 
ing to  the  Bible,  which  is  not  a  book  of  riddles. 


tion,  and  must): 
common  sense,/ 


but  given  for  practical  instruction, 
be  interpreted  on  principles  of  comi 
or  it  cannot  be  interpreted  at  all. — Man  shall' 
not.  Thus  he  identifies  himself  with  hu- 
manity, applying  as  a  matter  of  course  to 
himself  what  is  true  of  mankind.  And  he 
conquers  temptation  not  as  God,  but  as  man, 
by  the  power  of  the  Spirit  and  of  the  lessons 
that  are  '  written.'  Shall  not  live,  viz.,  such 
is  the  divine  plan  or  appointment.  By — or, 
M^ow— bread,  as  that  on  which  life  rests  for 
support.  So,  'upon  every  word,'  etc.,  or  ac- 
cording to  another  reading  'in  every  word,' 
i.  e.,  in  the  use  of,  which  amounts  to  the  same 
thing.     Out  of  is  here  literally  'through.' 

5.  Then,  comp.  on  v.  1.  Luke  (4:6) 
simply  connects  by  'and,'  and  gives  the  two] 
remaining  temptations  in  the  reverse  order,  i 
seeming  (Bengel,  others)  to  follow  the  natu-j 
ral  order  of  topography — first  the  desert,  ther 
a  high  mountain  in  the  desert,  then  Jerusa/ 
lem.  Matthew  s  is  the  natural  topical  order 
the  second  temptation  being  just  the  opposite 
of  the  first,  and  the  third  forming  the  climax/ 
It  seems  natural  also  that  the  severe  rebuk^ 
of  V.  10,  should  put  an  end  to  Satan's  at- 
tempts, and  accordingly  Luke,  in  the  correct 
text,  does  not  give  it.  (See  also  below,  on  v. 
8.)  Taketh  him— literally,  takes  him  with 
him,  or  'along  with  him,'  does  not  prove  that 
he  was  carried  involuntarily  or  supernatu- 
rally  (see  the  same  word  in  17:  1  ;  Mark  4: 
36,  etc.),  nor  does  Luke's  term  'led'  prove 
the  contrary.  We  have  no  means  of  deter- 
mining the  manner  of  going,  and  are  left  to 
suppose  that  Jesus  went  as  men  usually'  go, 
and  so  that  the  devil  did  likewise.  The  word 
up,  Tyn.  to  King  James,  is  not  here  in  the 
Greek.  The  holy  city,  i.  e.,  Jerusalem,  re- 
garded as  holy  because  the  seat  of  the  temple 
and  its  worship.  Comp.  Isa.  48:  2;  Dan.  9; 
24;  Neh.  11 :  1 ;  Matt.  27:  63.  Some  Jewich 
coins  were  inscribed  (Gill,  others),  'Jerusa- 
lem the  holy  ' ;  old  Jewish  prayers  also  have 
'the  holj'  city'  (Wtinsche),  and  the  Arabs 
now  call  Jerusalem  El-Kads,  'the  holy.'   (As 


1  Tyndale  borrowed  from  the  Vulgate  the  Latin  term 
'  proceeds,'  and  most  Kuglish  versions  have  followed 


him,  but  the  simple  and  exact  English  rendering  i> 
'  goes  forth.' 


Ch.  IV.] 


MATTHEW. 


65 


6  And  saith  unto  him,  If  thou  be  the  Son  of  God, 
cast  thysflf  down :  for  it  is  written,  He  shall  give  his 
angels  charge  concerning  thee :  and  in  their  hands  they 
shall  bear  thee  up,  lest  at  any  time  thou  dash  thy  lout 
aj^aiust  a  stone. 


6  and  he  set  him  on  the  *  pinnacle  of  the  temple,  and 
saith  unto  him.  If  thou  art  the  Son  of  Uod,  cast  thy- 
self down  :  for  it  is  written, 

He  shall  give  his  angels  charge  concerning  thee : 
Jind  on  their  hands  they  shall  bear  thee  up. 
Lest  haply  thou  dash  thy  foot  against  a  si  one. 


I  Or.  wing. 


to  Jerusalem,  see  on  21:  10.)  And  setteth. 
Rev.  Ver.,  And  he  sat.  The  correct  text  has 
the  past  tense,  but  the  meaning  is  substan- 
tially the  same.   A  pinnacle  of  the  temple.^ 

Our  Lord,  who  did  not  belong   to  the  priest- 
\  hood,  is  nowhere  said  to  have  entered  the 
'  naos,  but  only  went  into  the  hieron,  i.  e.,  into 
the  courts,  as  other  Jews  did.     On  the  inner 
I  side  of  the  wall  enclosing  the  great  outer 
court  ran   a  long  portico  or  colonnade,  the 
roof  of  which  also  covered  the  top  of  the 
wall,  and  sometimes  was  built  up  above  the 
^wall  to  a  great  height.      The  outer  battle- 
i  ment  of  such  a  roof,  rising  above  the  outer 
{wall,  is  probably   what  is  here  called   'pin- 
nacle,'*   and   'the  pinnacle'   suggests    some 
I  well-known  or  remarkable   pinnacle.     It  is 
i  doubtful  whether  this  was   'the  portico  that 
is  called   'Solomon's'    (John lo: 23;  Acts 3:  n),  on 
I  the  east  side  of  the  temple  enclosure,  and  de- 
I  scribed  by  Josephus  ("Ant.,"  20,  9,  7)  as  of 
'  great  height;  more  probably  it  was  what  he 
'  calls  "the  roj'al  portico"  (of  Herod},  on  the 
j  south  side,  and  which  he  represents  ("Ant.," 
1 15,  11,  5)  as  "one  of  the  most  remarkable 
I  works  under  the  sun."     Below  the  wall  en- 
j  closing  the  temple  court,  there  was  an   im- 
mense substruction   extending  up  from   the 
bottom  of  the  ravine,  and  so  deep  that  one 
could  not  see  to  the  foot  of  it  (probably  the 
southeast  corner);    "on   this  arose  the  vast 
.  height  of  the  portico,  so  that  if  one  should 
I  look  down  from  the  summit  of  its  roof,  put- 
ting  together    the    depths,   he  would    grow 
I  dizzy,  the  sight  not  reaching  into  the  un- 
I measured  abyss."      This    high-wrought  de- 


scription at  least  presents  us  with  a  scene  very 
suitable  to  the  temptation  in  question. 

6.  This  temptation,  like  the  first,  appears  to 
have  been  twofold,  appealing  to  a  natural  feel- 
ing and  also  to  Messianic  aspiration.  Many 
persons  when  looking  down  from  a  dizzy 
height  feel  a  strong  disposition  to  throw  them- 
selves down  ;  with  some,  the  feeling  is  intense 
and  almost  irresistible;  and  it  is  not  unrea- 
sonable, and  not  derogatory  to  our  Saviour,  to 
suppose  that  here  also  Satan  tried  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  a  natural  feeling,  as  he  had  before 
done  with  hunger.  Let  him  throw  himself 
down,  and  see  if  God  would  not  protect  him  ; 
and  thus  descending  in  so  public  a  place  and 
supernaturally  protected,  he  would  be  ob- 
served, and  at  once  hailed  by  the  populace  as 
'  he  that  should  come.'  This  last  seems  to\ 
have  been  part  of  the  idea  presented ;  for 
otherwise  why  take  him  to  the  temple  (Light- 
foot,  Lutteroth)?  A  precipice  in  the  wilder- 
ness would  have  sufficed  for  the  mere  tempta- 
tion to  throw  himself  down  ;  the  carefully 
chosen  place  indicates  that  the  idea  was  also  to  / 
exhibit  himself  in  public.  Keim:  "At  the 
same  time  a  test  of  the  protection  God  would 
extend  to  his  ambassador,  and  a  miracle  of 
display  by  which  the  faith  of  Israel  might  be 
won  for  God's  messenger."  As  Jesus  had  in 
the  former  case  fortified  himself  by  quoting 
Scripture,  so  the  tempter  supports  his  sugges- 
tion by  quoting  a  promise  of  protection  amid 
dangers.  This  passage,  from  Psa.  91:  11  f., 
applies  to  any  one  who  trusts  in  God,  and  by 
eminence  to  Jesus.  The  quotation  follows 
Sept.  and  Heb.,  with  the  omission  of  a  clause 


I  *The  N.  T.  has  two  Greek  words  translated  '  temple.' 
I  The  one  (hieron),  signifying  'sacred  (place),'  denotes 
the  whole  sacred  enclosure,  comprising  the  several 
|uotirts  (see  on  21 :  12),  as  well  as  the  sacred  house  itself. 
'This  last,  the  sacred  house,  into  which  none  but  the 
ipriests  entered,  is  designated  by  the  other  word  {naoi, 
rendered  'sanctuary'  in  23:  35,  and  27:5,  Rev.  Ver.), 
found  in  Luke  1:  9,  21,  22;   Matt,  23:  16-35;  26:  61 

(««kl«:5S);  27:   5,40  (Mark  15:  M)  ;  27:    51;    (Mnrli    15:38; 

Lok.21;  45);  John  2:  19-21 ;  Acts  17:  24;  19:  24 ('shrines'); 
sod  in  every  passage  of  the  EpittU*  and  Revelation  in 


which  Com.  Eng.  Ver.  has  '  temple,'  except  1  Cor.  9 : 
13  (which  has  hieron.)  Hieron,  is  the  word  used  iu 
every  passage  of  the  Oospels  and  Ads  In  which  Com. 
Eng.  Ver.  has  '  temple,' except  those  just  uauied  and 
Luke  11 :  51,  (literally  '  house.') 

'The  Greek  word  may  from  Its  use  In  the  .Sept.,  bo 
readily  understood  to  mean  battlement,  parai)et,  or  the 
like.  (Grimm.  Bleek).  The  passage  in  Eu.i.  "  lli.'.t.",  li., 
23,  relied  on  by  Bible  Conim.,  and  otiiers,  to  show  that  a 
pinnacle  of  the  naos  was  here  meant,  is  confused,  and 
proves  nothing. 


m 


66 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  IV. 


7  Jesus  said 'unto  him,  It  is  written  again,  Thou  shalt 
not  tempt  the  Lord  thy  God. 

8  Again,  the  devil  tukcth  hiiu  up  into  an  exceeding 
high  mouutain,  aud  sheweth  him  all  the  kingdoms  of 
the  world,  and  the  glory  of  them ; 


7  Jesus  said  unto  him,  Again  it  is  written,  Thou  shalt 

8  not  try  the  Lord  thy  Ood.  Again,  the  devil  taketh 
him  unto  an  exceeding  high  mountain,  aud  sheweth 
him  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  world,  and  the  glory  of 


not  important  to  the  application  ( '  to  keep  thee 
in  all  thy  ways'),  such  an  omission  (Toy)  as 
the  New  Test,  writers  often  make.  It  is 
therefore  not  proper  to  say,  as  is  often  said, 
that  Satan  misquoted  ;  it  was  a  misinterpreta- 
tion and  misapplication.  The  expression,  in 
their  hands  they  shall  bear  thee  up,  as  a 
mother  or  a  nurse  supports  a  child  (Num.  ii:  is; 

Deut.l:31;  laa.  49:  ii  ;  Acts  13  :  18,  margin  i  1  Thess.  a:7),    is 

of  course  figurative,  referring  to  providential 
protection.  Satan  treats  it  as  if  we  were  au- 
thorized to  expect  its  literal  and  supernatural 
fulfillment;  and  whilethereareof  course  limi- 
tations to  such  a  promise  (see  below),  he  takes 
no  account  of  these.  Observe  that  the  plural 
'angels'  renders  it  improper  to  quote  this  pas- 
sage in  support  of  the  Jewish  fancy  of  a  guar- 
dian angel  attending  each  individual.  The 
passage  corresponds  to  Heb.  1 :  14,  where  the 
angels  are  said  to  minister  to  God  for  the 
benefit  of  his  people. 'Lest  haply 'is  more  prob- 
abl}'  the  meaning  here,  than  '  lest  at  any  time.' 
7.  It  is  written  again.  What  Satan  had 
quoted  is  indeed  found,  but  in  another  place 
is  written  that  which  forbids  what  he  suggests 
and  is  seeking  to  justify.  There  is  here  an 
illustration  of  two  important  rules  of  inter- 
^pretation:  that  a  figurative  expression  must 
'  not  be  so  understood  as  to  bring  it  in  conflict 
with  unfigurative  passages;  and  that  an  un- 
limited promise  or  statement  must  not  be 
.  applied  to  cases  forbidden  by  other  teachings 
\  of  Scrinture. — This  quotation  is  from  Deut. 
6:  16.  It  follows  Sept.,  and  differs  from  Heb. 
only  in  using  singular  instead  of  plural  ("Ye 
shall  not,"  etc.),  thus  rendering  more  pointed 
the  application  to  an  individual. — The  Greek 
word  here  rendered  'tempt'  is  a  compound  of 
that  ordinarily  used  (see  on  v.  1),  and  has  a 
somewhat  more  emphatic  meaning;  but  we 
can  hardly  express  the  difference  in  a  transla- 
tion. To  'tempt  God'  is  to  test,  or  put  him 
to  the  trial,  in  order  to  see  whether  he  can  and 
will  fulfill  his  promises.  The  App.  of  the 
Amer.  Revisers  would  here  render  'make 
trial  of.'  This  Ahaz  (i»». 7:i2)  with  affected 
humility  declined  to  do.  Deut.  6:  16,  refers 
to  the  case  in  which  the  Israelites  templed 
Jehovah  at  Massah  ('temptation'),  by  requir- 


ing a  supply  of  water  to  prove  that  he  would 
fulfill  his  promise  to  take  care  of  them.  (Ex.  m 

2,  7.     Conip.  Psa.  78 ;  18 ;  »o :  8,  9 ;  1  Cor.  10  :  9 ;  Heb.  3:9.)    AhR^ 

nias  andSapphira  (Acts5:9)  tempted  the  Spirit 
of  the  Lord,  by  virtually  putting  him  to  the« 
test  whether  he  would  know  and  reveal  their  j 
^illany.  Peter  declared  (acwi5:io)  that  it, 
would  be  tempting  God  to  act  as  if  they 
wanted  further  proof  of  his  will  that  the 
Gentiles  should  not  be  required  to  bear  the 
yoke  of  the  ceremonial  law.  And  so  Jesu6 
intimates  that  it  would  be  tempting  God  to 
plunge  voluntarily  into  danger,  as  if  to  make 
trial  whether  he  would  fulfill  his  promise  of 
protection.  These  cases  show  the  nature  of 
the  sin  in  question.  Its  source  is  in  all  cases 
unbelief.  This  was  understood  by  the  author 
of  Wisdom,  1:2:  "  He  is  found  by  those  who 
do  not  tempt  him,  and  he  manifests  himself 
to  those  who  do  not  distrust  him." — It  is  un- 
warrantable to  say  (Alexander,  others)  thai 
the  passage  as  quoted  by  our  Saviour  has  j| 
double  application,  so  as  at  the  same  time  (0 
rebuke  Satan  for  tempting  him.  Sucll 
"double  applications"  of  Scripture  are 
almost  always  fanciful,  save  in  the  case  of 
prophecies  and  types. — Throughout  his  min- 
istry our  Lord  acted  on  the  principle  here 
involved.  He  never  went  voluntarily  into 
danger,  and  always  prudently  turned  away 
from  the  wrath  of  his  enemies,  save  when 
some  duty  called. 

8.  In  the  third  temptation  Satan  no  longer 
says  'If  thou  art  God's  Son,'  no  longer  at- 
tempts to  incite  Jesus  to  prove  his  Sonshipor 
Messiahship  by  miracle;  and  as  if  conceding 
that  he  is  Messiah  and  will  found  a  kingdom, 
he  proposes  to  aid  him  in  making  it  a  splendid 
earthly  kingdom,  in  subordination  to  him- 
self. That  Messiah  would  have  a  magnificent 
earthly  kingdom  was  the  general  expectation: 
of  such  Jews  as  were  now  expecting  Messiah; 
at  all;  and  the  disciples  clung  tenaciously  to 
this  notion  throughout  our  Lord's  ministry. 
The  tempter  hopes  to  work  upon  such  a  con- 
ception in  Jesus.  Neander:  "Herein  was  the 
temptation,  that  the  Messiah  should  not  de- 
velop his  kingdom  gradually,  and  in  its  pure 
spirituality  from  within,  but  should  establish 


Ch.  IV.] 


MATTHEW. 


67 


9  And  saith  unto  him,  All  these  things  will  I  give  I    9  them ;  and  he  said  unto  him,  All  these  things  will 
thee,  if  thou  wilt  fall  down  and  worship  me.  |       I  give  thee,  if  thou  wilt  fall  down  and  worship  me. 


it  at  once,  as  an  outward  dominion  ;  and  that 
although  this  could  not  be  accomplished  with- 
out the  use  of  an  evil  agency,  the  end  would 
sanctify  the  means."  Many  a  man,  before 
and  since,  has  with  Satan's  secret  help  sur- 
veyed the  glittering  spectacle  of  boundless 
dominion,  and  so  burned  with  the  fierce  long- 
ings of  ambition  that  he  was  ready  for  any- 
thing that  would  bring  success.  Alas!  how 
nearly  was  this  idea  of  a  world-wide  kingdom, 
held  in  allegiance  to  Satan,  fulfilled  by  some 
in  the  Middle  Ages  who  boasted  the  title  of 
Vicar  of  Christ. 

Here  also,  as  in  the  former  cases,  the  temp- 
tation of  Jesus  seems  to  have  been  twofold, 
appealing  to  a  natural  feeling — the  love  of 
power,  the  desire  to  rule  over  others — and  at 
the  same  tim^  suggesting  a  way  in  which  his 
Messianic  mission  might  be  expeditiously  car- 
ried through. 

Taketh  him  —  or,  takes  him  along  with 
him,  as  in  v.  5.  Luke  (*;  o)  says,  'led  him  up,' 
Rev.  Ver.  What  the  exceeding  high  moun- 
tain was,  it  is  quite  impossible  to  judge.  As 
the  highest  mountain  on  earth  would  no  more 
have  suflSced  for  a  literal  view  of  all  the  king- 
doms of  the  world  than  the  highest  near  to 
Jerusalem,  there  is  nothing  gained  by  going 
far  away  in  our  conjecture.  Tradition  names 
a  mountain  near  Jericho  (see  on  v.  1),  but 
with  no  great  probability.  Sheweth  him 
all  the  kingdoms  of  the  world.  Some  un- 
derstand a  literal  view  of  all  the  districts  of 
Palestine.  But  there  is  no  proof  that  the  term 
rendered  '  world'  (Kosmos)  was  ever  used  to 
denote  merely  Palestine,  though  this  has  been 
often  asserted ;  and  the  districts  of  Palestine 
would  at  that  time  hardly  have  been  called 
kingdoms ;  besides  that  the  significance  of  the 
temptation  is  much  clearer  and  more  striking 
on  the  other  view.  It  is  best  to  understand  a 
sort  of  vision.  It  may  certainly  be  conceived 
that  Satan  had  the  power,  while  Jesus  looked 
round  from  the  mountain  top,  to  cause  such 
a  view  to  pass  before  his  eyes;  and  Luke's 
phrase  "in  a  moment  of  time"  seems  clearly  I 
|to  indicate  that  it  was  supernatural.     Alford :  ' 


"If  it  be  objected  that  in  that  case  there  was 
no  need  for  the  ascent  of  the  mountain,  I  an- 
swer, that  such  natural  accessories  are  made 
use  of  frequently  in  supernatural  revelations ; 
seeespecially  Rev.  21:  10."  Bengel :  "Shows 
—to  the  eyes  what  the  horizon  embraced  ;  the 
rest  bespoke  of  and  perhaps  pointed  towards." 
KeiL:  "In  the  case  of  both  Jesus  and  Satan 
experiences  are  possible  which  are  impossible 
for  mere  man,  which  we  cannot  adequately 
represent  to  our  minds,  and  have  no  right  to 
deny."  We  may  very  well  take  'all  the 
kingdoms'  as  an  hyperbole  (comp.  Ezra  1: 
2),  especially  as  many  parts  of  the  earth 
would  present  little  that  was  glorious,  or  at- 
tractive to  worldly  ambition.  And  the  glory 
of  them,  is  added  because  their  glory  was  es- 
pecially paraded  before  his  view.  But  Jesus 
would  look  beneath  the  glittering  surface,  and 
see  hollowness,  degradation,  suffering,  ruin. 
Doubtless  his  ardent  desire  to  save  men  was 
not  weakened  by  this  panorama,  but  greatly 
strengthened.  Throughout  his  subsequent 
ministry  the  idea  of  a  glorious  and  all-em- 
bracing earthly  kingdom  was  often  pressed 
upon  him  by  the  multitude,  and  constantly 
cherished  by  his  chosen  followers,  but  re- 
jected by  him.  How  much  more  truly  glori- 
ous the  'kingdom  notof  this  world  '  (John is: 36) 
which  he  did  found ;  and  how  blessed  a  thing 
it  will  be  when  'the  kingdom  of  the  world  is 
become  the  kingdom  of  our  Lord,  and  of  his 

Christ.'    (Kev.  U  :  15.  Rev.  Ver.) 

9.  All  these  things,  the  Greek  placing 
the  emphasis  not  so  much  on  '  all,'  as  on 
'these  things.'  The  claim  which  Satan  here 
implies,  and  in  Luke  4:  6,  expressly  a.sserts, 
viz.,  that  he  possesses  the  control  of  the  king- 
doms of  the  world  and  their  glory,  is  not 
wholly  unfounded,  for  the  Scriptures  speak 
of- him  as  the  prince  or  god  of  this  world. 

(John  12:  31;  14:30;  16:11;  2  Cor.  4:4.)  As  tO  thc  pre- 
cise nature  and  limitations  of  this  power  wo 
are  not  informed;  but  it  has  been  committed 
to  him  (Luke 4:  6),  and  the  Revelation  of  John 
teaches  that  it  .shall  one  daj'  be  withdrawn. 
Wilt  fall  down,*  as  in  2:  11,  the  usual  po.s- 


'  *Llt«r8llT, '  if  thou  fall  down.'  This  suhjunctive  was 
natural  in  early  English  (so  Wyclif),  and  is  barely  pos- 
'thle  still.  To  s.ny'if  thou  wilt  fall  down'  (Tyudnle 
ind  all  since)  Is  ambiguous,  seeming  to  introduce  the 


element  of  willingness,  which  is  not  in  the  original. 
Yet  it  makes  a  smoother  Eng.  phrase,  and  so  is  U.'si  in 
a  popular  version. 


68 


MATTHEW. 


Ch.  IV. 


10  Then  saith  Jesus  unto  him, Get  thee  hence.  Satan  ;  I  10  Then  saith  Jesus  unto  him,  Get  thee  hence,  Satan: 
r  it  is  written.  Thou  shall  worship  the  Lord  tliy  God,  |       for  it  is  written,  Thou  shalt  worship  the  Lord  thy 

11  God,  and  him  onlv  Shalt  thou  serve.    Then  tlje  devil 

leaveth  himj  and  behold,  angels  came  and  minis* 

tered  unto  him. 


for 

and  him  only  shalt  thou  serve. 

11  Then  the  devil  leaveth  him,  and,  behold,  angels 
came  and  ministered  unto  him. 


ture  in  the  East,  whether  for  adoration  or  for 
homage.  Worship.  See  on  2:  2.  There  has 
been  difference  of  opinion  as  to  whether  it 
here  signifies  idolatrous  worship  (conip.  1  Cor. 
10:  20;  Rev.  9:  20),  or  only  homage  as  to  a 
civil  superior;  but  the  latter,  paid  to  Satan, 
would  necessarily  lead  to  the  former.  The 
tempter  proposes  that  Jesus  shall  recognize 
the  worldly  power  which  Satan  is  allowed  to 
exercise,  and  shall  conform  his  Messianic 
reign  to  existing  conditions  by  acknowledging 
Satan's  sovereignty.  Jesus  was  in  fact  to 
reign  over  this  world,  yet  not  as  successor  or 
subordinate  to  Satan,  but  by  utterly  over- 
throwing his  dominion.     (Comp.  12:  25,  28). 

10.  Get  thee  hence,'  '  begone,''  or,  '  away 
with  thee,'  here  said  in  abhorrence  or  disgust, 
though  sometimes  in  kindness  (as  8:  13).  Sa- 
tan, see  on  v.  1.  It  is  written,  see  on  v.  4. 
The  quotation  here  is  from  Deut.  6:  13,  and 
follows  Sept.  It  differs  from  Hebrew  in  in- 
troducing 'only'  or  'alone,'  which  merely 
expresses  what  is  indicated  in  the  Hebrew  bj' 
the  emphasis  ;  and  also  in  substituting  for  the 
general  term  'fear'  the  more  specific  term 
'worship,'  which  makes  more  manifest  the 
aflSliation  of  the  passage  to  the  matter  in 
hand.     (See  on  2  :  6.) 

11.  Leaveth  him.  An  example  of  what  was 
afterwards  taught  by  James  (<;  7),  '  Eesist  the 
devil,  and  he  will  flee  from  you.'  Luke  (<= ") 
says,  'for  a  season.'  Doubtless  his  tempta- 
tions were  frequently  renewed  throughout  the 
Saviour's  ministry  (comp.  on  v.  1),  and  espe- 
cially when    it  was   about  to  close.     (Johnl4:30.) 

Bengel:  "This  temptation  is  a  specimen  of 
Christ's  whole  state  of  humiliation,  and  an 
epitome  of  all  the  temptations,  not  only  moral 
but  spiritual,  which  the  devil  contrived  from 
the  beginning."  Angels  came;  came  near 
to  him  (same  term  as  in  v.  3).     Ministered, 


or,  were  ministering — unto  him.  This  word 
signifies  to  attend  as  a  servant,  wait  on,  etc., 
often  with  particular  reference  to  supplying 
food  (comp,  8:  15;  25:  44;  27:  55;  Luke  8: 
3;  10:  40 'serve'  ;  12:  37;  Acts  6:  2 'serve').: 
And  so  apparently  here.  They  waited  on 
him  as  human  friends  might  have  waited  on 
one  whom  they  found  hungry',  weary,  lonely. 
To  Elijah  (i  Kings  19:6,7)  an  angel  brought  food 
before  the  fort^'  days'  fast ;  to  Jesus  at  its  close. 
He  had  refused  to  relieve  his  hunger  by  turn- 
ing the  stones  into  loaves  of  bread,  referring  » 
to  the  case  of  Israel,  to  whom  God  suppliedl 
food  in  an  extraordinary  way;  and  now  God 
makes  an  extraordinary  provision  for  him. 
He  had  refu.sed  to  try  an  experiment  upon  a 
promise  of  angelic  help  (v.  6),  and  now  angelic 
help  comes  unsought.  The  term  employed, 
'  were  ministering  to  him,'  not  simply  narrates  ' 
the  fact,  but  vividly  describes  it  as  going  on.  : 
And  so,  with  the  batSed  tempter  withdrawn, 
and  angels  engaged  in  ministering  to  him,  this  ■ 
wonderful  and  affecting  scene  comes  to  a  close.  | 
Our  Lord  is  now  fully  prepared  for  his  work 
as  Messiah.  At  his  baptism  the  Father  gave 
him  an  extraordinary  recognition  and  greet- 
ing. During  the  forty  days  he  has  doubtless 
reflected  upon  the  need  and  the  character  of 
that  saving  work  which  he  has  come  into  the 
world  to  do.  And  now  the  tempter's  pro- 
posals have  familiarized  his  mind  with  the 
thought  of  three  principal  wrong  courses 
which  will  often  during  his  ministry  be  pro- 
posed to  him,  and  which  he  will  always  in- 
stantly reject  as  he  has  done  here — he  will 
never  use  his  supernatural  powers  to  relieve 
his  own  natural  wants,  nor  to  make  a  display 
before  man,  and  he  will  utterly  avoid  the 
favorite  Jewish  notion  of  a  brilliant  worldly 
kingdom,  obtained  by  worldly  means  and 
used  for  worldly  purposes.* 


1  Many  MSS.  and  versions  (some  that  are  early)  add 
•behind  me,'  manifestly  an  assimilation  to  16:  23, 
where  there  is  no  variation  in  the  reading. 

-  The  legendary  temptation  of  Sakhya  Muni  (after- 
■wards  Buddha)  has  sometimes  been  likened  to  the 
temptation  of  Christ.  Edwin  Arnold,  in  "  The  Light  of 
Asia,"  has  borrowed  phrases  and  ideas  from  the  Gos- 


pel, so  as  to  give  a  false  appearance  of  resemblance. 
When  these  are  removed,  and  details  which  he  omits 
are  restored,  the  two  accounts  have  no  resemblance  be- 
yond the  bare  fact  of  a  person  being  specially  tempteri 
when  meditating  a  great  work  for  the  good  of  man- 
kind, which  is  doubtless,  in  one  shape  or  other,  a  uni' 
versal  experience.    See  Kellogg,  "  The  Light  of  Asii 


Ch.  IV.] 


MATTHEW. 


69 


HOMILETICAL   AND    PRACTICAL. 

Y.  1.  The  occurrence  of  this  special  season 
of  temptation  immediately  after  our  Lord's 
baptism  and  when  he  was  about  to  enter  on 
his  ministry,  while  not  wholly  analogous  to 
the  case  of  his  disciples,  yet  corresponds  with 
a  not  infrequent  experience. — EccLus.  2:1: 
"My  son,  if  thou  art  coming  near  to  serve  the 
Lord,  prepare  thy  soul  for  temptation." — Eu- 
THYM.  :  "That  thou  also  after  baptism  mayst 
no  longer  lead  thyself,  but  rather  be  led  by 
the  Spirit,  and  that  if  after  baptism  thou  tall- 
est into  temptations  thou  mayest  not  be  con- 
founded."— GiLL:  "And  so  it  often  is,  that 
lifter  sweet  communion  with  God  in  his  ordi- 
luuices,  after  large  discoveries  of  his  love  nd 
interest  in  him,  follow  sore  temptations,  trials, 
and  exercises." — God  often  brings  his  people 
into  temptation  («;  i3),  and  so  he  brought  the 
Captain  of  theirsalvation.  {Heb.2:  lo). — Milton 

(Par.  Keg.): 

But  first  I  mean 
To  exercise  him  in  the  wilderness ; 
There  he  shall  first  lay  down  the  rudiments 
Of  his  great  warfare,  ere  I  send  him  forth 
To  conquer  sin  and  death,  the  two  grand  foes, 
By  humiliation  and  strong  sufferance. 

Some  men  have  fancied  that  they  would  escape 
temptation  by  fleeing  to  solitude — and  others 
by  seeking  society  ;  behold,  Jesus  is  tempted 
both  in  the  wilderness  and  in  the  Holy  City. 
There  is  here  1)  a  discipline  to  the  tempted 
Redeemer;  2)  an  example  to  his  tempted 
followers,  and  3)  a  lesson  of  failure  to  the 
tempter.  Three  distinct  practical  evils  are 
prevalent  as  to  the  devil,  each  of  which  must 
help  him.  (a)  Some  deny  his  existence,  i.  e., 
either  his  personality  or  his  agency — which 
gives  him  an  admirable  opportunity  to  carry 
on  his  work  unsuspected,  (b)  A  few  persons 
associate  him  with  the  sublime  conceptions  of 
Paradise  Lost,  and  thus  feel  a  diminished  ab- 
horrence, (c)  The  great  mass  associate  him 
with  all  that  is  ridiculous.  The  instinctive 
desire  to  shake  off  horrible  thoughts  has  led 
to  this,  as  men  joke  in  a  dissecting-room,  and 
it  has  grown  customary,  and  gained  strength 
<rom  prevailing  skepticism.  The  practice  of 
applying  ludicrous  designations  to  the  devil, 


and  making  him  the  point  of  amusing  stories 
and  jests,  as  well  as  the  grotesque  nursery 
descriptions  and  stories,  can  never  fail  to  be 
very  hurtful,  and  should  be  avoided  and  dis- 
couraged.—V.  2.  Greg.  Naz.,  (in  Wordsw.): 
"  Christ  hungered  as  man,  and  fed  the  hungry 
as  God.  He  was  hungry  as  man,  and  yet  he 
is  the  Bread  of  life.  He  was  athirst  as  man, 
and  yet  he  says.  Let  him  that  is  athirst  come 
to  me  and  drink.  He  was  weary,  and  is  our 
Rest.  ...  He  pays  tribute,  and  is  a  King;  he 
is  called  a  devil,  and  casts  out  devils;  prays, 
and  hears  prayer  ;  weeps,  and  dries  our  tears ; 
is  sold  for  thirty  pieces  of  silver,  and  redeems 
the  world ;  is  led  as  a  sheep  to  the  slaughter, 
and  is  the  Good  Shepherd. " —Edersh.  : 
"  Moses  failed  after  his  forty  days'  fast,  when 
in  indignation  he  cast  the  tables  of  the  law 
from  him  ;  Elijah  failed  before  his  forty  days' 
fast;  Jesus  was  assailed  for  forty  days,  and 
endured  the  trial." 

V.  3.  The  demand  for  special  proofs  of  the 
divine  mission  of  Christ  is  often  made  in  a 
wrong  spirit,  by  persons  whom  those  very 
proofs  would  not  convince;  as  Satan  after- 
wards witnessed  numerous  miracles  wrought 
by  Jesus,  but  without  effect. — Geikie:  "No 
temptation  is  more  difficult  to  resist  than  the 
prompting  to  do  what  seems  needful  for  self- 
preservation,  when  abundant  means  are  in 
our  hands." — Morisox:  "The  prime  tempta- 
tion of  millions,  though  they  often  realize  it 
not,  is  to  use  improper  means  of  making  their 
bread."  V.  4.  Our  Lord  was  'tempted  like 
as  we  are,'  and  he  resisted  like  as  we  must. 
If  he  had  wrought  a  miracle  for  his  own 
relief,  that  would  have  been  no  example  for 
us;  but  it  was  an  example  that  he  should  in 
trying  circumstances  trust  in  God  and  wait — 
and  that  he  should  be  guided  and  sustained 
by  what  'is  written.'  If  we  would  imitate 
this  example,  let  us  become  thoughtfully 
imbued  with  the  principles  of  Scripture 
(p«.  n9:u),  and  familiar  with  its  precepts  and 
examples,  so  that  they  may  be  naturally 
suggested  to  the  mind,  or  readily  recalled, 
just  when  they  are  needed. — Okiokn  (Wor- 
dsw): "He  routs  the  tempter  by  what  all 
may  wield,  the  sword  of  the  S|)irit,  which  is 


and  the  Light  of  the  World,"  ch.  iv.,  especially  p.  14.5-  I  during  the  first  Christian  century.— The  idea  of  a  spe- 
153.  Rp.  Lightfoot  has  shown  (Colossians,  p.  I.^l-IST)  clal  temptation  of  the  Messiah  by  Satan  wsw  c|iiiio  con- 
that  there  is  no  evidence  of  any  influence  of  Buddhism  trary  to  all  Jewish  conceptions  and  expectations.  See 
on  the  Essenes,  or  that  Buddhism  was  known  la  Syria  I  Edersh.,  Book  ill.,  ch.  1. 


70 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  IV. 


the  word  of  God.  (Kph.6:i7.)  Hence  learn 
the  value  of  Scripture,  and  the  impotence 
of  Satan  against  it."— Stier:  "As  Eve  in 
the  beginning  rightly  opposed  the  tempter 
with  God  has  said  !  but  alas,  did  not  persist 
therein— even  so  now  the  Lord ;  but  he  holds 
firm."— LiQHTFOOT:  "Observe  (1)  That  the 
first  word  spoken  by  Christ  in  his  ministerial 
office  is  an  assertion  of  the  authority  of  Scrip- 
ture. (2)  That  he  opposeth  the  word  of  God 
as  the  properest  incounterer  against  the  words 
of  the  devil.  (3)  That  he  alledgeth  Scripture 
as  a  thing  undeniable  and  uncontrollable  by 
the  devil  himself.  (4)  That  he  maketh  the 
Scripture  his  rule,  though  he  had  the  full- 
ness of  the  Spirit  above  measure." — Henry: 
"As  in  our  greatest  abundance  we  must  not 
think  to  live  without  God,  so  in  our  greatest 
straits  we  must  learn  to  live  upon  God." — 
There  is  a  common  saying,  '  Necessity  knows 
no  law.'  But  it  ought  to  know  the  law  of 
duty. 

V.  5.  Henry:  "Pinnacles  of  the  temple 
are  places  of  temptation.  (1)  High  places  in 
the  world  are  so.  (2)  High  places  in  the 
church  are  in  a  special  manner  dangerous." 
V.  6.  Henry:  "We  must  avoid  going  from 
one  extreme  to  another — from  despair  to  pre- 
sumption, from  prodigality  to  covetousness," 
etc. — Lange:  "The  holiest  thing  may  be 
perverted  to  become  the  most  vile  temptation. 
(1)  A  stay  in  the  holy  city.  (2)  The  prospect 
from  the  pinnacle  of  the  temple.  (3)  The 
promise  contained  in  an  inspired  Psalm." — 
One  of  the  subtlest  and  sometimes  mightiest 
forms  of  temptation  to  a  devout  mind  is  the 
misapplication  of  Scripture,  so  as  to  give 
apparent  warrant  for  doing  what  we  incline 
to.  We  need  not  only  to  know  the  language 
of  Scripture,  but  to  understand  the  real 
meaning  and  legitimate  application.  A  great 
aid  in  this  is  to  compare  other  passages,  as  our 
Lord  here  does. — Bengel:  "Scripture  must 
through  Scripture  be  interpreted  and  recon- 
'ciled." — Wordsworth:  "The  devil  may 
tempt  us  to  fall,  but  he  cannot  make  us  fall; 
he  may  persuade  us  to  cast  ourselves  down, 
but  he  cannot  cast  us  down." — V.  7.  True 
faith  never  tries  experiments  upon  the  prom- 
ises, being  satisfied  that  they  will  be  fulfilled 
as  occasion  may  arise.  We  have  no  right  to 
create  danger,  and  expect  Providence  to 
shield  us  from  it.    The  love  of  adventure, 


curiosity  as  to  the  places  and  procedures  of 
vice,  the  spirit  of  speculation  in  business,  the 
profits  of  some  calling  attended  by  moral 
perils,- often  lead  men  to  tempt  God.  It  is  a 
common  form  of  sin.  (See  Chalmer's  Ser- 
mons on  the  Temptations.)  Griffith:  "Wo 
violate  the  organic  conditions  of  health,  and 
then  expect  some  miracle  of  restoration.  We 
devote  ourselves  to  seeming  duty,  labor  on  in 
what  we  fancy  must  be  saintly  self-sacrifice,, 
till  the  brain  is  fevered,  the  strength  is  ex-c 
hausted,  and  imbecility  and  death  come  in. 
to  punish  the  presumption  of  'testing  the 
Lord  our  God.'  "—Jesus  did  afterwards  work! 
miracles  equivalent  to  those  proposed  in  the^ 
first  and  second  temptations,  when  he  multi- 
plied food,  and  when  he  walked  on  the  water; 
but  in  these  cases  he  was  using  his  supernatu- 
ral power  for  the  benefit  of  others. 

V.  8.  See  Milton's  description  in  Par.  Re- 
gained, Book  iii.    V.  9.  How  often  are  meas- 
ures adopted  by  preacher  or  church  that  are  : 
unworthy  of  Christianity,  and  defended  only 
by  urging  that  they  take,  that  they  succeed. 
But  Christ  would  not  rule  over  the  world  by 
Satan's  help,  and  we  must  not  seek  to  advance 
the  kingdom  of  holiness  by  unholy  means. — 
Theophylact:  "Now  also  he  says  to  the 
covetous  that  the  world  is  his,  so  that  theyj 
gain  it  who  worship  him." — Schaff  :  "  Sa-J 
tan's  greatest  weapons  are  his  half-truths,  his^ 
perversions  of  the  truth."     V.  10.  Often  the  ' 
only  proper  way  to  deal  with  the  tempter  is  to 
bid  him  begone.     Augustine:     "It  is  the 
devil's  part  to  suggest,  it  is  ours  not  to  con-, 
sent." — Jer.  Taylor  :    "  The  Lamb  of  God 
could  by  no  means  endure  it  when  tempted  to 
a  direct  dishonoring  of  God.     Our  own  in- 
juries are  opportunities  of  patience  ;  but  when 
the  glory  of  God  and  his  immediate  honor  is 
the  question,  then  is  the  occasion  for  the  flames 
of  a  clear  shining  and  unconsuming  zeal." 
V.    11.    Grotius  :    "Formerly  conqueror  of 
ourfirst  parents  and  long  conqueror  of  the  hu- 
man race,  but  now  conquered  by  Christ,  and 
to  be  conquered  by  Christians.  (UounSiis.)"    ., 

Griffith:  "The  successive  temptations 
may  be  ranked  as  temptations  to  under-confi- 
dence,  over-confidence,  and  other  confidence. 
The  first,  to  take  things  impatiently  into  our 
hands;  the  second,  to  tlirow  things  presump- 
tuously on  God's  hands  ;  the  third,  to  transfer 
things  disloyally  into  other  hands  than  God's.'^v 


Ch.  IV.] 


MATTHEW. 


71 


— Lorimer:  "The  spirit  of  evil  takes  things 
that  are  right  in  themselves  and  perverts  theiu 
to  our  undoing;  as  here,  the  instinct  of  self- 
preservation,  the  feeling  of  self-confidence, 
the  hope  of  self-aggrandizement."  "We  can 
see  in  these  temptations  m  progression,  (a) 
The  tempter  appeals  to,  (1)  a  bodil3'  appetite, 

(2)  an  obscure  nervous  feeling,  (3)  ambition, 
which  is  wholly  of  the  mind,  (b)  ^e  proposes 
(1)  a  useful  miracle,  (2)  a  useless  miracle,  (3) 
a  gross  sin.  (c)  He  seeks  to  excite,  (1)  distrust 
of  God,    (2)   presumptuous  reliance  on  God, 

(3)  worldly-minded  abandonment  of  God. 
12-25.  Beginning  of  our  Lord's  Min- 
istry IX  Galilee. 

The  third  and  principal  division  of  the  Gos- 
pel of  Matthew,  from  4:  12  to  the  end  of 
chap.  18,  gives  an  account  of  our  Lord's  min- 
istry ia  Galilee.  A  general  introduction  to 
that  account  is  given  in  4 :  12-25. 

Having  described  the  events  connected  with 
the  entrance  of  Jesus  upon  his  public  work,  it 
is  natural  that  the  narrative  should  pass  to 
the  work  itself.  So  far  as  we  learn  from  Matt., 
Mark  (i:  u)  and  Luke  (*=  "),  this  began  after 
John  the  Baptist's  labors  were  closed  by  his 
imprisonment,  and  its  scene  was  Galilee  and 
adjacent  districts,  until  shortly  before  our 
Lord's  death.  Nor  do  they  intimate  that  any 
long  time  intervened  between  the  temptation 
and  this  ministry  in  Galilee.  The  Gospel  of 
John,  on  the  other  hand,  records  a  number 
of  intervening  events,  embracing  the  testi- 
mony of  John  the  Baptist  to  Jesus,  after  his 
baptism,  and  apparently  after  his  temptation ; 
the  gaining  of  disciples,  the  marriage  at  Cana, 
and  the  brief  residence  at  Capernaum  (Johni: 
i», to2:i.i);  the  first  Passover  of  our  Lord's 
public  ministry,  with  the  expulsion  of  the 
traders  and  the  conversation  with  Nicodemus 
(John 2: 13,  to  3:  21);  the  teaching  and  baptizing 
in  Judea  before  John  the  Baptist's  imprison- 
ment, and  the  occurrences  at  Sychar  when 
Jesus  was  on  the  way  to  Galilee,  (-'ohn  s:  22  to  4: 
But  there  is  here  no  real  contradiction 
ween  John  and  the  other  Evangelists. 
Nine  of  them  could  record  the  whole  of 
Ji'-fus'  public  life,  and  each  must  select  ac- 
cording to  his  particular  design.  Where 
events  are  omitted  in  a  brief  narrative,  we 
cannot  expect  to  find  a  wide  break  as  if  to  in- 
vite their  insertion  from  some  other  source  ; 
t')r  this  would  destroy  the  continuity  of  the 


narrative,  and  greatly  impair  its  interest  and 
impressiveness.  The  story  must  go  right  on, 
but  must  not  contain  such  expressions  as 
would  exclude  the  events  it  omits.  This  is  the 
course  which  Matthew,  Mark,  and  Luke  have 
here  pursued.  They  make  no  allusion  to  la- 
bors of  our  Lord  between  the  temptation  and 
John's  imprisonment,  but  do  not  at  all  affirm 
that  there  were  no  intervening  labors;  and 
various  facts  mentioned  by  them  (e.g.  Luke 
10 :  38),  really  imply  that  our  Lord  had  been 
preaching  in  Judea  before  the  visit  which 
ended  in  his  death.  What  were  the  reasons 
for  omitting  one  thing  and  inserting  another, 
we  may  not  in  all  cases  be  able  to  perceive. 
But  the  concurrence  of  the  three  first  Evan- 
gelists in  beginning  their  account  of  Christ's 
public  ministry  just  after  that  of  the  forerun- 
ner closed,  suggests  (Ewald,  Alexander),  that 
the  work  of  Christ  then  assumed  in  some  sense 
a  different  character;  the  early  preaching  and 
baptizing  of  our  Lord  while  the  forerunner's 
work  still  went  on  (John3;22f.;  4:  if.)  was  intro- 
ductory, and  his  ministry  now  takes  in  some 
sense  a  higher  position.  The  transition  from 
the  Old  Dispensation  to  the  New  was  in  many 
respects  gradual.  Even  after  the  ascension  of 
Christ  and  the  special  coming  of  the  Spirit, 
the  Jewish  Christians  long  continued  to  ob- 
serve the  ceremonies  of  the  law,  continued  it 
apparently'  until  providentially  stopped  by 
the  destruction  of  the  temple.  And  so  the 
forerunner  continued  his  preaching  and  bap- 
tizing side  by  side  with  that  of  Jesus  until 
providentially  stopped  by  his  imprisonment. 
It  is  likely  that  the  oral  narratives  commonly 
given  by  the  apostles  for  years  after  the  ascen- 
sion were  accustomed  to  begin  their  account 
of  the  Lord's  ministry,  as  wo  find  the  three 
first  Gospels  doing,  with  this  point  at  wliich 
his  ministry  stood  out  apart  from  that  of  the 
Baptist.  But  before  John's  Gospel  was  writ- 
ten, some  persons  were  maintaining  that  the 
Baptist's  work  was  designed  to  bo  permanent, 
and  ought  to  be  continued  by  his  disciples;  it 
may  have  been  partly  to  correct  this  error 
that  John  narrates  the  earlier  ministry  of 
Jesus,  showing  that  he  was  not  a  mere  succes- 
sor of  the  Baptist,  but  began  to  j)reach  before 
the  other  ceased,  and  that  the  forerunner  dis- 
tinctly and  repeatedly  acknowledged  liis  own 
inferiority,  and  asserted  that  his  work  was  de- 
signed to  be  temporary.  (J"i"»  1 :  29-87 ;  3 : 2«  ff.) 


72 

M^ 

ITT 

HI 

:w. 

[Ch 

IV. 

12  Now  when  Jesus  had  heard  that  John 
into  prison,  he  departed  into  Galilee ; 

was' 

cast 

12 

Now  when  he  heard  that  John 

was 

delivered  up, 

10 

r,  delivered 

up. 

If  we  adopt  the  common  and  probable  reck- 
oning that  our  Lord's  public  ministry  occu- 
pied about  three  years  and  a  half,  putting  his 
baptism  some  months  before  the  Passover  at 
which  Nicodemus  visited  him,  then  the  labors 
in  Galilee  and  vicinity  recorded  by  Matthew 
(and  Mark  and  Luke)  begin  during  the  sec- 
ond year  of  his  ministry  (reckoning  from 
Passover  to  Passover,  because  at  the  Passover 
he  died),  and  probably  in  the  latter  part  of 
that  year;  thus  leaving  rather  less  than  two 
years  for  this  "ministry  in  Galilee,"  whicli 
ended  six  months  before  the  crucifixion. 

It  is  evident  that  Matthew  does  not  in  this 
part  of  his  work  propose  to  himself  a  chrono- 
logical account  of  events  and  discourses.  He 
sets  out  with  the  general  statement  that  our 
Lord  withdrew  (from  Judea)  into  Galilee, 
and  making  Capernaum  his  residence  and  the 
centre  of  his  operations,  began  to  preach,  (t. 
12-17.)  Then  comes  the  fact  of  his  calling 
certain  persons  to  follow  him,  and  unite  with 
him  in  these  labors,  (v.  is-w.)  Next  a  very  gen- 
eral account  of  his  going  about  all  Galilee, 
preaching  and  healing,  while  his  fame  spread 
far  and  wide,  and  he  was  followed  by  crowds 
from  all  the  adjacent  regions,  (v.  23.25.)  The 
present  section  thus  carries  us  into  the  heart 
of  the  ministry  in  Galilee.  Afterwards  we 
shall  find  that  great  discourse  (oh.  5-7),  in  which 
our  Lord  set  forth  certain  principles  of  the 
kingdom  or  reign  he  came  to  proclaim  and 
establish  ;  and  then  a  number  of  miracles  and 
discourses,  such  as  were  calculated  to  prove 
the  fact  that  Jesus  is  the  Messiah,  and  to  ex- 
hibit the  true  nature  of  the  Messianic  reign — 
the  twofold  object  of  Matthew's  Gospel.  In 
all  this  there  is  no  attempt  at  chronological 
order,  but  a  grouping  of  the  topics  which  is 
more  effective  for  the  sacred  writer's  object. 
(Comp.  ou8:  1;  9:  35;  11:  2;  12:  1;  14:  1.) 

12.  Now  when  Jesns  had  heard,  or,  and 
/tearing.    The  narrative  goes  right  on.*    Cast 


into  prison,  or,  delivered  up, — literally, 
passed  on,  'given  from  hand  to  hand.'  It  i.s 
a  word  often  used  in  the  Gospels  and  the 
Acts,  sometimes  correctl^-^  translated  by  'de- 
liver,'* often  incorrectly  by  'betray.'  Mat- 
thew here  contents  himself  with  this  general 
expression,  without  stating  the  circumstances 
of  John's  imprisonment,  because  they  were 
familiar  to  his  readers.  Afterwards,  when 
telling  of  John's  death  (u:.sff.),  he  states  the 
cause  of  his  imprisonment.  According  to 
the  chronological  estimates  above  mentioned, 
the  imprisonment  took  place  over  twelve 
months  after  the  baptism  of  Jesus,  and  thus 
John's  preaching  and  baptizing  continued  in 
all  about  a  year  and  a  half.  Henceforth, 
until  his  death,  about  a  year  later,  we  are  to 
think  of  him  as  a  prisoner  in  the  Castle  of 
Machaerus,  some  miles  east  of  the  northern 
part  of  the  Dead  Sea.  (See  on  14:  6.)  De- 
parted, m^Arfrew,  or,  'retired,'  *as  above  in  2: 
12,  13,  14,  22,  and  below  in  12:  15;  14:  13,  etc. 
The  word  does  not  necessarily  implj'  danger. 
(See  Acts  23: 19;  26:31.)  Yet  the  circumstan- 
ces here  suggest  that  our  Lord  withdrew  to 
avoid  inconvenient  consequences  which  might 
follow  if  he  remained  in  Judea.  And  this  is 
explained  by  John.  The  Pharisees  at  Jerusa- 
lem had  been  watching  the  Baptist  (J"hn  1  ■•  is  «■), 
and  were  doubtless  jealous  of  his  influence. 
But  of  late  they  had  heard  that  Jesus  was 
making  and  baptizing  more  disciples  than 
John  (J«hn4:i),  and  now  that  John  was  im- 
prisoned they  would  be  likely  to  turn  their 
jealous  attention  to  Jesus,  who  therefore  with- 
drew from  Judea  into  the  remoter  Galilee.  It 
is  a  strange  mistake  to  say  that  he  wished  to 
avoid  Herod,  for  Judea  (John  4: 3)  was  not  in 
Herod's  dominions,  and  Galilee  was.  Similar 
withdrawals  by  our  Lord  we  shall  find  below, 
in  12:  15;  14:  13;  15:  21.  (Comp.  on  8:  4.) 
Galilee,  the  scene  of  the  greater  part  of 
our  Lord's  ministry,  is  wrongly  conceived  by 


''Jesus 'does  not  belong  to  the  true  text.  It  was 
probably  inserted  in  public  reading  for  perspicuity  (as 
also  in  v.  18,  23),  and  so  crept  into  the  text.  Some  codd. 
of  Vulgate  give  it  even  in  5:  1. 

*Tyndale,  following  Wyclif,  here  gave  'taken,'  a 
very  poor  translation  of  the   Vulgate.     Beza's  note, 


"i.  e.,  had  been  thrown  into  prison,"  appears  to  bave 
been  followed  by  the  Common  Version. 

8S0  the  Latin  version  and  Rheinis  (' retired '),  the 
Syriac  (•'  removed '),  Davidson,  etc.  '  Departed '  comes 
from  Tyndale. 


tH.   IV.] 
13  And  lea 


MATTHEW. 


73 


13  And  leaving  Nazareth,  he  came  and  dwelt  in  |  13  he  withdrew  into  Galilee;  and  leaving  Nazareth,  he 
Capernaum,  which  is  upon  the  sea  coast,  in  the  borders  caiue  and  dwelt  in  Capernauui,  which  is  by  the  sea, 
of  Zabulou  and  Nephthalim  :  | 


many  as  a  poor  country,  with  a  degraded  pop- 
ulation. It  has  always  been  much  more  fer- 
tile and  beautiful  than  Judea,  and  in  the  time 
of  Christ  had  an  immense  population,  brave, 
energetic,  and  wealthy.  (Comp.  below  on  v. 
23.)  The  name  appears  to  have  come  from 
the  Galil  or  'circuit'  of  twenty  cities  given 
by  Solomon  to  Hiram,  king  of  Tyre  (Josh,  ao:  7; 
1  Kings  9:  11;  2Kiugsi5:  29),  and  was  gradually  ex- 
tended to  denote  the  northern  part  of  the  Holy 
Land  in  general.  From  its  proximity  to  and 
connection  with  Phenicia  this  district  would 
be  largely  occupied  by  Gentiles,  and  so  was 
called  by  Isaiah,  literally  (9:  i)  'circuit  of  the 
Gentiles.'  During  and  after  the  captivity  the 
Gentiles  became  predominant.  In  b.  c.  164^, 
the  Jews  in  Galilee  were  so  few  that  the  Mac- 
cabees carried  them  all  away  to  Judea  for 
safety,  (i  Mace.  5: 2s.)  In  the  time  of  Christ  the 
vast  population  were  chiefly  Jews,  though 
several  cities  are  expressly  said  (Josephus, 
Strabo)  to  have  contained  many  Gentiles,  and 
they  were  doubtless  numerous  elsewhere. 
These  probably  sometimes  heard  Jesus,  who 
may  have  sometimes  spoken  in  Greek,  but 
there  is  nothing  to  warrant  the  fancy  that  he 
was  a  "Foreign  Missionary,"  as  habitually 
preaching  to  the  heathen;  and  it  is  quite  for- 
bidden by  10:  5,  and  15:  24.  The  constant 
association  with  Gentiles,  as  well  as  the  dis- 
tance from  Jerusalem,  may  have  softened  the 
religious  prejudices  of  the  Galilean  Jews,  and 
rendered  them  more  accessible  to  the  new 
teachings.  The  Galileans  pronounced  Ara- 
maic with  some  provincial  peculiarities  by 
which  the  people  of  Jerusalem  could  recog- 
nize them  (2«:  73),  but  this  does  not  show  them 
to  have  been  ignorant.  Galilee  exhibited  an 
intense  activity  in  agriculture,  fisheries,  man- 
ufacturing, and  trade.  Besides  local  business, 
the  great  trade  between  Egypt  and  Damascus 
passed  through  this  region.  Jesus  labored 
among  an  intelligent  and  actively  busy  people. 
The  district  comprised  the  immensely  fertile 
plain  of  Esdraelon  on  the  south  ;  the  broad, 
rolling  uplands  of  the  centre,  rich  in  grass 


and  wheat,  in  bright  flowers  and  shady  trees ; 
and  the  higher  hills  and  mountains  of  the 
north,  which,  interspersed  with  deep  valleys, 
presented  the  greatest  variety  of  productions 
and  climate.  (See  Josephus,  Keim,  Kenan, 
Neubauer,  and  especially  Merrill's  "Galilee 
in  the  Time  of  our  Lord,"  from  "Biblioth. 
Sac."  for  1874.)  Three  times  we  find  our 
Lord  described  as  making  extensive  journeys 

around  Galilee.     (4:  23;  Luke  8:  l  jr. ;  Matt.  9:  34 ff.) 

13  f.  He  did  not  make  this  change  imme- 
diately upon  reaching  Galilee,  but  first  re- 
visited Cana  (John 4:46;,  and  began  teaching  in 
Galilee  with  great  acceptance  (Luke  4: 15),  com- 
ing presently  to  Nazareth.  (Luke4:16ff.)  Being 
there  rejected  and  his  life  attempted,  he  left 
(Luke 4: 31),  and  Went  down  to  Capernaum.* 
Here  he  would  not  only  be  more  free  from 
popular  violence,  but  would  come  in  contact 
with  a  much  larger  and  more  active-minded 
population.  So  Paul  laborad  especially  at 
Antioch,  Corinth,  and  Ephe.sus,  commercial 
centres,  in  which  men's  minds  were  active 
and  ready  to  grasp  new  ideas,  and  from  which 
the  news  would  spread  in  every  direction,  and 
excursions  could  be  readily  made.  Came 
and  dwelt  in,  as  in  2:  2^3.  Capernaum 
was  our  Lord's  home,  the  centre  of  his  labors 
and  journeys,  for  probably  nearly  two  years. 
(Comp.  on  v.  12.)  On  the  western  shore  of 
the  Lake  of  Galilee  (see  on  v.  18)  there  ex- 
tends for  some  three  miles  an  exceedingly 
fertile  plain,  called  the  '  Plain  of  Genne.saret.' 
(See  on  14:  84.)  In  this  plain,  or  a  little 
north  of  it,  Capernaum  was  situated;  but  the 
once  highly  exalted  city  has  been  cast  down 
into  such  destruction  (u:23),  that  we  cannot 
certainly  determine  its  site.  Robinson  ])laced 
it  at  Khan  Minyeh,  on  the  northern  edge  of 
the  plain,  and  is  still  followed  b3'  Koiin  and 
Conder.  (Kenan  and  Godet  doubtful.)  But 
the  great  majority  of  recent  explorers  prefer 
the  view  that  it  was  at  Tel  Hum,  two  miles 
further  up  the  shore.  The  earlif.st  MSS. 
and  versions  give  the  name  as  Capharnaum, 
and  the  Syriac  gives  Cnphnrnahum.     As  Ca- 


'  This  proceeds  upon  the  view  that  the  visit  to  Naza-    ably  the  original  form  of  the  word  (Kcim.Cirimni,  Rutt- 


reth  in  13:  54  (M«rk  «:  1)  is  distinct  from  that  of  Lulte 
i:  16,  a  view  not  certainly,  but  probably,  correct. — Sev- 
eral MS.S.  read  in  this  place  Nazara,  and  that  is  prot>- 


mann).  But  as  Niizaret,  or  Nuzaretli,  or  Naziiralh 
occurs  in  most  passages,  it  seeius  u»<'Ie8.s  to  depart  from 
the  coniuion  form  here. 


74 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  IV. 


14  That  it  might  be  fulfilled  which  was  spoken  by 
Esaias  the  prupliet,  saying, 

15  The  laud  of  Zabuloi),and  the  laudof  Nepbthalim, 
ttj/  the  way  of  the  sea,  beyond  Jordan,  Galilee  of  the 
Gentiles ; 


14  in  the  borders  of  ZebuUin  and  Naphtali :  that  it 
might  be  fullilled  which  was  spoken  through  Isaiah 
the  prophet,  saying, 

15  The  laud  of  Zebulun  and  the  land  of  Naphtali, 
1  Toward  the  sea,  beyond  Jordan, 

Galilee  of  the  -  Gentiles, 


1  Or.  The  way  of  the  tea 2  Or,  nationa :  aud  so  elsewhere. 


phar  in  Hebrew  means  'village,'  Caphar- 
nahum  means  'village  of  Nahum,'  or  per- 
haps 'village  of  consolation'  (Origen).  In 
modern  Arabic  the  word  Tel  denotes  a  hill 
covered  with  ruins,  and  thus  Tel  Hum  might 
well  be  the  modern  form  of  village  of  Na- 
hum (so  Ewald,  Delitzsch,  and  others;.  More- 
over, the  ruins  at  Tel  Hum  contain  much 
black  basaltic  rock,  which  is  very  hard  to 
work,  and  must  have  been  brought  from  the 
country  S.  E.  of  th«  lake,  so  that  its  free  use 
indicates  a  wealthy  city,  the  most  important 
in  the  neighborhood.  Now  Capernaum  evi- 
dently had  such  pre-eminence  among  the 
cities  on  the  northern  shores  of  the  lake,  and 
so  it  seems  highly  probable  that  Tel  Hum  is 
the  site  of  Capernaum.'  At  Tel  Hum  are  the 
ruins  of  a  beautiful  synagogue,  the  finest  of 
which  we  have  any  remains  in  all  Palestine, 
and  this  may  well  have  been  'the  synagogue' 
built  by  the  centurion.  (Luke  7:5.)  Originally 
but  a  'village'  (Caphar),  and  so  not  men- 
tioned in  O.  T.,  it  had  in  N.  T.  times  become 
a 'city.'  (Luke 4: 31.)  It  probably  had  a  large 
fishing  business  (the  fish  were  put  up  in  salt 
and  transported  to  the  interior),  and  general 
trade  on  the  lake,  while  very  near  it  passed 
the  principal  road  from  Damascus  to  Ptole- 
inais,  carrying  the  trade  with  Egypt,  It  had 
a  custom-house  (9:9),  and  a  garrison  of  Roman 
soldiers.  (»■■  9.)  Our  Lord  had  at  a  former 
period  remained  here  for  a  short  time  (Joim 
2:12),  perhaps  sojourning  with  Peter,  whom 
we  afterwards  find  living  at  Capernaum.  (8:i4; 
Marki:  29;  2:1.)  In  the  synagogue  at  Capernaum 
he  delivered  the  great  discourse  of  John,  ch.  6 
(see  John  6:  59).  It  was  a  convenient  start- 
ing point  for  his  journey  into  Galilee  or  De- 
capolis,  towards  Tyre  or  Cesarea  Philippi,  to 
Perea  or  Judea  ;  and  was  the  home  to  which 
he  constantly  returned. 

Borders,  as  in  2  :  16.  The  borders  of  Zab- 
nlon  and  Nephthalim  means  the  borders 
common  to  the  two,  the  boundary  between 


them.  For  the  peculiar  forms  of  the  names, 
Zabulon  and  Nephthalim,  see  on  1 :  2.  The 
Evangelist  takes  pains  to  describe  the  situa- 
tion of  Capernaum,  as  beside  the  sea  (lake), 
and  on  the  boundary  between  these  two 
tribes,  in  order  to  show  the  minute  corre- 
spondence to  the  prediction  he  is  about  to 
quote.  Matthew  often  introduces  Messianic 
prophecies  as  fulfilled  in  Jesus  (1:22;  2:6,  is,  w, 
23;  3:3),  this  being  an  evidence  of  his  Messiah- 
ship. 

14.  For  that  it  might  be  fulfilled  by,  or, 
through,  see  on  1 :  22;  and  for  the  form  of  the, 
names  Esaias  or  Isaiah,  on  1 :  2.  A  provh 
dential  design  of  Jesus'  going  to  reside  in  thi 
region  was  that  the  prophecy  might  be  ful- 
filled ;  there  might  of  course  be  other  designs 
at  the  same  time. 

15  f.  The  Sept.  translation  of  this  passaj 
(isa.  9  :if.),  is  quite  incorrect,  and  Matt,  doe 
not  follow  the  Sept.,  as  he  commonly  doe 
where  it  is  suflaciently  accurate  for  his  pui 
pose.     The  original  Hebrew  contains  some  eX'^ 
pressions  which  would  be  intelligible  only  bj 
consulting  the   connection,  and   these  Matt.1 
has  omitted,  but  without  aflfecting  the  mean-j 
ing  of  the  passage,  as  applying  to  our  Lord's 
settlement  at  Capernaum.     He  even  begins  inl 
the  middle  of  a  sentence,  taking  only  what' 
was  appropriate  to  the  matter  in  hand.     The 
prophet  has  spoken  of  great  afflictions  which 
would  befall  the  people  at  the  hands  of  the 
Assyrians  and  others,  but  which  would  be  fol- 
lowed by  great  blessings,  to  be  enjoyed  espe- 
cially by  the  tribes  mentioned,  they  having 
been  most  afflicted  ;  and  the  Evangelist  shows 
us  a  remoter  reference  in  this  to  the  blessings 
connected  with  the  work  of  the  Messiah,  to 
whom  Isaiah  immediately  afterwards  (»:6f.) 
makes  a  distinct  reference.     By  the  way  of 
the  sea,  omit  'by.'     This  might  mean  road 
tothe sea,  or  simply  sea-road  (Me3'er,  Weiss); 
or  road  by  the  sea,  meaning  the  great  caravaaJ 
route  which  passed  near  the  sea,  i.  e.,  the  Lake 


1  This  view,  favored  by  Ewald,  Delitzsch,  Bitter,  Hans- 
rath,  Thomson,  "Recovery  of  Jerusalem,"  Farrar, 
Sebaff,  Geikie,  and  others,  is  particularly  well  argued 


I  by  Bartlett.  None  of  them  present  the  argument  froB 
the  masses  of  black  rock,  which  are  not  found  in  an] 
other  ruins  in  the  neighborhood. 


Ch.  IV.] 


MATTHEW. 


75 


16  The  people  which  sat  in  darkness  saw  great  light ; 
and  to  them  which  sat  in  the  region  and  shadow  of 
death  light  is  sprung  up. 

17  From  that  time  Jesus  began  to  preach,  and  to  say, 
Bepent:  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand. 


16  The  people  that  sat  in  darkness 
Saw  a  great  light, 

Acd  to  them  that  sat  in  the  region  and  shadow 

of  death. 
To  them  did  light  spring  up. 

17  From  that  time  began  .lesus  to  preach,  and  to  say, 
Repent  ye ;  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand. 


of  Galilee  (see  on  v.  18) ;  or  road  from  the  sea, 
viz.,  the  Mediterranean  (Keim).  The  English 
'sea-road'*  would  be  equally  ambiguous. 
The  most  probable  meaning  is  the  second, 
'  road  by  the  sea,'  designating  the  regions  ad- 
jacent to  the  lake.  Beyond  Jordan  (see  v.  26j 
in  O.  T.  usually  means  east  of  the  Jordan, 
but  in  some  passages  west  of  it  (see  Num.  32: 
19;  Deut.  11:  30;  Josh.  5:  1;  22:  7),  remind- 
ing us  that  Israel  came  first  to  the  region  east 
of  the  river.  It  of  course  depends  on  the 
writer's  point  of  view  in  each  case.  Isaiah, 
having  referred  to  the  calamities  which  would 
be  inflicted  by  the  Eastern  nations,  might 
naturally  for  the  moment  speak  from  their 
point  of  view,  and  thus  'beyond  Jordan' 
would  mean  west  of  the  Jordan,  and  would 
denote  the  same  region  as  the  other  expres- 
sions. This  fits  the  connection,  which  has  a 
series  of  parallel  phrases.  Those  who  prefer 
the  more  common  O.  T.  sense  of  '  beyond 
Jordan'  understand  Decapolis,  east  of  the 
lake,  or  Perea,  east  of  the  lower  Jordan  (see 
on  V.  2o).  They  then  either  hold  that  this  de- 
notes a  region  distinct  from  Galilee,  or  sup- 
pose that  Galilee  sometimes  included  Decap- 
olis, etc.  Galilee  of  the  Gentiles  (see  on  v. 
12).  The  word  rendered  Gentiles  signifies 
simply  'nations'  (see  margin  of  Rev.  Ver.). 
The  Israelites  called  all  others  'the  nations,' 
in  distinction  from  themselves,  who  were  the 
chosen  people. 

16.  In  this  verse  is  an  instance  of  that 
"parallelism"  which  is  the  peculiarity  in  the 
structure  of  Hebrew  poetry,  and  consequently 
abounds  in  O.  T.  There  are  two  principal 
varieties  of  it :  (a)  the  second  clause  simply 
repeats,  in  diflferent  phraseology,  the  thought 
of  the  first;  and  (6)  the  second  stands  in  con- 
trast with  the  first.  The  present  example 
belongs  to  (a),  the  second  clau.se  repeating 
first,  but  in  stronger  terms.  (See  other  ex- 
amples in  7 :  6 ;  12 :  30. )     Shadow  of  death, 


or,  death-shade,  is  simply  a  figure  for  the 
densest  darkness.  (Comp.  Jer.  13:  16;  Amos 
5:8;  Ps.  107  :  10;  23 :  4,  see  margin  Rev.  Ver. 
'deep  darkness';  even  Job  10:  21.)  The 
'region  and  shadow'  may  be  understood  as 
equivalent  by  what  grammarians  call  hendi- 
adys  to  'region  of  the  shadow'  (which  is  the 
meaning  of  the  Heb. ),  or  as  simply  expanding 
the  idea,  region  of  death  and  shadow  of  deatli. 
Is  sprung  up,  or,  arose;  the  Greek  term 
is  often  used  of  sunrise  and  dawn.*  Tiie 
image  seems  to  be  that  of  persons  who  had 
lost  their  way  in  the  dense  darkness,  and 
upon  whom  arose  the  great  light  of  the  morn- 
ing. The  Heb.  has  'walked.  .  .  .  sat,'  while 
Matt,  says  'sat'  in  both  cjftes,  which  with 
reference  to  the  figure  is  an  equivalent  expres- 
sion. Here,  as  so  often  in  Scripture,  darkness 
and  light  represent  ignorance,  sin,  misery,  as 
opposed  t6  knowledge,  holiness,  happiness. — 
Alexander:  "The  verse  in  its  original  con- 
nection has  respect  to  the  degraded  and  op- 
pressed state  of  the  Galileans,  ari.sing  from 
their  situation  on  the  frontier,  their  exposure 
to  attack  from  without,  and  their  actual  mix- 
ture with  the  Gentiles."  Matt,  shows  us  in 
this  language  a  further  reference  to  the  spir- 
itual darkness  of  the  Galileans  of  our  Lord's 
time.  All  the  Jews  were  in  spiritual  dark- 
ness, and  the  Galileans  were  inferior  in  re- 
ligious privileges  to  the  Judean.«,  and  despised 
by  them.  (Ji'hn7:4i,49, 5?.)  There  is  no  proof 
that  they  were  morally  more  corrupt  than  the 
Judeans.  But  he  who  came  'to  seek  and  to 
save  that  which  is  lost,'  fixed  in  this  remote  and 
despised  section  of  the  Holy  Land  the  centre  of 
his  labors,  and  here  chose  most  of  the  apostles 
who  were  to  carry  his  teachings  to  Judea  and 
Samaria,  and  the  ends  of  the  earth,  (aowiis.) 
17.  Establishing  himself  in  Capcrnaiini,  our 
Lord  began  to  preach.  From  that  time  be- 
gan that  public  ministry  which  Matthew  pro- 
poses to  describe.     (Comp.  on  v.  1*2.) 


>The  Greek  genitive  is  often  most  exactly  rendered 
into  English  by  means  of  a  compound  substantive 
(comp.  on  1 :  11). 

*  Literally, '  and  to  those  sitting light  arose  to 


them.'  This  rep<!titi<>n  of  the  proiioun  after  llie  verb 
is  a  Hebrew  idiom,  natural  to  the  Evangelist,  though 
awkward  in  Greek  and  English. 


76 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  IV. 


18  And  Jesus,  walkioK  by  the  sea  of  Galilee,  saw  two  I  18  And  walking  by  the  sea  of  Galilee,  he  saw  two 
brethren,  Simon  called  Peter,  and  Andrew  his  brother,  brethren,  Simon,  who  is  called  Peter,  and  Andrew 
casting  a  net  into  the  sea:  for  tliey  were  fishers.  |       his  brother,  casting  a  net  into  the  sea;  for  they 


The  English  word  preach  is  derived 
(through  the  French)  from  the  li&t'in  predico, 
which  signifies  to  proclaim,  publish,  declare. 
The  Greek  word  here  used  (kerusso)  has  the 
same  sense,  to  proclaim,  as  a  crier  or  herald 
does,  and  in  general  to  proclaim,  publish,  de- 
clare. This  is  the  word  always  used  by  Mat- 
thew where  the  Common  English  Version  has 
'preach,'  except  in  11:  5,  and  elsewhere  in 
N.  T.  it  is  alwaj's  rendered  'preach,'  ejccept 
in  Luke  12:  3;  Rev.  5:  2,  'proclaim,'  and 
in  Mark  1 :  45;  6 :  20;  7:  36;  13 :  10;  Luke 
8:  39 'publish.'  But  it  will  not  do  to  infer 
that  'to  preach'  is  always  in  N.  T.  an  official 
function,  as  these  facts  have  led  some  to  do, 
because  the  English  word  is  also  used  (in 
other  N.  T.  books)  to  translate  various  other 
words,  which  carry  no  suggestion  of  a  herald 
or  other  official.  Thus  euangelizomai,  to  bear 
a  good  message,  bring  good  news(comp.  euan- 
gelion,  'gospel,'  introductory  note  to  1:  1), 
used  once  by  Matt,  (u:  o),  and  not;  at  all  by 
Mark  or  John,  is  a  favorite  word  with  Luke 
and  Paul,  and  often  rendered  in  Com.  Ver. 
by  'preach,'  or  'preach  the  gospel.'  Laleo, 
to  talk,  speak,  a  very  common  word  in  that 
sense,  is  rendered  '  preach '  in  Mark  2:2; 
Acts8:  25;  11:  19;  13:  42;  14:  25;  16:  6.1 

Repent,  etc.  See  on  3  :  2.  Our  Lord  be- 
gins this  ministry  after  the  imprisonment  of 
John,  with  precisely  the  same  exhortation  and 
announcement  that  had  been  made  by  John. 
We  naturally  infer  that  his  previous  preach- 
ing in  Judea  had  been  to  the  same  effect. 
Yet  he  by  no  means  confined  himself  to  the 
announcement  and  exhortation,  but  already 
in  Judea  had  strongly  stated  to  Nicodemus 
and  to  the  woman  of  Samaria  the  spiritual  na- 
ture of  the  Messianic  reign.  To  the  woman 
he  had  also  declared  himself  the  Messiah  (John 
4:  26:  comp.  John  1 :  46-51),  but  it  did  not  accord  with 
his  purpose  publicly  to  declare  this  in  Galilee. 
From  Mark  1 :  15  we  see  that  along  with  the 
exhortation  to  repent  he  called  on  the  people 
to  'believe  in  the  gospel,'  or  good  news,  viz., 
in  the  good  news  he  was  announcing  ;  just  as 


the  Baptist  bade  them  'believe  on  the  (one) 
coming  after  him.'  (Act*  19 :  4.)  Thus  not 
only  repentance,  but  faith  in  the  Messiah,  was 
preached  before  as  well  as  after  the  day  of 
Pentecost.  Then,  as  in  the  case  of  Abraham 
(Rom. 4:11)  and  always,  belief  in  God's  word 
was  the  root  of  piety.  And  if  the  baptism  of 
John,  and  that  administered  by  Jesus  through 
his  disciples  (JohD4:ir.),  was  conditioned  on 
faith  in  the  Messiah  as  well  as  repentance, 
what  essential  difference  was  there  between 
it  and  Christian  baptism? 

18.  In  v.  18-22  we  have  an  account  of  the 
call  of  certain  disciples,  Simon  and  Andrew, 
James  and  John.  The  first  two  of  these,  and  in 
all  probability  John  also,  had  attached  them- 
selves to  Jesus  on  the  Jordan,  soon  after  his 
temptation,  as  had  also  Philip  and  Nathanael 
(johni:  35 ff.)  From  that  time  we  find  him  con- 
stantly attended  by  persons  known  as  '  his 
disciples,'  at  Cana  (John  2 :  2, 11),  at  Capernaum, 
(John  2: 12),  at  Jerusalem  (John 2:  17,22),  in  his  la- 
bors in  Judea  (John 3:  22;  4:  2),  and  at  Si'char. 
(John 4:  8;  27-33.)  Supposing,  as  there  seems  rea- 
son to  do,  that  these  included  some  or  all  of 
the  five  persons  above  named,  we  conclude 
that  upon  returning  to  Galilee  they  had  left 
Jesus,  gone  to  their  own  homes,  and  resumed 
their  former  occupations,  it  being  probable 
that  he  had  never  yet  told  them  they  were  to 
forsake  all  and  follow  him  without  intermis- 
sion. And  it  was  natural  enough  that  they 
should  return  to  fishing  after  being  so  long 
with  Jesus,  even  as  some  of  them  sought  food 
in  that  way  after  his  resurrection.  (John  21:1.) 
The  training  of  the  disciples  for  their  work 
was  very  gradual  (see  on  10:  1).  On  the  pres- 
ent occasion,  finding  the  two  pairs  of  brothers 
engaged  in  their  occupation  as  fishermen,  Je- 
sus calls  on  them  to  attend  him  in  his  min- 
istry, which  they  seem  to  have  constantly 
done  from  this  time  forward.  Their  imme- 
diate compliance  with  his  demand  (v.  20, 22) 
ceases  to  be  strange  when  we  remember  their 
former  connection  with  him  ;  and  this  is  one 
of  the  cases  in  which  Matthew,  Mark,  and 


1  Dialegomai,  to  converse,  discuss,  etc.,  diangello,  ka- 
tangello,  to  beara  message,  make  known,  etc.,  parresia- 
zomai,  to  speak  without  reserve,  speak  boldly,  and  plero 
to  complete  (Bom.  15 :  19),  are  also  occasionally  rendered 


'  preach,'  besides  being  frequently  used  in  their  com- 
mon meanings.  The  words  rendered  'preacher'  and 
'preaching,' are  always  from  kerusso,  except  in  1  Cor. 
1 :  18  ('  word,'  logos.) 


Ch.  IV.] 


MATTHEW. 


77 


Luke,  make  statements  which  seem  to  imply 
a  previous  ministry  such  as  was  afterwards 
described  by  John.  We  see  also  from  the 
fuller  account  of  the  circumstances  given  by 
Luke  (5:  Iff.) — for  it  is  very  unwise  to  assume 
two  different  calls,  as  Clark  and  others  do — 
that  a  miracle  was  wrought  which  made  a 
great  impression  on  Peter  and  the  rest. — Omit 
'Jesus,'  as  in  v.  12. 

The  Sea  of  Galilee  has  been  well  said  to  be 
"  the  most  sacred  sheet  of  water  in  the  world," 
for  it  is  intimately  associated  with  many  of  the 
most  interesting  events  in  the  life  of  our  Lord. 
It  is  called  in  O.  T.  "  the  Sea  of  Chinnereth," 
or  "Chinneroth"  (Num.  »4:  ii;  jo»h.  12:  s),  per- 
haps from  a  town  of  that  name  on  its  banks. 
(jo«h.  19:  35.)  In  N.  T.  times  it  was  com- 
monly called  "Lake  of  Gennesaret"  (Luke 
5:  1,  Josephus,  Strabo,  etc.),  as  already  in  1 
Mace.  11:  67,  "  water  of  Gennesar,"  the  name 
being  probablj'  derived  from  the  plain  on  its 
northwestern  shore  (see  on  14  :  34).  We  also 
find  in  John  (21:1 ;  «:i)  the  name  "Sea  of  Ti- 
berias," from  the  city  which  Herod  Antipas 
built  on  the  southwestern  shore,  and  named 
after  the  emperor  Tiberius,  and  which  is  at 
the  present  day  the  only  town  remaining  near 
the  lake.  The  name  "Sea  of  Galilee,"  here 
and  in  Mark  7:  31 ;  John  6:  1,  was  obviously 
taken  from  the  great  district  on  the  west.  In 
Hebrew  the  terra  rendered  'sea'  was  also  ap- 
plied to  small  bodies  of  water  (as  now  in  Ger- 
man a  sea  may  be  a  small  lake),  and  this  un- 
classical  use  of  the  term  is  adopted  in  Greek 
by  Matt.,  Mark,  and  John,  but  not  by  Luke, 
who  says  '  lake.'  It  is  important  to  observe 
this  usage  ;  for  many  persons  think  of  the  Sea 
of  Galilee  as  a  large  body  of  water,  when  it 
is  only  a  .^mall  lake,  twelve  and  a  quarter  miles 
long,  and  six  and  three-quarter  miles  in  its 
greatest  breadth.  Its  surface  is  six  hundred 
and  eighty-two  feet  below  the  level  of  the 
Mediterranean  (comp.  on  3:  6),  so  that  from 
the  hills  on  either  side  it  seems  sunken  in  a 
great  ravine.  The  range  of  mountains  which 
bounds  the  whole  Jordan  valley  on  the  east, 
ri.se  here  just  from  the  eastern  shore  of  the 
lake  (except  a  bit  of  plain  at  the  upper  and 
lower  extremities)  to  the  height  of  nearly  two 
thousand  feet.  They  are  deeply  furrowed  by 
ravines,  and  have  a  barren  and  desolate  ap- 
pearance. The  mountains  on  the  west  curve 
round  80  as  to  give  space  for  the  lake,  and  be- 


sides leaving  the  beautiful  plain  of  Gennesaret 
on  the  northwest,  present  "an  alternation  of 
soft  grassy  slopes  and  rocky  cliffs."  The 
warmth  due  to  the  great  depression,  and  the 
numerous  and  copious  springs  which  break 
out  on  the  western  side,  produce  a  high  degree 
of  fertility,  which  attains  its  greatest  richness 
in  the  plain  of  Gennesaret.  Down  the  ravines 
on  this  side,  as  well  as  on  the  east",  come 
rushing  winds,  which  often  lash  the  surface 
of  the  lake  to  fury  (see  on  8:  24).  Around 
nearly  all  the  western  side  lies  a  gently  slop- 
ing beach,  which  southward  is  roughly  strewn 
with  stones,  but  in  the  middle  and  northern 
partis  of  smooth  sand.  The  water  is  found, 
as  described  by  Josephus,  to  be  remarkably 
clear,  cool,  and  sweet;  and  the  lake  still 
abounds  in  choice  fish,  which  doubtless  led  to 
the  name  Bethsaida,  house  of  fish,  fishtown, 
for  a  town  on  the  northeast  and  another  on  the 
northwest.  Besides  nine  cities,  some  of  them 
quite  populous,  on  the  western  shore,  there 
were  many  villages  on  the  hill-sides.  Han- 
nn:  "It  is  perhaps  not  too  much  to  say  that 
never  did  so  small  a  sheet  of  water  see  so 
many  keels  cutting  its  surface,  or  so  many 
human  habitations  circling  round  and  shad- 
owing its  waves,  as  did  the  Sea  of  Galilee 
in  the  days  of  Jesus  Christ."  Our  Lord 
was  throwing  himself  into  the  midst  of  the 
busy  world  (comp.  on  v.  12  and  13),  where 
great  crowds  would  easily  collect  to  hear  and 
see ;  while  whenever  he  wished  to  avoid  them, 
he  could  retire  from  the  lake-shore  to  the  ad- 
jacent lofty  hills,  or  cross  the  narrow  lake  to 
the  comparative  solitudes  beyond.  On  the 
present  occasion  we  think  of  him  as  going 
forth  from  Capernaum,  and  walking  by  the 
sea,  along  the  sloping  and  sandy  beach,  until 
presently'  he  sees  among  the  busy  fl.shermen 
those  humble  brothers  whom  he  had  chosen 
to  follow  him  in  labors  destined  to  make  the 
Sea  of  Galilee  famous  forever. 

How  pleasant  to  me  thy  deep  blue  wave, 

O  Sea  of  Galilee ! 
For  the  glorious  One  who  came  to  save 

Hath  often  stood  by  thee. 

Gracefiil  around  thee  the  mountains  meet, 

Thou  calm  reposing  sea; 
But  ah:  far  more,  the  bcautlftil  feet 

Of  Jesus  walked  nor  thee. 

Tell  me,  ye  moulderins  fragments,  tell, 
Wa«  the  Saviour's  city  here .' 


78 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  IV. 


19  And  he  saith  unto  them,  Follow  me,  and  I  will 
make  you  fishers  ut'  men. 

•20  And  they  straightway  left  their  nets,  and  followed 
him. 


19  were  fishers.    And  he  saith  unto  them,  Come  ye 

20  after  me,  and  I  will  make  you  fi!>hers  of  men.    And 
they  straightway  left  the  nets,  and  followed  him. 


Lifted  to  heaven,  has  it  sunk  to  hell. 
With  none  to  shed  a  tear? 

And  was  it  beside  this  very  sea 

The  new-risen  Saviour  said. 
Three  times  to  Simon,  "  Lovest  thou  me? 

My  lambs  and  sheep  then  feed." 

O  Saviour,  gone  to  God's  right  hand, 

But  the  same  Saviour  still. 
Graved  on  thy  heart  is  this  lovely  strand 

And  every  fragrant  hill. 

Oh !  give  me.  Lord,  by  this  sacred  wave, 

Threefold  thy  love  divine. 
That  I  may  feed,  till  I  find  my  grave. 
Thy  flock — both  thine  and  mine. 

M'Cheyne. 

On  Simon  called  Peter  (as  to  the  form 
of  expression  cotnp.  1 ;  16),  and  on  Andrew, 
see  on  13:  2.  A  net  is  in  the  original  a  dif- 
ferent word  from  the  more  general  term  em- 
ployed in  V.  20  f.,  but  without  any  substantial 
difference  of  meaning.  The  circumstances 
show  that  it  was  a  dip-net.  (Comp.  on  13 :  47. ; 
— The  fact  that  our  Lord  chose  '  fishermen '  to 
receive  and  propagate  his  teachings,  and  not 
Rabbis,  shows  that  he  relied  on  something 
better  than  mere  human  learning  and  worldly 
influence,  and  the  success  of  their  labors  is 
one  evidence  of  the  divine  power  which  at- 
tends the  preaching  of  the  gospel.  But  this 
idea  must  not  be  carried  too  far.  There  is  no 
reason  at  all  to  consider  them  weak  men,  and 
their  position  and  pursuits  seemed  in  some  re- 
spects to  fit  them  for  their  work.  They  were 
perhaps  less  prepossessed  by  the  follies  of 
P'.iarisaic  tradition,  and  thus  better  prepared 
for  receiving  and  transmitting  new  doctrine, 
and  they  were  eminently  men  of  the  people. 
"Working  men"  in  the  East  (Kitto)  are 
often  markedly  intelligent,  correct  in  lan- 
guage, and  courteous,  and  it  has  always  been 
a  matter  of  course  there  that  some  such  men 
should  rise  to  the  highest  station.  And  it  has 
often  been  seen  in  America  that  such  men, 
when  they  possess  real  force,  have  greater 
popular  influence  from  their  ready  and  well- 
recognized  sympathy  with  the  common  mind. 
There  was  afterwards  added  to  the  number  of 
the  apostles  a  man  of  lofty  intellect,  filled 
with  Jewish  learning,  and  not  ignorant  of 
Greek  literature,  and  it  is  he  that  was  chosen 


to  be  the  chief  instrument  of  introducing  the 
gospel  among  the  cultivated  Greeks,  and  to 
write  such  inspired  treatises  as  the  Epistle  to 
the  Romans,  while  at  the  same  time  he  abhor- 
red the  idea  of  relying  on  human  philosophy 
or  rhetoric,  when  the  excellency  of  the  power 
must  be  of  God,  and  not  of  men.  In  all  this 
we  see  a  rebuke  to  the  presumption  and  ex- 
clusiveness  both  of  learning  and  of  ignorance. 
— It  is  not  certain  that  any  others  of  the 
twelve  than  the  four  here  named  were  fisher- 
men by  profession.  We  know  that  Matthew 
was  not,  nor  is  it  likely  that  Nathanael  of 
Cana  was.  The  incident  in  John  21 :  1  ff.  does 
not  prove  that  to  have  been  the  proper  calling 
of  every  one  present.  Still,  it  is  probable  that 
all  the  twelve  were  men  in  comparatively 
humble  life,  and  without  the  learning  of  the 
Rabbinical  schools.   (Comp.  Acts  4:  13.) 

19.  Follow  me.    This  was  translated  Come 
ye  after  me,  by  Wyclif  and  Rheims,  followed, 
by  Davidson,  Noyes,  Alford,  McClellan.  The 
entire  phrase  was  translated  'follow  me'  by; 
Tyndale,  i^nd  so  came  into  Common  Version. 
The  first  term  is  literally  'hither,'  or  'come^ 
hither,'  as  in  11:  '28.     With  the  addition  'af- 
ter me  '  it  implies  that  they  were  to  come  and  , 
follow  him,  viz.,  as  his  disciples  (comp.  Luke 5 
9:  28;  14:   27).     The  same  idea  is  presently  ( 
expressed   (v. 20, 22)  by  the  simple  term   'fol.l 
low'  ;  and  in  19:  21,  both  "hither'  and  'fol- 
low,'  are  combined.     It  was  the  practice  of] 
many  of  the  Greek  philosophers  to  have  their  [ 
pupils  accompany  them  wherever  they  went, 
instructing  thein  not  only  by  elaborate  dis- 
courses, but  also  by  conversations  with  them, 
or  with  others  in  their  presence.     So  Elijah! 
was  for  some  years  followed  (i  Kings  19:  20f.)  byj 
Elisha,  his  destined  successor.     It  is  easy  to] 
see  the  wisdom  of  such  a  course,  in  these  casesl 
and  in  that  of  the  Great  Teacher.     Similarj 
language  is  found  below   in  9:   9;    16:   24.^ 
Fishers  of  men,  as  he  himself  had  just  been 
occupied  with  a  thronging  crowd.  (Luke 5: 1.) 

20-22.  For  explanation  of  their  immedi- 
ately obeying,  see  on  v.  18.  So  Elisha  left  at- 
once  his  numerous  oxen,  and  followed  the^ 
prophet.  Peter  remembers  long  afterwards] 
that  they  'left  all '  and  followed  Jesus  (i9:  2T^ 
Rev.  Ver.)  And  goiug  On,  etc.,  or  going  forward,  \ 


Ch.  IV.] 


MATTHEW. 


21  And  going  on  from  thence,  he  saw  other  two 
brethren,  James  the  son  of  Zebedee,  and  John  his 
brother,  in  a  ship  with  Zebedee  their  father,  mending 
their  nets;  and  he  called  them. 

2'j5  And  they  immediately  left  the  ship  and  their 
father,  and  followed  him. 

23  And  Jesus  went  about  all  Galilee,  teaching  in  their 
synagogues,  and  jjreaching  the  gospel  of  the  kingdom, 
and  healing  all  manner  ot  sickness  and  all  manner  of 
disease  among  the  people. 


21  And  going  on  from  thence  he  saw  other  two  breth- 
ren, 1  James  the  son  of  Zebedee,  and  John  his  brother, 
in  the  boat  with  Zebedee  their  father,  mending  tlieir 

22  nets;  and  he  called  them.  And  they  straightway 
left;  the  boat  and  their  father,  and  followed  him. 

23  And  'Jesus  went  about  in  all  Galilee,  teaching  in 
their  synagogues,  and  preaching  the  "gospel  of  the 
kingdom,  aud  healing  all  manner  of  disease  and  all 


\0t,  Jacai:  and  sn  el'<ewhere....'i  Some  aooient  autborlties  read,  k<....3  Or,  0oodN<l<n0<  :  aDd  so  elsewhere. 


The  connection  in  Luke  (6: 7)  showa  that  it 
was  only  a  short  distance,  for  Peter  had  beck- 
oned to  James  and  John  when  he  found  his 
boat  so  full,  and  they  came  and  filled  theirs 
also.  Probably  they  then  brought  their  boat 
to  shore  at  a  different  point,  and  to  this  Jesus 
advanced,  and  addressed  to  them  also  his  call. 
— These  two  pairs  of  brothers,  thus  called  at 
the  same  time,  appear  to  have  been  peculiarly 
associated,  forming  the  first  of  those  quater- 
nions, or  companies  of  four,  into  which  the 
twelve  are  in  all  the  lists  divided  (see  on  10: 
2ff).  The  twelve  probably  comprised  also 
a  third  pair  of  brothers  (Luke  8:  le),  where 
'brother'  is  more  probably  the  meaning).  In 
the  ship,  or  boat,  viz.,  the  one  they  kept  and 
~U9ed.  The  article  was  duly  translated  'in  the 
ship,'  by  Tyndale  and  Cranmer.  The  trans- 
lators of  Common  Version  seem  to  have  had 
in  general  but  little  feeling  for  the  article. 
'Boat'  (Noyes,  McClellan)  is  necessary  in 
modern  English  to  express  the  exact  idea. 
The  Greek  word  means  something  used  for 
Bailing,  and  is  applied  to  vessels  of  various 
sizes,  just  as  the  English  ship  and  skiff  were 
originally  the  same  word.  On  the  Lake  of 
Galilee  these  fishing-vessels  were  in  all  prob- 
ability mere  boats.  We  cannot  tell  whether 
or  not  they  had  sailn,  which  are  never  men- 
tioned in  the  Gospels.  With  v.  22  compare 
Mark  1 :  20,  'and  leaving  their  father  Zebe- 
dee in  the  boat  with  the  hired  servants,'  Bib. 
Un.  Ver.,  which  indicates  that  this  family 
were  not  in  great  poverty,  and  so  the  sons 
were  not  depriving  their  father  of  necessary 
ii--sistance  (comp.  10:  2). 

23.  In  V.  2;5-2-5  is  given  a  general  account 
of  our  Lord's  making  a  ciRCUtT  OK  Galilek, 
as  he  did  also  on  two  subsequent  occasions. 
(Loke8:i-s,  ai.dMait.  9:  Mtoii:  1.)  Particular  inci- 
dents of  the  circuit  are  postponed  by  Matt.«| 
till  after  giving  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount 
|«h.5.7)^  to  which  this  paragraph  furnishes  a 
•ort  of  introduction. 

JesuK  went  about.     'Jesus'  should  prob- 


ably be  omitted,  as  in  v.  18,  though  the  evi- 
dence is  here  not  conclusive.  'Went  about' 
is  imperfect  tense,  continued  or  kept  going. 
Christ's  labors  were  incessant.  All  Galilee, 
(comp.  on  V.  12)  is  also  a  strong  expression. 
Galilee  was  a  small  district,  say  seventy  miles 
long  and  forty  in  greatest  width ;  but  Josephus 
declares  that  it  had  two  hundred  and  four 
cities  and  villages  ("Life,"  ch.  55,  Whiston, 
wrongly,  two  hundred  and  forty),  and  else- 
where ("War.,"  3,3,  2)  says:  "The  cities 
are  numerous,  and  the  multitude  of  villages 
everywhere  crowded  with  men,  owing  to  the 
fecundity  of  the  soil,  so  that  the  smallest  of 
them  contains  above  fifteen  thousand  inhab- 
itants." This  is  obviously  an  exaggeration 
or  loose  statement,  as  there  must,  in  the  na- 
ture of  things,  have  been  many  smaller  vil- 
lages. But  Josephus  had  ample  opportunity 
to  know,  having  been  commanding  general  in 
Galilee  in  a.  d.  66.  Nearly  all  the  people 
lived  in  cities,  or  villages,  and  (omitting  those 
who  did  not)  according  to  these  two  state- 
ments of  Josephus  there  were  in  Galilee, 
thirt3'-five  years  (one  generation)  later  than 
our  Lord's  niinistrj',  more  than  three  million 
inhabitants;  an  estimate  which  some  other 
facts  support.  But  few  of  the  cities  are 
named  in  the  Gospels,  but  quite  a  number  in 
Josephus,  whose  military  operations  lead  him 
to  speak  of  them.  At  any  rate,  there  were 
over  two  hundred  cities  and  considerable  vil- 
lages, and  while  we  must  not  press  the  jihrase 
'in  all  Galilee,'  we  perceive  that  this  circuit 
by  our  Lord  was  one  of  great  labor,  and  re- 
quiring much  time,  since  to  visit  only  half 
the  towns  at  the  rate  of  one  every  day,  would 
have  taken  more  than  three  months.  These 
arithmetical  estimates  should  however  not 
be  insisted  on,  save  as  helps  to  form  a  general 
conception  of  the  labors  of  love  our  Lord 
performed,  as  he  'went  about  doing  good,  and 
healing  all  that  were  f>ppressed  of  tin-  di-vil.' 
(acmio:.'W.)  Notice  also  the  expressions  which 
here   follow:    'all  niaiintT  of  sickiiLv--,     'all 


80 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  IV. 


Syria,'  'all  sick  people.'  Of  particular 
miracles  and  discourses  in  our  Lord's  ministry 
the  Gospels  give  only  a  few  examples;  and 
it  is  very  important  to  dwell  on  these  general 
statements,  and  expand  the  imagination  over 
this  great  extent  of  beneficent  work.  Day 
after  day,  week  after  week,  he  goes  from  town 
to  town,  teaching,  healing.  In  scores  of 
synagogues  he  speaks,  hundreds  and  perhaps 
thousands  of  persons  he  heals;  feeling  fatigue 
like  any  other  human  being  (John 4:6,-  Mi,tt. 8:24; 
Mark  6: 31),  he  toils  on.  Teaching.  The  con- 
stant application  of  'teach'  and  'teacher'  to 
our  Lord  reminds  us  that  the  gospel  proposes 
to  instruct  and  enlighten  men,  in  their  igno- 
rance of  spiritual  things — giving  both  infor- 
mation as  to  the  facts  of  God's  word  and 
instruction  in  its  principles. 

Synagogues.  These  were  of  great  service 
to  Jesus,  and  afterwards  to  his  apostles,  in  fur- 
nishing congregations  already  assembled  in  a 
quiet  place,  associated  with  nothing  but  wor- 
ship. The  Greek  word  which  we  borrow 
{aunagoge)  signifies  a  collection  of  objects,  or 
persons,  and  in  the  Sept.  is  often  used  for  the 
congregation  or  assembly  of  Israel  (comp.  on 
16:  18),  in  N.  T.  only  for  a  local  assembly  of 
Jews  in  a  particular  place  to  worship,  or  for 
the  place  in  which  they  assembled.  The 
practice  of  holding  such  meetings  probably 
originated  during  the  Babylonian  captivity, 
when  the  people  were  cut  off  from  the  temple 
worship,  and  having  been  found  pleasant  and 
useful,  was  continued  afterward.  In  the 
time  of  Christ  synagogues  are  referred  to  as  a 
thing  of  course  in  every  town,  not  onlj*  in 
Palestine,  but  wherever  there  were  many 
Jews.  After  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  in 
A.  D.  70,  the  synagogues  would  naturally'  re- 
ceive a  further  development  in  organization 
and  worship,  and  it  should  not  be  forgotten 
that  the  accounts  of  these  furnished  bj'  the 
Jewish  books  (see  Bible  Dictionaries)  refer  to 
this  later  time.  In  N.  T.  we  fifld  no  proofs  of 
complete  organization  and  regular  jurisdic- 
tion, but  there  is  mention  of  '  rulers '  or 
'elders,'  and  of  an  'attendant'  (i.nke4:20);  also 
of  expulsion  (John  9: 22;  12: 42;  16:2),  by  which  it 
is  sufficient  to  understand  that  they  forbade 
the  person  to  attend  their  meetings,  which 
would  also  cause  him  to  be  shunned  in  so- 
ciety. The  examples  in  Luke  4 :  21  and  Acts 
13:  15  show  bow  our  Lord  and  his  apostles 


could  turn  the  worship  and  Scripture  reading 
to  account.  Philo  says  the  reading  and  do- 
tailed  exposition  of  Scripture  was  continued 
till  late  in  the  afternoon.  Regular  meetings 
were  held  in  the  synagogues  on  the  Sabbath 
and  on  festival-days ;  whether  also  on  the 
second  and  fifth  days  of  the  week,  as  at  a  later 
period,  we  cannot  determine  (see  Luke  18: 
12).  Nor  are  we  informed  whether  extraor- 
dinary meetings  could  be  called  on  other  days, 
as  when  Jesus  arrived  in  a  town  and  wished 
to  be  heard;  and  we  know  well  that  our  Lord 
would  speak  wherever  people  could  be  assem- 
bled in  quietness,  as  well  in  the  open  air  as 
in  a  synagogue.  Preaching,  proclaiming 
(Kerusso),  see  on  v.  17.  Gospel  (margin  of 
Rev.  Ver.  'good  tidings  ')  see  note  introduc- 
tory to  1 :  1.  The  gospel  of  the  kingdom 
is  the  good  news  of  that  kingdom  (or  reign) 
of  Messiah  which  was  about  to  be  established 
(see  on  3:  2  and  6:  10).  The  prophets  had  as 
sociated  ideas  of  joy  with  the  coming  of  Mf 
slab's  reign ;  and  now  Jesus  proclaims  the 
'good  news'  that  it  is  near.  See  an  interest- 
ing specimen  of  his  preaching  at  this  period 
in  Luke  4:  18.  Healing.  There  were  two 
great  departments  of  his  public  work — to  makfl 
known  truth,  and  miraculously  to  relievd 
men's  distresses.  He  was  a  Teacher  and 
Healer.  All  manner  of  sickness  —  or| 
every  kind  of  disease;  the  word  is  so  rendered 
in  V.  24.  Disease— this  word  differs  frot 
that  above.  It  seems  to  denote  infirmity, 
such  diseases  as  produce  feebleness  rather  th{(| 
positive  suffering.  The  same  two  Greek  wor 
meaning  'disease'  and  'infirmity,'  are  cot 
pled  in  9 :  35  and  10 :  1.  The  miracles  of 
Jesus  cannot  possibly  be  separated  from  his 
history  or  his  teaching,  nor  can  they  be  re- 
jected without  impeaching  his  character,  or 
also  declaring  the  Epistles  of  Paul,  as  well  as 
the  Gospels  and  Acts,  to  be  so  utterly  untrust- 
worthy that  nothing  whatever  can  be  received 
upon  their  authority.  Nay,  if  one  denies  the 
possibility  of  miracles,  he  need  only  be  logi- 
cal to  deny  the  possibility  of  creation.  If  we 
believe  that  God  caused  these  physical  forces 
to  exist,  and  to  act  according  to  the  laws  which 
modern  science  is  so  nobly  busy  in  observing, 
where  is  the  difficulty  in  believing  (upon  suit- 
able testimony)  that  God's  own  spiritual  in- 
fluence has  sometimes  modified  the  action  of 
these  forces,  without  violating  their  nature? 


Ch.  IV.] 


MATTHEW. 


81 


24  And  his  fame  went  throughout  all  Syria:  and 
tliey  brought  unto  him  all  sick  people  that  were  taken 
with  divers  diseases  and  torments,  and  those  which 
were  possessed  with  devils,  and  those  which  were 
lunatic,  and  those  that  had  the  palsy;  and  he  healed 
them. 

25  And  there  followed  him  great  multitudes  of  peo- 
ple from  Galilee,  and  frovi  Decapolis,  and  j'rom  Jerusa- 
lem, and/ro)?j  Judea,  and  from  beyond  Jordan. 


24  manner  of  sickness  among  the  people.  And  the  re- 
port of  him  went  forth  into  all  -Svria:  and  they 
brought  unto  him  all  that  were  sick,  holden  with 
divers  diseases  and  torments,  i  possessed  with  de- 
mons, and  epileptic,   and  palsied ;   and  he  healed 

25  them.  And  there  followed  him  great  multitudes 
from  Galilee  and  Decapolis  and  Jerusalem  and  Judaea 
and  from  beyond  Jordan. 


1  Or,  demoniacs. 


If  he  made  them,  he  can  do  this.  If  ever 
there  could  be  suitable  occasion  for  miracles, 
it  would  seem  to  be  when  God  "  sent  his  Son 
into  the  world."  Nor  can  any  nobler,  wor- 
thier miracles  be  imagined  than  those  recorded 
us  wrought  by  the  Founder  of  Christianity. 
The  spiritual  teachings,  the  perfect  character, 
and  the  noble  miracles  of  Christ,  all  support 
each  other,  and  together  form  the  foundation 
of  our  faith  and  hope. 

24.  His  fame,  Kev.  V^r.,  the  report,  lit- 
erally, hearing.  Went  throughout.  Tyn- 
dale  gave  the  'throughout,'  which  is  unwar- 
rantably strong — more  strictly,  went  off  into. 
Syria,  Heb.  'Aram'  (whence  'Aramaic'  as 
a  name  of  language)  was  a  term  of  variable 
extent,  denoting  in  general  the  country  east 
of  the  Mediterranean,  between  Asia  Minor 
and  Arabia.  In  the  time  of  the  iiings  of  Is- 
rael it  signifies  the  kingdom  of  which  Damas- 
cus was  the  capital.  During  the  Maccabean 
period  it  is  the  Greek  kingdom  of  the  Seleu- 
ridae,  with  Antioch  as  its  capital.     At  the  time 

"f  Christ,  it  is  a  Roman  province  of  like  ex- 
nt,  reaching   from  the  northeast   angle  of 

ik;  Mediterranean   towards  the   Euphrates, 
and  southward  so  as  to  include  Phenicia  and 


'tortures,'  such  diseases  as  occasion  violent 
pain ;  a  specific  term,  added  to  the  general 
term  'diseases.'  To  these  are  further  added 
three  particular  terms,  denoting  aflections 
which  were  severe  and  frequent,  and  in  them- 
selves quite  remarkable.  Possessed  with 
devils.  Detnoniacs  (margin  Rev.  Ver.),  see 
on  8:  28.  Lunatic,  epileptic,  as  in  Rev.  Ver. 
The  Greek  term,  lil^e  the  Latin  word  which 
we  borrow  in  English,  is  derived  from  the 
word  for  moon,  but  was  applied  not  to  in- 
sanity, as  in  our  use  of  the  corresponding 
Latin  term  (lunatics),  but  to  epilepsy,  which 
the  ancients  supposed  to  become  worse  at  cer- 
tain stages  of  the  moon.  The  sacred  writer 
employs  the  familiar  term,  just  as  he  speaks 
of  sunrise,  etc.,  without  thereby  making  him- 
self responsible  for  the  idea  which  gave  rise- 
to  it.  This  epilepsy  might  or  might  not  be 
connected  with  demoniacal  possession  (see  on 
17  :  15  flf.)  That  had  the  Tpa.\»y ^  paralytics. 
The  Greek  viotA  paralusis.  signifying  a  loosen- 
ing or  relaxation,  viz.,  t)f  tlie  nniscles  or  nerves 
(comp.  on  8:  6),  was,  as  originally  borrowed 
into  English,  contracted  into  'palsy,'  and  de- 
notes in  Scripture  all  that  we  now  mean  by 
'paralysis.'     This  full  form  was  borrowed  at 


Damascus.  After  Archelaus  was  deposed,  :  h  later  period  (comp.  story  and  history,  fancy 
A.  D.  6,  Judea  and  Samaria  became  a  Roman  «"d  phantasy,  etc.),  and  'palsy  '  is  now  usu- 
.rovince,  under  the  proconsul  of  Antioch,  ^lly  confined  to  one  kind  of  paralysis;  that 
-e  Luke  2:  2).  But  Galilee,  and  the  other  which  produces  an  involuntary  tremulous 
i.stricts  governed  by  Herod  Antipas  and  '""tion  of  some  part  of  the  body.  It  is  to  be 
I'hilip  (see  on  2:  '22),  were  still  independent  regretted  that  Rev.  Ver.  has  not  here  ren- 
..f  the  proconsul,  and  not  a  part  of  Syria,  tiered  by  'demoniacs'  and  'paralytics.' 
We  thus  understand  Matthew  to  mean  that  33.  Great  multitudes,  rather,  crowds. 
the  report  of  Jesus'  miracles  of  healing  passed  j  The  Greek  word  (ochtos)  signifies  not  sini|)ly 
beyond  the  bounds  of  Galilee,  and  went  far  a  multitude  (which  is  ple.thns.  used  frequently 
iiway  into  the  districts  northward.     It  would  t  by  Luke,  and  a  few  times  by  Mark  and  John, 


he  folly  to  press  the  '  into'  and  'all'  so  as  to 
include  Antioch.  Mark  (i :  ■«)  says,  'into  all 
llie  region  about  Galilee'  ;  comp.  Luke 4:  14. 


not  by  Matthew),  but  a  confused  crowd  or 
throng.  This  meaning  must  be  borne  in 
mind,    for   such   was   no  doubt    usually   the 


VII  sick  people,  literally,  those  having  character  of  the  crowds  that  followed  Jesus, 
Miemselves)  badly,  those  who  were  in  a  bad  as  so  often  mentioned  in  the  Gospels;  but  the 
'ndition;  a  general  phrase  covering  all  the  word  should  not  bo  insisted  on  as  necessarily 
aasea   presently   specified.     Torments,    or  :  having  this  distinctive  sense  in  every  case,  for 


1 


82 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  IV. 


it  can  scarcely  be  so  taken  in  Acts  1 :  16.  The 
crowds  who  thus  followed  Jesus  were  not 
all  in  any  just  sense  his  disciples.  They  came 
and  went,  attended  him  a  longer  or  shorter 
time,  to  see  his  miracles  and  hear  his  teach- 
ings; sometimes  many  straggled  away,  and 
again  they  would  throng  around  him  to  see 
some  new  wonder.  So  we  must  notice  that 
follow  means  more  or  less  in  different  cases. 
The  term  people  was  uselessly  introduced 
here  by  Tyndale  and  followers. — Galilee. 
See  on  v.  12.  The  word  from  is  in  the  origi- 
nal given  only  before  Galilee,  thus  grouping 
all  the  other  localities  with  it.  Decapolis 
signifies  a  district  containing  ten  cities  (comp. 
Tripolis,  Pentapolis),  and  here  designates  a 
region  of  somewhat  indefinite  extent,  lying 
mainly  on  the  southeast  of  the  Lake  of  Galilee, 
but  including  Scythopolis  (Beth-shean)  on 
the  western  bank  of  the  Jordan  valley. 
After  the  Romans  gained  control  of  Palestine 
(beginning  B.  c.  63),  these  ten  cities  were 
allowed  peculiar  privileges.  Ancient  writers 
differ  as  to  what  cities  formed  the  ten,  Pliny 
including  Damascus  ;  which  Josephus  seems 
to  exclude;  perhaps  the  Romans  made 
changes.  One  of  them  was  Gadara,  see  on 
8:  28.  The  population  of  these  towns  was 
very  largely  Gentile,  and  after  the  death  of 
Herod  the  Great  they  were  not  governed  by 
either  of  his  sons,  but  belonged  to  the  Roman 
province  of  Sj'ria.  (See  Caspar!.)  Jerusa- 
lem, see  on  21 :  10;  Judea, on2:  1;  beyond 
Jordan  (Perea),  on  19:  1.— Though  Jesus 
had  retired  from  Judea  to  Galilee,  many 
came  thence  to  attend  him  here.     (Comp.  on 

16:  1.) 

HOMILKTICAL  AND  PRACTICAL. 

V.  12.  CHRY90ST0M  :  "  Wherefore  doth  he 
depart?  Again  instructing  us  not  to  meet 
temptations,  but  to  give  place  and  withdraw 
ourselves.'"— V.  13.  Hknby:  "It  is  just  with 
God  to  take  the  gospel  and  the  means  of  grace 
from  those  that  slight  them.  Christ  will  not 
stay  long  where  he  is  not  welcome." — Caper- 
naum. 1)  Greatly  favored  as  the  home  of 
Jesus.  2)  Severely  tested  by  his  teaching?  and 
miracles.  3)  Utterly  ruined  for  rejecting  him. 
(11:23.) — V.  16.  The  most  destitute  field  will 
sometimes  prove  most  fruitful. — V.  16.  Dark- 
ness and  light.  1)  The  midnight  darkness  of 
sin,  ignorance,  and  unbelief.  2)  The  morning 
sunlight  of  a  present  gospel.    3)  The  noonday 


brightness  reached  by  following  the  path  of 
the   just.   (Prov.4:i8.)      Starkk    (in   Lange) : 
"Many  live  under  the  full  blaze  of  the  gos- 
pel as  if  they  still  sat  in  the  shadow  of  death." 
— V.  17.  The  preaching  of  Jesus.     1)  Its  sub- ^ 
jects.     2)  Its  spirit.    3)  Its  effects.     The  call  to; 
repentance  has  been  made  by  all  God's  mes 
sengers;  e.  g.,  by  the  prophets  ('turn  ye'),  by 
John  the  Baptist,  by  Jesus  himself,  by  the 
apostles  after  his  ascension.  (Acts2:38;3:i9;  20:2i.)- 
Henry:    "The    doctrine    of  repentance    is 
right  gospel-doctrine.     Not  only  the  austere 
Baptist,  who  was  looked  upon  as  a  melancholy, 
morose  man,  but  the  sweet  and  gracious  Jesus, 
whose  life  dropped  as  a  honey-comb,  preached  ] 
repentance  ;  for  it  is  an  unspeakable  privilege 
that  room  is  left  for  repentance." 

V.  19.  Fishers  of  men.     1)  Humble  work- 
ers,  but  a  lofty   work.     2)   It  requires  tact, ; 
perseverance,  patient  endurance  of  frequent 
failure.    3)   He  who  calls  us  to  it  promises 
that  we  shall  not  labor  in  vain.     [Beware  of  ^ 
the  wild  fancies  of  certain  Fathers,  comparing  i 
Christians  to  fishes,  etc.,  which  some  modern  i 
writers  unwisely  quote].  Starke  (in  Lange):  ' 
"Let  none  fancy  that  he  can  succeed  by  him-  ) 
self;   even  Christ  chose  assistants." — V.  21.  \ 
Two  pairs  of  brothers.     Christ  sanctifies  and  ? 
makes  use  of  natural  affections. — V.  21  f.     1)  j! 
He  saw,  2)  He  called,  3)  They  followed  him.  ^ 
Calvin:     "This    shows    (1)  the    energy  of 
Christ's  voice,  (2)  docility  and  prompt  obe- 
dedience  in  the  disciples." — V.  22.  We  also 
should  be  ready  if  necessary  to  leave  businesss 
and  kindred,  in  order  to  follow  Jesus.  (Comp.  I 
Luke  9 :  67-62. )  We  cannot  tread  in  his  bodily  •., 
footsteps  ;  many  did  this  with  little  or  no  pro- 
fit; but  by  faith  and  loving  imagination  we 
may  see  him  manifested  (John  u:  ui-as) ;  and  in 
imitating  and   obeying  we  shall   in  the  best 
sense  be  following  him. 

V.  23.  '  In  their  synagogues.'  It  may  be 
proper  to  preach  truth  even  in  places  where 
others  preach  much  error.  Jesus  a  Teacher 
and  a  Healer;  and  the  relations  between 
these  functions.  Sin  was  the  prime  cause  of 
disease,  and  special  sin  is  often  the  immediate 
cause  of  particular  diseases.  The  miracles  «f 
healing  both  relieved  human  distress,  and  at- 
tested the  divine  authority  of  the  teaching. 
Henry:  "What  we  hear  of  Christ  from 
others,  should  invite  us  to  him."  Chrys.  : 
"If  we  have  any  bodily  ailment,  we  do  and 


I 


Ch.  v.] 


MATTHEW. 


83 


CHAPTEK  V. 


contrive  everything  to  he  rid  of  what  pains 
us ;  but  when  our  soul  is  indisposed,  we  de- 
lay, and  draw  back." — V.  25.  It  is  well  if 
crowds  come  to  a  preacher:  he  should  then 
take  great  pains  (5:i)  to  teach  them  the  truth 
they  need  (5:7);  but  they  may  admire  his 
teachings  as  novel  and  striking  (T-.iar.)^  and 
yet  few  of  them  become  Christians;  and  the 
fault  may  sometimes  be  wholly  their  own. 


SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT. 

Chap.  5-7. 


GENERAL  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  SERMON 
ON  THE  MOUNT. 

The  discourse  in  ch.  5-7  is  well  known  by 
the  traditional  name  of  The  Sermon  on  the 
Mount.  Several  general  questions  in  regard 
to  it  require  to  be  answered. 

(1)  Unity  of  the  discourse.  Some  contend 
that  we  cannot,  or  need  not,  suppose  Jesus  to 
have  spoken  on  a  single  occasion  all  that  Mat- 
thew here  gives,  but  that  he  has  grouped  to- 
gether things  said  at  different  times,  for  the 
purpose  of  furnishing  a  comprehensive  exhi- 
bition of  our  Saviour's  teachings.  This  they 
argue  partly  from  the  fact  that  many  things 
contained  in  the  discourse  as  given  by  Mat- 
thew are  recorded  by  Luke,  and  even  by 
Matthew  himself,  as  said  on  other  occasions 
(see  on  5:  13,  15,  18,  25,  29,  32;  6:  9,  22,  24, 
26;  7:  2,  7,  17,  23),  and  partly  from  the  man- 
ifest design  on  Matthew's  part  to  compose  not 
80  much  a  chronological  narrative  as  a  his- 
torical argument,  in  which  things  are  so  ar- 
ranged as  to  bring  out  the  points  he  wishes 
to  make  prominent.  But  in  grouping  the 
miracles  of  ch.  8  and  9,  he  does  not  at  all  say 
that  they  occurred  in  that  order,  nor  that  the 
discourse  of  ch.  6-7  preceded  them  all;  while 
he  does  distinctly  say  that  this  discourse  was 
delivered  on  a  single  occasion  (comp.  6:  1, 
and  8:  1),  and  if  the  facts  were  otherwise  his 
account  of  the  matter  would  be  definitely  er- 
roneous, which  cannot  be  admitted  until  it  is 
proven.  And  as  to  the  occurrence  of  similar 
sayings  elsewhere,  why  may  we  not  suppose 
that  our  Lord  would  repeat  substantially  the 
same  sayings?  It  would  have  been  very  un- 
natural had  he  not  done  that  which  is  freely 
practiced  by  all  traveling  teachers,  and  which, 


apart  from  any  question  as  to  the  speaker's 
resources,  is  really  demanded  by  the  simi- 
larity in  the  condition  and  wants  of  differ- 
ent audiences.  And  we  have  abundant  evi- 
dence, from  passages  having  no  connection 
with  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  that  he  fre- 
quently made  such  repetitions,  with  greater 
or  less  variation  of  statement,  and  particu- 
larly in  the  case  of  brief,  pithy  sayings,  such 
as  would  naturally  be  introduced  in  different 
connections,  and  of  very  important  doc- 
trines and  exhortations,  such  as  various  audi- 
ences would  alike  need.  E.g.,  "He  that 
hath  ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear,"'  11:  15;  13: 
9;  "Except  ye  become  as  little  children," 
etc.,  18;  3;  19:  14,  and  add  the  repeated  in- 
culcation of  humility  in  other  ways,  20:  26; 
John  13:  13  ff. ;  Luke  12:  24  ff.  (Comp.  also 
23:  12;  Luke  14:  11;  18:  14.)  "If  ye  have 
faith  as  a  grain  of  mustard  seed,"  etc.,  17: 
20;  21:  21;  Luke  17:  6.  "Whosoever  shall 
confess  me,"  etc.,  10:  32;  Luke  12:  8;  9:  26. 
"The  servant  is  not  greater  than  his  Lord," 
10:24;  Luke  6:  40;  John  13:16;  15:20;  in 
tlie  last  of  which  passages  Jesus  refers  to  his 
having  told  them  the  same  thing  before,  as 
he  does  also  in  John  13:  33.  (Comp.  John  7: 
34;  8:  21.)  "He  that  finds  his  life  shall  lose 
it,  and  he  that  loses  his  life  for  my  salve  shall 
find  it,"  10:  38,39;  16:21f.;  Luke  17:  33; 
John  12:  25.  See  also  the  image  of  taking 
up  the  cross  and  following  him,  in  10:  38;  16: 
24;  Luke  14:  27;  Mark  10:  21.  With  such 
facts  before  us,  it  is  manifest  that  the  recur- 
rence in  other  connections  of  particular  ideas 
and  expressions  which  appear  in  this  dis- 
course, is  no  proof  that  it  was  not  all  deliv- 
ered on  the  occasion  before  us.  Tlius  both 
the  supposed  reasons  fail,  and  we  have  no 
ground  for  setting  aside  the  view  which  an 
unprejudiced  reader  of  Matthew  would  natu- 
rally adopt,  that  he  has  recorded  what  was 
actually  spoken  by  Jesus  as  he  sat  on  the 
Mount.  It  is  not  said  that  nothing  else  was 
spoken;  and  the  supposition  that  Matthew's 
report  is  somewhat  condensed  (as  often  in  the 
Gospels),  will  account  for  the  apparent  lack 
of  connection  in  some  places  (see  on  7:  1-12), 
and  for  the  rapid  succession  of  separate  points. 
which  some  have  thought  (Bleok)  that  a  mis- 
cellaneous out-door  audience  could  hardly  fol- 


84 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  V. 


low  or  retain.  Neander :  "The  discourse  is 
made  up  of  many  sententious  passages,  calcu- 
lated separately  to  impress  the  memory  of  the 
hearers,  and  remain  as  fruitful  germs  in  their 
hearts;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  bound  to- 
gether as  parts  of  an  organic  whole." 

(2)  Is  this  the  same  discourse  as  that  given 
by  Luke,  in  6:  20-49?  They  are  held  to  be 
different  discourses  by  Augustine,  after  him 
by  nearly  all  writers  till  the  Reformation 
(Bleek),  and  by  a  few  writers  since,  as  Eras- 
mus, Doddridge,  Macknight,  Alexander, 
Lange,  G.  W.  Clark,  Coleridge,  Plumptre; 
some  of  these  thinking  the  two  were  delivered 
on  the  same  day,  and  others  with  a  longer  in- 
terval. They  are  taken  as  different  reports  of 
the  same  discourse  by  Origen  and  Chrysv,  by 
Calvin,  and  by  almost  all  recent  expositors. 
In  favor  of  this  view  are  the  obvious  facts  that 
the  two  begin  and  end  exactly  alike,  and 
nearly  everything  which  Luke  gives  is  also 
given  by  Matthew;  and  that  both  are  imme- 
diately followed  by  the  record  of  the  same 
events,  viz.,  the  entrance  into  Capernaum 
and  the  healing  of  the  centurion's  servant. 
The  objections  (well  stated  in  Clark's  Harm.) 
rest  on  supposed  differences  of  ^j^nce,  time,  cir- 
cumstances, And  contents,  (a)  But  Luke  (6  =  it) 
does  not  say  'stood  in  the  plain,'  but  'stood 
on  a  level  place,'  which  might  very  naturally 
be  a  bit  of  level  ground,  or  a  narrow  plain  in 
the  mountain  region,  exactly  what  is  found 
at  the  traditional  place  (see  on  v.  l).i  (b)  As 
to  the  time  and  circumstances,  Luke's  discourse 
follows  the  choice  of  the  Twelve,  and  Mat- 
thew's seems  to  come  earlier,  soon  after  the 
beginning  of  the  ministry  in  Galilee.  But 
Matthew's  arrangement  in  ch.  8-13,  is  obvi- 
ously topical  rather  than  chronological,  and 
so  it  is  natural  that  without  saying  at  what 
precise  period  of  the  ministry  it  was  spoken, 
he  should  give  at  the  outset  this  great  dis- 
course, which  would  set  before  his  Jewish 
readers  the  relation  of  Jesus'  teaching  to  the 
law  of  Moses,  and  the  true  nature  of  the 
Messianic  reign.  (See  the  connection  traced 
on  4:  12.)    And  if  the  events  preceding  the 


discourse  seem  different  in  Matthew,  it  must 
be  observed  that  he  does  not  at  all  state  just 
when  the  discourse  was  delivered,  (c)  As  to 
contents,  Luke  omits  the  large  portions  (Matt 
5:17-37,  and  6: 1-18)  whicli  Were  Specially  import- 
ant and  interesting  to  Jews,  but  less  so  to  the 
Gentile  readers  whom  Luke  had  chiefly  in 
view ;  and  also  omits  some  portions,  probably 
because  he  gives  substantially  the  same  thing 
elsewhere,  as  said  by  our  Lord  on  other  occa- 
sions (e.  g..  Matt.  6:  9-13;  Luke  11:  2-4; 
Matt.  6:  25-34;  Luke  12:  22-31.)  We  thus 
account  for  every  omission  of  any  great  im- 
portance. There  are  various  other  instances 
also  (as  in  ch.  10,  11,  18,  25)  in  which  Matthew 
has  recorded  an  extensive  discourse  of  which 
Mark  or  Luke  gives  only  a  part.  Some  con- 
clude from  these  examples  that  Matthew  was 
quite  in  the  habit  of  collecting  into  one  dis- 
course many  things  said  at  different  times; 
but  the  facts  do  not  in  any  of  the  cases  re- 
quire this  view,  and  therefore  do  not  justify 
it,  since  we  must  take  for  granted,  unless 
the  contrary  has  been  proven,  the  inspired 
apostles'  accuracy.  At  the  same  time  we  may 
suppose  that  Matthew  has  here  given,  at  least 
in  some  places,  only  a  summary  report  of 
what  was  said,  for  he  has  several  times  omit- 
ted matters  which  Luke  records  (e.  g.,  comp. 
5:  12  with  Luke  6:  23-6;  5:  47  with  Luke  6: 
33-35;  7  :  12  with  Luke  6:  31-40.)  In  regard 
to  the  general  fact  that  the  Evangelists  some- 
times differ  as  to  details  in  reporting  the  same 
saying,  see  on  3:  17. 

(3)  Design  of  the  discourse.  Our  Lord  had 
been  proclaiming  (*-i7),  as  John  had  done  be- 
fore him,  that  the  reign  of  heaven  was  near, 
and  that  therefore  the  people  ought  to  repent. 
In  this  discourse  he  sets  forth  the  character- 
istics of  those  who  are  to  be  subjects  of  this 
reign  and  share  the  privileges  connected  with 
it,  and  urges  upon  them  various  duties.  In 
particular,  he  clearly  exhibits  the  relation  of 
his  teachings  to  the  moral  law,  in  order  to 
correct  any  notion  that  he  proposed  to  set  the 
law  aside,  or  to  relax  its  rigor,  when,  on  the 
contrary  he  came  to  inculcate  not  merely  an 


J  The  Greek  word  pedinos  is  commonly  used  with  ref-  i  a  level  (flat)  mountain  '  (ep'  orous  pedinou),  Heb., '  upon 
erence  to  a  plain  as  opposed  to  a  monntain  (a  natural  a  bare  hUI,'  not  covered  with  trees.  This  latter  passage 
opposition),  but  sometimes  for  a  plain  or  flat  valley  is  obscure  (see  Gesen.,  Schleus.,  and  commentaries  on 
among  mountains,  or  a  flat  place  on  a  mountain.  Thus  I  Isaiah),  but  either  this  or  the  use  in  Jeremiah  seems  to 
in  Jer.  21 :  13  Jerusalem  is  called  '  rock  of  the  plain,'  furnish  a  parallel  for  the  use  in  Luke, 
and  in  Isa.  13:  2  we  have  in  Sept. '  lift  up  a  signal  upon  I 


Ch.  v.] 


MATTHEW. 


85 


external  but  a  deeply  spiritual  morality.  It 
is  a  strange  fancy  of  some  that  Jesus  was  a 
revolutionary  reformer,  overturning  existing 
ideas  and  institutions  to  substitute  his  own, 
when  he  himself  expressly  declares  the  con- 
trary (see  on  5:17).  Neander :  "The  con- 
nected system  of  truths  unfolded  in  this  dis- 
course was  intended  to  exhibit  to  the  people 
the  kingdom  of  God  as  the  aim  of  the  Old 
Dispensation;  as  the  consummation  for  which 
that  dispensation  prepared  the  way.  The 
Sermon  on  the  Mount,  therefore,  forms  the 
point  of  transition  from  the  Law  to  the  Gos- 
pel ;  Christianity  is  exhibited  in  it  as  Judaism 
spiritualized  and  transfigured."  Regarded  as 
addressed  especially  to  the  Twelve,  it  becomes 
the  great  opening  lecture  in  a  course  of  in- 
struction by  which  they  were  to  be  fitted  for 
their  work  as  his  witnesses  and  representa- 
tives ;  just  as  the  farewell  discourse  of  John 
14-17  may  be  called  (Bernard)  the  closing 
lecture.  It  is  quite  an  error  if  men  expect  to 
find  in  the  discourse  an  epitome  either  of 
Christian  doctrine  or  of  Christian  ethics. 
Many  of  the  distinguishing  and  fundamental 
doctrines  of  Christianity  were  never  distinctly 
and  fully  taught  by  the  Saviour  himself,  be- 
cause men  could  not  understand  them  till 
after  the  great  facts  on  which  they  rest,  his 
death,  resurrection,  and  ascension,  had  taken 
place.  And  while  he  here  teaches  us  many 
weighty  and  precious  lessons  for  the  proper 
conduct  of  life,  they  are  by  no  means  pre- 
sented as  a  complete  system  of  morals,  but 
seem  to  be  introduced  chiefly  as  contributing 
to,  or  incidentally  connected  with,  the  discus- 
sion of  his  great  theme,  the  nature  and  re- 
quirements of  the  Messianic  reign.  It  is 
therefore  very  unwise  and  presumptuous  to 
single  out  this  one  discourse  and  propose  to 
live  by  it,  in  disregard  of  the  further  teach- 
ings of  Christ  and  his  apostles.  True,  he 
here  gives  a  single  precept  (t:h),  which  he 
says  'is  the  law  and  the  prophets.'  But  that 
no  more  warrants  the  neglect  of  everything 
beyond  this  discourse,  than  the  closing  pre- 
cept 'Fear  God  and  keep  his  commandments, 
for  this  is  the  all  of  man,'  would  warrant  us 
in  neglecting  the  Old  Testament  for  the  one 


Book  of  Ecclesiastes.  He  who  spoke  the  Ser- 
mon on  the  Mount  has  also  said,  'Except  a 
man  be  born  again,  he  cannot  see  the  king- 
dom of  God,'  and  '  even  so  must  the  Son  of 
man  be  lifted  up,  that  whosoever  believeth  in 
him  should  not  perish,  but  have  eternal  life,' 
and  he  in  departing  promised  his  apostles  the 
Holy  Spirit  to  '  lead  them  into  all  the  truth,' 
and  set  them  before  the  world  as  authoritative 
teachers  of  Christian  doctrine  and  duty.  It 
is  not  honoring  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  or 
its  Author,  to  represent  this  as  all  that  men 
need,  seeing  he  has  given  us  much  more. 

The  unrivaled  beauties  of  our  Lord's 
thought  and  style,  the  lofty  simplicity,  the 
charming  freshness  and  perfect  naturalness, 
the  familiar  and  vivid  illustration,  the  pointed 
and  sometimes  paradoxical  and  startling  state- 
ment, which  even  when  imperfectly  under- 
stood could  never  be  forgotten,  the  sublime 
elevation  of  sentiment,  and  the  inimitable 
<one  which  marks  all  his  teachings,  shine  con- 
spicuous in  this  address,  which  is  sweet  to  the 
heart  of  a  child,  and  before  which  the  noblest 
intellects  in  every  age  have  bowed  in  devout 
admiration.  "Well  might  Daniel  Webster  say, 
in  the  inscription  he  left  for  his  tomb,  "My 
heart  has  always  assured  and  re-assured  me, 
that  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  must  be  a  di- 
vine reality.  The  Sermon  on  the  Mount  can- 
not be  a  merely  human  production."^ 

(4)  Analysis.  The  discourse,  as  given  by 
Matthew,  admits  of  being  analyzed  in  various 
ways,  the  connection  being  less  obvious  in 
some  places,  and  the  arrangement  of  the  whole 
being  very  simple  and  inartificial.  The  fol- 
lowing analysis  may  be  useful,  though  we 
must  take  care  not  to  draw  too  broadly  the 
lines  of  division  between  the  different  sec- 
tions. 

I.  Characteristics  and  privileges  of  the  sub- 
jects of  the  Messianic  reign,  5:  3-12. 

II.  Their  influence  and  responsibility,  5: 
13-16.  . 

III.  Relation  of  Christ's  mission  to  the 
Moral  Law,  6:  17-48. 

1.  This  relation  stated  in  general,  17-19. 

2.  Superiority  of  the  morality  he  enjoined 
to  that  taught  and  practiced  by  the  Scribes 


'  Edersh.  remarks  that  our  Lonl's  use  of  phrases  and 
modes  of  teachint;  current  at  the  time,  renders  more 
Rlriklni;  the  contrast  between  this  discourse  and  the 
Jewish  contemporary  teaching  as  to  the  whole  spirit 


and  tone.  The  supposed  Rabbinic  parallels  are  in  gen- 
eral only  superficially  similar,  and  often  exactly  op- 
posite in  spirit.  See  exaaijles  in  Edcrsh.,  Book  iii., 
ch,  18. 


86 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch. 


AND   seeing  the  multitudes,  he   went   up   into   a 
mountain:  and  when   lie  was  set,  his   disciples  i 
came  unto  him :  I 


1     And  seeing  the  multitudes,  he  went  up  into  the 
mountain :  and  when  he  had  sat  down,  his  disciple^ 


and  Pharisees,  20-48.  Illustrated  by  reference 
to  murder,  etc.  (21-26),  adultery  and  divorce 
(27-3S),  oaths  (S3.S7),  requital  of  injuries  (»8-42),  love 
of  enemies  («-«). 

IV.  Good  works  to  be  performed  out  of  re- 
gard to  God's  approval  rather  than  man's, 
6:  1-18,  e.g.,  alms-giving  (2-*),  prayer  (s-is), 
fasting  (16-18.) 

V.  Single-hearted  devotion  to  God,  as 
opposed  to  worldly  aims  and  anxieties,  6: 
19-34. 

VI.  Censoriousness  must  be  avoided,  7  :  1-6. 

VII.  Encouragement  to  pray  to  God  for 
strength  to  fulfill  this  and  all  the  preceding 
requirements,  7 :  7-11. 

VIII.  General  principle  or  rule,  which 
sums  up  all  the  (moral)  teachings  of  the  dis- 
course, and  of  the  Old  Testament,  7  :  12. 

IX.  Concluding  exhortations  to  practice  as 
well  as  hear  and  profess,  7 :  13-27. 


Ch.  5  :  1-12.  The  Beatitudes. 

1.  The  mnltitudes — or,  crowds — viz.,  the 
'great  crowds'  spoken  of  in  the  preceding 
sentence  (see  on  4:  25.)  The  connection  goes 
right  on  without  any  break,  the  paragraph  of 
4:  23-25  forming  a  sort  of  introduction  to  the 
discourse.  (For  the  general  connection,  see 
on  4:  12.)  On  some  occasion,  in  the  course 
of  the  labors  just  described,  occurred  that 
which  Matthew  proceeds  to  narrate.  He 
went  up.  Was  it  to  avoid  the  crowds,  as 
some  think,  or  was  it  not  rather  that  the  pres- 
ence of  such  crowds  made  it  proper  to  address 
them  in  an  extended  discourse,  setting  forth 
the  nature  of  that  Messianic  kingdom,  or 
reign,  which  he  had  been  declaring  to  be  at 
hand?  Into  a — <Ae*  — mountain.  This 
more  probably  means  the  mountain-region, 
just  as  persons  among  us  who  live  near  such 
a  region  familiarly  spe»k  of  it  as  "  the 
mountain" — "IIe«isn'tat  home,  he's  gone  up 
in  the  mountain."  The  word 'mountain' is 
used  for  a  mountain-region  in  Gen.  19 :  17,  19, 
30,  and  elsewhere  in  O.  T.  The  most  com- 
mon scene  of  all  this  part  of  our  Lord's  min- 
istry was  the  lake-shore,  and  with  this  would 


easily  contrast  in  the  apostle's  mind  the  adja- 
cent mountain-region.  So  in  14:  23,  'the 
mountain '  is  the  mountain-region  east  of  the 
lake,  near  where  he  had  just  fed  the  five 
thousand,  and  in  15:  29,  the  same  region  fur- 
ther south.  That  such  is  the  meaning  here 
becomes  highly  probable  (if  we  hold  Luke's 
discourse  to  be  the  same)  from  Mark  3:  13, 
where  the  same  expression  'he  goes  up  into 
the  mountain '  occurs  on  the  same  occasion, 
— viz.,  the  choice  of  the  twelve  (Mark 3: 13-19), 
which  Luke  (s^i')  shows  to  have  been  im- 
mediately followed  by  the  discourse — and 
the  preceding  connection  (Mark  3: 7-9)  evidently 
makes  it  there  mean  that  he  goes  up  from  the 
lake-shore  into  the  mountain-region.  This 
also  best  fits  in  Luke  6:  12.  The  phrase  'the 
mountain,'  might  mean  the  particular  moun- 
tain near  them  at  the  time  (Meyer),  or  the  1 
well-known  mountain  (DeWette),  as  one  or 
the  other  is  probably  meant  in  Luke  9:  28, 
the  Mount  of  the  Transfiguration;  though  of 
this  we  know  nothing.  But  the  preponderance 
of  usage  and  probability  is  for  the  other  sense, 
the  mountain-region.  There  is  then  nothing 
in  the  history  to  indicate  what  particular 
part  of  the  adjacent  mountain-region  is  meant. 
The  connection  in  Mark,  and  the  statement  of 
Matt.  (^:i5)  and  Luke  (7:i)  that  he  afterwards 
went  to  Capernaum,  show  that  it  was  on  the 
west  side  of  the  lake ;  but  the  latter  statement 
does  not,  as  so  often  urged,  show  that  it  was 
near  Capernaum.  There  is  no  important 
objection  to  the  tradition  placing  it  at  the 
double-top  mountain  now  called  "  Horns  of 
Hattin,"  which  (Stanlej')  strikingly  corre- 
sponds to  the  circumstances,  since  Jesus  might 
well  have  spent  the  night  on  one  of  the  two 
summits,  and  the  next  morning  descended  to 
the  flat  space  between  the  two,  and  there  de- 
livered the  discourse.  But  the  tradition  is 
unknown  to  the  Greek  and  Eastern  writers, 
and  among  Latins  first  found  in  Brocardus, 
about  A.  D.  1283.  (Kobinson.)  We  can  only 
say,  therefore,  that  this  may  quite  possibly 
have  been  the  spot.  When  he  was  set,  or, 
had  sat  down,  sitting  being  among  the  Jews 


1  The  article  is  here  disregarded  by  all  the  early  Eng- 
lish translators,  who  learned  Greek  through  the  me- 
dium of  the  Latin,  and  so  had  little  feeling  for  the 


article,  which  they  often  omit  or  insert  in  a  curiously 
arbitrary  fashion. 


Ch.  v.] 


MATTHEW. 


87 


2  And  he  opened  his  mouth,  and  taught  them,  say- 
ing, 

3  Blessed  are  the  poor  in 'spirit:  for  theirs  is  the 
kingdom  of  heaven. 


2  came  unto  hiiu :    and  he  opened  his  mouth  and 
taught  them,  saying, 

3  Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit:  for  theirs  is  the 
kingdom  of  heaven. 


the  customary  posture  for  one  engaged  in 
teaching.  Luke's  expression  (6:n)  'stood,' 
does  not  conflict  with  this,  for  that  denotes 
simply  the  end  of  the  descent,  and  not  the 
posture  in  teaching.  His  disciples.  The 
Greek  word  rendered  'disciple,'  like  the 
Latin  disciptdus,  which  we  have  borrowed, 
signifies  a  'learner,'  as  opposed  to  a  'teacher,' 
and  is  used  in  that  general  sense  in  10:  24, 
literally,  '  A  learner  is  not  above  his  teacher, 
nor  a  slave  above  his  master.'  The  Greeks 
frequently  applied  it  to  the  pupils  of  a  phi- 
losopher, as  denoting  those  who  received  his 
instructions  and  were  supposed  to  adopt  his 
opinions.  In  a  like  sense  we  read  of  the 
'disciples  of  the  Pharisees'  ("^le),   and  the 

'disciples    of     John'     (9:";   n:2;    U:   U-.    Mark  2: 

18, etc.);  and  similarly  the  'disciples'  of  Jesus, 
in  the  present  passage,  and  in  general,  are 
those  who  habitually  heard  his  teachings,  and 
were  supposed  to  receive  them  as  true.  But 
the  term,  as  there  used,  would  have  a  more 
lax  and  a  more  strict  application,  sometimes 
denoting  the  whole  crowd  of  those  who  fol- 
lowed him  for  a  while,  and  apparently  be- 
lieved his  teachings  (e.  g.,  John  6:  66),  but 
commonly  used  of  those  who  really  did  be- 
lieve, and  submit  themselves  to  his  authority 
as  a  teacher.  In  some  passages  (as  l4:  15  if.) 
the  connection  shows  that  it  means  'the 
disciples'  by  excellence,  viz.,  the  Twelve. 
After  our  Lord's  ascension  the  application 
of  the  term  was  very  naturally  widened  to 
embrace  all  who  received  as  true  the  teach- 
ings of  the  Christian  religion,  Christ  being  in 
reality  still  their  teacher,  though  he  taught 
through  others.  We  cannot  here  understand 
the  term  as  denoting  all  who  were  present  and 
listened  to  his  teachings,  for  it  is  nowhere  used 
in  80  loose  a  way;  it  must  mean  his  disciples, 
as  distinguished  from  others  who  were  not 
such.  This  would  include  the  four  mentioned 
in  4:  18  ff.,  but  would  not  beconfinedtothem. 
Matthew  has  not  previously  had  the  word, 
but  he  employs  it  in  that  general  sense  with 
which  all  had  become  familiar  at  the  time 
when  he  wrote.  From  Luke  6:  12-20  we 
learn  that,  before  delivering  the  discourse, 
Jesus  had  selected  the  Twelve  who  were  to 
be  his  special  attendants ;  but  Luke  also  men- 


tions (6:  17,  literally),  a  'crowd  of  his  disciplcs ' 
as  present  when  it  was  spoken.  Matthew 
does  not  refer  to  the  Twelve  as  a  body  till  he 
comes  to  speak  of  their  being  sent  forth  two 
and  two  (10:  1  ff.),  just  as  he  gives  an  account 
of  John's  imprisonment  only  in  connection 
with  the  story  of  his  death  (comp.  on  4:  12; 
14 :  3).  Came  unto  him,  drevv  near  after  he 
had  thus  assumed  the  posture  of  a  teacher. 
Or,  came  near  while  the  people  at  large  stood 
farther  oflT. 

2.  This  expanded  statement  is  in  accord- 
ance with  that  circumstantiality  in  descrip- 
tion which  is  characteristic  of  the  Hebrew 
language  and  adds  beauty  to  the  Scripture 
narratives.  It  serves,  in  a  case  like  this,  to 
fix  attention  upon  the  important  discourse 
which  follows.  (Comp.  Job  3:  1;  Acts  8:  35; 
10:  34.)  Taught  is  imperfect  tense,  and  de- 
scribes the  teaching  as  in  progress — you  see  it 
going  on.  The  English  'was  teaching'  or 
'went  to  teaching,'  would  here  be  too  strong. 
Them  refers  especially  to  his  disciples,  who 
are  especially  distinguished  in  the  preceding 
verse  from  the  crowds  (comp.  Luke  6:  20), 
and  are  especially  addressed  in  such  passages 
of  the  discourse  as  5:  11,  13-16,  etc. ;  but  that 
the  crowds  also  heard  would  be  naturally 
suggested  by  the  connection,  and  is  affirmed 
in  7 :  28  f. 

3.  In  V.  3-12  our  Lord  sets  fortb  the  charac- 
teristics and  privileges  of  the  subjects  of  the 
kingdom  of  heaven.  These  sentences  are 
commonly  called  the  "beatitudes,"  from 
beatus,  'blessed'  or  'happy,'  the  word  here 
employed  in  the  Latin  versions,  and  by  some 
are  called  macarisms,  from  the  Greek  word. 
Some  writers  compare  with  these  the  bene- 
dictions of  Deut.  28;  but  the  cases  are  not 
similar.  Others  mark  out  an  elaborate  par- 
allel to  the  giving  of  the  Ten  Commandments ; 
but  this  is  highly  artificial,  and  tends  to  divert 
attention  from  our  Lord's  real  design.  It 
would  be  more  appropriate  to  compare  such 
passages  as  Psa.  1:1;  31 :  1  f. ;  144 :  15 ;  Prov. 
3:  18;  Dan.  12:  12,  where  a  character  is  de- 
scribed as  well  as  happiness  declared.  The 
Jews  expected  great  felicity  under  the  reign 
of  Messiah;  witness  the  saying  of  one  of  them 
(Lttk«u:  u,  nt.j,  '  Happy  he  who  shall  eat  bread 


88 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.V^ 


in  the  kingdom  of  God.'  Our  Lord,  by  tell- 
ing who  are  the  happy  in  the  Messianic  king- 
dom, gives  at  once  a  very  distinct  glimpse 
into  the  nature  and  requirements  of  that  king- 
dom. It  is  immediately  seen  to  be  quite  the 
reverse  of  the  carnal  expectations  cherished 
among  the  Jews.  Not  the  rich,  the  rejoicing 
and  proud,  not  conquering  warriors  nor  pop- 
ular favorites,  are  the  happy  under  the  Mes- 
sianic reign,  but  these— the  poor,  the  mourning 
and  meek,  the  peacemakers,  the  persecuted. 
Most  of  these  sayings  are  therefore  striking 
paradoxes,  and  the  whole  forms  a  singularly 
felicitous  introduction  to  his  discourse,  touch- 
ing a  chord  that  vibrates  in  all  human  hearts 
— happy,  happy — instantly  awakening  the 
liveliest  attention,  and  also  conveying  im- 
portant instruction  as  to  the  great  theme. 
Luther  :  "Now  that's  a  fine,  sweet,  friendly 
beginning  of  his  teaching  and  preaching.  For 
he  goes  at  it,  not  like  Moses  or  a  teacher  of 
the  law,  with  commands  and  threats,  but  in 
the  very  friendliest  way,  with  nothing  but  at- 
tractions and  allurements  and  lovely  prom- 
ises." It  was  also  a  beautifully  natural  intro- 
duction (Weiss),  because  he  came  to  preach  the 
'good  news'  of  the  kingdom  {*-'i^),  the  fulfill- 
ment of  all  the  Messianic  hopes  and  promises. 
Blessed.  Happy  more  nearly  expresses 
the  sense  of  the  Greek  word  than  '  blessed.' 
It  is  rendered  'happy'  in  the  common  ver- 
eion  of  John  13:  17;  Acts  26:  2;  Kom.  14: 
22;  1  Cor.  7:  40;  1  Pet.  3:  14;  4:  14,  and  the 
corresponding  verb  in  James  5  :  11 ;  and  this 
might  be  used  almost  everywhere,  leaving 
'blessed'  to  translate  another  term  found  in 


21:  9;  23:  89;  25:  84,  etc.,  and  a  kindred'" 
word  in  Mark  14:  61;  Rom.  9:  5,  etc.  Our 
'happy'  could  not,  it  is  true,  be  applied  to 
God,  as  in  1  Tim.  1:  11;  6:  15  (Bib.  Un.Ver. 
'blissful'),  where  'blessed,'  though  familiafj 
to  us,  is  really  also  inadequate.  But  more  iif 
gained  than  is  lost  by  keeping  the  terms  dia 
tinct,  for  the  difierence  is  often  quite  impor 
ant.  Tlie  shock  which  many  persons  feel  at" 
the  introduction  of  'happy'  here,  is  paitly  a 
reproduction  of  the  surprise  felt  by  our  Lord's 
first  hearers  —  happy  the  poor,  happy  tlie 
mourners,  etc. — the  paradox  is  really  part  of 
the  meaning.!  The  sense  is  quite  similar  (and 
the  same  Greek  word  is  used)  in  16 :  17 ;  Rom. 
4 :  6-8 ;  1  Cor.  7  :  40;  James  1 :  12 ;  1  Pet.  3 : 
14;  Rev.  14:  13.  The  original  has  in  this  case 
no  verb — not  'happy  are,'  but  simply  'happy 
the  poor,'  etc.  So  in  the  Greek  of  Psa.  1 :  1, 
etc.  The  poor.  The  Jews  looked  upon 
wealth,  being  one  of  the  chief  elements  of 
worldly  prosperity,  as  a  sure  proof  that  its 
possessor  was  the  object  of  God's  favor,  an 
error  which  our  Lord  subsequentlj'  sought  to 
correct  in  the  parable  of  the  rich  man  and 
Lazarus.  (Lukeie:  i9.)  In  like  manner  they  no 
doubt  supposed  that  in  Messiah's  kingdom  the 
rich,  the  "  better  class,"  would  enjoy  the  high- 
est privileges.  In  striking  opposition  to  these 
expectations,  he  says,  '  Happj'  the  poor,  for 
theirs  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven.'  This  is  all 
that  Luke  (6:20, iit.)  gives;  and  certainly  the 
poor  were  more  likely  to  share  the  privileges 
of  the  Messianic  reign  than  the  rich,  because 
more  likely  to  be  humble  and  looking  for 
Messiah's  coming."     (Comp.   11 :  5 ;   19:  23; 


1  The  distinction  between  macarios  and  etilogetos  (and 
kindred  terras)  is  maintained  throughout  the  Sept.  i»s 
it  Is  in  the  Hebrew  words.  The  Pesh.  Syriac  version 
of  N.  T.  translates 'happy '  here  and  in  11:  6;  13:  16; 
16:  17;  24:  46,  and  uses  'blessed'  for  eulogemenos  in 
21 :  9,  etc.  The  Gothic  likewise  maintains  the  distinc- 
tion. But  the  Latin  versions  used  bealus  for  both  the 
Greek  words,  probably  for  two  reasons ;  (a)  heatus  really 
means  happy  as  well  as  blessed,  (b)  the  other  Latin 
word  felix  had  idolatrous  associations,  which  would 
have  made  it  incongruous  in  Scripture,  somewhat  as 
Mucky'  would  be  now.  But  this  confounding  of  the 
two  Greek  words  in  the  Latin  versions  has  caused  much 
confusion  in  modern  European  versions,  and  great  ar- 
bitrariness of  rendering  in  the  early  English  versions. 
Tyndale  used  '  happy '  in  John  13 :  17,  etc.,  followed  by 
Cranmer,  Geneva,  and  King  James ;  but  Tyndale  also 
used  it  in  Matt.  11:6;  16:  17;  24:40;  Gal.4:  15;  James 
1 :  12,  25,  followed  by  Cranmer  or  Greneva,  or  both,  but 


not  by  King  James.  Neither  rendering  is  in  our  pas- 
sage entirely  satisfactory,  but '  happy '  best  conveys  the 
idea. 

*  Some  (Gill,  others)  take  the  word  plochos  in  its  com- 
mon classical  sense  of  beggar,  and  understand  those 
who  come  to  God  as  beggars.  Tertullian  once  expresses 
that  view  :  "  Happy  the  beggars — for  so  requires  the 
meaning  of  the  Greek  word."  But  it  is  very  unlikely 
that  such  is  here  the  meaning.  Ptochos  is  in  the  N.  T. 
the  common  word  for  poor,  being  found  thirty-five 
times,  while  the  other  word  penes  is  found  only  in  2 
Cor.  9 :  9  (from  Sept.)  and /)enicAro*  in  Luke  21 :  2.  In 
the  Sept.  penes  is  used  nearly  as  often  as  ptochos,  and 
for  the  most  part  to  translate  the  same  Hebrew  words. 
These  facts  forbid  insisting  on  the  distinctive  classical 
sense  of  beggar  in  every  N.  T.  passage;  and  in  the 
present  case  it  seems  quite  inappropriate  to  introduce 
the  notion  that  they  beg. 


Ch.  v.] 


MATTHEW. 


89 


4  Blessed  are  they  that  mourn  :  fof  they  shall  be  com-  |    4      i  Blessed  are  they  that  mourn :  for  they  shall  be 
forted.  '  I       comloited. 


I  Some  aucient  authorities  trnnspose  ver.  4  nnd  5. 


Luke  4:  18;  Isa.  61:  1;  66:  2;  James  2:  5; 
and  below  on  v.  4,  5.)  But  while  men  need 
not,  they  might  misunderstand  or  misrepre- 
sent this  general  term  (as  well  as  'hunger,' 
'weep,'  in  Luke  6:  21.)  Thus  the  Empei-or 
Julian  mockingly  said  he  wished  to  confiscate 
the  property  of  the  Christians,  in  order  that 
as  poor  men  they  might  enter  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.  Now  Matthew's  account  shows  that 
our  Lord  took  pains  to  define  more  precisely 
what  he  meant,  by  saying  the  poor  in  spirit. 
Poverty,  want,  sorrow,  do  not  of  them- 
selves secure  spiritual  blessings ;  these  are 
promised  to  such  as  have  the  correspond- 
ing state  of  thought  and  feeling.  The  gram- 
matical construction  'poor  in  the  spirit'  is  the 
same  as  in  'pure  in  the  heart.'  (v.s.)  The 
meaning  may  be  (Bleek)  (a)  'poor  in  the 
(sphere  of  the)  spirit,'  in  spiritual  matters,  or 
(b)  'poor  in  their  spirit,'  consciously  poor. 
Probably  the  former  is  here  meant  by  the 
phrase,  while  the  latter  thought  is  suggested 
by  the  connection.  The  poor,  not  outwardly 
only,  but  in  the  inner  man;  not  in  the  tem- 
poral but  the  spiritual  sphere;  and  it  is  in- 
volved, in  the  nature  of  the  case,  that  they 
are  conscious  of  their  spiritual  destitution 
(comp.  Isa.  66:  2,  and  contrast  Rev.  3:  17). 
Those  who  in  the  sphere  of  the  spirit,  in  the 
spiritual  life,  are  destitute,  and  feel  their 
need.  A  good  example  is  the  publican  of 
the  parable.  It  is  quite  possible  for  a  man 
rich  in  the  temporal  sphere  to  be  at  the  same 
time  poor  in  spirit.^  Edersh.  quotes  from  the 
Mishna,  "Ever  be  more  and  more  lowly  in 
spirit,  since  the  expectancy  of  man  is  to  be- 
come the  food  of  worms,"  and  calls  it  the 


exact  counterpart  of  this  saying,  "marking 
not  the  optimism,  but  the  pessimism  of  life." 
For.  It  would  be  a  little  more  exact  to  ren- 
der 'because'  in  all  the  beatitudes  (see  on  v. 
12).  Theirs  has  in  the  original  an  emphatic 
position ;  it  is  theirs,  they  are  precisely  the 
persons  who  possess  and  enjoy  the  riches,  dig- 
nities, privileges  of  Messiah's  reign  (see  on 
3:  2).  Comp.  James  2:  5.  These  privileges 
already  belong  to  them,  and  shall  henceforth 
be  enjoyed  by  them — notice  the  future  tense 
in  the  following  sentences.  How  different  is 
all  this  from  worldly  kingdoms.  In  Luke  6: 
24,  is  recorded  the  opposite  of  this  first  beati- 
tude, "  Woe  to  you  who  are  rich,  for  you 
have  received  your  consolation,"  have  all  the 
consolation  you  will  get. 

4.  The  regular  gradation  which  some  en- 
deavor to  point  out  in  the  several  beatitudes 
isartificial,  if  not  imaginary.  Thcyaresimply 
groupel  in  a  natural  way,  and  the  transition 
from  the  poor  to  the  mourners  is  natural 
enough.*  Observe  (Tholuck)  that  the  three 
first  classes,  poor,  mourning,  meek,  are  all  in 
the  prediction  of  Isa.  61 :  1-3,  to  which  our 
Lord  repeatedly  referred  as  fulfilled  in  his 
ministry  (11:  5;  Luke  4:  17-21). 

Happy  they  that  grieve,  is  a  very  striking 
paradox,  suited  to  awaken  attention  and  lead 
to  reflection.  They  that  mouru,  over  any 
of  the  distresses  of  life,  temporal  or  spiritual ; 
but  with  the  implication  that  if  over  temporal 
distresses,  they  mourn  in  a  religious  spirit. 
Under  the  reign  of  Messiah  they  shall  be 
comforted — the  kind  of  comfort  correspond- 
ing of  course  to  the  kind  of  distress,  and 
suited  to  their  highest  good.     The  second  part 


1  Barnabas  19 :  2  baa  the  same  grammatical  construc- 
tion :  "  Thou  shalt  be  simple  in  heart  and  rich  in 
spirit."  Many  Fathers  underatood  our  Lord  to  mean 
poor  by  free  will,  contentedly  or  voluntarily  poor,  and 
■oiue  applied  it,  as  most  Romanists  now  do,  to  monastic 
vows  of  poverty,  and  the  like.  But  '  spirit '  will  not 
yield  this  (Maldon.  in  vain  quotes  2G :  41),  and  the  able 
Romanist  coniroentator  Amoldi  calls  it  a  manifestly 
artificial  interpretation.  '  Poor  in  intellect,'  weak- 
minded,  was  another  of  Julian's  jests,  and  is  gravely 
propose<l  by  Fritzsfhe  and  Grimm,  but  seems  to  need 
DO  refutation.     Achelis  makes  it  poor  in  the  matter 


of  the  Holy  Spirit,  poor,  and  thus  prepared  to  receive 
the  Holy  Spirit,  whom  Messiah  was  to  give  (3:  11),  but 
this  is  extremely  forced.  These  interpretations  are  in- 
structive as  showing  that  the  expression  is  really  diffi- 
cult. 

*Ti8ch.  and  others  transpose  v.  4  and  5,  putting  the 
meek  first,  according  to  D,  l>atin,  Old  Syriae,  several 
Fathers.  This  group  of  "Western"  authorities  is 
now  well  known  to  contain  many  arbitrary  alterations 
of  the  text.  The  design  of  the  alteration  Ihtc  i)rob- 
ably  was  to  have  the  meek  come  next  to  the  poor  in 
spirit,  as  an  appropriate  sequence. 


90 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  vi 


5  Blessed  are  the  meek:  for  they  shall  inherit  the  I   5     Blessed  are  the  meek:  for  they  shall  inherit 
earth.  earth. 


of  Isiiiiih  begins  («o:i),  with  'comfort  ye  my 
people,'  and  is  pervaded  throughout  by  that 
idea,  it  being  distinctly  declared  (ei :  2)  that 
Messiah  is  to  comfort  all  that  mourn.  The 
later  Jews  caught  this  conception,  and  in  the 
Talmud  the  Messiah  is  sometimes  called 
Menahem,  '  comforter.'  At  the  time  of  his 
birth  some  truly  devout  ones  were  'waiting 
for  the  consolation  of  Israel.'  (Luke2:25.)  They 
is  emphatic,  and  so  in  v.  5-8.  In  Luke  6:  25 
is  recorded  the  opposite  of  this  beatitude. 

5.  The  sayings  of  this  verse,  and  of  v.  7-10, 
are  wanting  in  Luke's  briefer  report.  The 
expression  here  used  is  derived  from  Psa.  37: 
11.  The  Heb.  word  for  meek  and  that  for 
'poor'  are  from  the  same  root,  and  certainly 
meekness  is  akin  to  poverty  of  spirit.  Our 
Lord  declares  that  not  the  ambitious  and  arro- 
gant, the  irascible  and  violent,  such  as  usually 
become  prominent  in  the  outbreak  of  revolu- 
tions, are  the  happy  under  Messiah's  reign, 
but  the  meek.  The  term  'meek'  is  hard  to 
define,  in  Heb.,  Greek,  or  Eng.,  but  it  in- 
cludes freedom  from  pretension  (iPet.  3:4, 15), 
gentleness  (11:29;  James3:i3),  and  patient  en- 
durance of  injury — where  it  is  proper  to  en- 
dure. The  Messianic  king  himself  is  meek 
(21:5),  and  the  meek  shall  be  his  happy  sub- 
jects. Shall  inherit  the  earth,  or,  ^anrf.i  It 
was  promised  to  Abraham  that  he  should  '  in- 
herit' the  'land'  of  Canaan,  (oen. is:  15;  i5:7, 
etc.)  This  was  partly  realized  by  his  descend- 
ants under  Joshua.  (Judges  2: 6,  in  the  Heb.)  Their 
possession  of  it  was  always  imperfect  and 
sometimes  interrupted,  but  still  they  cherished 
the  promise  made  to  Abraham,  and  hoped  for 
its  complete  fulfillment.  The  Psalmist  dis- 
tinguishes two  classes  in  Israel,  the  wicked 
and  the  meek;  those  who  aniid  all  trials 
meekly  trust  and  serve  God,  and  declares 
(Psa. »7: 9, 11,22, 29)  that  these  shall  'inherit  the 
land.'  Isaiah  promises  (57: 13 ;  eo: 21)  that  after 
the  captivity  those  who  trust  in  God  shall  'in- 
herit the  land.'  The  apocryphal  story  of 
Tobit  represents  devout  Jews  during  the  cap- 
tivity as  cherishing  the  hope  that  the  seed  of 
the  patriarchs  shall  '  inherit  the  land.'  (Tob. 
4:12.)    And  just  as  the  'kingdom  of  heaven' 


(»•»)  takes  in  our  Lord's  discourses  a  higher^ 
and    more    spiritual    meaning,   so   with  this 
phrase.     The  meek  shall   be  full  citizens  in 
the   Messianic  kingdom  (like  those  holding 
real  estate),  enjoying  all  rights  and  privileges. 
This  would  of  course  mean  especially  religious  j 
privileges  (comp.    'inherit  the  kingdom,'  int 
its  full  and  perfected  state,  25:  34;  1  Cor.  6d 
10;  15:  50;  Gal.  5:  21  ;  Eph.  5:  5,  etc.)     The] 
explanation    that    Christians    shall    have   aaj 
much  of  the  earth  as  is  really  desirable  foi 
them  is  superficial,  and  the  other,  that  Chris-i 
tianity   is    finally  to  take    possession   of   the] 
whole  earth,  is  artificial.     The  O.  T.  and  the] 
N.  T.  usage  seems  to  leave  no  doubt  as  to  the| 
meaning.     The  poor  in  spirit,  the  mourners, 
the  meek,  obviously  represent  kindred  traits 
of  character,  and  should  not  be  conceived  of 
as  three  entirely  distinct  classes  of  persons. 
So  as  to  the  other  beatitudes. 

6.  Hunger  and  thirst.  A  natural  and 
strong  expression  for  desire,  common  in  all 
languages.  Luke  (6: 21)  gives  only  'hunger,' 
the  other  term  merely  expanding  the  image 
(comp.  Psa.  63:  1)  ;  and  does  not  s&y  for  what. 
(Comp.  above  on  v.  3.)  Righteousness  here 
must  not  by  any  means  be  understood  of  im- 
puted righteousness,  but  (as  even  Luther 
admits)  of  personal  righteousness;  the  being 
and  doing  what  is  right,  as  in  3:  15;  5:  '20; 
Luke  1 :  75,  etc.  The  attempt  (Schaff  and 
others)  to  make  it  include  both  ideas,  is  futile. 
It  is  very  doubtful  whether  the  Pauline  idea 
of  imputed  righteousness  occurs  anj^where  in 
the  Gospels,  not  even  in  John  16:  10.  Filled. 
The  original  word  is  of  frequent  occurrence, 
signifying  to  feed,  to  satisfy  with  food,  origi- 
nally used  of  feeding  animals,  in  later  Greek 
of  feeding  men.  (Comp.  in  14:  20;  Luke  16: 
21;  James  2:  16;  Phil.  4:  12;  Kev.  19:  21.) 
Thej'  who  hunger  and  thirst  for  righteousness 
shall,  under  Messiah's  reign,  be  fed  full,  com- 
pletely satisfied.  It  of  course  does  not  mean 
satisfied  once  for  all,  so  as  to  have  no  desire 
any  more.  That  is  here  true  which  Wisdom 
says  in  Sirach  (Ecclus.)  24:21,  'They  that 
eat  me  shall  still  hunger,  and  they  that  drink 
me  shall  still  thirst.'     The  Scriptures  teach 


1' Earth 'all  the  early  Eng.  versions  except  Rheims,  and  most  of  the  recent  versions.    Kheiuis,  McClellao 
'  land,'  Darby  hesitates. 


Ch.  v.] 


MATTHEW. 


9t 


6  Blessed  are  they  which  do  hunger  and  thirst  after 
righteousness :  for  they  shall  be  filled. 

7  Blessed  are  the  merciful :    for  they  shall  obtain 
luercy. 

8  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart:  for  they  shall  see 
God. 

9  Blessed  are  the  peacemakers:    for  they  shall  be 
called  the  children  of  God. 


6  Blessed  are  they  that  hunger   and   thirst  after 
righteousness:  for  they  shall  be  filled. 

7  Blessed  are  the  merciful :  for  they  shall  obtain 
mercy. 

8  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart :  for  they  shall  see 
God. 

9  Blessed  are  the  peacemakers :   for  they  shall  be 
called  sons  of  God. 


that  this  satisfaction  will  be  progressive  in  the 
present  life,  and  become  perfect  as  we  enter 
upon  the  perfect  world. — Observe  (Tholuck) 
that  after  righteousness  there  follow  three 
elements  of  righteousness,  viz.,  pity,  purity, 
peace. 

7.  Merciful.  The  original  word  includes 
also  the  idea  of  compassion,  as  in  Heb.  2:  17; 
Prov.  14:  21,  and  implies  a  desire  to  remove 
the  evils  which  excite  compassion.  It  thus 
denotes  not  only  mercy  to  the  guilty,  but  pitj' 
for  the  suffering,  and  help  to  the  needy.  See 
Luke  3:  11;  Matt.  25:  37^0;  James  2:  13. 
To  be  merciful  is  not  the  ground  of  receiving 
mercy  from  God,  but  an  occasion  and  condi- 
tion thereof.  (i8:33f.)  Comp.  the  relation 
between  forgiving  and  being  forgiven,  as  ex- 
plained on  6:12.  The  Jerusalem  Talmud 
gives  as  a  saying  of  Gamaliel,  "  Whensoever 
thou  hast  mercy,  God  will  have  mercy  upon 
thee;  if  thou  hast  not  mercy,  neither  will 
God  have  mercy  upon  thee." 

8.  Pure  in  heart,  as  contrasted  with  mere 
external,  bodily  purification,  about  which  the 
Jews,  and  especially  the  Pharisees,  were  very 
scrupulous.  (2:1:25,28.)  The  phraso  should  uot 
be  limited  to  the  absence  of  unchaste  feel- 
ings, but  includes  freedom  from  all  the  de- 
filing influences  of  sin  upon  the  inner  man. 
Origen:  "Every  sin  stains  the  soul."  The 
'heart'  in  Scripture  use  is  the  seat  of  thought 
and  will  as  well  as  of  feeling.  (Comp.  on  6: 
21.)  We  must  shun  defiling  thoughts,  pur- 
poses, and  feelings.  Calvin  here  understands 
especially  freedom  from  trickery  and  cun- 
ning. So  James  (*:8)  says,  'Purify  your 
hearts,  ye  double-minded.'  A  like  breadth 
of  meaning  is  implied  in  the  connection  of 
Psa.  24:  4.  Comp.  for  various  applications  of 
the  phrase,  Psa.  51:  10;  73:  1;  1  Tim.  1:  5;  2 
Tim.  2:  22.  The  meaning  is  thus  seen  to  be 
very  comprehensive,  as  when  we  speak  of  a 
pure  character,  pure  motives,  etc.     There  is 


nothing  here  said  as  to  the  way  in  which  this 
purity  is  to  be  obtained;  that  was  afterwards 
fully  revealed  through  the  apostles.  (Acta  15 :  9; 

1  JoLul:  ;,9;Eph.5:26;  2Cor.T:I.)      Shall    See    Gotl. 

The  expression  is  derived  from  the  usages  of 
Oriental  courts,  where  kings  live  in  great 
seclusion,  and  it  is  a  rare  and  distinguished 
j  privilege  to  be  admitted  into  the  very  pres- 
ence of  the  monarch,  and  see  him  face  to  face. 
See  1  Kings  10:  8;  Esther  1:  14;  Heb.  12:  14; 
Kev.  22:  4,  and  an  equivalent  expression  in 
Matt.  18:  10.  With  the  whole  verse  here 
compare  Psa.  24:  3f  :  'Who  shall  ascend 
into  the  hill  of  the  Lord?  or  who  shall  stand 
in  his  holy  place?  He  that  hath  clean  hands 
and  a  pure  heart.' — It  is  a  kindred,  but  quite 
distinct  thought  that  we  find  in  1  John  3: 
2,  that  of  the  immediate  perception  and 
thorough  knowledge  of  God  in  the  future 
life,  as  tending  to  make  us  like  him. 

9.  Here  the  contrast  to  worldly  kingdoms, 
which  runs  through  the  whole  passage,  is  par- 
ticularly great.  In  them  the  highest  honor 
and  esteem  are  given  to  warriors,  but  under 
the  Messianic  reign  to  peacemakers,  those 
who  bring  about  peace  between  enemies.  It 
may  be  taken  for  granted  that  they  will  be 
peaceable  in  their  own  disposition  and  con- 
duct, will  strive  to  maintain  peace  as  well  as 
to  restore  it  when  disturbed ;  but  that  is  not 
included  in  the  meaning  of  the  word.  Mor- 
ison:  "This  delightful  beatitude  must  have 
sounded  like  a  clap  of  thunder  over  the  hearts 
of  some  of  those  who  were  reveling  in  the 
imagination  that  the  time  had  arrived  when 
war  to  the  bitter  end  was  to  be  proclaimed 
against  the  surrounding  principalities  of  the 
Gentiles."  It  is  difficult  to  determine  whether 
they  is  here  emphatic,  as  it  is  in  v.  4-8.'  The 
difference  would  here  be  slight.  Called  the 
children,  or  sons — of  God,  as  being  like 
him  (v.  45),  objects  of  his  special  afl["ection, 
etc.     They  shall  not  only  be  sons  of  God,  but 


iThe  external  evidence  for  omitting  atUoi  (and  thus  1  by  copyists  to  make  this  like  the  other  beatitudes  than 
leaving  '  they '  without  emphasis)  is  strong,  but  not  con-    that  it  was  omitted, 
elusive.    It  is  more  probable  that  the  word  was  inserted  ' 


92 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  V. 


10  Blessed  are  they  which  are  persecuted  for  right- 
eousness' sake :  for  theirs  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

11  Blesseil  are  ve  when  men  shall  revile  you,  and  per- 
secute yoii,  and  sfiall  say  all  mauuer  of  evil  against  you 
t  falselVj  for  uiy  sake. 

12  Kejoice,  and  be  exceeding  glad  :  for  great  is  your 
rtwani  in  heaven  :  for  so  persecuted  they  the  prophets 
which  were  before  you. 


10  Blessed  are  they  that  have  been  persecuted  for 
righteousness'  sake:   for  theirs  is  the  kiugdoni  of 

11  heaven.  Blessed  are  ye  when  men  shall  rei)roach 
you,  and  persecute  you,  and  say  all  manner  of  evil 

12  against  you  falsely  for  my  sake.  Rejoice,  and  be  ex- 
ceeding glad:  for  great  is  your  reward  in  heaven: 
for  so  persecuted  tney  the  prophets  that  were  liefore 
you. 


1  Or.  lying. 


shall  be  called  such,  recognized  as  such  in  his 
kingdom — not  merely  subjects  of  the  kingdom, 
but  sons  of  the  king.  We  need  not  wonder 
at  this  exalted  promise  to  peacemakers,  for 
theirs  is  a  very  diflScult  and  very  noble 
achievement.  They  must  often  be  content 
to  bear  bitter  complaint  from  both  sides,  must 
exercise  great  self-control,  unwearied  pa- 
tience, and  loving  tact,  and  must  be  mani- 
festly impartial  and  unselfish.  There  is  no 
more  Godlike  work  to  be  done  in  this  world 
than  peacemaking. 

10.  They  which  are — or,  that  have  been — 
persecuted,  the  form  of  expression  according 
with  the  fact  that  the  chief  rewards  of  such 
sufferers  do  not  so  much  attend  on  the  perse- 
cution as  follow  it.  The  expression  obviously 
points  forward  to  the  persecution  of  his  fol- 
lowers, but  it  is  well  to  remember  that  at  the 
probable  time  of  his  delivering  this  discourse, 
Jesus  himself  was  already  beginning  to  be 
bitterly  hated  and  reviled,  and  his  life  sought. 

(Lake  6:  7,  11;  Mark  3:6.)  PerSCCUtioU  USUally  in- 
volved taking  away  one's  possessions,  leaving 
him  in  poverty  and  want ;  and  so  theirs  is 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  here  a  manifestly 
appropriate  form  of  blessing,  as  in  v.  3.  Comp. 
Heb.  10:  34.  Chrys.  :  "Although  he  gives 
different  names  to  the  rewards,  yet  nothing 
else  but  the  kingdom  does  he  shadow  out  by 
all  these  sayings."  Alexander:  "Thus,  by 
a  beautiful  reiteration  of  his  own  expressions, 
he  comes  back  to  the  point  from  which  he 
started,  in  declaring  for  whose  sake  his  king- 
dom was  to  be  erected,  or  of  whom  it  was  to 
be  composed.  Not  the  rich,  the  gay,  the 
fierce,  the  full,  the  cunning,  the  warlike,  or 
the  favorites  of  earthly  rulers,  were,  as  such, 
to  be  distinguished  in  his  kingdom  ;  but  the 
poor,  the  sorrowful,  the  meek,  the  hungry, 
the  sincere,  the  peaceful,  and  the  persecuted, 
who  endured  all  this  for  his  sake,  and  who 


longed  for  spiritual  no  less  than  for  secular 
relief."  — An  addition  to  the  text,  said  by 
Clement  of  Alexandria  to  be  made  by  some, 
suggests  a  pleasing  thought:  "Happy  they 
that  have  been  persecuted  for  my  sake,  for 
they  shall  have  a  place  where  they  will  not  be 
I  persecuted."  V.  10  f.  seem  to  be  referred  to 
j  in  1  Pet.  3:  14;  4:  14.  Various  sentiments  of 
j  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  are  apparently  al- 
i  luded  to  by  James,  Paul,  and  Peter. 
I  11.  Here  Luke  (s:  22)  again  conies  in, 
having  omitted  what  we  have  above  in  v.  5 
and  7-10.  V.  11  f.  contain  an  elaboration  and 
express  application  to  Christ's  disciples  of  the 
general  declaration  of  v.  10.  Here  for  the  first 
time  we  have  the  second  person.  Blessed, 
or,  happy,  are  ye.  But  '  ye '  is  not  expressed 
by  a  separate  Greek  word,  and  so  is  not  em- 
phatic. In  Luke  (6:20ff.)  all  the  beatitudes 
given  are  in  the  second  person.  When  would 
be  more  literally  whenever,  i.  e.,  in  all  cases. 
They  shall  revile  you,  (no  emphasis  on 
'they'),  is  an  impersonal  expression,  like  the 
Eng.  'they  say,' '  or,  'they  tell  me.'  And 
shall  say  all  manner  of  evil  against  you,^ 
same  expression  in  Acts  28  :  21.  Luke  (6: 26) 
strengthens  the  promise  by  pronouncing  atvoe 
upon  them  when  universally  well  spoken  of. 
Falsely  is  omitted  from  the  text  by  some 
critics,*  but  on  insuflicient  authority  ;  and  the 
idea  it  conveys  would  at  any  rate  have  to  be 
supplied,  from  the  very  nature  of  the  case. 
(Comp.  IPet.  4:  15f.)  For  my  sake.  Ke- 
proaches  and  cruel  treatment  endured  on  some 
other  account,  however  unmerited,  are  not 
here  in  question. 

13.  Closely  connected  with  the  preceding. 
Rejoice,  and  be  exceeding  glad.  The 
first  is  the  common  word  for 'rejoice' ;  the 
second  a  rarer  word,  denoting  great  delight 
and  exultation,  which  is  used  several  times  by 
Luke,  John,  and  Peter.    Both  words  are  com- 


i 


1  Many  authorities  add  rema,  '  every  evil  word '  but 
this  is  probably  not  genuine.  It  makes  no  difference 
in  the  meaning. 


2  By  D.  and  Old  Latin  (many  copies),  which  make  so 
many  arbitrary  alterations;  here  probably  following 
Luke  (6 :  22),  as  they  do  twice  in  v.  12. 


Ch.  v.] 


MATTHEW. 


93 


bined,  as  here,  in  1  Pet.  4:  13;  Rev.  19:  7, 
and  together  constitute  a  very  strong  expres- 
sion. Luke  has  '  rejoice  and  leap  (for  joy).' 
There  is  a  beautiful  instance  of  the  apostles, 
rejoicing  under  persecution,  in  Acts  5 :  41. 
For  great  is  your  reward.  The  '  for ' 
would  be  more  exactly  rendered  'because,'  as 
in  all  the  other  beatitudes.  In  the  next  clause 
is  the  word  properly  rendered  'for.'  The 
form  of  expression,  'your  reward,'  implies  a 
definite  reward  (the  Greek  having  an  article), 
designed  for  them,  and  kept  for  them  in 
heaven,  literally,  the  heavens.  (Comp.  25: 
34 ;  Col.  1 :  15  ;  1  Pet.  1:4;  Heb.  11 :  26.)  As 
to  the  plural,  '  the  heavens,'  see  on  3:  2.  For 
so  they  persecnted  they,  impersonal,  as  in 
V.  11.  Alford:  "For  instance,  Jeremiah  was 
scourged,  Jer.  20:  2;  Zechariah,  son  of  Je- 
hoiada,  was  stoned,  2  Chron.  24:  21;  Isaiah, 
according  to  Jewish  tradition,  was  sawn 
asunder  by  Manasseh."  Similar  reference 
to  persecutions  is  made  in  Neh.  9:  26;  Matt. 
21  :  35 ;  23 :  32  ff. ;  Acts  7 ;  52  :  1  Thess.  2:  15. 
The  fact  that  the  prophets  were  persecuted  in 
like  manner,  furnishes  a  ground  for  assurance 
that  the  persons  addressed  will  be  rewarded. 
Tliey  are  following  the  footsteps  of  the  pro- 
phets, and  shall,  like  them,  have  a  great  re- 
ward. (Comp.  10:  41:  James  6:  10.)  The 
reward  is  however  not  merited  by  the  perse- 
cutions, but  is  a  gift  of  God's  grace. 

Luke  (6:24-6)  here  adds  four  woes,  corre- 
sponding to  the  four  beatitudes  he  has  recorded. 
If  it  be  thought  that  these  would  not  enter 
naturally  into  Matthew's  connection,  we  have 
to  remember  that  each  apparently  gives  only 
a  sketch  of  what  was  said.  (See  above,  In- 
trod.  to  the  discourse). 

It  will  be  observed  that  in  Matthew  the 
word  '  happy'  occurs  nine  times  ;  but  as  v.  11 
is  substantially  a  repetition  of  v.  10,  we  see 
that  there  are  eight  beatitudes  (or  macarisms). 
Some  exclude  from  the  count  that  of  v.  10 — 
as  being  different  in  tone  from  the  others — in 
order  to  make  just  seven,  the  sacred  number. 
But  this  is  utterly  arbitrary.  In  fact  the 
eight,  although  following  each  other  in  a  suf- 
ficiently natural  order,  have  no  stiffness  of 
arrangement.  Our  Lord  here,  and  often 
elsewhere,  speaks  with  a  certain  rhythmical 
movement  such  as  is  natural  to  elevated 
"entimcnt ;  but  still  all  is  inartificial  and 
simple. 


HOMILETICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

V.  1.  Sermon  on  the  Mount:  (1)  The 
preacher.  (2)  The  hearers.  (3)  The  sermon 
— its  leading  thoughts.  (4)  The  effect  stated, 
7:  28. — Stier  :  '"AH  apostolical  preaching 
of  the  gospel  must  begin  with  the  gracious 
commencement  of  this  sermon,  the  conclu- 
sion of  all  apostolic  preaching  must  coincide 
with  its  awful  conclusion  ;  but  intermediate 
lies  all  that  progressive  teaching  and  exhorta- 
tion, which  through  faith  in  its  fulfiller  estab- 
lishes the  law  in  the  believer. — Moses,  amid 
the  awful  splendors  of  Mount  Sinai,  gave  a 
law  which  condemns;  Christ,  on  the  quiet 
mountain  in  Galilee,  a  gospel  which  saves." 
(Heb..i:8.)— V.  2.  Sohaff:  "When  the  Lord 
opens  his  mouth,  we  should  open  our  ears 
and  hearts."— V.  3.  In  general,  the  beatitudes 
teach  that  true  happiness  in  life  depends  on 
character  rather  than  circumstances. — Burns  : 

It's  no'  in  titles  nor  in  rank, 

It's  no'  in  wealth  like  Lon'on  bank, 
To  purchase  peace  and  rest. 

If  happiness  hae  not  her  seat 
And  centre  in  the  breast, 

We  may  be  wise,  or  rich,  or  great, 
But  never  can  be  blest. — 

A  bomiletical  classification  of  the  beatitudes 
(many  might  of  course  be  given):  (1) 
The  poor  in  spirit,  the  mourners,  the  meek. 
(2)  The  hungering,  etc.,  and  the  pure  in 
heart.  (3)  The  merciful,  the  peacemakers.  (4) 
The  reviled  and  persecuted. — Stikr:  "The 
eight  Benedictions,  with  their  conditions,  are 
in  a  certain  sense  found  united  in  every  child 
of  God,  and  no  member  of  this  wonderful 
series  may  be  altogether  wanting  from  the 
time  that  the  first  poverty  of  spirit  has  re- 
ceived the  gift  of  grace;  yet  is  there  an  actual 
and  gradual  growth  of  one  out  of  the  other. 
And  here  does  the  law  apply  in  all  its  signifi- 
cance, that  the  gift  received  must  be  pre- 
served, exercised,  and  increa.«ed :  and  that  to 
him  only  who  has,  .shall  more  be  given  in 
order  to  his  having  all." 

Corn.  aLapide:  "There  are  three  sorts 
of  poor:  (1)  those  who  are  so  actually,  as 
beggars;  (2)  in  spirit,  but  not  actually— as 
Abraham,  who  was  rich  in  fact,  poor  in 
spirit;  (3)  both  in  fact  and  in  spirit.'"  — 
Chrys.  ;  "As  pride  is  the  fountain  of  all 
wickedness,  so  is  humility  the  i)rincip1e  of  all 
self-command."— Stier:  "Oh,  that  the  richly 


94 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  V. 


endowed  and  worldly  blessed  of  our  day,  to 
whom  the  beginning  of  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount  must  come  with  the  full  force  of  most 
direct  contrast  and  contradiction,  would  only 
meekly'  hear  it." 

v.  4.  Theophyl.  :  "Those  who  mourn- 
always,  and  not  simply  once"  (as  if  it  were 
mourned). — V.  5.  Theophyl.:  "The  meek 
are  not  those  who  are  never  at  all  angry,  for 
such  are  insensible,  but  those  who  feeling 
anger  control  it,  and  who  are  angry  when 
they  ought  to  be.  Meekness  excludes  revenge, 
irritability,  morbid  sensitiveness,  but  not  self- 
defence,  or  the  quiet  and  steady  maintenance 
of  rights."  The  Christian  inheritance  in  the 
Messianic  kingdom,  is,  like  that  of  Israel  (ac- 
cording to  the  divine  plan),  a  gift  directly 
from  God,  (Gen.  i7:  s),  and  therefore  (1)  in- 
alienable (Lev.  25:  23)  ;  (2)  imperishable  (l  Pet.  l :  i). 

Y.  7.  Theophyl.:  "Not  by  means  of 
money  only  are  you  to  be  merciful,  but  also 
bj'  words;  and  even  if  you  have  nothing,  by 
tears." — In  this  world  of  sin  and  sorrow,  there 
is  frequent,  nay  constant  occasion  for  being 
merciful  in  one  way  or  another.  Henky  : 
"A  man  may  be  truly  merciful,  who  has  not 
wherewithal  to  be  bountiful  or  liberal." 
Chrys.  (condensed  in  Aq.) :  "The  reward 
here  seems  at  first  to  be  only  an  equal  return ; 
but  indeed  it  is  much  more ;  for  human  mercy 
and  divine  mercy  are  not  to  be  put  on  an 
equality."     Shak.  : 

Mercy is  twice  blessed ; 

It  blesseth  hiui  that  gives,  and  him  that  takes : 

.  .  .  And  earthly  power  doth  then  show  likest  God's, 

When  mercy  seasons  justice. — 

— But  not  mercy  at  the  expense  of  justice,  as 
too  often  in  trial  by  jury. — V.  8.  Not  merelj' 
clean  garments,  clean  person  ("cleanliness  is 
next  to  godliness"),  hands  clean  from  blood 
or  pelf,  but  also  cleanness  of  thought,  motive, 
feeling. 

V.  9.  Peacemaking.  I.  Difficulties  which 
the  task  involves:  (1)  In  our  own  defects,  (2) 
in  the  faults  of  the  parties  at  variance,  (3)  in 
the  foolish  or  wicked  interference  of  others. 
II.  Inducements  to  undertake  the  task.  (1) 
Evils  which  flow  from  variance  and  strife. 
(2)  Blsssed  effects  of  reconciliation.  (3)  The 
\work  is  Godlike,  and  will  have  God's  special 
aid  and  reward. — While  not  expressing,  this 
passage  naturally  suggests  the  fact  that  God  is 
in  Christ,  reconciling  the  world  unto  himself. 


and     'making     peace'     (Col.  l :  20,  same  word  as  here)  ; 

and  that  we  also  ought  to  be  busy  in  reconcil- 
ing our  fellow-men  to  God.     Shak  : 

God's  benison  go  with  you,  and  with  those 

That  would  make  good  of  bad,  and  friends  of  foes. 

Corn,  a  Lapide  :  "Father  Gaspar  so  excelled 
in  peacemaking,  that  the  lawyers  said  they 
should  die  of  hunger." 

V.  10.  The  same  persons  who  are  pure  in 
heart  and  peacemakers  may  be  reviled,  and 
that  for  the  sake  of  him  who  was  perfectly 
pure  and  the  greatest  of  peacemakers. — V.  11. 
Luther  (in  Lange):  "What  comfort  that 
the  Son  of  God  himself  calls  us  blessed,  let 
whoever  may  speak  ill  of  us."  (icor.4:3-5.) 
— Henry:  "There  is  no  evil  so  black  and 
horrid,  which  at  one  time  or  another  has  not 
been  said,  falsely,  of  Christ's  disciples  and 
followers."  Stier  :  "The  daring  disregard 
of  truth  with  which  the  world  is  wont  auda- 
ciously to  calumniate  the  children  of  God, 
the  Satanic  cunning  with  which  its  lies  are 
woven,  would  be  altogether  incredible,  if  it 
were  not  matter  of  fact."  Pltjmptre  :  "The 
witnesses  for  unwelcome  truths  have  never 
had,  anywhere  or  at  any  time,  a  light  or  easy 
task."  Griffith:  "Violent  outbursts,  in- 
deed, of  ill-will  are  now  but  rare.  Culture 
has  softened  manners,  and  made  ferocity  ill- 
bred.  But  the  native  dislike  of  falsehood  to 
truth,  of  worldliness  to  godliness,  of  evil  to 
good,  still  dwells  in  the  heart ;  it  oozes  out  in 
bitter,  though  quiet  drops ;  it  leaps  forth 
sometimes  in  words  which,  though  smoother 
than  oil,  are  very  swords." — V.  12.  It  is  often 
a  melancholy  consolation  in  time  of  sore  trial 
or  temptation  to  remember  that  no  trial  has 
taken    you  but  such  as  is  common  to  man. 

(1  Cor.  10:13.) 

13-16.  Inflttence  and  Kesponsibility  | 
OF  THE  Subjects  of  Messiah's  Eeign. 

The  influence  and  consequent  responsibility] 
of  Christ's  disciples(see  Analysis  in  the  Intro- j 
duction  to  this  discourse)  are  here  exhibited^ 
by  means  of  two  figures,  salt  and  light.     The  , 
general  thought  is  that  they  have  a  great  work  j 
to  do,  and  persecution  (v.  10-12)  must  not  cause] 
them  to  neglect  it.     Several  of  the  character- 
istics just  ascribed  to  them,  as  meek,  peace- 
makers, persecuted  for    righteousness'   sake, 
pertain  to  their  relation  to  others,  and  qualify' 
for  useful  exertions  and  influence. 


Ch.  v.] 


MATTHEW. 


95 


13  Ye  are  the  salt  of  the  earth:  but  tf  the  salt  have 
lost  its  savour,  wherewith  shall  it  be  salted '.'  it  is  theiice- 
fcirthgood  lor  uothiug,  buttobecast  out,  aud  to  be  trod- 
dea  under  J'oot  of  men. 


13  Ye  are  the  salt  of  the  earth :  but  if  the  salt  have 
lost  its  savour,  wherewith  shall  it  be  salted?  it  Is 
thenceforth  good  for  nothing,  but  to  be  cast  out  and 


13.  As  salt  preserves  things  from  corrup- 
tion and  decay,  so  it  is  the  office  of  Christians 
to  preserve  the  mass  of  mankind  from  utter 
moral  corruption  and  ruin.     Some  bring  in 
also  the  idea  of  salt  as  seasoning — that  Chris- 
tians are  to  save  life  from  being  stale  and  flat 
— but  this  seems  strained,  and  little  in  har- 
mony with  the  general  tone  of  the  discourse. 
Others  sa3'  (Grimm)  that  salt  of  the  ectr^Amust 
mean  some  saline  fertilizing  material,  but  this 
is  forbidden  by  the  next  clause. — There  is  no 
propriety  in  restricting  the  saying  to  minis- 
ters, as  is  done  by  some  Fathers,  by  Roman- 
i.sts  in  general,  and  by  Calvin,  Gill,  and  others. 
Jesus  meant    the   'disciples'    (»-i)  as  distin- 
guished from  the  world  in  general,  but  not 
particularly  the  Twelve;  certainly  Matthew 
cannot  have  so  understood,  as  he  has  not  yet 
mentioned  the  Twelve;  and  nobody  thinks  the 
Beatitudes  were  addressed  to  the  Twelve  more 
than  other  disciples  (notice  the  '  you'  in  v.  11, 
1*2).    A  minister's  calling  gives  him  special  in- 
fluence, but  so  will  another  disciple's  wealth, 
social  or  official  position,  talents,  attainments, 
etc. — Notice  (Mey.)  how  the  expressions  used 
for  mankind  correspond  to  the  images;  the 
salt  of  the  earth,  the  mass  of  mankind  to  be 
penetrated  and  preserved ;    the  light  of  the 
world,  the  expanse  over  which  it  is  to  shine. 
Ye  is  expressed  in  the  Greek  and  so  is  em- 
phatic (in  V.  14  also).     You,  the  often  poor, 
persecuted  (t.  10-12),  are  of  great  importance  to 
the  world,  and  must  fulfill  your  duty  to  it. 
Are.    Already  true  of  the  disciples  addressed, 
and  a  permanent  fact  as  to  Christ's  disciples 
in  general. 

But  this  high  office  of  Christians  is  by  no 
means  to  become  an  occasion  for  spiritual 
pride ;  rather  does  our  Lord  proceed  to  show 
the  evils  of  failing  to  exert  the  salutary  influ- 
ence in  question.    Have    lost  his  — rather 


its — savour,  iccowie  tasteless.     For  'its'  in- 
stead of  the  old  neuter  possessive  'his,'  see  on 
24:  32.     The  same  idea  is  expressed  in  Mark 
9:  50,   by    'lost    his    saltness.' ^     If.     Until 
lately  there  was  hardly  satisfactory  evidence 
(Schottgen)  that  this  ever  actually  happens, 
and  commentators  generally  held  the  expres- 
sion to  be  a  mere  supposition.    But  Maun- 
drell's  statement  (about  a.  d.   1690)  that  he 
found  south  of  the  Dead  Sea  masses  of  salt 
that  had  become  tasteless,  is  now  supported 
by  Thomson:   "It  is  a  well-known  fiict  that 
the  salt  of  this  country  [Palestine],  when  in 
contact  with  the  ground,  or  exposed  to  rain 
and   sun,   does   become  insipid  and  useless. 
From  the  manner  in  which  it  is  gathered, 
much  earth  and  other  impurities  are  neces- 
sarily collected  with  it.     Not  a  little  of  it  is 
so  impure  that  it  cannot  be  used  at  all ;  and 
such  salt  soon  effloresces  and  turns  to  dust — 
not  to  fruitful  soil,  however.     It  is  not  only 
good  for  nothing  itself,  but  it  actuallj'  destroys 
all  fertility  wherever  it  is  thrown  ;  and  this  is 
the  reason   why  it  is  cast  into  the  street." 
"The  sweeping  out  of  the  spoiled  salt  and 
casting  it  into  the  street,  are  actions  familiar 
to  all   men."     See  more  fully  in  vol.  ii.,  p. 
361-3.     The  case  supposed  is  thus  seen  to  be 
one  of  actual  and  frequent  occurrence.     The 
application  is  obvious.     Christians  must  per- 
form their  function,  must  really  serve  as  salt 
to  mankind,  or  they  will  be  worthies  and  con- 
temptible,  and   that    irrecoverably.      Some, 
(Luther,  etc.),  understand  wherewith*  shall 
it  be  salted,  impersonally,  with  what  shall 
salting  then  be  done;  but  this  is  unsuitable  to 
the  connection,  for  it  would  require  the  next 
words  to  declare  that  there  is  no  substitute  for 
salt.    In  the  similar  expression  of  Mark  (»:  ooj 
it  is  clearly  personal;  'wherewith   will  you 
season — or,  salt — it?'     Maldonatus:   "There 


'  Matthew's  word  (same  In  Luke  14:  34)  means  prima-  1     *  "  Wherewith '  is  literally  '  in]what,'  the  action  being 
rlly  to  make  foolish  (comp.  v.  22),  and  is  so  used  in  Rom.  '  conceived  in  such  cases  as  located  in  that  which  is  thfi 


1 :  22 ;  1  Cor.  1 :  20.  A  witty  saying  which  loses  the  salt 
Of  wit  becomes  silly,  and  so  by  a  reaction  in  the  figure 
•alt  is  said  to  he  made  foolish  by  losing  iu  saltness. 
A  Greek  writer  (Wet.)  speaks  of  roots  that  are  foolish, 
'..insipid)  to  the  taster.  So  the  Latin  fatuua  was 
jruetimes  used. 


material,  means,  etc.,  of  performing  it.  Such  uses  of 
'in'  are  found  rarely  in  English,  oftener  in  classical 
Greek,  and  quite  frequently  iu  Hebrew  and  Hebraized 
Oreek.    Coiupion3:  11. 


96 


MATTHEW. 


1 

[Ch.  V.    1 


14  Ye  are  the  light  of  the  world.  A  city  that  is  set 
on  a  hill  cannot  be  hid. 

15  Neither  do  men  light  a  candle,  and  put  it  under  a 
>  bushel,  but  on  a  candlestick ;  and  it  giveih  light  unto 
all  thai  iu'ti  iu  the  house. 

le  Let  your  light  so  shine  l)efore  men,  that  they  may 
see  your  good  wurks,  and  glorify  your  Father  which  is 
iu  heaven. 


14  trodden  under  foot  of  men.    Ye  are  the  light  of  the 

15  world.  A  city  set  on  a  hill  cannot  be  hid.  Neither 
do  men  light  a  lamp,  aud  put  it  under  the  bushel, 
but  on  the  stand  ;  and  it  shineth  unto  all  that  are  iu 

16  the  house.  Even  so  let  your  light  shine  bel'ore  men, 
that  they  may  see  your  good  works,  aud  glorify  your 
Father  who  is  iu  heaven. 


1  The  word  In  tbe  origtnal  signilleth  a  mttwurs  containing  about  a  pint  Ittt  than  a  peck. 


is  no  salt  for  salt."  Luke  (u:  S4)  gives  the 
same  image  as  used  in  a  diflPerent  connection. 
Good  for  nothing,  literally,  has  no  force  or 
efficacy.  Those  who  employ  our  Lord's  image 
here  iu  support  of  the  idea  that  the  regenerate 
may  wholly  "lose  their  religion,"  ought  to 
observe  that  it  would  also  teach  that  tiiey  can 
never  recover  it.  In  this  case,  as  in  others, 
a  view  of  the  mournful  efte<'ts  which  would 
follow  utter  apostasy,  is  emploj'ed  as  one 
means  of  preserving  from  it.  Our  Lord's  de- 
sign is  not  negative  but  positive,  to  arouse  his 
disciples  to  watchful  diligence  and  persevering 
devotion.  Many  of  the  Jews  who  professed 
to  be  very  religious,  were  orthodox  and  scru- 
pulous without  real  piety,  and  the  subjects  of 
the  Messianic  reign  must  not  be  so. 

14.  The  same  idea  is  here  presented  by  a 
second  image,  which  has  a  natural  relation  tu 
the  former.  Pliny  (Wet.):  "To  all  bodies 
there  is  nothing  more  useful  than  salt  and 
sun."  Ye,  emphatic,  as  in  v.  13.  Jesus  else- 
where declares  that  he  himself  is  the  Light  of 

the  world.      (JohuS:  12;  9:  5;  12:  sa;  Jghnl:  7ff.)     Wc 

of  course  understand  that  the  light  which 
his  peciple  emit  is  really  derived  from  him. 
(Eph.  5:8.)  In  Phil.  2:  15  thej-  are  compared 
to  the  heavenly  luminaries  ;  in  John  5:  35  the 
Baptist  is  called,  literally,  'the  burning  and 
shining  lamp' — which  Jesus  had  probably 
said  before  bespoke  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount. 
Here  Christians  are  the  light  of  the  world,  the 
source  of  spiritual  light  to  it,  as  the  sun 
(John  11:  9)  is  of  natural  light.  They  are  the 
light  by  means  of  which  the  world,  the  mass 
of  mankind,  may  see  the  things  of  religion, 
may  see  the  truth  about  God  and  his  service. 
Comp.  Wisdom,  4:  26.  "The  multitude  of 
the  wise  is  the  salvation  of  the  world."  Ep. 
to  Diognettia,  6,  "What  soul  is  in  body,  this 
are  Christians  in  the  world." — Anything  that 
gives  light  will  be  observed,  and  Christians,  as 
being  the  light  of  the  world,  cannot  escape 
observation  if  they  would.  But  this  thought 
is  presented  more  forcibly  by  changing  the 
figure.    A  city  that  is   set  on  a  hill— or 


mountain — cannot  be  hid,  being  thus  seen 
distinctly,  on  all  sides,  and  from  a  distance. 
Cities  thus  situated  were  not  uncommon  in 
Galilee — as  iu  most  other  hilly  countries  in 
ancient  times — and  Jesus  may  perhaps  have 
pointed  to  one  while  speaking;  but  it  is  idle  to 
conjecture  which  one.  The  houses  were  often 
built  (as  they  are  now)  of  a  very  white  lime- 
stone, which  would  make  the  city  more  dis- 
tinctly visible.  The  thought  plainly  is,  that 
Christians  occupy  of  necessity  a  conspicuous 
position,  and  must  be  seen.  To  make  it  mean 
"the  church,"  on  Mount  Zion  (Stier,  Keil, 
etc.),  is  utterly  unnatural.  There  is  still 
probably  some  reference  to  the  persecutions 
spoken  of  in  v.  11  f.,  which  might  make  the 
faint-hearted  desire  to  withdraw  from  ob- 
servation. 

15.  And  Christians  should  not  wish  to  avoid 
being  observed,  even  if  they  could.  Such 
was  not  the  divine  design  iu  making  them 
sources  of  light.  Neither  do  men— literally 
they,  impersonal  as  in  V.  11.  A — the — bushel, 
i.  e.,  the  one  kept  in  the  house.  The  Greek 
word  (borrowed  from  Latin,  as  it  was  natural 
that  Roman  measures  should  become  common 
in  the  provinces)  denotes  a  measure  contain- 
ing about  a  peck  ;  but  it  is  better  for  us  to  re- 
tain the  familiar  term,  the  exact  dimensions 
being  of  no  importance  to  the  idea,  which  is 
simply  that  of  concealment,  and  is  elsewhere 
expressed  bj'  putting  the  lamp  under  the  bed. 
(Mark*:  21.)  «  Candle  '  and  'candlestick' 
are  misleading,  the  thing  meant  being  a  lamp 
and  a  lamp-stand.  Giveth  light — or  shines. 
The  Greek  word  is  the  same  as  in  the  suc- 
ceeding verse.  Here,  as  often,  the  common 
version  has  obscured  the  connection  by  un- 
necessarily varying  the  terms.  The  fault 
began  here  with  Tyndale,  and  was  adopted  by 
all  his  early  successors  except  Rheims. — In 
Luke  8:  16  and  11 :  33  we  find  the  same  saying 
(slightly  varied)  used  on  other  occasions  and 
with  a  different  application. 

16.  Let  your  light  so  shine.  As  the 
lamp  which  is  not  hidden  but  set  on  the  stand 


Ch.  v.] 


MATTHEW. 


97 


shines  for  all  that  are  in  the  house, -so  let  your 
light  shine  before  men,  that  (in  order  that)  i 
they  may  see,  etc.  The  position  of  the  words 
in  the  Greek  (in  which  'so'  is  the  first  word), 
shows  the  emphasis  to  be  on  'so'  and  'shine,' 
and  'so'  signifies  in  the  way  suggested  by  the 
image  of  the  preceding  sentence.  The  incor- 
rect position  of  'so'  in  Com.  Ver.  (from 
Tyndule)  encourages  the  erroneous  idea  that 
it  means  in  such  a  way  that  (as  the  result) 
men  may  see,  etc.  Before.  Not  simply 
•for  men,'  for  their  benefit,  as  in  the  preced- 
ing clause,  but '  before  men,'  in  their  presence. 

That  they  may   see and   glorify. 

There  is  no  propriety  in  saying  that  this  is 
merely  equivalent  to  'that  seeing.  .  .  .  they 
may  glorify.'  The  passage  teaches  us  to 
desire  and  design  that  men  may  see,  because 
thus  the  higher  object  will  be  secured,  their 
glorifying  God.  (Comp.  on  6:  1,  3,  4.)  Os- 
tentation of  good  works,  which  Jesus  after- 
wards (8:1)  so  severely  condemns,  would  be 
like  flaunting  the  lamp  at  the  door,  instead  of 
simply  setting  it  on  its  appropriate  stand. 
The  shining  of  the  light  consists  in  good 
works.  (Comp.  Titus  3:8.)  In  order  thus  to 
shine,  the  works  must  not  merely  be  morally 
good  (agatha,  as  Rom.  13 :  3),  but  also  morally 
beautiful  (kala,  here  and  in  1  Peter  2:  12), 
attracting  the  admiring  attention  of  others. 
(Achelis.)  He  does  not  say  'may  glorify 
you,'  for  the  good  works  of  God's  children 
are  all  due  to  him,  and  hence  the  beholders 
ought  not  to  praise  them,  but  to  glorify  their 
Father.  (Comp.9:8;  lPeter2:12,)  For  the 
phrase  Father  ...  in  heaven,  see  on  6:  9. 
Alexander:  "Thus  the  Saviour  winds  up 
this  division  of  his  great  discourse,  by  lead- 
ing his  disciples  through  the  homeliest  and 
most  familiar  every-day  analogies  of  com- 
mon life,  to  the  sublime  and  final  end  of  all 
existence." 

HOMILKTICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

V.  13.  Those  whom  "society  "  despises  (y-  n) 
may  ^et  be  indispensable  to  its  highest  wel- 
fare. Contempt  and  reviling  must  not  pre- 
vent them  from  striving  to  exert  a  wholesome 
religious  influence.  But  if  professed  Chris- 
tians be  useless,  then  are  they  really  despic- 
able.   Trampled  on,  (a)  undeservedly  (»n), 


(b)  deservedly,  (v. is.) — Henry:  "Let  God  be 
glorified  in  the  shame  and  rejection  of  those 
by  whom  he  has  been  reproached,  and  who 
have  made  themselves  fit  for  nothing  but  to 
be  trampled  upon." — V.  14.  Christians  a  light 
to  the  world.  I.  "What  may  they  show?  (1) 
That  Christianity  is  true.  (2)  That  Christian 
piety  is  practicable.  (3)  That  a  life  of  piety 
is  desirable.  II.  How  may  they  show  it  ?  (1) 
By  what  they  say — in  public — private.  (2) 
By  what  they  do,  good  works,  (v.  le.) — V.  14-16. 
Pietj' shining.  (1)  A  Christian  cannot  escape 
observation  if  he  would — a  city  on  a  hill.  (2) 
A  Christian  should  not  wish  to  hide  his  piety 
— the  lamp  under  the  bushel.  (3)  A  Christian 
should  show  piety  in  natural  and  appropriate 
waj's — the  lamp  on  the  lamp-stand.  (4)  A 
Christian  should  let  his  piety  shine  with  no 
selfish  ainh,  but  for  the  good  of  man  and  the 
glory  of  God. 

V.  15.  Chrys:  "Nothing  makes  a  man  so 
illustrious  as  the  manifestation  of  virtue;  for 
he  shines  as  if  clad  with  sunbeams."  Clem. 
Alex.  (Wet.)  gives  a  tradition  that  Mat- 
thias the  apostle  used  to  say  that  if  a  pious 
man's  neighbor  sin,  he  himself  has  sinned  ;  for 
if  he  had  ordered  his  life  aright  the  neighbor 
would  have  been  restrained  by  his  example. 
— V.  16.  Wrong  and  right  ways  of  exhibiting 
geod works.— Talmud Jer.  (Wiinsche):  "It 
is  not  enough  to  be  innocent  before  God,  one 
must  show  his  innocence  before  men  also."  — 
If  Christians  do  evil  works,  men  will  be 
pretty  sure  to  see  them,  and  to  speak  against 

God     and      his     cause.       (Rom.  2:  24;  E«ek.  36:  M) — 

Rousseau  (Griffith)  :  "Ah!  what  an  argu- 
ment against  the  unbeliever  is  the  li'fe  of  the 
Christian!  No,  man  is  not  thus  of  himself; 
something  more  than  human  is  reigning 
here."  Chrys.:  "Or  if  there  should  even 
be  some  who  speak  evil  of  thee,  search  into 
their  conscience  and  thou  shalt  see  them  ap- 
plauding and  admiring  thee."  Stier:  '"The 
good  word  without  the  good  walk  is  of  no 
avail." — Men  will  not  be  saved  by  abstract 
truth,  but  bv  truth  embodied,  1)  in  a  personal 
Saviour;  2)  in  saved  persons. 

No  Christian  has  a  right  to  be  regardless  of 
his  reputation,  for  not  himself  alone  is  con- 
cerned. He  may  imagine  it  matters  little  fur 
him  what  men  may  think,  since  God  knows 


'Probably  no  one  would  now  claim  that  hopos  any.    it,  the  meaning  being  purpose  or  design, 
where  deuotes  mere  result  or  effect,  as  Com.  Ver.  malces    porlaul  example  la  in  Lulie  10 :  26. 


Another  im- 


98 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  V. 


17  Think  not  that  I  am  come  to  destroy  the  law.  or  !  17 
the  prophets :  I  am  not  come  to  destroy,  but  to  fulfil.      | 


Think  not  that  I  came  to  destroy  the  law  or  the 


his  henrt ;  but  in  so  far  as  men  do  him  injus- 
tice, they  fail  to  render  that  glory  to  God 
which  his  good  works  ought  to  secure;  and 
so,  out  of  regard  for  the  cause  with  which  he 
is  identified,  be  should  not  suffer  himself  to 
be  misunderstood  or  misrepresented,  where  it 
can  be  avoided. — This  passage,  v.  13-16,  should 
lead  the  Christian  reader  at  once  to  tremble  at 
his  responsibility  and  to  rejoice  at  his  privi- 
lege. How  much  harm  we  do  by  our  incon- 
sistencies ;  how  much  good  we  may  do,  the 
least  influential  among  us,  by  simply  being 
what  we  profess  to  be.  Tyree:  ("The  Liv- 
ing Epistle'"):  "Of  all  modes  of  inculcating 
Christianity,  exemplifying  it  is  the  best.  The 
best  commentary  on  the  Bible  the  world  has 
ever  seen  is  a  holy  life.  The  most  eloquent 
sermon  in  behalf  of  the  gospel  that  the  world 
has  ever  heard  is  a  uniform,  active  piety.  The 
best  version  of  the  written  truth  that  has  ever 
been  made  is  a  consistent  religious  example. 
The  Christian  whose  light  thus  shines  not  only 
correctly   renders,   but  beautifies  the  sacred 

text While  the  truth   is  being  read 

from  the  Bible,  and  proclaimed  from  the  pul- 
pit, let  all  the  members  of  our  churches  second 
and  enforce  that  truth  by  the  silent  eloquence 
of  holy  lives,  and  the  world's  conversion  will 
move  forward  at  home  and  abroad,  with 
prifliitive  speed." 

■»4Z^2g)  Kelatxox  of  Christ's  Mission 
TO  THE  Law. 

Here  commences  the  main  division  of  the 
discourse,  in  which  our  Lord  shows  the  rela- 
tion of  his  mission  to  the  law  of  Moses;  and 
asserts  that,  so  far  from  proposing  to  relax  its 
restraints  or  overthrow  its  authority',  he  came 
to  complete  it.  This  portion,  which  is  not 
given  by  Luke,  extends  to  5:  48  (see  Analysis 
in  Int.  to  ch.  5).  The  relation  to  what  pre- 
cedes, though  not  distinctly  indicated,  is  sufll- 
ciently  plain.  Having  set  forth  certain  char- 
acteristics of  the  subjects  of  the  Messianic 
reign  (»»-iO,  and  their  influence  and  responsi- 
bility (1S16),  he  now  proceeds  to  show  that  the 
Messianic  reign  will  in  important  respects  be 
different  from  what  was  popularly  expected. 

17.  Think  not.  (For  the  expression  comp. 
10:  34;  3:9.)  The  Jews  were  very  likely  to 
think  so.  The  introduction  of  Messiah's  reign 
was  in  the  view  of  many  to  be  a  great  political 


revolution,  such  as  is  apt  to  be  attended  by  a 
setting  aside  of  many  institutions  and  laws, 
and  a  diminished  regard  for  the  restraints  of; 
morality.  And  it  appears  from  later  Jewish 
writers  that  some  of  them  did  in  fact  expect 
that  Messiah  would  abrogate  the  law,  and 
supported  the  notion  by  their  interpretation  of 
Jer.  31:  31.  Many  might  also  begin  to  think 
that  Jesus  cherished  some  such  revolutionary 
design,  from  the  fact  that  he  had  already  (as 
we  see  from  the  order  of  Luke  and  Mark) 
called  a  publican  to  be  one  of  his  immediate 
followers,  and  eaten  with  publicans  and  sin- 
ners (Luke  6: 27-32),  declared  that  he  was  intro- 
ducing a  new  order  of  things  (Luke 5:  36-39),  and 
repeatedly  disregarded  the  Jewish  notions  of 
the  Sabbath.  (Luke6:  i-u.)  These  things  ap- 
peared to  them  revolutionary,  though  we 
know  they  were  not  contrary  to  the  real  spirit 
and  design  of  the  OKI  Test.  I  am  come,  or, 
came,  an  expression  frequently  employed  by 
Jesus,  indicating  that  he  had  a  mission  (comp. 
9:  13;  10:  34;  1  Tim.  1:  15,  etc.),  and  which 
naturally  accords  with  the  fact  of  his  pre-ex- 
istence ;  but  it  must  not  be  relied  on  as  a 
proof  of  his  pre-existence,  for  the  same  ex- 
pression is  applied  to  John  (see  11 :  18  f).  To 
destroy.  In  the  phj^sical  sense,  the  word  sig- 
nifies to  loose,  dissolve,  pull  to  pieces  (as  a 
bridge,  wall,  house),  and  is  applied  to  the 
temple  in  26:  61  and  24:  2  ('throw  down  '),  to 
the  body  regarded  as  a  house  in  2  Cor.  5:  1, 
and  is  figuratively  used  in  Rom.  14:  20  and 
Acts  5:  88f  ('come  to  nought'  and  'over- 
come'). So  in  Gal.  2:  18,  Paul  use.s  this  word 
to  describe  Peter  as  having  (so  to  speak)  pulled 
down  an  old  building  as  useless,  and  now  gone 
to  building  it  up  again.  In  like  manner  here 
the  image  is  most  probably  that  of  a  building. 
There  is  no  other  example  in  N.  T.  of  this 
precise  use — pulling  down,  abrogating,  a  law 
— but  it  is  found  in  2  Mace.  2:  22,  and  in  the 
classics  (Grimm).  A  less  intensive  form  of 
the  same  verb  is  employed  in  v.  19  ('break'), 
where  it  is  contrasted  with  'do,'  and  refers  to 
the  practical  setting  aside  of  the  law  in  men's 
action,  while  here  the  reference  is  rather  to 
the  theoretical  setting  aside  in  our  Lord's 
teaching. 

The  laAV  or  the  prophets.    This  phrase 
was  frequently  employed  to  denote  the  entire 


Ch.  v.] 


MATTHEW. 


99 


Scriptures  (i.  e.,  theO.  T.),  the  'law'  being  the 
five  books  of  Moses,  and  'the  prophets'  the 
remainder.  (See,  e.  g.,  7:  12;  11:  13;  22: 
40 ;  Luke  16 :  16  ;  John  1 :  45 ;  Acts  13 :  15  ; 
28:  23;  Rom.  8:  21.)  In  Luke  24:  44  it  is 
'the  law,  and  the  prophets,  and  the  psalms,' 
the  last  division  probably  including  the  other 
poetical  books.  In  some  other  cases  'the 
law '  denotes  the  whole  (see  John  10 :  34  ;  12 : 
34;  15:25;  1  Cor.  14:21.)  Observe  it  is  '  the 
law  or  the  prophets.'  Not  merely  were  the 
requirements  of  Moses  to  continue  in  force, 
(which  some  Jews  regarded  as  more  sacred 
than  the  rest  of  the  O.  T.),  but  also  all  that 
was  taught  by  the  other  inspired  writers,  the 
prophets.  No  part  of  the  existing  Scriptures 
was  to  be  set  aside.  And  we  know  from  Jo- 
sephus  and  early  Christian  writers,  that  all 
Jews  of  our  Lord's  time  would  understand 
'  the  Scriptures '  or  '  the  law  and  the  prophets ' 
as  meaning  a  well  known  and  well  defined 
collection  of  sacred  books,  the  same  as  our 
Old  Testament. 

To  fulfil.  The  word  thus  rendered  has 
been  explained  on  1 :  22.  It  here  signifies  to 
'make  full,'  'complete.'  Comp.  23  :  32,  'fill 
up  the  measure  of  your  fathers  '  ;  Phil.  2  :  2, 
'complete  my  joy  '  (so  in  many  places);  Acts 
18:  25,  'was  completing  his  course' ;  Col.  2: 
10,  'ye  are  complete  in  him'  ;  1  Thess.  2:  16, 
'fill  up  their  sins'  ;  and  so  of  completing  a 
number,  a  time,  etc.  The  idea  seems  to  be 
that  the  law  is  regarded  as  previously  incom- 
plete, not  fully  developed  into  all  the  breadth 
and  spiritual  depth  of  its  requirement;  and 
Christ  came  to  make  it  complete.  The  ma- 
jority of  expositors  understand  the  word  as 
denoting  to  fulfill  by  performing  what  the  law 
required  (comp.  3:  15;  Rom.  13:  8).  But 
does  this  suit  the  connection?  (1)  There  is  a 
marked  contrast  to  'destroy,'  which  term 
pretty  clearly  refers  to  his  teaching.  (2)  The 
instances  which  follow  throughout  the  chap- 
ter to  illustrate  this  saying,  are  expressly  ex- 
amples of  his  teaching  and  not  of  his  action  ; 
and  while  that  which  here  immediately  fol- 
lows relates  to  action,  it  is  not  his  action,  but 
that  which  his  teacliings  require  of  others. 
The  tlwught  is,  then,  not  to  perform  by  his 
life,  but  to  complete  hy  his  teaching.  Luther: 
"  He  speaks  of  that  fulfilling  which  is  accom- 
plished hy  teaching,  iu?t  as  by  'destroy'  he 
does  not  mean  acting  contrary  to  the  law,  but 


breaking  with  it  by  his  teaching,"  Calvin: 
"  The  question  here  is  of  fulfilling  by  teaching, 
not  by  his  life."  And  it  is  interpreted  in  sub- 
stantially the  same  way  by  Meyer,  Olshausen, 
deWette,  Ewald,  Tholuck,  Alford,  and  others. 
The  Latin,  Syriac,  and  Gothic  versions,  here 
use  words  as  ambiguous  as  the  Greek  ;  but  the 
Coptic  word  distinctly  means  to  perfect,  com- 
plete. Origen,  in  quoting  this  passage  on  13: 
48,  takes  it  to  mean  complete.  Jerome  doubts ; 
Augustine,  Theophyl.,  Euthym.,  understand 
it  in  both  senses  at  the  same  time,  in 
which  they  are  followed  by  various  modern 
writers  (e.  g.,  Gill,  Plumptre),  and  some 
work  out  quite  a  number  of  distinct  senses 
as  included  (e.  g.,  Chrys.,  Bleek,  Wordsw., 
Clark,  Schafi^.)  But  such  interpretation  en- 
feebles the  Scripture. — It  has  been  vainly 
attempted  to  bring  this  saying  of  Jesus  in 
conflict  with  what  Paul  teaches  concern- 
ing the  law.  The  latter  treats  of  the  law 
not  as  a  rule  of  life,  but  as  a  means  of 
justification  ;  and  he  declares,  not  only  that 
the  law  cannot  justify  now  that  Christ  is 
come,  but  that  it  never  was  able  to  justify, 
and  hence  the  necessit3'  for  Christ's  work. 
"The  law  of  the  Lord  is  perfect,"  said  the 
Psalmist,  i.  e.,  free  from  defect  or  blemish, 
and  precisely  adapted  to  the  object  for  which 
it  was  given  ;  while  yet  for  a  higher  and  more 
spiritual  dispensation  its  principles  might  be 
developed  into  greater  completeness.  This 
as  to  moral  precepts,  the  subject  of  which  our 
Lord  proceeds  to  speak  (e.  g.,  v.  31  f.,  and 
comp.  19:  8).  As  to  types  and  predictions, 
his  teachings  and  work  completed  them  by 
presenting  the  full  reality  to  which  thej'  re- 
ferred ;  and  so,  as  a  whole,  the  previous  reve- 
lation was  'completed'  by  the  teachings  of 
Christ  and  his  apostles. — The  idea  still  some- 
times presented  (mentioned  as  early  as  Calvin) 
that  Jesus  was  a  revolutionary  reformer,  set- 
ting aside  the  law  of  Moses  as  imperfect  and 
eflfete,  is  contrary  to  the  whole  spirit  of  this 
passage.  (1)  Jesus  expressly  states  the  con- 
trary— he  came  not  to  destroy  but  to  com- 
plete, and  completing  is  very  difl^erent  from 
setting  aside.  (2)  The  examples  which  fol- 
low in  this  chapter  are  not  examples  of 
teaching  contrary  to  the  law  of  Moses, 
but  of  going  further  in  the  same  direc- 
tion. The  only  saying  he  condemns  is 
'and  hate  thine  enemy'  (»•«),  and  this  was 


100 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  V. 


18  For  verily  I  say  unto  yon,  Till  heaven  aud  earth  I  18  prophets:  I  came  not  to  destroy,  but  to  fulfil.    For 

f»ass,  one  jot  or  one  tittle  shall  in  no  wise  pass  from  the         venly  1  say  unto  you.  Till  heaven  and  earth  pass 
aw,  till  all  be  fullilled.  I       away,  one  jot  or  one  tittle  shall  in  no  wise  pass  away 


not  from  the  law,  but  a  Rabbinical  addition. 
In  19:  8  is  only  an  apparent  exceyjtion  (see 
note  there).  Chrys :  "  Let  us  now  ask  those 
who  reject  the  law,  Is  'be  not  angry'  con- 
trary to  '  do  not  kill '  ?  or  is  not  the  one  the 
perfecting  and  filling  out  of  the  other  ?  It  is 
manifest  that  the  one  is  a  completion  of  the 
other,  and  is  the  greater  for  this  reason.  For 
lie  that  is  not  carried  away  into  anger,  will 
much  more  abstain  from  murder." 

18.  For,  presenting  what  follows  as  a  con- 
firmation of  what  precedes.  Verily  is  in  the 
original  'amen,'  a  Heb.  word  signifying  firm, 
faithful,  reliable  (comp.  Rev.  3  :  14),  often 
employed  in  O.  T.  as  an  adverb,  '  surely,' 
'truly,'  and  then  usually  placed  at  the  end  of 
a  sentence,  either  as  endorsing  its  assertion 
('so  it  is'),  or  expressing  the  wish  that  it  may 
prove  true  ('so  bo  it').  When  thus  used  at 
the  end  of  a  sentence,  our  Eng.  versions  both 
of  O.  T.  and  N.  T.  retain  the  Heb.  word 
Amen,  and  also  in  a  few  cases  where  with  the 
same  meaning  it  precedes  the  sentence.  (Jer. 

28:  6;  Rev.  7  :  1'2 :  19:  4;  22:  20.)        NotlcC  particularly 

the  responsive  use  in  1  Cor.  14:  16;  Rev. 
5:  14;  comp.  Deut.  27:  15  ff.  Our  Lord  fre- 
quently employs  the  term  at  the  beginning  of 
a  sentence,  in  the  literal  sense  of  'surely,' 
'  trul}','  and  in  these  cases  Eng.  versions 
translate  it  '  verily  '  (i.  c,  truly).  In  John  it 
is  always  doubled,  but  single  in  the  other 
Evangelists.  Two  modified  forms  of  the 
Heb.  word  are  similarly  employed  in  Josh. 
7 :  20 ;  Job  19 :  5.  I  say  unto  you,  is  a  form- 
ula very  often  employed  by  our  Lord,  with 
or  without  'verily'  (e.  g.^  v.  20,  26;  6:  2,  5, 
16,  29;  8:  10,  11,  etc.),  and  serving  to  call  at- 
tention to  what  follows,  as  being  important 
and  certainly  true,  somewhat  as  in  colloquial 
English  we  say,  "I  tell  you,"  "I  assure  you," 
etc.  In  these  cases  'I'  is  not  separately  ex- 
pressed in  the  Greek,  and  consequently  is  not 
emphatic  ;  but  it  is  separately  expressed,  and 
therefore  emphatic  in  v.  22,  28,  32,  34,  39,  44, 
where  there  is  a  contrast  between  his  teach- 
ings and  those  of  others. 

Till  heaven  and  earth  pass  away,  is  a 
proverbial  expression  which  would  popularly 


signify  never,  and  is  probably  designed  to  be 
so  understood  here,  the  true  limit  of  the  law's 
continuance  being  given  in  the  other  clause, 
till  all  be  fulfilled.  In  24  :  35,  the  same  idea 
is  expressed  only  the  more  strongly  by  depart- 
ing from  the  proverb — '  Heaven  and  earth 
shall  pass  away,  but  my  words  shall  not  pass 
away.'  Comp.  also  Luke  16:  17.  In  like 
manner  the  Midrash  on  Genesis  (Wet.)  says, 
"  Everything  has  its  end,  heaven  and  earth 
have  their  end,  one  thing  being  excepted 
which  has  no  end,  that  is  the  law."  Jot,  in 
the  Greek  iota,  signifies  the  Heb.  letter  iod 
(pronounced  yod),  corresponding  to  the  Eng. 
i.  It  is  much  smaller  than  the  other  Heb. 
letters,  so  that  it  is  liable  to  be  overlooked; 
and  besides,  in  many  words  it  can  be  either 
inserted  or  omitted  without  aftecting  the 
sound  or  the  sense,  somewhat  like  the  u  in 
favour  or  honour.  The  Midrash  on  Leviti- 
cus says  (Edersh.)  that  the  iod  which  was 
taken  from  the  name  Surai  was  prefixed  to 
that  of  Hoshea,  making  Jehoshua,  Joshua. 
No  part  of  the  law,  not  the  most  insignificant 
letter,  was  to  be  set  aside.  And  this  statement 
is  further  strengthened  by  adding  tittle, — in 
the  Greek  'horn,' — denoting  a  very  slight 
projection  at  the  corner  of  certain  Heb.  let- 
ters, which  distinguishes  them  from  others 
that  are  rounded.i  Comp.  Luke  16:  17.  The 
word  '  horn '  in  this  sense  would  not  be  un- 
derstood among  us,  and  so  'tittle'  (a  very 
small  object)  was  wisely  used  by  Wyclif,  and 
retained  bj'  all  subsequent  translators.  The 
whole  expression  has  been  aptly  compared  to 
our  Eng.  saying,  "  Not  the  dot  of  an  i  nor  the 
cross  of  a  <."  We  also  frequently  employ  in 
the  same  way  the  Greek  iota  (same  as  iod), 
"Every  iota  of  it."  The  Rabbis  have  similar 
expressions,  but  they  quibble  about  the  mere 
words,  while  our  Lord  refers  to  the  meaning. 
In  no  wise,  is,  in  the  original,  merely  a 
doubled  and  thus  strong  negative,  the  same  as 
in  John  6 :  37.  From  the  law.  He  does  not 
add  '  or  from  the  prophets'  ;  and  it  is  of  the 
law  that  he  proceeds  to  speak  in  v.  19  f.,  and 
in  the  examples  which  follow;  yet  he  had  in 
V.  17  equally  affirmed  the  permanence  of  the 


iThusTisd,  T  is  r;  3  isb.D  isk. 


Ch.  v.] 


MATTHEW. 


101 


19  AVhosoever  therefore  shall  break  one  of  these  least 
commandments,  and  shall  teach  men  so,  he  shall  be 
called  the  least  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven :  but  whoso- 
ever shall  do  and  teach  thmn,  the  same  shall  be  called 
great  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

20  For  I  say  nnto  you,  That  except  your  righteous- 
ness shall  exceed  the  righleousnets  of  the  scribes  and 
Pharisees,  ye  shall  in  no  case  enter  into  the  kingdom 
of  heaven. 


19  from  the  law,  till  all  things  be  accomplished.  Who- 
soever therefore  shall  break  one  of  those  least  com- 
mandments, and  shall  teach  men  so,  shall  be  called 
least  in  the  kiugdomof  heaven  :  but  whosoever  shall 
do  and  teach  them,  he  shall  be  called  great  in  the 

20  kingdom  of  heaven.  For  I  say  unto  you,  that  except 
your  righteousness  shall  exceed  ike  rig/Ueousness  of 
the  scribes  and  Pharisees,  ye  shall  in  no  wise  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 


prophets,  and  a  reference  to  them  seems  to  be 
suggested  in  the  expression  which  here  im- 
mediately follows.  Till  all  be  fulfilled— 
or,  come  to  pass.  This  is  not  at  all  like  the 
word  rendered  'fullil '  in  v.  17,  but  is  the  one 
rendered  'come  to  pass'  in  24:  6,  (see  on  1: 
22).  Not  the  smallest  part  of  the  law  shall 
pass  away  till  everything  (i.  e.,  everything  it 
contains)  shall  come  to  pass.  The  things  pre- 
dicted in  the  law  must  all  occur;  the  entire 
substance  foreshadowed  by  any  ceremony  or 
type  must  have  come  into  existence  ;  the  civil 
regulations  for  the  Jewish  State,  after  lasting 
while  it  lasts,  must  continue  to  serve  as  the 
germ  and  basis  of  much  Christian  legislation; 
the  moral  (ethical)  precepts  must  be  obeyed 
by  every  new  generation.  Not  till  all  this 
has  taken  place,  shall  the  least  particle  of  the 
law  be  annulled. 

19.  Therefore.  As  all  remains  in  undi- 
minished force,  it  is  a  sin  to  violate,  or  to 
teach  others  to  violate,  one  of  its  least  com- 
mandments. Break.  It  is  a  compound  of 
the  word  here  used  that  is  rendered  '  destroy  ' 
in  V.  17.  This  word  signifies  to  'loose,'  and 
as  applied  to  our  action  in  regard  to  a  law,  it 
would  mean  to  loose  the  obligation  of  the  law, 
viz.,  by  acting  contrary  to  it,  which  we  in 
English  call  breaking  the  law.  In  v.  17  it 
was  to  loose  or  pull  down  by  teaching ;  but 
here  the  '  teach  '  is  expressed  separately,  and 
spoken  of  as  corresponding  ('so')  to  the 
loosing.  (Comp.  John  1:  23;  10:  35.)  One 
of  these  least  commandments.  The  Jews 
were  mucli  in  the  habit  (see  in  Wet.,  etc.)  of 
classifying  the  various  commandments  as 
greater  and  less  (22:  se),  sometimes  comparing 
those  which  they  reckoned  least  to  the  smallest 
letters  of  the  alphabet.  Such  a  distinction  was 
natural  in  regard  to  external  rites,  even  as 
John  (7: 37)  calls  the  last  day  the  'great'  day 
of  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles.  And  altliough 
they  made  unwarranted  and  artificial  distino- 
tionseven  among  moral  duties,  yet  the  Saviour 


does  here  clearly  recognize  some  command- 
ments as  less  important  than  others,  while 
expressly  declaring  them  to  be  not  unimport- 
ant. So  in  23:  23  (see  note  there)  he  declares 
ethical  duties  to  be  'weightier'  than  the  duty 
of  tithing  herbs.  And  shall  teach  men  so. 
It  is  bad  to  do  wrong,  hut  worse  if  in  addition 
we  teach  others  to  do  wrong.  Called.  Not 
only  shall  be  such,  but  shall  be  so  called,  i.  e., 
declared,  recognized  to  be  such.  (Corap.  on 
5:9.)  Iieast .  .  .  great,  shall  have  the  lowest 
place,  or  a  high  place,  in  Christ's  kingdom,  in 
point  of  dignity  and  privilege.  (Comp.  11: 
11;  18:  1,  5.) 

20.  For.  This  sentence  gives  a  proof  of 
the  previous  statement.  You  may  readily  see 
that  he  who  transgresses  one  of  these  least 
commandments  shall  have  a  low  place  in  the 
Messianic  kingdom,  for  without  a  righteous- 
ness surpassing  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  you 
shall  have  no  place  in  it  at  all.  Comp.  18  :  4. 
I  say  unto  you,  see  on  v.  18.  Except.  Un- 
less (Davidson,  Darby)  is  better  in  modern 
English.  Righteousness.  Not  imputed,  but 
personal  righteousness,  as  in  v.  6,10;  and  it  must 
surpass  that '  of  the  Scribes  and  Pliarisees  both 
in  degree  and  in  kind,  must  be  a  more  spirit- 
ual and  free  (Jamc.-i:  25),  and  a  more  complete 
righteousness,  as  illustrated  at  length  in  the 
remainder  of  the  chapter.  The  Jews  looked 
upon  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees  aa  being  emi- 
nently righteous,  and  doubtless  did  not  think 
it  incumbent  on  ordinary  people  to  be  as  good 
as  they  were;  so  much  the  more  surprising 
must  have  been  this  declaration  of  Jesus. 
For  the  Scribes,  see  on  2 :  4 ;  for  the  Pharisees, 
on  3 :  7.  Some  Greek  Fathers  and  Roman 
Catholic  writers,  with  Neander,  Bleek,  etc., 
hold  that  he  means  the  righteousness  required 
by  the  law  of  Moses  (which  law  tlie  Scribes 
and  Pharisees  kept),  thus  implying  that  the 
law  did  not  require  enough;  hut  this  is 
strained  and  unnatural  In  no  case.  In  the 
Greek  simply  a  strong  negative,  as  in  v.  18. 


'  Literally,  -shall  exceed  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees',  but  this  is  evidently  a  condensed  expression  for  'ex- 
ceed thai  of  the  S.  and  P.'  (Winer,  245  [307],  Butt.  168.) 


102 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  V. 


21  Ye  hare  heard  that  it  was  said  by  them  of  old 
time,  Thou  shalt  uot  Icill ;  aud  whosoever  shall  kill 
shall  be  in  dauger  of  the  jiidgiueut: 

22  But  I  say  unto  you,  That  whosoever  is  angry  with 
his  brother  without  a  cause  shall  be  iu  danger  of  the 
judgment:  and  whosoever  shall  say  to  his  brother, 
Kaca,  shall  be  in  danger  of  the  council :  but  whosoever 
shall  say.  Thou  fool,  shall  be  in  danger  of  hell  tire. 


21  Ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said  to  them  of  old  time, 
Thou  shalt  not  kill ;  aud  whosoever  shall  kill  shall 

22  be  in  danger  of  the  Judgment :  but  I  say  uuto  vou, 
that  every  one  who  is  augry  with  his  brother  i  shall 
be  in  danger  of  the  judgment ;  and  whosoever  shall 
say  to  his  brother.  2  liaca,  shall  be  in  danger  of 
the  council ;  and  whosoever  shall  say,  *  Thou  fool, 


1  Mauy  ancient  aulborities  insert  tv<(Aout  cause.... 2  An  expression  of  con  tempt....  S  Or,  Moreh,  a  Hebrew  expression  of  coudemuation.       a 


Enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  a 

phrase  often  employed  by  our  Lord  (e.  g.,  7: 
21 ;  18 :  3  ;  19 :  23 ;  comp.  '  enter  into  life,'  18 : 
8;  'enter  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord,'  25:  21), 
meaning  to  become  subjects  of  the  Messianic 
reign  and  share  its  full  benefits. 

21  ff.  Our  Lord  now  proceeds  Csee  Anal,  at 
the  beginning  of  the  chap.)  to  illustrate  the 
general  statements  of  v.  17-20,  by  instancing 
various  commandments  of  the  law,  with  the 
interpretations  which  the  Jewish  teachers 
were  accustomed  to  put  on  them,  and  declar- 
ing in  every  case  that  he  enjoined  a  still 
stricter  and  more  inward  and  spiritual  mo- 
rality, not  merely  in  condemning  the  prevalent 
errors,  but  in  more  fully  carrying  out  the 
spirit  of  the  commandments  themselves  than 
had  been  done  by  the  law.  This  was  complet- 
ing the  law  (v.  17),  giving  it  a  deeper  and  more 
spiritual  application.  The  revelation  given 
through  Moses  and  the  prophets,  though  per- 
fectly adapted  to  its  objects,  was  in  various 
respects  rudimentary,  and  now  God's  Son 
(Heb.  1:2)  would  devclop  the  whole  into  com- 
pleteness. All  that  he  teaches  as  to  moral 
duties  was  really  involved  in  the  law,  but  he 
brought  it  out,  so  as  to  give  a  more  distinct 
and  complete  exhibition  of  its  requirements. 
Of  the  six  examples  thus  presented,  the  first  is 
the  law  of  Murder,  (t.  21-26.) 

Ye  have  heard,  especially  when  listening 
to  the  reading  of  the  law  in  the  synagogues, 
with  the  comments  and  explanations  made  by 
the  teachers  of  former  generations,  which,  as 
handed  down  by  tradition,  were  there  repeated 
in  connection  with  the  reading.  (Comp.  John 
12:  34;  Rom.  2:  13.)  That  it  was  said  by 
— rather  to — them  of  old  time,  or  the  an- 
cients.    Every  generation  naturally  regards 


its  own  as  modern  times,  and  looks  back  to 
long,  past  generations  as  "  the  ancients"  The 
rendering  'said  by'  which  Com.  Ver.  and 
some  able  commentators  adopt  (as  Fritz., 
Olsh.,  Ewald,  Keim),  is  possible  according  to 
general  Greek  usage,  but  is  altogether  opposed 
to  the  actual  N.  T.  use  (presented  by  Conant) 
of  the  terms  and  constructions  which  the 
original  here  employs;  and  the  great  mass  of 
recent  expositors  hold  to  the  other  sense,  'said 
to.'  1  This  will  then  naturally  mean,  said  by 
Moses  in  giving  the  law  (Ex. 20:  is;  Deut. 5: 17), 
but  may  also  include  the  old  teachers  in  their 
interpretations;  and  a  traditional  addition 
being  here  given,  it  seems  necessary  to  con- 
sider them  included.  Some  of  these  tradi- 
tional modifications  (see  another  in  v.  43)  had 
come  down  through  several  centuries,  and 
might  thus  be  said  to  have  been  spoken  to  the 
ancients.  And  our  Lord  takes  his  examples 
from  the  law  as  in  his  day  habitually  heard 
and  understood.  The  traditional  addition  in 
this  case,  and  Avhosoever  shall  kill  shall 
be  in  danger  of  the  judgment,  was  prob- 
ably designed  by  specifying  the  proper  tribu^ 
nal  to  indicate  the  appropriate  penalty.  'The 
judgment'  is  generally  understood  to  mean  a 
local  Jewish  court  established  in  every  import- 
ant town,  in  accordance  with  the  command 
of  Deut.  16:  18.  (2Chr.  i9:5.)  It  is  said  by 
Josephus  ("Ant.,"  4,  8,  15,  comp.  "AVar,"  2, 
20,  5),  to  have  consisted  of  seven  persons, 
though  the  Rabbins  say  twenty-three.  It  in- 
flicted punishment,  for  capital  crimes,  by  the 
sword. 

22.  But  I  say  unto  you.  'I'  is  here 
separately  expressed  in  the  Greek,  and  is 
therefore  emphatic,  contrasting  his  teachings 
with  the  law,  and  the  traditional  interpreta- 


1  The  rendering  '  said  by '  is  not  in  any  Eng.  ver. 
before  K.  J.,  which  here  (as  often)  followed  Beza,  who 
gives 'by,'  and  defends  it  at  length  in  a  note.  Many 
commentators  suppose  this  rendering  to  have  origi- 
nated with  Beza,  and  Tholuck  says  it  is  first  found  in 
the  Persian  (Polyglott) ;  it  may  therefore  be  well  to 
state  the  rendering  of  the  leading  Old  Latin  copies  as 


printed  by  Sabatier  and  Bianchini.  Ab  antiquis  is  here 
given  in  a,  b,  c  ;  antiquis  in  d,  f,  ff,  Ambr.  In  v.  33,  ab 
antiquis  in  a,  e ;  antiquis  in  b,  f,  ff,  gi,  h,  Cyp.,  Hil., 
Aug.  This  antiquis  (which  is  also  the  reading  of  the 
Vulgate)  is  ambiguous  like  the  Greek,  and  so  is  the 
Pesh.  Syriac.  The  Gothic  gives  '  to  the  ancients,'  and 
the  Coptic  what  is  unmistakably  .equivalent  thereto. 


Ch.  v.] 


MATTHEW. 


103 


tions.  The  same  contrast  recurs  in  every  in- 
stance throughout  the  series,  (y-  28, 32,  S4, 39, 44,  and 
cooip. on  V.  18.)  He  "taught  them  as  one  having 
authority."  (7:  29.)  That  whosoever — liter- 
ally, every  one  that—is  angry  with  his 
brother.  The  expression  is  somewhat  dif- 
ferent from  that  of  the  preceding  verse  and 
of  the  two  following  clauses  in  this  verse, 
translated  '  whosoever,'  and  fixes  attention 
upon  the  idea  that  the  statement  applies  to 
every  single  individual.  The  term  'brother' 
is  probably  drawn  from  the  familiar  Jewish 
usage  of  calling  each  other  by  that  name 
(c.  g.,  in  Tobit),  but  appears  to  be  meant  in  a 
broader  sense,  as  applying  to  any  fellow-man, 
just  as  in  Luke  10:  20,  the  Jewish  restriction 
of  '  neighbor '  is  corrected.  The  fact  that  all 
men  are  brothers,  aggravates  the  guilt  of  that 
anger  which  our  Lord  condemns.  Without 
cause,  is  omitted  by  some  of  the  oldest  au- 
thorities for  the  text,*  and  by  most  of  the 
recent  critics.  It  was  probably  introduced 
by  students  and  copyists  from  a  feeling  that 
the  condemnation  of  anger  was  too  sweeping. 
But  killing  too  is  sometimes  necessary  and 
lawful,  yet  the  commandment  does  not  say. 
Thou  shalt  not  kill  without  cause.  The  ex- 
ception .  is  to  be  made,  in  both  cases,  as  a 
matter  of  course.  Raca  is  an  Aramaic  word, 
most  probably  signifying  'empty'  ^ Jerome), 
as  if  one  should  call  another  'empty  head,' 
equivalent  to  our  blockhead.  Davidson  and 
Noyes  translate  it  'simpleton.'  It  seems  to 
have  been  a  common  expression  of  contempt 
among  the  Jews,  being  often  so  used  in  the 
Talmud.  Fool,  is  thought  by  many  (as 
Me3-er,  Grimm.)  to  be  here  used,  as  in  Psa. 
14:  1,  and  other  passages  of  O.  T.,  to  denote 
a  wicked  man — which  would  make  this  a 
greater  reproach  than  Raca.  But  there  is  no 
necessity  for  introducing  that  idea  here;  the 
same  word  occurs,  in  its  common  sense,  in 
this  discourse,  (i-.-is.)  "Fool"  is  used  as  an 
expression  of  contempt  in  all  languages, 
"evincing  pride  of  intellect  to  be  a  universal 
passion."  (Alexander.)  The  word  rendered 
council,  signifies  here,  as  conimonly  in  N. 
T.,  the  great  Senate  and  Supreme  Court  of 


the  nation,  which  the  Jews  (borrowing  this 
Greek  word)  called  Sanhedrin  (see  on  26: 
59)  ;  and  Darby  here  renders  it  'Sanhedrim.' 
Before  this  highest  tribunal  Jesus  was 
tried.  Hell-fire,  literally,  the  Gehenna  of 
fire.  Gehenna  is  from  two  Hebrew  words, 
Qei  Hinnom,  signifying  'valley  of  Hinnom' 
or  'valley  of  lamentation,'  (in  2  Kings  23  :  10, 
'  valley  of  the  children — sonn — of  Hinnom  '  or 
'valley  of  the  sons  of  lamentation').  This 
name  was  applied  to  the  valley  lying  imme- 
diately south  of  Jerusalem,  employed  by  some 
of  the  later  kings  for  the  worship  of  the  idol 

Moloch.     (2Chion.28:3;  3S:6;  Jer.  7:31.)       Muchob- 

scuritj'  still  hangs  over  the  character  and 
worship  of  this  horrid  idol.     Children  were 

burned  as  sacrifices    to  him  (Paa.  106:38;  Jer.  7:31)  ; 

but  it  is  not  certain  whether  tliey  were  burned 
alive  or  were  first  slain,  the  latter  seeming  to 
be  implied  by  Ezek.  16:20;  "H:  37.  Some 
late  Rabbinical  writers  say  that  Moloc^i  was 
made  of  brass  and  heated  from  beneath,  and 
in  its  outstretched  arms  the  infant  was  laid 
and  burned  to  death ;  while  drums  were 
beaten  to  drown  its  cries,  lest  they  sliould  ex- 
cite its  father's  compassion — and  hence,  they 
say,  came  the  name  Tophet  (Jer.  7: 31, 32)  applied 
to  a  place  in  this  valley,  the  Heb.  Toph  signi- 
fying a  drum.  But  this  stor^'  was  very  likely 
derived  from  a  similar  practice  among  the 
Carthaginians,  as  related  by  some  of  the  later 
Greek  historians — the  improbable  idea  of  the 
drum  being  added,  merely  to  account  for  the 
name  Tophet.  Yet  whether  performed  in 
this  way  or  not,  the  burning  of  children  as  a 
sacrifice  to  Moloch — prohibited  already  in 
Lev.  18:  21;  20:  2  fF. — was  a  horrid  abomina- 
tion; and  when  Josiah  abolished  it  he  deter- 
mined to  defile  the  valley  of  Hinnom  (or 
lamentation)  which  had  been  its  scene,  by 
making  it  the  receptacle  of  the  canvasses  of 
criminals  and  other  filth  from  the  city  (2 King* 
23: 10);  iind  tliis  practice  continued  till  the  time 
of  our  Lord.  Kimchi,  an  eminent  Jewi.sh 
scholar  of  the  thirteenth  century,  says  in  his 
Commentary  on  the  Psalms  that  fire  was  kept 
constantly  burning  in  Gehinnom  to  consume 
the  filth  and  carcasses — a  statement  which  ac- 


'  Omitted  byiB.  K  and  several  cursives,  and  by  Vulg. 
•nd  Ethioplc  versions,  and  expressly  declared  by  sev- 
eral Fat  Tiers  to  be  wanting  in  "  the  accurate  copies,"  or 
in  "  most  of  the  ancient  copies."  It  is  found  in  Old 
I>atin,01dSyriac,  and   Coptic,  and  is  therefore  a  very 


early  addition,  say  by  middle  of  second  century.  Tyn- 
dale,  following  ICrasiuus'  third  ed.,  has  no  such  word. 
Crannier  introduced  it  a  few  years  later,  (1539.)  St^ 
phens  gives  it  in  1550. 


104 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch. 


counts  for  the  phrase  'Gehenna  of  fire.'  From 
these  repulsive  associations,  Gehenna  was  very 
naturally  employed  among  the  Jews  as  a 
designation  of  the  place  of  future  torment ; 
being  so  used  in  v.  2<.),  30;  10:  28;  23:  15,  33; 
Mark  9 :  43,  45 ;  Luke  12 :  5  ;  James  3:6;  and 
'  Gehenna  of  fire '  in  18 :  9  ;  Mark  9  :  47.  The 
idea  of  fire  is  one  naturally  and  frequently 
associated  with  future  torment  (comp.  on  25: 
41),  and  in  this  case  may  be  regarded  as  sug- 
gested by  the  sacrificial  fires  in  the  worship  of 
Moloch,  if  Kimchi's  statement  be  considered 
too  late  to  be  reliable.  '  Cast  into  Gehenna,' 
(t.  a.  etc.),  was  a  phrase  naturally  suggested  by 
the  practice  of  casting  carcasses  into  the  val- 
ley. The  Greek  is  here  literally  '  liable  into 
the  Gehenna  of  fire,'  i.  e.,  liable  to  be  cast  into 
it  Winer,  213  [267].— Another  word.  Hades, 
which  in  Com.  Ver.  of  N.  T.  is  often  trans- 
lated 'hell,'  will  be  explained  on  U  :  '23. 

It  has  commonly  been  supposed  that  our 
Lord  designed  a  climax  in  the  three  punish- 
ments— death  by  the  sword,  as  inflicted  by 
'thejudgment'  ;  death  by  stoning,  when  con- 
demned by  the  Sanhedrin  ;  and  'the Gehenna 
of  fire.'  As  to  the  latter,  some  have  fancied 
an  allusion  to  some  peculiarly  ignominious 
punishment  inflicted  in  the  valley  of  Hinnom, 
while  others  understand  the  punishment  of 
hell,  according  to  the  general  N.  T.  use  of  the 
term  Gehenna.  But  it  is  quite  diflBcult,  in- 
deed impossible,  to  make  out  any  corre- 
sponding climax  in  the  three  off"ences,  espe- 
cially to  show  that  calling  a  man  'fool'  is 
immensely  worse  than  calling  him  Raca 
('simpleton'),  as  much  worse  as  the  difi^er- 
ence  between  being  stoned  to  death  and 
suffering  eternal  perdition.*  These  difficul- 
ties are  avoided  by  "discarding  the  idea  of 
a  climax  altogether,  and  explaining  the  three 
clauses  as  substantially  equivalent,  though 
formally  dissimilar  expressions  of  the  same 
idea,  namely,  that  the  law  of  God  forbids  not 
only  murder  but  malignant  anger,  and  its 
oral  manifestations."  (Alexander.)  Our  Lord 
is  showing  that  he  enjoins  a  more  inward  and 
spiritual  morality  than  they  were  accustomed 
to;  and  he  says  that  not  merely  is  murder 
a  crime,   deserving   the   severe    punishment 


which  the  local  tribunals  were  wont  to  inflict 
but  that  anger  is  a  crime,  and  should  be  pun| 
ished  too  (comp.  1  John  3 :  15) ;  and  that  the' 
use  of  words  of  contempt  is  an  offence  worthy 
to  be  punished  by  the  highest  tribunal,  yea, 
worthy  of  eternal  perdition.  Edersh.  repre- 
sents the  sages  in  the  Talmud  as  declaring 
that  to  give  an  opprobrious  by-name,  or 
to  put  another  openly  to  shame,  was  one 
of  those  things  which  deserved  Gehenna. 
Of  course  all  this  supposes  that  the  angerj 
and  the  contemptuous  expressions  are  un^ 
warranted  and  involve  malignant  feeling 
A  man  may  be  justified  in  being  angrji 
with  another  under  certain  circumstance 
a?,  under  certain  circumstances,  he  maj 
be  justified  in  killing  another.  In  Mark  3: 
5,  Revised  Version,  Jesus  is  said  to  have 
looked  round  upon  the  people  "withangeri 
being  grieved  at  the  hardening  of  their  hearts.'* 
(comp.  John  2:  15);  and  the  apostles  tell  us 
to  "be  angry  and  sin  not"  (Eph. 4:26),  and  to 
be  "slow  to  wrath."  (James i:i9.)  Yet  while 
feelings  of  indignation  at  wrong-doing  are 
not  necessarily  sinful,  they  are  very  apt  to 
become  so,  and  need  the  most  careful  guard- 
ing. Especially  is  anger  likely  to  become 
sinful  if  not  quickly  repressed;  and  hence  the 
injunction,  "Let  not  the  sun  go  down  upon 
your  wrath."  (Eph.4:26.)  Comp.  Aristotle: 
"He  that  is  angry  for  what  he  ought,  and 
moreover  as  he  ought,  and  when  and  as  long 
as  he  ought,  is  commended." — And  so  as  to 
using  expressions  of  contempt.  Our  Lord 
calls  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees  'fools'  in  23: 
17,  and  uses  equivalent  terms  in  Luke  12:  20; 
24:  25,  one  of  which  is  also  applied  by  Paul 
to  the  Galatians  (Gai.3:i,3);  and  the  word 
rendered  'vain'  in  James  2:  20  is  literally 
'empty,'  and  exactly  corresponds  to  Raca. 
Jesus  even  used  still  more  opprobrious  terms, 
'devil,'  and  'Satan.'  (i6: 23;  Joim6:-o.)  It- fol- 
lows that  the  use  of  such  terms  of  reproach  is 
not  essentially  and  necessarily  wrong,  but  it 
is  very  apt  to  spring  from,  or  to  lead  to, 
wrong  feelings,  and  may  thus  constitute  a 
great  sin;  it  should  therefore  be  habitually 
avoided,  and  practiced  only  where  it  is  cer- 
tainlj-  deserved  and  would  do  good.     On  the 


'Some  fancy  that  more,    'fool,'  though  a  familiar  |  here  in  the  Aramaic  form,  mora,  like  rai-a ?    And  then 
Greek  word,  is  here  really  a  Heb.  word  moreh,  signify-  '  this  word  is  not  greatly  stronger  than  '  fool,'  and  would 
ing  '  rebel '  or  '  stubborn.'    (See  Tholuck,  Alford,  Stan-  |  not  materially  lessen  the  diflSculty. 
ley.)    But  would  it  not  in  that  case  have  been  given  | 


Ch.  v.] 


MATTHEW. 


105 


23  Therefore  If  thou  bring  thy  gift  to  the  altar,  and  |  23  shall  be  in  danger  i  of  the  *  hell  of  fire.  If  therefore 
there  reniBinberest  that  thy  brother  hath  aught  against  j  thou  art  offering  thy  gift  at  the  altar,  and  there  re- 
thee ;  meiuberest  that  thy  brother  hath  aught  against  thee, 

24  Leave  there  thy  gift  before  the  altar,  and  go  thy  24  leave  there  thy  gift  before  the  altar,  and  go  thy  way, 
way  ;  first  be  reconciled  to  thy  brother,  and  then  come  first  be  reconc'ilal  to  thy  brother,  and  then  come  and 
and  offer  thy  gift.  | 


1  Gr.  unto  or  into. . .  .2  Or. Gehenna  o/Jlre. 


Other  hand,  we  must  remember  that  a  man 
might  scrupulously  avoid  the  use  of  the  par- 
ticular terms  'simpleton'  and  'fool,'  and  still 
be  frequently  violating  the  spirit  of  our 
Lord's  teaching. — Of  course  if  such  angry 
expressions  as  these  are  sinful,  how  much 
more  sinful  is  all  cursing,  a  thing  wrong  in 
itself,  and  for  which  men  sometimes  plead  as 
an  excuse,  that  they  were  uncontrollably 
angry — that  is,  the  very  sinful  words  are  ex- 
cusable because  they  proceed  from  a  very 
sinful  feeling. 

23.  Having  thus  declared  that  according  to 
his  teachings,  the  principle  of  the  law  against 
murder  applies  to  anger  and  insult  (comp.  1 
John  3:  15),  he  adds  the  injunction  to  become 
reconciled  to  one  with  whom  we  are  at  vari- 
ance. This  should  be  done  at  once,  even  if  it 
requires  the  interruption  of  a  sacrifice  (v.  23r.); 
should  be  done  while  with  a  plaintiff  on  the 
way,  before  reaching  the  court,  (v.  25f.)  No- 
tice that  here,  (». 23-j6),  the  singular  is  used, 
'thou,'  whereas  the  plural  had  been  em- 
ployed before,  and  is  afterwards  resumed. 
He  thus  takes  an  individual  case,  as  it  were 
singling  out  one  person  and  addressing  him, 
and  thereby  gives  greater  point  to  the  pre- 
cept, just  as  is  sometimes  done  by  all  public 
speakers,  especially  by  preachers.  A  similar 
change  to  the  singular  may  be  seen  in  v.  29, 
36,  39,  and  comp.  on  6:  5. 

Therefore  if,  presenting  the  injunction  as 
nn  inference  from,  or  result  of,  that  which 
precedes.  Since  the  prohibition  just  made 
extends  not  merely  to  outward  acts,  but  to 
words  and  feelings  of  anger  and  contempt,  it 
follows  that  one  ought  to  seek  reconciliation. 
Thou  bring — or,  art  offering.  This  is  the 
regular  use  of  the  term,  as  in  v.  24.  Com. 
Ver.  here  follows  Geneva  in  rendering  by 
'bring,'  but  Tyndale,  Cranmer.  and  Rheims, 
had  'offerest.'  Gift,  a  general  term,  including 
all  kinds  of  offerings.  The  altar,  viz.,  the 
altar  in  the  inner  court  of  the  temple  (.see  on 
21:  12).  And  there  rememberest,  there, 
while  engaged  in  the  most  solemn  act  of  the 
Jewish   worship.     Brother,    see    on    v.    22. 


Aught — or,  something — against  thee.    The 

expression  is  no  doubt  purposely  made  gen- 
eral, so  as  to  cover  all  cases,  even  the  slight- 
est ;  he  does  not  say,  '  is  at  enmity  with  thee,' 
'is  angry  with  thee,'  but  'has  something 
against  thee.'  (Comp.  Mark  11:  25.)  Darby, 
'something,' Davidson,  'somewhat.'  Men  are 
more  disposed  to  remember  that  they  have 
something  against  their  brother,  than  that  he 
has  something  against  them.  The  language 
implies  that  in  the  case  supposed  the  person 
addressed  is  himself  the  offender.  But  the 
spirit  of  the  precept  applies  just  as  well  to  cases 
in  which  we  know  we  have  done  no  wrong. 
Shall  we  merely  be  willing  to  be  reconciled 
if  we  are  approached,  or  are  we  not  under  ob- 
ligation to  go  and  ourselves  attempt  a  recon- 
ciliation? A  man  must  not  sacrifice  his  dig- 
nity, neither  must  he  neglect  his  duty. 

34.  Leave  there.  Do  not  merely  deter- 
mine that  you  will  go  and  be  reconciled  as 
soon  as  the  gift  has  been  offered.  It  i>  com- 
paratively easy  to  resolve  upon  performing  a 
disagreeable  duty  before  long;  the  point  is 
to  perform  it  at  once.  Leave  there  thy  gift 
before  the  altar,  and  go,  first  be  reconciled 
to  thy  brother,  and  theii  conte  and  offer  thy 
gift.  (Or  it  may  be,  'go  first,  be  reconciled,' etc., 
as  Meyer,  Ewald,  Bleek — the  Greek  beingam- 
biguous,  but  the  meaning  in  either  case  sub- 
stantially thesame.)  Alexander:  "It  is  evident 
that  this  is  not  suggested  as  a  case  at  all 
likely  to  occur  in  real  life,  or  even  as  a  formal 
rule  to  be  observed  if  it  shall  occur,  but  rather 
it  is  a  strong  assurance  that  it  would  be 
right  and  proper  thus  to  act,  if  there  were  no 
other  means  of  accomplishing  the  end  re- 
quired." (Comp  on  V.  29.)  God  wished  his 
people  to  show  mercy,  rather  than  to  offer 
sacrifice.  Acts  of  worship  are  very  import- 
ant, but  even  an  act  of  worsliip  might  properly 
be  postponed  that  we  may  re-establish  friendly 
relations  with  one  who  has  ti  complaint  against 
us.  It  is  an  utter  misapprehension  to  take  this 
precept  as  indicating  that  there  is  a  special 
|)ropriety  in  seeking  reconciliation  before  i)ar- 
tftkingofthe  Lord's  Supper,  with  the  practi- 


I 


106 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  V. 


23  Agree  with  thine  adversary  quickly,  while  thou 
art  in  the  way  with  hiiu ;  lest  at  any  time  the  adversary 
deliver  thee  to  the  jiid^e,  and  the  judge  deliver  thee  to 
the  olficer,  and  thou  bf  cast  into  prison. 

26  Verily  1  say  unto  thee,  Thou  shalt  by  no  means 
come  out  thence,  till  thou  hast  paid  the  uttermost  I'ar- 
thiug. 


25  offer  thy  gift.  Agree  with  thine  adversary  quickly, 
while  thou  art  with  him  in  tlie  way  ;  lest  haply  tlie 
adversary  deliver  thee  to  the  judge,  and  the  judge 
1  deliver  thee  to  the  otficer,  and  thou  be  cast  into 

26  prison.  Verily  I  say  unto  thee.  Thou  shalt  by  no 
means  come  out  thence,  till  thou  have  paid  the  last 
farthing. 


1  Some  auclent  ■uthoritle.s  omit  deliver  thee. 


cal  inference  often  drawn  that  there  is  no 
great  harm  in  postponing  reconciliation  until 
that  solemnity  is  approaching.  For  (1)  the 
reference  is  to  temple-worship,  and  the  prin- 
ciple would  apply  just  as  truly  to  any  other 
act  of  public  or  private  devotion  as  to  the 
Lord's  Supper.  And  (2)  the  point  here  is  not 
that  even  though  we  should  delay  to  seek  rec- 
onciliation at  other  times,  we  must  be  certain 
to  seek  it  when  engaging  in  solemn  worship; 
but  that  so  great  is  the  importance  of  being 
reconciled  at  once,  whenever  the  oifence  is 
committed  or  is  recalled,  that  even  if  one  re- 
members the  existence  of  such  a  personal  dif- 
ficulty when  just  engaging  in  worship,  he 
would  do  well  to  suspend  the  most  solemn 
service  in  order  to  go  immediately  and  be 
reconciled.  All  the  more,  then,  is  it  our  duty 
to  seek  reconciliation  at  other  times.  Still,  it 
is  of  course  natural  that  we  should  be  more 
likely  to  think  of  the  need  of  forgiving  and 
being  reconciled  when  we  engage  in  solemn 
worship,  and  so  our  Lord  elsewhere  says, 
(Mark  11: 23,  Rev.  ver.);  'And  whensoever  j'e  Stand 
praying,  forgive,  if  ye  have  aught  against  any 
one.'  We  are  not  so  much  under  greater  ob- 
ligation to  forgive  then  than  at  other  times,  as 
more  likely  then  to  remember  and  realize  the 
obligation. 

25«  26.  For  the  connection,  see  on  v.  23. 
Agree  with.  Literally,  be  well  disposed  to 
(Grimm,  Davidson),  which  suggests  that  we 
must  seek  to  secure  good  will  by  showing 
good  will.  Quickly,  not  after  a  while,  some 
of  these  times,  but  quickly.  Anger  is  wrong, 
and  angry  difficulties  should  be  settled  at 
once.  The  adversary  at  law,  in  the  case 
here  supposed,  is  a  creditor,  as  shown  by  v. 
26.  While  thon  art  in  the  way  with  him, 
viz.,  on  the  way  to  the  judge.  According  to 
the  Roman  law,  the  plaintiff  could, carry  the 
accused  with  him  before  the  judge;  the  de- 
fendant might  settle  the  matter  on  any  terms 
while  they  were  on  the  way,  but  after  the 


tribunal  was  reached  the  thing  must  go  ac- 
cording to  law.  Lest  at  any  time.  (Per- 
haps, or  simply  'lest,'  as  Tyndale  snd  Geneva, 
Noyes  and  Davidson.)  Tou  do  not  know 
but  it  will  turn  out  as  about  to  be  described, 
and  had  better  guard  against  such  a  result. 
Deliver  thee,  hand  thee  over.  And  the 
judge  .  .  .1  to  the  officer,  the  intermediate 
process  of  trial  and  conviction  being  omitted, 
as  a  thing  naturally  understood.  And,  in 
that  case,  thou  be  cast  into  prison,  an 
easy  change  of  construction  (as  in  Luke  14: 
8f.,  and  often.)  Verily  I  say  unto  thee, 
see  on  v.  18.  Thou  shalt  by  no  means,  or, 
not,  the  same  strong  negation  as  in  v.  18,  '-^0. 
Farthing  represents  a  small  Roman  coin  of 
brass,  equal  in  value  to  about  two-fifths  of  a 
cent,  and  thus  double  the  'mite'  (Marki?:^), 
which  Luke  has  in  the  other  instance  of  our 
Lord's  employing  this  image.  (Luke  12: 59.)  The 
Talmud  refers  to  a  similar  counsel  as  prover- 
bial: "There  are  men  that  say,  while  thou  art 
in  the  way  with  thy  adversary,  be  obedient." 
— Most  commentators  understand  this  lan- 
guage of  our  Lord  as  referring  allegorically 
to  the  necessity  of  being  reconciled  to  God, 
lest  he  cast  us  into  the  perpetual  imprison- 
ment of  perdition ;  while  Romanists  make  i^ 
a  proof-text  for  purgatory,  and  some  Univer-J 
salists  for  final  restoration  (viz.,  when  th« 
debt  has  been  paid)  ;  but  the  whole  connec- 
tion (see  on  v.  23)  seems  clearly  to  require 
that  we  should  take  it  in  the  simple,  natural 
sense.  (So  Chrys.,  with  Theophyl.,  and  Eu- 
thym.,  Jerome,  Zwingli,  and  Calvin,  and 
even  Gill,  usually  so  given  to  allegorizing.) 
We  might  say  that  the  passage  affords  a  good 
illustration  of  the  spiritual  truth  in  question, 
j  but  there  is  no  sufficient  indication  that  our 
I  Lord  here  meant  to  teach  that  truth.  Cer"«i 
I  tainly  the  duty  of  adjusting  personal  difficul-* 
ties,  for  which  specific  directions  are  after- 
wards given  (i8:i5ff.),  is  one  of  such  immense 
importance  that  we  may  well  be  content 


''Deliver  thee,'  after  judge,  is  wanting  in  some  of  the  earliest  authorities,  and  is  evidently  an  addition 
naturally  made  by  copyists  or  students. 


it 


Ch.  v.] 


MATTHEW. 


107 


regard  that  as  all  the  Saviour  is  here  teach- 
ing. 

HOMILETICAL    AND    PRACTICAL. 

V.  17,  18.  The  Old  Testament.  1)  Its  teach- 
ings still  instructive,  whether  they  be  histor- 
ical, preceptive,  ceremonial,  or  predictive. 
2)  Its  precepts  still  binding,  with  the  Jieces- 
sary  adaptations  to  a  spiritual  dispensation; 
and  its  moral  requirements  made  more  search- 
ing and  spiritual  by  the  N.  T.  Calvin:  "It 
is  of  no  little  avail  for  strengthening  faith  in 
the  gospel  to  be  told  that  it  is  nothing  else  than 
a  complement  of  the  law." — The  O.  T.  and 
the  N.  T.  are  necessary  to  each  other,  as  parts 
of  one  whole.  When  men  begin  by  dispar- 
aging the  O.  T.,  they  will  end  with  like  views 
of  the  N.  T.  Theophyl.  :  "  What  the  law 
sketched,  Christ  painted  completely.  The 
painter  does  not  destroy  the  sketch,  but  rather 
fills  it  up."  Augustine:  "The  New  Test. 
lies  hidden  in  the  Old  ;  the  Old  Test,  lies  un- 
folded in  the  New."  Euthym.  :  "  While  the 
law  forbids  the  ends  of  sins,  Christ  forbade 
also  the  beginnings.  For  murder  is  a  fruit  of 
sin;  but  the  root  of  the  sin  is  anger.  And  un- 
less the  root  be  removed,  it  will  some  time  or 
other  bear  fruit."  Dykes:  "To  the  philo- 
sophic statesman,  and  to  the  religious  reformer 
of  every  generation,  the  best  recommendation 
of  what  is  new  will  always  be  that  it  comes, 
not  to  destroy  the  old,  but  to  fulfill  it;  to  un- 
derstand its  spirit,  to  realize  its  purpose,  to 
carry  forward  its  work,  and  to  make  every 
change  an  unfolding  into  higher  power." 
Henry  :  "Let  not  the  pious/ear,  nor  the  pro- 
fane hope,  that  Christianity  will  destroy  the 
law." — V.  19.      All  should  both  do  and  teach. 

1)  The  professed  teacher  must  also  be  a  doer. 

2)  The  humblest  private  Christian  must 
not  be  content  with  doing,  but  also  teach. 
Chrys.  :  "  For  on  this  account  he  himself 
has  set  the  doing  before  the  teaching;  to  inti- 
mate that  so  most  of  all  may  one  be  able  to 
teach." — Least  commandments.  1)  Moral 
precepts  are  more  important  than  ceremonies. 
(Comp.  7:  12;  15:  11.)  2)  Some  ceremonies 
are  more  important  than  others.  3)  What- 
ever God  has  commanded  is  important.  P. 
Aboth  :  "Be  attentive  to  a  light  precept  as 
to  a  grave,  for  thou  knowest  not  the  assigned 
reward  of  precepts."  (Comp.  Eph.  G:  2f. 
with  Deut.  22:  7.)  Henry:  "It  is  a  danger- 
ous thing,  in  doctrine  or  practice,  to  disannul 


the  least  of  God's  commands;  either  to  con- 
tract their  extent,  or  to  weaken  the  obligation 
of  them." — Men  sometimes  say,  as  to  one  point 
or  another,  "Oh,  this  is  a  very  unimportant 
matter,  after  all."  But  is  it  a  commandment 
of  God's  word  ?  Then  beware  how  you  disre- 
gard it. — V.  20.  The  Scribes  and  Pharisees 
led  externally  a  blameless  life,  corrupt  as  they 
were  inwardly.  We  ought  to  cherish  better 
principles  and  motives  than  they  did,  but 
surely  we  ought  not  to  fall  below  them  in  out- 
ward conduct.  Shall  grateful  love  to  our 
Saviour  fail  to  make  Christians  as  "  careful  to 
maintain  good  works"  (tu.  3:8),  as  those  Jews 
were  through  ostentation  and  self-righteous- 
ness? If  content  to  let  it  be  otherwise,  have 
we  reason  to  feel  assured  that  we  have  entered 
into  Messiah's  kingdom,  that  we  are  Christ's 
people  at  all? — Our  righteousness  should  in- 
clude, not  only  outward  acts,  but  also  feel- 
ings. (See  the  examples  which  our  Lord  pro- 
ceeds to  give.) 

V.  21.  Henry:  "The  law  was  ancient,  but 
not  antiquated." — Killing.  1)  When  it  is 
lawful,  and  no  sin.  2)  When  it  is  sinful  to 
some  extent.  3)  When  it  is  one  of  the  greatest 
possible  sins. — The  evil  of  carrying  concealed 
weapons. — Dueling. — V.  22.  Anger.  1)  Even 
when  justifiable  and  righteous,  always  very 
apt  to  become  sinful.  2)  Sometimes  such  in 
character  and  degree  as  to  share  the  guilt  of 
murder.  3)  Contempt  for  others,  a  milder 
form  of  anger,  is  often  highly  sinful. — Tal- 
mud (Wun.):  "  Whenever  a  man  is  angry, 
if  a  wise  man,  wisdom  leaves  him  ;  if  a  pro- 
phet, the  prophetic  gift  leaves  him." — Henry  : 
"Anger  is  sinful.  1)  When  it  is  without  any 
just  provocation  given;  2)  When  it  is  without 
any  good  end  aimed  at;  3)  When  it  exceeds 
due  bounds." — V.  21  f.  The  three  great  de- 
partments of  sin — sinful  actions,  sinful  words, 
sinful  feelings. — The  sin  of  calling  "bad 
names"  ;  e.  <;.,  rationalist,  heretic,  infidel;  or 
bigot,  persecutor,  prosel^'ter,  sectarian,  un- 
charitable, illiberal;  or  Pharisee,  hypocrite, 
Jesuit.  In  all  such  cases,  is  the  epithet  justly 
applicable,  and  are  we  applying  it  with  a 
right  aim  and  in  a  right  spirit?  Otliorwise 
we  sin.  Jesus  called  some  men  fools,  hypo- 
crites, serpents,  devil,  Satan,  wiien  such  an 
epithet  was  known  to  him  to  be  deserved,  and 
when  good  would  come  from  applying  it. 

V.  23  f.  The  high  duty  of  seeking  recon- 


108 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  V. 


27  Ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said  by  them  of  old 
time,  Thou  shall  not  coiuiuit  adultery: 

28  But  I  say  unto  you,  That  whosoever  tooketh  on  a 
a  woman  to  lust  after  her  hath  committed  adultery 
with  her  already  iu  bis  heart. 


27  Ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said.  Thou  shalt  not 

28  commit  adultery  :  but  I  say  unto  you,  that  every  one 
that  looketh  on  a  woman  to  lust  after  her  hath  com- 


ciliation ;  tliinking  not  merely  whether  you 
have  something  iigainst  others,  but  especially 
when  others  have  something  against  you.  To 
seek  reconciliation  is  a  higher  duty  than  the 
most  solemn  act  of  worshsp.  Life  is  more 
important  than  external  acts  of  worship,  and 
a  healthy  life  will  make  worship  more  accept- 
able and  profitable.  Yet  he  does  not  say,  Go 
and  be  reconciled  instead  of  offering  thy  gift, 
but  then  come  and  offer.  "Worship  without 
charity,  charity  without  worship,  worship  and 
charity;  love  God  anrf  thy  neighbor.  Grif- 
fith :  "  Tliere  is  often  as  much  mischief  done 
to  social  harmony  by  a  proud  determination 
not  to  confess  ourselves  in  the  wrong,  or  not 
to  make  too  easy,  submissive  reparation  for 
wrong,  as  by  the  actual  doing  of  wrong." 
Stier  :  "  Be  reconciled,  forgive  or  obtain  for- 
giveness, do  at  least  thy  best,  that  so  nothing 
may  be  set  against  thy  account  by  the  great 
Judge." — Kom.  12:  18,  "If  it  be  possible,  so 
far  as  in  you  lies,  live  peaceably  with  all 
men."  If  otherwise,  let  it  proceed  from  the 
other  side.— V.  25  f.  Griffith:  "There,  is  a 
new  case  here.  The  first  requirement  (v.  23  r.) 
was,  offer  reparation  spontaneously,  before  it 
is  demanded  of  you.  This  second  is,  Yield 
reparation  ungrudgingly,  when  it  is  demanded 
of  you. — Strive  to  settle  personal  diflBculties 
in  private,  without  waiting  for  the  interven- 
tion of  legal  processes,  (icnr. 6:6-8.)  In  like 
manner  it  is  best  to  settle  diflBculties  without 
taking  them  before  the  church,  (is:  \b.) — It  is 
melancholy  to  see  how  many  personal  diflS- 
culties  arise  among  men,  and  even  among  the 
professed  followers  of  Christ,  and  how  often 
both  sides  are  proud  and  unbending,  instead 
of  acting  as  he  here  solemnly  enjoins.  Chris- 
tian, stop  a  moment  and  think.  Is  there  some 
one  with  whom  you  are  at  variance?  Then 
cease  reading  at  this  line,  and  prayerfully 
consider  whether  you  cannot  do  something 
towards  reconciliation.  Make  an  effort,  even 
if  you  have  before  tried  in  vain,  an  honest 
and  earnest  effort,  in  the  fear  of  God ;  and 


then  return  to  read,  with  a  meek  and  gentle 
spirit,  these  words  of  our  Saviour. 

27-33.  The  Law  Concerning  Adul- 
tery AND  Divorce. 

By  til  is  second  example  (see  on  v.  21)  our 
Lord  further  illustrates  and  applies  the  state- 
ment of  V.  17-20  that  he  does  not  propose  to 
relax  the  requirements  of  the  law,  but  enjoins 
a  still  stricter  and  more  spiritual  morality. 

27.  Ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said.  See 
on  V.  21.  By — to — them  of  old  time,  is  here 
a  spurious  addition  from  v.  21.'  It  may  be 
noticed  (Stier)  that  a  certain  variety  is  ob- 
served in  introducing  this  series  of  examples; 
the  full  phrase  of  v.  21  is  shortened  in  v.  27  and 
still  further  in  v.  33;  and  then  in  v.  33  the 
full  phrase  is  resumed,  to  be  again  shortened 
in  V.  38  and  43.  Thou  shalt  not  commit 
adultery,  (ex.  20:  i4:  Deat.  s:  is.)  This  prohibi- 
tion of  a  particular  species  of  unehastity  may 
be  regarded  as  carrying  with  it  in  principle — 
like  others  of  the  ten  commandments— the 
prohibition  of  unehastity  in  general.  No  ad- 
dition to  this  commandment  is  said  to  have 
been  made  in  the  traditional  teaching,  as  was 
done  in  the  former  case  ("-si);  but  we  know 
that  the  Jewish  teachers  were  disposed  to  limit 
the  commandment  to  actual  adultery.  Jesus 
extends  it  so  as  to  forbid  dallying  with  the 
corresponding  desires.  He  thus  'completes' 
the  law.  (v.  17.) 

28.  But  I  say.  The  'I'  is  emphatic;  see 
on  v.  22.  To  lust  after  her,  i.  e.,  with  a 
view  to  lust  after  her,  an  intentional  looking 
for  the  purpose  of  stimulating,  and  delight- 
ing in,  impure  desire.  This,  '  with  a  view  to,' 
is  the  proper  force  of  the  Greek  phrase,  the 
same  that  is  used  in  6:  1 ;  13:  30;  23:  5.  The 
English  word  'lust'  originally  signified  de- 
sire of  any  kind,  good  or  bad  (as  in  German 
now).  In  the  Scriptures  it  is  used  only  for 
evil  desires,  and  at  the  present  day  is  confined 
to  one  particular  class  of  evil  desires.  The 
Greek  word  here  used  signifies  'desire'  in 
general,  and  is  used  in  a  good  sense  in  13  :  17 ; 


^  It  is  wanting  in  most  of  the  early  authorities,  and  is  1  Vulg.)  and  in  the  Old  Syriac,  shows  that  the  addition 
manifestly  an  addition  by  way  of  assimilation  to  v.  21,  was  made  early,  by  the  middle  of  the  second  century, 
etc.    Its  presence  in  some  Old  Latin  codices  (with  the  ■  like  many  other  corruptions  of  the  text. 


Ch.  v.] 


MATTHEW. 


109 


29  And  if  thy  right  eye  oflFend  thee,  pluck  It  out,  and 
cast  it  from  thee :  for  it  is  protitable  for  thee  that  one  of 
thy  members  should  perish,  and  not  that  thy  whole 
body  should  be  cast  into  bell. 


29  mitted  adultery  with  her  already  iu  his  heart.  And 
if  thy  right  eye  causeth  thee  to  stumble,  piuck  it  out, 
and  cast  it  from  thee:  for  it  is  profitable  for  thee 
that  oue  of  thy  members  should  perish,  and  not  thy 


Luke  22:  15,  and  some  other  passages.  More 
frequently  it  has  a  bad  sense,  as  in  Mark  4: 19, 
etc.,  denoting  evil  desires  in  general  (human 
desires  being  so  often  evil).  The  specific  sense 
of  sexual  desire  is  found  (in  the  New  Test. ) 
only  here  and  in  Rom.  1 :  24,  though  of  course 
included,  along  with  other  desires,  in  most 
cases  of  the  bad  sense.  Hath  committed 
adultery  with  her  already  in  his  heart. 
The  distinction  between  our  Lord's  teachings 
and  what  they  were  accustomed  to,  is  essen- 
tially the  same  as  in  v.  21  f.  Jesus  condemns, 
not  merely  the  outward  act  of  sin,  but  the 
cherishing  of  sinful  desire.  Stier :  "He  who 
experiences  at  a  first  glance  this  desire,  and 
then  instead  of  turning  away  and  withdraw- 
ing from  sin  (2  Pet.  2:  u),  throws  a  second  glance 
with  lustful  intent  and  in  order  to  retain  and 
increase  that  impulse,  commits  the  sin."  As 
in  1  John  3 :  15,  '  whosoever  hateth  his  brother 
is  a  murderer,'  so  here,  every  one  that  cher- 
ishes lust  by  a  look  is  an  adulterer.  Comp. 
Job  31:  1;  Prov.  6:  25;  2  Sam.  11:  2,  4;  and 
2  Pet.  2:  14,  'eyes  full  of  adultery.'  The 
Greek  and  Roman  and  the  Jewish  writers 
have  also  many  sayings  (see  in  Wet.,  Gill), 
as  to  the  sinfulness  of  a  lustful  look. 

29  f.  The  vigorous  self-restraint  which  is 
requisite  in  order  to  avoid  the  sin  just  forbid- 
den, suggests  the  idea  that  all  our  propensities 
must  be  controlled,  and  that  the  greatest  pos- 
sible self-denial  would  be  far  better  than  that 
suffering  in  hell,  which  must  be  the  reward 
of  sinful  gratifications.  This  corresponds  to 
the  application  made  in  v.  23,  and  here  again 
the  adress  is  to  an  individual,  'thou.' 

Thy  right  eye,  literally,  thy  eye,  the  right 
(eye);  even  an  eye,  even  the  best  eye,  must 
in  such  a  case  be  given  up.  Comp.  Ex.  29: 
20;  1  Sam.  11:2;  Zech.  11:  17.  The  'eye'  is 
doubtless  selected  because  suggested  by  the 
preceding  sentence  (t^s),  and  also  because  of 
its  general  importance.  Offend  thee,  or, 
causes  thee  to  stumble,  or  'to  sin.'  The  Greek 
word  is  found  in  Sept.,  and  quite  often  in  N. 
T.,  though  not  found  in  profane  Greek 
writers,  and  involves  such  difficulties  as  to 
justify  a  detailed  explanation.  Comp.  Conant. 


(1)  The  noun  (^skandalon) ,  from  which  this 
verb  is  derived,  denotes  primarily  the  trap- 
stick  or  trigger  of  a  net  or  trap,  against  which 
the  game  strikes  and  causes  the  trap  to  fall; 
and  derivatively,  anything  against  which 
one  strikes,  whether  a  stumbling-block,  as  in 
Lev.  19:  14:  'Thoushalt  not  put  a  stumbling- 
block  before  the  blind,'  or  more  rarely,  an 
obstacle  set  to  hinder  the  progress  of  any  one, 
as  in  the  apocryphal  book  of  Judith  (5:i)  it  is 
said  the  Israelites  had  put  walls  on  the  moun- 
tain-tops, and  'obstacles'  (or  'obstructions') 
in  the  plains,  to  resist  the  progress  of  the  in- 
vaders. From  these  derivative  senses  come 
several  figurative  uses,  as  to  moral  and  re- 
ligious objects:  (a)  A  stumbling-block,  as 
causing  one  to  fall  into  sin.  (Matt.  13: 41;  w.  7; 

LukelT:  I;Bom.  14: 13;  IJohu2:  10;  Rev.  2:  14.)        (b)     An 

obstacle  which  men  strike  against  and  stop, 
an  occasion  of  disbelief.  (Rom.  9:32  r.;  18:  n;  1  Cor. 
1:23;  ipeter2:8.)  (c)  An  object  which  one 
strikes  against  and  is  hurt  or  repelled,  so  as 
to  be  displeased  with  it,  an  "offence"  in  the 
present  English  sense  of  that  word.  (Maw.  16: 
23;  Gal. 5:11.)  (By  further  derivation  comes 
our  English  use  of  scandal,  which  word  is 
borrowed  from  the  Greek,  but  conveys  a 
meaning  no  where  found  in  Greek  use.)  In 
some  cases  two  of  these  senses  may  be  united, 
as  the  second  and  third  in  1  Cor.  1:23.  (In 
Rom.  11:  9,  the  reference  is  probably  not  to 
a  stumbling-block,  but  to  the  primary  sense 
of  a  trap-stick  or  trigger,  as  a  figure  for  a 
means  of  destruction).  (2)  In  like  manner  t!io 
verb  {skand.nlizo)  is  used  figurativelj'  in  three 
corresponding  senses:  (a)  To  make  one  stum- 
ble and  fall,  to  cawse  ^o  sm.   (Matt.  5:29 r.;  is :  6-9: 

Luke  17:  2;  Rom.  14:21  !  I  Cor.  8:  13;  2  Cor.  11:29.)        (b)     To 

obstruct  one's  path  or  make  him  stop,  to  cause 
one  to  disbelieve  and  reject  or  forsake.  (Mhu.  n : 

6;    13:21,57;  15:   12;  24:  10;   26:31,  33;  John  16:1.)      (c)  To 

pain  or  displease,  to  offend  in  our  modern 
sense  of  the  word,  (Matt.  17:27;  John 6: bi.)  (And 
from  this  hy  further  derivation  comes  our 
peculiar  English  use  of  the  borrowed  word 
"scandalize.")  Here  also,  as  with  the  noun, 
two  or  three  senses  may  sometimes  be  found 
combined.' 


>  It  has  alwayy  been  found  difllciilt  to  translate  the 
words  into  English.     Tyndale  introduced  the  Latin 


'offend,'  which  might  have  been  developed  into  all  the 
senses  of  the  liiblical  Ureek  term,  but  has  not  been. 


110 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  V. 


30  And  if  thy  right  hand  offend  thee,  cut  it  off,  and 
cast  it  from  thee:  lor  it  is  protital>le  for  thee  that  one 
of  thy  members  should  peri:<h,  and  not  Ihat  thy  whule 
body  should  be  cast  into  hell. 

81  It  hath  been  said,  Whosoever  shall  put  away  his 
Trife,  let  hiui  give  her  a  writing  of  divorcement: 


30  whole  body  be  cast  into  i  hell.  And  if  thy  right  hand 
causeth  thee  to  stumble,  cut  it  off,  and 'cast  it  from 
thee:  for  it  is  profitable  for  thee  that  one  of  thy 
members  should  perish,  and  not  thy  whole  body  go 

31  into  1  hell.  It  was  said  also.  Whosoever  shall  put  away 
his  wife,  let  him  give  her  a  writing  of  divorcement: 


1  Or.  Gehenna. 


Thus  the  idea  is,  if  thy  right  eye  causes 
thee  to  sin.  The  expression  is  obviously  de- 
signed to  teach  a  general  lesson  by  "  assuming 
an  extreme  case,"  a  method  quite  "character- 
istic of  our  Lord's  teachings,"  (see  Alexander, 
and  comp.  on  v.  24  and  v.  39).  He  is  not 
presenting  this  as  an  actual  case,  or  one  likely 
to  occur;  but  "  if  it  should  occur,  if  the  only 
alternative  presented  to  a  man  were  habitual 
transgression  or  the  loss  of  his  most  valuable 
members,"  then  he  ought  to  "choose  mutila- 
tion rather  than  a  life  of  sin  ;  and  that  choice 
includes  all  minor  cases,  as  the  whole  includes 
the  part,  and  as  the  greater  comprehends  the 
less." 

For  it  is  profitable  for  thee.  The  appeal 
is  to  a  man's  own  higher  interest,  which  is 
really  promoted  by  all  the  self-sacrifice  and 
self-denial  required  by  the  word  of  God. 
That  one  of  thy  members  should  perish, 
or  simply  'that  one  of  thy  members  perish,' 
the  old  English  subjunctive.!  Be  cast,  same 
term  as  in  the  preceding  clause.  Hell,  Ge- 
henna, the  place  of  torment.    See  on. v.  2*2. 

30.  Another  and  entirely  similar  illustra- 
tion of  the  principle  in  question.  The  repeti- 
tion and  reiteration  of  a  thought,  with  only 
slight  change  of  figure  or  phrase,  is  character- 
istic of  the  Scriptures;  and  it  is  not  merely  to 
be  noted  as  a  literary  peculiarity,  for  the  in- 


spired writers,  and  the  Great  Teacher,  employ 
this  means  of  impressing  upon  men  truths 
which  are  important  and  which  they  are  un- 
willing to  receive.  So  preachers  are  often 
compelled  to  do  now  ;  and  though  the  fastid- 
ious may  complain,  as  in  the  days  of  Isaiah, 
that  they  are  treated  too  much  like  children 
(i»8.28:io),  yet  others,  and  perhaps  the  com- 
plainers  themselves,  often  need  amplification 
and  repetition — while  of  course  these  should 
not  be  used  as  an  expedient  to  disguise  pov- 
erty of  thought,  by  hammering  a  very  little 
gold  into  a  very  large  surface.  There  is  some- 
thing exceedingly  solemn  and  stately  in  the 
repetition  here;  and  in  18:  8  f.,  where  our 
Lord  presents  the  same  idea  in  a  different 
connection,  we  find  the  fact  also  introduced, 
as  a  still  further  amplification  (comp.  on  7: 
&-11);  it  may  also  be  noticed  that  there  the 
eye  is  mentioned  last  (comp.  Mark  9;  43  ff.), 
while  here  it  comes  first,  because  of  v.  28. 
Be  cast  into  hell,  literally  go  off— or  away — 
i  into  hell.  This  reading  is  required  by  the  best 
authorities  for  the  Greek  text;  it  was  changed 
so  as  to  be  like  v.  29. 

31  f.  The  extreme  facility  of  divorce  which 
existed  among  the  Jewsof  our  Saviour  s  time, 
was  the  occasion,  on  a  large  scale,  of  the  sin 
of  adultery  (v. 82);  and  thus  the  transition  is 
very  natural  from  the  topic  of  the  preceding 


The  Great  Bible's'  hrnder'  was  a  failure.  The  Ge- 
neva took  '  cause  to  offiend,'  and  so  Bible  Un.,  Noyes,  and 
Davidson.  King  James  put  this  sometimes  in  the 
margin,  and  in  the  text  imitated  Tyndale.  But  this 
rendering  has  long  been  a  stumbling-block  to  the  gen- 
eral reader,  and  an  offence  to  scholars.  The  Rev.  Ver. 
has  given  perhaps  the  best  available  renderings,  but 
various  senses  above  described  require  to  be  carefully 
distlnsrufshed  by  the  reader.  The  Syriac  uses  the  same 
root  as  one  which  in  Hebrew  signifies  to  cause  to  totter, 
stumble,  fall.  The  Coptic  and  the  Latin  versions  here 
transferred  the  Greek  word  scandalizo,  and  following 
the  Vulgate  the  Rheims  version  says '  scandalize,'  which 
to  a  modern  English  reader  is  even  more  misleading 
than  '  offend.'  Wyclifs  'slander 'is  but  another  de- 
rivative (through  the  French)  from  the  same  scanda- 
lizo. 

1  This  use  of  hina,  and  the  subjunctive,  which  is  com- 
mon in  the  Sept.  and  extremely  so  in  K.  T.,  though 


very  rare  In  classic  Greek,  should  not  be  called  subfinal 
or  hypotelic,  for  It  is  not  at  all  a  weakening  of  the  telle 
or  final  sense,  but  is  entirely  independent.  The  clause 
Introduced  by  hina  is  here  really  nominalive  to  the  verb 
I  '  is  profitable'  (the  Greek  having  no  equivalent  for  our 
j'it'  in  such  expressions).  So  in  10:25;  18:6,  14. 
I  Sometimes  it  is  accusative,  either  of  the  direct  object 
(14 :  36 ;  26 :  6a),  or  of  general  reference,  '  as  to '  (8:8);  in 
fact  the  final  use  really  belongs  under  this  last  head. 
And  sometimes  It  is  appositional,  whether  to  a  nominap 
tive  (Luke  1 :  43),  an  accusative  (-'oiin  6 :  29),  or  a  locative 
(John  15 :  8),  Whatever  special  idea  may  arise  is  due  to 
the  natural  relations  between  the  matters  spoken 
of  in  each  case,  or  to  the  connection  of  the  statement- 
Abundant  examples  may  be  found  in  Grimm,  but 
wrongly  classified  ;  nor  are  these  uses  at  all  satisfacto- 
rily treated  by  Winer,  or  Buttmann,  or  ,Telf.  (In  the 
similar  statement  of  18 :  8  f.  we  find  not  hina  andsubj., 
but  the  usual  classical  construction,  the  infinitive). 


Ch.  v.] 


MATTHEW. 


Ill 


32  But  I  say  unto  you,  That  whosoever  shall  put  away 
his  wife,  saviug  for  the  cause  of  fornication,  causeth 
her  to  commit  adultery:  and  whosoever  shall  luarry 
her  that  is  divorced  committeth  adultery. 


32  but  I  say  unto  you,  that  every  one  that  putteth 
away  his  wife,  saving  for  the  cause  of  fornication, 
niaketh  her  an  adulteress:  and  whosoever  shall 
marry  her  when  she  is  put  away  committeth  adul- 
tery. 


verses  to  this,  which  is  not  to  be  considered  a 
new  and  distinct  example  (see  on  v.  21),  but 
another  department  of  the  same  subject.  Ac- 
cordingly it  is  introduced  by  a  simpler  form 
of  expression  than  in  the  other  cases;  not, 
'  Ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said,'  but  simply, 
'And  it  hath  been  said.' 

The  law  of  Moses  (djuc.  ii:  i)  required  that  if 
a  man  determined  to  put  away  his  wife,  he 
sliould  give  her  a  formal  document  to  that 
cflTect.  The  Jews  in  the  time  of  Christ 
were  greatly  at  variance  as  to  the  proper 
cause  of  divorce,  but  most  of  them  held 
that  it  was  lawful  for  a  man  to  dismiss  his 
wife  'for  every  cause'  (see  on  19:3),  and 
that  there  was  no  restriction  at  all  except 
that  he  must  give  her  the  document.  Accord- 
ingly,  in  this  case  also  our  Lord  is  not  setting 
aside  the  law  (»•  "),  nor  at  all  conflicting  with 
its  true  design.  The  Israelites,  like  other 
Oriental  nations,  had  no  doubt  been  inclined 
to  great  laxity  in  the  matter  of  divorce,  and 
Moses  was  not  encouraging  this,  but  to  some 
extent  restricting  it  (so  also  Henry,  Achelis, 
Rutschi  in  Herzog),  by  appointing  that  a 
Mian  should  not  send  off  his  wife  with  a  mere 
oral  dismissal,  which  he  might  do  in  a  fit  of 
]>:is8ion,  but  should  give  her  a  regular  writing. 
(Maimonides  gives  a  form  in  use  in  his  day, 
twelfth  century,  see  in  Lightfoot  or  Gill.) 
This,  especially  in  the  earliest  period,  when 
f'iw  could  write,  would  require  a  Levite  to 
prepare  it,  and  thus  give  opportunity  for  re- 
flection and  advice,  and  would  besides  place 
the  rejected  wife  in  a  better  position  for  the 
future,  by  showing  that  she  had  been  a  lawful 


wife.  The  document,  according  to  the  inten- 
tention  of  the  law,  implied  tliat  she  was  inno- 
cent of  adultery ;  for  if  a  wife  was  guilty  of 
that  crime  the  law  required  that  she  should 
be  put  to  death,  and  there  would  in  that  case 
be  no  need  of  a  divorce  at  all.  Still,  it  was 
not  considered  obligatory  to  inflict  this  pen- 
alty. (Comp.  on  1 :  19.)  A  further  restriction 
upon  the  facility  of  divorce  was  made  by  the 
provision  (Deut.  «:2-4)  that  after  the  termina- 
tion, by  divorce  or  death,  of  another  marriage 
on  the  part  of  the  woman,  the  man  who  for- 
merly divorced  her  could  not  then  take  her 
back,  as  this  would  shock  the  instinctive  sense 
of  propriety. — It  thus  appears  that  Jesus  is 
here  carrying  out  the  design  of  the  Mosaic 
enactment  by  a  still  further  restriction  in  the 
same  direction  ;  is  not  abrogating  the  law, 
but  completing  it.  (v-".) — According  to  the 
terms  of  the  law,  and  the  common  usage  of  the 
Jews,  only  the  husband  could  divorce;  and 
so  our  Lord  speaks  here  only  of  what  the 
husband  may  do.  But  on  a  later  occasion 
(Mark  10: 12),  he  mentions  also  the  case  of  a 
woman's  putting  away  her  husband.  It  is 
natural  that  Mark  rather  than  Matthew 
should  record  this  as  it  was  a  case  much 
more  likely  to  occur  among  Gentiles  than 
among  Jew*. 

32.  In  this  verse,  instead  of  whosoever, 
the  correct  text  gives  the  slightly  stronger  ex- 
pression, every  one  toho,  as  in  Rev.  Ver., 
every  single  one,  as  in  v.  28  (comp.  on  v.  22). 
—But  I  say  unto  you.  '  I '  emphatic,  see  on 
v.  22. — Je.<U3  recognizes  only  one  suflicient 
ground  of  divorce.'    It  is  a  part  of  the  mys- 


1  The  Greek  terra  employed.pornefrt  (which  primarily  ] 
signifies  '  harlotry,'  the  primary  slgnlflcation  of  forni- 
cation aNo)  is  not  always  confined  to  unchastity  In  un- 
married persons,  but  applied  to  the  married  also,  as  in 
1  Cor.  5 :  1  ff. ;  Amos  7  :  17.  The  corresponding  Hebrew 
Word  is  the  one  always  employed  figuratively  to  denote 
Israel's  unfaithfulness  to  Jehovah,  her  husband.  Thus 
In  Ezek.  23:  5,  Aholah  (Samaria),  after  "bearing  sons 
and  daughters  "  to  Jehovah  (v.  a),  "  played  the  harlot 
when  she  was  mine,"  comp.  Num.  5:  19  f.    See  Hosea 

;  3,  and  Gesen.  on  zanah.  Dion  Cass,  says  of  the  Km- 
press  Messalina,  kni emoicheueto kal eporneneto,  'she  both 
committed  adultery  and  played  the  harlot,'  Chrys.  says 
here:  "  Do  you  see  how  this  ajrees  with  what  precedes? 


For  he  that  does  not  look  at  another  man's  wife  with 
unchastenedeyes,  will  not  commit  porneia ;  and  not  com- 
mitting/)Orn«ia,  he  will  not  afford  the  husband  oci^nslon 
to  ca?(t  out  his  wife."  Chrys.  certainly  knew  Greek,  and 
he  distinctly  applies  this  term  to  the  case  of  a  married 
woman.  So  Theophyl.  and  Euthym.  expressly,  and  so 
Origen  on  19:  9.  Apfiollinarlus  (in  Cremer),  says, 
"  Clirist  allows  one  to  put  away  her  that  has  committed 
fornication,  because  she  dissolved  the  physical  union." 
Jerome  speaks  of  the  wife  as  having  "separated  her- 
self from  her  husband  by  fornication."  The  Peshlto 
Syrlac  translates  by  '  adultery  '  in  19 :  9,  though  not  in 
5:  32,  and  though  distinguishing  the  two  terms  in  15: 
19  and  elsewhere.    Almost  all  expositors  have  under- 


112 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch. 


tery  of  human  nature  that  the  connection  be- 
tween husband  and  wife  produces  a  strange 

feeling  of  oneness.   (Geu.2:23f;    Eph.S:28;   eapeolally  1 

Cor. 6:  14  f.)  And  It  IS  Only  when  the  sacred  tie 
which  thus  bound  them  has  been  broken,  that 
either  of  them  may  lawfully  form  a  marriage 
union  with  another  person.  It  is  not  said  that 
in  such  a  case  the  husband  must  put  away  the 
offending  wife,  but  in  saying  that  he  must  not 
except  in  that  case,  it  is  implied  that  then  he 
may.  Hovey :  "This  crime  is  one  which  in- 
flicts so  deep  a  wound  on  the  innocent  party, 
and  violates  so  utterly  and  completely  the 
substance  of  conjugal  duty,  that  it  is  recog- 
nized by  God  as  a  valid  ground  for  divorce, 
whenever  this  is  sought  by  the  unoffending 
husband  or  wife."  But  "there  are  many  pas- 
sages of  the  Old  Testament  in  which  God  ad- 
dresses his  people  as  an  adulterous  wife,  whom, 
however,  he  still  recognizes  as  his  own,  and 
strives  to  recover  from  idolatry'';  and  the 
wronged  husband  or  wife  is  at  liberty  to  exer- 
cise like  forbearance. — The  same  rule  as  here 
is  laid  down  at  greater  length  in  19 :  3-9  (see 
notes),  and  repeated  on  a  third  occasion, 
Luke  16 :  18. — The  directions  given  by  Paul 
in  1  Cor.  7:  10-16  refer  to  a  peculiar  state  of 
things,  but  are  in  accordance  with  our  Lord's 
teachings,  to  which  Paul  expressly  refers. 
Where  only  one  of  a  heathen  couple  had  be- 
come a  Christian,  the  apostle  says  it  was  best 
for  them  to  continue  together,  since  that  might 
result  in  the  salvation  of  the  one  not  j^et  con- 
verted (icor. 7:  10,16)  ;  but  if  the  Unbeliever  in- 
sists on  a  separation,  the  believer  is  not 
'under  bondage,'  'enslaved'  in  such  cases 
(».  15),  not  compelled  to  live  with  the  unbeliver, 
whether  or  no.  (The  word  is  not  simply 
'bound,'  but  'enslaved,'  and  quite  different 
from  that  rendered  'bound'  in  Rom.  7:  2f., 
which  refers  to  the  bond  of  marriage.)  Yet 
the  parties  thus  separated,  the  apostle  says, 
must  remain  unmarried,  and  the  believer 
must  seek  reconciliation.  (»•"•) — Putting  to- 
gether that  passage  and  our  Lord's  teachings, 


we  learn  that  a  husband  and  wife  may  for  suf- 
ficient cause  separate  and  live  apart,  but  may 
not  marry  again  unless  the  tie  between  them 
has  been  severed  through  the  commission,  by 
one  or  the  other,  of  the  crime  our  Lord  men- 
tions. If  a  man  divorced  his  wife  for  any 
other  cause,  Jesus  declares  that  he  would  be 
causing  her  to  commit  adultery,  i.  e.,  if  she 
should  be  married  to  another;  and  whosoever 
should  marry  her  when  divorced  (or,  'marry 
a  divorce!  [woman]';  it  may  mean  either, 
and  there  is  no  important  difference) — unless, 
of  course,  the  divorce  were  for  the  sufficient 
cause  here  mentioned — would  be  committing 
adultery,  as  she  would  still  be,  in  the  view  of 
the  divine  law,  the  first  husband's  wife. 
(Comp.  Hovey  on  The  Scriptural  Law  of  Di- 
vorce, Am.  Bapt.  Pub.  Soc. )  It  has  been 
well  remarked  that  as  the  only  ground  of  di- 
vorce which  our  Lord  admits  is  one  pertain- 
ing to  the  essential  nature  of  the  marriage 
relation,  no  changes  in  the  form  of  the  out- 
ward union,  or  of  the  outward  divorce,  can 
make  any  difference  in  this  respect. — It  fol- 
lows that  all  legislation  which  allows  of  di- 
vorce "from  the  bond  of  marriage,"  except 
for  the  cause  here  named,  is  contrary  to  Christ's 
teaching.  It  maj'  be  very  well  to  legalize  sep- 
aration, with  reference  to  questions  of  prop- 
erty, support,  the  control  of  children,  etc., 
as  is  done  in  the  so-called  divorce  "  from  bed 
and  board"  ;  and  in  cases  where  the  civil  law 
I  does  not  provide  for  this,  but  permits  a  com- 
I  plete  legal  divorce,  it  may  be  allowable  to 
I  seek  such  divorce  as  an  arrangement  for  sep- 
J  aration  ;  but  still  neither  party  has  a  moral 
right  to  re-marry,  unless  the  religious  union 
has  been  violated  b^'  the  unchastity  of  one  of 
them.  In  that  case  the  innocent  party  has  a 
right  to  full  divorce  and  re-marriage;  our 
Lord  has  said  nothing  as  to  the  question 
whether  the  guilty  party  has  a  moral  right  to 
marry  again.  This  could  be  true  only  after 
unquestionable  repentance.  Comp.  the  case 
of  a  man  who  has  killed  his  wife.     But  for 


stood  tbe  word  in  this  passage  as  signifying  iinchastily 
in  general.  See  Grot.,  Meyer,  Weiss.  As  tiie  general 
terra  it  would  include  tlie  case  of  adultery,  and  al.so  Ihat 
In  which  a  wife  wa."!  found  to  have  been  unchaste  before 
marriage,  which  latter  case  the  law  treated  as  having 
the  same  guilt  and  requiring  the  same  punishment  as 
adultery.  (Deut.  22 :  21  f.)  DOllinger  urges  that  this  last 
is  in  Matt,  the  sole  meaning,  but  unsuccessfully.  Yet 
if  the  term  'adultery'  had  been  here  U3t:d,  it  would 


have  excluded  this  case.  We  thus  see  a  reason  for  em- 
ploying the  general  term,  here  and  in  19:  9. — '  Malcetb 
her  an  adulteress,'  ('■■  Si)^  represents  the  correct  Greek 
text.  It  means  that  if  she  is  taken  as  wife  by  another 
man,  her  first  husband  has  caused  her  to  be  now  an 
adulteress,  by  putting  her  away  without  proper  ground  i 
and  the  second  husband  becomes  an  adulterer,  for  she 
is  still  properly  the  wife  of  tbe  other  man.  The  woman 
appears  as  paasiTe, 


:;h.  v.] 


MATTHEW. 


113 


33  Again,  ye  have  heard  that  it  hath  been  said  by 
item  of  old  time,  Thou  shalt  not  forswear  thyself,  but 
lialt  perform  unto  the  Lord  thine  oaths : 


33      Again,  ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said  to  them  of 
old  time,  Thou  shall  not  forswtar  thyself,  but  shalt 


jivil  government  to  refuse  a  legal  divorce  in 
Biases  where  the  Lord  distinctly  admits  it,  may 
l>e  a  grievous  wrong  to  the  innocent  party, 
rho  is  now  absolved  from  all  moral  obligation 
the  other,  and  yet  is  not  permitted  by  the 
ivil  enactments  to  marry  again,  if  desired. — 
Phe  Greek  and  other  Oriental  Churches,  and 
lost  Protestant  Churches,  have  always  held 
^hat  in  such  a  case  re-marriage  is  allowable. 
The  Church   of   Rome    forbids  it  (save   by 
»ecial   dispensation),    maintaining  the    per- 
Btual  obligation  of  what  it  calls  the  "sacra- 
lenf  of  marriage.     The  German  Protestant 
Jhurches  are  extremely  lax  as  to  divorce — 
irting  from  a  wrong  interpretation  of  Paul's 
Baching,  so  as  to  make  "desertion"     ( i  cr. 
is  15)  a  ground  of  divorce — and  that  fact  has 
(►mbarrassed  many  of  the  ablest  German  com- 
lentaries  upon  the  present  passage.     In  some 
'of  the  United  States  there   has  also  been  a 
grievous  facility  of  divorce,  against  which  a 
healthy  reaction  is  now   in   several  quarters 
arising.     The    new   law  of  England    allows 
legalized  separation  for  various  causes,  and 
divorce  proper  for  adultery.     The  State  of 
South  Carolina  has  no  provision  for  legal  di- 
vorce.    (On  the  history  of  divorce  in  ancient 
and    modern    times,   see  Woolsey  on    "Di- 
vorce," New  York.) 

HOMILETICAL  AND  PRACTICAL. 

V.  28.  Licentious  looks.  How  much  of 
grievous  sin  is  committed  in  this  respect  before 
him  who  perfectly  sees  the  heart,  and  to  whom 
impurity  in  the  heart  is  as  real  a  sin  as  gross 
acts  of  unchastity.  Many  a  one  would  boast, 
like  the  Pliarisee  in  the  parable,  of  being  no 
adulterer  (L"''* '**•"), who  yet  has  often  com- 
mitted adultery  in  the  heart;  and  God  has 
seen  it.  The  principle  of  our  Lord's  teaching 
alike  forbids  anything  else  by  which  men  en- 
courage lustful  feeling,  as  looking  for  that 
purpose  at  works  of  art,  indecent  dances, 
reading,  speaking,  or  hearing  obscene  stories 
or  obscene  jests,  filthy  imaginations,  etc. — 
Luther  :  "  You  can't  prevent  the  devil  from 
shooting  arrows  of  evil  thoughts  into  your 
heart;  but  take  care  that  you  do  not  let  such 
arrows  stick  fast  and  grow  there.  Do  as  a 
good  old  man  of  past  times  has  said :  '  I  can't 
prevent  a  bird  from  flying  over  my  head,  but 


I  can  prevent  him  from  making  a  nest  in  my 
hair.'" — Eemember  that  the  great  means  of 
keeping  improper  thoughts  out  of  our  minds, 
is  to  keep  them  filled  with  good  thoughts.  (Qai. 
5:16.) — V.  29.  Sins  of  the  eye.  How  many 
forms  of  sin  are  indicated  or  excited  by  look- 
ing. The  lustful  eye,  the  jealous  eye,  the  en- 
vious eye,  the  revengeful  eye,  the  suspicious 
eye — the  gambler's  eye,  the  robber's  eye,  the 
flatterer's  eye.  Chkys:  "For  this  were  not 
to  act  as  one  hating  the  eye,  but  as  one  loving 
the  rest  of  the  body.''— Philo  (in  Griffith)  : 
"It  seems  to  me  that  all  who  are  not  entirely 
uninstructed  will  rather  blind  themselves  than 
gaze  on  things  which  are  unseemly,  and  make 
themselves  deaf  than  listen  to  hurtful  words, 
and  cut  out  their  tongues  than  speak  what 
ought  not  to  be  spoken."  —  Profitable  for 
thee.  Man  has  a  complex  nature,  and  the 
Bible,  which  is  divinely  adapted  to  human 
nature,  appeals  not  only  to  conscience,  tiie 
felt  obligation  to  do  right  because  it  is  right, 
but  also  to  our  interest  in  the  true  and  high 
sense,  our  hopes  and  fears  for  time  and  for 
eternity.  Scriptural  self-denial  is  real  self- 
interest. —  V.  30.  Seneca  (in  Griffith.: 
"  Whatever  vices  rend  your  heart,  cast  them 
from  you  ;  and  if  they  could  in  no  other  way 
be  extracted,  the  heart  itself  ought  to  be 
plucked  out  with  them."  Dykes:  "The 
battle  of  conscience  and  reason  and  modesty 
against  appetite,  is  to  be  fought  within  the 
heart  of  the  tempted  man,  and  for  it  help  is  to 
be  found  nowhere  but  on  his  knees." 

33-37.  Oaths., 

The  third  example  (see  on  v.  21),  by  which 
our  Lord  illustrates  the  superiority  of  the 
morality  he  enjoins,  is  the  subject  of  Oaths. 

(v.  33-87.) 

33.  Again.  With  this  term  of  transition 
is  resumed  the  full  phrase  of  v.  21.  By— or 
to— them  of  old  time,  or,  the  ancients.  See 
on  v.  21  and  22.  Forswear  thyself,  or  per- 
jure  thyself.  This  refers  immediately  to  Lev. 
19:  12,  'Thou  shalt  not  swear  by  my  name 
falsely.'  But  the  expression  in  the  Third 
Commandment  (ex.20:7;  Deut.5:ii)  is  substan- 
tially equivalent,  viz.,  literally,  'Thou  shalt 
not  lift  up  (utter)  the  name  of  the  Lord  thy 
God  unto  vanity  (for  falsehood).'  But  shalt 
perform  unto  the  Lord  thine  oaths.    Thia 


114 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch. 


int^^ 


34  But  I  say  unto  you,  Swear  not  at  all ;  neither  by 
heaven ;  for  it  is  God's  throne: 


34  perform  unto  the  Lord  thine  oaths:  but  I  say  udIl 
you,  Swear  not  at  all :  neither  by  the  heaven,  lor  it  is 


is  an  addition  which  the  Jewish  teachers  seem 
to  have  been  accustomed  to  malce  to  the  com- 
mandment, corresponding  to  tliose  in  v.  21 
and  43,  and  was  probably  derived  by  them 
from  Deut.  23:  21;  Num.  30:  8,  where  the 
reference  is  specially  to  vows.  The  verb  here 
rendered  'perform'  is  translated  by  'pay'  in 
V.  26,  and  18:  25-34;  'recompense'  in  6:  4,  6, 
18,  Kev.  Ver. ;  'render'  in  16:  27,  Rev.  Ver. ; 
21 :  41 ;  22:  21;  and  signifies  to  give  back,  or 
to  give  in  full,  and  hence  to  repay  or  to  pay 
off.i  The  idea  here  is  that  an  oath  becomes  a 
debt  to  the  Lord,  and  we  must  be  sure  to  pay 
it.  This  conception  is  especially  appropriate 
to  a  vow.  (Same  Greek  term  in  Deut.  23:  21 ; 
Eccl.  5:  4f. )  Comp.  the  representation  of 
sin  in  general  as  a  debt,  in  6:  12. — The  Jewish 
teachers  correctly  interpreted  the  law  as  pro- 
hibiting/a^se  swearing.  Every  assertion  ac- 
companied by  an  oath  must  be  true ;  every 
promise  accompanied  by  an  oath  must  be 
kept.  But  this  cannot  be  if  men  use  many 
oaths;  and  they  sought  to  evade  the  difficulty 
in  their  usual  fashion  by  a  quibble  of  inter- 
pretation. The  Third  Commandment  spoke 
of  swearing  in  the  name  of  Jehovah  ;  and  the 
law  elsewhere  (Dent.  6:  is)  expressly  required 
that  they  should  "swear  by  his  name,"  i.  e., 
not  by  the  name  of  any  false  deity.  So  the 
Rabbis  held  that  the  law  made  binding  only 
those  oaths  which  contained  some  name  or 
peculiar  attribute  of  God,  or  something  else 
that  was  eminently  sacred.  f23:i6ff.)  Other 
oaths,  not  naming  or  directly  suggesting  God, 
they  held  to  be  not  bindijig.  The  Talmud 
expressly  declares  that  such  oaths  as  '  bj' 
heaven,'  'by  the  earth,'  do  not  bind  at  all. 
And  though  some  teachers  set  themselves 
against  this  (see  on  next  verse),  they  were 
borne  down  by  the  majority.  Accordingly 
the  Jews  were  remarkable  for  their  frequent 
use  of  oaths  in  ordinary  conversation,  swear- 
ing by  the  temple,  by  the  altar,  by  the  lamb, 
by  the  dishes,  by  the  law,  by  Moses,  by  the 
prophets,  by  the  life  of  the  Rabbis,  as  well 
as  the  oaths  here  mentioned  and  countless 
others,  and  reckoning  such  oaths  to  be  'noth- 


ing.' (See  on  23:  16  ff.)  So  common  was  the 
practice,  that  even  among  those  who  became 
Christians  it  continued  as  a  great  evil;  and 
James,  writing  to  Jewish  Christians,  con- 
demns it  with  special  emphasis:  "But  above 
all  things,  my  brethren,  'swear  not.'"  (Jame« 
5:12;  oomp.  James 3; 9f.)  Many  of  the  Same  forms 
of  oath  are  now  used  in  Syria.  (Thomson.) 

34.  But  I  say  unto  you.  'I'  emphatic, 
see  on  v.  22.  Swear  not  at  all.  The  true 
way  to  avoid  false  swearing  is  not  to  swear  at 
all ;  the  Rabbinical  distinction  would  not  hold, 
for  even  oaths  which  did  not  contain  the  di- 
vine name  involved  some  sort  of  reference  to 
God  which  made  them  solemn  and  obligatory 
— otherwise  they  would  not  be  used  as  oaths. 
Strike  at  the  root  of  the  matter ;  do  not  swear, 
and  you  will  never  swear  falsely.  In  this,  as 
in  the  previous  examples,  our  Lord  is  enjoin- 
ing, not  merely  an  outward  and  literal  obedi- 
ence to  the  law,  but  that  regard  be  had  to  the 
principle  involved;  and  he  will  thus  'com- 
plete' the  law.  (v.  17.)  The  command  not  to 
swear  falsely  was  a  great  restriction  upon  the 
familiar  use  of  oaths  :  Jesus  does  not  abrogate 
that  command,  but  goes  farther  in  the  same 
direction. — Yet  as  the  prohibition  of  killing 
and  of  anger  is  not  to  be  taken  without  any 
exception,  it  being  lawful  to  kill  and  to  be 
angry,  upon  sufficient  occasion  (see  on  v.  22), 
so,  we  might  conclude  by  parity  of  reasoning, 
must  be  the  case  here.  And  accordingly  we 
find  our  Lord  himself  consenting  to  speak 
when  formally  put  upon  oath  before  the  su- 
preme court  (see  on  26:  63);  and  the  Apostle 
Paul  repeatedlj^  using,  where  there  was  special 
occasion,  such  expressions  as  '  God  is  my  wit- 
ness,' '  I  call  God  for  a  witness  upon  mj'  soul,' 

'Before    God  I  lie    not,'    (Bom.  l:  9;  aCor.  l:  S:i;  Re». 

Ver.,  Gal.  1 : 20),  which  are  Strong  oaths;  and  the 
angel  in  Rev.  10:6,  swearing  a  very  solemn 
oath.  So  in  the  0.  T.,  men  being  accustomed 
to  swear  'As  Jehovah  liveth,'  God  himself  is 
said  to  swear,  'As  I  live'  (Etek.  33:  ii)  ;  and  the 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  appeals  to  God's  oath 
'by  myself  (oen. 22:16),  ns  given  to  strengthen 
our  confidence  in  the  faithfulness  of  his  prom- 


iTyndale's  'perform'  is  retained  by  all  early  and  I  here  used. — Tyndale  and  Geneva  have 'God' instead  of 
most  later  English  Versions.  McClellan  '  pay,'  and  so  '  the  Lord,'  but  without  authority,  and  their  reason  for 
Com.  Ver.  in  Deut.  13:  21 ;  where  Sept.  has  the  word  ^  introducing  it  does  not  appear. 


Ch.  v.] 


MATTHEW. 


115 


35  Nor  by  the  earth;  for  it  is  his  footstool:  neither  I  35  the  throne  of  God;  nor  by  the  earth,  for  it  is  the 
by  Jerusalem ;  for  it  is  the  city  of  the  great  King.  |       footstool  of  his  feet ;  nor  •  by  Jerusalem,  for  it  is  the 

1  Or.  toward* 


ise.  (Heb. 6:i3ff.)  All  Oiith,  therefore,  is  not  in- 
herently and  necessarily  wrong,  and  there  are 
occasions  which  justify  its  use,  as  in  judicial 
proceedings  (our  Lord's  example),  and  where 
some  very  solemn  asseveration  in  speech  or 
writing  is  required  by  the  circumstances. 
(Paul's  example.)  But  as  anger,  even  when 
legitimate,  is  in  great  danger  of  becoming  sin- 
ful (see  on  v.  22),  so  with  oaths,  which  are 
often  administered  in  courts  of  justice  with 
such  irreverence  as  to  be  highly  sinful,  and 
which  in  individual  assertions  or  promises 
ought  to  be  confined  to  very  rare  and  solemn 
occasions,  and  to  be  used,  as  the  apostle  does, 
in  the  most  reverential  spirit. — The  object  of 
explaining  that,  in  this  and  the  other  examples 
treated  by  our  Lord,  there  may  be  exceptions 
to  the  absolute  prohibition,  is  not  to  weaken 
those  prohibitions,  but  partly  to  exhibit  their 
accordance  with  other  passages  which  might 
seem  to  be  in  conflict  with  them,  and  partly 
to  show  that  these  are  no  unpractical  and  im- 
practicable theories,  as  so  many  superficially 
consider  them,  but  when  properly  understood 
are  rules  for  our  actual  guidance  in  life. — The 
utter  condemnation  of  all  oaths,  which  has 
been  made  by  Waldensians,  Anabaptists, 
Mennonists  Quakers,  etc.,  is  found  already 
in  Justin  Martyr,  Irenaeus,  Origen,  Chrys., 
Jerome,  and  other  Fathers ;  yet  oaths  were 
sometimes  employed  by  the  early  Christians, 
and  gradually  became  common,  especially 
after  the  union  of  Church  and  State.  (See 
Smiths  "Diet.  Christ.  Antiq.") 

Neither  by  heaven,  etc.  The  Jews  usually 
maintained,  as  above  shown,  that  an  oath  was 
not  binding  unless  it  contained  the  name  of 
God,  or  mention  of  one  of  his  attributes. 
But  anything  used  as  an  «ath  must  have  some 
sort  of  relation  to  God,  and  this  makes  it  bind- 
ing, and  80  it  ought  to  be  used — i.  e.,  used  as 
if  not  really  an  oath.  Comp.  23:  22.  A  few 
of  the  Jewish  teachers  took  a  similar  view, 
one  of  them  being  recorded  in  the  Talmud 


as  saying,  "If  a  person  swears  another  by 
heaven  and  earth,  does  he  not  also  swear  him 
by  him  to  whom  heaven  and  earth  belongs?" 
But  most  held  otherwise,  as  shown  by  Philo, 
the  Talmud,  and  Maimonides  (Light.,  Wet.). 
Philo  states  that  some  were  in  the  habit  of 
saying  simply  "By  the,"  without  adding 
anything,  so  as  to  avoid  making  it  distinctly 
an  oath  ;  and  he  suggests  that  one  might  add, 
"not  indeed  the  supreme  and  revered  First 
Cause,  but  the  earth,  the  sun,  the  stars,  heaven, 
the  universe."  And  Maimonides  (twelfth 
cent.),  commenting  on  the  Talmud,  goes  still 
further:  "  If  an^'  one  swears  by  heaven,  by 
the  earth,  by  the  sun,  etc.,  even  though  it  be 
the  intention  of  the  swearer  under  these 
words  to  swear  by  him  who  created  these 
things,  yet  this  is  not  an  oath."  We  see  that 
here,  as  with  reference  to  adult  er3'  and  divorce, 
a  few  of  the  Jewish  teachers  were  rigorous 
while  most  were  lax,  and  that  Jesus  confirms 
the  view  of  the  rigorous  few,  and  goes  still 
farther.  Some  fancy  that  this  is  a  reproach  to 
our  Lord,  as  detracting  from  his  originality. 
But  he  did  something  better  than  to  be  origi- 
nal in  ethics;  for  by  authoritatively  settling 
actual  questions  of  truth  and  dut\',  he  showed 
that  the  tendency  of  his  teachings  is  thor- 
oughly practical.  (Comp.  on  7 :  3-5,  and  on 
12:  10.) 

V.  35  f.  These  are  further  specimens,  simi- 
lar to  that  just  given,  of  oaths  which  the  Jews 
were  accustomed  to  use  habitually  as  not 
binding,  and  which  our  Lord  explains  to  have 
really  a  sacred  element,  so  that  such  use  of 
them  is  wrong.  His  footstool,  or,  the  foot- 
stool of  his  feet}  This  and  the  preceding  ex- 
pression are  quoted  from  Isa.  66 :  1.  'The 
heaven  is  my  throne,  and  the  earth  is  my 
footstool.'  So  in  Psa.  48:  2,  Jerusalem  i.^ 
called  'the  city  of  the  great  king.'*  These  ob- 
jects would  never  have  come  to  be  employed 
in  strengthening  an  affirmation,  had  they  not 
been  somehow  regarded  in  their  higher  char- 


'Tyndale  shortened  the  phrase  to  '  his  footstool,"  and 
was  followed  by  Great  B.,  Geneva,  andCom.Ver.  There 
Is  of  course  no  substantial  difference,  but  the  expres- 
sion ought  to  be  given  in  full.  Persons  who  ridicule 
the  pleonasm  in  Rev.  Ver.,  ought  to  remember  that 
Ihey  are  ridiculing  the  sacred  writers. 


*In  'by  Jerusalem,'  margin  'toward,'  literally 
'  unto,' the  preposition  Is  not  the  same  as  in  the  pre- 
ceding and  following  phrases,  but  the  substantial  mean- 
ing does  not  differ. 


116 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  V. 


36  Neither  shalt  thou  swear  by  thy  head,  because  |  3G  city  of  the  great  King.    Neither  shalt  thou  swear  by 
thou  canst  not  make  one  hair  white  or  black.  thy  head,  for  thou  canst  not  make  one  hair  white  or 

37  But  let  your  communication  be.  Yea,  yea;  Nay,    37  black,  i  But  let  your  speech  be,  Yea,  yea ;  Nay,  nay  • 
nay :  for  whatsoever  is  more  than  these  cometh  of  evil.  |       and  whatsoever  is  more  than  these  is  of  » the  evil  one-. 


I  Some  ancient  autkoritia  read.  But  your  «peecA  shall  be 2  Or,  evil :  as  in  ver  39 ;  6 :  IS. 


acter,  as  related  to  God;  and  though  a  man 
swearing  by  them,  particularly  after  the  ex- 
pression has  become  trite,  might  not  have 
such  an  idea  distinctly  present  to  his  mind, 
yet  it  is  really  and  necessarily  involved,  when 
they  are  used  in  the  way  of  an  oath.  Alex- 
ander: "He  who  swears  by  the  earth  either 
swears  bj'  God,  or  does  not  swear  at  all." 

36.  Neither  shalt  thou  swear.  The  form 
changing  to  the  singular,  as  in  v.  23,  thus 
making  the  application  more  personal  and 
pointed.  By  thy  head.  A  very  common 
oath  among  the  Greeks  and  Komans,  as  well 
as  the  Jews;  probably  founded  on  the  idea 
that  a  man  would  stake  his  head  upon  the  as- 
sertion, would  be  willing  to  lose  his  head  if  it 
should  not  prove  true.  But  his  life  belongs  to 
God  and  not  to  himself,  and  he  is  not  able  to 
change  the  color  of  a  single  hair  of  that  head, 
which  he  so  lightly  engages  to  cast  away.  The 
reference  is  of  course  to  the  change  of  color 
in  growing  old,  which  depends  on  the  divinely 
directed  course  of  nature  (Weiss).  Notice 
that  the  specimens  mentioned  descend  gradu- 
ally to  the  lower  kinds  of  oath,  heaven,  earth, 
Jerusalem,  the  head.  An  expression  often 
heard  among  us,  "by  my  life,"  or  "my  life 
on  it,"  is  sinful  on  the  same  principle  as  "by 
my  head." 

37.  But  let  your  communication — or — 
speech.^  The  term  naturally  suggests  that  he 
is  now  referring  to  the  use  of  language  in 
general,  to  ordinary  conversation.  The  repe- 
tition, yea,  yea ;  nay,  nay,  seems  designed 
to  indicate  that  the  proper  mode  of  strength- 
ening an  assertion  is  simply  to  repeat  the 
afBrmation  or  negation.  Comp.  our  Lord's 
'verily,  verily.'  Paul's  expression  (2Cor. i:  n) 
has  a  different  bearing.  The  Rabbis  frequently 
doubled  these  particles  (Talmud),  as  we  do. 
Edersh.  says  that  in  the  Midrash  on  Ruth  it  is 
mentioned  as  characteristic  of  the  pious,  that 
their  yea  is  yea,  and  their  nay  nay.  James 
(5: 12),    though    manifestly    referring   to    our 


Lord's  discourse,  states  the  thing  in  a  slightly 
different  way.  '  Let  your  yea  be  yea,  and 
your  nay,  nay '  ;  let  the  simple  affirmation 
or  negation  suffice,  without  needing  to  be 
strengthened  by  oaths.  Maimonides,  "  Let 
the  disciples  of  the  wise  be  always  truthful 
and  trustworthy;  saying  simply,  yes,  yes,  and 
no,  no,"  may  have  really  borrowed  from  the 
New  Test.;  for  the  Jewish  writers  adopted 
whatever  they  approved,  from  any  source. 
Cometh  of  evil— or,  is  of  the  evil  one.  The 
Greek  is  ambiguous,  as  in  6:  13,  where  see 
note.  In  this  passage  it  is  interpreted  'the 
evil  one'  by  Chrys.  (and  his  followers  Theoph. 
and  Euthym.),  Zwingli,  Beza,  AVetstein, 
Fritzsche,  Meyer,  Keim,  Grimm,  Mansel, 
Plumptre;  and  'evil'  by  Luther  (though  not 
in  the  first  ed.  of  his  trans.),  Calvin,  Bengel, 
Tholuck,  De  Wette,  Ewald,  Bleek,  Stier, 
Weiss,  Archelis,  Keil.  Taken  in  the  former 
and  somewhat  more  probable  sense,  the  ex- 
pression means,  has  its  origin  in  Satan,  as  in 
13:  19,  38.  Taken  in  the  other  sense  it  means, 
is  of  evil  origin.  The  general  thought  is  in 
either  case  the  same.  The  necessity,  real  or 
supposed,  for  using  oaths,  originates  in  evil, 
or  in  Satan  ;  for  it  is  due  to  the  fact  that  men 
do  not  alwaj'S  faithfully  keep  their  simple 
word.  And  like  all  the  consequences  of  sin, 
this  practice  reacts  to  strengthen  its  source; 
for  not  only  do  men  thereby  become  less  care- 
ful as  to  the  truthfulness  of  assertions  unat- 
tended by  an  oath,  but  even  oaths  tend  gradu- 
allj'  to  lose  their  solemn  force  by  frequent,  and 
especially  by  heedless  and  irreverent  repetition 
(comp.  on  23:  16).  And  so  the  observance  of 
our  Lord's  prohibition  would  give  to  oaths  a 
much  greater  value  in  those  cases  in  which 
they  are  really  necessary  and  proper.  Comp. 
Hierocles  (Platonist  of  the  fifth  cent. ),  "  Rev- 
erence an  oath,  and  be  not  swift  to  use  it,  that 
you  may  be  accustomed  to  swear  truly,  from 
not  being  accustomed  to  swear."  Add  (Wet.) 
Philo :    "Not  to  swear  is  highlj'  becoming 


1 '  Communication  *  is  from  Tyndale,  followed  by 
Great  B.,  Geneva,  and  Com.  "Ver.  The  Revised  Ver.  re- 
tains it  in  Luke  24:  17  (yet  see  margin),  but  has 
'speech'  in  Eph.  4:  29;  Col.  3:  8.    In  1  Cor.  15:  33; 


Philem.  6.';  the  Greek  is  different.— The  authorities  for 
'  shall  be '  (margin)  are  few ;  the  sense  is  substantially 
the  same. 


II 


v.] 


MATTHEW. 


117 


38  Ye  have  heard  that  it  hath  been  said,  An  eye  for  I  38 
an  eye,  and  a  tooth  fur  a  tooth :  I 


Ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said.  An  eye  for  an  eye 


and  advantageous,  and  is  accordant  with  a 
rational  nature,  so  instructed  to  speak  truth 
on  every  occasion  that  words  are  reckoned 
oaths."  Epictetus:  "  Avoid  oaths,  altogether 
if  possible,  but  if  not,  as  far  as  you  can." 
Qidntilian :  "  To  swear  at  all,  unless  where  it 
is  necessary,  is  unbecoming  a  grave  man." 

HOMILKTICAL  AND   PRACTICAL. 

V.  33.  Perjury — its  nature,  causes,  evil  con- 
sequences, remedies.  Chrys.  :  "  If  to  swear 
is  of  the  evil  one,  how  great  the  penalty 
which  false  swearing  will  bring." — V.  34. 
Profanity — difi'erent  kinds,  swearing,  cursing, 
other  kinds— evils  of  profanity,  and  of  all 
irreverence. — Cursing  is  always  and  essen- 
tially wrong,  since  no  one  has  a  right  to  im- 
precate eternal  ruin  upon  another,  unless  by 
explicit  divine  direction,  like  the  prophets. 
There  is  much  profane  language  which  is 
neither  cursing  nor  swearing,  as  when  one 
speai<s  in  any  wise  irreverently  of  God,  his 
word,  worship,  or  anything  sacred.  Preachers 
often  speak  of  God  too  familiarly,  in  public 
discourse  and  conversation.  And  there  are 
phrases  in  which  the  name  of  God  is  either 
omitted  or  disguised,  so  that  persons  fancy 
they  are  not  wrong,  which  yet  involve  the 
essence  of  profanity.  "  My  gracious  ! "  means 
"My  gracious  God."  "Bless  your  soul,"  is 
"God  bless  your  soul."  "Zounds"  is  "God's 
wounds."  One  may  plead  that  he  does  not 
mean  this  in  using  such  phrases,  but  so  could 
the  Jews  have  said  as  to  the  expressions  which 
Jesus  condemns;  nay,  the  excuse  of  "  not 
meaning  anything  by  it"  is  often  given  by 
persons  who  use  profanely  the  most  solemn 
oaths.  Any  one  who  observes  for  a  little 
while  the  language  of  those  about  him,  or  his 
own  language,  will  be  apt  to  encounter  many 
phrases  which,  though  not  distinctly  so  de- 
signed, are  yet  in  direct  violation  of  what  our 
Lord  has  here  taught,  and  should  therefore 
be  carefully  evoided.  The  charge  of  pro- 
fanity also  applies  to  all  irreverent  citatations 
or  ludicrous  applications  of  the  language  of 
Scripture,  a  very  common  fault  even  in 
Christian  society.  (Com p.  on  12 :  36  f. )— V.  37. 
Self-respecting  veracity  will  command  respect 
from  others.  What  a  compliment  when  it 
is   said :    His  word  is  as  good  as  his  bond. 


^SCHYLUS :  "  Not  oaths  gain  credence  for  the 
man,  but  the  man  for  the  oaths."  Josephus 
("War.,"  2,  8,  6),  says  of  the  Essenes: 
"Every  word  they  say  is  weightier  than  an 
oath,  and  swearing  they  shun,  regarding  it  as 
worse  than  perjury.' — Habitual  accuracy  of 
statement,  as  opposed  to  prevalent  exaggera- 
tions. The  positive  degree  may  really  signify 
more  than  the  superlative. 

38-48.  Requital  of  Injuries  and  Love 
OF  Enemies. 

T!\\G  fourth  and  fifth  examples  (see  on  v.  21), 
by  which  our  Lord  illustrates  the  superiority 
of  his  teachings,  are  the  subjects  of  Requital 
of   Injuries   (v. 38-«),   and   Love  of   Enemies 

(t.  43-48.) 

38.  Ye  have  heard  that  it  hath  been 
said.    See  on  v.  21.     An  eye  for  an  eye, 

etc.  See  Ex.  21 :  24 ;  Deut.  19  :  21 ;  Lev.  24  : 
20,  in  which  passages  these  expressions  are 
coupled  with  various  similar  ones,  as  '  life  for 
life,'  '  hand  for  hand,'  '  foot  for  foot,'  the  gen- 
eral law  being  that  of  retaliation,  or,  "  like  for 
like" — which  was  also  the  law  of  Solon,  and 
of  the  Roman  Twelve  Tables.  This  careful 
enunciation  by  Moses  of  the  law  of  retaliation, 
was  doubtless  designed  partlj'  to  restrain  men 
from  going  beyond  retaliation,  as  passion  often 
prompts  one  to  inflict  a  far  greater'  injury  than 
he  has  received.  The  Jews  held  that  this  law 
justified  personal  retaliation  of  private  wrongs, 
and  in  general  justified  revenge ;  though  Moses 
expressly  forbids  revenge  of  private  injuries 
in  Lev.  19:  18:  'Thou  shalt  not  avenge,  nor 
bear  any  grudge  against  the  children  of  thy 
people,  but  thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as 
thyself."  In  a  rude  state  of  society,  as  in  the 
early  days  of  California,  every  man  takes  in 
his  own  hands  the  punishment  of  wrongs  done 
to  him;  and  in  the  most  civilized  Christian 
community  we  are  apt  to  find  some  individ- 
uals who  glory  in  the  fact  that  they  protect 
and  avenge  themselves.  The  Jews  would  de- 
fend such  a  procedure  on  their  part  by  misap- 
plying to  private  action  what  was  given  as 
public  law.  The  teachings  of  our  Lord  on 
this  subject  are  therefore  not  in  antagonism  to 
the  law  of  Moses,  but  serve  to  carry  out  more 
fully  its  spirit  and  design,  to  'complete'  the 
law  (»"),  as  we  have  seen  in  all  the  previous 
instances. 


118 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  V. 


39  But  I  say  unto  you,  That  ye  resist  not  evil :  but 
whosoever  shall  smite  thee  oo  thy  right  cheek,  turn  to 
him  the  other  also. 


39  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth :  but  I  say  unto  you,  Resist 
not  1  hiui  that  is  evil :  but  whosoever  smiteth  thee 


39.  But  I  say  unto  you,  see  on  v.  22. 
That  ye  resist  not  evil  (the  evil  man).  The 
Greek  is  ambiguous  (coiup.  o;i  v.  37,  and  6 : 
13).  If  understood  as  masculine  (Wyclif)  it 
would  not  here  mean  'the  evil  (one),'  Satan, 
as  it  would  in  v.  37  and  6:  13 — but  'the  evil 
(man),'  the  bad  man  who  harms  you,  as  in  the 
ways  that  follow.  If  understood  as  neuter 
(Tyndale  and  all  other  early  Eng.  versions), 
it  would  be  evil  in  general.  The  resulting 
sense  is  substantially  the  same.  The  verb 
rendered  'pesist'  signifies  to  stand  over 
against,  withstand  ;  and  the  idea  seems  to  be 
to  let  evil  have  its  course  (or  the  evil  man  his 
course),  and  leave  it  for  God  to  punish  and 
control  (see  Rom.  12:  19  ff.  ;  1  Thess.  5:  15; 
1  Pet.  3:9).  Our  Lord  says  not  merely  that 
we  must  not  revenge  evil,  but  must  not 
resist  it.  The  explanation  of  his  exact  mean- 
ing can  be  better  given  after  considering  one 
of  the  examples  he  presents  in  illustration  of 
this  general  principle.  These  examples  are 
four,  viz.,  personal  violence  ('■•*9),  vexatious 
litigation  (t. 4o),  public  exactions  ("•")!  and 
troublesome  begging  and  borrowing  (t«). 

Shall  smite,  or,  smites.  Present  tense  in 
the  better  Greek  text,  which  was  readily 
changed  by  copyists  to  the  easier  future,  found 
in  V.  41.  The  Greek  word  means  to  smite  with 
rods,  and  to  smite  with  the  palm  of  the  hand 
(comp.  26:  67),  colloquial  Eng.  'slap.'  Luke 
(6:29)  has  the  general  term  'strikes.' — The 
change  to  the  singular  number,  'thee,'  is  the 
same  that  occurs  in  v.  '23  (see  note).  It  is  here 
continued,  as  there,  through  the  several  par- 
ticulars which  follow  (v.  40-«),  and  the  plural  is 
resumed  with  the  next  subject.  (»■  «•)  Smit- 
ing on  the  right  cheek  (literally  ^'rtic),  is  both 
an  injury  and  an  insult  (2  cor.  u:  20),  and  yet  to 
this  the  loving  Redeemer  w>is  himself  more 
than  once  subjected.  (26:«7;  John  19 :3) — The  cu- 
rious have  observed  that  one  naturally  smites 
another's  left  cheek  first,  while  Jesus  follows 
rather  the  general  custom  of  speaking,  by 
which  members  of  the  right  side  are  first  men- 
tioned (comp.  V.  29). 


What  are  we  to  understand  by  the  precept 
not  to  resist  evil,  or  the  evil  man,  with  this 
and  the  following  illustrations?  There  have 
always  been  some  who  maintained  that  these 
expressions  are  to  be  taken  rigorously,  as  ab- 
solutely forbidding  war,  or  any  resistance  to 
personal  violence.  In  the  early  centuries 
some  Christians  positively  refused  to  render 
military  service,  as  being  here  forbidden. 
Many  of  the  Anabaptists  of  Germany,  in  the 
age  of  the  Reformation,  condemned  war,  as 
did  the  Mennonists  of  Holland.  In  Amer- 
ica the  view  is  now  held  by  the  Quakers 
(or  Friends),  the  Tunkers  (or  Dunkers  or 
Dunkards),  and  the  Mennonists.i  Besides 
those  persons  who  conscientiously  strove  to 
carry  out  the  supposed  teachings  of  the  pas- 
sage, there  have  always  been  others  who  in- 
terpreted it  in  the  same  way,  and  have  then 
made  it  a  ground  either  of  attack  upon  the 
morality  of  the  gospel  as  fanciful  and  unwise, 
or  of  assault  upon  the  current  Christianity  as 
inconsistent  and  confessedly  immoral,  or  else 
of  excuse  for  the  total' failure  to  attempt  obe- 
dience in  any  sense  to  commands  which  it 
seemed  so  impossible  fully  to  carry  out.  On 
the  other  hand,  most  Christians  have  per- 
ceived that  it  could  not  be  meant  to  condemn 
war  under  all  circumstances,  as  various  sol- 
diers are  referred  to  in  the  New  Test.,  without 
any  hint  of  their  being  required  to  cease  to  be 
soldiers,  and  as  war  is  sometimes  an  inevitable 
necessity,  to  prevent  yet  greater  evils.  They 
have  also  perceived  that  the  direction  to  turn 
the  left  cheek,  cannot  have  been  designed  as 
a  rule  for  general  observance,  since  it  would 
often  needlessly  provoke  greater  wrong,  and 
seeing  that  our  Lord  himself  did  not  turn  the 
other  cheek  when  smitten,  but  mildly  and  yet 
firmly  remonstrated  (John  is:  22  r.),  while  Paul 
met  the  suggestion  to  insult  him  in  this  way 
with  a  severe  rebuke  (Acts 2s:  3) — besides  tlie 
fact  that  Jesus  repeatedly  took  great  pains  to 
avoid  exposing  himself  to  personal  violence, 
by  withdrawing  from  places  at  which  it  was 

threatened.  (Luke 4  :  30 ;  John  7  : 1, 10 ;  10 :  39  ;  Mark  9 ;  SO.  etc.) 


iThe  Russian  novelist  Count  Tolstoi,  in  "My  Relig-  i  the  course  thus  indicated  would  destroy  society,  which 
ion,"  1885,  puts  forward  this  interpretation  with  enthu-  according  to  the  Russian  Nihilist  view  ought  to  be  de- 
giasm  as  a  new  discovery,  and  glories  in  the  thought  that '  stroyed,  at  once  and  completely. 


Ch.  v.] 


MATTHEW. 


119 


40  And  if  any  man  will  sue  thee  at  the  law,  and  take  j  40  on  thy  right  cheek,  turn  to  biiu  the  other  also.  And 
away  thy  coat,  let  him  have  Ihy  cloak  also.  {       if  any  mau  would  go  to  law  with  thee,  and  take  away 


How  then  are  we  to  interpret  the  language 
here  employed?  It  is  not  enough  to  say  that 
our  Lord  cannot  have  meant  tills  as  an  abso- 
lute and  general  rule,  for  while  that  is  plain, 
the  question  recurs,  what  did  he  mean?  It 
will  not  do  to  declare  the  language  merely 
ligurative,  for  we  have  no  warrant  whatever 
for  calling  plain  statements  figurative — a  pro- 
cess by  which  the  most  vital  doctrines  and 
precepts  of  Scripture  might  be  explained 
away.  Two  remarks  will  help  to  clear  up  tlie 
difficulty.  (1)  Our  Saviour's  teachings  in  gen- 
eral (as  well  as  the  teachings  of  his  apostles), 
are  not  simply  didactic,  Jbut  polemical,  aimed 
at  existing  errors  and  evils;  and  while  in- 
tended to  be  universal  in  their  application, 
they  will  be  understood  in  their  exact  bearing 
only  when  viewed  in  contrast  to  the  wrong 
opinion,  feeling,  or  practice  he  was  especially 
designing  in  each  case  to  correct.  Many  pas- 
sages of  Scripture  fail  to  be  rightly  interpreted 
because  this  principle  is  not  apprehended  or 
not  borne  in  mind.  In  the  present  case,  Jesus 
aims  to  correct  the  revengeful  spirit  and  prac- 
tice to  which  the  Jews  were  greatly  addicted, 
and  which  they  justified  by  a  loose  application 
of  the  law  of  Moses.  (2)  Our  Lord  here,  as 
we  have  observed  in  former  instances  (see  on 
v.  29,  and  comp.  the  expressions  in  6:  3,  6), 
selects  an  extreme  case,  in  order  to  exhibit 
more  vividly  the  principle  by  which  we 
should  be  guided.  So  far  from  vengeful  re- 
sistance and  retaliation  being  right,  it  would 
be  better,  if  that  were  the  alternative,  volun- 
tarily to  submit  ourselves  to  a  yet  greater 
wrong.  Better  to  turn  the  other  cheek,  to 
give  up  the  other  garment,  to  double  the  im- 
pressing officer's  requisition,  than  to  permit 
ourselves  to  practice  that  passionate  resistance 
and  that  revengeful  retaliation  to  which  we 
are  all  prone,  and  which  the  Jewish  teachers 
defended.  The  case  is  an  extreme  one,  and 
very  unlikely  to  occur ;  but  if  even  this  would 
be  right,  rather  than  be  revengeful,  all  the  more 
i«  it  our  duty  to  do  things  less  difficult,  since 
the  greater  includes  the  less.  Dykes:  "Of 
course,  when  an  instance  is  selected  to  illus- 
trate a  principle,  the  instance  is  usually  an  ex- 
treme or  next  to  impossible  one  ;  both  because 
a  principle  is  best  seen  when  pushed  to  its 
ultimate  application,  and  also  because  there  is 


less  chance  of  people  blindlj'  copying  the  ex- 
ample when  its  extravagance  drives  them  to 
search  for  some  inner  meaning  in  it."  On  v. 
24  we  saw  that  if  prompt  reconciliation  is  so 
important  as  to  make  it  right  to  interrupt  a  sac- 
rifice in  order  to  settle  a  difficulty  just  then 
remembered,  much  more  is  it  our  duty,  under 
all  ordinary  circumstances,  to  seek  reconcilia- 
tion without  delay.  And  so  here.  If  it  would 
be  proper,  were  that  the  alternative,  even  to 
expose  ourselves  voluntarily  to  the  grossest 
additional  insult  and  wrong,  such  as  is  here 
described,  rather  than  be  revengeful,  then 
much  more  is  it  our  duty  to  bear  wrong  and 
insult  that  have  already  been  inflicted,  rather 
than  exercise  a  spirit  of  revenge.  To  resist, 
to  resent,  to  punish,  whether  in  national  ur  in- 
dividual afl'airs,  is  not  necessarily  and  inher- 
ently sinful,  but  is  useful,  when  properly 
regulated,  to  society,  and  even  to  the  wrong- 
doer himself;  and  so  it  is  sometimes  a  duty  to 
punish,  even  when  we  should  prefer  to  do 
otherwise.  But  to  resist  or  resent  in  a  pas- 
sionate and  revengeful  spirit  is  deeply  sinful, 
and  a  sin  to  which  men  are  so  strongly  in- 
clined that  it  ought  to  be  guarded  against  with 
the  utmost  care.  And  yet  many  professing 
Christians  not  only  act  when  excited,  but  de- 
liberately and  habitually  avow  their  intention 
to  act,  in  the  way  which  is  here  so  pointedly 
condemned — more  sensitive  as  to  what  the 
world  calls  insult  and  dishonor,  than  to  the 
teachings  of  infinite  wisdom,  the  solemn  com- 
mands of  the  Divine  Kedeemer.  O,  cowardly 
audacity  1  afraid  to  incur  the  world's  petty 
frown,  and  not  afraid  to  displease  God. 

40.  Sue  thee  at — or,  go  to — law.  Some  un- 
derstand it  to  include  private  arbitration  of 
difficulties,  as  well  as  suits  at  law — and  cer- 
tainlj'  the  same  term  does  cover  both  in  1 
Cor.  6:  1,  6 — but  the  connection  here  seems  to 
point  directly  and  exclusively  to  a  suit  at  law. 
We  have  already  had  a  reference  to  legal  pro- 
cesses in  V.  25.  There  is  a  Latin  proverb  which 
resembles  this  saying,  viz.,  "  If  one  sues  j'ou 
for  the  egg,  give  him  the  hen  also."  Coat. 
The  Greek  denotes  the  inner  garment  worn 
by  a  Jew  in  those  days,  resembling  what  tlie 
Romans  called  'tunic'  and  c()rros))onding 
most  nearly  to  a  long  shirt,  which  usually 
reached  somewhat  below  the  knee,  but  in  the 


120 


MATTHEW. 


41  And  whosoever  shall  compel  thee  to  go  a  mile,  go 
with  hliu  twain. 

42  (jive  to  him  that  asketh  thee,  and  from  him  that 
would  borrow  of  thee  turn  not  thou  away. 


41  thy  coat,  let  him  have  thy  cloak  also.    And  whoso>' 
ever  shall  i  compel  thee  to  go  one  mile,  go  with  him     ♦ 

42  twaiu.    (iive  to  him  that  asketh  thee,  and  from  him 
that  would  borrow  of  thee  turn  not  thou  away. 


more  elegant  article  for  dress  occasions, 
reached  almost  to  the  ground.  It  was  some- 
times worn  loose,  but  commonly  confined 
around  the  waist  with  a  girdle.  (3 : «.)  In  some 
cases  two  of  these  were  worn  (see  on  10 :  10), 
but  in  general  only  one.  It  is  this  garment 
of  our  Saviour  which  is  said  to  have  been 
without  seam.  (Joun  19:23.)  The  other  Greek 
word,  rendered  cloak,  is  sometimes  used  to 
signify  a  garment  in  general,  as  in  9:  16;  17  : 
2;  24  :  18 ;  26:  65  ;  27  :  31,  35.  In  other  ca.ses, 
as  9:  20,  21;  14:  36;  21:  7,  8,  it  denotes  the 
outer  garment,  which  appears  (for  our  knowl- 
edge of  Hebrew  dress  is  quite  imperfect)  to 
have  been  for  some  persons  a  loose  robe,  and 
with  others  a  large  square  piece  of  cloth,  re- 
sembling a  large  shawl,  wrapped  around  the 
person  with  more  or  less  of  taste  and  com- 
fort. In  John  13:  4,  12,  there  appear  to  have 
been  several  garments ;  for  Jesus  would  not 
lay  aside  the  inmost  garment.  But  the  outer 
and  inner  garment  here  mentioned  were  com- 
monly all,  and  the  outer  one  was  frequently 
used  by  the  poor  and  travelers  as  a  covering 
at  night — ^just  as  shawls  are  used  bj'  travelers 
now.  So  the  law  of  Moses  provided  (Ex.22:  -26, 
that  if  it  were  taken  in  pawn,  it  should  be  re- 
turned before  sunset.  Such  being  the  law, 
the  Jewish  tribunals  would  naturally  allow 
the  inner  garment  to  betaken  by  judicial  pro- 
cess rather  than  the  outer  one,  and  that  will 
explain  the  order  in  which  they  are  here  men- 
tioned. Luke  (6: 29)  says  nothing  of  a  suit  at 
law,  but  onlj'  speaks  of  taking  away  the  gar- 
ments, and  hence  mentions  them  in  the  order 
in  which  they  would  naturally  be  removed 
from  the  person,  the  outer  garment  first. — It  is 
matter  of  common   observation   in  all   ages. 


41.  Shall  compel  thee  to  go — or,  im- 
press thee  for— a  mile.  "  A"  or  One,  is  in  the 
original  emphatic  by  position.  Imj)ress.  The 
Greek  word  was  borrowed  into  Greek  and 
Latin  from  the  Persian,  to  denote  a  Persian 
practice  continued  by  the  Greek  and  Koman 
rulers  who  succeeded  them  in  Western  Asia. 
It  strictly  signified  to  make  one  a  public 
courier  (comp.  Esther  8:  10,  14),  and  hence  to 
make  one  temporarily  perform  a  courier's 
work,  or  help  a  courier  on  his  way,  witli 
horses  or  personal  labors,  etc. ;  and  finally  it 
was  applied  to  coercing  or  compelling  any 
public  service,  as  the  Roman  soldiers  com- 
pelled or  impressed  Simon  to  carry  the  cross. 
(27:32.)  Such  impressments  were  all  the  more 
odious  to  the  Jews  as  being  a  subjugated 
people,  suffering  this  harsh  treatment  from 
foreign  rulers.  During  the  great  Maccabean 
struggle,  one  of  the  rival  Sj'rian  kings  sought 
to  conciliate  the  Jews  by  promising  many 
exemptions,  including  this:  "And  I  order 
that  the  beasts  of  burden  of  the  Jews  be  not 
impressed"  (same  Greek  word,  Jos.  "Ant.," 
13,  2,  3.)  Impressment,  like  a  lawsuit,  is  apt 
to  produce  very  angry  and  revengeful  feel- 
ings; and  so  this  illustration  is  parallel  to  the 
foregoing. 

42.  The  word  rendered  borrow  would  in 
classical  Greek  naturally  suggest  interest,  but 
the  Jews  were  forbidden  (kx.  22;  25;  Lev.  25: 37; 
Deut.  23:19)  to  charge  interest  against  each  other 
(seeon25:  27).  Readiness  to  lend  was  strongly 
urged  in  Deut.  15:  7-11,  and  tlie  idea  repeated 
by  subsequent  inspired  writers,  as  in  Psa.  37  : 
26;  112:  5.  Henry:  "  Lending  is  sometimes 
as  great  a  piece  of  charity  as  giving,  as  it  not 
only  relieves  the  present  exigence,  but  obliges 


that  a  man  who  is  threatened  with  an  unjust  the  borrower  to  providence,  industry,  and 
lawsuit  will  show  a  peculiar  animosity,  and  if  honest}'."  We  are  here  required  to  give,  and 
he  thinks  himself  unjustly  treated  in  the  sen-  to  lend,  not  menOy  where  it  is  pleasant  to  do 
tence,  a  peculiar  rancor  and  revengefulness,  !  so,  but  where  it  is  unpleasant,  the  latter  being 


declaring  that  he  will  yet  make  his  adversary 
suflTer  for  it.  Rather  than  feel  and  act  thus, 
our  Lord  says  it  would  be  better  even  volunta- 
rily to  give  far  more  than  the  aggressor  is 
awarded.      (Comp.   1  Cor.  6:7.)      How  evil 


the  idea  apparently  suggested  by  the  connec- 
tion with  what  precedes.  But  that  the  in- 
junction is  not  intended  to  be  absolute  and 
without  exception,  is  shown  bj'  the  case  of 
God  himself,  who  promises,  in  terms  as  un- 


then  must  be  this  rancorous  spirit,  and  how    limited  as  these,  to  give  whatever  we  ask  in 
carefully  should  Christians  avoid  it.  I  the  name  of  Jesus,  and  yet  actually  does  give 


!w:;h. 


v.] 


MATTHEW. 


121 


43  Ye  have  heard  that  it  hath  been  said,  Thou  shalt 
love  thy  neisrlibour,  and  hate  thine  enemy. 

44  But  I  say  say  unto  you,  Love  your  enemies,  bless 
them  that  curse  you,  do  good  to  them  that  hate  you, 
and  pray  for  them  which  despitefuUy  use  you  and  per- 
secute you ; 


43  Ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said.  Thou  shalt  love 

44  thy  neighbour,  and  hate  thine  enemy :    but  I  say 
unto  you,  Love  your  enemies,  and  pray  for  them 


only  when  he  sees  it  to  be  proper.  To  give  to 
those  who  "ask  amiss"  (James  4 -.  s)  would  be  no 
real  kindness  to  them — nor  in  us.  As  in  v.  45 
and  elsewhere,  God's  example  explains  the 
meaning  of  his  precepts. 

43.  Here  begins  the  fifth  and  last  example 
(see  on  v.  21),  viz.,  Love  of  Enemies.  This 
is  closely  related  to  the  preceding,  (v.  38-42.) 
Stier:  "  As  this  is  to  close  the  distinctive  ref- 
erence to  the  commandments,  it  is  not  one  of 
the  individual  commandments  of  the  Deca- 
logue which  is  introduced,  as  the  first  quota- 
tions had  been  ;  but  the  epitome  of  the  whole 
second  table,  as  Moses  had  already  specified  it, 
viz.,  the  law  o{  love,  of  that  one  central  dispo- 
sition of  mind,  which  should  evidence  itself  in 
every  good  word  and  work." 

That  it  hath  been  said.  See  on  v.  21. 
Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor,  is  from  Lev. 
19:  18.  But  the  Jewish  teachers,  with  their 
customary  efi'orts  to  explain  away  the  rigorous 
requirements  of  the  law  (comp.  the  case,  of 
oaths,  V.  33 ff.),  here  insisted  upon  a  strict  and 
liiiiited  sense  of  the  term  'neighbor.'  The 
lawyer  who  came  to  Jesus  (Lukeio:  25  ff.),  made 
it  all  turn  upon  this:  I  am  to  love  my  neigh- 
bor, but  who  is  my  neighbor?  Our  Lord's 
answer  there  shows,  as  he  teaches  here,  that 
in  the  sense  of  the  law  even  an  enemy  is  our 
neighbor.  But  the  Jewish  teachers  held  that 
an  enemy  was  not  a  neighbor,  and  that  the 
command  to  love  the  latter  implied  permis- 
sion to  withhold  it  from  the  former.  So  as 
they  publicly  repeated  and  expounded  the 
law,  they  would  make  the  addition,  "Thou 
shalt  love  thy  neighbor — and  hate  thine 
enemy."  This  they  would  perhaps  seek  to 
justify  by  pointing  to  the  severe  treatment  of 
the  Canaanites  which  God  enjoined  upon  Is- 
rael ;  but  that  was  an  exceptional  case.  The 
commandment  to  love  the  neighbor  was  ex- 
tended in  Lev.  19:  3^,  34  to  strangers,  yet  that 
meant  strangers  sojourning  in  Israel. — With 
such  teachings  prevalent  as  .lesus  here  de- 
scribes, we  can  understand  how  the  Jews  came 
to  be  charged  by  Tacitus  with  "  hatred  to  the 
human  race."     (See  further  on  22:  39.) 

44.  But  I  say.    See  on  v.  21.     The  clauses 


omitted  from  this  verse  in  Kev.  Ver.  are 
wanting  in  the  e^trliest  manuscripts  and  ver- 
sions, and  were  manifestly  borrowed  in  later 
copies  from  Luke  6:  27  ff.  They  are  a  real 
part  of  the  discourse,  but  not  of  Matthew's 
report  of  it. — This  injunction  finds  no  real 
parallel  among  the  teachings  of  heathen 
sages.  Those  alleged  have  been  misunder- 
stood or  over-stated.  The  Emperor  Julian 
(the  "apostate"),  while  borrowing  the  idea 
from  the  gospel  he  rejected,  felt  that  it  would 
sound  strange  to  his  heathen  readers^,  for  he 
says  in  one  of  his  writings:  "  I  would  afl[irm, 
even  though  it  be  a  strange  thing  to  say, 
that  even  to  one's  enemies  it  would  be  right 
to  give  clothing  and  food." — Some  urge  that 
the  Old  and  the  New  Testaments  are  in  con- 
flict on  this  point,  appealing,  for  example,  to 
the  imprecations  and  expressions  of  hate 
which  are  found  in  the  Psalms.  But  the  ex- 
ample of  God  himself  shows  that  an  abhor- 
rence of  confirmed  wickedness  and  a  desire 
for  its  punishment  may  co-exist  with  pitying 
love  and  persevering  kindness;  and  difficult 
as  it  may  be  for  man  to  cherish  both  feelings 
at  once,  it  is  not  more  difficult  than  some 
other  duties.  And  the  Old  Test,  repeatedly 
teaches  to  show  kindness  to  an  enemy,  as  in 
Ex.  23:  4f. ;  Lev.  19:  18;  Prov.  24:  17,  29; 
25:  21  f.;  (comp.  Kom.  12:  20);  Job  31:  29; 
Psa.  7:  4;  1  Sam.  2i:  6,  while  the  New  Test. 
has  passages  corresponding  to  the  impreca- 
tions in  the  Psalms,  as  when  Paul  comforts  the 
Thessalonians  with  the  thought  that  God  will 
terribly  punish  their  persecutors  (2Thes».  i:6-io), 
or  when  the  martyred  souls  under  the  altar 
cry  (Rev. 8: 10.  Rev.  Ver.),  "How  hmg,  O  Master, 
the  holy  and  true,  dost  thou  not  judge  and 
avenge  our  blood  on  them  that  dwell  on  the 
earth?"  (See  also  on  1  Cor.  Kl:  22;  2  Tim. 
4:  14;  Luke  18:  7.)  The  difference  is  there- 
fore of  kind,  and  not  of  degree ;  the  law 
speaks  more  of  severity,  the  gospel  more  of 
kindness,  though  neither  wholly  lacks  that 
which  is  most  prominent  in  the  other. 
(Comp.  on  5:  4.)  Still,  it  is  notably  charac- 
teristic of  the  gospel  that  it  enjoins  not 
simply  justice,  but  love. 


122 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  V. 


45  That  ye  may  be  the  children  of  your  Father  which 
is  iu  heaven  :  for  he  maketh  his  sun  to  rise  on  the  evil 
and  ou  the  good,  and  sendeth  rain  on  the  just  and  on 
the  unjust. 

46  For  if  ye  love  them  which  love  you,  what  reward 
have  ye?  do  not  even  the  publicans  the  same? 


45  that  persecute  you ;  that  ye  may  be  sons  of  your 
Father  who  is  in  heaven  :  for  he  maketh  his  sun  to 
rise  on  the  evil  and  the  good,  and  sendeth  rain  on  the 

46  just  and  the  unjust.  For  if  ye  love  them  that  love 
you,  what  reward  have  ye?  do  not  even  the  i  publi* 


1  That  in,  coUectort  or  renters  of  Soman  taxes :  and  so  elsewhere. 


45.  His  sun,  reminding  us  by  the  way  that 
God  possesses  and  controls  the  sun.  We  com- 
monly say  "it  rains,"  etc.,  but  Jesus  here 
refers  the  agencies  of  nature  directly  to  God.^ 
Sendeth  rain— literally — and  rains.  Sun- 
shine and  rain  are  naturally  chosen  as  among 
the  chief  providential  blessings.  (Comp.  Acts 
14:  17.) — One  element  and  proof  of  sonship  is 
resemblance,  as  it  is  said  (Eph. 5:i),  'Be  ye 
therefore  followers  (imitators)  of  God,  as 
dear  children,'  and  we  are  urged  to  love  our 
enemies  and  treat  them  kindly,  in  order  that 
we  ma3^  be  acting  like  our  Heavenly  Father, 
for  he  loves  his  enemies,  and  sends  natural 
blessings  upon  them  as  well  as  upon  his 
friends.  Comp.  Luke  6:  35,  'for  he  is  kind 
toward  the  unthankful  and  evil.' — The  same 
idea  is  presented  by  Seneca:  "If  you  imitate 
the  gods,  give  benefits  even  to  the  ungrateful ; 
for  even  to  abandoned  wretches  the  sun  arises, 
and  to  pirates  the  seas  lie  open."  Sirach; 
"Be  to  orphans  as  a  father,  and  instead  of  a 
husband  to  their  mother;  and  thou  shalt  be 
as  a  son  of  the  Highest,  and  thy  mother  shall 
love  thee  more  and  more."  The  Talmud: 
"A  thousand  thousand,  and  myriads  are 
bound  to  praise  thy  name  for  every  drop  of 
rain  thou  sendest  down  upon  us,  because  thou 
renderest  good  to  the  wicked." — But  the  love 
of  God  to  his  enemies  is  not  the  same  as  to 
his  friends,  the  one  being  a  love  of  compas- 
sion and  benevolence,  the  other  a  love  of 
complacency;  he  bestows  benefits  upon  the 
wicked,  he  delights  in  the  good.  And  in  like 
manner  we  are  not  bidden  to  take  admiring 
delight  in  our  enemies,  but  to  cherjsh  no  re- 
vengeful and  malignant  feeling  towards  them, 
and  to  do  anything  we  can  for  their  welfare — 
that  is,  of  course,  when  it  would  not  aid  in 
the  accomplishment  of  their  evil  designs 
against  us.  This  is  not  inconsistent  with  re- 
straining and  even  punishing  them;  for  God 
does  so  with  his  enemies. 

46.  Two  other  reasons  for  loving  our  ene- 
mies.    (1)  Otherwise  what  reward  have  ye  ? 


It  is  implied  that  if  we  love  our  enemies,  we 
have  a  religious  reward  (comp.  v.  12  and  6: 
1;  and  Luke  6:  32,  35).  The  Scriptures  do 
not  leave  men  to  the  mere  unaided  sense  of 
duty  as  a  motive  to  do  right,  but  appeal  also 
to  their  hopes  and  fears.  Thus  Moses  (Heb. »: 
26,  Rev.  ver.),  '  lookcd  unto  the  recompense  of 
reward,'  and  even  Jesus  (Heb.  12:2),  'for  the 
joy  that  was  set  before  him  endured  the  cross, 
despising  the  shame.'  (Comp.  on  5:  29.)  To 
say  that  this  "  vitiates  morality"  is  to  propose 
a  philosophy  of  human  conduct  at  variance 
with  human  nature.  (2)  Even  the  publi- 
cans. It  is  important  to  understand  the 
odium  which  attached  among  the  Jews  to  the 
office  of  publican.  The  Romans  farmed  out 
the  privilege  of  collecting  taxes,  as  is  now 
done  in  some  Oriental  countries.  The  right  to 
collect  a  particular  kind  or  kinds  of  revenue 
in  a  particular  province  was  sold  at  Rome  to 
some  individual  or  joint-stock  company  of  the 
better  class  of  citizens  (equites),  who  were 
hence  called  "publicans,"  or  collectors  of  the 
public  revenue.  These  parties  sent  out  agents 
who  employed  as  subordinates  either  Roman 
citizens  of  the  lower  class,  or  natives  of  the 
province.  Thesubordinates  werenotin  Roman 
usage  called  publicani,  but  portitores.  Yet  as 
the  same  Greek  word  is  applied  to  both,  the 
Latin  versions  called  both  classes  publicans, 
and  we  do  likewise.  The  tax-gatherers  we 
meet  in  the  Gospel  history  are  doubtless  all  of 
the  subordinate  class,  even  Zaccheus  being 
probably  a  chief  of  the  portitores.  (Liikei9:  %.) 
Tax-collectors  are  in  all  countries  apt  to  be 
unpopular,  and  the.se  men  were  especially  so 
among  the  Jews.  They  constantly  reminded 
the  people  of  their  subjugation  to  the  Romans, 
and  a  proud  people,  whose  history  told  of 
David  and  Solomon  and  the  Maccabees,  could 
never  think  of  this  without  mortification. 
They  often  practiced  extortion  (LukeS:  is;  i9:  8), 
encouraged  thereto  by  the  fact  that  their  em- 
ployers paid  the  government  a  fixed  sum,  and 
had  all  they  could  get.    No  native  would  take 


iSee  Matt.  6:  26,  30,  and  in  Gen.  2:5;  Job  36:  27;  37:  6ff.;  Psa.  104:  10  ff. 


Ill 


Ch.  v.] 


MATTHEW. 


123 


47  And  if  ye  salute  your  brethren  only,  what  do  ye 
more  than  others  f  do  not  even  the  publicans  so  ? 

48  Be  ye  therefore  perfect,  even  as  your  Father  which 
is  in  heaven  is  perfect. 


47  cans  the  same?  And  if  ye  salute  your  brethren  only, 
what  do  ye  more  than  others*  do  not  even  the  Geu- 

48  tiles  the  same?    Ye  therefore  shall  be  perfect,  as 
your  heavenly  Father  is  perfect. 


such  an  office  if  he  cared  much  for  public 
opinion,  and  those  who  did  so  were  usually 
renegades,  or  very  lax  as  to  observance  of  the 
law.  Accordingly,  while  the  publicani  at 
Eome,  who  really  served  the  State,  and  some- 
times advanced  large  sums  to  relieve  the  pub- 
lic finances,  are  highly  commended  by  Cicero 
and  others,  we  find  that  in  all  the  provinces 
the  subordinates  were  hated  and  shunned,  and 
particularly  in  Palestine.  The  Jews  classed 
them  with  heathen  (v.  47  and  is:  n)  and  with  har- 
lots (21: 31),  and  one  of  the  reproaches  cast  on 
Jesus  was  that  he  was  a  'friend  of  publicans 
and  sinners.'  (h:  w)  Matthew  was  himself  a 
publican  (9:  »;  lO:  3),  though  he  may  have  been 
a  man  of  better  character  than  was  usual 
among  them.  Matthew  heard  this  discourse, 
yet  Jesus  did  not  on  that  account  use  softened 
expressions  about  the  class  to  which  he  had 
belonged.  The  later  Jewish  writers  class  them 
with  robbers  and  murderers,  and  affirm  that 
they  were  not  allowed  to  give  testimony,  and 
were  excluded  from  the  synagogues.  —  Our 
Lord  is  thus  declaring  that  to  love  those  who 
love  us  proves  no  higher  grade  of  morality 
than  that  occupied  by  the  most  despised,  by 
publicans  and  by  heathen.  (»•«•)  Luke(6:32f.) 
uses  the  more  general  term,  '  sinners.'  In 
loving  his  friends  a  man  may  in  a  certain 
sense  be  loving  only  himself — a  kind  of  ex- 
panded selfishness. 

47.  This  repeats,  in  another  form,  the 
thought  of  the  preceding  sentence,  such  am- 
plification being  common  in  Scripture  (see  on 
V.  30),  and  being  very  effective  in  popular  dis- 
course. Publicans  —  rather.  Gentiles;  the 
reading  of  the  earliest  Greek  manuscripts  and 
versions  would  easily  be  changed  to  '  publi- 
cans,' to  correspond  with  v.  46.  The  Jews 
regarded  other  nations  with  dislike  and  con- 
tempt, and  so  'the  nations  '  would  sometimes 
be  a  term  of  contempt,  which  in  English  we 
express  by  'Gentiles.'  When  Christianity 
became  prevalent  in  the  IW>man  Empire,  the 
old  Roman  religion  still  survived  in  many  re- 
mote country  districts  (pagi,  pagani),  and  so 
its  supporters  were  called  '  pagans,'  or  in  Eng- 
lish '  heathen  '  (living  in  the  heath  or  uncul- 
tivated country).  Accordingly  the  same 
Greek  word  is  translated  'nations'  in  21:  43; 


24:  7,  9,  14;  25:  32;  28:  19;  and  'Gentiles'  in 
4:  15;  5:  47,  Kev.  Ver. ;  6:  32;  10:  5,18;  12: 
18,  21 ;  20:  19,  25.  A  derivative  was  rendered 
in  all  the  early  English  versions  by  '  heathen  ' 
in  6:7;  18:17,  which  gives  the  Christian 
point  of  view,  but  the  Rev.  Ver.  restores  the 
Jewish  stand-point  by  rendering  'Gentiles.' 
(It  does  the  same  in  Acts  4:  '25;  2  Cor.  11: 
26;  Gal.  1:  16;  2:  9;  3:  8.)— To  salute  a 
person  is  a  stronger  mark  of  kind  feelings 
according  to  Oriental  manners  than  among 
us,  their  salutations  being  usually  elaborate, 
and  therefore  given  only  to  express  high  re- 
spect. Jews  did  not  generally  salute  Gentiles, 
and  Mohammedans  as  a  rule  do  not  salute 
Christians;  and  the  Apostle  John  (ajohuior.) 
forbids  not  only  hospitality  but  'greeting' 
(same  word  as  in  James  1:1;  Acts  15:  23)  to 
teachers  of  those  antichristian  and  grossly 
immoral  notions  which  prevailed.  To  ex- 
press the  importance  of  'salute'  in  this  verse, 
Tyndale  and  Geneva  give  a  sort  of  para- 
phrase, 'if  ye  be  friendly  to  your  brethren 
only,'  and  Great  Bible,  '  if  ye  make  much  of,' 
etc. — Luke  (6. 34  r.)  here  gives  some  other  ex- 
pressions which  still  further  amplify  the 
thoughts  expressed  in  this  and  the  two  pre- 
ceding verses.  It  is  not  difficult  to  under- 
stand that  each  Evangelist  has  given  only 
a  part  of  what  was  spoken. 

48.  Be  ye  perfect.  Ye  shall  be  (so  Tyn- 
dale, Great  Bible,  Geneva,  and  Rev.  Ver. ),  is 
a  literal  translation  of  the  Greek  Future, 
which  is  in  such  a  case  substantially  equiva- 
lent to  an  imperative.  The  form  of  expres- 
sion may  carry  an  allusion  to  Deut.  18  :  18. 
Ye  is  emphatic,  meaning  Christ's  disciples  as 
ccmtrasted  with  publicans  and  Gentiles. 
Therefore,  presents  this  as  a  conclusion  from 
what  precedes:  since  you  ought  to  be  at  a 
higher  point  of  morality  than  publicans  and 
Gentiles,  and  ought  to  be  like  your  Father  in 
heaven  (comp.  v.  45),  therefore  you  shall  be 
perfect,  etc.  Father  which  is  in  heaven. 
The  reading  Heavenly  Father  of  many  early 
manuscripts  and  versions,  was  easily  changed 
to  the  more  common  'Father  which  is  in 
heaven'  of  v.  45;  6:9,14.  The  term  ren- 
dered perfect  is  used  in  a  variety  of  connec- 
tions, and  its  precise  meaning  must  always  be 


124 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  V. 


determined  by  the  particular  connection. 
Sometimes  it  is  simply  'complete,'  without 
any  moral  element,  Heb.  9:  11,  and  perhaps 
James  1 :  17.  In  other  cases  it  means  com- 
plete in  growth  of  body  or  mind,  '  full- 
grown.'  (l  Cor.  14:  20;    Epb.  4:13;  Heb.5:  14;  6:  1;1  Cor. 

»:  6.)  In  yet  others,  complete  morally,  as 
Matt.  19:  21;  Col.  1:  28;  4:  12;  James  1:  4, 
25;  3:  2.  And  there  are  passages  in  which  it 
seems  to  mean  complete  in  both  knowledge 
and  moral  excellence,  as  Phil.  3 :  15,  and  per- 
haps 1  Cor.  13 :  10.  Here,  it  is  moral  perfec- 
tion in  general,  but  with  specific  reference  to 
love  —  i.  e.,  not  loving  friends  only,  which 
would  be  an  imperfect  love,  but  loving  ene- 
mies also,  as  our  Heavenly  Father  does.  Luke 
(6:36)  gives  only  this  specific  thought,  'merci- 
ful.' But  it  does  not  seem  proper  to  restrict 
Matthew's  general  term  to  this  thought  alone. 
In  all  things,  love  included,  we  ought  to  be 
perfect,  even  as  our  Heavenly  Father  is — to  be 
like  him,  and  so  prove  ourselves  to  be  his 
children.  Our  own  minds  demand  a  perfect 
standard,  such  as  the  divine  nature  presents  ; 
and  however  far  we  may  actually  fall  short 
of  attaining  it,  yet  he  who  is  content  with 
coming  short  gives  no  evidence  that  he  is  a 
child  of  God. 

Thus  ends  the  series  of  striking  particulars 
fv.  21-48)  in  which  our  Lord  compares  his  teach- 
ings with  the  law  and  the  current  explana- 
tions of  it,  so  as  to  show  that  far  from  design- 
ing to  relax  the  obligations  of  moralitj,  his 
requirements  were  still  more  stringent,  ex- 
tending, not  merely  to  the  outward  act,  but 
to  the  motive  and  feeling ;  not  merely  to  what 
the  letter  of  the  law  required,  but  to  all  that 
it  designed  and  involved.  (See  on  v.  17.)  As 
this  portion  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  has 
especial  reference  to  Jewish  ideas,  Luke,  who 
wrote  not  for  Jews  in  particular  (as  Matthew 
did),  but  for  general  circulation,  has  given  no 
report  of  it,  except  of  what  was  said  on  the 
subject  of  love  to  enemies,  and  this  he  intro- 
duces as  general  instruction,  without  any  allu- 
sion to  the  Jewish  misinterpretations  of  the 
law  and  mistaken  expectations,  which  with 
his  design  would  have  been  out  of  place. 

HOMILETICAL   AN©   PRACTICAL. 

V.  3^41.  Four  kinds  of  Retaliation.  (1) 
Natural  passion  says,  Requite  the  like,  and 
worse.    (2)  The  law  of  Moses  says.  Let  the 


judge  requite  precisely  the  like.  (3)  Christ 
says.  Do  not  (revengefullj')  requite  the  like 
at  all — better  receive  the  like  a  second  time. 
(4)  The  apostle  Peter  says  (iPet. »:9),  "Not 
rendering  evil  for  evil,  but  contrariwise  bless- 
ing." This  is  the  Christian  retaliation. — Self- 
defense,  and  punishment  in  ways  regulated 
by  law,  are  not  forbidden  in  forbidding  hate 
and  revenge.  But  do  not  "take  the  law  in 
your  own  hands,"  and  do  not  press  the  execu- 
tion of  the  law  in  a  revengeful  spirit.  Chrys. 
"  Nothing  so  restrains  the  wrong-doers,  as 
when  the  injured  bear  what  is  done  with  gen- 
tleness. And  it  not  onlj'^  restrains  them  from 
rushing  onward,  but  works  upon  them  also  to  • 
repent  for  what  has  gone  before,  and,  in  won-  ' 
der  at  such  forbearance,  to  draw  back.  And 
it  makes  them  more  our  own,  and  causes  them 
to  be  slaves — not  merely  friends — instead  of 
haters  and  enemies.  Even  as  avenging  oneself 
does  just  the  contrary ;  for  it  disgraces  each 
of  the  two,  and  makes  them  worse,  and  their 
anger  it  brightens  into  a  greater  flame;  yea, 
often  no  less  than  death  itself  is  the  end  of  it, 
going  on  from  bad  to  worse."  Stier  :  "  That 
heathenish  law  of  honor,  which  will  not  ac- 
cept the  very  slightest  indignity,  but  even  in 
the  midst  of  modern  Christendom  demands 
the  duel  itself.  To  this  'point  of  honor' 
stands  opposed  the  patient  acceptance  and  en- 
durance of  insult,  as  the  genuine  Christian 
courage  and  knightly  honor.  Offer  him  the 
other  also — that  is,  in  thy  heart,  and  in  the 
disposition  of  thy  mind  ;  calmly  and  patiently 
wait  if  he  may  strike  thee  another  blow,  and 
be  ready  to  receive  that  also — so  far  let  thy 

spirit  be  from  opposing The  actual 

turning  of  the  other  cheek  might  be  no  other 
than  a  challenge  to  continued  sin,  conse- 
quently itself  sinful,  and  opposed  to  the  love 
of  our  neighbor.  There  might  even  be  a 
proud  despite  in  it,  or  a  mere  hypocritical  af- 
fectation." Dykes:  "  By  general  consent,  a 
blow  on  the  face  is  the  extreme  of  personal 

insults But  the  spirit  of  our  Lord's 

words  is  not  open  to  the  suspicion  of  being  a 
craven  spirit.  It  is  this  suspicion,  more,  I 
fancy,  than  any  thing  else,  which  is  apt  to 
discredit  the  teaching  of  this  text  with  gen- 
erous men.  Yet  here,  as  always,  it  is  sin,  not 
love,  that  is  the  real  coward.  He  who  best 
obeys  the  rule  of  Jesus  will  be  the  bravest 
man.     To  curb  temper;  to  govern  the  spirit 


Ch.  VI.] 


MATTHEW. 


125 


CHAPTEE  VI. 


TAKE  heed  that  ye  do  not  your  alms"  before  men,  to 
be  seen  of  them:  otherwise  ye  have  no  reward  ol' 
your  Father  which  is  in  heaven.  j 


1  Take  heed  that  ye  do  not  your  righteousness  be- 
fore men,  to  be  seen  of  them  :  else  ye  have  no  reward 
with  your  Father  who  is  in  heaven. 


a  Or,  righteotune»t..,.l  Or,  with. 


of  revenge,  even  under  Insult;  to  place  what 
is  better  t'lan  life,  personal  honor,  under  the 
control  of  a  love  which  is  patient  and  just  be- 
cause it  is  strong — stronger  than  passion  :  this 
is  true  valor  and  true  honor." 

V.  42.     Our  duty  to  Beggars.     I.   Counsels. 
(1)  "We  must  not  refuse  all  because  many  are 
impostors.     (2)  We  should  strive  to  ascertain 
who  are  really  needy  and  deserving,  and  to 
inform  others.     (3)  We  must  not  turn  beggars 
away  simply  because  offensive  or  annoying — 
this  would    be   a  very  petty  selfishness.     (4) 
Where  there    is   public    provision    for    beg- 
jgars  we  should  act  in  harmony  with  such  ar- 
rangements,   but    cannot    remit   the    matter 
!  wholly  to  them.     (5)  To  open  some  means  of 
j  supporting   themselves  is  far  better  than  to 
^support  them.    II.  Motives.    (1)  Humanity — 
Ithey  have  the  same  nature  as  ourselves,  essen- 
l-tially  the  same  sensitive  feelings,  pains  and 
tpleasures,  memories  and  hopes  and  destiny. 
'(2)  Piety.     Grateful  love  to  God.     We  are 
[beggars,  to  whom  he  gives  liberally,  and  we 
^must  return  to  him  by  giving  to  our  fellow- 
imen. — Borrowing  and  Lending.     It  is  more 
[blessed  to  lend  than  to  borrow.     Cautions  as 
[to  borrowing — encouragements  to  lend.  Comp. 
I  Luke  6:  35. 

V.  44.     Ctbil  :  "  Let  us  love  our  enemies, 

[not  as  adulterers  or  murderers,  but  as  men." 

-Chrys.:   "Have  you  seen  what  steps  he  has 

luscended,  and  how  he   has  placed   us  on  the 

Trery  summit  of  virtue?    Look  at  the  succes- 

wion  from  the  beginning.     The  first  step  is,  not 

Ito  begin  injuring  ;  the  second,  after  injury  has 

|been  begun,  not  to  defend  yourself  against 

the  injurer  by  like  actions;  the  third,  not  to 

inflict  on  the  wrong-doer  that  which  one  has 

luffered,  but  to  keep  quiet;  the  fourth,  even 

yield   oneself  to  suffer  evil;    the  fifth,  to 

rield  even  more    than   he  who  did  the  evil 

rishes;  the  sixth,  not  to  hate  him  who  does 

these  things;  the  seventh,  even  to  love  him  ; 

she  eighth,  even  to  do  him  good;  the  ninth, 

fen  to  pray  to  God  for  him.     Have  you  seen 

^he  height  of  Christian  philosophy?" — Love 

^our  enemies.     I.    Howf     (1)    Do  not  love 


what  is  wrong  in  them,  but  love  them  notwith- 
standing the  wrong.  (2)  Love  them  in  the 
same  way  that  God  loves   his  enemies.     II. 

Why  f  (1)  Because  fellow-men  ('neighbors' )i 
although  enemies.  (2)  In  order  to  be  like 
God,  his  children.  Jkrome:  "Many  say 
that  to  love  enemies  is  too  much  for  human 
nature ;  but  David  did  this  to  Saul  and  Ab- 
salom ;  Stephen  prayed  for  the  enemies  that 
were  stoning  him  ;  Jesus  both  taught  and  did 
it.  'Father,  forgive  them.'" — Henry:  "It 
was  said  of  Archbishop  Crar.mer,  that  the  way 
to  make  him  a  friend  was  to  do  him  an  ill 
turn  ;  so  many  did  he  serve  who  had  dis- 
obliged him." 

V.  45.  Natural  blessings,  as  sunshine  and 
rain.  The  modern  phrase  is  that  they  are 
caused  by  the  "laws  of  nature."  They  are 
caused  by  natural  forces,  which  we  perceive 
to  act  regularly,  and  these  regular  modes  of 
acting  we  call  laws.  But  who  appointed  the 
laws?  Who  created  the  forces,  and  made 
them  such  as  to  act  in  these  regular  ways? 
The  Scriptures  represent  the  Creator  as  work- 
ing in  the  forces  he  has  created  and  controls. 
— Sonship  to  God.  (1)  Shown  by  moral  like- 
ness to  him.  (2)  In  particular,  by  kindness 
to  our  fellow-men,  even  to  enemies. — V.  46  f. 
Natural  kindness  and  Christian  kindness. 
Cliristians  ought  assuredly  to  be  better  than 
men  in  general.  V.  48.  Imitating.  (1)  Do  not 
imitate  the  publicans  and  the  Gentiles.  (2) 
Imitate  your  Heavenly  Father. — Perfection. 
(1)  We  should  wish  to  be  perfect — and  pained 
with  our  imperfections.  (2)  We  should  try 
to  be  perfect — not  disheartened  by  past  fail- 
ures. (8)  We  may  hope  to  bo  perfect — as  we 
pass  into  the  perfect  world. 


Ch.  6:  1-4.  Good  Works  Without  Os- 
tentation.   I.  Alms-giving. 

Since  5:  17  (see  Analysis  at  beginning  of 
ch.  6),  our  Lord  has  been  showing  that  he  re- 
quires in  the  subjects  of  the  Messianic  reign, 
a  higher  and  more  spiritual  morality  than 
that  which  was  taught  and  practiced  by  the 
Scribes  and  Pharisees.    This  is  continued  in 


126 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch  VL 


2  Therefore  ■  when  thou  doest  thine  alius,  do  not  sound 
a  trumpet  before  thee,  as  the  hypocrites  do  iu  the  syna- 
gogues and  iu  the  streets,  that  they  may  have  glory  of 
men.    Verily  I  say  unto  you,  They  have  their  reward. 

3  But  when  thou  doest  alms,  let  not  thy  left  hand 
know  what  thy  right  hand  doetn  : 

4  That  thine  alms  may  be  in  secret:  and  thy  Father 
vhlkh  seeth  in  secret  himself  shall  reward  thee  openly. 


2  When  therefore    thou  doest  alms,  sound  not  at 
trumpet  before  thee,  as  the   hypocrites  do  in   the 
synagogues  and  in  tue  streets,  that  they  may  have 
glory  of  men.    Verily  1  say  unto  you,  They  have 

3  received  their  reward.    But  when  thou  doest  aloifi, 
let  not  thy  left  hand  know  what  thy  right  hand  i 

4  doeth :  that  thine  alms  may  be  in  secret :  and  thy  ' 
Father  who  seeth  in  secret  shall  recompense  thee. 


a  Or,  eatue  not  a  trumpet  to  be  eounded. 


6:  1-18;  and  as  5:  20  introduced  the  first  main 
section,  (8:-»-*8),  so  v.  1  introduces  the  second. 
(6:i-i8.j  In  5:  20  it  is  said  that  their  ripfhteous- 
ness  must  exceed  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees; 
accordingly  (Weiss,  Lutteroth)  5:  20-48  gives 
examples  from  the  teachings  of  the  Scribes, 
and  6:  1-18  from  the  practice  of  the  Phari- 
sees. The  general  principle  of  verse  1  is  illus- 
trated by  applying  it  to  three  exercises  highly 
valued  among  the  Jews  (commended  together 
in  Tobit  12:  8),  viz.,  almsgiving  (v-*-*),  prayer 
(5-15),  and  fasting,  (lo-is.)  Each  of  these,  he 
Bays,  should  be  performed,  not  with  a  view  to 
human  approbation  and  reward,  but  to  that 
of  God.  Calvin:  "A  very  necessary  admo- 
nition; for  in  all  virtues  the  entrance  of  am- 
bition is  to  be  avoided,  and  there  is  no  work 
so  laudable  as  not  to  be  in  many  instances 
corrupted  and  polluted  by  it." 

1.  Your  righteousness,!  {  g  righteous 
actions  or  good  deeds  (as  in  5:  6,  10,  20),  in- 
cluding such  as  alms-giving,  prayer,  and 
fasting.*  To  do  righteousness  is  a  phrase  of 
frequent  occurrence,  as  in  Psa.  106:3;  Isa. 
58:  2;  1  John  2:  29;  3:  7,  10.  To  be  seen 
of  them.  More  fully  rendered,  'with  a 
view  to  be  looked  at  (or  gazed  at)  by  them' ; 
the  Greek  construction  is  the  same  as  in  6: 
28;  23:  5,  conveying  distinctly  the  idea  of 
purpose,  design ;  and  the  Greek  verb  is  a 
strong  word  (the  root  from  which  comes 
theatre),  and  suggests  the  being  gazed  at  as  a 
spectacle.  So  'hypocrite'  is  originally 'actor,' 
one  who  plays  a  part.     This  meaning  of  'to 


be  seen,'   is  very  strongly   brought  out   by 
Tyndale,  Great  Bible,  and  Geneva,   'to  thej 
intent  that,'  etc. ;  and  for  'seen'  Geneva  says, 
'looked  at.'     What  our  Lord  forbids  is  there- j 
fore  not  publicity  in  performing  good  deeds, 
which  is  often  necessary  and  therefore  proper, 
but  ostentatious  publicity,  for  the  purpose  of  i 
attracting   attention    and  gaining    applause. 
This  obviously  does  not  conflict  with  5:  16, 
where  the  object  to  be  had  in  view  is  that. 
God  may  be  glorified,  not  ourselves.     (See  on 
that    passage.)      No     reward    of— or,   with, 
(comp.  margin  of  Com.  Ver.),  as  if  laid  upj 
in  God's  presence  for  you.     Comp.  5:  12,  46;  1  j 
Pet.  1 :  4.~The  Greek  and  Roman  philosophera 
and  the  Jewish  writers  have  many  maxims 
upon  the  importance  of  being  unostentatious 
in  virtue,  especially  in  deeds  of  benevolence. 
A  desire  for  the  approbation  of  our  fellow- 
men  is  not  in  itself  wrong,  and  not  incompati- 
ble with  piety,   but  it  should  be  completely' 
subordinated  to  the  desire  that  God  may  ap- 
prove us,  and  that  he  may  be  glorified  in  us. 
This  entire  subordination  is  manifestly  verj' 
diflicult,  and  hence  many  think  it  easier  to  de- 
nounce ambition  altogether,  forgetting  thatj 
ambition  is  an  original  principle  of  our  na-J 
ture,  to  destroy  which  would  be  as  injurious; 
as  it  is  impossible.     But  while  not  inherently; 
sinful,  ambition,  like  anger  (see  on  6 :  22),  is  ■ 
exceedingly  apt  to  become  sinful,  and  hence  j 
the  solemn  warning  here  given. 

JJ-4.  The  first  of  the  three  subjects  to  which 
our  Lord  applies  the  great  principle  of  v.  1  is, 


iThis  (comp.  Com.  Ver.  margin)  is  the  reading  of  the 
three  oldest  uncials  that  contain  the  passage  (B.  K  D.), 
of  the  Latin  versions  (nearly  all  copies)  and  Latin 
Fathers,  and  is  adopted  by  Lach.,  Tisch.,  Treg.,  W  H. 
It  might  easily  be  altered  to  the  word  meaning  '  alms,' 
partly  because  that  is  the  subject  of  v.  2-4,  and  many 
did  not  see  that  v.  1  presented  a  distinct  general  pre- 
cept, and  partly  because  the  later  Jews  often  used 
'righteousness'  as  meaning  alms,  that  being  in  their 
view  the  foremost  righteousness.  (Comp.  our  modern 
employment  of 'charity '  to  denote  simply  alms-giving.) 
This  use  is  seen  in  the  Talmud,  and  in  the  frequent 
translations  of  the  Hebrew  word  for  righteouaness  by 


'alms'  in  the  Sept.,  but  is  not  found  in  N.  T.,  nor  in] 
the  Hebrew  O.  T. ;  for  Gesenius'  examples,  Prov.  10 :  2. 1 
11:  4;  Psa.  24:  5;  Micah  6:  5,  do  not  at  all  require  ori 
justify  such  a  sense.  But  this  notion  of  righteousness  as^ 
alms,  spreading  among  Christians,  might  cause  'alms' 
to  be  written  in  the  margin  of  v.  1  as  explaining  the! 
supposed  meaning  of  righteousness,  and  then  its  sub- J 
stitution  by  copyists.  Notice  that  the  Oriental  versions  j 
generally  read  alms,  as  the  usage  just  mentioned^ 
would  be  readily  adopted  in  Oriental  language. 

«  Several  early  MSS.  and  versions  insert  rfc, '  But  takej 

heed,'  etc.,  which  is  adopted  by  Tisch.,  and  given  in] 

i  brackets  by  W  H.    The  question  of  its  genuineness  i>j 


Ch.  VI.] 


MATTHEW. 


127 


Alms-giving,  (t. 2-4.)  Therefore  presents 
what  follows  as  an  inference  from  what  pre- 
cedes, the  specific  precept  inferred  from  the 
general.  Thon,  see  on  5:  23;  6:5.  When 
thou  doest,  appears  to  take  for  granted  that 
they  will  do  so,  as  likewise  in  v.  6  and  16. 
The  English  word  'alms'  is  an  abridged  form 
of  the  Greek  word  here  used,  eleemosune 
(comp.  our  adjective  eleemosynary),  gradually 
reduced  to  German  almosen,  Wj'clif  s  alm- 
esse,  Scotch  awmous,  our  alms  (ams).  Sound 
a  trumpet,  is  by  the  Greek  commentators  and 
nearly  all  recent  writers  understood  as  merely 
a  figurative  expression,  common  to  many 
languages,  for  parade  and  effort  to  attract 
notice  and  applause.  There  is  no  authority 
for  the  conjecture  of  Calvin  (mentioned  as 
early  as  Euthymiusj  and  some  others  (includ- 
ing Stier  ,  that  it  was  a  practice  among  the 
.lews  for  an  ostentatious  alms-giver  literally 
to  sound  a  trumpet  before  him  in  public 
))Iaces  to  summon  the  needy  (sounding  it 
through  another  person,  see  margin  of  Com. 
Ver. ).  Lightf.  sought  long  and  earnestly  for 
evidence  of  such  a  practice,  but  found  none; 
and  it  is  very  improbable  that  such  a  thing 
would  have  been  permitted  'in  the  syna- 
gogues.' We  see  much  benevolence  at  the 
present  day  so  ostentatious  that  the  giver 
might  very  naturally  be  figuratively  described 
as  sounding  a  trumpet  before  him.  The 
notion  of  Edersheim,  "The  Temple,"  p.  26, 
that  the  expression  refers  to  trumpet-shaped 
contribution-boxes,  in  the  temple  treasury, 
appears  extremely  far-fetched  and  fanciful. 
Hypocrites.  The  word  is  borrowed  by  us 
from  the  Greek,  and  in  classic  use  signified  an 
actor,  who  wore  a  mask  and  played  a  part. 
This  well  illustrates,  as  it  naturally  led  to,  the 
sense  in  which  the  word  is  so  often  used  in 
Scripture.  As  to  synagogneH,  see  on  4:2.3. 
That  they  may  have  glory,  or,  be  glorified 
of  men,  in  contrast  to  seeking  the  glory 
which  God  gives.  (Comp.  John  5:  44^.  Verily 
I  say  unto  you,  see  on  5:  18.  They  have, 
or,  have  received.  So  Vulgate,  Wyclif ;  and  | 
80  Com.  Ver.  translate?  the  same  word  in  Luke  | 


6  :  24.  The  Greek  verb  is  a  compound,  signi- 
fying to  have  entirely,  have  the  whole  of,  have 
in  full.  The  idea  is  that  in  being  gazed  at  and 
glorified  by  men  they  have  all  the  reward 
they  will  ever  obtain,  for  they  must  fail  of  the 
reward  mentioned  in  v.  1.  (Comp.  Psa.  17  : 
14.)  See  the  same  word  below  in  v.  5,  16. 
But  Avhen  thou  doest  alms,  the  position  of 
the  words  making  'thou'  emphatic,  in  con- 
trast to  the  hypocrites.  Let  not  thy  left 
hand,  etc.  Here,  as  in  v.  2,  we  have  a  fig- 
urative expressson.  It  suggests  the  pleasing 
and  striking  image  of  a  man  passing  one  who 
is  in  need,  and  with  his  right  hand  giving  alms 
in  so  quiet  a  way  that,  so  to  speak,  even  his 
own  left  hand  does  not  know  what  is  going 
on.  That,  in  v.  4,  is  not '  so  that '  but  '  in 
order  that,'  expressing  not  simply  the  result, 
but  the  purpose;  just  as  in  v.  2,  in  5:  15,  etc. 
Of  course  this  does  not  require  that  all 
benevolence  shall  be  literally  secret,  but  that 
no  benevolence  shall  be  ostentatious  (see  on 
V.  1).  So  far  from  trumpeting  your  alms- 
giving before  the  public,  do  not  even  let  it  be 
known  to  yourself.  Which  seeth  in  secret, 
not  exactly  who  sees  what  is  done  in  secret, 
but  who  is  present  in  .secret  and  sees  there. 
Comp.  V.  6,  18,  '  which  is  in  secret.'  Calvin: 
"  He  silently  glances  at  a  kind  of  folly  which 
prevails  everywhere  among  men,  that  they 
think  they  have  lost  their  pains  if  there  have 
not  been  many  spectators  of  their  virtues." 
Reward,  recompense,  or,  repay,  is  the  word 
explained  on  5;  33,1  and  different  from  the 
noun  rendered  'reward'  in  v.  If.  We  are 
not  told  when  or  how  the  recompense  will  be 
given,  and  may  understand  that  it  will  be 
both  in  time  and  in. eternity,  both  in  charac- 
ter and  in  felicity. 

The  Jews  held  alms-giving  in  the  highest 
estimation.  Thus  Tobit,  12:  8,  says,  "It  is 
good  to  do  alms  rather  than  to  treasure 
up  gold.  For  alms  delivers  from  death  [a 
misinterpretation  of  Prov.  10:  2;  11:  4],  and 
this  will  purge  away  every  sin."  Comp.  Si- 
rach  29:  11  AT.  The  Talmud  says  that  alms- 
giving is  "more  excellent  than  all  offerings," 


hard  to  decide.  If  adopted,  it  would  seem  to  imply  the 
expectation  that  5:  20  and  48  would  stir  in  the  persons 
addressed  a  desire  to  be  righteous,  and  so  they  would 
need  tlie  caution,  "  But  take  care,"  etc. 

''  Himself  and  '  openly'  are  omitted  by  the  earliest 
manuscripts  and  most  of  the  early  versions.    We  can 


see  how  they  may  have  been  written  on  the  margin,  to 
bring  out  the  Implied  contrast,  and  then  supposed  to  be 
part  of  the  text  because  quite  appropriate;  while  if 
present  originally,  we  cannot  imagine  why  any  one 
should  have  wished  to  omit  them.  80  they  must  be  re- 
jected without  hesitation. 


128 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  VI 


is  "equal  to  the  whole  law,"  will  "deliver 
from  the  condemnation  of  hell,"  and  makes  a 
man  "perfectly  righteous."  In  the  Talmud 
of  Babylon,  Psa.  17  :  15,  is  explained  to  mean, 
"I  shall  behold  thy  face  on  account  of  alms" 
[properly,  'in  righteousness'],  and  the  infer- 
ence is  drawn  that  "  on  account  of  one  farthing 
given  to  the  poor  in  alms,  a  man  becomes 
partaker  of  the  beatific  vision."  Maimonides 
particularizes  eight  degrees  of  alms-giving, 
the  merit  being  graded  according  to  the  cir- 
cumstances. In  like  manner  the  Roman 
Catholics  attach  great  value  to  gifts  and  other 
kindnesses  to  the  poor,  believing  that  they 
atone  for  sins.  Holding  the  books  of  Tobit 
and  Sirach  to  be  canonical,  they  find  in  them 
proof-texts  for  this  doctrine.  Add  to  the  above 
Sirach  3:  30,  "alms  will  atone  for  sins."  In 
this,  as  in  various  other  cases,  there  is  reason 
to  fear  that  Protestants,  by  a  natural  reaction 
from  Romish  error,  fail  to  value  an  important 
Christian  duty  as  they  should  do.  See  Prov. 
19:  17,  also  the  cup  of  cold  water  (Matt.  lO:  «), 
the  judgment  scenes  (25:35ff.),  also  2  Cor.  9: 
6ff. ;  Phil.  4:18f.;  1  Tim.  6:19;  James  1: 
27.  That  is  a  good  saying  of  a  Roman  poet, 
"It  is  only  the  riches  you  give  that  you  will 
always  have."     And  see  Tobit  4 :  7  ff. 

Some  of  the  Jewish  writers  also  enjoin  se- 
crecy in  alms-giving.  Talmud:  "He  that 
does  alms  in  secret  is  greater  than  Moses."  A 
Mohammedan  proverb  says :  "Hast  thou  done 
a  good  deed,  cast  it  into  the  sea ;  if  the  fish  find 
it  not,  j'et  will  God  see  it  "  And  among  the 
traditional  sayings  of  Mohammed,  we  find, 
"In  alms-giving,  the  left  hand  should  not 
know  what  the  right  has  given" — one  of  the 
numerous  instances  in  which  Mohammed  b(jc- 
rowed  from  the  Scriptures,  not  only  the  Old 
but  also  the  New  Testament. 

HOMILETICAL   AKD   PRACTICAL. 

V.  1.  ViNET  (in  Lutteroth):  "To  be  per- 
fect (5:«s),  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  seek 
the  notice  and  aim  at  the  approval  of  a  per- 
fect being."  Chrts.:  "It  may  be,  both  that 
one  doing  alms  [he  had  the  wrong  text]  before 
men  may  not  do  it  to  be  seen  of  them,  and 
again  that  one  not  doing  it  before  men  may 

do  it  to  be  seen  of  them He  (Christ) 

defines  both  the  penalty  and  reward  not  by 
the  result  of  the  action,  but  bj'  the  intention 
of  the  doer. — V.  1  and  5:  16.    Good  Works  in 


Public.  1)  Wrong  motive,  that  men  maj' 
honor  us.  2)  Right  motive,  that  men  may 
glorify  God. — Boardman  :  "Distinguish  be- 
tween doing  right  in  order  to  help  others,  as 
when  one  lights  a  beacon  in  order  to  guide 
the  sailor,  and  doing  right  in  order  to  be 
praised  by  others,  as  when  one  stands  in  full 
blaze  of  a  chandelier  in  order  to  display  his 
own  jewelry."  Dykes:  "The  actions  of 
piety,  like  its  tones  or  its  gaits,  are  so  imitable, 
and  the  imitation  is  so  hard  of  detection,  that 
they  become  the  invariable  livery  of  the 
hypocrite.  For  the  same  reason,  they  seduce 
those  who  are  not  yet  hypocrites  into  becom- 
ing so.  When  a  man  would  increase  or  pre- 
serve a  reputation  for  piety  which  he  has  once 
honestly  enough  obtained,  it  is  fatally  easy  to 
perform  pious  acts,  with  this  end  in  view,  a 
little  oftener  or  a  little  more  ostentatiously 
than  he  would  do  were  he  only  careful  about 
serving  God." 

V.  2-4.  Two  ways  of  doing  good,  and  two 
kinds  of  reward. — What  is  the  hypocrite's  re- 
ward? Praise  from  some  of  his  fellow-men, 
with  the  consciousness  that  he  does  not  de- 
serve it,  a  perpetual  dread  lest  they  find  him 
out,  and  frequent  fears  of  that  coming  time 
when  the  secrets  of  all  hearts  shall  be  re- 
vealed.— It  is  not  necessarily  wrong  to  em- 
ploy example  and  emulation  in  persuading 
men  to  give,  (acor.sanag.) — Hj-pocrisy.  1)  Its 
nature.  2)  Its  unwilling  tribute  to  true  piety 
— as  counterfeit  coin  is  abundant  because 
genui;ie  coin  is  so  valuable.  3)  Its  reward. 
(a)  the  reward  it  may  gain,  (b)  the  reward  it 
must  mi.ss.  Rochefoucauld:  "Hypocrisy 
is  a  sort  of  homage  that  vice  pays  to  virtue." 
Henry  :  "  The  hypocrite  catches  at  the 
shadow,  but  the  upright  man  makes  sure  of 
the  substance."  EccE  Homo  :  "But  there  are 
subtler  forms  of  hj'pocrisy,  which  Christ  does 
not  denounce,  probably  because  they  have 
sprung  since  out  of  the  corruption  of  a  subtler 
creed  ....  They  would  practice  assiduously 
the  rules  by  which  Christ  said  heaven  was  to 
be  won.  They  would  patiently  turn  the  left 
cheek,  indefatigably  walk  the  two  mile.«,  they 
would  bless  with  eflTusion  those  who  cursed 
them,  and  pray  fluently  for  those  who  used 
them  spitefully.  To  love  their  enemies,  to 
love  any  one,  they  would  certainly  find  im- 
possible, but  the  outward  signs  of  love  might 
easily  be  learnt.    And  thus  there  would  arise 


Ch.  VI.] 


MATTHEW. 


129 


5  And  when  thou  prayest,  thou  shalt  not  be  as  the 
hypocrites  ife :  for  they  love  to  pray  standing  in  the 
synagogues  and  in  the  corners  of  the  streets,  that  they 
may  lie  seen  of  men.  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  They  have 
their  reward. 

6  But  thou,  when  thou  prayest,  enter  into  thy  clo.set, 
and  when  thou  hast  shut  thy  door,  pray  to  thy  Father 
which  is  in  secret;  and  thy  Father  which  seeth  in 
secret  shall  reward  thee  openly. 

7  But  when  ye  pray,  use  not  vain  repetitions,  as  the 


5  And  when  ye  pray,  ye  shall  not  be  as  the  hypo- 
crites :  for  they  love  to  stand  and  pray  in  the  syna- 
gogues and  in  the  corners  of  the  streets,  that  ihey 
may  be  seen  of  men.     Verily  I  say  unto  you,  They 

6  have  received  their  reward.  But  thou,  when  thou 
prayest,  enter  into  thine  inner  chamber,  and  having 
shut  thy  door,  pray  to  thy  lather  wlio  is  in  secret, 
and  thy  Father  who  seeth  in  secret  shall  recompense 

7  thee.    And  in  praying  use  not  vain  repetitious,  as 


a  new  class  of  actors,   not  like  t|j08e  whom 

Christ  denounced hoping  to  impose 

by  their  dramatic  talent  upon  their  Father  in 
lieaven."  Luther  :  "  If  we  cease  our  chari- 
table deeds  because  men  are  ungrateful,  that 
■ihows  that  we  were  not  aiming  to  please  and 
honor  God." 

5-15.  Good  Works  Without  Ostenta- 
tion.    II.  Prayer. 

».  The  general  principle  of  v.  1,  that  good 
works  must  not  be  performed  ostentatiously, 
is  now  applied  to  a  second  example  (compare 
on  V.  2).  And  when  thou  prayest.  The 
correct  text  is,  and  when  ye  pray.  It  was 
early  changed  in  some  copies  into  "thou 
prayest,"  to  agree  with  the  singular  verbs 
which  precede.  But  throughout  this  passage 
(r.  1-18)  the  plural  is  used  in  the  general  injunc- 
tions (v.  1, 5, 16),  and  the  singular  in  the  pointed 
personal  applications,  (v.  2-4,  6, 17,  is).  Compare 
on  5:  23.  Hypocrites,  comp.  on  v.  2.  Syn- 
agogueSf  see  on  4  :  23.  Some  would  take  the 
word  here  in  its  etymological  sense,  as  denot- 
ing "gatherings"  anywhere,  but  there  is  no 
propriety  in  departing  from  the  usual  mean- 
ing. It  was  not  wrong  to  pray  in  the  syna- 
gogues, which  was  a  common  usage  ;  but  these 
liypocrites  prayed  there  rather  than  in  secret, 
iind  did  so  for  the  purpose  of  display.  In 
the  corner»  of  the  streets,  they  could  be 
-eeu  from  four  direction*,  and  thus  would  be 
delightfully  conspicuous.  The  word  for 
"streets"  is  different  from  that  of  v.  3,  and 
denf>tes  broad,  spacious  streets.  To  pray 
standing.  Three  postures  in  praj'er  are 
mentioned  in  Scripture;  standing  (i  sam.  i:-.'6;  | 

Mark  U  :  23;  Luke  18:  II,  13),  kneeling  (2  Chron.  6:  13  ;  Dan.  j 
«:I0:  Luke  22: 41  ;  AoU  7  :  80;9:40;  20:36;  21:5);    and    in 

'uses  (if  peculiar  awe  or  distress,  prostration 

n  the   face.     (Num.   Xt-.n-,  Joah.  5:14;   Dan.   8:17;   Matt.  , 

»;  R«v.ii:i6.)  Standing  being  therefore  a  | 
iminon  posture,  it  is  plain  that  this  formed 
no  part  of  the  display,  which  consisted  in  j 
ihoosing  the  most  public  places  to  parade  ! 
their  devotions.  The  Talmud  of  Babylon  i 
says  that  persons  would  sometimes  stand  three  ! 

I 


hours  in  a  public  place  and  a  praying  posture 
(Lightf. ).  The  excuse  for  such  parade  of 
devotion  was  found  in  the  idea  that  when 
the  hour  of  prayer  arrived,  one  must  pray 
wherever  he  was  ;  so  with  the  Mohammedans 
now,  who  may  often  be  seen  praying  in  the 
most  public  places.  The  practice  of  indo- 
lently sitting  during  prayer  finds  no  support 
either  in  Scripture  precedent  (unless  2  Sam. 
7  :  18  be  claimed  as  such)  in  the  natural  feel- 
ing of  propriety,  or  in  devout  experience. 

Verily  I  say  unto  you,  see  on  5:  18. 
They  have,  have  received — "have  in  full." 
See  on  v.  26. 

6.  But  thou,  changing  again  to  the  sin- 
gular number  for  pointed  perscmal  application 
(see  on  5 :  23).  The  word  rendered  closet  sig- 
nifies originally  a  store-room,  and  then  any 
private  or  retired  room.  Rev.  Ver.,  "inner 
chamber."  It  is  frequently  applied  in  the 
Septuagint  to  a  bed-chamber;  comp.  Isa.  26: 
20,  "Come,  my  people,  enter  thou  into  thy 
chambers,  and  shut  thy  doors  about  thee: 
hide  thyself  as  it  were  for  a  little  moment, 
until  the  indignation  be  overpast."  Compare 
also  Matt.  24:26;  Luke  12:3.  The  notion 
that  our  Lord  designs  to  refer  to  a  particular 
room  on  the  top  of  a  Jewish  house,  or  over 
the  main  entrance  of  the  building,  is  unwar- 
ranted, and  unnecessarily  restricts  the  mean- 
ing of  the  passage.  The  inner  chamber  may 
in  fact  often  be  best  found  in  the  solitude  of 
nature,  as  Jesus  frequently  did.  (Marki:  so;  6:  40; 
14:32.)  Shut  thy  door,  the  word  denoting  that 
it  is  not  only  closed,  but  fastened,  thus  giving 
the  idea  of  the  most  complete  privacy.  (Comp. 
2  Kings  4  :  33.)  In  secret  our  Father  is  pres- 
ent, in  secret  he  sees,  and  though  men  will 
not  recompense,  he  will.  Comp.  Prov.  lo :  3. 
(Openly  is  a  spurious  addition,  as  in  v.  4.) 

7  f.  Slightly  digressing  in  a  very  natural 
way  from  the  precise  line  of  thought  in  v. 
1-18,  and  resuming  the  plural  of  general  ad- 
dress, our  Lord  here  appends  a  censure  of 
another  and  kindred  fault  in  prayer,  in  the 
injunction,  use  not  vain  repetitions.    The 


130 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  VI. 


heathen  do :  for  they  think  that  they  shall  be  heard  for 
their  much  speaking. 

8  Benot  yetheret'ure  likeuntothem:  for  your  Father 
knoweth  what  things  ye  have  need  of,  before  ye  ask 
him. 


the  Gentiles  do:  for  they  think  that  they  shall  be 

8  heard  for  their  much  speaking.    Be  not 'therefore 

like  unto  them :   for  i  your  Father  knoweth  what 


1  Snme  anoieut  autboritiea  read,  Ood  your  Father, 


Greek  has  a  rare  word  formed  so  that  its 
sound  shall  resemble  the  sense  (onomato- 
poeia), and  used  to  express  stuttering,  the 
indistinct  speech  of  little  children,  or  any 
confused  babble.  This  well  represents  the 
practice  common  in  the  public  worship  of 
some  of  the  heathen,  as  when  the  priests  of 
Baal  continued  from  morning  until  noon  to 
cry:  "O  Baal,  hear  us  1  "  (i  Kings  is :  26),  and  the 
multitude  in  the  theatre  at  Ephesus  for  two 
hours  shouted,  "Great  is  Diana  of  the  Ephe- 
sians."  (Act8i9:34.)  A  great  crowd  continuing 
to  repeat  the  same  words,  every  one  for  him- 
self, would  make  just  the  babbling  noise 
which  the  Greek  word  expresses ;  and  so 
would  a  single  person,  when,  wearily  and 
without  interest,  and  as  rapidly  as  possible, 
repeating  the  same  word  or  phrase.  Tyndale 
rendered  "babble  not  much,"  followed  by 
Great  Bible  and  Geneva.  The  Com.  Ver. 
rendering,  "use  not  vain  repetitions,"  was 
suggested  by  the  commentary  of  Beza, 
whose  guidance  that  version  frequently'  fol- 
lows. It  is  possible  that  as  a  stutterer  often 
repeats  the  same  word,  the  Greek  word  came 
to  be  used  to  denote  idle  and  unmeaning  repe- 
tition.s  in  general.  The  idea  of  the  heathen 
was  that  for  [in)  their  much  speaking  they 
would  be  heard.  So  the  Roman  comic  writer 
Terence  makes  one  person  tell  another  not  to 
stun  the  gods  with  thanksgivings,  "unless 
you  judge  them  to  have  no  more  sense  than 
yourself,  so  as  to  think  they  do  not  under- 
stand anything  unless  it  has  been  said  a  hun- 
dred times  "  The  Jews  must  have  been  in- 
clining to  the  same  practice,  thinking  that 
theru  was  merit  in  saying  over  certain  words 
of  prayer  many  times.  In  Talmud  Bab.,  R. 
Hanin  says,  "If  prayer  is  prolonged,  it  will 
not  be  without  effect."  Another  objects  that 
it  may  make  one  sick,  and  a  third  that  it  may 
make  him  gloomy.  Compare  Mark  12;  40: 
f  "And  for  a  pretence  make  long  prayers." 
Yet  Eccl.  5:2  had  pointed  out  the  impro- 
priety of  much  speaking  in  prayer,  "There- 
fore let  thy  words  be  few,"  and  the  apocry- 
phal book  of  Sirach  (Ecclus.)  (t:u)  said,  "Do 
.     not  prattle  in  a  multitude  of  elders,  and  do 


not  repeat  a  word  in  thy  prayer."  So  the 
Roman  poet  Plautus  says,  "Transact  divine 
things  in  few  words."  The  practice  of  pray- 
ing a  long  time,  as  a  formal  observance,  would 
naturally  lead  to  unmeaning  repetition.  The 
Buddhist  monks  at  the  present  time,  will  for 
whole  days  together  cry  aloud  the  sacred 
syllable  Um;  and  some  Mohammedans  "turn 
about  in  a  circle,  and  pronounce  the  name  of 
God  until  they  drop  down."  After  a  Mo- 
hammedan funeral  in  some  countries,  devout 
men  assemble,  and  repeat  Allah  el  Allah, 
"God  is  God,"  three  thousand  times.  A 
traveler  in  Persia  tells  of  a  man  "  who  prayed 
so  loud  and  so  long  that  he  lost  his  voice,  and 
then  groaned  out,  in  voiceless  accents,  the 
name  of  God  fifty  times."  (Tholuck.)  So  in 
some  praj'ers  recorded  in  the  Avesta,  and 
in  the  old  Egj-ptian  writings.  M.  Hue 
tells  of  Buddhist  students  in  Chinese  Tar- 
tary,  who  will  put  a  written  prayer  on  a 
wheel,  which  is  turned  with  a  crank,  or 
even  by  wind  or  water;  and  they  believe 
that  every  revolution  is  a  prayer,  and  adds 
to  their  merit.  In  like  manner,  Roman 
Catholics  now  think  it  very  devout  to  repeat 
many  times — often  fifteen,  and  in  some  cases 
a  hundred  and  fifty  times — the  Ave  Maria 
(Hail,  Mary),  and  the  Pater  Noster  (Our 
Father,  i.  e.,  the  Lord's  Prayer),  and  count 
the  repetitions  by  slipping  the  beads  of  the 
rosary  —  thus  employing  (Tholuck)  the  very 
prayer  our  Saviour  set  in  contrast  to  such  no- 
tions and  practices.  This  use  of  a  rosary  is  a 
Buddhist  practice,  which  came  through  the 
Mohammedans  to  the  Spanish  Christians. 
But  our  Father  (see  on  v.  9)  is  not  slow  to  at- 
tend, as  Elijah  mockinglj'  represented  Baal  to 
be,  nor  unable  to  understand  unless  it  is  said 
a  hundred  times;  he  knoweth  what  we  need, 
not  only  as  soon  as  we  ask  it  once,  but  even 
before  we  ask  it.  Observe,  however,  two 
things:  (1)  God's  knowing  before  we  ask  is  no 
reason  why  we  should  not  ask.  We  do  not 
pray  in  order  to  give  him  information,  but  to 
express  our  own  desire,  our  feeling  of  need 
and  dependence.  Not  that  prayer,  as  many 
say,  is  designed  simply  to  influence  ourselves; ' 


Ch.  VI.] 


MATTHEW. 


131 


men  would  pray  very  little  if  they  really  be- 
lieved that  to  be  all.  We  pray,  as  hoping 
thereby  to  induce  God  to  grant  what  we  de- 
sire ;  and  his  foreknowledge  and  even  predes- 
tination of  all  things  is  no  more  an  objection 
to  praying  than  to  acting.  (2)  Our  Saviour 
cannot  mean  that  long-continued  praying  is 
in  itself  improper,  for  he  himself  sometimes 
spent  a  whole  night  in  prayer  (Luke6:i2),  and 
he  spoke  more  than  one  parable  to  encourage 
perseverance  in  prayer;  nor  is  it  necessarily 
wrong  to  repeat  the  same  words — a  thing  some- 
times very  natural  when  we  are  deeply  in 
earnest  —  for  in  Gethsemane  he  "prayed  a 
third  time,  saying  again  the  same  words." 
(M:«.)  The  difference  between  these  and 
the  practice  condemned  is  plain.  Augustine 
justly  distinguishes  between  much  speaking 
in  prayer,  and  much  praying. 

9.  After  this  mannerthereforepray ye^ 
with  a  strong  emphasis  (as  the  Greek  shows) 
on  "ye."  This  injunction  is  presented  as  a 
consequence  of  what  precedes.  Since  it  is  un- 
availing for  us,  and  unworthy  of  our  God,  to 
pray  as  the  heathen  do  (comp.  v.  7 ;  5:  47), 
therefore  do  ye  pray  thus.  The  special  (though 
of  course  not  exclusive)  design  with  whicbthe 
prayer  that  follows  is  here  introduced  is  to 
put  in  contrast  with  that  of  which  he  has  just 
been  speaking  (v.  7)  a  specimen  of  the  right 
kind  of  pra3'er.  He  thus  teaches  them  "  by 
example  as  well  as  by  precept,"  to  avoid  the 
faults  in  question.  Kegarded  from  this  point 
of  view,  we  are  struck  with  the  comprehen- 
siveness and  simplicity  of  the  prayer,  truly 
the  very  opposite  of  "much  speaking,"  of 
babbling  repetitions  and  boisterous  passion. 
How  vast  its  scope,  how  varied  its  applica- 
tions, how  simple  its  language.  Tcrtullian 
'■J^,f6ady  observed  that  it  is  "as  copious  in 
I^BlCftning  as  it  is  condensed  in  expression." 
Tet  with  all  this  comprehensiveness,  there  is 
no  propriety  in  gravely  defending,  as  some 
flo,  and  seeking  to  establish  by  artificial  expo- 
-ition,  the  mere  rhetorical  hyperbole  which 
Tcrtullian  adds  ("On  Prayer,"  chap.  1),  that 
"  in  this  prayer  is  comprised  a  compend  of  the 
whole  gospel." 

Substantially  the  same  prayer  is  recorded 

in  Luke  11 :  2-4  as  a  specimen  or  model  of 

prayer   in    general,   given    in    response  to  a 

I'ecial    request    from    one  of   the    disciples. 

^"i)w  we   know  that   Jesus    repeated    many 


striking  or  important  sayings  at  different 
times  and  in  different  connections  (see  Gen- 
eral Introduction  to  chap.  5).  There  is  thus 
no  diflSculty  in  understanding  that  he  gave 
this  prayer  on  two  different  occasions.  They 
who  think  otherwise  must  either  suppose  that 
Matthew  has  artificially  constructed  this  dis- 
course out  of  scattered  materials,  or  that  Luke 
has  introduced  on  an  unreal  occasion  (Lake  u :  i) 
what  actually  belonged  to  this  discourse;  and 
there  is  no  sufficient  ground  for  either  suppo- 
sition. Kecent  studies  in  the  harmony  of  the 
Gospels  (Wieseler,  Clark's  Harmony)  make 
it  highly  probable  that  the  occasion  on  which 
Luke  gives  the  prayer  was  long  after  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount,  during  the  last  few 
months  of  our  Lord's  ministry,  and  away  in 
Judea  or  Perea.  But  even  if  it  be  supposed 
that  the  prayer  was  given  only  once,  it  would 
remain  true  that  the  two  Evangelists  have 
recorded  it  in  very  different  terms.  Even  in 
the  common  Greek  Text  and  the  Common 
Version,  there  are  several  different  expres- 
sions; and  the  unquestionably  correct  text 
given  in  the  Revised  Version  makes  the  differ- 
ences quite  considerable. 

MATTHEW  6 :  9-13. 
Our  Father  who  art  in  heaven, 
Hallowed  be  thy  name. 
Thy  kingdom  come. 

Thy  will  be  done,  as  in  heaven,  so  on  earth. 
Give  lis  this  day  our  daily  bread. 
And  forgive  us  our  debts, 
As  we  also  have  forgiven  our  debtors. 
And  bring  us  not  into  temptation, 
But  deliver  us  from  the  evil  one. 

LU?:E  11:  2-4. 
Father, 

Hallowed  be  thy  name. 
Thy  kingdom  come. 
Give  us  day  by  day  our  dally  bread. 
And  forgive  us  our  sins ; 
For  we  ourselves  also  forgive  every  one  that  is 

indebted  to  us. 
And  bring  us  not  into  temptation. 

If  then  our  Lord  gave  the  prayer  on  two 
occasions,  he  gave  it  in  quite  different  terms, 
which  shows,  beyond  all  question,  that  it  was 
not  intended  as  a  form  of  prayer,  to  be  re- 
peated in  the  same  words.  If,  on  the  other 
hand,  it  be  supposed  that  he  gave  the  prayer 
only  once,  then  the  Evangelists  certainly  did 
not  understand  it  to  be  a  form  of  i)rayer,  or 
they  would  not  have  recorded  it  in  such  dif- 
ferent terms.   There  is  no  important  difference 


132 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch. 


in  the  substance  of  the  two  prayers ;  for  the 
petition,  "Thy  will  be  done,"  etc.,  only 
brings  into  special  prominence  something  that 
is  involved  in  "Thy  kingdom  come,"  and  the 
petition,  "  But  deliver  us  from  the  evil  one" 
only  gives  the  other  side  of  the  foregoing, 
"And  bring  us  not  into  temptation."  There 
is  no  material  difference  in  the  two  prayers, 
but  there  is  certainly  a  great  difference  in 
form.  It  is  entirely  proper  in  praying,  and 
indeed  very  desirable,  to  repeat  any  passage 
of  Scripture  that  seems  specially  appropriate. 
Few  passages,  if  any,  would  be  so  often  ap- 
propriate for  such  a  purpose  as  this  prayer,  be- 
cause it  is  so  rich  and  sweet,  and  because  the 
Saviour  expressly  gave  it,  on  both  occasions, 
as  a  model  of  praying.  But  in  the  face  of  the 
above  facts,  it  cannot  for  a  moment  be  main- 
tained that  he  has  made  it  our  duty  to  repeat 
this  prayer  whenever  we  pray,  or  to  use  these 
precise  words  from  beginning  to  end  whenever 
we  feel  moved  to  adopt  the  prayer. 

The  common  title  "The  Lord's  Prayer" 
has  been  in  use  among  Cliristians  from  an 
early  period,  being  found  already  in  Cyprian, 
about  A.  D.  250,  if  in  no  earlier  writer.!  The 
prayer  contains  no  allusion  to  the  mediation 
of  Christ,  says  nothing  about  asking  in  his 
name,  for  which  the  disciples  were  not  yet 
prepared.  (John  is :  23  r.)  Like  many  other  por- 
tions of  Scripture,  it  was  especially  adapted 
to  the  precise  times  in  which  it  was  spoken, 
and  the  interpretation  and  applications  of  it 
must  be  made  accordingly. 

It  is  often  asserted  by  modern  Jews  and 
rationalistic  Christian  writers  that  no  portion 
of  this  prayer  is  original ;  for  they  say  that  all 
its  petitions  are  found  in  the  Talmud  or  in  the 
liturgies  now  used  among  the  Jews,  and  sup- 
posed by  them  to  be  ancient.  Let  us  collect 
and  consider  the  facts.  They  must  be  mainly 
stated  at  second  hand ;  but  the  .sources  will  be 
indicated. 

"Our  Father,  who  is  in  Heaven,"  occurs 
often  in  the  Jewish  liturgies.  Oneof  the  Jewish 
prayers  contains:  "  Let  us  sanctify  thy  name 
in  the  world,  as  they  sanctify  it  in  the  high 
heavens."  Among  the  prayers  the  Kaddish 
is  especially  valued,  and  has  to  be  often  re- 
cited :  "  Magnified  and  sanctified  be  his  great 


name  in  the  world  which,  according  to  his 
good  pleasure,  he  created,  and  may  he  spread 
abroad  his  reign  in  your  days ;  and  may  his 
redemption  blossom  forth,  and  may  Messiah 
be  at  hand  and  deliver  his  people."  (Wet.).]J 
And  there  are  various  other  prayers  thatfl 
God's  name  may  be  sanctified.  In  the  Tal-^ 
mud  a  Rabbi  says:  "Every  prayer  in  which 
tlie  name  of  God  is  not  mentioned  is  no 
prayer."  And  another  says:  "That  prayer 
in  which  the  kingdom  of  God  is  not  named, 
is  no  prayer."  As  a  matter  of  course,  the 
Jewish  pra^'ers  often  include  manj'  petitions 
in  regard  to  God's  kingdom,  though  the  exact 
phrase,  "Thy  kingdom  come,"  has  not  been 
cited,  the  nearest  approach  to  it  being,  "Re- 
veal the  glory  of  thy  kingdom  upon  us  speed- 
ily." The  Talmud  of  Bab.  (Berach.  r.  29h)  gives 
short  prayers  proper  for  time  of  peril,  derived 
from  several  Rabbis,  and  among  them  this: 
"  Rabbi  Eliezer  says,  'Do  thy  will  in  heaven 
above,  and  give  place  to  those  that  fear  thee 
below;  and  do  what  thou  pleasest.' "  The 
same  treatise  (f.  60  b),  gives  as  a  prayer  be- 
fore falling  asleep:  "Do  not  make  us  enter 
into  the  hand  (power)  of  sin,  nor  into  the  hand 
of  temptation,  nor  into  the  hand  of  contempt." 
And  again  (f.  16  b):  "  Rabbi  was  wont  thus 
to  pray:  'Let  it  be  thy  good  pleasure  to  de- 
liver us  from  impudent  men  and  impudence, 
from  an  evil  man  and  from  an  evil  chance, 
from  an  evil  affection,  from  an  evil  compan- 
ion, from  an  evil  neighbor,  from  Satan  the 
destroj'er,  from  a  hard  judgment,  and  from  a 
hard  adversary-,"  [So  Lightfoot,  Wetstein, 
Sepp,  and  Wiinsche,  in  his  German  translation 
of  Talmud  Bab.,  Vol.  I.,  a.  d.  1886.  Schwab's 
French  translation  of  Talmud  Jerusalem  has 
"from  a  corrupter,"  instead  of  "from  Satan 
the  destroyer."] 

It  thus  appears  that  no  parallel  has  been 
found  to  several  important  clauses  of  the 
prayer,  such  as  "  Thy  will  be  done,  as  in 
heaven,  so  on  earth,"  or  the  prayer  for  daily 
bread,  to  which  nothing  similar  has  been  ad- 
duced save  one  of  the  short  prayers  in  the  Tal- 
mud, "The  wants  of  thy  people  Israel  are 
many,  their  thought  is  limited  ;  may  it  please 
thee,  O  Lord  our  God,  to  give  each  one  what 
he  needs  for  nourishment,  and  to  every  crea- 


>In  the  fourth  century  we  find  it  maintained  that  ,  Father,"  others  that  they  could  not  partake  of  "  the 
only  the  baptized  may  repeat  this  prayer,  some  holding  supei-substantial  bread"  iu  the  Eucharist.  (See  Suioer. 
that   the    uubaptized   could   not  properly  say    "  Our  !  "  Euche.") 


>^k 


.  VI.] 


MATTHEW. 


133 


9  After  this  manner  therefore  pray  ye :  Our  Father  I 
which  art  in  heaven,  Hallowed  be  thy  name.  I 


9  things  ye  have  need  of,  before  ye  ask  him.    After 
this  manner  therefore  pray  ye :  Our  Father  who  art 


ture  what  it  lacks" — which  is  reallj'  no  paral- 
lel at  all.  Nor  is  aliy  parallel  offered  to  the 
petition  that  we  may  be  forgiven  as  we  forgive, 
upon  which  our  Lord  laid  special  stress  by 
repeating  its  thought  after  the  close  of  the 
prayer  (v.  ur.)  The  nearest  approach  is  in  Ec- 
clus.  28:  2.    (See  below  on  v.  12.) 

Again,  the  resemblance  in  several  cases  is 
ll  BOtvery  marked,  as  in  "Thy  kingdom  come," 
"Deliver  us  from  the  evil  one."  The  only 
exact  parallels  are  to  the  address,  "  Our  Fa- 
ther who  art  in  heaven,"  and  to  the  petitions, 
"Hallowed  be  thy  name,"  and  "Bringusnot 
into  temptation." 

In  all  these  cases  of  resemblance  the  ex- 
pression is  one  most  natural  to  be  employed. 
In  regard  to  calling  God  our  Father,  see  be- 
low ;  and  petitions  as  to  God's  name  and 
kingdom,  and  as  to  temptations,  must  of 
course -enter  sometimes  into  Jewish  prayers. 
What  then  is  the  amount  of  the  charge  that 
the  prayer  is  not  original  ?  Some  of  its  peti- 
tions have  no  parallel  in  Jewish  literature, 
and  others  only  partial  parallels.  And  as  to 
the  resemblances,  exact  or  partial,  a  little  re- 
flection shows  that  nothing  else  would  have 
been  natural.  Is  it  reasonable  to  suppose  that 
the  Great  Teacher  would  give  as  a  model  of 
prayer  to  his  followers  a  series  of  petitions 
that  were  throughout  such  as  nobody  had  ever 
thought  of  or  felt  the  need  of?  A  wise  teacher 
links  new  instruction  to  what  is  already 
known  and  felt.  And  our  Lord's  ethical  and 
devotional  instructions  would  have  been  really 
less  efficient  if  they  had  been  marked  by  the 
-artling  originality   which    some    have   un- 

i<ely  claimed  for  them.  Orotius :  "Our 
Lord  wjis  far  removed  from  all  affectation  of 
unnecessary  novelty."  Those,  on  the  other 
hand,  who  have  represented  this  prayer  as 
entirely  wanting  in  originality,  are  refuted  by 
the  facts;  for  we  have  seen  that  several  of 
the  petitions  are  without  parallel,  and  that  the 
•  ases  of  resemblance  are  perfectly  natural; 
while  the  brevity  and  comprehensiveness  of 
the  prayer  as  a  whole  are  wonderful  in  the  ex- 
treme. It  may  be  added,  without  treating  it 
as  an  important  fact  in  the  present  case,  that 
some  prayers  in  the  Jewish  liturgies  are  un-  ' 
questionably  more  recent  than  the  time  of! 
Christ,     (see  Margoliouth,  "Weiss,  Ebrard  in  I 


Herzog),  and  that  even  prayers  and  other 
matters  in  the  Talmud  may  have  been  de- 
rived from  the  New  Testament.  The  Rabbis 
borrowed  freely  from  Greeks  and  afterwards 
from  Arabians,  and  it  is  by  no  means  so  cer- 
tain as  some  modern  Jews  imagine,  that  they 
did  not  also  borrow  frem  Jesus  and  his  apos- 
tles. But  the  explanation  of  the  matter  be- 
fore u?  is  independent  of  that  question. 

The  prayer  naturally  falls  into  two  divis- 
ions, and  it  is  an  instructive  and  impressive 
fact  that  the  first  petitions  are  those  which  re- 
late to  God,  his  kingdom  and  his  glory,  and 
those  relating  to  ourselves  come  afterwards,  as 
beingof  less  importance.  Bengel:  "The  first 
three  are  tky,  thy,  thy;  the  others,  us,  us, 
us."  So  likewise  the  Ten  Commandments 
fall  into  two  parts;  the  former  setting  forth 
our  duty  to  God,  the  latter  to  our  neighbor. 
At  the  present  day,  the  prevalent  tendency  is 
to  begin  with  human  nature  and  wants,  and 
to  ask  how  Christianity  suits  itself  to  these ; 
the  Bible  teaches  us  to  think  of  God,  and  ask 
how  we  may  suit  ourselves  to  his  nature  and 
will.  As  we  are  afterwards  taught  to  seek  his 
kingdom  first  (6:33),  so  here  to  pray  first  that 
it  may  come.  Yet  the  distinction  in  the 
prayer  is  not  absolute,  since  the  fulfillment  of 
the  first  petitions  will  be  also  for  our  good,  and 
the  fulfillment  of  the  others  will  be  also  for 
God's  glory.  There  has  been  much  useless 
discussion  in  Germany  as  to  whether  the 
prayer  contains  seven  petitions  (the  Lutheran 
view,. following  Augustine),  or  only  six  (the 
Reformed  or  Calvinian  view,  following  Chrys- 
ostom),  according  as  we  consider  verse  13  to 
be  one  petition  or  two.  Some  writers  try  to 
find  in  the  several  petitions  sets  of  threes,  as 
if  illustrating  the  Trinity;  but  this  is  arti- 
ficial and  fanciful. 

9.  Our  Father.  The  use  of  the  plural, 
throughout  the  prayer,  instead  of  changing 
to  the  singular,  as  is  done  in  v.  2,  0,  17,  evi- 
dently presents  this  as  a  specimen  of  social 
rather  than  secret  prayer;  and  so,  involves 
prayer  for  each  other,  and  not  for  ourselves 
alone.  Compare  18:  19;  Mai.  2:  10.  The 
thought  of  God  as  our  Father  is  presented  in 
some  passages  of  the  Old  Test,  (as  Isa.  08:  13; 
Ps.  103:  18;  Dout.  32:  G),  and  oftener  in  sub- 
sequent  Jewish  writings  (Tobit  18:  4;  Ecclus. 


134 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch. 


23:  1;51:  10;  Wisdom2:  16;  14:3);  and  the 
later  Jews  have  several  prayers  in  which  God 
is  addressed  as  "our  Father  in  heaven,"  an 
idea  doubtless  drawn  by  them  from  the  Old 
Test.  The  heathen,  too,  were  not  wholly  un- 
familiar with  the  thought.  Max  MuUer  : 
"  We  have  in  the  Veda  the  invocation  Dyaus- 
piter,  the  Greek  Zeu pater,  the  Latin  Jupiter; 
and  that  means  in  all  the  three  languages 
what  it  meant  before  these  languages  were 
torn  asunder — it  meiins  heaven -Father." 
(Boardman.)  Plutarch  says  that  the  super- 
stitious man  recognizes  only  that  which  is 
sovereign  in  God,  and  not  the  fatherly;  and 
Seneca,  that  God  has  a  fatherly  mind  towards 
good  men.  But  it  is  Jesus  who  has  rendered 
this  idea  so  clear  and  precious;  distinctly 
comparing  the  feelings  of  human  parents 
towards  their  children  (':ii),  and  making  the 
great  thought  familiar  by  frequent  repetition. 
In  one  sense  God  is  the  Father  of  all  men,  as 
in  one  sense  all  men  are  brothers ;  and  so  we 
can  fitly  speak  of  the  Fatherhood  of  God  and 
the  Brotherhood  of  man ;  and  yet  it  is  only 
believers  in  Christ  who  can  in  the  fullest 
sense  call  God  Father  (uohns-.  i;  John 8:42;,  and 
call  <  ach  other  brethren.  (iJohn3:u.)  In 
heaven.  God,  who  is  everywhere  present,  is 
constantly  represented  in  Scripture  as  mak- 
ing his  special  abode,  and  the  special  manifes- 
tation of  the  presence  of  his  glory,  in  heaven. 
Aristotle  noticed  that  this  idea  was  common 
to  all  nations.  But  the  heathen  made  heaven 
itself,  variously  personified,  an  object  of  wor- 
ship; while  in  Scripture,  heaven  is  but  the 
dwelling-place  of  God.  (Comp.  Pluraptre.) 

Hallowed  be  thy  name.  To  pray  that  his 
natne,  Jehovah,  by  which  he  is  distinguished 
from  all  heathen  deities,  and  marked  out  as 
his  people's  God,  may  be  sanctified,  regarded 
and  treated  as  holy  (comp.  Exod.  20:  8;  Lev. 
22:  2,  32;  Ezek.  36:  23;  1  Pet.  3:  15,  and 
contrast  "despise  my  name"  Mai.  1:  6),  in- 
volves the  idea  of  praying  that  God,  in  all  his 
character  and  dealings,  may  be  reverenced 
and  glorified.  Compare  such  expressions  as 
"they  that  love  thy  name,"  "that  know  thy 
name"  in  the  Old  Test.,  and  "glorify  thy 
name"  in  John  12:  28;  Rev.  15:  4.  This  idea 
of  taking  the  proper  name  as  representing  the 
person  in  his  entire  character,  is  altogether 
natural,  but  was  rendered  peculiarly  impress- 
ive to  the  Israelitish  mind  by  their  remark- 


able reverence  for  the  name  of  Jehovah— a 
reverence  which  at  length  became  supersti- 
tious, ao  that  the  later  Jews  would  never  pro- 
nounce that  proper  name  at  all,  but  uttered 
instead  of  it  the  word  Adonai,  which  means 
Lord — and  this  led  to  the  translation  of  Je- 
hovah in  the  Septuagint  by  Kyrios,  and  in 
the  English  by  Lord.  The  Anglo-Saxon  word 
"  AaWowj,"  though  often  employed  in  the  Old 
Testament,  is  used  nowhere  in  the  King 
James  Version  of  the  New  Testament,  except 
here  and  Luke  11 :  2.  Elsewhere  that  version 
uses  the  Latin  word  sanctify.  But  in  this 
familiar  and  cherished  prayer  the  old  Anglo- 
Saxon  word  was  retained  (comp.  on  1 :  18,  as 
to  the  use  of  Holy  Ghost).  So  likewise  the 
Latin  Vulgate,  while  translated  anew  from 
the  Hebrew,  retained  the  old  Latin  Version 
of  the  Psalms,  as  being  so  familiar  that  change 
would  not  be  tolerated ;  and  the  English  Book 
of  Common  Prayer,  though  altered  elsewhere 
to  suit  the  King  James  Version,  retains  still 
the  translation  of  the  Psalms  from  the  Great 
Bible,  or  Coverdale. 

Thy  kingdom  come.  Of  the  three  words, 
kingship,  reign,  and  kingdom,  to  which  the 
Greek  word  here  employed  is  equivalent  (see 
on  3  :  2),  it  would  be  best  in  this  and  many  pas- 
sages to  use  the  second  term  reign,  since  we  can 
use  only  one.  The  reference  is  plainly  to  that 
Messianic  reign  which  all  devout  Jews  were 
expecting  (Mark  15: 43;  Luke  23: 51),  and  which  John 
and  Jesus  had  been  proclaiming  as  now  near 
at  hand,  (s:  2;  4:  17.)  The  prayer  that  it  might 
come  would  in  the  minds  of  our  Lord's  hearers 
refer  especially  to  the  beginning  of  the  reign, 
the  introduction  of  the  kingdom  (Luke  17 :  20f.); 
but  just  as  in  the  prophetic  view  the  whole 
period  from  the  beginning  of  Messiah's  reign 
to  its  ultimate  triumph,  frequently  appears  as 
a  point,  so  in  the  full  sense  the  coming  of  that 
reign  or  kingdom  includes  the  idea  of  its  com- 
plete establishment.  It  is  therefore  perfectly 
legitimate  for  us  to  use  the  petition  with  our 
minds  specially  directed  towards  the  consum- 
mation of  Christ's  reign,  the  complete  estab- 
lishment of  his  kingdom,  his  final  glorious 
triumph,  when  the  kingship  (sovereignty)  of 
the  world,  shall  become  our  Lord's  and  his 
Christ's.  (Rev.  11:15.)  Thy  Will  be  done  is  more 
exactly  My  will  come  to  pass,  'take  place,' 
the  same  verb  as  in  1 :  22  (see  foot-note  there), 
5:  18;  24:  6,  34  (where  it  is  rendered  'conae 


if 


Ch.  VI.] 


MATTHEW. 


135 


10  Thy  kingdom  come.    Thy  will  be  done  in  earth,  j  10  in  heaven,  Hallowed  be  thy  name.    Thy  kingdom 
as  it  ii  in  heaven.  come.    Thy  will  be  done,  as  in  heaven,  so  on  earth. 

11  Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread.  1  11  Give  us  this  day  i  our  daily  bread.    And  forgive  us 


1  Or.  our  bread /or  the  coming  day,  or,  our  needfiU  bread. 


to  pass,'  in  Com.  Ver. ),  and  the  same  expres- 
sion as  in  26 :  42,  and  Acts  21 :  14.  Tliis  of 
course  involves  the  idea  that  moral  creatures 
are  to  do  his  will,  as  in  7  :  21 ;  12:  50  (where 
the  word  'do'  is  employed^,  but  it  expresses 
a  more  comprehensive  thought.  Theological 
writers  distinguish  three  senses  of  the  term 
will.  God's  will  oi purpose  always  comes  to 
pass,  in  heaven,  earth,  and  hell.  But  his  will 
oi  desire  does  not  yet  always  come  to  pass  on 
earth  as  it  does  in  heaven.  He  wished  Jeru- 
salem to  be  saved  (Luke  13: 34),  and  they  would 
not.  He  does  not  "wish  that  any  should 
perish,  but  that  all  should  come  to  repent- 
ance "  (2  Pet.  3:9),  and  yet  many  refuse  to  re- 
pent, and  perish.  He  wishes  "all  men  to  be 
saved  "  (i  Tim.  2:  4),  yet  many  are  led  captive  by 
Satan  according  to  his  own  will.  And  God's 
will  of  command,  how  often  and  how  fla- 
grantly it  is  disobeyed;  how  few  of  his  moral 
creatures  on  earth  are  prepared  to  say,  "  I  de- 
light to  do  thy  will,  O  my  God"  (P»aim40:8), 
or  as  Jesus  said,  literally,  "My  food  is  to  do 
the  will  of  him  that  sent  me"  (John4:34);  how 
few  are  joined  to  Christ  by  the  fullness  of  that 
tie,  "  Whosoever  shall  do  the  will  of  my  Father 
who  is  in  heaven,  he  is  my  brother,  and  sister, 
and  mother."  ^l2:5o.)  In  earth  as  it  is  in 
heaven.  The  Kev.  Ver.,  As  in  heaven,  so  on 
earth,  gives  the  order  of  the  Greek,  and  makes 
a  difference  in  the  emphasis. — We  ought  to  be 
continually  praying  this  prayer.  In  heaven, 
everything  takes  place  as  God  wishes,  every- 
thing is  perfectly  pleasing  in  his  sight.  Ah  ! 
when  shall  it  be  so  on  earth  ?  When  sl)all  his 
reign  fully  come,  and  his  will  take  place,  'as 
in  heaven,  (so)  also  upon  earth  ?  '  O  Lord, 
how  long! — This  impressive  petition  is  really 
involved  in  the  foregoing,  simply  stating  sep- 
arately one  element  of  it;  for  when  God'.s 
reign  is  fully  come,  his  will  must  come  to 
pass,  etc.  When  therefore  this  is  omitted 
from  the  prayer  on  the  second  occasion  (Luke 
>i  :  iJ),  we  perceive  that  no  principal  thought 
of  the  prayer  is  thus  lost.  Yet  this  is  by  no 
means  a  mere  repetition  or  expansion,  for  it 
brings  into  prominence  one  practical  element 
of  God's  reign,  which  we  ought  specially  to 
desire  and  aim  to  bring  about.    Some  (e.  g.. 


West,  and  Hort's  Greek  Test.)  would  affix 
"  as  in  heaven,  so  also  upon  earth,"  to  all  the 
three  foregoing  petitions,  making  it  apply  sep- 
arately to  each  of  them.  This  is  a  possible 
view,  but  not  probable.  (1)  The  words  would 
not  harmonize  so  well  with  "thy  reign 
come,"  as  with  "thy  name  be  sanctified," 
and  "thy  will  come  to  pass."  (2)  The  omis- 
sion of  these  words  in  Luke  11 :  2  would  thus 
be  harder  to  account  for. 

11.  Here  begins  the  second  division  of  the 
prayer,  that  which  contains  petitions  for  our- 
selves (compare  on  v.  9).  The  grammatical 
construction  here  changes.  The  foregoing 
clauses  pray  that  something  may  come  to  pass 
in  the  course  of  God's  providence.  The  suc- 
ceeding clauses  directly  petition  God  to  give 
and  forgive.  Daily  bread.  Bread  naturally 
represents  food  in  general,  all  that  is  necessary 
to  support  life,  of  which  bread  is  commonly 
esteemed  the  most  important  and  indispen- 
sable part.    (Mark  3 :  20 ;  2  Thess.  3  :  li;  Prov.  30 :  8,  margin.) 

There  seems  to  be  no  warrant  for  understand- 
ing the  term  as  here  including  spiritual  nour- 
ishment. It  is  altogether  natural  and  proper 
to  draw  the  inference  that  if  we  are  bidden  to 
ask  God  for  bodily  food,  we  need  quite  as 
much  to  ask  him  for  that  of  the  soul ;  but  in- 
ference is  a  different  thing  from  interpret- 
ation. Connni:  "  The  beauty  and  propriety 
of  this  single  petition  for  earthly  good  (re- 
stricted to  that  without  which  life  cannot  sub- 
sist), has  been  felt  in  all  ages  of  the  church." 
Many  Fathers,  and  many  in  every  age,  have 
wrongly  insisted  upon  "spiritualizing"  the 
passage,  as  they  have  done  with  well-nigh 
everything  in  Scripture.  Against  the  over- 
driven spirituality  which  affects  to  be  too  in- 
different to  earthly  good  to  think  it  worth 
asking  for,  Jesus  vindicates  a  place  for  earthly 
good  in  our  prayers.  In  the  present  age,  it  is 
especially  important  to  urge  that  men  shall 
pray  for  temporal  good,  since  so  many  think 
that  the  recognized  presence  of  law  in  all 
temporal  things  puts  them  beyond  the  sphere 
of  prayer;  as  if  that  would  not  exclude  God 
from  his  universe;  and  as  if  there  were  not 
law  in  spiritual  things  also.  The  word  (epiou- 
aion)  rendered  daily,  is  extremely  rare  and 


136 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  VI. 


obscure.  Origen  says,  that  it  was  not  found 
in  any  Greek  writer  or  in  colloquial  use,  but 
seemed  to  have  been  coined  by  the  Evangelists. 
Only  three  senses  of  the  term  have  now  any 
advocates:  (1)  '(bread)  for  to-morrow,'  and 
so  'daily,'  Bishop  Liglitfoot,  Meyer,  Grimm, 
Wtinsche,   Nicholson,  margin  of  Rev.  Test.; 

(2)  '  needful,'  Godet,  Keim,  Kell,  Cremer, 
margin   of  Rev.  Test.  (American  Revisers); 

(3)  'supersubstantial,'  Jerome  in  Matthew, 
and  many  Romanists.  Etymological  con- 
siderations' strongly  favor  (1),  and  render  (3) 
practically  impossible.  Bishop  Lightfoot, 
"On  a  Fresh  Revision  of  the  New  Test." 
App.,  has  conclusively  shown  (and  McClellan 
and  Canon  Cook  vainly  strive  to  meet  his 
facts  and  arguments),  how  strongly  (1)  is  sud- 
ported  by  the  early  versions,  being  uniformly 
given  by  the  Old  Latin  (and  even  Jerome  re- 
tains it  in  Luke),  by  both  the  Egyptian  ver- 
sions, the  Old  Syriac,  and  the  "Gospel  ac- 
cording to  the  Hebrews."  Origen  preferred 
(2),  explaining  it  as  meaning  needful  for  the 
soul — a  spiritualizingconception,  which  suited 
Origen's  turn  of  mind  and  habitual  methods 
of  interpretation  ;  and  he  gave  this  view  great 
currency  among  the  Greek  Christians  (see 
Suicer)  and  the  later  Syrians.  Jerome,  by 
an  impossible  etymology',  rendered  it  'super- 
substantial'  in  Matthew,  though  retaining  in 
Luke  the  'daily'  of  the  Old  Latin,  and  is 
followed  in  both  passages  by  Wj'clif  and  the 
Rheims  version.  Many  Romanist  writers 
have  tried  to  use  this  rendering  in  Matthew 
for  the  support  of  transubstantiation,  though 
the   Romanist  prayer-books  have  uniformly 


retained  'daily.'  Plumptre  strangely  adopts 
Jerome's  rendering,  understanding  it  to  mean 
"over  and  above  material  substance"  (in 
which  a  material  word  is  gratuitously  in- 
serted), and  thus  entirely  restricting  the  peti- 
tion to  spiritual  bread.  In  (1)  "Give  us  to- 
day our  bread  for  to-morrow,"  would  mean 
our  daily  bread,  if  we  remember  that  one 
should  not  let  the  day  close  without  knowine 
how  he  is  to  have  food  for  the  next  morning. 
It  is  very  difficult  to  see  how  (2)  could  ever 
have  suggested  the  idea  of  daily,  which  is 
found  in  all  the  earlier  versions,  and  often  re- 
ferred to  by  Greek  Fathers  (Suicer).  More- 
over, the  idea  of  (2)  could  have  been  easilj*  ex- 
pressed by  existing  Greek  words,  while  that 
of  (1)  would  have  required  the  coining  of  a 
Greek  adjective  (Origen  above).  The  objec- 
tion to  (1)  is  that  it  seems  to  conflict  with  v. 
34,  "  Be  not  anxious  for  the  morrow  '"  ;  but  it 
is  fairly  answered  that  the  way  to  prevent 
such  anxiety  is  to  pray  that  to-morrow's 
bread  may  be  given  us  to-day,  as  in  Phil.  4: 
6,  the  remedy  for  anxiety  is  praj'er;  and  if 
V.  34  prohibits  prayer  for  to-morrow's  bread, 
then  (Achelis)  verse  31  would  prohibit  prayer 
for  anj'  food.  If  we  combine  all  the  evidence, 
it  would  seem  that  (1)  must  be  very  decidedlj- 
preferred.*  With  this  compare  James  2  :  16, 
Rev.  Ver.,  "And  in  lack  of  daily  food"; 
Prov.  30 :  8,  lit.,  "  Feed  me  with  my  portion  (or 
allowance)  of  bread"  ;  (acus:!;  2 Kings 25: so)  ; 
also  the  fact  that  the  manna  was  given  one 
day's  supplj'  at  a  time.  This  day,  or  simply 
'to-day.'  In  Luke  11  :  3  it  is  'day  by  day.' 
The  phrase  in  Matthew  is  said  by  various  Fa- 


1  Epiown'ox  comes  easily  and  naturally  from  he  epiousn, 
'  the  oncoming  (day),'  a  very  common  expression  for 
'to-morrow'  or  'next  day.'  As  to  tlie  possible  ety- 
mology for  (-2),  and  tlie  etymological  impossibility  of 
(3),  see  the  special  treatises  and  the  lexicons. 

*Mr.  Paspati,  a  Greelt  gentleman  of  Constantinople, 
published  (Athens,  1883),  a  lecture  on  the  English  Re- 
vised Version,  in  which  he  says  (p.  14),  that  the  word 
epiotisio*  "  is  in  general  use  among  the  Greeks.  Many 
poor  people  complain  that  they  cannot  gain  their  epiou- 
sion  bread.  Epiousios  means  whatever  can  sustain  or 
maintain."  Mr.  Sakellarios  writes  from  Athens  (Feb. 
1886),  that  the  word  "  was  and  is  used  in  the  sense  of 
necessary,  food  necessary  for  sustenance."  Now  it  is 
well  knfiwn,  as  above  stated,  that  this  interpretation 
prevailed  amonir  theOreek  Fathers, and soMr.  Constan- 
tine  interprets,  in  his  Greek  comm.  on  Matt,  and  Mark 
(Athens,  1878).  So  far  as  the  word  is  now  generally 
used  among  the  Greeks  in  that  sense,  it  is  evidently  a 


mere  appropriation  of  a  Scripture  term  as  commonly 
understood.  Mr.  Paspati  remarks  (p.  VI)  upon  the  fin^ 
qnent  use  of  Scriptural  expressions  among  the  Greeks, 
including  phrases  relating  to  Pilate  and  to  Satan. 
There  is  here  then  no  independent  testimony  as  to  the 
meaning  of  the  word.— It  should  be  added  that  Mr. 
Paspati's  elucidations  in  general  show  a  lack  of  ac- 
quaintance with  scientific  philology.  —  Warth  and 
I-ockle,  Stud.  u.  Krit.,  1884,  No.  4,  argue  that  tlie  phraM 
may  mean  lo-dayU  bread,  because  epiousa, '  oncoming' 
(which  commonly  means  to-morrow),  is  occasionally 
used  by  a  person  speaking  at  or  before  dawn  with  refeiv 
ence  to  the  then  approaching  day.  They  suppose  the 
prayer  to  have  been  designed  as  a  morning  prayer — and 
it  would  have  to  be  made  very  early,  to  render  such  a 
sense  possible.  This  view  is  highly  ingenious,  but  too 
fine  spun  to  be  probable  in  so  simple  and  general  a 
prayer.  (Comp.  Cremer,  ed.  0.)  Moreover,  how  would 
this  idea  be  expressed  in  Aramaic? 


Ch.  VI.] 


MATTHEW. 


137 


12  And    forgive   us   our   debts,  as  we    forgive  our  :  12  our  debts,  as  we  also  have  forgiven  our  debtors, 
debtors.  I 


thers  (Wet.)  to  have  led  to  the  daily  repeti- 
tion of  this  prayer,  which  is  mentioned  as 
early  as  the  beginning  of  the  third  century; 
but  Luke's  phrase  shows  that  at  least  in  the 
second  case  nothing  of  the  sort  was  contem- 
plated. 

12.  Debts.  This  term  is  here  used  for 
transgressions,  sins.  In  Aramaic,  the  native 
language  of  our  Lord  and  the  Evangelists, 
tlie  word  debt  (chob)  is  very  often  used  for 
sin.  See  numerous  examples  from  the  Tar- 
gums  in  Buxtorf  This  use  is  perfectly  natu- 
ral in  itself,  since  an  obligation  to  God  which 
is  not  duly  met  becomes  to  us  a  sin;  compare 
the  illustration  of  sin  by  a  debt  in  18:  21,  24, 
28.  In  like  manner  the  English  word  duty 
denotes  that  which  is  due,  owed.  (Plumptre. ) 
Accordingly  in  v.  14  f,  the  same  idea  is  rep- 
resented by  'trespasses,'  transgressions.  And 
in  Luke  (h  ;  *.  Kev.  ver.),  the  prayer  reads,  "  And 
forgive  us  our  sins;  for  we  ourselves  also  for- 
give every  one  that  is  indebted  to  us."  So 
clear  is  it  that  debts  here  means  sins  that 
Tyndale  translates  in  v.  12  by  trespasses  and 
trespassers;  but  this  is  unwarranted,  and  was 
not  followed  by  any  other  English  translators. 
Observe  that  this  petition  is  connected  with 
the  forgoing  by  aud.  The  life  sustained  by 
daily  bread  is  not  enough;  we  need  also  the 
forgiveness  of  sin  (Weiss);  compare  'And 
bring,'  v.  13.  As  we  forgive — or,  as  in  Rev. 
Ver. — also  have  forgiven — our  debtors.  This 
does  not  present  our  forgiveness  of  others  as 
the  ground  of  our  being  forgiven,  nor  as 
strictly  the  measure  of  God's  forgiveness 
towards  us  (for  he  forgives  perfectly,  while 
everything  in  us  is  imperfect) ;  but  by  com- 
paring the  forgiveness  we  supplicate  with  that 
we  have  shown,  it  states  very  impressively 
the  idea,  afterwards  still  further  emphasized 
in  V.  14  f ,  that  the  unforgiving  cannot  be  for- 
given. Observe  that  the  Revised  text  (no 
doubt  correct)  makes  it  "have  forgiven," 
already  before  we  seek  forgiveness — not  a  mere 
momentary  effort  at  forgivetjess,  trumped  up 
for  the  nonce.  In  Luke  11 :  4,  it  is,  '  For  we 
ourselves  also  forgive  every  one  that  is  in- 
debted to  us,'  which  means  not  simply  present 
but  habitual  forgiveness,  as  shown  by  the 
'every  one.'  Luke's  term  'for'  might  seem 
to  make  our  forgiving  the  ground  of  our 


being  forgiven ;  but  it  rather  means  that 
there  is  no  unforgivingness  on  our  part  to 
form  an  obstacle  to  our  being  forgiven.  Com- 
pare 5:7;  Luke  23:  34;  1  Tim.  1:  3,  and  the 
beautiful  illustration  in  the  parable  of  18: 
21-35.  The  gospel  ground  of  forgiveness — 
the  atonement  and  intercession  of  Christ — is 
of  course  not  here  stated.  The  disciples  could 
not  have  clearly  understood  a  reference  to  it 
until  after  Christ's  death,  resurrection,  and 
ascension. 

The  Greeks  and  Romans  admired  shining 
instances  of  forgiveness,  but  did  not  venture 
to  inculcate  or  seem  to  expect  it.  A  Jewish 
sage  of  about  b.  c.  200  (Ecclus.  28:  2),  urged 
that  men  must  forgive  if  they  hoped  to  be 
forgiven:  "Forgive  thy  neighbor  his  wrong- 
doing, and  then  when  thou  hast  prayed,  thy 
jins  shall  be  forgiven."  (Compare  Ecclus.  28: 
1-5.)  But  it  is  Christianity  that  has  made 
this  a  thing  actual  and  looked  for.  Ecce 
Homo:  "The  forgiveness  of  injuries,  which 
was  regarded  in  the  ancient  world  as  a  virtue 
indeed,  but  an  almost  impossible  one,  appears 
to  the  moderns  in  ordinary  cases  a  plain  duty 

a  new  virtue  has  been  introduced  into 

human  life.  Not  only  has  it  been  inculcated, 
but  it  has  passed  so  completely  into  the  num- 
ber of  recognized  and  indispensable  virtues, 
that  every  one  in  some  degree  practices  it, 
and  that  b3'  not  practicing  it  men  incur  odium 
and  loss  of  character.  To  the  other  great 
changes  wrought  in  men's  minds  by  Christ, 
this  is  now  to  be  added,  the  most  signal  and 
beneficent,  if  not  the  greatest  of  all."  (Com- 
pare on  5:  38  f.)  But,  like  many  terms  ex- 
pressive of  Christian  duty,  the  word  forgive 
has  come  to  be  often  used  in  a  weakened 
sense,  and  many  anxious  minds  are  misled  bj' 
its  ambiguity.  If  forgive  means  merely  to 
"bear  no  malice"  (kocius.  28: 7),  to  abstain  from 
revenge,  leaving  that  to  God  (Rom.  12:  19),  then 
in  that  sense  we  ought  to  forgive  every  wrong- 
doer, even  though  impenitent,  and  still  our 
enemy.  But  this  is  not  the  Scripture  use  of  the 
word  forgive;  and  in  the  full  sense  of  the 
term  it  is  not  our  duty,  and  not  even  proper, 
to  forgive  one  who  has  wronged  us  until  he 
confesses  the  wrong,  and  this  with  such  un- 
questioned sincerity  and  genuine  change  of 
feeling  and  purpose  as  to  show  him  worthy  of 


138 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  VII 


13  And  lead  us  not  into  temptation,  but  deliver  us: :  13  And  bring  us  not  into  temptation,  but  deliver 
from  evil:   For  tliiue  is  the  kingdom,  and  the  power,  | 
and  the  glory,  for  ever.    Amen.  II 


being  restored  to  our  confidence  and  regard. 

Thus  our  Lord  says  (Luke  U;  a,  Re».  Ver.),    "  If  thy 

brother  sin,  rebuke  him  ;  and  if  ho  repent, 
forgive  him."  Here  again  the  example  of 
our  Heavenly  Father  illustrates  the  command 
to  us.  He  sends  rain  and  sunshine  on  the 
evil  and  the  good  (corap.  on  ^:  45),  but  he  dues 
not  forgive  men,  restoring  them  to  liis  confi- 
dence and  affection,  until  they  sincerely  and 
thoroughly  repent.  In  judging  as  to  the  sin- 
cerity and  trustworthiness  of  those  who  pro- 
fess repentance,  our  Lord  inculcated  great 
patience,  and  charithble  judgment.  If  a  wrong 
forgiven  is  repeated  a  second  or  third  time, 
we  are  apt  to  lose  all  patience  and  refuse  to 
forgive  again  ;  but  he  said,  "If  he  sin  against 
thee  seven  times  in  the  day,  and  seven  times 
turn  again  to  thee,  saying,  I  repent ;  thou 
shalt  forgive  him."  (LukeU:  4,  Rev.  Ver.)  Nay,  in 
Matt.  18:  21  f ,  he  makes  it  even  "seventy 
times  seven  " — not  of  course  as  an  exact  limit, 
but  as  a  general  and  very  strong  injunction 
of  long-suffering  and  charitable  judgment 
towards  human  infirmity. 

13.  And  lead — or,  bring — us  not  into 
temptation.  Here  again  'and,'  because  the 
forgiveness  of  past  sin  is  not  enough  ;  we  need 
also  preservation  from  sin  in  future.  All  the 
early  English  versions  have 'lead,'  doubtless 
influenced  by  the  Latin  inducas.  The  Latin 
Fathers,  Tertullian  and  Cyprian,  explain  it  to 
mean  '  Do  not  suffer  us  to  be  led,'  and  Augus- 
tine says  (Wet.)  that  many  so  pray,  and  that 
it  80  reads  in  many  (Latin)  copies;  but  that 
in  the  Greek  he  has  never  found  anything 
but :  'Do  not  bring  us.'  This  is  the  uniform 
reading  and  unquestionable  meaning  of  the 
Greek,  and  the  difference  is  important.  Men 
lead  each  other  into  temptation  by  offering 
inducements  to  do  wrong;  but  the  thought 
here  is  of  God's  so  ordering  things  in  his 
providence  as  to  bring  us  into  trying  circum- 
stances, which  would  put  our  principles  and 
characters  to  the  test.  This  providential  action 
does  not  compel  us  to  do  wrong,  for  such  con- 
ditions become  to  us  the  occasion  of  sin  only 
when  our  own  evil  desires  are  the  impelling 
cause.  (James  1:13-15.)  The  Same  Conditions  prop- 
erly met  would  but  manifest  and  strengthen 
one's  piety,  as  when  God  "did  prove  Abra- 


ham" (Gen.  22: 1,  Rev.  Ver.),  or  allowed  Satan  to  test 
the  fidelity   and  patience  of  Job.     There  ia 
thus  no   contradiction   between  this  petition! 
and  the  precept  (James  i:  2,  Rev.  ver.),   "  Count  iiri 
all  joy  when  ye  fall  into  manifold  tempta-i 
tions."     One  may  be  tested  (see  on  4 :  1  for 
the  explanation  of  '  tempt ' ),  either  with  good 
or  with   evil  intent.     In  the  evil  sense,  God 
"  tempteth  noman."    (Jumesi:i3.)     Thehumble 
believer,  self-distrustful  because  conscious  of 
remaining  tendencies  to  sin,  and  weakness  in 
restraining  them,    prays  that   God    will   not 
bring  him  into  temptation.    (Coinp.  26:  41 ;   1 
Cor.  7:5;  Gal.  5:  7.)    And  yet,  when   God 
sees  fit,  notwithstanding  his  prayer  and  effort, 
to  bring  him  into  temptation,  he  is  then  to  re-] 
joice   (James  1:2),    bccausc    whcn    met    in    the  3 
strength  of  the  Lord,  it  will  certainly  be  over- 
come   (1  Cor.  10: 13),    bccausc    it    will     develop! 
his  Christian    character    and  thus    prove    a| 
blessing     (James i:3ff.),    and    because    it    willj 
secure    for   him    an    eternal    reward.    (5:i»d 
jamesi:  12;  Rom.  8:  18.)     In    like    manner   (Man-I 
sel),  our  Lord  directed  the  apostles  to  avoid^ 
persecution    (10 :  23),  though  he  had  told  themj 
to  rejoice    when    persecuted,    (s:  10-12.)      Baf| 
deliver    us    from    evil,    or,    the    evil   one.[ 
This  is  not  really   a  distinct  petition    froir 
the  foregoing,  but  further  unfolds  and  sej 
arately   states    something    involved   therein. 
When  therefore  it  was  omitted  on  the  seconc 
occasion    (Luke  11 :  4),    no   principal    thought  o^ 
the  prayer  was  lost.  (Comp.   above  on  v.  10.! 
The  Greek  phrase  rendered  'the  evil  one'  ii 
here  ambiguous,  as  in  5  :  37,  and  may  equallj 
well  mean  evil.     The  same  expression  is  cer"!| 
tainly  masculine,  and  means  Satan  in  13:  19^ 
38;  Eph.  6:  16;  1  John  2:   13,  14;  3:   12;  5: 
19  (comp.  V.  18) ;  it  is  clearly  neuter,  mean-^ 
ing  evil  in  the  abstract,  in  Luke  6:  45;  Rom. 
12:  9;  1  Thess.  5:  22  (and  several  examples i 
the  neuter  plural,   'evil  things');  while  th« 
meaning  is  doubtful  in  Matt.  5:  37,  39;  6:  13|| 
John  17: 15;  2  Thess.  3:3.  It  is  understood  herg 
as  masculine,  meaning  Satan,  by  Tert.,  Origen,{ 
Cyril  (Jerus. ),  Gregory  Nyss.,  Chrys.,  TheO'« 
phyl.,  Erasmus,  Zwingli,  Beza,  Bengel,  Fritz.,! 
Olsh.,  Ebrard,  Meyer,   Grimm,  Wordsworth^J 
Reuss,  Plumptrf.     It  is  taken  as  neuter,  mean^f 
ing  evil  in  general,  by  Augustine,  Luther^ 


Ch.  VI.] 


MATTHEW. 


139 


14  For  if  ye   forgive   men    their    trespasses,    your  j  14  from  i  the  evil  one.*    For  if  ye  forgive  men  their 
heaveniy  Father  will  also  forgive  you :  ]       trespasses,  your  heavenly  Father  wiU  also  forgive 

1  Or,  «i>tl. . .  .'i  Many  authorities,  some  ancient,  but  with  variations,  add,  For  thine  ia  the  kingdom,  and  the  power,  and  the  glory,  for  ever. 

Amen. 


Melanchthon,  Tholuck,  Ewald,  Bleek,  Stier, 
Lange,  Alford,  Conant,  Weiss,  Cremer,  Keil, 
Achelis.  Those  who  object  so  vehemently  to 
translating  here  by  "the  evil  one"  are  usu- 
ally influenced  largely  by  sentiment  and 
habit,  and  sometimes  by  skepticism  as  to  the 
real  personality  of  Satan.  But  the  New  Tes- 
tament familiarly  associates  evil  with  the  evil 
one,  as  its  leading  embodiment  and  central 
director  (e.  (/.,  Acts  5:  3;  John  13:  27;  8:44.) 
It  is  therefore  quite  impossible  to  escape  from 
that  idea,  if  we  believe  the  Scriptures.  It  can 
never  be  certainly  determined  whether  the 
phrase  is  masculine  or  neuter  in  this  passage 
and  in  John  17 :  15.  But  the  more  frequent 
occurrence  of  the  clearly  masculine  use,  with 
the  tendency  of  the  New  Testament,  to  speak 
rather  of  evil  persons  and  evil  actions  than  of 
evil  in  the  abstract,  makes  it  more  probable 
that  the  sense  is  masculine  in  each  of  these 
interesting  passages.  The  Revisers  have 
bravely  followed  the  stronger  probability 
(putting  'evil'  in  the  margin),  though  it  was 


inevitable  that  there  would  be  a  great  outcry. 
Comp.  Humphrey.  As  to  the  substantial 
meaning,  it  is  the  same  in  either  case,  as  Cal- 
vin already  remarks,  and  in  fact  either  in- 
volves the  othe^. 

The  doxology  to  this  prayer  in  Com.  Ver.  is 
beyond  all  question  spurious,'  and  rightly 
omitted  by  Rev.  Ver.  We  may  give  up  the 
pleasing  and  familiar  words  with  regret,  but 
surely  it  is  more  important  to  know  what  the 
Bible  really  contains  and  really  means,  than 
to  cling  to  something  not  really  in  the  Bible, 
merely  because  it  gratifies  our  taste,  or  even 
because  it  has  for  us  some  precious  associa- 
tions. 

14  f.  The  fact  that  this  alone  of  all  the 
topics  of  the  prayer  is  taken  up  a  second  time, 
and  amplified  by  stating  it  both  positively  and 
negatively,  ought  to  impress  upon  us  very 
deeply  the  importance  of  forgiving  if  we  wish 
to  be  forgiven.  Comp.  18:  21-35;  Mark  11: 
25;  Luke  17:  3f.  For  introduces  what  fol- 
lows as  a  confirmation  of  v.  12.     Trespasses, 


1  It  is  wanting  in  the  Uncial  MSS.  X,  B,  D,  G,  and  in 
five  cursives,  and  many  other  cursives  have  marks  in 
the  text  or  notes  on  the  margin,  showing  that  it  is 
doubtful;  also  wanting  in  several  copies  of  the  Old 
Latin,  in  the  Vulgate,  and  the  Memphitic.  Especially 
remarkable  is  the  adverse  testimony  of  Fathers.  Thus 
Tertullian,  in  his  interpretation  of  this  prayer,  calls 
the  phrase  "  But  deliver  us  from  evil  "  the  conclusion ; 
and  not  a  single  Latin  Father  who  comments  on  the 
prayer  has  the  doxology  except  the  Anonymous  coram. 
So  with  Greek  commentators,  except  Chrysostom  and 
his  followers.  Cyril  of  Jerusalem,  in  concludini;  his 
exposition,  says;  "'From  the  evil  one.'  And  the  op- 
posing demon  is  evil,  from  whom  we  pray  to  be  de- 
livered. Then,  after  the  completion  of  the  prayer  you 
•ay  '  Amen,'  sealing  thereby  the  contents  of  the  prayer." 
Gregory  of  Nyssa:  "From  the  evil  one  who  in  this 
world  possesses  the  power,  from  whom  may  we  be  de- 
livered by  the  grace  of  Christ,  because  to  him  be  the 
power  and  the  glory,  together  with  the  Father  and  the 
Holy  Spirit,  now,  and  forever  and  ever.  Amen  " — these 
words  concluding  Gregory's  exposition  of  the  whole 
prayer.  This  and  several  similar  Patristic  conclusions 
show  the  origin  of  our  familiar  doxology,  namely,  in 
the  custom  of  concluding  a  prayer  with  some  form  of 
doxology.  And  several  early  versions  appear  to  ex- 
hibit this  doxology  in  the  process  of  gradual  formation. 
Thus  the  Old  Syriac  has,  "  Because  thine  is  the  king- 


dom and  the  glory  for  ever  and  ever."  The  Thebaic 
gives  another  independent  form :  "  Because  thineis  the 
strength  and  the  power  for  ever  and  ever."  The 
"  Teaching  of  the  Twelve  Apostles,"  chap.  8, 9,  10,  "  For 
thine  is  the  power  and  the  glory  forever,"  once  with 
this  prayer,  and  then  with  two  other  prayers  there  pro- 
posed for  use  in  the  Eucharist.  And  one  copy  of  the 
Old  Latin  :  "  Itecause  thine  is  the  power  forever  and 
ever."  "We  are  thus  able  to  explain  how  the  doxology 
came  in  here,  if  originally  wanting;  while  if  originally 
present,  it  would  be  impossible  to  account  for  its  omis- 
sion, since  it  is  beautifully  appropriate,  and  could  not 
be  at  all  objectionable  either  to  heretics  or  to  the  ortho- 
dox. Now  remembering  that  it  is  wanting  in  several 
of  the  curliest  Greek  manuscripts  and  earliest  versions, 
that  there  is  no  mention  of  it  in  a  number  of  detailed 
Patristic  expositions  of  the  prayer,  and  that  we  see  it 
growing  up  before  our  eyes  in  the  earliest  versions 
which  contain  it  (perhaps  suggested  by  1  Chron.  29:  11), 
we  can  have  no  doubt  that  the  doxology  is  spurious.  It 
will  doubtless  continue  to  be  used  in  liturgies  like  other 
ancient  doxologies  («.  g.,  "Glory  be  to  the  Father,  and 
to  the  Son,  and  to  the  Holy  Ghost:  as  it  was  in  the  be- 
ginning, is  now  and  ever  shall  be,  world  without  end. 
Amen  "),  but  it  is  not  a  part  of  Scripture.  Nor  was  it 
introduced  into  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  until  the 
time  of  Charles  II. 


140 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  VI. 


more  literally  transgressions,  interprets  the 
word  'debts'  in  v.  12;  hence  the  practice  of 
substituting  this  word  in  repeating  the  prayer. 

HOUILBTICAL   AND  PRACTICAL. 

V.  6  f.  Oriqen:  "The  hypocrites  wearing 
the  mask  of  goodness,  are  actors  in  their  own 
theatre,  the  synagogues  and  the  corners  of  the 
streets."  Henry:  "Those  who  would  not 
do  as  the  hypocrites  do  in  their  way  and  ac- 
tions, must  not  be  as  the  hypocrites  are  in 
their  frame  and  temper.  As  it  is  a  terror  to 
hypocrites,  so  it  is  a  comfort  to  sincere  Chris- 
tians, that  God  sees  in  secret." — There  might 
be  ostentation  in  a  much  less  public  phice 
than  the  synagogue  or  the  street,  and  there 
miglit  be  true,  unostentatious  prayer  else- 
where than  in  a  private  room.  These  places 
merely  illustrate  a  principle,  which  is  to  be 
applied  according  to  circumstances.  It  is 
therefore  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  our  Lord 
here  forbids  individual  prayer  except  when  in 
solitude.  The  publican  of  the  parable  prayed 
openly,  and  aloud,  with  striking  manifesta- 
tions of  grief,  in  the  court  of  the  temple, 
attracting  the  contemptuous  observation  of 
the  Pharisee,  and  no  doubt  of  others ;  yet  his 
prayer  was  acceptable.  Jesus  himself  some- 
times made  private  prayer  in  the  presence  of 
his  disciples.  (Lukeiiri.)  Still,  literal  privacy 
is  best  where  it  is  attainable,  and  our  Saviour 
frequently  sought  it  in  the  open  air,  at  early 
dawn,  or  at  night.  Solitude  is  favorable  to 
self-examination,  and  to  individual  com- 
munion with  the  Father. 

Landor  :  "  Solitude  is  the  antechamber  of  God." 

Young  :  "  O  lost  to  reason,  lost  to  lofty  thought, 
Lost  to  the  noblest  sallies  of  the  soul, 
Who  think  it  solitude  to  be  alone  ! " 

Chrys.  :  "Some,  even  when  their  person  is 
concealed,  make  themselves  manifest  to  all 
hy  their  voice." 

One  advantage  of  praying  in  solitude  is  that 
then  we  need  feel  no  hesitation  in  speaking 
i)loud,  which  greatly  aids  in  restraining  wan- 
dering thoughts,  and  attaining  a  deeper  so- 
lemnity and  emotion.  Regularity  in  private 
prayer  is  indispensable  to  the  attainment  and 
maintenance  of  a  high  order  of  piety.  It  is 
well  to  lift  the  heart  to  God,  even  for  a  mo- 
ment, whenever  we  feel  special  inclination  or 
need ;  but  at  stated  hours  we  must  pray,  even 
though  we  feel  no  inclination.    Thus  may  we 


combine  the  advantages  of  regularity  and 
impulse. — How  rich  the  reward  of  regular 
private  devotion.  How  it  soothes  the  per- 
turbed spirit,  strengthens  for  every  trial,  and 
sweetens  every  pleasure.  Strange  and  sad 
that  one  who  has  known  the  blessedness  of 
this  privilege  should  ever  permit  himself  to 
neglect  it.  Chryss.  :  "  Let  us  not  then  make 
our  prayer  by  the  gesture  of  our  body,  nor  by 
the  loudness  of  our  voice,  but  by  the  earnest- 
ness of  our  mind:  neither  with  noise  and 
clamor,  and  for  display,  so  as  even  to  disturb 
those  that  are  near  us,  but  with  all  modesty, 
and  with  contrition  in  the  mind,  and  with 
inward  tears."  Theophyl.  :  "What,  then, 
shall  I  not  pra^'  in  church?  By  all  means, 
but  with  a  right  intention,  and  without  dis- 
play, for  it  is  not  the  place  that  hurts,  but  the 
manner  and  the  aim.  Many  in  fact,  when 
praying  in  secret,  are  doing  it  to  please  men." 
EuTHYM. :  "If  thou  wishest  spectators,  thou 
hast,  instead  of  all,  God  himself"  Wurt. 
Bible  (Lange):  "Those  brief  ejaculatory 
prayers  sent  up  to  heaven  in  few  words,  and 
which  may  be  uttered  even  while  engaged  in 
our  daily  labor,  are  by  far  the  richest  and 
best."  (15:25.) — Henry:  "  Secret  prayer  is  to 
be  performed  in  retirement,  that  we  may  be 
unobserved,  and  so  may  avoid  ostentation ; 
undisturbed,  and  so  may  avoid  distraction  ; 
unheard,  and  so  may  use  the  greater  free- 
dom." 

V.  7.  Cyprian:  "God  hears  not  the  voice, 
but  the  heart."  Calvin:  "In  true  praj'er 
the  tongue  does  not  go  faster  than  the  heart; 
the  grace  of  God  is  not  attained  by  the  empty 
utterance  of  words,  but  the  pious  heart  sends 
forth  its  affections  like  arrows  to  penetrate . 
into  heaven." — To  keep  repeating  the  same 
thought  in  synonyms  is  a  fault  of  the  same 
nature  as  these  vain  repetitions,  though  less 
gross.  Gill:  "The  omniscience  of  God  is  a 
considerable  argument,  and  a  great  encour- 
agement to  praj-er;  he  knows  our  persons 
and  our  wants  beforehand  ;  and  as  he  is  able 
to  help  us,  we  have  reason  to  believe  he  will." 

v.  9.  Cyril:  "Christ  commands  us  to 
pray  briefly,  because  he  knows  our  minds  are 
easily  led  off  into  wandering  thoughts,  espe- 
cially in  time  of  prayer."  Quesnel  (Lange): 
"A  king  who  himself  draws  up  the  petition 
which  is  to  be  presented  must  surely  take 
great  pleasure  in  granting  it."  (isa.  65:  24;  Joi.n 


Ch.  VI.] 


MATTHEW. 


141 


16: ».)  Bed  A  (Blythe) :  "  A  prayer  sweetened 
by  the  name  of  Father,  makes  me  confident 
of  getting  all  I  ask."  Maldonatus:  "The 
very  name  of  father  praj's  for  us ;  because  it 
is  the  part  of  a  father  to  provide  things  neces- 
sary for  his  children."  EuTHYM. :  "He  that 
lives  a  bad  life,  and  calls  God  his  Father,  lies 
both  against  God  and  himself."  Chrys.: 
"  We  must  then  pray  straightway,  and  lift 
our  mind  on  wings  and  exalt  it  above  the 
earth  and  attach  it  to  the  heavens ;  for  he  com- 
mands us  to  say,  'Our  Father  who  art  in  the 
heavens.'"  Williams:  "The opening  invo- 
cation presents  the  Parentage,  ^  Our  Father,' 
the  Brotherhood,  'Our  Father';  and  the 
Home,  'Our  Father  which  art  in  heaven.'" 
Griffith  :  "We  pray  for  our  Father's  honor, 
dominion,  service;  and  then  for  our  own  pres- 
ervation, pardon,  protection."  Theophyl.: 
"For  as  God  is  blasphemed  for  my  sake,  so 
also  for  my  sake  he  is  sanctified,  that  is,  glori- 
fied as  holy." — If  we  wish  and  pray  that 
God's  name  may  be  hallowed,  we  ought  our- 
selves never  to  speak  irreverently,  either  of 
him,  or  of  anything  that  is  sacred  from  its 
connection  with  him  (comp.  on  5:  33-37); 
and  if  "actions  speak  louder  than  words,"  it 
is  still  more  important  to  avoid  acts  which 
would  profane  anything  that  he  has  made 
holy.  Is  it  not  polluting  and  blaspheming 
the  Name  of  God,  for  people  to  say  prayers 
or  sing  praises  to  him  when  they  are  grossly 
wicked,  and  have  no  present  intention  to  turn 
from  their  wicked  ways?  (Comp.  Ruskin.) 
No  church  would  employ  a  notorious  drunk- 
ard, or  adulterer,  or  an  avowed  infidel,  to 
read  the  Bible  in  public  worship,  because  of 
his  being  a  good  elocutionist;  why  employ 
such  a  man  to  sing  solos  in  praise  of  God  be- 
cause he  is  a  good  vocalist?  Weiss:  "The 
fear  of  God  is  the  source  of  all  religious  life, 
and  the  antecedent  condition  of  all  that  is 
asked  for  in  the  progress  of  this  prayer." 

v.  10.  Stanford:  "Oh,  it  is  coming!  The 
reign  of  the  Father  is  sure  in  due  season  to 
show  itself,  for  no  power  can  ever  frustrate  his 
purpose  or  falsify  his  word."  Williams: 
"To  pray  for  Christ's  kingdom  is  to  pray  for 
the  conversion  of  sinners  and  the  edification 
and  sanctification  of  disciples.  It  is  to  ask 
the  evangelization  of  the  Gentiles  and  the 
restorat'ion  of  the  Jews.  It  is  to  implore  that 
Antichrist  may  fall,  and  the  idols  perish  from 


under  the  whole  heaven.  It  is  to  profess 
sympathy  with  all  that  relieves  and  elevates 
and  enfranchises  man ;  and  to  implore  the 
removal  of  all  that  corrupts  and  debases 
him,    and  that    sells   him,    soul    and    body, 

to  the  service  of  the  Evil  One 

Did  we  but  know  aright  the  necessities 
of  our  kind,  and  the  truest,  deepest  wants 
of  our  own  souls,  the  hourly  burden  of 
intercession,  from  our  acts,  and  plans,  and 
alms,  and  prayers,  would  still  be,  'Let  thy 
kingdom  come.' "  Milton:  "Come  forth  out 
of  thy  royal  chambers,  O  Prince  of  all  the 
kings  of  the  earth  !  Put  on  the  visible  robes 
of  thy  imperial  majesty,  take  up  that  un- 
limited sceptre  which  thy  Almighty  Father 
hath  bequeathed  thee ;  for  now  the  voice  of 
thy  bride  calls  thee,  and  all  creatures  sigh  to 
be  renewed." 

Chrys.  :  "He  hath  enjoined  each  one  of  us 
who  pray,  to  take  upon  himself  the  care  of  the 
whole  world.  For  he  did  not  at  all  say,  '  Thy 
will  be  done  in  me,'  or  'in  us,'  but  everywhere 
on  the  earth  ;  so  that  error  may  be  destroyed, 
and  truth  implanted,  and  all  wickedness 
cast  out,  and  virtue  return,  and  no  difference 
in  this  respect  be  henceforth  between  heaven 
and  earth."  Seneca:  "  Let  men  be  pleased 
with  whatever  God  pleases."  Epictetus: 
"Do  not  seek  for  things  to  happen  as  thou 
wishest ;  but  wish  for  things  to  happen  as  they 
do  happen.'*  Pythagoras:  "It  shows  knowl- 
edge and  sense  if  we  do  not  strive  against,  and 
worry  at.  Divine  Providence." — This  petition 
means  not  merely  resignation  to  Gods  will 
when  painful  (26:  42;  \au  -n-.  u);  but  we  pray  that 
God's  will  may  come  to  pass,  and  should  ac- 
cordingly be  striving  to  bring  to  pass  what- 
ever we  believe  to  be  his  will. 

V.  11.  BoARDMAN  :  "This  teaches  (1)  Our 
dependence  on  God— ^'I'pe;  (2)  Modesty  in 
our  requests— bread ;  (3)  Trustfulness — this 
day;  (4)  Brotherhood — ?<«.  our."  Ruskin: 
"No  words  could  be  burning  enough  to  tell 
the  evils  which  have  come  on  the  world  from 
men's  using  this  petition  thoughtlessly,  and 
blasphemously  praying  God  to  give  them 
what  they  are  deliberately  resolved  to  steal. 
.  .  .  For  the  man  who  is  not,  day  by  day, 
doing  work  which  will  earn  his  dinner,  must 
be  stealing  his  dinner." 

V.  12.  We  incur  debt  to  God  by  sins  of 
omission,  as  truly  as  by  sins  of  commission. 


142 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  VI. 


that  they  may  appear ^..  . 

uuto  you,  Tbey  have  their  reward. 


Ck>mp.  25:  42.  And  as  every  wiae  business 
man  takes  distinct  account  of  all  his  pecuniary 
debts,  so  we  should  think  over  and  deal  with 
our  moral  debts.  Boardmax:  "This  is  the 
way  in  which  our  Heavenly  Father  forgives 
us,  for  his  Son's  sake,  our  debts.  We,  finite, 
sinful  mortals,  contracted  the  debt  in  the  cur- 
rency of  earth ;  the  Son  of  God  paid  the  debt, 
so  to  speak,  in  the  currency  of  heaven." 
Theophyl:  "For  God  takes  me  as  an  ex- 
emplar ;  and  what  I  do  to  another,  he  does  to 
me."  EuTHYM. :  "He  makes  us  masters  ofj 
the  forgiveness  of  our  sins."  Boardman: 
"  Here  is  a  man  who  has  been  bitterly  wronged 
by  another ;  he  says  to  him,  '  I  forgive  you 
this,  but  I  cannot  forget  it.'  He  enters  his 
closet  and  prays:  'Father,  forgive  me,  as  I 
have  forgiven  him  1  Say  to  me  in  words  that 
thou  forgivest  me,  but  do  not  forget  my 
offences  1  Blot  them  not  out  of  the  book  of 
thy  remembrance  1  Do  to  me  as  I  do  to  him  I ' 
Oh,  how  often  does  this  prayer,  if  offered  sin- 
cerely, mean  a  curse."  Sexeca:  "Let  him 
easily  pardon  who  needs  pardon." 

V.  13.  Theophyl.  :  "  Men  are  weak,  where- 
fore we  must  not  fling  ourselves  into  tempta- 
tions; but,  if  we  have  fallen  into  them,  must 
pra3'  that  we  may  not  be  swa'lowed  up." — We 
do  very  wrong  when  we  expose  servants  or 
other  dependents  to  temptation,  by  negli- 
gently giving  them  opportunity  to  defraud  us, 
or  by  failing  to  pay  them  what  they  really 
need  for  support,  or  by  showing  them  only 
the  mote  forbidding  aspects  of  our  own  life  as 
professed  Christians,  thus  inclining  them  to 
think  ill  of  Christianity.  Lakqe:  "Thou 
who  tcmptest  others  to  sin,  who  exposest  thy- 
self wantonly  to  temptation,  or  who  in  tempt- 
ation flghtest,  yet  not  with  the  armor  of  God, 
why  wilt  thou  mock  God  by  praying,  'Lead 
us  not  into  temptation  ?'(iP<!t.5:  s;  Eph.  6:  u.") 
Origen:  "Let  us  pray  that  when  struck  by 
the  fiery  darts  of  the  evil  one  we  may  not  be 
kindled:  and  they  are  not  kindled  who  with 
the  shield  of  faith  quench  all  the  fiery  darts 


which  he  sends  against  them."  (Kpb.6:i6.) 
RusKiN:  "Supposing  we  were  first  of  all 
quite  sure  that  we  had  prayed,  honestly,  the 
prayer  against  temptation,  and  that  we  would 
thankfully  be  refused  anything  we  had  set 
our  hearts  upon,  if  indeed  God  saw  that  it 
would  lead  us  into  evil,  might  we  not  have 
confidence  afterwards  that  he  ...  .  would 
turn  our  hearts  in  the  way  that  they  should 
go?"  Boardman:  "Well  may  this  petition 
take  its  place  as  the  conclusion  of  the  Pattern 
Prayer.  The  evil  it  deprecates  is  the  sum- 
mary of  all  woe  on  man's  part:  the  deliver- 
ance it  craves  is  the  summary  of  all  love  on 
God's  part."  i 

The  Lord's  Prayer :  I.  That  God  may  be 
glorified.  1.  His  name  be  hallowed.  2.  His 
reign  come.  3.  His  will  come  to  pass,  etc. 
II.  That  we  may  be  blessed.  1.  Temporal 
wants.  2.  Spiritual  wants ;  (a)  Forgiven  our 
sins;  (b)  Preserved  from  temptation,  and  de- 
livered from  Satan. 

We  may  imagine  (Bengel)  that  in  heaven 
all  these  petitions  will  be  turned  into  praises. 
"  God's  name  is  sanctified  :  his  reign  is  come : 
his  will  comes  to  pass.  He  has  forgiven  us' 
our  sins:  he  has  put  an  end  to  temptation  :  he 
has  delivered  us  from  Satan." 

16-18.  Good  Works  Without  Ostex- 
tation.    III.  Fasting. 

The  third  application  of  the  general  prin- 
ciple laid  down  in  v.  1  is  to  Fasting.  Com- 
pare on  V.  2  and  on  v.  5.  The  reference  here 
is  obviously  not  to  general  public  fasts,  but  to 
voluntary  individual  fasting.  This  was  com- 
mon among  the  pious  Jews,  but  the  Pharisees 
had  reduced  it  to  a  system  (as  formalists 
usually  do  with  their  religious  observances), 
fasting  "twice  in  the  week."  (Lukeis:  12.)  The 
Talmud  informs  us  that  they  chose  the  second 
and  fifth  days  of  the  week,  because  of  the 
tradition  that  Moses  went  up  Mount  Sinai  on 
the  fifth  day,  and  came  down  on  the  second. 

16.  Be  not,  or  more  exactly,  'do  not  be- 
come,' implying  the  assumption  of  such  looks 


1  Blyth  on  the  Lord's  Prayer,  re-published  by  James  |  quotations  from  ancient  and  modern  writers,  one  of 
Pott,  New  York,  contains  an  immense  collection  of  i  which  has  been  used  above. 


Ch.  VI.] 


MATTHEW. 


143 


17  But  thou,  when  thou  fastest,  anoint  thine  head,  I  17  unto  you,  They  have  received  their  reward.    But 
and  wash  thy  face;  I       thou,  when  thou  lastCHt,  anoint  thy  head,  and  wash 


for   the   time.      Of  a   sad  couutenance.i 

It  had  always  been  the  custom  among  the 
Israelites,  as  among  other  Oriental  nations, 
on  occasions  of  severe  personal  or  national 
affliction,  to  manifest  their  grief  and  humilia- 
tion by  wearing  sackcloth,  putting  aslies  on 
tlie  head  and  face,  etc.  (Oomp.  on  11:  21.) 
These  the  Pharisaic  hypocrites  appear  to  have 
adopted  in  their  regular  individual  fasting,  in 
order  to  make  known  the  fact  and  gain  credit 
for  singular  devoutness.  The  Talmud  of 
B-ibylon  says,  "Whoever  makes  his  face 
black  (a  common  expression  in  the  Jewish 
writers  for  fasting)  on  account  of  the  law  in 
this  world,  God  will  make  his  brightness  to 
shine  in  the  world  to  come."  Verily  1  say 
unto  you,  see  on  6:  18.  They  have  re- 
ceived, more  literally,  have  in  full^  'have  all 
of.'  See  on  v.  2.  Instead  of  they  may  ap- 
pear, etc.,  (the  more  literal  rendering),  May 
be  seen  of  men  (Tyndale,  Geneva),  is  pre- 
ferred, because  the  former  might  suggest  a 
mere  appearance,  which  is  not  here  intended. 
(So  in  V.  18.) 

17.  The  Saviour  requires  his  disciple  to 
dress  on  a  day  when  he  was  fasting  preciselj- 
as  on  other  days.  So  far  from  ostentatiously 
exhibiting  a  voluntary  act  of  devotion,  he 
should  even  purposely  conceal  it.  But  it  is  a 
gross  misunderstanding  to  take  this  as  an  in- 
junction to  dissimulation.  We  cannot  too 
often  ren:iind  ourselves  of  the  distinction  be- 
tween deception  and  concealment.  Anoint 
thy  head.  This  was  an  established  custom 
among  the  Jews  from  an  early  period.  (Ruth a: 

» ;  i  Sam.  12 :  30  ;  Pit.  3.1 :  6 ;  lOi :  16 ;   ISS :  2  i  Eool.  9:8;  Mate.  28 : 

Ti  Luu ::««.)  When  in  great  distress,  they 
would  omit  this,  as  in  2  Sam.  14:  2;  Dan.  10: 
8,  and  the  Talmud  enjoins  a  like  course  in 
connection  with  fasting.  In  one  passage, 
however,  we  read  of  a  man  as  "  weeping  ut 
home,  but  when  he  went  forth  in  public,  he 
bathed,  anointed,  ate,  and  drank.  But  why 
did  he  not  do  it  openly?  God  answered, 
Although  he  himself  did  not  manifest  tlie 
thing,  yet  I  will  manifest  it."  But  thou, 
the  change  our  Lord  so  frequently  makes 
from  the  plural  to  the  singular  (comp.  v.  2,  6, 
and  see  on  5 :  2J{).    This  shows  that  the  refer- 


ence is  to  a  case  of  private,  individual  fasting, 
as  in  v.  6  to  private  praying.  For  the  various 
phrases  in  v.  18,  see  on  similar  phrases  in  v, 
4  and  6. 

As  to  the  propriety  of  fasting  on  the  part  of 
Christians  now,  we  see  that  Jesus  speaks  as  if 
taking,  for  granted  that  his  disciples  would 
fast.  It  might  be  said  that  this  was  in  the 
early  part  of  his  ministry,  when  things  were 
in  a  transition  stage.  But  in  9:  15,  he  like- 
wise takes  for  granted  that  his  disciples  will 
fast  after  he  shall  have  left  them.  Observe, 
however,  that  it  is  voluntary  fasting  of  which 
he  is  speaking,  and  there  is  no  trace  in  the 
New  Test,  of  any  appointment  of  a  particular 
season  for  fasting.  Indeed,  the  only  fast  en- 
joined by  the  law  of  Moses  was  that  on  the 
Day  of  Atonement  (Lev.  le  -.  29-34) ;  all  the  other 
fasting  mentioned  in  the  Old  Test.,  whether 
national  or  individual,  was  voluntary.  In 
9:  15,  the  Saviour  clearly  teaches  that  fasting 
is  right  only  when  one's  condition  makes  it 
natural.  In  a  time  of  joy,  fasting  would  be 
unnatural,  and  could  not  express  a  genuine 
feeling.  But  persons  who  are  in  great  distress 
are  naturally  inclined  to  abstain  from  eating. 
Now  every  feeling  is  deepened  by  being  in 
any  natural  way  manifested ;  and  so  a  sincere, 
though  less  strong  feeling  of  distress,  as  on  ac- 
count of  sin,  may  be  strengthened  by  absti- 
nence from  food.  This  may  also  help  us  for 
a  time  in  fixing  our  attention  upon  worship 
and  devout  meditation.  Yet  fasting  is  not  in 
itself  a  meritorious  action,  but  is  proper  only 
so  far  as  it  is  natural  under  the  circumstances, 
and  useftil  in  such  ways  as  have  been  indi- 
cated. Wherever  this  utility  would  be  counter- 
balanced by  injury  to  health,  disqualification 
for  active  duties,  or  other  grave  evils,  then 
fasting  ought  not  to  be  practiced.  The  observ- 
ance of  national  fasts  would  appear  to  be  in 
like  manner  optional,  and  subject  to  the  same 
conditions.  As  to  fasts  appointed  by  some 
ecclesiastial  authority  for  regular  seasons  of 
the  week  or  year,  no  Scriptural  authority  can 
be  claimed  for  making  the  injunction,  and 
such  regularly  recurring  fa.'^ts  are  extremely 
apt  to  degenerate  into  formality  'comp.  Isa.  58 : 
3ff. ),  or  to  encourage  excesses  at  other  times 


1  See  the  same  Greek  term  in  Luke  24: 17  (Rev.  Text),  and  In  the  Septuagint  of  Qen.  40:  7;  Dan.  1 :  10. 


144 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  VI. 


18  That  thou  ap{>ear  not  unto  uien  to  fast,  but  unto 
thy  Father  which  is  in  secret:  and  thy  Father  which 
seeth  in  secret  shall  reward  thee  openly. 

19  Lay  not  up  for  yourselves  treasures  upon  earth, 
where  uioth  and  rust  doth  corrupt,  and  where  thieves 
brealc  through  and  steal: 


18  thy  face;  that  thou  be  not  seen  of  men  to  fast,  butl 
of  thy  Father  who  is  in  secret:  and  thy  Father,  whqj 
seeth  in  secret,  shall  recompense  thee.  1 

19  Lay  not  up  for  yourselves  treasures  upon  the  earth,! 
where  moth  and  rust  doth  consume,  aud  whervl 
thieves  i  break  through  aud  steal:   but  lay  up  fori 


1  Or,  dig  through. 


("Mardi  Gras,"  etc.),  or  to  be  invested  with  an 
intia^inary  intrinsic  meritoriousness,  opposed 
to  the  spirit  of  the  gospel.  The  mortitlcation 
of  the  flesh,  which  is  sometimes  urge'd  as  a 
benefit  of  regular  fasting,  "can  be  better  at- 
tained by  habitual  temperance  than  by  occa- 
sional abstinence."  (^Alexander.)  (Compare 
on  4:  2  and  on  9:  15.)  But  many  Christians 
of  the  early  centuries  had  an  exaggerated  con- 
ception of  the  importance  of  fasting  (one  of 
the  many  elements  of  Judaism  which  they  im- 
ported into  Christianity),  and  so  the  word 
fasting  crept  into  numerous  manuscripts  and 
versions  in  Mark  9 :  29 ;  Matt.  17 :  21  (whole 
verse  spurious);  Acts  10:  30;  1  Cor.  7:  5. 
(See  these  passages  in  Kev.  Test.)  The  word 
is  part  of  the  genuine  text  in  Matt.  9:  15; 
Luke  2:  37;  Acts  13:  2  f ;  14:  23. 

HOMILKTICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

Fasting.  I.  When?  (1)  On  public  occa- 
sions, if  we  really  feel  grief,  and  really  desire 
to  deepen  it.  (2)  On  private  occasions,  if  it 
would  be  natural  in  our  providential  situation 
(9: 15),  and  would  be  profitable.  (3)  In  either 
case,  only  so  far  as  compatible  with  health 
and  the  proper  discharge  of  existing  duties. 
II.  How?  (1)  Without  the  least  ostentation, 
(v.  1,18.)  (2)  With  sincere  desire  and  earnest 
effort  to  commune  with  God  and  gain  spiritual 
profit,  (v.  18.)— Hypocrisy.  I.  Methods.  (1)  Ko- 
ligious  observances — e.  g.,  alms-giving,  fast- 
ing, prayer.  (2)  Religious  professions.  II. 
Rewards.  (1)  Glory  of  men  (v.  .i),  and  even 
this  usually  very  partial  and  very  transinnt. 
(2)  No  reward  from  God.  (»•  i.)  (3)  Not 
even  the  approval  of  one's  own  conscience. 
(4)  Aggravated  punishment  in  eternity'. 
(Mark IS:  40.)    Comp.  in  general  chap.  23. 

Chrys.  :    "  And,  whereas,  in  the  matter  of 

almsgiving after  saying,   'Take  heed 

not  to  do  it  before  men,'  he  added,  'to  be' 
seen  of  them'  ;  yet  in  the  matter  of  fasting 
and  prayer,  he  made  no  such  limitation  ;  why 
was  this?  Because  for  alms-giving  to  be  alto- 
gether concealed  is  impossible,  but  for  prayer 
and  fasting,  it  is  possible."     Yijjet  (in  Lut- 


teroth):   "Fasting  has  no  value  save  accord- 
ing to  the  dispositions  by  which  it  is  accom-.J 
panied ;   it  is  good  only  in  proportion  as  it| 
is   not  the  body  alone,   but  the    heart,  that 
fasts." 

19-34.  Single-hearted    Devotion   to 
God,  as  Opposed  to  Worldly  Aims  and] 
Anxieties. 

Having  urged  that  good  deeds  should  ba| 
performed,  out  of  regard,  not  for  human  ap- 
probation and    reward,  but    for  that  of  God 
(v.  1-18),  our  Lord   now  passes  to  the   kindred 
topic  of  inculcating,  in  general,  an  exclusive! 
and  entire  devotion   to   God,   as  opposed  tol 
worldly    aims    and    anxieties,     (v.  i9-34.)    (Seel 
Analysis  at  the  beginning  of  chapter  5.)   Tiiigl 
section  of  the  great  discourse  naturally  divideij 
itself  into  four  parts,  viz.,  v.  19-21 ;  v.  22  f.; 
V.  24;  V.  25-34.  We  can  discern  between  these 
an  internal,  though  not  a  formal  connection. 
The  sayings  are  gnomic  in  form,  and  onl^'  an 
internal  connection  could  be  expected. 

19-21.  He  begins  with  the  thought  that  aa 
the  believer's  heart  ought  to  be  in  heavei 
(which  is  here  taken  for  granted),  and  as  th« 
heart  will  be  where  the  treasure  is,  thereforol 
we  should  treasure  to  ourselves  treasures  inj 
heaven,  not  on  earth  ;  and  to  this  he  encour- 
ages by  contrasting  the  treasures  of  earth  andl 
heaven  as  respectively  perishable  and  imper- 
ishable.    The  same  idea  occurs  in  Luke  12!| 
33  f.,   as   used  on  a  different  occasion.     The 
Jews  of  our  Saviour's  age  were  very  largelj 
a  trading  people,   possessing  much  the  same 
characteristics  as  at  present,  and  among  ther 
an  uncommon  love  of  money.     What  is  her 
said  was  therefore  especially  appropriate 
them,  but  fully  applies  to  men  of  all  ages.    If 
is  also  naturally  understood  as  extending  t(| 
all  the  other  objects  after  which  men  longan< 
seek;    in  general,  we  are  to  have  regard  tc 
and  strive  to  obtain,   heavenly  rather  than 
earthly  things  (compare  Col.  3:  Iff.),  becnus 
the  heart  will  be  fixed  on  that  which  we  ar^j 
laboring  to  possess. 

Lay  not  up  for  yourselves— literally, 
not  treasure   to   yourselves   treasures.    Th« 


H.   VI.] 


MATTHEW. 


145 


20  But  lay  up  for  yourselves  treasures  in  heaven, 
here  nt-ither  moth  nor  rust  doth  corrupt,  and  where 
lieves  do  not  break  through  nor  steal : 

21  For  where  your  treasure  is,  there  will  your  heart 
!  also. 

22  The  light  of  the  body  is  the  eye:  if  therefore 
^hine  eye  be  single,  thy  whole  body  shall  be  full  of 

light. 


20  yourselves  treasures  in  heaven,  where  neither  moth 
nor  rust  doth  consume,  and  where  thieves  do  not 

21  1  break  through  nor  steal :  for  where  thy  treasure  is, 

22  ohere  will  thy  heart  be  also.    The  lamp  of  the  body 
is  the  eye :  if  therefore  thine  eye  be  single,  thy  whole 


1  Or.  dig  through. 


English  idiom  is  disinclined  to  this  immediate 
repetition  of  the  same  word,  and  hence  our 
popular  versions  express  it  otherwise.  Jesus 
does  not  mean  absolutely  to  forbid  the  accu- 
mulation of  wealth.  It  is  a  peculiarity  of  the 
Hebrew  style,  often  occurring  in  Scripture,  to 
make  an  absolute  statement  (especially  a  pro- 
hibition), which  is  designed  to  be  understood 
relatively.  See  other  instances  in  Luke  14: 
12;  John  4:  21;  1  Pet.  3:  3f.  This  makes 
the  expression  more  striking  and  impressive, 
like  hyperbolical  phrases,  etc.,  and  such  state- 
ments were  not  meant,  or  expected  to  be  taken 
literally  and  absolutely,  any  more  than  hy- 
perboles are  so  taken.  This  principle  of  inter- 
pretation is  capable  of  being  abused,  as  all 
others  are;  but  it  requires  to  be  applied  in 
such  passages  as  the  present.  Verse  20  is  the 
opposite  of  V.  19,  expanded  for  greater  impres- 
«iveness.  Comp.  v.  15,  and  see  on  5:  30.  Men 
lay  up  treasures  in  heaven  by  righteousness 
in  general,  both  in  doing  and  suffering  for 
Christ's  sake  (5 :  12, « ;  6 : 6 ;  2  Cor.  4 :  17) ;  and  among 
other  things,  by  a  right  use  of  earthlj'  pos- 
sessions, as  proposed  to  the  rich  young  man 
(!»:«),  and  as  taught  in  Luke  12:  33,  and  in 
the  parable  of  the  unjust  steward.  (Lukei6:  i.) 
Remember  also  the  cup  of  cold  water  (lO:  42), 
the  awards  of  the  judgment  ('■'5:  40),  and  the 
remarkable  passage  in  1  Tim.  6:  17-19;  also 
Rev.  14 :  13.  These  heavenly  rewards  are  not 
deserved  by  our  good  deeds,  being  a  gift  of 
free  grace;  but  God  chooses  to  connect  them 
with,  and  proportion  them  to,  our  deeds  of 
kindness  to  others,  and  devotion  to  him. 

Moth,  rust.  The  garments  of  the  Jews, 
as  of  other  Oriental  nations,  seldom  changed 
their  fashion;  and  hence  great  store  of  gar- 
ments, perhaps  in  part  inherited,  would  often 


rust,  just  as  we  say  that  rust  eats.  Compare 
James  5:  2  f.,  in  which,  as  in  various  other 
passages,  James  seems  to  be  referring  to  the 
Sermon  on  tlie  Mount.  The  word  rendered 
corrupt — in  Rev.  Ver.,  consume— is  literally 
'cause  to  disappear,'  and  in  v.  16  is  rendered 
disfigure.  'Corrupt'  does  not  correctly  ex- 
press the  idea.  Thieves.  As  to  the  other 
word  sometimes  rendered  'thief,'  but  more 
properly  'robber,'  see  on  27:38.  Break 
through  is  literally  ^  dig  through,^  as  in  mar- 
gin of  Rev.  Ver.,  following  Geneva  and 
Rheims.  It  doubtless  refers  to  the  clay  walls 
which  many  houses  had  (comp.  Job  24:  16). 
"The  houses  in  Mexico  are  chiefly  built  of 
adobes  (large  sun-dried  bricks),  and  in  the 
attack  on  Monterey  (1846),  the  American 
troops  advanced  into  the  heart  of  the  city  by 
digging  occasionally  through  the  walls  of 
courts  and  houses.'  Gen.  D.  H.  Hill.  It  is 
sometimes  objected  that  the  precious  metals 
do  not  rust.  But  they  can  be  stolen.  The 
heart  is  spoken  of  in  Scripture,  not  according 
to  our  modern  view,  as  the  seat  of  the  affec- 
tions only,  but  as  the  seat  of  all  the  powers  of 
the  soul,  both  intellect,  sensibilities,  and  will. 
(To  speak  of  the  head  as  the  seat  of  intellect, 
is  a  thing  unknown  to  the  Bible.)  Many  pas- 
sages of  Scripture  are  popularly  misunder- 
stood, from  failure  to  keep  this  usage  in  view. 
The  connection  in  the  present  case  leads  us  to 
think  of  the  affections  as  especially  meant, 
but  not  exclusively.  The  thoughts,  as  well  as 
feelings,  will  be  where  the  treasure  is  (comp. 
Col.  3:2);  and  it  is  the  power  of  knowing 
truth  that  is  especially  referred  to  in  the  next 
two  verses.  Your— R.  V.,  iAy— (twice)  in  v.  21. 
The  .singular  represents  the  correct  Greek  text, 
which  was  changed  to  '  your '  by  copyists  who 


form  an  important  item  in  one's  possessions,  i  observed  the  plurals  of  v.  19  f,  and  did  not 

'ieii.46:22;  s  Kings  5: 5;  Job 27: 16.)  Thcsc  Were  liable  j  think  of  that  imprcssivc  change  to  the  singu- 

'  be  destroyed  by  moth.     The  term  rendered  |  lar  which   is  so  often  made  in  this  discourse 

rust'  signifies  'eating,'  and  so  consumption  j  (comp.  v.  2,  6,  17;  and  see  on  5:   '2;?). 

in  whatever  way.     It  may  be  understood  here  j      22  f.  This  passage  is  in  some  respects  ob- 

in  the  general  sense  of  whatever  consumes  or    scure,   and   has    given    commentators   much 

destroys  property;  or  in  the  special  sense  of  I  trouble;  but  by  remembering  the  connection, 


146 


MATTHEW. 


[Cii.  VI. 


23  But  if  thine  eye  be  evil,  thy  whole  body  shall  be  I  23  body  shall  be  full  of  light.  But  if  thine  eye  be  evil, 
full  of  darkness.  If  therefore  the  light  that  is  iu  thee  I  thy  whole  l)ody  shall  be  full  of  darkuess. '  If  there- 
be  darkoess,  how  great  is  that  darkuess  1  {       fore  the  light  that  is  in  thee  be  darkuess,  how  great 


and  carefully  noting  the  precise  meaning  of 
the  terms,  the  diflSculty  may  be  cleared  up. 
Compare  Luke  11 :  34-36,  nearly  the  same 
passage,  spoken  on  a  different  occasion.  The 
light — literally,  the  lamp.  The  word  is  the 
same  as  in  6:  15,  and  denotes  any  portable 
light.  The  eye  is  the  lamp  of  the  body  be- 
cause it  is  that  part  which  gives  the  body 
light,  by  means  of  which  the  body  sees.  The 
word  single,  or,  'simple,'  represents  the  eye 
as  giving  one  image  of  an  object;  as  opposed 
to  an  eye  which  sees  double,  which  gives  dim, 
flickering  images  that  displace  one  another,  so 
that  the  object  is  not  seen  clearlj'  and  steadily. 
This  last  is  described  by  a  more  general  term 
as  a  '  bad  '  eye,  the  Greek  word  commonly  ex- 
pressing moral  evil  (and  the  phrase  is  so  em- 
ployed in  20:  15;  Mark  7:  22),  but  being 
sometimes  found  in  the  other,  which  is  really 
its  primary  sense,  as  in  the  phrases  'bad  diet,' 
'bad  health,'  '  badness  of  eyes,'  all  employed 
by  Plato.  (Some  early  expositors  understood 
it  to  denote  moral  evil  here,  and  hence  Tyn- 
dale.  Great  Bible,  Geneva,  and  Darby  trans- 
late 'wicked.')  Many  interpreters  conclude 
that  'single'  should  be  here  understood  as 
meaning  a  sound,  healthy  eye  in  general,  as 
opposed  to  a  bad,  diseased  one,  which  does  not 
see  well.  But  there  is  no  support  in  Greek 
usage  for  such  an  interpretation  of  the  word, 
and  the  Latin  versions  render  it  simplex,  the 
Peshito  gives  the  same  sense,  while  the  Mem- 
phitic  borrows  the  Greek  word.  It  is  very 
undesirable  to  abandon  the  specific  meaning  of 
this  word,  which  precisely  suits  the  whole  con- 
nection, and  in  contrast  with  which  the  general 
term 'bad'  will  naturally  here  take  to  itself  a 
corresponding  application.  The  'single'  eye 
forms  but  one  image  of  its  object,  and  does 
not  blend  that  with  the  images  of  other  ob- 
jects ;  the  '  bad '  eye  forms  different  images  of 
the  same  thing,  or  blends  different  objects  in 
its  confused  vision.  So  the  single  eye  really 
sees;  while  the  bad  eye  practically  does  not 
see  at  all.  If  the  eye  be  single,  the  whole 
body  will  be  'full  of  light,'  thoroughly  light; 
while  if  the  eye  be  bad,  the  whole  body  will 
be  'full  of  darkness,'  thoroughly  dark.  The 
light  that  is  in  thee,  the  lamp  of  the  mind, 
or  as  Plato  calls  it,  "the  eye  of  the  soul," 


would  be  our  inner  power  of  perceiving  truth 
and  duty — what  we  commonly  call  reason 
and  conscience;  and  would  include  both  the 
natural  light  which  these  give,  and  thejr 
capacity  to  receive  the  light  of  revelation. 
So  Philo  says  (following  Aristotle):  "For 
what  the  intellect  is  in  the  soul,  that  the  eye 
is  in  the  bodj'."  Or  we  might  recall  (Weiss) 
the  term  'heart'  from  v.  21,  which  would 
then  represent  the  mind,  and  amount  to  the 
same  thing.  Now  why  is  it  that  the  good  eye 
of  the  illustration  is  specifically  described  as 
a  'single'  eye?  The  reason  lies  in  that  gen- 
eral truth  with  which  the  whole  connection  is 
dealing,  viz.,  the  propriety  and  necessity  of 
exclusive  regard  to  God.  Just  before,  we  are 
taught  to  store  up  heavenly  and  not  earthly 
treasure,  that  our  hearts  may  be  in  heaven, 
not  on  earth.  Just  after,  that  we  cannot  be  the 
servants  of  both  God  and  mammon,  but  must 
serve  God  alone  ;  that  we  must  not  be  anxious 
about  temporal  wants,  but  must  seek  his  king- 
dom and  the  righteousness  he  requires,  and 
trust  his  providence  for  the  supply  of  tem- 
poral necessities.  And  so  in  the  present  pas- 
sage. If  the  'heart'  (▼•»i)i  the  "mind's 
eye,"  the  reason  and  conscience,  is  fixed 
partly  on  God  and  partly  on  mammon,  some- 
times on  heavenly  and  sometimes  on  earthly 
things,  then  it  resembles  the  bad  eye,  which 
mixes  images  of  different  objects,  so  that  we 
really  see  nothing.  Epictetus  expresses  a 
similar  thought  by  a  similar  image:  "If 
you  strive  after  moral  excellence,  and  yet 
at  the  same  time  clutch  at  power  and  pelf, 
\'ou  will  most  likely  lose  these  last  from 
having  an  eye  to  the  former  also;  and  most 
certainly  j'ou  will  lose  the  former."  The 
general  thought  is  therefore  of  reason  and 
conscience  darkened,  blinded  —  as  by  in- 
heritance of  faults,  by  miseducation,  by 
bodily  excesses,  by  covetousness,  ambition,  or 
other  strong  passions— but  with  special  refer- 
ence here  to  a  reason  and  conscience  divided 
in  aim  and  thus  darkened.  The  heart  must 
be  directed  with  exclusive  and  steady  gaze 
towards  God,  not  distracted  by  worldly  aims 
and  anxieties,  or  we  shall  be  sadly  lacking  in 
clear  perception  of  truth  and  duty.  (Comp. 
Olsh.,  Alex,,  Plumptre.)  How  great  is  that 


Ch.  VI.] 


MATTHEW. 


147 


24  No  man  can  serve  two  masters:  for  either  he  will 
hate  the  one,  and  love  the  other ;  or  else  he  will  hold  to 
the  one,  and  despise  the  other.  Ye  cannot  serve  (iod 
and  mauiuion. 


24  is  the  darkness!  No  man  can  serve  two  masters: 
for  either  he  will  hate  the  one,  and  love  the  other ; 
or  else  he  will  hold  to  one,  and  despise  the  other. 


(the)  darkness!  'That'  is  an  imitation  of 
the  Latin,  which  has  no  article,  and  some- 
times overstates  its  meaning  by  a  demonstra- 
tive. In  the  similar  passage  (Lukeii:  s4-36),  the 
briglit  side  of  the  illustration  is  finally  made 
prominent,  while  here  it  is  the  dark  side. 

24.  A  further  and  very  distinct  illustration 
of  the  same  great  truth,  viz.,  the  duty  and 
necessity  of  exclusive  devotion  to  Grod.  See  a 
similar  passage  in  Luke  16:  13,  as  spoken  on 
a  different  occasion.  No  man  can  serve  two 
masters.  All  difficulty  or  cavil  about  this 
statement,  on  the  ground  that  there  are  cir- 
cumstances in  which  a  person  might  serve  two 
masters,  is  at  once  set  aside  by  observing  that 
the  word  rendered  '  serve '  signifies  to  '  be  the 
slave  of,'  a  relation  which  necessarily  implies 
exclusive  ownership,  and  demands  exclusive 
service.  True,  a  slave  might  belong  to  two 
masters  in  partnership ;  but  here  it  is  obviously 
implied  that  the  two  are  altogether  opposed 
to  each  other.  For  the  different  terms  ren- 
dered 'serve'  and  'servant,'  see  on  8:  9;  and 
for  the  various  words  rendered  'master,'  see 
on  8:  19.  The  next  words  are  not  tautolog- 
ical, but  have  been  thus  explained  (Meyer) : 
"  for  either  he  will  hate  A  and  love  B,  or  (on 
the  contrary)  he  will  hold  to  A  and  despise  B." 
The  change  of  the  verbs  in  the  second  clause 

instead  of  simply  saying,  "will  love  A  and 
It  ate  B")  seems,  to  intimate  that  even  if  he 
should  feel  no  positive  hatred  to  either  of  the 
two,  he  will  attach  himself  to  one,  and  neglect, 
slight,  despise,  the  other. — Our  Lord  does  not 
simply  furnish  the  illustration,  leaving  it  to  be 
understood  of  itself,  but  distinctly  applies  it  to 
the  subject  in  hand.  Ye  cannot  serve  God 
and  mammon.  The  word  mammon  is  Ara- 
maic, signifying  wealth,  riches.  It  is  here  per- 
sonified, in  being  contrasted  with  God  as  the 
'  ither  of  two  masters  ;  but  there  is  no  sufficient 

vidence  that  mammon  was,  as  some  assert, 
iictually    worshiped   as   a   Syrian    divinity.'  I 


Milton  personified  Mammon  as  one  of  Satan's 
host.     (Par.  Lost,  Book  L) 

The  Saviour  does  not  teach  that  the  pos- 
session of  wealth  is  inconsistent  with  piety. 
He  delighted  in  the  friendship  of  the  little 
family  at  Bethany,  whom  the  circumstances 
show  to  have  been  wealthy  (cohip.  on  26:  6), 
and  he  commended  Zaccheus,  who  gave  the 
half  (not  the  whole)  of  his  goods  to  the  poor. 
But  he  has  pronounced  it  an  impossibility  to  be 
the  servants  (slaves)  at  once  of  God  and  of 
mammon.  Yet  this  is  what  men  are  con- 
stantly attempting  to  do,  and  Christians  are 
sorely  tempted  to  the  same  course.  The 
Israelites  of  Elijah's  time  did  not  avowedly 
renounce  Jehovah,  but  tried  to  worship  both 
him  and  Baal ;  and  the  prophet  calls  on  them 
(1  Kings  18: 21)  to  dccidc  which  of  the  two  is 
God,  and  follow  him — to  be  one  thing  or  the 
other.  (Comp.  another  striking  example  in  2 
Kings  17:  24-41.)  So  we  must  choose  be- 
tween being  the  servants  of  God  and  Wealth; 
we  cannot  be  both.  Whatever  efforts  we 
make  to  obtain  wealth  must  be  in  entire  sub- 
ordination to  the  service  of  God,  and,  in  fact, 
a  part  of  that  service;  he  alone  must  be 
Master.  Porteus  :  '"  Every  one  has  his  ruling 
passion.  That  of  the  Christian  must  be  the 
love  of  his  Maker  and  Redeemer."  Observe 
carefully  that  the  principle  here  presented  ap- 
plies not  merely  to  those  who  have  great  pos- 
sessions, but  to  all.  "iVb  one  can  serve  two 
masters."  The  poor  also  are  tempted  to 
make  wealth  a  master  and  an  idol  (Coi. 3:5), 
and  sometimes  do  so  as  grievously  as  the  rich. 

Three  reasons  have  thus  been  given  (v.  19.24) 
why  we  should  be  exclusively  devoted  to 
God.  (1)  The  things  of  the  world  are  so  per- 
ishable. (2)  If  our  minds  are  directed  at  the 
same  time  towards  earthly  and  heavenly 
things,  our  view  becomes  distracted,  confused, 
darkened.  (3)  It  is  impossible  to  be  God's 
servants  and  the  servants  of  mammon. 


'  The  properspellingof  the  Greek,  as  found  In  nearly 
all  MS.S.,  would  give  us  mamon ;  but  it  is  too  late  to 
alter  the  English  form.  The  etymology  is  most  likely, 
i)<  usually  given,  from  the  Hebrew  aman,  meaning 
that  which  props,  supports,  or  that  which  Is  relied  on, 
'  tusUk!.  (See  Grimm,  Bleek,  Tholuck,  Achelis.)  There 
-  probably  an  allusion  to  this.  In  the  common  text  of 
-Mark  10:  24,  B.  U.  Ver.,  "  those  who  trust  in  riches"; 


and  the  words  may  have  been  omitted  in  a  few  of  the 
earliest  documents  (followed  by  Tisch.  and  W  H. )  for 
the  very  reason  that  this  allusion  was  not  understood, 
and  the  words  were  not  found  in  the  parallel  passages. 
Matt.  19  :  23  and  Luke  18  :  24.  The  dilTerent  etymology 
of  Gesenius  (Meyer,  Keill,  is  much  less  probable,  though 
it  yields  the  same  meaning,  viz.,  wealth. 


1 


148 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  VI. 


25  Therefore  I  say  unto  you,  Take  no  thought  for 
your  life,  what  ye  shall  eat,  or  what  ye  shall  drink; 
nor  yet  for  your  body,  what  ye  shall  put  on.  Is  not  the 
life  more  than  meat,  and  the  body  thau  raiment? 


25  Ye  cannot  serve  God  and  mammon.  Therefore  I 
say  unto  you.  Be  not  anxious  for  your  life,  what  ye 
shall  eat,  or  what  ye  shall  drink ;  nor  yet  for  your 
body,  what  ye  shall  put  on.    Is  not  the  life  more 


25-34.  Here  the  duty  of  entire  and  exclu- 
sive devotion  to  God  (see  on  v.  1  and  v.  19)  is 
set  in  opposition  to  worldly  anxieties,  which 
are  shown  to  be  both  unnecessary,  unavailing, 
and  unbecoming;  to  spring  from  unbelief, 
and  augment  the  ills  of  life;  and  it  is  added 
that  by  following  the  other  course  we  shall 
gain,  without  anxiety,  the  very  objects  in 
question.  The  paragraph  is  found  in  Luke 
12:  22-31,  with  slight  variations,  as  on  a  later 
occasion  repeated  to  the  disciples  in  the  hear- 
ing of  a  new  audience.  This  passage  "is  one 
of  the  beauties  of  Scripture.  Had  it  no  other 
recommendation  than  its  felicity  of  illustra- 
tion and  its  graces  of  composition,  it  would 
deserve  our  warm  admiration  ;  and  indeed  it 
has  received  the  tribute  of  admiration  from 
men  who  were  only  in  pursuit  of  literary 
beauties.  But  it  has  higher  qualities  of  ex- 
cellence than  these;  it  speaks  to  the  under- 
standing, and  the  heart,  on  themes  of  deep 
and  universal  importance." — John  Harris. 

25.  Therefore,  viz.,  because  of  the  truth 
he  has  been  enforcing  (in  v.  19-24,  but  with 
special  reference  to  v.  24\  that  single-hearted 
devotion  to  God  is  proper  and  needful.  Con- 
suming anxiety  about  the  necessaries  of  life,  in- 
stead of  trusting  God,  betrays  the  same  worldly- 
minded  and  ungodly  feeling  that  is  seen  in  the 
sluve  of  mammon.  Trust  in  God  would  pre- 
vent all  such  worldly  anxieties.  So  the  suffer- 
ing Hebrew  Christians,  who  had  been  plun- 
dered of  their  possessions  (Heb.  lo:  34),  are  urged 
to  be  free  from  the  love  of  money,  on  the 
ground  that  God  has  promised  never  to  fail 
nor  forsake  his  people.  (Heb. i3:5f.)  Food  and 
clothing  are  the  most  urgent  wants  of  our 
earthly  condition ;  and  if  we  ought  not  to  be 
anxious  about  these,  much  less  should  we  be 
anxious  about  other  things.  Take  no  thought 
— or,  be  not  anxious — for  your  life — '  Take  no 
thought'  was  a  good  rendering  when  King 
James'  version  was  made  (so  also  in  1  Sam.  9: 
6),  for  in  Bacon,  Shakspeare,  and  other  writers 
of  that  period,  '  thought '  is  used  as  including 
the  idea  of  anxiety,  as  when  a  person  is  said 
to  have  died  of  thought.     Tyndale  and  the 


succeeding  English  versions  translate  'be  not 
careful '  in  this  passage,  but  '  take  thought '  or 
'  take  careful  thought '  in  v.  27,  31,  and  '  care,' 
in  V.  27,  34.  The  Greek  verb  used  throughout 
this  passage  is  also  found  (besides  Luke  12:  22- 
26)  in  10 :  19 ;  Luke  10 :  41 ;  1  Cor.  7 :  32 ;  Phil. 
2 :  20  and  4 :  6,  and  a  few  other  passages ;  and 
the  corresponding  substantive  in  13 :  22 ;  2  Cor. 
11:  28  (Eev.Ver.)  "  anxiety  for  all  the  church- 
es," 1  Pet.  5:  7  (Kev.Ver.  1,  "casting  all  your 
anxiety  upon  him,  because  he  careth  for  you" 
(where  careth  is  a  different  verb) ;  Ecclus.  30: 
24,  "anxiety  brings  old  age  before  the  time." 
These  passages  show  that  the  word  sometimes 
expresses  a  lawful  feeling  of  intense  concern, 
which  is  directed  towards  proper  objects,  kept 
within  due  bounds,  and  stimulates  efforts  to 
do  our  duty;  and  that  this  feeling  becomes 
Avrong  when  misdirected — or  when  existing  in 
greater  measure  than  is  expended  upon  action, 
and  so  eating  like  an  acid  into  the  soul — es- 
pecially when  it  is  a  feeling. which  springs 
from  lack  of  trust  in  God,  this  last  being  the 
idea  of  the  present  connection.  The  term  care 
is  used  by  us  in  a  similar  twofold  sense,  ex- 
pressing sometimes  a  right  and  sometimes  (i 
wrong  feeling.  Our  Lord  of  course  does  not 
mean  that  we  are  to  exercise  no  forethought, 
and  put  forth  no  effort.  Trust  in  God  by  no 
means  implies  the  lack  of  these.  Augustine 
refers  to  a  sect  in  his  time  who  called  them- 
selves Euchites,  or  Prayer-men,  because  they 
simply  prayed  for  everything  they  wanted, 
without  laboring  to  attain  it.  This  grievous 
folly  has  been  reproduced  by  some  well-mean- 
ing persons  in  the  present  generation. 

The  first  consideration  by  which  .Jesus  seeks 
to  restrain  from  the  anxiety  just  forbidden  is 
an  argument  from  the  greater  to  the  less. 
(v.  25.)  If  God  has  given  us  the  greater,  viz., 
life,  the  body,  is  he  likely  to  withhold  the  less, 
viz.,  the  food  and  the  raiment?  Life  is  the 
word  which  often  denotes  'the  soul,'  but  in 
many  other  cases,  as  here,  simply  the  vital  or 
animating  principle  (comp.  on  16:  25),  to  sus- 
tain which  there  is  need  of  food.^  Meat — lit 
as  in  Rev.  Ver.,  the  food.     The  word  'meat' 


>  Some  early  authorities  omit '  or  what  ye  shall  drink,' '  sage  to  Luke  12 :  22  (where  also  some  early  documents 
and  W  H.  place  these  words  in  brackets ;   but  the  omis-  1  insert  the  words  by  way  of  assimilation  to  Matthew), 
sion  is  readily  explained  by  desire  to  assimilate  the  pas- 1 


Ch.  VI.] 


MATTHEW. 


149 


•Z">  Behold  the  fowls  of  the  air:  for  they  sow  not, 
neither  do  they  reap,  nor  gather  into  barns;  yet  your 
lieavenly  Father  feedeth  tbeiu.  Are  ye  not  much 
better  than  they? 

27  Which  of  you  by  taking  thought  can  add  one 
cubit  unto  his  stature? 


26  than  the  food,  and  the  body  than  the  raiment?  Be- 
hold the  birds  of  the  heaven,  that  they  sow  not, 
neither  do  they  reap,  nor  gather  into  barns ;  and 
your  heavenly  Father  feedeth  them.    Are  not  ye  of 

27  much  more  value  than  they?  And  which  of  you 
by  being   anxious   can   add  one   cubit  unto   ^tbe 


I  Or.  his  stature. 


formerly  signified  food,  but  is  now  restricted 
to  iv  particular  kind  of  food. 

26.  The  second  consideration  is  an  argu- 
ment from  the  less  to  the  greater,  and  this  ap- 
plied first  to  food  (v.  26),  and  afterwards  to 
clothing,  (t.  2810  30.)  Behold  the  fowls  of 
the  air — or,  as  in  Rev.  Ver.,  the  birds  of  the 
heaven,  birds  that  fly  free  in  the  sky,  and  over 
which  men  exercise  no  care.  (Com p.  8:  20; 
13:  32;  Gen.  1:  26.)  'Fowls'  formerly  sig- 
nified birds  in  general,  but  is  now  restricted 
to  a  certain  variety  of  domesticated  birds. 
Instead  of  the  general  term  'birds,'  the  simi- 

,  lar  discourse  in  Luke  12:  24,  has  the  specific 
i  term  'r^^vens.'  As  sowing,  reaping,  and  gath- 
ering into  barns  are  the  three  leading  processes 
of  agriculture,  we  thus  have  it  very  strongly 
affirmed  that  the  birds  perform  no  part  what- 
<ver  of  the  work  which  men  have  to  perform 
ill  order  to  obtain  their  food.  Of  course  we 
know  that  the  birds  exert  themselves;  God 
does  not  feed  them  in  idlenes-s.  But  they  find 
their  food  without  any  of  our  elaborate  pro- 
ves. The  inserted  'yet'  in  the  Com.  Ver- 
II  enfeebles  the  simple  and  beautiful  ex- 
|in^«sion.  Are  ye  not,  better,  not  ye  ;  the 
■yi'  licing  expressed  in  the  original,  and  thus 
.-liown  to  be  emphatic.  Mach  better.  Of 
much  more  value,  as  Com.  Ver.  translates  the 
game  Greek  phrase  in  10:  31.  The  conclusion 
that  much  more  will  God  feed  those  who  are 
greatly  more  important  than  the  birds,  is  here 
left  to  be  understood,  but  in  the  similar  ar- 
gument of  V.  30  is  stated.  The  Mishna  says, 
"Have  you  ever  seen  brutes  or  birds  that  had 
any  trade  ?  and  yet  they  Tfire  nourished  with- 
out trouble." 

27.  Before  passing  to  the  argument  as  to 
raiment  (t.28-3o),  our  Lord  pauses  to  add  an- 

•lier  remark  to  the  effect  that  it  is  quite  un- 

'liling  for  us  to  be  anxious  about  food.     The 

general    meaning    is    plain,    but    the    ablest 

Boholars  of  every  period  have  been  divided  in 

■inion  as  to  whether  the  leading  term  of  the 

iitence    here  signifies  stature  or  age.     Its 

i'rimary  meaning  and  usual  sense  in  Greek 

writers  is  the  latter  (so  in  John  9:  21  ;  Heb. 


li 


11 :  11) ;  but  it  is  sometimes  used  in  the 
former  sense  (Luke  19:  3,  and  probably  in 
Luke  2:  52;  while  Eph.  4:  13  may  be  under- 
stood either  way.)  The  Septuagint  uses  it 
seven  times  in  the  sense  of  age,  and  only  once 
in  that  of  stature.  The  early  versions,  Latin, 
Peshito,  Memphitic,  Gothic,  give  'stature,' 
and  so  do  most  of  the  Fathers,  followed  by 
all  the  early  English  versions.  Yet  the 
American  Revisers  translate  'the  meas- 
ure of  his  life,'  with  'stature'  in  the  mar- 
gin; and  this  sense  of  'age'  is  more  appro- 
priate to  the  connection.  The  object  of  the 
sentence  is  to  show  that  it  is  in  vain  to  be 
anxious  about  food.  (v.  25f.)  Now  few  men 
are  anxious  to  obtain  food  that  they  may  in- 
crease their  stature,  but  all  men  that  they 
may  prolong  their  life.  This  also  best  suits 
the  expression  in  Luke  12:  26,  "If  then  ye 
are  not  able  to  do  that  which  is  least,"  since  a 
cubit  added  to  one's  life  would  be  very  little, 
while  a  cubit  (about  nineteen  inches)  added 
to  the  stature  would  be  an  enormous  addition. 
It  is  objected  that  'cubit'  is  nowhere  in  Scrip- 
ture found  in  this  metaphorical  application  to 
the  duration  of  life;  but  it  is  supported  by 
the  analogous  expression  in  Psa.  39 :  5,  "  Thou 
hast  made  my  days  as  hand-breadths;  and 
mine  age  is  as  nothing  before  thee"  ;  also  by 
the  expression  of  a  Greek  poet,  "  For  a  cubit's 
time  we  enjoy  the  bloom  of  our  youth"; 
compare  also  (Achelis)  Job  9:  2.5,  and  the 
Greek  phrases  "a  span  of  life"  and  "a  finger- 
long  day."  In  this  state  of  things  it  is  not 
strange  that  the  great  mass  of  recent  com- 
mentators prefer  the  sense  'age.'  Morison 
urges  that  we  can  add  to  our  life  by  careful- 
ness; "otherwise  the  medical  profession  is  an 
absurdity."  But  our  eflTorts  to  do  this  are 
fruitless  without  God's  blessing.  He  thinks 
the  idea  is  that  we  cannot  enlarge  ourselves 
into  giants;  but  this  overlooks  Luke  12:  26. 
Still,  the  other  sense  will  yield  the  same  gen- 
eral meaning  for  the  passage.  With  all  our 
anxiety  about  food,  we  cannot  (apart  from 
God's  blessing)  make  the  smallest  addition  to 
our  life — or  to  our  stature. 


150 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch. 


28  And  why  take  ye  thought  for  raiment?  Consider 
the  lilies  of  the  field,  how  they  grow;  they  toil  not, 
neither  do  they  spin  : 

29  And  yet  I  say  unto  you,  That  even  Solomon  in  all 
his  glory  was  not  arrayed  like  one  of  these. 

:W  Wherefore,  if  (Jod  so  clothe  the  grass  of  the  field, 
which  to  day  is,  and  to  morrow  is  cast  into  the  oven, 
xhall  he  not  much  more  clothe  you,  O  ye  of  little 
faith  ? 

31  Therefore  take  no  thought,  saying.  What  shall  we 
eat?  or.  What  shall  we  drink?  or,  Wherewithal  shall 
we  be  clothed  ? 


28  measure  of  his  life?  And  why  are  ye  anxious  l  _ 
cerning  raiment?  Consider  the  lilies  of  the  field, 
how  they  grow;  they  toil  not,  neither  do  they  spin: 

29  yet  I  say  unto  you,  that  even  Solomon  in  all  his 

30  glory  was  not  arraye<i  like  one  of  these.  But  if  God 
doth  so  clothe  the  grass  of  the  field,  which  to-Uay  is, 
and  to-morrow  is  cast  into  the  oven,  ghalt  he  not 

31  much  more  clothe  you,  O  ye  of  little  faith?  Be  not 
therefore  anxious,  saying.  What  shall  we  eat?  or, 
What  shall  we  drink?  or,  Wherewithal  shall  we  be 


28.  In  V.  28-30,  the  argument  from  the  less 
to  the  greater  is  urged  with  reference  to  rai- 
ment. The  lilies  of  the  field,  like  'the 
birds  of  the  heaven,'  are  those  which  grow  wild 
without  human  care,  and  thus  all  the  more 
strikingly  display  the  care  of  God.  We  can- 
not determine  the  kind  of  lily  meant,  and  the 
argument  holds  for  the  plainest  flower  as  well 
as  the  most  gorgeous.  The  writer  observed  in 
Palestine  lilies  of  a  dark  violet  color,  looking 
like  violet  velvet,  and  these  might  very  natu- 
rally have  suggested  a  king  in  his  rich  purple 
robes.  Solomon's  Song  (s:  i3)  indicates  colored 
lilies,  and  Dioscorides  speaks  of  purple  lilies 
(Smith's  Diet.).  Tristram  describes  purple 
flowers,  which  he  says  would  be  popularly 
called  lilies.  The  various  attempts  made  to 
"spiritualize"  this  reference  to  the  lily,  are, 
as  usual,  wholly  unwarranted  and  out  of  place. 
They  who  are  not  satisfied  with  the  simple 
beauty  of  our  Lord's  teaching,  but  must  be 
seeking  some  mystical  meaning  which  they 
think  more  pleasing  and  instructive,  are  truly 
attempting  "to  gild  refined  gold,  to  paint  the 

lily." 

29.  Solomon  in  all  his  glory,  does  not 
directly  mean  in  glorious  apparel,  but  in  all 
the  glory  of  his  royal  station,  wealth,  and 
fame,  which  involved  the  use  of  beautiful  gar- 
ments. 

30.  If  God  so  clothe — translate,  clothes — 
indicative  mood,  assuming  it  as  a  fact  that  he 
does.  The  grass  of  the  field.  The  term 
rendered  grass  includes  weeds  and  flowers. 
All  these  wither  very  rapidly  in  the  East,  es- 
pecially when  a  hot  south  wind  is  blowing 
(comp.  Psa.  90:  6);  and  owing  to  the  scarcity 
of  fuel,  this  dried  vegetation  is  still  often  used 
to  heat  ovens  for  baking  bread.  The  oven. 
This  (Smith's  Diet.)  was  a  large  jar  made  of 
clay,  wider  at  the  bottom.  It  was  heated  by 
placing  the  fuel  within,  and  the  ashes  being 
removed  through  a  hole  at  the  bottom,  the  flat 
cakes  of  bread  were  spread  both  on  the  inside 


hffl^ 


and  the  outside,  and  thus  baked.  Sometimes 
it  was  not  a  movable  jar,  but  a  fixture ;  and  the 
primitive  contrivance  was  probably  a  hole  in 
the  earth,  with  compacted  sides.  O  ye  of 
little  faith,  represents  a  single  compound 
adjective,  somewhat  like  little-believing,  used 
also  in  8:  26;  14:  31;  16:  8;  in  all  cases  with 
reference  to  distrust  of  God's  protection,  provi- 
dential or  miraculous.  Unbelief  is  the  root 
of  the  anxiety  our  Lord  is  here  rebuking,  as  it 
is  of  every  other  sinful  feeling ;  and  thus  we 
see  one  of  the  ways  in  which  unbelief  leads  to 
unhappiness.  In  Talmud  of  Babylon,  R. 
Eliezer  says :  "  Whoever  has  a  mouthful  yet 
remaining  in  his  basket,  and  says,  '  What  shall 
I  eat  to-morrow,'  belongs  to  the  number  of 
those  who  have  little  faith." 

31,  32.  Therefore,  viz.,  in  view  of  the 
gument  just  adduced.     On  the  ground  of  th 
the  prohibition  of  v.  25  is  repeated,  and  the 
succeeding  verses  append  further  considera- 
tions to  the  same  eff'ect.   In  v.  32  there  seem  to 
be  two  distinct  reasons  for  avoiding  this  anx- 
iety: (1)  The  Gentiles  (or  heathen)  seek  after 
all  these  things,  and  it  is  unworthy  of  God's    ; 
people  to  be  like  them  (comp.  on  5:  47);  (2)     ! 
our  Heavenly   Father  knows  that  we  have    ; 
need  of  all  these  things,  and  we  may  be  sure 
he  will  not  fail  to  supply  our  need.     Some    I 
think,  however,  that  the  second  clause  fur-    I 
nishes  the  ground  of  the  first;  and  explain  by 
supplying  a  thought,  thus :  The  heathen  .seek 
after  these  things,  because  ignorant  that  God 
knows  and  cares  for  their  wants ;  but  do  not 
imitate    them,    for   your    Heavenly    Father 
knoweth,  etc.  (Comp.  v.  7  f.)    But  it  is  very 
rarely  well  to  explain  "for"  by  a  supposed 
ellipsis,   and  the    former  explanation   seems 
preferable.    Luke  12 :  30  has  'but,'  which  gives 
the  same  idea  a  little  differently.     The  verb 
rendered  seek  is  a  compound  of  that  in  v.  33, 
and  denotes  an  over-intense  or  anxious  seek- 
ing.    All  these  things— all  the  things  of  the 
class    to   which    these    (food    and    raiment) 


Ch.  VI.] 


MATTHEW. 


151 


32  (For  after  all  these  things  do  the  Gentiles  seek :) 
for  your  heavenly  Father  kuoweth  that  ye  have  need 
of  all  these  things. 

33  But  seuk  ye  first  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  his 
righteousness  ;  and  all  these  things  shall  be  added  unto 
you. 

34  Take  therefore  no  thought  for  the  morrow:  for 
the  morrow  shall  take  thought  for  the  things  of  itself. 
Hufficient  unto  the  day  is  the  evil  thereof. 


32  clothed?  For  after  all  these  things  do  the  Gentiles 
seek;   for  your  heavenly  Father  knowelh  that  ye 

33  have  need  of  all  these  things.  But  seek  ye  first  his 
kingdom,  and  his  righteousness ;  and  all  these  things 

34  shall  be  added  unto  you.  Be  not  therefore  anxious 
for  the  morrow  :  for  the  morrow  will  be  anxious  for 
iiself.    Sufllcient  unto  the  day  is  the  evil  thereof. 


belong,    everything  of  this  kind,   i.    e.,   all 
temporal  wants. 

33.  But  seek  ye,  etc.  Do  not,  like 
the  heathen,  seek  these  things,  but  seek 
first  his  kingdom,  and  his  righteousness, 
and  these  things,  (emphasis  here  on  'these 
things')  shall  ail  be  added  unto  you.  Our 
Lord  does  not  simply  command  us  to  avoid 
worldly  anxiety,  but  gives  us  something  posi- 
tive to  do  instead,  as  a  means  of  precluding  it. 
So  in  Phil.  4:  6,  Rev.  Ver. :  "In  nothing  be 
anxious;  but  in  everything  ....  let  your 
requests  be  made  known  unto  God.  And  the 
peace  of  God  ....  shall  guard  your  hearts," 
etc.  So  likewise  above  in  v.  20  we  are  to  lay 
up  treasures  in  heaven,  instead  of  laying  them 
up  upon  the  earth.  'His  kingdom.'  This 
evidently  means  the  kingdom  of  our  Heavenly 
Father,  who  is  mentioned  in  the  preceding 
sentence.  But  the  Greek  phrase  is  not  so  en- 
tirely explicit  as  the  Com.  Version ;  so  some 
one  put  the  word  God  in  the  margin,  to  ex- 
plain what  is  meant,  and  it  crept  into  the 
text.'  So  likewise  in  Luke  12 :  31.  Seek 
first  his  kingdom,  and  there  will  be  no  need  of 
afterwards  anxiously  seeking  food  and  rai- 
ment, etc.,  for  they  will  be  added,  not  indeed 
without  seeking,  but  without  anxious  seeking ; 
and  so  there  will  in  this  way  be  no  occasion 
left  for  anxiety  about  them.  Wiinsche 
quotes  from  the  Talmud:  "If  a  man 
occupies  himself  always  with  the  law, 
the  Eternal  supplies  his  wishes  and  needs." 
Our  Father's  kingdom  is  here  the  Mes- 
sianic kingdom  or  reign  (see  on  3:  2;  G: 
10).  To  seek  this  kingdom  is  to  endeavor  to 
become  admitted  into  it,  and  share  the  privi- 
leges and  duties  of  its  subjects.  But  not  leav- 
ing us  altogether  to  our  own  conclusions  as  to 
what  is  involved,  the  Saviour  here  adds  (not 
in  Luke  12:  31)  one  point  more  specifically, 


and  his  righteousness.  This  means  that 
personal  righteousness  which  our  Father  re-' 
quires  in  the  subjects  of  the  Messianic  reign, 
which  they  ought  to  hunger  and  thirst  after 
(5: 6)  ;  wliich  ought  to  cxcccd  that  of  the 
Scribes  and  Pharisees  (5=  20),  extending  not 
merely  to  outward  acts,  but  to  the  inner  life 
of  purpose  and  desire  (5 :  21-48) ;  which  ought  to 
be  practiced,  not  with  a  view  to  the  praise  of 
men,  but  to  the  approval  and  rewards  of  the 
Father  in  heaven.  (6:i-i8.)  We  must  not  in- 
troduce liere  the  idea  of  imputed  righteous- 
ness, which  is  foreign  to  the  tone  of  this  dis- 
course, and  does  not  distinctly  appear  any- 
where in  the  Gospels,  being  chiefly  set  forth 
in  Paul's  Epistles  to  the  Galatians,  Romans, 
and  Philippians.  The  great  fact  of  imputed 
righteousness  must  have  existed  from  the  be- 
ginning of  human  repentance  and  forgiveness, 
but  it  does  not  follow  that  the  idea  was  always 
revealed. 

This  saying  sums  up  the  great  principles 
of  the  whole  passage,  v.  19-34,  viz.,  things 
spiritual  first,  and  things  temporal  will  follow. 
He  does  not  forbid  our  desiring  or  seeking 
temporal  good  ;  but  says  it  must  always  be 
held  as  secondary  and  subordinate,  to  be  ob- 
tained as  a  minor  consequence  of  the  pursuit 
of  a  higher  aim.  (Coinp.  Mark  10:  30;  1  Kings 
3:  11-13.)  In  like  manner  the  sayings  in  5: 
48  and  7  :  12  form,  as  it  were,  a  summing  up  of 
what  precedes  them. 

34.  This  section  of  the  discourse  now  ends 
with  a  renewed  injunction  not  to  be  anxious, 
founded  on  the  whole  previous  dii-cussion 
(therefore),  and  directed  especially  to  anx- 
iety for  to-morrow.  It  is  concerning  the 
future  that  we  are  most  likely  to  be  anxious, 
and  to-morrow  is  the  nearest  future  ;  and  yet 
there  is  special  reason  for  avoiding  this,  since 
to-morrow  will  have  its  own  anxieties,  and  if 


1  The  word  God  is  omitted  by  B  X.,  three  cur.iive!),  1  elude  it.    This  consideration  makes  the  evidence  sufB- 
5ome  copies  of  the  old  Latin,  and  of  the  Vulgate,  the  I  cient  foromiltingit.  Tyndaleand(ienevahave'kingdom 
Memphitic  and  JRihiapic,  and  by  one  or  two  (ireek  !  of  heaven,'  which  is  here  found  only  in  one  cursive  and 
Fathers.    We  readily  see  how  the  word  came  in,  and  ,  three  Greek  Fathers.    Whence  did  they  derive  it? 
cannot  imagine  why  any  one  should  have  wished  to  ex-  1 


152 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  VL 


we  anticipate  them,  we  uselessly  add  to  the 
burden  of  to-day.  Whether  to-morrow's 
anxieties  will  be  proper  or  improper,  is  not 
here  the  question ;  they  will  be  felt  then, 
and  so  should  not  be  borrowed  to-day.  The 
shall  of  Com.  Version  is  somewhat  mislead- 
ing; the  Greek  is  a  simple  future,  and  in  this 
connection  merely  predicts.  For  the  things, 
etc.,  better  as  Kev.  Ver.,  for  itself.  'For 
the  things  of  itself  represents  a  very  feebly 
supported  reading  of  the  Greek.  Sufficient 
unto  the  day  is  the  evil  thereof.  This 
means  not  moral  evil,  the  ordinary  sense  of 
the  term,  but  natural  evil,  i.  e.,  suffering, 
trouble,  etc.,  as  in  Amos  3:6;  Eccl.  7:  14; 
12:1;  Luke  16:25;  also  in  1  Mace.  7:23; 
10:  46. 

A  Jewish  writer  (Wet.)  says,  "  Be  not  anx- 
ious about  what  is  coming,  before  it  takes 
place ;  for  there  is  enough  of  vexation  in  its 
own  hour."  All  men  observe  the  folly  of 
borrowing  trouble  from  the  future,  and  yet 
we  continue  to  do  it,  and  even  to  have  a  large 
part  of  our  distresses  spring  from  the  dread  of 
future  evil,  which  likely  enough  will  never 
come.  A  French  proverb  says,  "The  worst 
misfortunes  are  those  which  never  arrive"  ; 
and  a  homely  English  proverb,  "  Never  cross 
a  bridge  till  you  get  to  it."  Anacreon :  "I 
care  for  to-daj' ;  who  knows  to-morrow?" 
Horace :  "  What  is  to  be  on  to-morrow  avoid 
inquiring.  Whatever  sort  of  day  fortune 
shall  give,  count  it  gain."  But  there  is  a 
broad  distinction  between  our  Saviour's  teach- 
ing and  such  Epicurean  counsels.  They 
mean  that  it  is  foolish  to  harass  ourselves 
about  an  unknown  and  uncertain  to-morrow, 
and  so  we  must  simply  enjoy  to-day;  he, 
that  we  ought  to  trust  in  the  protection  and 
blessing  of  our  Heavenly  Father,  and  thus, 
while  not  heedless  of  the  future,  we  may  be 
free  from  anxiety  about  it.  They  say,  "To- 
morrow depends  on  chance ;  therefore  try  to 
forget  it,  and  enjoj-  life  to-day."  He  says, 
"To-morrow  and  all  its  wants  will  be  pro- 
vided for  by  your  Heavenly  Father;  there- 
fore think  of  it  without  anxietj',  and  try  to  do 
right  and  please  God  to-day."  On  the  other 
hand,  our  Lord's  teaching  is  very  different 
from  fatalism.  He  does  not  say,  the  morrow 
is  fixed  by  fate,  and  you  cannot  help  yourself, 
but  speaks  of  the  personal  God,  our  Father, 
who  cares  for  us  (i Pet. 5:7),  and  w^ill  supply 
uur  wants. 


HOMILETICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

V.  19-21.  Laying  up  treasures  in  heaven. 
1)  Meaning.  2)  Motives,  (a)  These  treas- 
ures are  imperishable;  (b)  Thus  our  heart 
will  be  in  heaven.  A  Roman  poet  says  :  "A 
cunning  thief  will  break  your  chest  and  carry 

off  your  money wliatever  is  given  to 

friends  is  beyond  the  reach  of  chance."  A 
Jewish  writer  tells  of  a  king,  who  was  re- 
proached for  expending  in  time  of  famine  the 
treasures  of  his  fathers,  and  who  replied, 
"My  fathers  collected  treasures  on  earth,  but 
I  in  heaven."  Augustine:  "Why  do  you 
lay  up  where  you  may  lose;  and  where,  if 
you  do  not  lose,  you  cannot  always  stay? 
There  is  another  place  to  which  I  will  remove 
you.  Let  what  you  have  go  before,  and  fear 
not  lest  you  lose  it;  I  was  the  giver,  I  will  be 
the  guard."  Euthym.  :  "That  which  is  dis-  M 
tributed  among  the  poor,  where  is  it  treasured  * 
up?  In  heaven.  How?  The  rewards  of  all 
this  are  there  stored  up  and  kept  safe."  Cal- 
vin :  "  If  honor  is  thought  to  be  the  summmn 
bonum,  then  men's  minds  must  be  wholly 
possessed  b^^  ambition ;  if  money,  then  ava- 
rice will  at  once  become  sovereign  ;  if  pleas- 
ure, then  nothing  can  prevent  men  from  de- 
generating into  brutal  indulgence." 

V.  22-23.    Blindness.    I.  Lamentable  evils, 

(1)  of  bodily,  (2)  of  spiritual  blindness.  II. 
Responsibility.  (1)  Blindness  of  the  body  is 
usually  a  misfortune.  (2)  Blindness  of  the 
soul  always  involves  guilt.  III.  Cure.  (1) 
In  physical  blindness,  cure  seldom  natural. 

(2)  In  blindness  of  the  soul,  cure  alwaj's 
supernatural.  (3)  Yet  this  cure  may  be 
sought  from  God,  and  means  employed  for 
promoting  it.  Stier:  "In  a  certain  sense 
and  measure,  indeed,  must  our  eye,  from  tlie 
very  beginning,  be  singly  fixed  upon  God,  his 
kingdom,  and  his  righteousness,  upon  the 
treasures  in  heaven  ;  but  is  it  not  consummate 
holiness  when  this  is  perfectly  realized,  and 
there  is  no  oblique  or  other  regard  ?" 

V.  24.  The  service  of  Mammon.  I.  Nature. 
(1)  What  it  is  not.  (2)  What  it  is.  II.  Temp- 
tations. (1)  For  personal  gratification — of  ap- 
petite, taste,  social  and  other  ambition — love 
of  possession — love  of  power.  (2)  For  benefit 
of  others — our  families — the  needy  around  us 
— the  great  good  one  hopes  to  do  after  a  while. 
III.  Some  of  the  ways  in  which  men  try  to 
serve    Mammon    and  servo   God  also.     IV. 


Ch   VI.] 


MATTHEW. 


153 


The  two  hopelessly  incompatible.  Compare 
s.rviiig  Jehovah  and  Baal,  (i  Kings  i8:  21.) 
AV'henever  trying  to  do  both,  a  man  is,  in  fact, 
only  serving  Mammon — not  at  all  serving 
God,  and  not  in  the  highest  sense  benefiting 
liimself.  "Religion  must  be  everything,  or 
it  is  nothing." 

A  Roman  writer  speaks  of  one  who  did  not 
own  riches,  but  was  owned  by  riches ;  by  title  a 
king,  but  in  mind  a  miserable  slave  of  money. 
S  EXEC  A :  "  Wealth  is  the  slave  of  a  wise  man, 
the  master  of  a  fool."  Plutarch  speaks  of 
Pelopidas  as  relieving  the  needy,  that  he  might 
appear  to  be  truly  master  of  wealth,  not  slave. 
Plato:  "To  prize  wealth,  and  at  the  same 
time  largely  acquire  wisdom,  is  impossible,  for 
a  man  necessarily  disregards  the  one  or  the 
other."  Demophilus  (Wet.):  "Forthesame 
man  to  be  a  lover  of  riches  and  a  lover  of  God, 
i>  impossible."  Luther:  " To  have  money 
and  property  is  not  a  sin,  only  you  must  not 
lot  it  be  your  master,  but  you  must  be  its 
master."  Chrys.  :  "How  then,  saith  one, 
did  Abraham,  how  did  Job,  obtain  a  good  re- 
port? Tell  me  not  of  them  that  are  rich,  but 
of  them  that  serve  riches.  Since  Job  also  was 
rich,  yet  he  served  not  Mammon,  but  pos- 
sessed it  and  ruled  over  it,  and  was  a  master, 
not  a  slave."  Achelis:  "The  servant  of 
Mammon  estimates  persons  and  things  accord- 
ing to  their  money  value;  he  regards  loss  of 
money  as  the  highest  loss,  gain  of  money  as 
the  highest  gain,  and  money  as  the  highest 
aim  of  life."  Lutteroth:  "A  man  will 
obey  the  master  he  loves ;  God,  if  he  loves 
God  more  than  money ;  money,  if  he  loves 
money  more  than  God." 

V.  25-34.  Anxiety  about  temporal  wants. 
I.  Reasons  for  avoiding  anxiety.  (1)  Apart 
from  God,  it  is  futile,  v.  27.  (2)  Trusting  in 
God,  it  is  needless;  (a)  If  he  cares  for  the  life 
and  the  body,  he  will  care  for  the  food  and 
raiment,  v.  25;  (b)  If  he  feeds  his  birds,  he 
will  feed  his  children,  v.  26;  (c)  If  he  clothes 
the  lilies,  he  will  clothe  human  beings,  v.  28- 
80.  (3)  It  makes  God's  people  no  better  than 
heathen,  v.  31  f.  (4>  It  is  adding  to-morrow's 
evils  to  those  of  to-day,  v.  34.  II.  Means  of 
avoiding  anxiety.  (1)  Remember  that  our 
Heavenly  Father  knows  our  temporal  needs, 
V.  32.  (2)  Seek  spiritual  good  as  supreme, 
and  temporal  good  will,  with  due  exertion 
on  our  part,  but  without  anxiety,  be  amply 
supplied,  v.  33.     A  lesson  from  the  birds  and 


the  lilies,  v.  25  f.  and  28  f  — V.  32.  God's  chil- 
dren should  be  better  than  the  heathen.  (1) 
Why?    (2)  In  what  respect? 

V.  25.  Chrys.  :  "He  that  formed  the  flesh 
that  is  nourished,  how  will  he  not  provide 
the  nourishment?  " — V.  26.  Chrys.:  "Even 
though  it  is  theirs  by  nature,  yet  possibly  we 
too  may  attain  it  by  choice.  For  neither  did 
he  say,  'Behold,  how  the  birds  fly' — which 
were  a  thing  impossible  to  man  ;  but  that  they 
are  fed  without  being  anxious,  a  kind  of  thing 
easy  to  be  achieved  by  us  also,  if  we  will.  And 
this  they  have  proved,  who  have  accomplished 
it  in  their  actions."  Quesnel  (in  Lutt.): 
"Nobody  ever  saw  an  earthly  father  feed  his 
birds,  and  abandon  his  children,  and  shall 
that  be  believed  of  the  Heavenly  Father?" 
Benqel  :  "  Not  their  Father,  but  yotir 
Father."  Euthym.  :  "So  the  Old  Scrip- 
ture, when  wishing  to  hit  men  hard,  sends 

them  to  the  bee  and  the  ant What 

then?  Must  we  not  sow?  He  did  not  say, 
'Do  not  sow;'  but,  'Do  not  be  anxious.'" 
Luther:  "We  are  commanded  (oen.  i:28)  to 
have  dominion  over  all  creatures,  and  yet  we 
behave  so  shamefully  that  a  feeble  sparrow 
must  stand  in  the  gospel  as  doctor  and 
preacher  for  the  wisest  of  men,  and  daily 
hold  forth  before  our  eyes  and  ears,  teaching 
us  to  trust  God,  though  we  have  the  whole 
Bible  and  our  reason  to  help  us." — V.  28.  Our 
Lord's  manner  of  teaching  is  remarkable  for 
the  frequency  with  which  he  draws  illustra- 
tion from  the  objects  of  nature,  the  pursuits 
of  common  life,  and  the  ordinary  experiences 
of  mankind.  Every  preacher  of  the  gospel, 
and  religious  teacher  of  the  young,  should  be 
a  close  observer  of  common  things,  that  he 
may  be  better  qualified  to  imitate  this  ex- 
ample of  the  Great  Teacher. — V.  31.  The- 
OPHYL. :  "He  does  not  forbid  eating;  he  for- 
bids .sa3'ing,  'What  shall  we  eat?  '  "  Luther: 
"The  Lord  says,  '  Be  not  careful ;  working  is 
your  business,  caring  is  mine! '  " — V.  32.  Eu- 
thym. :  "But  if  we  do  not  even  surpass  the 
heathen,  though  commanded  to  surpass  the 
Scribes  and  Pharisees  (s:  20),  what  punishment 
shall  we  not  deserve?  ....  So  the  cause  of 
your  anxiety  ought  to  be  the  cause  of  your 
freedom  from  anxiety.  The  more  necessary 
these  things  are,  the  more  cheerful  ought  you 
to  be.  For  what  father  will  endure  not  to 
supply  his  children's  necessities?" 

V.  33.  Which  first,  spiritual  or  temporal 


154 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  VL 


CHAPTER  VII. 


JUDGE  not,  that  ye  be  not  judged. 
•.;  For  Willi  whut  j^^d^uleut  ye  judge,  ye  shall  be 
judged:  and  with  what  measure  ye  luete,  it  shall  be 
measured  to  you  agaiu. 


1,  2  Judge  not,  that  ye  be  not  judged.  For  with  what 
judgment  ye  jiidge,"ye  shall  be  judged:  and  with  what 
measure  ye  mete,  it  shall  be  measured  uuio  you. 


good  ?  I.  Suppose  we  seek  the  temporal  first. 
(1)  We  shall  be  constantly  less  inclined  to  seek 
the  spiritual.  (2)  We  shall  be  constantly  less 
prepared  to  find  it.  (3)  Soon  all  temporal 
good  must  be  abandoned,  and  for  us  there 
will  be  no  spiritual  good  forever.  II.  Sup- 
pose we  seek  the  spiritual  first.  (1)  We  shall 
not  seek  it  in  vain.  (Comp.  7:7.)  (2)  We 
shall  obtain  temporal  good  also,  not  without 
seeking,  but  without  anxious  seeking.  V.  34. 
To-morrow.  1)  We  must  not  forget  to- 
morrow, thinking  only  of  to-day.  The  im- 
portance of  to-day  for  civilized  man  is  felt  to 
lie  largely  in  yesterday  and  to-morrow.  2) 
We  must  not  presume  on  to-morrow,  for  we 
know  not  what  morrow  a  day  may  bring 
forth.  (ProT.  27:1.)  3)  We  must  Hot  bc  anxious 
about  to-morrow,  but  let  each  day  bear  its 
own  suflUcient  burden.  4)  We  shall  best 
provide  for  to-morrow,  by  faithfully  perform- 
ing the  duties  of  to-day.  5)  Trusting  God 
for  to-day,  why  can  we  not  trust  him  for  to- 
morrow?—V.  33.  EuTHYM.:  "For  we  have 
not  come  into  existence  that  we  may  eat  and 
drink  and  wear,  but  that  we  may  please  God, 
and  enjoy  everlasting  blessings."  The- 
OPHYL.  :  "  It  is  enough  for  thee  that  thou  art 
aflSicted  for  to-day;  but  if  thou  shalt  be 
anxious  for  to-morrow,  when  wilt  thou  have 
leisure  for  God?"  Talmud  (Wiinsche): 
"Be  not  anxious  for  to-morrow,  for  thou 
knowest  not  what  to-day  brings  forth ;  per- 
haps to-morrow  will  not  find  thee,  and  so 
thou  hast  troubled  thyself  about  a  world, 
which  does  not  pertain  to  thee."  Antoni- 
nus: "Cast  the  future  upon  Providence, 
and  direct  your  present  care  solely  towards 
piety  and  justice."  Henry:  "The  conclu- 
sion of  this  whole  matter  then  is,  that  it  is  the 
will  and  command  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  that 
his  disciples  should  not  be  their  own  tor- 
mentors, nor  make  their  passage  through  this 
world  more  dark  and  unpleasant  by  their  ap- 
prehensions of  troubles,  than  God  has  made  it 
by  the  troubles  themselves."  Chrys.  :  "Let 
us  not  suppose  his  injunctions  are  impossible; 
for  there  are  many  who  duly  perform  them." 
Oh,  sweet,  sustaining  trust  in  God,  that  can 


enable  us  to  bear  present  ills  without  repining, 
and  to  look  at  the  unknown  future  without 
fear;  that  can  reconcile  contentment  with  as- 
piration, and  blend  activity  with  repose;  that 
can  discern  everywhere  in  nature  and  provi- 
dence the  proofs  that  all  things  are  indeed 
working  together  for  our  good  1  Lord,  in- 
crease our  faith. 


7:  1-12.  Rebuke  of  Censoriousness; 
Encouragement  to  Prayer;  and  the 
Golden  Rule. 

It  has  been  thought  by  some  writers  that 
there  is  no  ccmnection  between  the  early  part 
of  this  chapter  and  the  preceding  topics.  But 
as  we  have  found  connection  throughout  all 
the  previous  portion  of  the  discourse,  and  as 
V.  13-27  obviously  form  a  conclusion  to  the 
whole,  it  seems  most  probable  that  v.  1-12  also 
stand  in  some  natural  relation  to  the  remain- 
der. That  such  a  relation  does  exist,  would 
appear  to  be  shown  bj' the  following  view  :  In 
the  whole  discussion  of  5:  20-48  and  6:  1-18, 
our  Lord  is  contrasting  the  morality  he  en- 
joins upon  the  subjects  of  the  Messianic  reign 
with  the  teachings  and  practice  of  the  Scribes 
and  Pharisees.  Various  errors  and  evils  com- 
mon among  the  Jews,  and  conspicuous  in 
their  sanctimonious  teachers,  are  there  noticed 
and  rebuked,  not  with  the  formal  order  of  a 
methodical  discourse,  but  still  with  the  same 
general  design  manifestlj'  pursued  through- 
out. But  the  great  principle  stated  and  ap- 
plied in  6:  1-18,  viz.,  that  good  works  should 
be  performed  (not  ostentatiously,  as  the  hyp- 
ocrites did,  but)  out  of  regard  for  God  only, 
admitted  of  a  more  extensive  and  varied  ap- 
plication, which  he  proceeds  to  make  in  v. 
19-34.  From  this  partial  digression,  he  now 
returns  to  rebuke  another  fault  often  commit- 
ted among  the  Jews,  particularly  the  formal- 
istic  Pharisees  (Luke  is :n),  and  to  which  all 
men  are  sadly  liable,  viz.,  that  of  passing 
harsh  judgment  upon  others.  ('7:1-5.)  As  it  is 
hypocrisy  (6 : 2, 5.  le)  to  make  a  display  of  right- 
eousness, so  (Weiss)  it  is  hj'pocrisy  (7:5)  to 
assume  the  right  to  judge  others,  and  correct 
their  faults.     Then  in  v.  6  our  Lord  adds  a 


Ch.  VII.] 


MATTHEW. 


155 


caution  against  the  opposite  extreme.  Now 
to  avoid  both  extremes  in  this  respect,  and  in 
all  respects  to  conform  to  those  genuine  and 
spiritual  principles  of  morality  which  have 
been  laid  down  throughout  the  discourse,  is  a 
task  more  difficult  than  we  can  in  our  own 
strength  perform.  Accordingly,  with  refer- 
ence not  only  to  the  immediately  preceding 
injunctions,  but  to  the  whole  discourse,  he 
adds  (t.  7-11)  an  encouragement  to  pray  to  God. 
At  the  same  time  the  expressions  are  put  into 
the  most  general  form,  so  as  not  to  be  confined 
to  the  idea  of  praying  for  strength  to  perform 
the  duties  enjoined  in  this  discourse,  but  to 
encourage  to  prayer  in  general.  (Comp.  the 
relation  of  James  1 :  5  to  what  precedes  it.) 
Finally,  he  sums  up  all  that  he  had  been 
teaching  throughout  the  discourse  concerning 
duties  to  other  men,  compressing  all  into  the 
one  general  precept  of  v.  12,  which  is  declared 
to  embody  the  essence  of  the  entire  Scrip- 
tures (Old  Test.). 

If  this  view  be  correct,  it  is  not  strange  that 
we  find  no  conjunction  at  the  beginning  of  v. 
1  and  V.  7,  since  in  each  case,  while  there  is  an 
internal  connection  between  the  topic  intro- 
duced and  the  previous  portions  of  the  dis- 
course, there  is  no  strong  external  connection 
with  what  immediately  precedes,  such  as 
would  require  to  be  stated  by  a  conjunction. 
See  similar  cases  at  5:  13,  17;  6:  19;  7^13. 
In  V.  6  we  might  expect  a  conjunction,  because 
of  its  close  relation  to  the  preceding  verses ; 
but  observe  that  the  expressions  here  assume 
the  form  of  apophthegms,  which  are  usually 
stated  (e.  g.,  in  the  Book  of  Proverbs)  without 
connectives,  leaving  it  to  the  reader  to  discern 
their  internal  relation.  So  at  6:  22,  24.  As 
to  '  therefore '  in  v.  12,  see  below. 

If  2.  The  word  rendered  judge  has  some- 
times the  stronger  meaning  of  'condemn,' 
and  many  would  so  translate  here.  But  that 
clearly  does  not  suit  v.  2,  and  we  must  retain 
the  rendering  'judge,'  while  at  the  same  time 
perceiving  that  the  connection  and  the  nature 
of  the  case  suggest  the  idea  of  harsh,  censori- 
ous judgment.  Men  are  not  likely  to  err  in 
judging  too  favorably,  nor  to  be  restrained  by 
the  prospect  of  being  too  favorably  judged 
themselves.  In  the  report  of  the  discourse 
given  by  Luke  («:  37)  the  idea  of  condemna- 
tion is  distinctly  stated,  but  by  an  additional 
word. 


The  judging  thus  forbidden  manifestly  does 
not  refer  to  official  judgments  in  courts,  any 
more  than  'swear  not'  prohibits  oaths  in 
court  (see  on  5 :  34)  ;  nor  to  the  formation  of 
opinions  concerning  the  character  and  coh- 
duct  of  others,  which  is  always  a  right,  where 
we  have  the  means  of  judging,  and  commonly 
a  duty,  provided  we  strive  to  "judge  righteous 
judgment."  (Joiin7:24.)  To  understand  that  we 
are  never,  under  any  circumstances,  to.  ex- 
press or  to  form  an  opinion  concerning  others, 
would  conflict  with  v.  16,  20  below,  and 
numerous  other  passages  (e.  g.,  1  Thess.  5: 
21),  and  with  the  example  of  oiir  Saviour 
and  the  apostles,  in  continually  exposing 
and  reproving  error  and  evil.  The  appli- 
cation often  made  of  this  saying,  by  per- 
sons who  do  not  wi.sh  their  ruinous  here- 
sies or  flagrant  crimes  to  be  condemned, 
is  thus  seen  to  be  unwarranted.  The  refer- 
ence is  to  the  sadly  common  practice  of 
officiously  and  presumptuously  undertaking 
to  pass  judgment  upon  others,  a  judgment  so 
often  unfounded,  unjust,  or  unkind.  Persons 
most  inclined  to  hypocritical  display,  like  the 
Pharisees,  would  be  most  likely  to  judge 
others  severely  (Luke  is :  9-11),  but  all  mankind 
are  greatly  given  to  censoriousness,  and  so 
there  is  no  need  for  the  supposition  of  some 
writers  that  our  Lord  here  addressed  himself 
directly  to  certain  Pharisees,  supposed  to  have 
attracted  attention  at  this  point  of  the  dis- 
course by  their  expressions  or  looks  of  de- 
rision (as  in  Luke  16:  14). 

Some  explain  that  ye  be  not  jndged  (v. 
1),  and  ye  shall  be  judged  (v.  2),  as  refer- 
ring to  the  judgment  which  our  fe,Uow-men 
will  pass  upon  us,  if  we  are  censorious.  But 
if  so,  we  might  with  impunity  (Achelis) 
judge  very  pious  people,  who  would  not  judge 
us  in  the  same  way.  To  understand  it  of 
God's  judgment  agrees  with  the  view  of  the 
whole  discourse,  which  teaches  us  in  every- 
thing to  have  regard  to  that  requital  of  reward 
or  punishment  which  we  are  to  expect  from 
God ;  and  the  idea  that  God  will  deal  with  us 
as  we  deal  with  others,  accords  with  the  senti- 
ment of  5:  7,  Rev.  Ver.,  "Happy  are  the 
merciful,  for  they  shall  obtain  mercy,"  and  of 
6:  15,  "But  if  ye  forgive  not,"  etc.  (Compare 
18:  36.)  The  impersonal  form  of  the  expres- 
sion, not  telling  who  will  thus  judge,  but  leav- 
ing it  to  the  conscience  to  say  for  itself  who 


156 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  VII. 


3  And  Trby  beholdest  thou  the  mote  that  is  in  thy 
brother's  eye,  but  cousiderest  not  the  beam  that  is  in 
thine  own  eye? 

4  Or  how  "wilt  thou  say  to  thy  brother,  Let  me  pull 
out  the  mote  out  of  thine  eye  ;  and,  behold,  a  beam  is 
in  thine  own  eye? 

5  Thou  hypocrite,  first  cast  out  the  beam  out  of  thine 
own  eye:  and  theu  shall  thou  see  clearly  to  cast  out  the 
mote  out  of  thy  brother's  eye. 


3  And  why  beholdest  thou  the  mote  that  is  in  thy 
brother's  eye,  but  cousiderest  not  the  beam  that  is 

4  iu  thine  own  eye?  Or  how  wilt  thou  say  to  thy 
brother.  Let  lue  cast  out  the  mote  out  of  thine  eye; 

5  and  lo,  the  beam  is  in  thine  own  eye?  Thou  hypo- 
crite, cast  out  first  the  beam  out  of  thine  own  eye ; 
and  then  thou  shalt  see  clearly  to  cast  out  the  mote 
out  of  thy  brother's  eye. 


that  Judge  will  be,  heightens  the  solemnity  of 
the  passage.  Of  course  it  is  not  meant  that 
the  mere  absence  of  judging  will  of  itself 
alone  prevent  our  being  judged  by  God  on 
other  grounds  (comp.  on  6 :  12).  This  passage 
seems  to  be  alluded  to  by  James  (2 :  13;  4:  12), 
who  repeatedly  makes  allusion  to  this  dis- 
course. The  phrases,  with  what  judgment, 
and  with  what  measure,  are  literally  'in 
what  judgment'  and  'in  what  measure,'  see 
on  3:  11.  The  'again'  of  Com.  Ver.  repre- 
sents a  feebly-supported  reading  of  the  Greek. 
The  saying,  '  With  what  measure  ye  measure 
it  shall  be  measured  to  you,'  is  also  found  in 
Mark  4:  24,  as  used  on  a  different  occasion. 
It  must  have  been  a  proverbial  saying  at  that 
time,  for  it  occurs  very  often  in  the  Talmud. 
As  to  our  Lord's  use  of  current  sayings,  see  on 
V.  3-6.  For  other  passages  which  forbid  harsh 
judging,  see  Gal.  6:  1-5;  Kom.  2:  1-3;  14: 
3f;  1  Cor.  13:  7.  This  sin  grows  in  evil  times, 
for  instance,  during  a  war  or  a  pestilence,  as 
rapidly  as  selfishness  does.  Everybody  is  busy 
finding  fault,  and  few  take  time  to  notice  the 
deeds  that  are  praiseworthy.  The  practice  is 
not  only  sinful  in,  itself,  but  promotes  other 
sins ;  for  many  a  man  will  expend  so  much 
conscientiousness  upon  the  severe  condemna- 
tion of  others'  faults,  that  he  has  not  enough  left 
for  his  own ;  nay,  will  even  think  that  having 
passed  merited  condemnation  upon  wrong- 
doing in  others,  he  is  thereby  more  at  liberty  to 
dowronghimself.  We  ought  to  judge  ourselves 
strictly,  and  judge  others  leniently.  A  Roman 
writer  states  it  well:  "I  think  him  best  and 
most  faultless,  who  pardons  others  as  if  he 
himself  sinned  every  day,  yet  abstains  from 
sins  as  if  he  pardoned  no  one." 

Luke  («:  38-40)  gives  some  additional  sayings 
here,  which  Matthew  omits;  each  has  given 
only  a  sketch  of  the  discourse.  See  Introduc- 
tion to  chap.  5. 


3-5.  Another  instance  of  that  change  to  the 
singular  number  by  which  the  address  is  made 
more  personal  and  pointed,  see  on  5:  23  and 
6:  6.  The  word  rendered  mote  denotes  any 
dry  twig,  splinter,  bit  of  straw,  or  other  trash, 
being  applied  by  a  classic  writer  to  the  ma- 
terials of  which  birds  build  their  nests.  This, 
which  is  the  sort  of  thing  likely  to  get  into 
the  eye,  naturally  suggested  a  beam  as  the 
contrasted  term.  The  latter  expression  is  of 
course  eminently  hyperbolical,  resembling 
those  in  19:  24;  23:  24;  John  21:  25;  Rom. 
9 :  3,  etc.  In  the  present  case,  no  one  has  any 
diflSculty;  but  in  some  others,  many  stumble 
at  the  hj'perbole,  from  the  failure  to  consider 
that  such  expressions  are  constantly  and  natu- 
rally emploj^ed  in  the  language  of  common 
life,  especially  among  the  Orientals.  Cou- 
siderest uot,  does  not  set.  the  mind  on,  think 
about.  The  ground  of  censure  is  not  that  one 
sees  another's  fault,  however  small,  but  that 
while  seeing  that,  he  does  not  think  about  his 
own  fault,  even  though  great.  Or  how  wilt 
thoy  say,  viz.,  with  what  sort  of  face  will  you 
say  it,  how  feel  at  liberty  to  say  it?  Comp. 
John  6 :  42 ;  8:  33.  In  Luke  6  :  42  it  is  a  still 
stronger  expression,  "Or  how  canst  thou 
say,"  etc.  Brother  was  used  by  Jews  as  it  is 
by  Christians,  in  addressing  one  another ;  this 
is  a  seemingly  kind,  fraternal  proposal.  Pull 
— or  cast — out  represents  the  same  Greek 
word  throughout  v.  4  and  5.  The  Com.  Ver- 
sion has  here  indulged  its  passion  for  varying 
the  translation.  See  on  25:  46.  The  beam, 
the  definite  beam  that  is  assumed  to  be  in  his 
eye.i  The  word  hypocrite  (v.  s.),  has  been 
explained  on  6 :  2.  Its  use  here  indicates  that 
the  person  thus  acting  is  esteemed  as  not  sim- 
ply self-deceived,  really  unaware  of  the  beam 
in  his  own  eye,  but  as  pretending  to  be  free 
from  fault;  and  with  this  accords  the  'con- 
siderest  not'  in  v.  3.     Indeed,  self-deception 


1  The  Greek  text  followed  in  the  Com.  Version  oiight 
to  have  been  translated  '  from '  in  v.  4,  the  preposition 
being  apo  in  v.  4,  while  it  is  ek  both  times  in  v.  5.  Comp. 
on  3 :  16.    Kecent  critics  read  ek  in  v.  4,  on  the  au- 


thority of  K  and  several  cursives.  But  it  is  very  likely 
that  apo  was  changed  to  ek  by  way  of  assimilation  to 
V.  5.    Of  course  there  is  no  substantial  dififerenoe. 


Ch.  VIL] 


MATTHEW. 


157 


6  Give  not  that  which  is  holy  unto  the  dogs,  neither 
cast  ye  your  pearls  before  swine,  lest  they  trample  them 
under  their  leet,  and  turn  agaiu  and  reud  you. 


Give  not  that  which  is  holy  unto  the  dogs,  neither 
cast  your  pearls  before  the  swine,  lest  haply  they 
trample  them  under  their  feet,  and  turn  and  reud 
you. 


rarely,  if  ever,  exists,  without  some  measure 
of  hypocrisy,  and  vice  versa.  See  clearly,  is 
in  the  Greek  a  compound  of  the  verb  ren- 
dered 'beholdest'  in  v.  3.  The  idea  is  that 
correcting  our  own  faults  will  not  only  render 
it  less  unsuitable  for  us  to  correct  those  of 
others,  but  will  put  us  in  better  condition  to 
do  so.  Ministers  are  by  their  calling  especi- 
ally required  to  "  reprove  and  rebuke,"  and 
hence  a  special  reason  why  they  should  seek 
to  be  blameless  themselves.  But  of  course  it 
is  not  meant  that  no  man  must  ever  point  out 
another's  fault,  or  attempt  to  aid  him  in  cor- 
recting it,  until  he  has  fully  succeeded  in  cor- 
recting every  similar  fault  of  his  own.  This 
would  prevent  all  efforts  of  the  kind,  since 
the  truly  humble  Christian  will  never  make 
sure  that  he  is  wholly  free  from  any  one  fault 
whatsoever. 

A  remarkable  instance  of  condemning  the 
misconduct  of  others,  while  ignoring  similar 
and  far  greater  misconduct  of  our  own,  is  seen 
in  the  history  of  David.  (2Sam.  12.)  This 
tendency  of  human  nature  is  so  obvious,  that 
it  must  have  attracted  attention  in  all  ages 
and  nations.  Horace  :  "While  you  see  your 
own  faults  with  eyes  bleared  and  unanointed, 
why  is  it  that  in  the  faults  of  your  friends, 
your  vision  is  as  sharp  as  an  eagle's?" 
Seneca  :  "  You  obscr%'e  the  pimples  of  others, 
when  yourselves  overgrown  with  a  vast  num- 
ber of  ulcers."  The  illustration  our  Lord 
uses  is  found  several  times  in  the  Talmud ; 
e.  g.y  "I  wonder  whether  there  is  any  one  in 
this  generation  who  is  willing  to  receive 
reproof.  Nay,  if  one  says  to  another,  'Cast 
out  the  splinter  from  thine  e3'e,'  he  will  repl3', 
'Cast  out  the  beam  from  thine  eye.'"  The 
same  image  occurs  (Gesen.)  in  Arabic  poetry. 
It  is  therefore  probable  that  this  was  a  prov- 
erb already  current  among  the  Jews  when 
our  Saviour  used  it.  The  same  thing  he  ap- 
pears to  have  done  in  v.  2,  6,  12;  in  13:  57, 
(comp.  John  4:  44);  Acts  26:  14;  and  avow- 
edly in  Luke  4:  23.  (Comp.  as  to  the  use  of 
parables,  on  13:  3.)  The  admirable  wisdom 
with  which  he  derived  his  beautiful  illustra- 
tions from  the  most  familiar  objects  in  nature 
and  relations  of  life,  is  here  further  seen  in 


his  using  current  popular  sayings,  which  all 
would  understand  and  feel  the  force  of.  So 
Paul  quoted  Greek  poets.  (Acts  n :  28 ;  1  cor.  15 :  33 ; 
THUS  1:12.)  Our  Lord  was  thus  acting  out  his 
own  subsequent  direction,  bringing  forth  out 
of  his  treasure  things  new  and  old.  (13:52.) 
Originality  is  often  a  great  source  of  power, 
but  more  good  can  sometimes  be  done,  a 
deeper  practical  impression  produced,  by 
adopting  ideas  and  expressions  which  are 
already  familiar.   (Comp.  on  6:  9.) 

6.  This  presents,  in  the  form  of  an  apoph- 
thegm, and  so  without  any  external  mark 
of  connection  with  what  precedes  (see  at  the 
beginning  of  this  chapter),  a  caution  against 
the  opposite  extreme  to  what  he  has  just  been 
rebuking.  "We  must  not  judge  others,  but 
we  must  not  heedlessly  expose  sacred  things 
to  persons  wholly  wanting  in  appreciation, 
and  sure  to  reject  them.  These  two  extremes 
of  unwise  action  often  meet  (Schaff);  those 
who  judge  most  harshly  are  often  most  easily 
imposed  on.  Dogs  have  always  been  regarded 
in  the  East  with  great  abhorrence,  not  being 
usually  kept  at  home,  and  so  not  evincing  the 
strong  attachment  to  owners  which  so  in- 
terests us,  but  running  wild  in  troops  about 
the  streets,  where  they  devour  carcasses  and 
offal.  Howling  and  fighting  over  their  horrid 
food,  they  inspire  intense  disgust;  and  so 
they  are  generally  associated  in  Scripture 
with  ideas  of  reproach,  contempt,  or  loathing. 

(1  Shdi.  17:4.1;  24:  14:  1  Kings  14:  11;  21:19;  2  Kiugs  8:  13;  Job 
30:  1;  ProT.  28:  11;  Ecol.  9:4;  Isa.  «6:3;  Matt.  15:  27;  Phil.  3:  t; 

Rev. 22:15.)  So  the  Mohammedaus  now  call 
Christians  dogs.  That  which  is  holy,  cor- 
rectly renders  the  general  and  abstract  ex- 
pression of  the  original.  This  would  include 
the  shew-bread,  or  any  form  of  food  which 
had  been  offered  on  the  altar;  but  especiallj' 
suggests  the  flesh  of  sacrifices  (called  "holy 
flesh"  in  Hag.  2:  12;  Jer.  11:  15),  which  it 
would  have  been  a  great  profanation  to  throw 
to  the  dogs,  like  flesh  torn  by  wild  beasts. 
(Ex. 22:31.)  Neither  cast  your  pearls.  In 
the  Talmud  (Wiinsche)  a  good  thought  is 
often  called  a  pearl.  (Comp.  13:  45  f)  Be- 
fore swine,  or,  the  sviine,  with  the  article, 
like  'the  dogs,'  meaning  the  class  of  creatures. 


158 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  VII. 


7  Ask,  and  it  shall  be  given  you  ;  seek,  and  ye  shall 
find;  knock,  and  it  shall  be  upeued  untu  you: 

8  For  every  oue  that  asketh  receiveth;  and  he  that 
seeketh  flndeth;  and  to  him  that  knocketh  it  shall  be 
opened. 


7  Ask,  and  it  shall  be  given  you  ;  seek,  and  ye  shall 

8  find;  knock,  and  it  shall  be  opened  uutoyou:  for 
every  one  that  asketh  receiveth  ;  and  ho  that  seeketh 
lindeth;  and  to  him  that  knocketh  itshall  be  opened. 


As  the  two  kinds  of  animals  were  regarded 
with  like  feelings  (conip.  2  Peter  2:  22),  it  is 
best  to  understand  here  a  mere  repetition 
under  another  image,  after  the  manner  of  the 
Hebrew  parallelism.  (See  on  4:  15.)  The  dis- 
tinction some  make  between  the  dogs  and  the 
swine,  as  representing  essentially  different 
kinds  of  persons,  is  scarcely  warranted.  And 
80  the  notion  of  some  (even  Achelis)  that  the 
trampling  applies  to  the  swine,  and  the  turn- 
ing and  rending  to  the  dogs,  is  now  commonly 
rejected,  as  making  the  sentence  excessively 
artificial,  and  as  requiring  'or  turn.'  Better 
take  both  as  referring  to  the  swine,  conceived 
as  wild  and  savage.  It  was  not  necessary  to 
explain  to  Jews  that  giving  any  sacred  thing 
to  the  dogs  would  be  a  horrid  profanation. 

What,  then,  do  we  learn  from  this  saying? 
It  is  a  warning  against  mistaken  zeal  in  try- 
ing to  make  converts,  or  to  correct  men's 
faults.  We  must  not  judge  (v.  1-5),  but  we 
must  deal  with  men  according  to  their  char- 
acter. Efforts  to  convert  a  drunken  man,  or 
one  who  has  just  been  pouring  out  foul  ob- 
scenity, would  come  under  this  head.  Some 
persons  do  harm  by  expressing,  in  mixed  so- 
ciety, those  intimate  feelings  of  personal 
Christian  experience  with  which  only  the  de- 
vout can  sympathize.  Perhaps  this  last  is  in- 
timated b3'  the  expression  your  pearls,  those 
precious  truths  which  have  become  yours. 
But  especially  may  we  connect  this  verse  with 
V.  6,  and  learn  that  in  undertaking  to  correct 
men's  faults,  we  must  exercise  discretion,  lest 
we  do  harm  rather  than  good  (comp.  Prov. 
9:  8).  Yet  this  precept,  like  those  which  pre- 
cede, must  not  be  pushed  too  far.  Persons 
from  whom  a  hasty  judgment  might  least  ex- 
pect it,  sometimes  welcome  gospel  truth,  as 
did  publicans  and  sinners,  and  the  robber  on 
the  cross.  Often  our  only  means  of  deciding 
wisely  is  to  make  the  trial,  and  then  continue 
our  labors  or  not,  according  to  the  results  and 
prospects.  (10.12-14;  Acts i3:4«.)  Ryle :  "We  are 
most  of  us  far  more  likely  to  err  on  the  side  of 
over-caution  than  of  over-zeal.  We  are  gen- 
erally far  more  disposed  to  remember  the 
'time  to  be  silent'  than  the  'time  to  speak.'" 
Especially  must  we  not  be  too  solicitous  to 


avoid  injury  to  ourselves,  which  is  a  matter  of 
minor  importance  compared  with  insult  to  the 
sacred  and  precious  truth  we  present.  Here 
again  (see  on  v.  3-5),  our  Lord  has  probably 
adopted  a  proverbial  saying,  since  we  find  in 
the  Talmud,  "Do  not  cast  pearls  to  swine,  nor 
deliver  wisdom  to  him  who  does  not  know  its 
worth."  Still,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that 
the  Rabbis  of  later  centuries  borrowed  striking 
sayings  from  the  New  Test.,  as  they  had  long 
done  from  the  Greeks,  and  afterwards  did 
from  the  Arabians. 

7,  8.  To  avoid  both  the  extremes  pointed 
out  in  V.  1-5  and  v.  6,  is  a  difficult  task.  We 
n;ust  all  find  it  very  hard  to  be  at  once  char- 
itable and  watchful,  hoping  for  the  best,  yet  on 
our  guard  against  the  worst,  judging  no  one, 
yet  knowing  men's  characters  and  dealing 
with  them  accordingly.  Well  may  we  rejoice 
to  find  that  the  next  words  are  a  most  affect- 
ing encouragement  to  prayer.  Thus  may  we 
be  enabled  to  perform  these  difficult  duties  and 
all  the  others  enjoined  in  the  discourse.  In- 
deed, the  language  is  so  general  as  to  hold 
good  of  prayer  under  all  circumstances  and 
for  all  objects.  Similar  examples  of  a  passage 
specifically  applying  to  what  precedes,  but 
having  also  a  much  wider  general  application, 
may  be  found  in  5  :  48  ;  6 :  9 ;  7 :  12 ;  in  James 
1 :  5,  where  he  means  especially  wisdom  to 
bear  trials,  but  not  that  exclusively  ;  also  in 
Gal.  6:  7,  and  many  other  passages  of  Paul's 
Epistles. 

Knowing  that  men  find  it  hard  to  pray  in 
reality  and  with  faith,  Jesus  condescends  to 
encourage  us  by  much  repetition.  Ask, 
seek,  knock,  are  here  practically  equivalent, 
the  repetition  being  made  for  the  sake  of  im- 
pressiveness ;  all  refined  distinctions  between 
them  are  out  of  place.  Afterwards  (v.  8)  the 
threefold  promise  is  repeated  by  thrice  assert- 
ing the  general  fact  that  so  it  always  is.  And 
still  further  encouragement  is  given  in  the 
succeeding  verses.  What  pains  the  Saviour 
takes  to  make  us  pray !  And  his  word  is 
crowded  with  gracious  invitations  and  precious 
promises,  such  as  ought  to  conquer  all  our  un- 
belief, and  fill  us  with  jo3'fuI  trust  in  coming 
to  God.     Of  course  these  unqualified  promises 


Ch.  VIL] 


MATTHEW. 


159 


9  Or  what  man  is  there  of  you,  whom  if  his  aon  ask 
bread,  will  he  give  him  a  stoue? 

10  Or  if  he  ask  a  fish,  will  he  give  him  a  serpent? 

11  If  ye  then,  being  evil,  know  how  to  nive  good 
gifts  nnto  your  children,  how  much  more  shall  your 
Father  which  is  in  heaven  give  good  things  to  them 
that  ask  him  ? 


9  Or  what  man  is  there  of  you,  who,  if  his  son  shall 

10  ask  hiui  for  a  loaf,  will  give  him  a  sione ;  or  if  he 

11  shall  ask  for  a  tish,  will  give  him  a  serpent?  If  ye 
then,  being  evil,  know  how  to  give  good  gifts  unto 
your  children,  how  much  more  shall  your  Father 
who  is  in  heaven  give  good  things  to  them  that  ask 


are  subject  to  condition*,  such  as  are  else- 
where laid  down;  we  must  ask  for  proper 
purposes  (J«mes4:3),  according  to  God's  will 
(ijohn5:i4);  see  below  on  v.  11.  In  v.  8,  it 
shall  be  opened,  is  in  some  of  the  oldest 
authorities  '  it  is  opened.'  We  cannot  easily 
decide,  since  the  present  may  have  been 
changed  into  the  future  to  be  like  v.  7,  or  the 
future  into  the  present  to  be  like  the  other 
verbs  in  v.  8 ;  fortunately  there  is  no  sub- 
stantial difference  of  meaning.  The  same 
thoughts  here  given  in  v.  7-11  are  found  in 
Luke  11 :  9-13,  as  repeated  on  another  occa- 
sion. 

9-11.  For  the  connection,  see  on  v.  7,  8.  Or 
proposes  to  regard  the  matter  in  another  waj', 
to  introduce  a  different  argument.  Or,  if  the 
preceding  considerations  do  not  fully  con- 
vince, look  at  it  thus.  (Compare  in  12 :  29  and 
20:15.)  Or  what  man  is  there  of  you, 
which  does  not  mean,  as  some  explain,  if  he 
is  so  much  as  a  man,  and  not  a  brute;  but, 
though  he  is  only  a  man.  With  all  the  im- 
perfection and  evil  which  belong  to  human 
nature,  even  a  man  will  be  willing  to  give  to 
his  son,  and  will  have  some  judgment  in  giv- 
ing. The  expression  thus  tends  to  prepare 
the  mind  for  the  application  made  in  v.  11. 
Will  he  give,  is  in  the  Greek  introduced  by  a 
particle  denoting  that  the  answer  must  nec- 
essarily be  negative  ;  and  the  broken  construc- 
tion of  the  sentence  renders  the  expression 
more  striking.  "  Who  is  there  of  you,  a 
man,  of  whom  his  son  will  ask  a  loaf— will  he 
give  him  a  stone?  Or  also  he  will  ask  a  fish- 
will  he  give  him  a  serpent"  ?  Bread.  The 
word  means  either  'bread'  (so  all  the  early 
English  versions  here),  or  'a  loaf,'  according 
to  the  demands  of  each  particular  connection  ; 
and  the  latter  seems  to  fit  best  here.  (Comp. 
on  26:  26.)  The  round,  flat  cakes  of  bread,  | 
then  and  now  common  in  Palestine,  resembled 
flat  stones  (comp.  on  4:  8).  So  a  serpent 
somewhat  resembles  a  fish.  Bread  and  fish 
were  the  ordinary  food  of  those  who  dwelt  by 


the  Lake  of  Galilee.  On  the  subsequent  occa- 
sion (Luke  11: 12),  an  egg  is  added,  to  which  a 
scorpion  coiled  might  not  be  greatly  dissimilar. 
Now  the  question  is  not  whether  the  father 
will  refuse  his  son's  request,  but  whether,  in- 
stead of  the  thing  asked  he  will  give  him  some- 
thing similar  that  is  useless  (a  stone),  or  hurtful 
(a  serpent).  In  Luke  11:  11,  the  expression 
is  distinctly,  "Will,  instead  of  &fi*h,  give  him 
aserpent?"  (Bib.  Un.  Ver.)  Even  an  earthly 
parent  will  not  be  ignorant  enough  to  make 
such  a  mistake,  will  not  be  cruel  enough  thus 
to  mock  his  child's  request.  Being  evil,  in 
contrast  with  the  holy  God.  Know  how  to 
give,  does  not  simply  mean  are  willing  to  give, 
but  understand  how  to  give  judiciously  and 
kindly,  so  that  the  gifts  are  really  good  gifts. 
Compare  such  expressions  as,  "The  Lord 
knoweth  how  to  deliver  the  godly  out  of 
tempt:ition"  (spet.  a:9);  "I  know  both  how  to 
be  abased, — or  in  humble  circumstances, — and 
I  know  how  to  abound,"  i.  e.,  without  being 
unduly  depressed  or  elated  (Phii. 4: 12);  "If  a 
man  (any  one)  know  not  how  to  rule  his  own 
house."  (iTim,g:5);  also  Luke  12:  55,  etc.* 
The  statement  involves  a  disposition  to  give, 
and  the  term  denotes  judgment  in  giving ;  and 
in  both  respects  the  argument  from  the  less  to 
the  greater  holds  good,  how  much  more  will 
the  Father  on  high,  who  is  "  too  wise  to  err,  too 
good  to  be  unkind,"  give  what  is  really  good. 
It  is  a  natural  extension  of  the  same  argu- 
ment to  say,  that  if  we  ask  for  something 
which  we  think  to  be  good,  but  which  he 
knows  to  be  evil,  he  will  withhold  it,  even  as 
any  judicious  human  parent  must  often  do. 
It  is  really  a  part  of  the  privilege  of  prayer, 
that  God  will  withhold,  if  he  sees  best.  Were 
this  not  the  case,  the  wisest  and  best  persons 
might  often  be  slowest  to  ask,  for  they  know 
how  often  their  judgment  as  to  what  was  best 
has  proved  erroneous.  But  as  it  is,  we  may 
ask  without  apprehension  for  whatever  we 
think  is  best,  and  our  perfectly  wise  and  per- 
fectly kind  Father  will  give  that,  or  some- 


'  Tyndale  and  the  succeeding  English  versions  ren-  ;  Ver.  wisely  follows  Kbeiuis  iu  rendering  '  know  how  to 
der 'can  give,'  doubtless  folio  wing  Luther.    The  Com.  1  give.' 


160 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  VII. 


12  Therefore  all  thingis  whatsoever  ye  ■would  that;  12  him?  All  things  therefore  whatsoever  ye  would 
men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them :  for  this  that  men  should  do  unto  you,  even  so  do  ye  also  unto 
is  the  law  and  the'  prophets.  I       them :  for  this  is  the  law  and  the  prophets. 


thing  which  he  sees  to  be  better.  On  the 
second  occasion  (Luke  ii:  is),  our  Lord  substi- 
tutes for  the  general  expression  'good  things,' 
the  specific  blessing  'the  Holy  Spirit,'  which 
is  the  best  of  all  good  gifts.  "  In  this  change 
we  may  see  evidence,  not,  as  has  been  said,  of 
'a  later  form  of  Christian  tradition,'  but 
probably  of  a  later  and  more  spiritual  teach- 
ing, addressed  to  more  advanced  disciples." 
(Bib.  Conim.)  As  to  the  frequency  with 
which  Jesus  speaks  of  God  as  our  Father,  see 
on  6 :  9. 

12.  Our  Lord  now  gives  one  single  precept 
for  the  regulation  of  our  conduct,  a  simple 
working  rule,  which  is  not  merely  a  summary 
statement  of  all  that  he  has  been  teaching  on 
that  subject  throughout  the  discourse,  but  is 
expressly  declared  to  cover  the  entire  ground 
of  what  is  required  by  "the  law  and  the 
l)rophets,"  i.  e.,  the  whole  of  the  then  exist- 
ing revelation  (see  on  5:  17).  This  precept 
is  an  application  of  the  principle,  '  Thou  shalt 
love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself,'  and  on  that,  in 
conjunction  with  '  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord 
thj'  God  with  all  thy  heart,'  Jesus  afterwards 
declares  that  the  whole  law  and  the  prophets 
hang.  (Ji:4o.)  It  is  plain  therefore  that  he 
does  not  here  mean  to  say  that  the  whole  re- 
quirements of  the  Scriptures  as  to  all  duties 
are  summed  up  in  this  rule,  but  their  whole 
requirements  as  to  duties  to  our  fellow-men. 
(Comp.  Gal.  5:  14.)  It  is  a  great  mistake  to 
suppose  that  nothing  is  involved  in  love  to 
God  beyond  love  to  our  neighbor.  There- 
fore, as  an  inference  from  what  precedes. 
The  word  itself  does  not  determine  how  for 
back  its  reference  goes.  The  rule  that  follows 
is  apparently'  given  as  a  sort  of  general  conse- 
quence, or  recapitulatory  inference,  from  all 
that  he  has  been  teaching  concerning  the 
righteousness  required  of  his  people  (5:20;6; 
1.  33),  so  far,  of  course,  as  pertained  to  their 
treatment  of  their  fellow-n.en.  He  did  not 
come  to  destroy  the  law  and  the  prophets,  but 
to  develop  and  deepen  and  broaden  them  (see 
on  6:  17)  ;  and  so  (Weiss)  he  has  here  given 
one  simple  rule,  which  carries  their  whole 
contents  in  a  compact  form,  ready  for  prompt 
and    varied    application.      Luther:     "With 


these  words  he  closes  up  the  teachings  of  these 
three  chapters,  and  ties  them  all  up  in  a  little 
bundle."  See  a  somewhat  similar  use  of 
'therefore'  in  6:  34,  and  as  to  the  connection 
here,  see  at  the  beginning  of  chap.  7.i 

This  simple  and  beautiful  precept  is  now 
commonly  called,  from  its  excellence,  the 
"Golden  Rule,"  just  as  James  (»:  s)  calls  the 
precept,  "Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as 
thyself,"  the  'royal  law.'  The  Jewish  teach- 
ers endeavored  to  have  a  special  rule  for  every 
exigency  of  life,  and  have  filled  the  Talmud 
with  nice  distinctions  and  wearisome  details, 
without  at  last  touching  half  the  questions 
which  must  arise.  The  Great  Teacher  has 
furnished  many  particulars  by  way  of  illus- 
tration and  example,  but  he  delights  to  give 
comprehensive  rules.  Harris:  "Like  the 
few  imaginary  circles  by  wliioh  geography 
circumscribes  the  earth,  he  has,  by  a  few  sen- 
tences, described  and  distributed  into  sections 
the  whole  globe  of  duty  ;  so  that  wherever  we 
may  be  on  it,  we  find  ourselves  encompassed 
by  some  comprehensive  maxim ;  and  in  what- 
ever direction  we  may  move,  we  have  only  to 
reflect,  in  order  to  perceive  that  we  are  reced- 
ing from,  or  approaching  to,  some  line  of 
morality."  It  is  here  taken  for  granted,  that 
w^hat  one  wishes  others  to  do  to  him  is  some- 
thing right,  such  a  thing  as  he  ought  to  wish. 
Otherwise  the  rule  would  lead  to  folly  and 
crime.  If  a  man  should  become  a  criminal, 
he  would  probably  wish  the  judge  to  acquit 
him,  though  guilty;  it  does  not  follow  that 
if  the  same  man  is  a  judge,  he  ought  to  let  the 
guilty  go  free.  When  a  child,  one  did  not 
wish  his  father  to  restrain  him ;  it  does  not 
follow  that  he  must  now  let  his  own  son  go 
unrestrained.  Has,  then,  the  Saviour's  rule 
failed  here?  No,  it  is  taken  for  granted  that 
the  wish  of  our  own  to  which  he  bids  us  con- 
form in  our  treatment  of  others,  is,  or  would 
be,  a  right  wish  under  all  the  circumstances. 
I  do  not  wish  now  to  be  treated  as  a  child,  for 
mine  is  not  the  character  or  condition  of  a 
child;  b'^t  if  I  were  a  child,  and  had  just 
views  and  right  feelings,  I  should  wish  my 
father  not  to  make  me  my  own  master  when 
unfit  for  it,  but  to  restrain  and  discipline  me, 


1  '  Would  wish  that  men  should  do '  is  in  Greek  one  of  the  non-final  uses  of  hina,  explained  on  5 :  29. 


Ch.  VII.] 


MATTHEW. 


161 


in  the  way  that  would  be  for  my  real  good ; 
and  thus  I  ought  to  act  towards  my  child. 

Here  again,  as  in  v.  2,  3,  6,  we  find  that  our 
Lord  has  employed  a  form  of  statement  quite 
similar  to  some  sayings  then  already  in  ex- 
istence. Confucius,  said  (Legge's  "Cliinese 
Classics,"  vol.  1),  "Do  not  unto  others  that 
which  you  would  not  they  should  do  unto 
you."  Isocrates  said,  "  What  you  are  angry 
at  when  inflicted  on  you  hy  others,  this  do 
not  do  to  others."  A  Greek  biographer  of 
Aristotle  relates  that,  being  asked  how  we 
should  behave  towards  our  friends,  he  an- 
swered, "As  we  should  wish  them  to  behave 
toward  us."  The  apocryphal  book  of  Tobit 
(4:15)  has  "  What  thou  hatest,  do  to  no  one." 
Of  the  great  Rabbi  Hillel,  who  was  probably 
stiil  living  at  the  birth  of  Christ,  the  Talmud 
relates,  as  showing  that  he  was  kind,  and  not 
irritable  and  headlong  like  Shammai,  "  There 
is  a  story  of  a  certain  Gentile,  who  came  to 
Shammai  and  said,  '  Make  a  proselyte  of  me 
on  this  condition,  that  you  teach  me  the  whole 
law  while  I  stand  on  one  foot.'  He  drove 
him  away  with  a  long  staff  which  he  held  in 
his  hand.  The  man  came  to  Hillel,  and  he 
made  a  proselyte  of  him,  saying,  'What  is 
hateful  to  thee,  do  not  do  to  another.  This  is 
the  whole  law ;  the  rest  is  explanation  of  it.'  " 
Philo,  who  was  an  old  man  in  a.  d.  40,  says, 
"One  must  not  himself  do  what  he  hates  to 
have  done  to  him."  Seneca,  who  died  a.  d. 
65,  saj's  that  the  best  way  to  confer  a  benefit 
is  "to  give  as  we  should  wish  to  receive."^  It 
will  be  observed  that  the  sayings  of  Confu- 
cius, Isocrates,  and  the  three  Jewish  teachers 
are  merely  negative ;  that  of  Seneca  is  con- 
fined to  giving,  and  that  of  Aristotle  to  the 
treatment  of  friends.  Our  Lord  makes  it  a 
rule  for  positive  action,  and  towards  all  men  ; 
and  declares,  as  Hillel  had  done,  that  it  is  a 
summary  of  the  entire  Scriptures.  It  is  a 
part  of  his  wisdom  that  he  frequently  adopts 
modes  of  thought  and  expressions  already 
well  known  among  men,  or  which  had  occur- 
red to  some  thoughtful  mind;  while  in  many 
cases,  as  here,  he  gives  them  a  new  or  a  wider 
application.  (Comp.  on  v.  5,  and  especially 
on  6:   9.)      The    real    novelty   of   Christian 


Ethics  lies  in  the  fact  that  Christianity  offers 
not  only  instruction  in  moral  duty,  but  spir- 
itual help  in  acting  accordingly. — In  Luke 
(6:31),  this  precept  is  given  in  a  different  part 
of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  Luke's  brief 
sketch  omits  very  much  of  the  discourse,  and 
to  prevent  what  he  gives  from  being  a  mere 
collection  of  fragments,  he  must  of  necessity 
connect  passages  which  have  some  natural  re- 
lation. Accordingly,  this  saying  there  fol- 
lows the  injunction,  "Give  to  every  one  that 
asketh  thee,"  etc.  The  phrase,  for  this  is 
the  law  and  the  prophets,  is  omitted  by 
Luke,  precisely  as  he  omits  the  extensive 
portion  from  Matt.  5:  1.3  to  6:  18,  because  it 
was  suited  especially  for  Jews,  whom  Matthew 
had  peculiarly  in  view,  but  Luke  had  not. 
(See  Int.  to  chap.  5.) 

HOMILETICAL  AND  PRACTICAL. 

Y.  1  f.  Mutual  misjudgments:  1)  Between 
new  converts  and  old  disciples.  2)  Between 
church  olficers  and  church  members.  3)  Be- 
tween representatives  of  rival  societies,  jour- 
nals, or  institutions  of  learning.  4)  Between 
professed  Christians  and  non-professors.  5) 
Between  all  persons  who  judge  each  other  at 
all. — We  are  apt  to  be  very  severe  in  judging 
faults  to  which  we  are  not  specially  exposed. 
The  drunkard  is  harshly  condemned  by  a  man 
who  is  too  cold-blooded  or  too  stingy  to  be- 
come a  drunkard  ;  stinginess  is  harshly  con- 
demned by  one  who  finds  it  easier  to  be  lavish 
than  economical. — 

"Compound  for  sins  they  are  inclined  to, 
By  damning  those  they  have  no  mind  to." 

A  preacher  is  apt  to  illustrate  only  by  accounts 
of  wrong-doing  elsewhere. — Mishna  :  "Do 
not  judge  your  neighbor  till  you  have  put 
yourself  in  his  place."  Braune  (in  Stier) : 
"Judging  others  is  the  foul  stain  of  social 
life."  AciiELis:  "This  judging  rests  upon 
two  evil  factors,  the  want  of  love  to  others, 
and  the  assumption  of  God's  prerogative." 
Henry  :  "  He  who  usurps  the  bench,  shall  be 
called  to  the  bar."  Ciirys.  :  " 'That  is,' saith 
Christ,  '  it  is  not  the  other  that  thou  condemn- 
est,  but  thyself,  and  thou  art  making  the  jud;;- 
ment-seat  dreadful  to  thj'self,  and  the  account 


>In  Acts  15:20  and  29,  the  negative  precept,  "and  I  case  also  by  the  Harklean  Syriacand  Cyprian,  a"  West- 
whatever  you  do  not  wish  to  happen  to  you,  do  not  do  !  ern  "  interpolation.  The  so-called  "Teaching  of  the 
to  another,"  is  interpolated  by  D,  several  cursives,  ;  Apostles"  gives  the  same  (ch.  i),  followed  by  the  so- 
Thcbaic, .^Ihlopic,  Irenteus  (Latin),  and  in  the  second  |  called  "Constitutions  of  the  Apostle»,"  vii.  2. 

L 


162 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  VII. 


strict.'  ....  He  is  not  overthrowing  reproof 
nor  correction,  but  forbidding  men  to  neglect 
their  own  faults,  and  exult  over  those  of  other 
men."  Dykks  :  "To  take  one's  self  for  a 
Christian,  and  yet  be  ignorant  of  the  extent  of 
one's  own  guilt  and  evil-heartedness,  is  to  be 
exactly  in  that  state  of  blind  conceit  which 
qualifies  a  man  for  the  role  of  a  heartless  and 

reckless,  and  utterly  unrighteous  judge 

We  have  to  live  with  one  another;  and  the 
kindly  thoughts  of  others  about  ourselves  is  as 

the  breath  of  life  to  us There  are  some 

people  who  always  suspect  base  reasons  for 
whatever  looks  generous,  and  exult  in  ex- 
posing them  to  view ;  but  we  are  not  apt  to 
conclude  that  such  men's  own  motives  are  the 
purest,  or  their  own  life  the  sweetest  in  the 
world."     Plumptrk:    "Briefly  we  may  say, 

(1)  Judge  no  man  unless  it  be  a  duty  to  do  so. 

(2)  As  far  as  may  be,  judge  the  oflence,  and 
not  the  offender.  (3)  Confine  your  judgment 
to  the  earthly  side  of  faults,  and  leave  their 
relation  to  God,  to  him  who  sees  the  heart. 
(4)  Never  judge  at  all  without  remembering 
your  own  sinfulness,  and  the  ignorance  and 
infirmities  which  may  extenuate  the  sinfulness 
of  others." 

V.  3-5.  The  mote  and  the  beam.  1)  "We 
must  by  no  means  let  both  remain.  2)  We 
cannot  really  cast  out  either,  if  wholly  care- 
less about  the  other.  3)  Casting  out  the  beam 
will  make  us  more  clear-sighted,  more  sympa- 
thetic, and  more  skillful,  in  casting  out  the 
mote,  (not  simply  seeing  the  mote,  v.  3;  but 
seeing  to  cast  it  out,  v.  6).  4)  For  help 
in  casting  out  both,  ask,  and  it  shall  be  given 
you,  V.  7. — V.  1-5.  Efforts  to  correct  the  faults 
of  our  brethren.  1)  With  no  harsh,  undis- 
criminating  judgment  of  their  faults.  2) 
With  no  real  or  apparent  assumption  of  being 
without  fault  ourselves.  3)  With  clear  per- 
ception, heightened  by  experience  in  correct- 
ing our  own  faults.  4)  With  sympathetic 
and  fraternal  kindness. — V.  3.  What  we  nepd 
here  is  not  "to  see  oursels  as  others  see  us," 
but  to  see  ourselves  as  we  see  others. — V.  4. 
CiCEBO :  "  It  is  the  part  of  folly  to  see  other 
people's  faults  and  forget  our  own." 
EUTHYM.  :  "  Thehealer  ought  to  be  healthy." 
— Proposing  to  cast  out  the  mote  without 
thinking  of  the  beam,  is  (Dykes),  1)  a  blun- 
der, 2)  an  hypocrisy.  Rader  (in  Cor.  a 
Lap.):  "A  crooked  measuring-rule  makes 
even  straight  things  appear  crooked." 


V.  6.  New  converts  are  especially  prone,  in 
their  inexperienced  zeal,  to  cast  pearls  before 
swine.  In  religious  teaching  we  must  avoid 
those  who  1)  will  despise  the  holy  and  pre- 
cious truth,  and  2)  will  damage  the  teachers. 
Such  are  pretended  converts,  who  "join  the 
church  "  in  order  to  get  trade  or  to  impose  on 
charity ;  cases  often  encountered  in  foreign 
and  home  missions,  and  in  all  large  cities. 
Weiss:  "Gospel  truth  is  1)  'holy,'  as  com- 
ing from  God,  2)  precious  (pearls,  comp.  18: 
45)."  Dykes:  "We  often  stultify  our  at- 
tempts to  reform  the  vicious  and  brutal  by 
plans  which  look  charitable,  but  are  simply 
childish,  winking  at  the  darker  facts  of  human 
character.  .  .  To  select  the  fit  occasion  and 
discover  the  wise  method ;  to  adapt  truth  to 
the  evil  state  of  the  hearer,  and  win  for  it  a 
willing  ear ;  to  be  cautious  without  being 
timid,  and  faithful  but  not  indiscreet;  this 
asks  for  a  certain  nice  tact  ....  a  wisdom 
into  which  there  enter  several  elements,  but 
of  which  one  element  usually  is  a  spiritual 
gift  from  the  Father  of  lights." — We  have 
frequent  occasion  to  remember  the  proverb, 
"Speech  is  silvern,  but  silence  is  golden." 

V.  7-11.  To  avoid  censoriousness,  and  yet 
not  cast  pearls  before  swine,  ask,  and  it  shall 
be  given  you.  To  refrain  from  worldly  anx- 
ieties, because  trusting  in  God  (6;  19-34),  ask, 
and  it  shall  be  given  you.  To  eschew  osten- 
tation and  all  self-seeking  in  good  works 
(6;  1-18),  ask,  and  it  shall  be  given  you.  To  at- 
tain the  profound  spiritual  righteousness 
which  Jesus  teaches  and  requires  (»:  i"*8),  ask, 
and  it  shall  be  given  you.  To  be  indeed  the 
salt  of  the  earth  and  the  light  of  the  world 
(5: 13-16),  ask,  and  it  shall  be  given  you.  To  find 
blessing  in  the  trials  of  life  (6:3121,  ask,  and  it 
shall  be  given  you.  If  we  do  not  possess 
God's  spiritual  blessings,  it  must  be  because 
we  do  not  ask.  One  may  be  a  truly  indus- 
trious man,  and  yet  poor  in  temporal  things ; 
but  one  cannot  be  a  truly  praying  man,  and 
yet  poor  in  spiritual  things.  Chrys:  "And 
if  thou  dost  not  receive  straightway,  do  not 
even  thus  despair.  Fur  to  this  end  he  said, 
knock,  to  signify  that  even  if  he  should  not 
straightway  open  the  door,  we  are  to  continue 
there."  Luther  :  "  Hast  thou  here  the  con- 
soling promise  and  rich  assurance  he  gives,  aS 
showing  that  prayer  has  something  in  it,  ancff 
is  precious  in  God's  sight,  since  Jesus  so 
earnestly  exhorts  to  it,  so  kindly  invites,  and 


Ch.  VII.] 


MATTHEW. 


163 


13  Enter  ye  in  at  the  strait  gate:  for  wide  is  the 
gate,  and  broad  is  the  way,  that  leadeth  to  destruction, 
and  many  there  be  which  go  in  thereat : 

14  ■•  Because  strait  is  the  gate,  and  narrow  is  the  way, 
which  leadeth  unto  life,  and  fe*  there  be  that  find  it. 


13  Enter  ye  in  by  the  narrow  gate  :  for  wide  lis  Ihe 
gate,  and  broad  is  the  way,  that  leadeth  to  destruc- 

14  tion,  and  mau y  are  they  that  enter  in  thereby.  2  i-"or 
narrow  is  the  gate,  and  straitened  the  way,  that  lead- 
eth unto  life,  and  tew  are  they  that  find  it. 


a  Or,  How. 1  Some  ancieut  authorities  omit,  U  the  gate. . .  .2  Manj  ancient  authorities  read,  Hoic  narrow  is  the  gate,  etc. 


assures  us  that  we  shall  not  ask  in  vain  ;  even 
if  we  had  no  other  ground  or  inducement  than 
this  rich  and  loving  word,  it  ought  to  be  enough 
to  draw  us  and  drive  us  to  prayer.'' — V.  9-11. 
EuTHYM. :  "He  that  asks  must  both  be  a  son, 
and  must  ask  what  it  becomes  the  father  to 
give,  and  is  profitable  for  the  son  to  receive." 
Aug.  :  "The  Lord  is  good,  and  often  does  not 
give  what  we  should  wish,  in  order  that  he 
may  give  what  we  should  wish  still  more." 
AcuELis:  "If  the  son  asks  for  a  stone  or 
serpent,  thinking  it  to  be  a  loaf  or  fish,  the 
father's  love  will  give  the  real  good.  Paul 
asked  thrice  that  the  thorn  might  be  removed, 
and  afterwards  learned  that  the  Master  had 
done  for  him  something  far  better.  ('^  cor.  12: 
8,10.")  Dykes:  "Here,  in  these  simple, 
homely,  human  words  of  Jesus,  we  have 
surely  all  the  philosophy  of  prayer  which 
Christian  hearts  require  ....  all  genuine  in- 
tercourse betwixt  child  and  p:irent  must  have 
two  sides:  while  it  is  on  the  child's  side,  the 
freest  and  most  unlimited  expression  of  such 
thingsas  a  child's  heart  can  long  for,  or  a  child's 
judgment  discern  to  be  good,  it  is  on  the 
parent's  side  the  freest  and  most  voluntary 
determination  to  give  only  what  a  riper  judg- 
ment kni)ws  to  be  best,  and  all  that  a  larger 
heart  yearns  to  bestow." 

V.  12.  How  to  treat  others.  1)  "Worldly 
pride  and  honor  will  say,  Treat  them  as  they 
have  treated  us — return  a  kindness,  revenge 
an  injury.  2)  Jesus  says,  Treat  them  as  we 
should  wish  them  to  treat  us — forgive,  forbear, 
make  the  best  of  the  past,  hope  for  the  best  in 
future. — To  carry  out  this  rule  requires  imagi- 
nation, 8ympathy,un8elfishness.— Ryle:  "The 
Golden  Rule  settles  a  hundred  difficult  points, 
which  in  a  world  like  this  are  continually 
arising  between  man  and  man.  It  prevents 
the  necessity  of  laying  down  endless  little 
rules  for  our  conduct  in  specific  cases.  It 
sweeps  the  whole  debatable  ground  with  one 
mighty  principle."  —  Luther:  "All  the 
teachings  of  these  chapters  he  here  ties  up  in 
a  little  bit  of  a  bundle,  that  every  one  may 
place  in  his  bosom.  And  certainly  it  is  a  fine 
thmg  that  Christ  sets  before  us  precisely  our- 


selves for  an  example.     Thou  thyself  art  thy 
master,  doctor,  and  preacher." 

13-29.  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  Con- 
cluding Exhortations  to  Practice  as 
WELL  AS  Hear  and  Profess.  Effect  Pro- 
duced. 

The  Sermon  on  the  Mount  is  now  drawing 
to  a  close.  Its  leading  thoughts  have  been 
presented,  and  there  has  been  a  general  en- 
couragement to  seek  help  from  God,  and  a 
general  rule  for  regulating  our  conduct,  which 
covers  the  whole  ground  of  the  discourse.  It 
is  manifest  to  every  hearer  or  reader  that  the 
requirements  which  have  been  made  are  very 
rigorous,  in  their  profound  spirituality  and 
vast  compass.  Our  Lord  does  not  soften  this 
rigof  at  all,  but  goes  on  to  declare  that  the 
way  pointed  out  by  him  is  indeed  one  hard  to 
find  and  follow,  and  that  there  is  great  danger 
of  being  deceived  by  false  guides,  and  of  self- 
deception  ;  yet  he  does  not  present  these  facts 
as  an  excuse  for  shrinking  back,  nor  even  say 
that  in  spite  of  these  things  we  must  make  the 
effort,  but  urges  the  very  difficulties  as  a  rea- 
son for  going  forward.  We  cannot  drift  with 
the  crowd,  without  purpose  or  effort,  through 
the  narrow  gate;  to  act  thus  would  lead 
through  the  wide  gate  to  destruction.  Heed- 
fully  and  diligently  we  must  go  in  through 
the  narrow  gate,  along  the  straitened  and 
difficult  way,  which  leads  to  life.  Gloss,  (in 
Aquinas):  "Though  it  be  hard  to  do  to  an- 
other what  you  would  have  done  to  yourself, 
yet  so  must  we  do,  that  we  maj'  enter  the 
strait  gate." 

We  may  mark,  as  containing  distinct  though 
closely-related  topics,  v.  13  f  ;  15-20;  21-23; 
24-27 ;  and  the  concluding  statement  in  28  f. 
The  apophthegmatical  form  of  expression, 
which  we  have  already  noticed  at  v.  1,  6,  7,  is 
continued,  and  hence  there  is  no  conjunction 
connecting  v.  13  with  what  precedes,  while  the 
general  relation  of  the  thoughts  is  obvious,  as 
just  pointed  out. 

13,  14.  Enter  ye  in,  viz.,  into  life  (v.  14), 
as  in  18:  8  f . ;  19:  17;  or,  into  the  Messianic 
kingdom,  as  in  5:  20;  7:  21;  18:3;  19:23  f 
The  comparisoa  of  19:  17  with  19:  23  shows 


164 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  VII. 


that  the  two  expressions  are  equivalent.  See 
also  25:  21-23.  At  the  strait — or  through 
the  narroio — gate.  The  English  word  '  strait ' 
is  derived  (tlirough  the  French)  from  the 
Latin  strictuin,  and  is  thus  a  different  word 
from  straight,  which  is  an  old  form  of 
stretched.  The  two  are  popularly  confounded 
in  quoting  this  passage,  "The  straight  and 
narrow  way,"  although  it  is  not  at  all  said 
that  the  way  is  straight.  The  word  'strait' 
is  now  little  used  except  in  Geography,  and 
in  such  phrases  as  strait-laced  and  strait- 
jacket.  For  wide  is  the  gate.  It  is  quite 
possible  that  'the  gate'  should  here  be  omit- 
ted (as  in  margin  Rev.  Ver.).*  There  would 
be  nothing  lost  from  the  substantial  meaning 
(see  below).  The  word  rendered  broad  is  a 
peculiar  and  strong  term,  'broad-spaced,' 
"spacious,'  describing  the  way  as  having 
plenty  of  room  in  it.  Destruction.  The 
Greek  word  is  translated  (Rev.  Ver.)  'perdi- 
tion' in  John  17:  12;  Phil.  1:  28;  3:  19;  1 
Tim.  6:  9;  Heb.  10:  39;  Rev.  17:  8,  11  ^  'de- 
struction '  in  Rom.  9 :  22 ;  2  Pet.  2 :  1,  3,  Rev. 
Ver.;  3:  16.  Go  in — or  —  enter  in,  same 
Greek  word  as  at  the  beginning  of  the  sen- 
tence. Thereat,  literally,  'through  it,' 
would  more  naturally  make  us  think  of  pass- 
ing through  the  gate,  but  would  also  apply  to 
the  way  or  road,  as  in  'pass  along  through 
that  road.'  (8:28.)  Instead  of  because  (v.  u), 
there  is  much  authority  for  a  reading  which 
would  mean  'how,'  {ti  instead  of  hoti)  mak- 
ing it  an  exclamation,  '  How  narrow  is  the 
gate!'  It  is  extremely  difficult  to  decide 
which  is  the  correct  reading.*  As  to  the  sense, 
'because'  would  make  this  a  reason  why 
many  enter  the  broad  road,  and  an  additional 
reason  (comp.  'for,'  v.  13)  for  the  opening  in- 


junction to  enter  in  by  the  narrow  gate.  The 
rendering  in  the  Common  Version  'because' 
(the  Greek  word  in  the  text  followed  being 
the  same  as  in  'for,'  v.  13)  obscures  the  fact 
that  these  are  two  parallel  reasons  for  the 
injunction.  The  reading  'how'  does  not 
present  this  formally  as  a  reason,  but  states 
solemnly  and  impressively  the  fact,  which  he 
designs  to  act  as  a  motive  for  entering  in  by 
the  narrow  gate.  An  impassioned  exclama- 
tion would  here  be  less  strange  than  it  might 
at  first  sight  appear,  because  the  fact  that  so 
few  are  saved  might  well  awaken  profound 
emotion  in  the  Saviour's  bosom."  The  word 
rendered  narrow,  or  in  Rev.  Ver.  straitened, 
signifies  pressed,  pressed  together,  cramped ; 
a  Greek  writer  uses  it  when  he  describes  one 
as  occupying  "a  straitened  cell";  so  it  im- 
plies not  merely  that  the  road  is  narrow,  but, 
as  it  were,  cramped,  confined,  so  that  there  is 
difliculty  in  passing  along  it.  This  word  is 
thus  the  precise  opposite  of  the  term  'spa- 
cious,' applied  to  the  other  road.  In  the  one, 
men  can  wander  heedlessly,  and  roam  about 
at  pleasure  in  the  broad  spaces ;  the  other 
requires  to  be  pursued  with  great  care  and 
exactness.  Life  is  here  first  used,  as  mean- 
ing spiritual  and  eternal  life,  in  our  Lord's 
Galilean  ministry;  but  previously  in  his 
early  Judean  ministry.  (John 3:  is f;  4:  i4, 36.) 
Leadeth  is  literally  leadeth  away,  perhaps 
implying  a  long  course.  Though  the  expres- 
sions in  v.  Hare  precisely  parallel  to  those  in 
v.  13,  there  is  a  striking  exception  at  the 
close;  he  does  not  say,  'few  are  those  that 
enter  in  through  it,'  but  'few  are  those  that 
find  it.'  Our  attention  is  thus  strongly  called 
to  the  fact  that  this  narrow  gate  and  waj'  is 
likely  to  be  overlooked,  and  so  it  should  be 


I  The  omission  in  v.  13  is  supported  by  X  and  the  Old 
Latin,  and  "  mani/  Greek  and  Latin  Fathers,  early  and 
late " ;  in  v.  14  the  evidence  for  omitting  is  weaker. 
The  state  of  the  evldencee  is  readily  explained  by  the 
supposition  that  'the  gate  'is  genuine  in  v.  14  and 
spurious  in  v.  13,  and  is  not  easily  explained  otherwise. 
W  H.  adopt  this  view  in  text  and  Appendix.  Tisch. 
bracketed  In  both  places. 

*  The  evidence  for  hoti  being  6  K  X,  many  cursives,  a 
few  Latin  copies,  Egyptian,  and  Origen,  is  considered 
decisive  by  W  H.  (according  to  their  theory  as  to  B  X) 
80  that  they  do  not  even  mention  the  other  reading. 
Yet  the  latter,  besides  the  support  of  all  other  uncials 
(C  and  D  are  here  wanting),  numerous  cursives,  nearly 
all  Old  Latin  and  the  Vulgate,  Old  Syr.,  Pesh.  and 
Harklean,  other  versions   and  various   Fathers,  has 


strongly,  in  its  favor,  the  internal  evidence.  If  ti  was 
the  original  reading,  it  was  quite  unusual  in  such  a 
connection  and  looked  strange,  and  so  might  very  easily 
have  been  changed  into  the  familiar  hoti.  But  why 
should  Ao/i  be  changed  i\i\otit  It  is  very  difficult  to 
suppose  the  change  accidental.  The  repetition  of  hoti 
in  the  successive  clauses  gives  but  slight  trouble  as  to 
the  sense  ;  and  even  if  there  was  trouble,  it  would  be  at 
once  greatly  increased  by  changing  to  ti,  which  would 
here  have  so  rare  and  strange  a  use.  In  the  present 
state  of  Text-criticism,  the  question  can  hardly  bo 
settled. 

s'  How'  would  be  a  very  unusual  meaning  of  ti,  but 
not  unexampled,  see  Grimm,  and  Moulton  in  Winer, 
p.  562 ;  a  corresponding  Hebrew  word  is  repeatedly  em- 
ployed in  that  sense. 


Ch.  VII.] 


MATTHEW. 


165 


carefully    searched    for    and    diligently    en- 
tered. 

Is  the  narrow  gate  at  the  beginning  of  the 
way  or  at  the  end  of  it?  Many  have 
taken  the  former  view,  understanding  by  the 
gate  conversion,  or  the  beginning  of  the 
Christian  life,  and  by  the  way  its  subsequent 
prosecution.  (So  Bunyan,  in  Pilgrim's  Prog- 
ress.) A  larger  number  of  expositors  urge 
that  it  is  more  natural  to  conceive  of  a  road 
leading  to  a  gate,  by  which  we  enter  the  cij;y ; 
and  they  quote  (Wet.)  as  similar  in  expres- 
sion and  sentiment  the  saying  of  Cebes  (pupil 
of  Socrates):  "Do  you  see  a  certain  little 
door,  and  a  certain  road  before  the  door, 
which  is  not  much  crowded,  but  very  few  are 
journeying  on  it?  ....  This  is  the  road  that 
leads  to  true  instruction."  But  it  is  also  easy 
enough  to  conceive  of  a  gate  opening  into  a 
spacious  avenue,  and  a  smaller  one  into  a 
narrow  path,  which  conducts  to  the  mansion. 
There  is  a  much  more  serious  objection  than 
this  to  the  common  view.  If  passing  through 
the  narrow  gate  is  conversion,  to  what  does 
passing  through  the  wide  gate  correspond? 
There  is  no  marked  transition  made  by  all 
unconverted  persons  from  one  state  to  another, 
which  can  be  compared  to  passing  through 
a  gate  into  a  new  road.  If,  on  the  other 
hand  we  understand  the  gate  as  at  the  end  of 
the  way,  why  is  it  put  first  in  the  statement? 
The  difficulties  on  both  sides  are  thought  to  be 
obviated  by  the  following  explanation  :  Our 
Lord,  on  a  subsequent  occasion  (Lukeis:  24I, 
uses  the  simple  image  of  entering  the  narrow 
gate,  expressions  similar  to  which  are  common 
in  Jewish  and  classical  writers.  But  here  he 
expands  the  image,  representing  not  only  a 
narrow  gate,  but  a  narrow  and  difficult  road, 
and  so  as  to  the  wide  gate  and  spacious  road. 
Wo  have  thus  no  occasion  carefully  to  mark 
off  the  gate,  as  lying  either  at  the  beginning 
or  the  end  of  the  road,  but  both  together  serve 
to  set  forth  more  strongly  than  the  sini/ple  idea 
of  a  gate  would  do,  the  comparative  ease  of 
reaching  perdition,  and  the  difficulty  of  reach- 
ing life.  (So,  in  substance,  Clirys.,  Jerome, 
Tholuck,  Weiss,  Keil.)  And  accordingly 
'enter  in  through  iV  (».  13.)  and  'find  it'  (»•»*) 
need  not  be  specially  assigned  to  the  gate  or 
the  way,  being  applicable  to  either,  and  thus 
Uy  both.  If  'the  gate'  be  omitted  after 
'wide'  in  v.  13  (see  above),  there  will,  accord- 


ing to  this  view,  be  nothing  lost  of  the  sub- 
stantial meaning.  Achelis  takes  'find  it'  as 
meaning  find  life,  which  is  grammatically  pos- 
sible, but  does  not  suit  the  connection  ;  and  to 
find  a  road  is,  in  itself,  a  much  more  natural 
expression  than  to  find  life.  It  is  misleading 
interpretation  to  say  (Plumptre)  that  Christ 
himself  is  here  the  way  and  the  gate,  because 
of  John  14 :  6 ;  10 :  7.  Must  a  familiar  image 
be  supposed  to  have  everywhere  in  the  Bible 
the  same  application  ? 

The  comparative  ease  and  difficulty  of  the 
two  gates  and  ways  may  be  regarded  as  due 
both  to  external  influences  and  to  ourselves. 
Men  in  general  do  not  interrupt  our  progress 
to  destruction,  but  much  of  their  influence 
tends  to  make  it  easier;  the  crowd  are  going 
that  way,  and  mankind  have  a  deplorable 
tendency  to  follow  the  crowd.  (Comp.  Ex. 
23:  2.)  At  the  same  time,  our  sinful  propen- 
sities are  numerous  and  powerful,  and  incline 
us  in  that  same  direction.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  way  to  life  is  fenced  in  on  either  side  by 
God's  requirements  (oeut.  5;  ss;  piot.  «:  27;  isaiah 
30:21),  while  sometimes  persecutions  (i.Pet. *: 
nf.),  and  always  the  thousand  forms  of  temp- 
tation, unite  with  our  own  sinful  reluctance 
to  do  right,  and  make  the  gate  very  narrow, 
the  way  exceedingly  straitened.  None  the 
less  is  it  true  that  Christ's  people  are  the 
happy  ones  (5:3-12),  that  wisdom's  "ways  are 
ways  of  pleasantness"  (Pror.s:  17),  and  that 
God's  "commandments  are  not  grievous" 
(1  John  6:  s) ;  bccausc  all  this  refers  to  such  as  are 
born  again,  and  holds  good  of  them  just  in 
proportion  as  they  are  deeply  pious.  (Johni4: 
15-17.)  See  interesting  parallels  to  this  image 
of  the  gate  and  the  way  in  Ecclus.  21 :  10;  2 
EsdrasT:  6-14.  Images  somewhat  correspond- 
ing are  also  quoted  from  Hesiod :  "Evil  we 
may  seize  upon  even  in  multitudes  with  ease; 
the  way  to  it  is  smooth,  and  it  lies  very  near. 
But  the  immortal  gods  have  placed  sweat  at 
the  entrance  to  virtue,  and  long  and  straight 
is  the  path  to  it,  and  rough  at  first;  but  when 
you  come  to  the  summit,  then  it  grows  easy." 
Pythagoras  (Corn,  a  Lap.)  said  "that  at  first 
the  path  of  virtue  is  narrow  and  confined, 
but  afterwards  it  becomes  wider  by  degrees; 
the  way  of  pleasure,  on  the  other  hand,  is  not 
wide  at  the  beginning,  but  afterwards  it  be- 
comes more  and  more  straitened."  PhiLo  : 
"A  road  worn  by  men  and  beasts,  and  suited 


166 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  VII. 


15  Beware  of  false  prophets,  which  come  to  you  in 
sheep's  clothing,  but  inwardly  they  are  raveuiug 
wolves. 


15      Beware  of  false  prophets,  that  come  to  you  in 
sheep's  clothing,  but  inwardly  are  ravening  wolves. 


for  riding  horses  and  driving  chariots,  is  very 
similar  to  pleasure;  while  the  ways  of  pru- 
dence and  temperance,  and  the  other  virtues, 
even  if  not  impassable,  are  yet  wholly  un- 
worn, for  small  is  the  number  of  those  who 
walk  on  them." 

15.  Beware  of  false  prophets.  In  your 
efforts  to  find  and  enter  the  narrow  gate,  the 
straitened  way,  beware  of  those  who  would 
mislead  you.  Alas  !  it  is  not  enough  that  we 
have  personally  so  much  difficulty  in  finding 
the  way  to  life,  and  that  so  many  set  us  a  bad 
example ;  there  are  others  who  deliberately 
attempt  to  lead  us  astray.  For  the  term  '  pro- 
phets,' see  on  v.  22.  There  were  already  false 
teachers  among  the  Jews,  sanctimonious  (6:2) 
and  hypocritical.  (Johu  lo :  i,  lo.)  And  our  Lord 
may  be  referring  immediately  to  these 
(Weiss) ;  but  he  is  also  preparing  for  the 
future,  as  he  will  do  still  further  near  the 
close  of  his  ministry.  (24:11, -^4.)  So  we  find 
Paul  speaking  of  hypocritical  false  teach- 
ers as  early  as  A.  D.  60  (oai. 2:4),  warning  the 
Ephesian  elders  in  a.  d.  58  against  grievous 
wolves  (Acts 20: 28-31),  and  a -few  years  later  giv- 
ing many  such  warnings  in  the  Pastoral  Epis- 
tles ;  as  Peter  and  John  also  do  in  their  Epis- 
tles. Pew  things  are  so  painful  to  the  teacher 
of  truth  as  to  know  that  others  will  be  busily 
teaching  the  same  persons  ruinous  error.  In 
sheep's  clothing  means,  of  course,  clothed 
like  sheep,  looking  like  sheep,  just  as  in 
-^sop's  fable  of  the  wolf  in  sheep's  clothing. 
The  idea  of  some  that  it  means  clothed  in 
woolen  garments,  resembling  a  supposed  style 
of  garment  worn  by  prophets,  is  unfounded, 
and  very  nearly  ridiculous.  Ravening, 
rapacious,  snatching  at  everything  to  devour 
it.  (John  10: 12.)  Henry:  "Every  hypocrite  is 
a  goat  in  sheep's  clothing,  but  a  false  prophet 
is  a  wo// in  sheep's  clothing;  not  only  not  a 
sheep,  but  the  worst  enemy  the  sheep  have, 
that  comes  not  but  to  tear  and  devour,  to  scat- 
ter the  sheep,  to  drive  them  from  God  and 
from  one  another  into  crooked  paths." 

16-20.  Our  Lord  here  shows  how  these 
false  teachers  maybe  detected,  viz.,  by  their 
fruits.  Know  is  in  the  Greek  a  compound, 
meaning  recognize,  or  fully  know.  Ye  shall 
know  (in  Greek  simply  the  future  tense)  is 


here  not  a  command,  but  an  assurance.  Do 
men  gather,  literally,  they,  precisely  like 
our  impersonal  expressions,  "  they  say,"  etc. 
(Coinp.  on  5:  10.)  The  Greek  introduces  the 
question  by  a  particle  which  strongly  implies 
that  the  answer  must  be  negative.  James 
(3:12)  uses  the  same  image,  probably  having 
this  passage  in  mind ;  for,  as  already  remarked, 
he  often  refers  to  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount. 
Even  so  (»•  n),  i.  e.,  as  we  do  not  gather  one 
kind  of  fruits  from  another  kind  of  tree,  so 
it  is  also  true  that  fruits  are  good  or  bad  ac- 
cording as  the  tree  is  sound  or  unsound. 
Here,  and  in  v.  18,  the  original  is  plural, 
'good  fruits,'  '  bad  fruits'  ;  in  v.  19  it  is  singu- 
lar— mere  variations  for  the  sake  of  variety. 
Corrupt  is,  literally,  decayed,  rotten,  and 
then  unsound  in  general — a  tree  in  a  decayed 
or  unhealthy  condition,  such  that  its  sap  is 
diseased,  and  it  cannot  produce  good  fruits. 
V.  17  states  the  actual  fact  of  nature ;  v.  18, 
that  it  cannot  be  otherwise,  from  the  constitu- 
tion of  things;  v.  19  that  men  are  accustomed 
to  act  accordingly;  v.  20  is  a  repetition  of 
what  was  said  in  v.  16,  made  for  the  sake  of 
greater  impressiveness,  and  presented  as  a 
conclusion  from  what  has  been  said  in  v.  16- 
19.  A  good  many  copies  of  the  Greek  intro- 
duce v.  19  by  'therefore,'  and  v.  15  by  'but' 
— from  not  perceiving  the  apophthegmatical 
character  of  the  style.  With  v.  18  comp.  12: 
33,  where  the  same  image  is  employed  by  our 
Lord  in  another  connection  ;  with  v.  19  com- 
pare the  words  of  John  the  Baptist  in  3:  10, 
which  many  present  had  probably  heard  him 
speak.  Hewn  down  (v.  19)  is  literally,  cut  out, 
i.  e.,  from  its  place  in  the  orchard.  It  is  a 
matter  of  common  observation  that  men  do 
actually  cut  out  and  burn  trees  that  do  not 
produce  good  fruit. 

There  has  been  much  discussion  as  to  whetheif 
the  'fruits'  by  which  we  are  to  judge,  repre- 
sent the  life  or  the  teachings  of  the  teachers  in 
question.  The  latter  view  prevailed  widely 
until  Bengel,  and  the  passage  was  freely  used 
as  authority  for  punishing  heretics.  By  com- 
paring the  whole  connection,  especially  the 
phrases,  'rfoc^A  the  will'  (v.  21),  '  «;orA  iniquity ' 
(t.  23),  '■  doeth  them  '  (v.  24),  we  see  the  applica- 
tion here  is  to  their  works,  their  life.     On  the 


M 


Ch.  VII.] 


MATTHEW. 


167 


16  Ye  shall  know  them  by  their  fruits.  Do  men 
gather  grapes  of  thorns,  or  figs  of  thistles? 

17  Even  so  every  good  tree  bringeth  forth  good  fruit ; 
but  a  corrupt  tree  bringeth  forth  evil  fruit. 

18  A  good  tree  cannot  bring  forth  evil  fruit,  neither 
can  a  corrupt  tree  bring  forth  good  fruit. 

19  Every  tree  that  bringeth  not  forth  good  fruit  is 
hewn  down  and  cast  into  the  fire. 

20  Wherefore  by  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them. 

21  Not  every  one  that  saith  uuto  me.  Lord,  Lord, 
shall  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven ;  but  he  that 
doeth  the  will  of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven. 


16  By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them.  Do  meji  gather 

17  grapes  of  thorns,  or  figs  of  thistles?     Even  so  every 
good  tree  bringeth  forth  good  fruit;  but  the  corrupt 

18  tree  bringeth  forth  evil  fruit.    A  good  tree  cannot 
bring  forth  evil  fruit,  neither  can  a   corrupt  tree 

19  bring  forth   good  fruit.    Every  tree  that  bringeth 
not  forth  good  fruit  is  hewn  down,  and  cast  into  the 

20  fire.    Therefore  by  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them. 

21  Not  every  one  that  saith  unto  me,  Lord,  Lord,  shall 
enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ;  but  he  that  doeth 


Other  hand,  in  Luke's  sketch  of  the  discourse 
fLuke6:43),  the  Special  application  is  to  the  idea 
that  as  a  good  tree  produces  good  fruits,  etc., 
so  a  good  man  will  put  forth  good  teachings, 
and  these  will  have  a  good  effect  upon  his 
pupils,  and  a  bad  man  the  reverse;  and  sim- 
ilar is  the  application  when  our  Lord  uses  the 
image  again.  (12: 33.)  May  it  not  be  that  he 
here  indicated  an  application  both  to  their  life 
and  the  character  and  effect  of  their  teach- 
ings; and  that  Matthew's  incomplete  sketch 
gives  prominence  to  the  one,  Luke's  to  the 
other?  (There  seem  to  be  several  such  cases 
in  the  two  reports  of  this  discourse.)  In  both 
respects  false  prophets  would  pretend  to  be 
members  of  the  flock;  making  great  pretence 
both  to  a  holy  life  and  to  sound  teaching. 
But  is  their  life  holy,  is  their  teaching  sound, 
and  does  it  make  their  pupils  wiser  and  bet- 
ter? Those  tests  will  show  what  they  are 
inwardly  and  really.  Jerome:  "Por  it  be- 
hooves the  servants  of  God  that  both  their 
works  should  be  approved  by  their  teaching, 
and  their  teaching  by  their  works."  It  is  not 
meant  that  every  separate  item  of  false  teach- 
ing will  be  attended  by  some  distinct  evil 
practice;  their  evil  conduct  in  general  will 
show  them  to  be  bad  men,  and  so  to  be  unsafe 
teachers.  When  some  teachers  of  ruinous 
heresy  are  men  of  scrupulous  conduct  and 
pleasing  general  character,  and  even  very  de- 
vout, this  may  usually  be  ascribed  to  their 
religious  education  and  early  habits,  or  to  the 
religious  atmosphere  they  breathe,  or  to  a  real 
piety  which  their  theories  cannot  destroy  in 
them,  however  hurtful  to  othere. 

21.  The  test  of  false  prophets,  their  fruits 
(t.  i«,  20),  naturally  leads  to  the  kindred  thought 
that  the  followers  of  the  true  prophet,  the 
Saviour  himself,  will  be  known  not  by  their 
professions  of  devotion  to  him,  but  by  their 
fruits,  their  doing  the  will  of  his  Father. 
That  this  is  true  in  general  is  strikingly 
shown  by  declaring  {r.nt.)  that  even  many 


who  have  prophesied  and  wrought  miracles 
by  his  name,  will  be  finally  rejected  as  hav- 
ing   never   really   been   his   people.      Much 
more,  then,  is  that  possible  and  likely  in  the 
case  of  such  as  have  given  less  evidence  of 
really    being    his    followers.       This    passage 
(v. 21-23)  is  thus  ieen  to  be  naturally  suggested 
by  the  preceding  warning  against  false  pro- 
phets, but  to  be  widened  into  a  solemn  admo- 
nition to  all,  as  to  the  danger  of  self-deception  ; 
and  this  again  will  naturally  lead  to  the  con- 
clusion in  V.  24-27.     Not  every  one,  but  only 
some  of  them,  only  those  of  them  who  do  the 
will  of  God.  (Comp.  Luke  9:  59,  61.)    Lord, 
Lord,  the  repetition  expressing  earnestness 
in  addressing  him,  which  might,  of  course, 
be  either  real  or  assumed.    Similarly  in  v.  22; 
25:  11,  and  compare   "Master,    Master"    in 
Luke  8 :  24.    For  the  exact  meaning  of  '  Lord ' 
see  on  8:  19.     It  convej's  the  idea  of  rightful 
master,  ruler,   sovereign.     If   we  call   Jesus 
'Lord,'  and  do  not  what  he  says  (Luke 6: 46),  or, 
what  is  the  same  thing,  do  not  the  will  of 
God,  it  is  a  flagrant  inconsistency — to  pretend 
that  he  is  our  Master,  and  yet  not  obey  him. 
Enter  into  the   kingdom  of  heaven,  see 
on  5:  20.    The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  here  un- 
derstood with  reference  to  its  consummation, 
its  eternal,  glorious  rewards.  (See  on  3:  2.) 
He   that  doeth    the  will  of   my  Father. 
This  is  the  first  time  in  the  Galilean  ministry 
that  Jesus  speaks  of  God  as  his  Father.     It  is 
previously  found  only  in  Luke  2 :  49;  John 
2:  16.     Comp.  as  to  '  life,'  in  v.  14.     '  Will '  is 
here   especially  what  God   requires;   and  to 
'do'  the  will  of  God  is  to  obey  his  commands. 
So  also  in  12:  50  and  21 :  31.    In  6:  10,  the  idea 
is  quite  different,  viz.,  literally,  'Let  thy  will 
(desire,  wish)  come  to  pass.'     In  1  Cor.  12:  3, 
Rev.    Ver.,    Paul    declares    that    "no    man 
speaking  in  the  Spirit  of  God  saith,  Jesus  is 
anathema;    and    no   man   can   say,    Jesus   is 
Lord,  but  in  the  Holy  Spirit."     He  evidently 
supposes  the  utterance  to  be  a  sincere  one, 


168 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  VII. 


22  Many  will  say  to  me  in  that  day,  Lord,  Lord,  have 
we  not  prophesied  in  thy  name?  and  in  thy  name  have 
cast  out  devils  ?  and  in  thy  name  done  many  wonderful 
works  ? 

23  And  then  will  I  profess  unto  them,  I  never  knew 
you  :  depart  from  me,  ye  that  work  iniquity. 


22  the  will  of  my  Father  who  is  in  heaven.  Many  will 
say  to  me  in  that  day.  Lord,  L,ord,  did  we  not  pro- 
phesy by  thy  name,  and  by  thy  name  cast  out  de- 
mons, and  by  thy  name  do  many  '  mighty  works? 

23  And  then  will  I  profess  unto  them,  1  never  knew 


1  Qr.  powers. 


while  the  Saviour  is  here  speaking  of  persons 
with  whom  it  is  all  talk  and  outside.  Distinct 
from  both  these  cases  is  the  future  universal 
confession  of  Phil.  2:  11. 

22,  23.  For  the  connection  see  on  v.  21, 
at  the  beginning.  In  that  day,  the  well- 
known  day,  often  spoken  of,  and  familiar  to 
the  minds  of  all.  It  is  a  phrase  frequently 
employed  by  the  O.  T.  prophets  to  designate 
the  time  of  Messiah  in  general ;  as  used  in  the 
N.  T.,  it  looks  especially  to  the  consummation 
of  Messiah's  kingdom  (comp.  on  6:  10),  and 
thus  denotes  the  day  of  judgment  (see  Luke 
10:  12;  2  Thess.  1:  10;  2  Tim.  1:  12,  18;  4: 
8;  Bev.  16:  14).  Our  Lord  here  begins  to 
educate  his  hearers  to  that  conception,  as  in 
like  manner  he  thus  early  intimates  that  he  is 
to  be  the  Judge,  an  idea  brought  out  more 
fully  in  John  6:  22,  27;  Matt.  25:  31  ff. 
Throughout  the  discourse  it  is  evidently  as- 
sumed that  he  is  the  Messiah,  though  not  ex- 
pressly so  declared,  and  it  is  therefore  not 
strange  that  he  should  assume  to  be  the  final 
judge.  Similar  is  the  Lord,  Lord,  as  ad- 
dressed to  him;  for  this  cannot  be  here  the 
mere  polite  form  of  address  (s:  «;  Actsie:  so), 
since  (Achelis)  no  one  could  imagine  that  he 
would  be  saved  for  merely  speaking  politely 
to  Jesus.  Here  is  a  touch  of  the  '  authority ' 
which  so  impressed  his  hearers,  (v  2*)  Have 
we  not  prophesied.  The  Hebrew  word 
which  we  render  'prophet'  signifies  one  who 
speaks  under  a  divine  influence,  speaks  as  he 
is  moved  to  speak  by  a  divine  power,  and  so 
is  the  ambassador  of  God  to  men,  the  revealer 
and  interpreter  of  his  will.  To  foretell  things-' 
future  was  thus  only  a  part  of  the  prophet's 
oflBce  ;  he  was  the  inspired  and  authoritative 
religious  instructor  of  the  people,  whether  as 
to  things  past,  present,  or  future.  The  Greek 
word  prophets,  which  we  borrow,  is  now  ex- 
plained as  meaning  not  one  who  foretells,  but 
(Liddell   &  Scott)   one  who   /or-tells,   who 


speaks /or  God,  or  (Grimm,  Cremer)  one  who 
speaks  openly,  an  interpreter  (of  the  Deity) ; 
it  thus  corresponds  closely  to  the  Hebrew 
word.  To  prophesy  in  the  New  Test.,  is 
always  to  speak  by  divine  inspiration,  though 
not  always  concerning  the  future.  It  is  a 
mistake  to  say  that  it  sometimes  signifies 
merely  to  teach.  Even  in  1  Cor.  14 :  1  ff.,  the 
apostle  is  not  contrasting  the  gift  of  tongues 
with  ordinary  teaching,  but  with  inspired 
teaching  in  the  common  language.  In  the 
present  passage  it  is  evident  that  to  prophesy 
is  regarded  as  a  remarkable  thing.  In — or  by 
— thy  name,  is  the  simple  instrumental 
(wrongly  called  dative)  case  of  the  noun 
without  a  preposition.^  '  Thy '  is  emphatic  in 
the  original.  It  was  by  means  of  his  name 
that  they  performed  these  wonders,  and  this 
is  repeated  three  times;  surely  then  he  would 
i.ot  reject  them.  Comp.  Acts  3:  16;  19:  13; 
which  last  shows  that  the  name  of  Jesus  was 
sometimes  actually  called  out.  For  the 
Scripture  use  of  the  word  'name'  see  on 
28:  19;  as  to  casting  out  demons,  see  on 
8:  28.  Wonderful  works.  Mighty  loorks 
is  better.  Tyn.  has  'miracles,'  followed  by 
Great  Bible,  Gen.,  Bheims.  It  would  be  bet- 
ter to  render  this  word  (powers)  uniformly 
by  'miracles,'  as  Com.  Ver.,  nearly  always 
does  in  the  Acts  and  Epistles.  Comp.  on  12: 
38.  Profess,  see  on  10:  32.  They  were  pro- 
fessing to  have  been  his  followers,  and  he  will, 
on  the  contrary,  profess — openly  and  plainly 
declare — that  such  they  never  really  were. 
The  Bev.  Ver.  here  rightly  retains  '  profess  ' 
(instead  of  'confess'),  as  also  in  Titus  1:  16; 
might  it  not  better  have  done  likewise  in  Heb. 
4:  14;  10:  23?  (Compare  below,on  14:7).  I 
never  knew  you.  The  word  rendered 
'  never'  is  very  strong,  not  even  at  any  time, 
nearly  equivalent  to  our  "never,  never." 
'Knew,'  i.  e.,  as  mine,  as  my  people.  So  in 
25 :  12,  where  the  bridegroom  says  to  the  fool- 


I  This  construction  is  not  elsewhere  found  with  this  1  here  like  the  Greek,  without  a  preposition,  which  it 
word  in  the  New  Test.  (Mark  9:  38  has  a  preposition  in    regularly  employs  where  the  Greek  does.    The  Latin 
the  correct  text),  and  appears  to  have  been  borrowed    has  inserted 'in.' 
from  Jer.  27 :  15.    The  Gothic  takes  pains  to  express  it  | 


Ch   VII.] 


MATTHEW. 


169 


2-4  Therefore  whosoever  heareth  these  sayings  of  I  24  you :  depart  from  me,  ye  that  work  iniquity.  Every 
mine,  and  doeih  theui,  I  will  liken  him  unto  a  wise  one  therefore  who  heareth  these  words  ot  mine,  and 
man,  which  built  hia  house  upon  a  rock  :  |       doeth  them,  shall  be  likened  unto  a  wise  man,  who 


ish  virgins,  'I  know  you  not'  ;  John  10:  13, 
Rev.  Ver.,  '  I  know  mine  own,  and  mine  own 
know  me'  ;  Gal.  4:  9,  Rev.  Ver.,  'To  know 
God,  or  rather  to  be  known  of  God' ;  1  Cor. 
8:  3,  Rev.  Ver.,  '  If  any  man  loveth  God,  the 
same  is  known  of  him';  Amos  3:  2,  'You 
only  did  I  know,  out  of  all  the  families  of  the 
earth.'  Here,  as  constantly  in  Scripture,  God 
is  spoken  of  in  language  derived  from  men. 
A  man  knows  some  persons,  and  does  not 
know  others;  and  only  the  former  can  enjoy 
any  privileges  which  may  pertain  to  his  ac- 
quaintance. Suppose  a  prince  to  have  for- 
merly sojourned  in  a  distant  province,  and  now 
to  ascend  the  throne.  Various  persons  come 
from  that  province,  claiming  to  have  been  his 
acquaintances,  and  hoping  to  enjoy  the  ad- 
vantages of  a  residence  at  court.  But  among 
them  are  some  whom  he  repulses,  saying,  "I 
never  knew  you."  They  may  insist  upon 
various  things  as  showing  that  they  were  his 
acquaintances,  and  rendered  him  important 
service ;  but  he  replies,  "  I  never  at  any  time 
knew  you — go  away  from  me."  Such  is  the 
kind  of  image  here  involved  in  the  Saviour's 
language.  (Comp.  25:  31,  41;  2  Tim.  2:  19.) 
And  not  in  all  the  passages  above  quoted,  nor 
elsewhere,  is  there  occasion  for  the  oft-re- 
peated arbitrary  notion  derived  from  the  Fa- 
thers, that  'know'  conveys  the  additional 
idea  of  approve  or  regard.  The  Bible  is  sim- 
ply speaking  of  God  after  the  mannerof  men, 
and  using  the  term  to  denote  acquaintance, 
together  with  all  its  pleasures  and  advantages. 
Depart  from  me,  comp.  25:  41;  Luke  13: 
24.  Ye  that  work  iniquity,  is  quoted  from 
Psa.  6 :  8.  The  Greek  word  signifies  trans- 
gression of  law,  or  lawlessness,  and  the  same 
phrase  occurs  in  1  John  3:  4.  Whatever  the 
talk  of  these  men,  their  doings  were  wicked  ; 
they  did  not  do  the  will  of  God  («•.  ai),  did  not 
bring  forth  good  fruits  (v.  is),  did  not  work 
the  righteousness  he  required.  (5 :  20 ;  6: 33.)  And 
Jesus  not  only  does  not  know  them  now,  he 
never  did  know  them,  not  even  when  working 
miracles  by  his  name.  Some  translate,  '  Be- 
cause I  never  knew  you,  depart  from  me,'  etc. 
The  Greek  will  bear  this  rendering,  but  less 
naturally,  nor  does  it  suit  so  well  the  connec- 
tion and  the  general  tone  of  the  passage. 


It  need  not  surprise  us  to  find  that  men 
whom  Jesus  'never  knew'  yet  claimed  to  be 
workers  of  miracles.  In  some  cases,  no  doubt, 
the  claim  was  without  foundation.  But 
Balaam  was,  for  a  season,  truly  inspired  as  a 
prophet,  though  he  was  very  wicked,  and 
died  in  his  iniquity.  Judas  doubtless  wrought 
miracles,  as  well  as  his  associates,  when  they 
were  sent  out  to  preach  and  heal.  (io:4-8.) 
Comp.  also  the  supposed  case  in  1  Cor.  13  :  2. 
It  is  hardly  probable  that  the  person  spoken 
of  in  Luke  9:  49  (Mark  9: 38  r)  was  really  a  Chris- 
tian, though  he  was  helping  the  Saviour's 
cause.  Yet  below,  in  17 :  19,  the  failure  of 
the  disciples  to  work  a  miracle  is  ascribed  to 
their  'little  faith';  and  the  sons  of  Sceva 
(Aoisi9:n)  failed,  not  from  lack  of  power  in 
the  name  they  spoke,  but  because  they  them- 
selves were  unsuitable  persons.  We  perceive 
therefore  that  wicked  men  were  sometimes  al- 
lowed to  work  miracles  (comp.  also  the  Egyp- 
tian magicians,  Ex.  7  :  12,  22),  but  that  some 
required  great  faith,  and  even  special  prepara- 
tion by  prayer.  (Marit9;29.)  These  facts  do  not 
take  away  the  evidentiary  power  of  miracles. 
(John  3:  2.)  The  miraclcs,  the  character  of  those 
who  wrought  them,  and  the  nature  of  their 
teachings,  all  three  concurring,  confirmed 
each  other.  But  if  men  could  speak  by  inspi- 
ration and  work  miracles  without  being  truly 
pious,  how  great  the  danger  that  one  may  be 
a  fervent  and  successful  preacher,  and  yet  not 
a  Christian.  Many  take  success  as  a  divine 
attestation  to  them  and  their  work ;  but  it  is 
not  a  certain  proof  (comp  1  Cor.  9:  27' ;  nor 
does  an  apparent  want  of  success  certainly 
prove  the  opposite.  We  cannot  question  that 
the  preaching  of  Judas  had  .some  good  results, 
as  we  sometimes  see  happening  now,  with  men 
who  afterwards  show  that  they  never  were 
really  Chris^tians.  Observe  that  the  persons 
described  in  tiiis  passage  carry  self-delusion 
into  the  other  world,  even  to  the  Day  of 
Judgment.     So  in  26:  44. 

24.  We  have  now  (v. 2427),  in  the  shape  of 
an  inference  from  what  has  been  said,  a  gen- 
eral conclusion  to  the  whole  discourse.  Since 
professions  will  be  of  no  avail,  unless  one  does 
the  will  of  God  (».  21-2:)),  therefore  whoever 
hears  these  words  and  does  them,  will  bo  a 


170 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  VII. 


25  And  the  rain  descended,  and  the  floods  came,  and 
the  winds  blew,  and  beat  upon  that  house:  and  it  fell 
not :  for  it  was  founded  upon  a  rock. 

26  And  every  one  that  heareth  these  sayings  of  mine, 
and  doeth  them  not,  shall  be  likened  unto  a  foolish 
m:u),  which  built  bis  house  upon  the  sand : 

27  And  the  raiu  descended,  and  the  floods  came,  and 


2d  built  his  house  upon  the  rock :  and  the  rain  de- 

j  c  scended,  and  the  floods  came,  and  the  winds  blew, 

and  beat  upon  that  house ;  ana  it  fell  not :  for  it  was 

26  founded  upon  the  rock.  And  every  one  that  heareth 
these  words  of  mine,  and  doeth  them  not,  shall  be 
likened  unto  a  foolish  man  who  built  his  house  upoil 

27  the  saud :  and  the  raiu  descended,  and  the  floods 


prudent  man,  and  whoever  neglects  the  doing 
will  be  a  fool.  Jesus  knows  that  many  will 
treat  him  as  Ezekiel  was  treated.  (Erek. 33:3ir.) 
These  sayings*  of  mine  refers  immediately 
to  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  but  of  course 
the  same  holds  true  of  his  other  say  ings(comp. 
Luke  6:  47.)  And  doeth  them,  comp.  'doeth 
the  will'  in  v.  21,  'work  iniquity'  in  v.  23, 
and  'fruits'  in  v.  16.  James  refers  to  this 
passage  in  his  Epistle,  {ii-i-i-a.)  The  Mishna, 
Aboth  :  "To  learn  is  not  the  main  thing,  but 
to  practice."  I  will  liken,  etc.,  or,  he  shall 
be  likened.  It  is  hard  to  decide  between  this 
reading  of  the  Greek,  and  that  of  the  Com. 
Ver.  There  is  of  course  no  substantial  differ- 
ence.' It  does  not  mean,  as  some  explain, 
that  he  will  be  made  like  at  the  Day  of  Judg- 
ment (comp.  the  futures  in  v.  22  f. ),  but  either 
'will  be  like'  in  character  (as  in  6:  8),  or,  will 
be  compared  in  the  teaching  of  Jesus,  and  in 
the  estimation  of  those  who  learn  his  teaching; 
comp.  Luke  6:  47,  'I  will  show  you  to  whom 
he  is  like' ;  comp.  also  Matt.  11 :  16;  Mark  4: 
30;  Luke  13:  18;  Lam.  2:  13.  Wise  is  more 
exactly  'sensible,'  'prudent,'  as  in  10:  16;  25: 
2;  Luke  16:  18.  Upon  a  rock.  Rather,  the 
rock,  as  in  v.  26,  '  upon  the  sand.'  In  a  lime- 
stone country  like  Galilee,  it  is  only  necessary 
to  dig  some  distance,  and  you  are  apt  to  find 
a  stratum  of  solid  rock.  It  is  very  common 
in  that  region  now  to  dig  down  to  the  rock, 
andlay  the  foundation  of  a  house  on  it.  Comp. 
the  expressions  in  Luke's  sketch  of  the  dis- 
course, 'dug,  and  went  deep,  and  laid  a  foun- 
dation upon  the  rock'  (Lake6:48);  comp.  also 
Eph.  3:  18,  literally,  'rooted  and  foundationed 
in  love.'  It  is  idle  to  say  that  '  the  rock'  here 
means  Christ,  because  he  is  elsewhere  often 
called  a  rock.  Must  the  image  of  a  rock  always 
mean  the  same  thing?  The  thought  here  ob- 
viously is  that  a  man  rests  his  salvation  on  a 
good  foundation  by  actual  obedience,  and  not 


mere  profession;  by  not  simply  hearing  the 
Saviour's  teaching,  but  acting  it  out  in  char- 
acter and  life. — Observe  that  this  passage  is 
really  a  parable.    Comp.  on  13:  10. 

25.  Throughout  verses  24-27  the  symmet- 
rical structure  of  sentence,  and  the  exact  cor- 
respondence botween  the  two  comparisons, 
give  a  solemn  dignity  and  impressiveness  to 
this  striking  conclusion.  Many  writers  dis- 
tinguish the  rain  as  affecting  the  roof,  the 
floods  the  bottom,  and  the  winds  the  sides  of 
the  house;    but   it  cannot  be  that  these  are 

j  meant  as  distinct  assaults  upon  it,  for  tlie 
j  power  of  the  roof  to  resist  rain  would  not  de- 
I  pend  on  the  solidity  of  the  foundation.  We 
must  understand  this  as  simply  a  detailed 
I  description  of  the  overthrow.  The  rain  de- 
scended, and  (in  consequence  thereof)  the 
I  rivers  came  (mountain  torrents,  rushing  down 
the  ravines,  and  swelling  up  to  the  site  of  the 
house),  and  these  washed  around  the  build- 
ing, and  would  have  washed  the  earth  from 
under  its  foundations,  had  they  rested  mainly 
on  the  loose  surface  of  the  ground,  and  then 
the  winds  would  have  blown  it  down;  but 
this  house  did  not  fall,  for  its  foundation  was 
laid  upon  the  rock.  Beat  upon  is,  literally, 
'fell  upon'  or  'fell  against,'  as  when  a  man 
hurls  himself  headlong  against  something.* 
There  may  be  (McClellan)  a  play  upon  the 
words,  'fell  upon  tliat  house,  and  it  fell  not.' 
Founded,  was  derived  by  Com.  Ver.  from 
the  Romish  versions,  and  is  better  than  the 
'grounded'  of  Tyndale  and  his  successors. 
The  exact  meaning  would  be  expressed  by 
'  foundationed,'  if  we  had  such  a  word.  Some 
elements  of  the  illustration  our  Lord  here 
employs,  may  be  found  in  Prov.  12:  7;  Isa. 
28:  16  f.;  Ezek.  13:  10-16. 

26,  27.  Here  the  phraseology  exactly  cor- 
responds to  V.  24,  25,  except  beat  upon,  here 
is  literally,  smote  upon,  which   is  a  mere  va- 


1  For  '  shall  be  likened,'  B.  X  Z,  a  dozen  or  more  cur- 
sives, the  Vulgate,  Sahidic,  Armenian,  some  Fathers. 
The  old  Latin  copies  and  the  two  Egyptian  versions  are 
divided.  All  the  Syriac  versions  agree  with  C.  L.  and 
the  other  uncials,  most  cursives,  and  some  Fathers,  in 
supporting  '  I  will  liken  him.'    It  is  much  more  prob- 


able that  this  was  changed  into  the  other  to  suit  v.  26, 
than  contrariwise  to  suit  11:  16  and  Luke  6:  47.    Thus 
internal  evidence  is  here  again  opposed  to  the  authority 
of  B.  X,  and  others. 
*Comp.  the  same  Greek  word  in  Mark  3:  11. 


Ch.  VII.] 


MATTHEW. 


171 


the  winds  blew,  and  beat  upon  that  bouse;  and  it  fell: 
and  great  was  the  fall  of  it. 

28  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Jesus  had  ended  these 
sayings,  the  people  were  astonished  at  his  doctrine : 


came,  and  the  winds  blew,  and  smote  upon  that 
house  ;  and  it  fell:  and  great  was  the  fall  thereof. 
28      And  it  came  to  pass,   when  Jesus  ended  these 
words,  the  multitudes  were  astonished  at  his  teach- 


riatlon  of  the  expression,  without  substantial 
diiFerence.  The  saud  refers  to  the  loose 
surface  of  the  ground,  or  perhaps  to  the  sand 
accumulated  in  some  part  of  a  mountain 
ravine,  which  looks  smooth  and  firm,  but  is 
liable  to  be  swept  away  by  the  next  flood. 
Great.  The  foundation  being  swept  away, 
the  whole  house  would  fall  in  one  mighty 
crash  and  complete  wreck. 

This  beautiful  illustration  makes  its  own  im- 
pression :  he  who  hears  the  words  of  Christ, 
and  does  them,  is  safe  against  all  the  evil  in- 
fluences of  the  world,  safe  forever ;  he  who 
simply  hears,  and  does  not  do,  is  doomed  to 
fail  of  salvation,  and  be  crushed  in  utter  de- 
struction. To  find  some  special  spiritual 
meaning  in  every  particular,  as  "the  niin  of 
temptation,"  "the  floods  of  persecution," 
"the  wind  of  divers  and  strange  doctrines," 
is  pure  fancy-work.  The  Mishna,  Aboth,  has 
a  somewhat  similar  illustration :  "  A  man 
who  has  good  works,  and  learns  the  law  much, 
to  what  is  he  like?  To  a  man  that  builds  with 
stones  below,  and  afterwards  with  bricks  ;  and 
though  many  waters  come  and  stand  at  their 
side,  they  cannot  remove  them  out  of  their 
place.  But  a  man  who  has  no  good  works, 
and  learns  the  law,  to  what  is  he  like  ?  To  a 
man  that  builds  with  bricks  first,  and  after- 
wards with  stones ;  and  though  few  waters 
come,  they  immediately  overturn  them." 
Again:  "A  man  richer  in  learning  than  in 
good  works  is  like  a  tree  with  many  branches 
and  few  roots — the  first  wind  overthrows  it ; 
but  a  man  whose  actions  are  greater  than  his 
learning  is  like  a  tree  with  few  branches  and 
many  roots — all  the  winds  of  the  world  may 
storm  against  it,  but  cannot  move  it  from  its 
place."  There  is  mournful  danger  in  every 
age,  that  men  will  hear  Christ's  servants 
preach,  and  will  themselves  read  in  his  writ- 
ten word,  and  stop  at  that,  without  doing  ac- 
cording to  what  they  read  or  hear.     As  the 


Lord's  Prayer  is  often  used  in  the  way  of  that 
"  vain  repetition  "  to  which  it  was  given  as  a 
contrast  and  corrective,  so  this  closing  illus- 
tration is  often  greatly  admired  b^'  pers(ms 
who  hear  and  do  not.  It  is  a  most  momentous 
question  for  every  one  of  us.  Am  I  doing  the 
sayings  of  the  Lord?  Colton  ("Lacon"); 
"  Men  will  wrangle  for  religion  ;  write  for  it; 
fight  for  it;  die  for  it;  anything  hut— live 
for  it." 

28  f.  Concluding  remarks  of  the  Evan- 
gelist as  to  the  effect  of  this  great  discourse. 
These  sayings,  viz.,  the  whole  discourse,  as 
in  v.  24-2G.  The  people,  more  exactly,  the 
crowds,  the  same  term  as  in  5 :  1,  and  natur- 
ally leadingthe  mind  back  to  the  state  of  things 
described  before  the  opening  of  the  discourse. 
Com.  Ver.  obscures  this  link  of  connection  in 
the  narrative,  as  it  so  often  does,  by  unneces- 
sary variation  of  the  rendering  where  the 
original  has  the  same  word  (comp.  everlasting 
and  eternal  for  the  same  Greek  word  in  25 :  46). 
Were  astonished.  We  may  suppose  that  at 
the  close  of  the  discourse  expressions  of  as- 
tonishment broke  forth  among  the  hitherto 
silent  crowds.  Stier :  "But,  alas!  the  mere 
'were  astonished'  in  which  the  whole  termi- 
nated with  regard  to  most,  transmits  to  us  a 
melancholy  example  of  that  hearing  and  not 
doing,  with  warning  against  which  the  .ser- 
mon closed."  In  Mark  1:22;  Luke  4:  32; 
and  in  Matt.  22:  33  (n-.n)  we  have  the  .same 
expression  used  with  reference  to  the  effect  of 
our  Lord's  teaching  on  other  occasions.  At 
his  doctrine — or,  teaching.  The  English 
word  'doctrine'  ought  to  be  still  a  correct 
rendering  here,  but  in  present  u.se  it  suggests 
exclusively  the  thing  taught,  and  not  also  the 
actor  manner  of  teaching.!  It  is  evident  that 
both  ideas  are  here  present,  as  shown  by  the 
reason  for  astonishment  given  in  the  next 
verse.  Bengel:  "You  would  wonder  why,  in 
this  discourse,   Jesus  has    not  spoken    more 


1  Humphrey  says  the  Rev.  Ver.  has  endeavored  to 
render  didache  uniformly  by  'teaching'  and  didnit- 
kalia  by  '  doctrine.'  This  is  generally  a  proper  distinc- 
tion, but  the  Rev.  Ver.  has  not  been  able  to  carry  it 
through,  for  in  Rom.  16  :  17  and  1  Tim.  4;  13  the  render-  i  contributed  to  the  astonishment, 
ings  are  interchanged ;  and  in  fact  the  distinction  is  not  | 


absolute  either  between  the  two  Greek  or  the  two  Eng- 
lish words.  In  this  passage  'teaching'  is  much  belter, 
because  it  includes  both  the  numncr  and  the  mat  lor, 
both  the  substance  and  the  tone,  and  doubtless  both 


172 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  VII. 


29  For  he  taught  them  as  one  having  authority,  and  I  29  Ing:  for  he  taught  them  as  one  having  authority,  and 
not  as  the  scribes.  uul  as  their  scribes. 


clearly  concerning  his  own  person.  But  (1)  he 
has  so  excellently  set  forth  the  teaching  itself, 
that  they  would  thence  form  an  estimate  of 
the  excellence  of  the  teacher.  (2)  His  person 
was  now  sufficiently  manifest.  (3)  In  the  dis- 
course itself,  he  sufficiently  intimates  who  he 
is,  viz.,  '  the  coming  one,'  the  Son  of  God, 
the  Judgeofall."  (5:11,17,22;  7:21  ff.)  Taught. 
The  imperfect  tense  of  the  Greek  does 
not  here  denote  habitual  teaching,  but  sim- 
ply describes  him  as  engaged  in  teaching. 
Authority  is  tlie  proper  meaning  of  the  wor  i. 
In  some  cases  autliurity  carries  with  it  the  nt;c- 
essary  power;  but  the  term  does  not  directly 
mean  power.  The  same  word  will  meet  us 
in  8:  9;  9:  6,  8;  10:  1;  21:  23,  24,  27;  28:  18. 
In  all  these  Rev.  Ver.  properly  translates  by 
'  authority,'  except  9  :  6,  8,  and  there  places  it 
in  the  margin.  The  Scribes.  Their  Scribfs 
is  the  correct  reading;  and  tlie  expression  re- 
sembles 'Scribes  of  the  people  '  in  2:  4.  The 
Scribes  (see  on  2 :  4)  made  it  their  business 
simply  to  state,  to  explain,  and  to  apply  the 
teachings  of  the  Old  Testament,  together  with 
the  decisions  of  Jewish  tribunals,  and  the 
sayings  of  famous  teachers  in  past  genera- 
tions, as  handed  down  by  tradition.  Seeing 
•that  for  several  centuries  no  prophet  had  ap- 
peared, it  was  very  proper  that  they  should 
confine  their  religious  ideas  to  the  authority  of 
the  Old  Test.  ;  but,  in  addition  to  this,  they 
tied  themselves  to  past  teachers,  and  instead  of 
forming  their  own  opinions  as  to  the  mean- 
ing of  Scripture,  were  always  quoting  some 
Rabbi  of  former  generations.  All  this  ap- 
pears plainly  from  the  Talmud;  e.  g.,  "R. 
Eliezer  boasted  that  he  had  never  said  any- 
thing which  he  had  not  heard  from  his 
teacher."  Thus  the  Scribes  could  not  speak 
«8  instinct  with  the  conviction  of  ascertained 
truth,  could  not  speak  with  the  dignity  and 
strength  of  assured  personal  knowledge.  Our 
Saviour  spoke  as  no  other  teacher  would  have 
a  right  to  do,  as  himself  possessing  '  authority ' 
to  declare,  on  his  own  responsibility,  what  was 
true  and  right.  Even  the  prophets  usuallj' 
prefixed  to  their  utterances.  "Thus  saith  the 
Lord";  while  the  words  of  Jesus  are,  "Verily 
I  say  to  you."  (See  on  5:  18,  22.)  And  he 
quietly  asserts  the  tremendous  fact  that  men's 
future  destiny  will  depend  on  their  relation 


to  him  (v.  23),  on  their  doing  his  words,  (v.  24.) 
His  mode  of  teaching  being  thus  in  contrast 
with  that  proper  for  uninspired  men,  and  even 
with  that  of  tlie  prophets,  the  contrast  must 
have  been  all  the  more  striking  when  it  was 
compared  with  such  teaching  as  the  multi- 
tudes were  accustomed  to  hear  from  'their 
scribes.'  Many  persons  are  found  now  who 
teach  precisely  as  these  scribes  did,  not  merely 
going  back  to  Scripture  as  the  final  authority 
for  all  religious  truth — which  is  what  they 
ought  to  do — but  going  back  to  "  the  Fathers," 
or  to  some  great  teacher  or  convocation  of  the 
last  three  or  four  centuries,  as  authority  for 
the  correct  interpretation  and  just  application 
of  Scripture.  It  is  the  part  of  wisdom,  as  well 
as  of  modesty,  to  give  no  small  weight  to  the 
opinions  of  men  whose  abilities,  learning,  and 
piety  have  made  them  illustrious;  but  if  a 
man  is  not  accustomed  to  come  for  himself  to 
the  Bible,  and  form  his  own  judgment  of  its 
meaning,  his  teachings,  whatever  else  they 
may  possess,  will  have  little  of  living  power  to 
sway  men's  souls. 

HOMILETICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

V.  18  f  The  broad  road  :  1)  Men  are  in  it 
without  finding  or  entering;  2)  They  pursue 
it  without  difficulty  or  eflfort;  3)  They  have 
plenty  of  company ;  4)  But  it  leads  them  to 
perdition. — Luther  :  "What  makes  the  way 
so  narrow  ?  Nothing  but  the  world,  the  flesh, 
and  the  devil."  Schaff  :  "Contrasts;  The 
narrow  and  wide  gates ;  the  straitened  and 
broad  ways;  the  good  and  corrupt  trees,  with 
their  fruit;  saying  and  doing;  active  in 
Christ's  name,  yet  working  iniquity ;  the  rock 
and  the  sand;  standing  the  storm,  and  falling 
in  the  storm;  teaching  with  authority,  and 
teaching  as  their  scribes."  Chrys.  :  "Forthe 
way  is  strait,  and  the  gate  narrow,  but  not  the 
city.  Therefore  must  one  neither  look  for  rest 
here,  nor  there  expect  any  more  aught  that  is 
painful."  Stier  :  "The  narrow  way  to  life 
is  broad  enough  for  men  who  carefully,  stead- 
ily walk  in  it.  That  is  the  consolation,  which 
even  this  rigorous  saying  contains.  What 
more  is  wanting  than  a  way  wherein  I  may 
have  room,  and  a  gate  that  will  let  me 
through?"  Dykes:  "Amid  the  endless  vari- 
eties to  be  found  in  life'~  broad  road,  there 


Ch.  VII.] 


MATTHEW. 


173 


is  but  this  single  mark  by  which  to  recognize 
all  travelers  :  ihey  take  the  path  which  seems 
right  in  their  own  eyes."  (Comp.  Prov.  14: 
12.)  Henby:  "No  man,  in  his  wits,  would 
choose  to  go  to  the  gallows,  because  the  way 
to  it  is  .smooth  and  pleasant,  nor  refuse  the 
offer  of  a  palace  and  a  throne,  because  the  way 
to  it  is  rough  and  dirty ;  yet  such  absurdities  as 
these  are  men  guilty  of  in  the  concerns  of  their 
souls."  Calvin:  "Whence  comes  it  that 
men  knowingly  and  willingly  rush  headlong 
to  ruin  with  a  feeling  of  security,  unless  it  is 
from  thinking  they  are  not  perishing  so  long  as 
they  are  perishing  in  a  great  crowd?"  Stikr: 
"The  foolish  world,  indeed,  loves  the  wide  and 
the  broad,  and  the  numbers — delights  in  the 
majorities."  Thomas:  "Man  will  follow  the 
multitudes  as  the  tides  follow  the  moon.  The 
social  force  of  numbers  has  ever  been  against 
holiness  in  the  world."  Dykes:  "The  mass 
of  one's  neighbors  is  large  enough  to  generate 
a  public  opinion  against  which  it  is  hard  to 
contend.  Among  the  crowds  who  affect  no 
Christian  isolation  or  peculiarity,  there  are  so 
many  whom,  on  other  grounds,  one  must  love 
and  venerate,  that  it  is  hard  always  to  feel  sure 
that  one  is  right,  and  they  all  wrong  ....  To 
sensitive  natures'  with  a  broad  humanity,  there 
is  even  a  fixed  pain  in  being  profoundly  out  of 
harmony  with  the  bulk  of  their  fellow-men. 
.  .  .  The  isolation  of  the  true  Christian  is, 
in  our  age,  more  an  inward  than  an  outward 
isolation.' — Some  may  like  to  illustrate  the 
two  ways  by  the  well-known  story  of  the 
Choice  of  Hercules. 

V.  15-20.  Two  methods  of  testing  a  re- 
ligious teacher.  1)  By  the  effect  of  his  teach- 
ings upon  his  own  character  and  life ;  2)  By 
the  effect  of  his  teachings  upon  those  who 
receive  them.  St.  Bernard  (Lange) : 
"False  teachers  are  sheep  in  clothing,  foxes 
in  cunning,  wolves  in  cruelty."  Chrys.: 
"  Let  us  not  be  troubled  when  we  see  many 
heretics  and  hypocrites  even  now.  Nay,  for 
this  too  Christ  foretold  from  the  beginning." 
Dykes:  "When  the  path  he  leads  in  is  dis- 
covered to  be  so  strait  and  steep,  it  presently 
begins  to  bo  said,  or  imagined,  that  life  may 
be  had  on  easier  terms.  The  original  gospel 
of  the  King  undergoes  some  modification. 
Teachers  who  profess  to  teach  still  in  the  name 
of  Jesus  point  men  to  a  path  which  looks  de- 
ceptively like  the  narrow  way,  and  appears 


to  conduct  to  a  similar  issue;  only  it  is  not  so 
narrow — and  it  does  not  really  lead  to  life." 
Draseke  (Lange):  "The  desire  to  appear 
good:  1)  Its  nature;  2)  Its  origin;  3)  Its 
moral  character;  4)  Its  unavoidable  dangers.'' 
— V.  21-23.  Lost  notwithstanding:  1)  Loud 
professions;  2)  Great  advantages;  3)  Striking 
performances;  4)  Persistent  self-delusions. — 
One  may  have  (1)  much  outward  knowledge 
of  Jesus,  (2)  much  outward  activity,  appar- 
ently, in  his  service,  (3)  yet  have  no  interior 
relation  to  him  at  all,  and  (4)  be  at  last  ignu- 
miniously  disavowed.  Chrys:  "  Bettersurely 
to  endure  a  thousand  thunderbolts,  than  to 
see  that  face  of  mildness  turning  away  from 
us,  and  that  eye  of  peace  not  enduring  to 
look  upon  us." 

V.  22  f.  Bib.  Comm:  "The  spirit  of  the 
warning  extends  far  beyond  the  extraordi- 
nary cases  actually  mentioned,  and  applies  to 
all  those  in  all  ages  who,  whether  teachers  or 
hearers,  nominally  profess  Christian  doctrine 
without  holiness  of  life."— V.  21-27.  Thomas: 
"Four  kinds  of  religion:  (1)  The  religion  of 
profession,  v.  21.  (2)  The  religion  of  merit, 
V.  22.  (3)  The  religion  of  hearing,  v.  26.  i4) 
The  religion  of  doing,  v.  24." 

V.  24-27.  A  religious  teacher  is  apt  to  have 
two  great  cau.ses  of  grief:  that  so  many  will 
not  hear  him  at  all,  and  that  so  many  who 
hear,  and  perhaps  admire,  will  not  do.  (Comp. 
Ezek.  33  :  31  f.)  Parker  :  "  (1)  All  men  are 
building.  (2)  All  builders  have  a  choice  of 
foundaticms.  (3)  All  foundations  will  be 
tried.  (4)  Only  one  foundation  will  stand." 
Dykes:  "The  whole  drift  and  movement  of 
this  long  discourse  has  carried  us  forward 
with  it  to  one  most  weighty  practical  conclu- 
sion—that, after  all,  he  only  is  a  Christian 
who  does  what  Christ  bids  him." — V.  27. 
Hark  to  the  mighty  crash  in  every  age  and 
every  land,  of  religious  constructions  that  fall 
for  lack  of  foundation  1  Reflections :  "This  is 
the  conclusion  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount, 
and  we  are  left  with  an  impression  of  fear;  it 
began  with  blessings,  but  its  end  is  stern  and 
severe." 

V.  28  f.  The  moral  teachings  of  Jesus, 
1)  Commend  themselves  to  us  as  containing 
the  highest  human  wisdom  —  surpassing 
ancient  sages  and  modern  philosophers;  2) 
Come  to  us  with  superhuman  authority — that 
of  him  who  is  the  Son  of  God  ("-^i),  a"d  will 


174 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  VIII. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


WHEN  he  was  come  down  Arom  the  mountain,  great 
multitudes  followed  hiiu. 
2  Aud,  behold,  tiiere  caiue  a  leper  and  worshipped 
him,  saying,  Lord,  if  thou  wilt,  thou  cuuat  uiakc  me 
oleau. 


1  And  when  he  was  come  down  from  the  mountain, 

2  great  multitudes  followed  him.    Aud  behold,  there 
came  to  him  a  leper  and  worshipped  him,  saying. 


be  our  judge  (»•");  8)  Are  embodied  in  an 
actual  character — the  peerless  cliaracter  of  the 
Teacher  himself;  4)  Bring  with  them  the 
offer  of  help  in  living  up  to  them — that  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,.  (Luke  u:  is. j — Distinguishing  fea- 
tures of  Christ's  ministry.  (1)  Those  which 
cannot  be  imitated — his  originality,  miracle- 
working,  authoritj'.  (2)  Those  which  must 
not  be  imitated — his  positiveness,  self-assur- 
ance, self-representation.  (3)  Those  which 
should  be  imitated — his  naturalness,  variety, 
Buggestiveness,  catholicity,  spirituality,  ten- 
derness, faithfulness,  devoutness. 

In  our  devotional  study  of  this  great  di.s- 
course,  we  should  not  be  thinking  too  much 
of  its  special  adaptation  to  the  Jews,  but 
should  read  it  as  addressed  to  ourselves. 
Imagine  that  you  stand  amid  the  crowd  and 
listen,  and  ever  and  anon  his  mild  eye  falls 
upon  you.  Hear  him  telling  you  wlio  are  the 
happy  under  his  reign,  and  how  great,  if  you 
are  one  of  his,  is  your  responsibility  as  the 
salt  of  the  earth  and  the  light  of  the  world. 
Hear  him  explaining  how  spiritual  and  rigor- 
ous is  that  morality  which  he  requires  of  you, 
in  all  your  relations  and  duties;  enjoining 
that  your  deeds  of  righteousness  shall  not  be 
performed  ostentatiously,  but  with  supreme 
regard  to  God,  and  that,  serving  God  and 
trusting  his  care,  you  need  not  be  anxious 
about  the  things  of  this  life.  Listen  closely, 
and  humbly,  while  he  rebukes  censoriousness, 
while  he  encourages  to  prayer,  while  he  urges 
the  danger  lest  you  fail  to  be  saved,  and  look- 
ing you  solemnly  in  the  face  declares  that  you 
must  not  merely  hear  these  words  of  his,  but 
do  them.  And  then  turn  thoughtfully  away, 
with  the  "Golden  Rule"  hid  in  your  heart, 
and  the  gracious  assurance  ever  sounding  in 
your  ear,  "Ask,  and  it  shall  be  given  you." 


Ch.  8:  1-17.  A  Group  of  Miracles. 

In  chap.  8:  1  to  9 :  84,  we  find  a  group  of 
remarkable  miracles.  Having  completed  his 
fiketch  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  the 
Evangelist  returns  to  the  state  of  things  de- 
scribed before  its  introduction.    (4:23-25.)     Our 


Lord  was  making  a  circuit  of  Galilee,  followed 
by  "great  multitudes"  {♦:25);  on  some  occa- 
sion during  the  journey,  moved  by  the  pres- 
ence of  such  crowds  {&■  i),  he  went  up  into  the 
mountain,  and  addressed  to  the  disciples  and 
them  a  long  discourse  (chap.  5  to  7),  designed 
to  set  forth  the  nature  of  the  Messianic  reign, 
and  correct  many  Jewish  errors  concerning  it. 
When  he  had  finished  this  and  descended, 
"great  multitudes"  still  followed  him.  And 
now  having  given  this  great  specimen  of  our 
Lord's  teaching,  the  Evangelist  proceeds  (s:  i, 
10  9 1 84)  to  group  some  striking  examples  of  his 
miracles,  which  show  that  if  he  taught  as  one 
having  authority  (7:29),  he  acted  in  like  man- 
ner; and  which  threw  light  on  the  nature  of 
his  work  as  Messiah.  In  connection  with 
these  miracles,  Matthew  also  gives  an  ac- 
count (9 :  9-17)  of  his  own  call  to  follow  Jesus. 
When  we  compare  the  Gospels  of  Mark  and 
Luke,  we  find  several  of  these  miracles,  and 
the  attendant  sayings,  introduced  there  in 
such  connections  as  to  show  that  they  did  not 
occur  in  the  precise  order  in  which  they  are 
here  mentioned.  Some  of  them  appear  to 
have  taken  place  before  the  delivery  of  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount,  though  during  this 
journey  about  Galilee  (see  on  5:  1),  and 
others  at  various  subsequent  times  in  the 
course  of  our  Lord's  labors  in  Galilee.  They 
are  grouped  by  Matthew  without  anj'  partic- 
ular regard  to  the  chronological  order,  but  in 
such  a  way  as  to  promote  the  special  design  of 
his  historical  argument.  Following  upon  these 
examples  of  our  Lord's  teaching  (chap.  5-7),  and 
his  miracles  (chap-  s,  9),  we  shall  find  (chap.  10),  an 
account  of  his  sending  forth  the  Twelve,  that 
thej'  likewise  may  teach  and  work  miracles. 
(See  on  9:  35). 

The  three  first  miracles  here  grouped  in- 
volve the  healing  of  very  grievous  diseases — 
leprosy,  paralysis,  severe  fever. 

1.  2-4.  Healing  of  a  Leper  ;  also  given, 
with  some  additional  particulars,  in  Mark  1 : 
40-45;  Luke  5:  12-16. 

2.  And,  behold.  This  expression  by  no 
means  necessitates  the  supposition  that  the  in- 


Ch.  VIIL] 


MATTHEW. 


175 


3  And  Jesus. put  forth  his  hand,  and  touched  him,  |    3  Lord,  if  thou  wilt,  thou  canst  make  me  clean.    Aud 
sayiug,  I  will ;  be  thou  clean.    And  immediately  hia  he  stretched  forth  his  hand,  and  touched  hira,  say- 

leprosy  was  cleansed.  I        ing,  Iwill;  be  thou  made  clean.    Aud  straightway 


cident  occurred  just  after  the  close  of  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount.  From  the  connection 
in  Mark  and  Luke,  it  seems  very  likely, 
though  not  certain,  that  it  preceded  the  deliv- 
ery of  that  discourse.  As  to  the  locality, 
Luke  tells  us  that  it  was  '  in  one  of  the  cities,' 
i.  e.,  of  Galilee.  There  came  to  him.  The 
words  'to  him'  represent  a  slight  correction 
of  the  common  Greek  text.  A  leper.  The 
horrible  disease  of  leprosy  appears  to  have 
been  particularly  common  among  the  Egyp- 
titms  and  the  Israelites.  The  climate  of  Egypt 
was  suited  to  aggravate  the  disease,  and  it  may 
be  that  the  Israelites  there  acquired  a  ctmsti- 
tutional  tendency  to  it,  as  supposed  by  Strabo 
and  Tacitus.  Various  questions  ctmcerning 
leprosy  still  remain  quite  unsettled.  The 
Greek  word  {lepra),  from  which  our  word  is 
borrowed,  was  derived  from  lepis,  'a  scale,' 
thus  signifying  the  scaly  disease.  Among  the 
many  kinds  of  leprosy  which  seem  to  have 
existed  in  ancient  and  in  modern  times,  that 
of  the  Bible  appears  to  have  been  not  the  ele- 
pijantiasis,  or  knotty  leprosy,  now  often  seen 
in  Palestine,  but  the  "white  leprosy."  It 
began  with  a  small  spot,  scab,  or  swelling, 
lying  lower  than  the  surface  of  the  skin,  and 
the  hair  within  it  turning  white.  This  would 
spread,  and  raw  flesh  would  appear.  In  bad 
cases,  large  portions,  and  sometimes  the  whole 
of  the  bod^'  would  assume  a  chalky  white- 
ness; the  nails,  and  sometimes  the  hair,  fell 
off,  and  in  some  varieties  the  senses  became 
blunted,  and  highly  offensive  pus  gathered  on 
the  hair  and  flowed  from  the  nose.  But  it  is 
not  certain  that  all  these  symptoms  perttiined 
to  the  Bible  leprosy.  It  does  seem  nearly  cer- 
tain that,  while  hereditary,  often  for  several 
generations,  it  was  tiot  a  contagious  disease,  at 
least  not  in  ordinary  cases.  The  law  of  Moses 
treated  it  (LeT.,oh.  isandu)  as  an  pxtremo  form 
of  ceremonial  defilement.  When  the  disease 
spread  ever  the  whole  person,  the  sufferer  was 
pronounced  clean  (Ler.  in:  12-17),  and  could 
freely  associate  with  others  ;  which  appears  to 
be  conclusive  proof  that  it  was  not  contagious. 
The  regulations  requiring  a  leper  to  keep  away 
fri)m  others,  to  cry  "Unclean,  unclean,"  etc., 
simply  meant  that  one  who  touched  a  Ipper 
Would  become  ceremonially  unclean,  as  if  he 


had  touched  a  dead  body,  or  a  person  having 
a  running  i.?sue.  (Lev.  15: s.)  All  these  things 
were  to  be  regarded  as  symbolically  teaching 
the  dreadful  pollution  of  sin,  and  the  need  of 
purification  ;  and  no  such  symbol  could  be 
more  impressive  than  a  disease  so  hideous. 
The  purifications  wlien  a  leper  had  recovered 
(Lev.  u)  were  quite  similar  to  those  prescribed 
for  other  kinds  of  grave  ceremonial  defile- 
ment. Leprosy  was  incurable  by  any  known 
remedies,  but  would  sometimes  wear  itself  out 
in  the  course  of  time,  in  the  individual,  or  in 
his  descendants. 

Worshipped.  Comp.  on  2  :  2.  He  cannot 
have  meant  worship  as  of  God,  but  a  deeply 
reverential  salutation.  Luke  (»:  12)  says  he 
"fell  on  his  face  and  besought  him."  Mat- 
thew's imperfect  tense  depicts  him  as  engaged 
in  this  reverential  act.  In  like  manner,  Lord, 
the  word  used  in  the  Sept.  for  Jehovah, 
which  in  the  Epistles  commonly  means  Jesus 
and  appears  there  to  recognize  his  divinity, 
was  also  used  in  Greek  ^and  still  is)  as  a 
common  form  of  address,  and  is  properly 
translated  "sir"  in  13:  27;  21:  30;  27:  63,  and 
often.  What  precise  amount  of  respect  it  is  to 
be  understood  as  expressing  in  an}'^  case,  must 
be  determined  from  the  connection.  (See  on 
V.  19.)  If  thou  wilt,  thou  canst  make  me 
clean.  He  called  the  healing  a  cleansing, 
because  the  disease  had  the  appearance  of  a 
deflleinent,  and  made  one  ceremonially  un- 
clean. He  did  not  .say,  "If  thou  canst,"  like 
the  despairing  father  (Mark  9: 22) ;  his  only  ques- 
tion was  as  to  the  Lord's  willingness.  (Comp. 
below,  9:  28.)  Hislanguage  will  express  what 
is  often  felt  by  persons  asking  .spiritual  bless- 
ings ;  yet  as  to  these  we  ought  to  have  no 
doubt,  either  of  the  Saviour's  power  or  his 
willingness. 

3.  Put— or  str etc hfid— forth  his  hand, 
the  circumstances  minutely  detailed,  after  the 
characteristic  Hebrew  style  (comp.  on  5:  2'. 
'Put  forth,'  Tyndale,  etc.,  is  too  feeble; 
Rheinis  already  has  'stretched  forth.'  The 
word  'Jesus'  is  wanting  in  several  of  the 
earliest  MSS.  and  versions,  and  obviously  was 
added  in  others  to  remove  an  appnrent  ob- 
scurity. So  also  in  v.  5,  7.  And  touched 
him.     This    must    have    startled    the    be- 


176 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  VIII. 


4  And  Jesua  saith  unto  him,  See  thou  tell  no  man  ; 
but  go  thy  way,  shew  thyself  to  the  priest,  and  otfer 
the  gift  that  Moses  commanded,  for  a  testimony  unto 
tbeu. 

5  And  when  Jesus  was  entered  into  Capernaum, 
there  came  unto  him  a  centurion,  beseeching  uim. 


4  his  leprosy  was  cleansed.  And  Jesus  saith  unto 
him,  8ee  thou  tell  no  man  ;  but  go,  shew  thyselt  to 
the  priest,  and  otter  the  gilt  that  Moses  commanded, 
for  a  testimony  unto  tliem. 

5  And  when  he  was  entered  into  Capernaum,  there 


holders,  for  he  seemed  to  be  incurring  cere- 
nioniiil  defilement;  yet  Jesus  by  touching 
did  not  receive  defilement,  but  imparted 
cleansing.  I  will,  be  thou  clean.  "A 
ready  echo  to  the  leper's  mature  faith.  His 
own  saying  contained  the  words  of  the  desired 
response.''  (Bengel.)  Every  other  worker  of 
miracles  in  the  Old  or  the  New  Test,  con- 
stantly ascribes  the  power  .and  the  glory  to  an- 
other; Jesus  alone  uses  such  expressions  as  'I 
will,  be  thou  clean,'  'I  charge  thee,  come  out 
of  him,'  'I  say  unto  thee,  arise.'  (.Comp.  on 
5:  2*2.)  There  has  been  much  discussion  upon 
the  question  whether  all  who  received  bodily 
healing  from  Jesus,  also  received  spiritual 
blessings.  It  seems  plain  that  in  many  in- 
stances such  was  not  the  case ;  in  others,  the 
circumstances  naturally  lead  us  to  think  that 
the  faith  in  his  power  to  work  miracles  was 
also  attended  by  faith  in  his  power  to  forgive 
sins  (comp.  on  9:  2).  "Whether  that  was  true 
of  the  leper  here  mentioned,  we  have  no 
means  of  deciding. 

4.  See  thou  tell  no  man.  "Why  this  pro- 
hibition? Partly,  perhaps,  (as  some  think), 
in  order  that  the  man  might  hasten  to  Jeru- 
salem, and  let  the  priests  declare  him  healed 
before  they  should  hear  of  the  miracle,  as 
otherwise  they  might,  through  jealousy  of 
Jesus,  pretend  that  the  cure  was  not  real  and 
complete.  But  similar  prohibitions  are  found 
in  9:  30;  12:  16;  16:  20;  17:  9,  etc.,  and 
there  must  hiive  been  some  general  reason. 
There  was  danger  that  the  people  would  be- 
come greatly  excited,  upon  hearing  of  liis 
miracles,  with  the  idea  that  he  was  about  to 
set  up  a  splendid  earthly  kingdom,  according 
to  their  erroneous  notions  of  Messiah's  work 
(John 6: 14 f.),  and  would  thus  arouse  the  hos- 
tility of  the  Jewish  rulers  and  that  of  the  Ko- 
man  authorities,  and  interfere  with  his  free- 
dom in  teaching.  "We  see  from  Mark  1 :  46 
(Luke 8: 15)  that  by  failing  to  regard  this  pro- 
hibition the  cleansed  leper  actually  caused  a 
serious  interruption  of  our  Lord's  labors.  The 
exceptional  case  of  Mark  5:  19;  Luke  8:  39. 
proves  the  rule.  Jesus  there  specially  bids  a 
man  to  publish  what  had  been  done  for  him  ; 


but  there  was  in  that  region  (southeast  of  the 
lake)  no  danger  of  a  great  popular  excitement 
in  favor  of  making  him  a  king,  but  on  the 
contrary  a  very  unfavorable  sentiment  tow- 
ards him,  which  it  was  desirable  to  correct. 
At  a  later  period  we  find  our  Lord  making  a 
series  of  distant  journeys,  for  the  same  pur- 
pose of  preventing  excitement  among  the 
people,  as  well  as  for  other  reasons  (see  on  14: 
13,  and  comp.  on  4:  12).  "We  also  see  from 
12:  16-21,  that  his  unostentatious  and  quiet 
course  of  action  was  predicted.  Shew  thy- 
self, with  emphasis  on  'thyself,'  as  seen  from 
its  position  in  the  Greek  (comp.  Mark  1 :  44) ; 
no  mere  report  could  convince  a  priest — the 
man  must  show  himself.  For  a  testimony 
unto  them.  This  is  connected  not  with 
Moses  commanded,  but  with  what  pre- 
cedes. 'Them'  cannot  refer  to  the  priests, 
for  they  must  decide  that  the  man  was  healed 
before  he  could  offer  the  gift.  It  must  refer 
to  the  people  in  general,  as  suggested  by  'tell 
no  man,'  and  implied  in  the  whole  connec- 
tion. Such  uses  of 'them,'  denoting  persons 
or  things  only  implied  in  the  connection,  are 
common  in  N.  T.  Greek  (Buttm.,  p.  106\  and 
indeed  in  the  colloquial  usage  of  all  languages. 
The  sacrifice,  made  after  the  regular  exami- 
nation by  the  priest  (Lev.  h),  would  be  a  testi- 
mony to  the  people  that  the  leper  was  thor- 
oughly healed,  and  thus  that  the  miracle  was 
real ;  perhaps  also  a  testimony  (Chrj's.)  that 
Jesus  observed  the  law  of  Moses,  which  they 
were  already  beginning  to  accuse  him  of  dis- 
regarding. (Comp.  'for  a  testimony'  in  10: 
18 ;  24 :  14,  Kev.  Ver. )  For  general  remarks 
on  the  miracles,  see  on  4:  24. 

II.  5-13.  Hkaling  the  Centurion's 
Servant  ;  described  also  in  Luke  7 :  1-10. 
The  language  of  Luke  7 :  1  makes  it  plain 
that  this  occurred  shortly  after  the  delivery  of 
the  Sermon  on  the  Mount. 

And  when  Jesus, — or,  when  he,  omitting 
the  word  'Jesus,'  as  also  in  v.  3.  Into  Ca- 
pernaum, now  his  place  of  residence.  See 
on  4 :  13.  A  centurion.  This  was  the  title 
of  one  of  the  officers  of  a  Roman  legion,  who 
commanded  a  hundred  men,  but  had  a  more 


Ch.  VIII.] 


MATTHEW. 


177 


6  And  saying,  Lord,  my  servant  lieth  at  home  sick  of  1    6  came  unto  him  a  centurion,  beseeching  him,  and 
the  palsy,  grievously  tormented.  |       saying.  Lord,  my  i  servant  lieih  in  the  house  sick 


1  Or,  bop. 


responsible  and  dignified  position  than  our 
captain.  It  cannot  be  determined  whether 
this  centurion  was  in  the  service  of  Herod 
Antipas,  Tetrarch  of  Galilee  (see  on  2:  20), 
who  would  doubtless  have  his  forces  organ- 
ized after  the  Roman  fashion,  and  sometimes 
commanded  by  Roman  officers,  or  whether 
he  was  connected  with  a  Roman  garrison  of 
Capernaum,  such  as  the  Romans  frequently 
maintained  in  nominally  independent  dis- 
tricts. He  was  a  heathen,  but  a  lover  of  the 
Jews,  and  had  shown  it  by  building  the  syna- 
gogue in  which  they  then  worshiped  (Luke 
T:o);  probably  that  large  synagogue  the 
foundations  of  which  are  now  seen  at  Tel 
Hum.  (See  on  4:  13.)  There  were  numerous 
instances  of  intelligent  and  right-minded 
heathen  who,  when  brought  in  contact  with 
the  Jews,  felt  the  superiority  of  their  re- 
ligion; e.g.,  Cornelius.  (Aotsio:!.)  This  cen- 
turion at  Capernaum  had  probably  known  of 
the  healing  of  the  nobleman's  son  (Johu4:«ff.), 
which  took  place  there  some  time  before,  and 
this  with  other  accounts  of  Jesus,  had  led  to 
the  full  belief  that  he  could  heal  his  servant. 
There  came  unto  him.  Luke  (7:sff.)  says 
that  he  sent  the  elders  of  the  Jews,  and  after- 
wards some  friends.  Matthew  omits  these 
details,  and  represents  the  centurion  as  doing 
himself  what  he  did  through  others.     In  like 


manner  Mark  (loiss)  represents  James  and 
John  as  presenting  to  Jesus  their  ambitious 
request,  without  any  mention  of  their  mother, 
whom  Matthew  (20:20;  declares  to  have  come 
with  them  and  acted  as  spokesman.  In  John 
3 :  22,  we  read  that  Jesus  '  baptized' ;  in  John 
4:  1  f.,  this  is  explained  to  mean  that  his  dis- 
ciples baptized.  So  in  John  19:  1,  it  is  said 
that  Pilate  'took  Jesus  and  scourged  him,' 
which  of  course  he  did  not  do  with  his  own 
hands,  but  through  his  attendants.  Comp. 
also  14:  10  with  Mark  6:  27;  and  see  on  14: 
19.  Similar  forms  of  statement  are  common 
among  us,  both  in  literature  and  in  the  lan- 
guage of  common  life;  and  there  is  a  familiar 
law  maxim,  Qui  facit  per  alium,  facit  per  se: 
he  who  does  a  thing  through  another  does  it 
himself. 

6.  Lord  (see  on  v.  2),  simply  a  very  re- 
spectful address.  My  servant  is,  in  Greek, 
clearly  definite,  and  may  mean  either  the 
only  servant  he  possessed,  or  the  only  one  he 
had  with  him  at  Capernaum,  or  the  one  that 
was  then  exclusively  occupying  his  mind. 
'Servant'  (pais)  is  literally  'boy,'  which  term 
was  used  for  a  servant  of  any  age,  among  the 
Hebrews,  Greeks  and  Romans,  as  it  was  also 
used  in  the  Slave  States  of  this  country ;' 
comp.  the  French  garqon.  (See  further  on 
12:  18.)    The  Rheims  version  here  translates 


1  Seven  different  Greek  words  are  in  the  K.  T.  ren-  j  This  always  means  a  slave,  though  often  used  fignra- 
dered  'servant,'  as  follows:  (1)  Diakonot,  an  attendant,  |  tively,  as  'slaves  of  God,'  'slaves  of  Jesus  Christ.'  It  is 
waiter,  as  at  table  (John  2:  5,  g't.and  sometimes  aservant  in  i  rendered  'bond 'or  '  bondman  '  in  1  Cor.  12:  13;  Gal. 
general:  rendered'servant'in22:13;  23:  11 ;' minister'  j  3:  28:  Eph.  6:  8;  Col.  3:  11;  Rev.  6:  1.5;  13:  IC;  19: 
(originally  a  Latin  word  of  corresponding  signification)  18.  Where  it  is  rendered  'servant'  the  Rev.  Ver.  usu- 
in  20r26,  and  often  in  the  Epistles.  This  word  we  ally  puts 'bond-servant'  in  the  margin.  (7)  Misthios 
have  borrowed  as  deacon,  just  as  we  borrow  6i»^op  from  and  MUthotos,  a.  hireling,  hired  man,  rendered  'hired 
epUkopos.  (2)  7%«rapon,  a  waiting-man,  attendant,  used  ^servants'  in  Mark  1:  20;  Luke  15:  17,19,  aud  'hire- 
in  Heb.  3:  5,  comp.  common  text  of  Matt.  24:  45.  (3)  '  ling'  in  John  10  :  12  f.  This  would  naturally  be  a  free 
Huperetes,  a  rower,  sailor,  and  in  general  a  hand,  an  un-  man.  The  English  word  servant  is  borrowed  from  the 
derling,  agent,  attendant,  inferior  officer,  etc. ;  rendered  |  Latin  sennit,  which  means  a  bondman,  just  as  doulot 
'  servant '  in  26 :  58  (Rev.  Ver, 'officer '),iu  5:  25.  These  I  does.  But  it  has  come  in  H;nglish  to  have  a  much  wider 
three  terms  might  be  applied  either  to  a  slave  or  ,  use,  denoting  either  bondmen  or  hired  atlendiints. 
to  a  free  man.  (4)  Oiketes,  a  house-servant  (oikos,  'Slave'  Is  derived  from  the  Slavic  or  Sclavonic  race, 
'house'),  domestic;  used  In  Luke  16:  13;  1  Peter  many  of  whom  were  reduced  to  servitude  in  the  sotith- 
2:  18,  etc.  These  might  be  slave  or  free,  but  were  usu-  ]  ea-st  of  Europe,  as  early  as  the  eighth  century.  The 
ally  slaves.  (5)  Pau,  a  child,  boy  or  girl,  and  also  ser-  ,  strong  dislike  to  slavery  at  the  prosent  day  has  associ- 
vant,  as  above  explained ;  rendered  '  servant '  in  v.  6,  j  ated  degrading  ideas  with  this  term,  so  that  we  could 
8, 13,  also  in  12:  18;  14:  2,  and  'child'  in  2:  16;  17:  18,  hardly  employ  it  now  for  the  figurative  uses  of  doulos ; 
(Rev.  Ver. '  boy  ') ;  21 :  15.  As  applied  to  servants  this  |  although  the  devout  McCheyiie  writes  to  a  friend  that 
term  seems  to  have  always  meant  slaves ;  14:  2  may  be  |  "  it  is  sweet  to  think  of  ourselves  as  the  slaves  of 
compared    with    18 :   3.    (6)   Ihulot,  bondman,  slave.  I  Christ." 


178 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  VIII. 


7  And  Jesus  saith  unto  him,  I  will  come  and  heal 
him. 

8  The  centurion  answereil  and  said,  Lord,  I  am  not 
worthy  that  thou  shoiildest  come  under  my  roof:  but 
speak  "the  word  only,  and  my  servant  shall  lie  healed. 

9  For  I  am  a  man  under"  authority,  having  soldiers 
under  me:  and  1  say  to  this  man,  Go,  and  he  goeth  ; 
and  to  another.  Come,  and  he  comet  h ;  and  to  my 
servant.  Do  this,  and  he  doeth  it. 

10  When  Jesus  heard  it,  he  marvelled,  and  said  to 
them  that  followed.  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  I  have  not 
found  so  great  faith,  no,  not  in  Israel. 


7  of  the  palsy,  grievously  tormented.    And  he.sailh 

8  unto  htm,  I  will  come  and  heal  him.  And  the 
centurion  answered  and  said,  Lord,  I  am  not  •  won  liy 
that  thou  shouldest  come  under  my  roof:  but  only 
say  2  the  word,  and  my  =*  servant  shall  be   healea. 

9  For  1  also  am  a  man  ■♦under  authority,  having 
under  myself  soldiers;  and  I  say  to  this  one.  Go, 
aud  he  goeth  :  and  toanother.  Come,  and  he  cometh  : 

10  and  to  my  6servant,  Do  this,  and  he  doeth  it.  Ana 
when  Jesus  heard  it,  he  marvelled,  and  said  to  them 
that  followed.  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  oi  have  not 


1  Qr.  tvfficient. . .  .2  Gr.  with  a  uord 3  Or,  boy 4  Some  ancient  authorities  insert,  set :  as  in  Luke  vil.  8. . .  .5  Gr.  bondservant 

6  Maur  ancient  autborliies  read.  With  no  man  in  Israel  have  I  found  to  great  faith. 


'boy';  Wye.  supposed  it  to  mean  'child,'  as 
all  the  early  English  versions  wrongly  sup- 
posed in  Acts  3:  13,  26  ;  4:  27,  30.  Luive  (7:  :) 
has  the  term  doulos,  'slave,'  which  is  also  used 
by  Matthew  in  v.  9.  It  is  idle  for  Weiss  to 
take  joats  as  here  meaning 'son,'  from  his  mere 
passion  for  multiplying  discrepancies. 

Luke  says  {t-^)  'who  was  dear  unto  him.' 
Josephus  tells  us  that  the  Roman  soldiers  were 
followed  by  many  servants,  who  "in  peace 
constantly  engaged  in  the  warlike  exercises  of 
their  masters,  and  in  war  shared  their  dan- 
gers." So  a  "Confederate"  officer  and  the 
slave  who  attended  him  in  camp  would  often 
risk  their  lives  for  each  other,  while  his  other 
slaves  at  home  usually  took  the  most  faith- 
ful care  of  his  wife  and  children.  My  serv- 
ant— boy — lieth,  literally,  is  prostrate,  'bed 
ridden.'  Sick  of  the  palsy— a  paro lytic 
(see  on  4:  24).  Grievously  tormented,  or, 
'terribly  tortured.'  Some  diseases  then 
classed  as  paralysis  produce  violent  pain. 
Compare  the  case  in  1  Mace.  9:  55  f.  Luke 
adds   (7:2  B.  V.)  that  he  was  '  about  to  die.' 

7-9.  Jesns  saith,  or,  he  says.  Jesus  omit- 
ted, as  in  v.  3,  5.  I  will  come,  with  some 
emphasis  on  'I.'  This  proposition,  being  re- 
ported to  the  centurion,  brought  out  his 
humility  and  faith.  A  similar  effect  was  pro- 
duced on  the  Syro-Phcenician  mother  by  re- 
fusal. (16:26.)  Worthy,  literally,  not  Jit  for 
thee  to  enter,^  etc.  He  may  have  meant 
(Edersh.)  that  he  was  Levitically  unfit,  that 
to  enter  his  home  would  render  a  Jew  cere- 
monically  unclean ;   but  the  additional  and 


stronger  expression  in  Luke  7 :  7  leaves  no 
doubt  that  he  was  also  humbly  thinking  of  his 
moral  un worthiness.  Speak  the  Avord,  or, 
more  exactly,  speak  '  with  a  word  '  (Rev.  Ver. 
margin).  So  the  nobleman's  son  there  at 
Capernaum  had  been  healed  with  a  word  when 
at  a  distance.  (John  4:  so.)  The  centurion  pro- 
ceeds to  illustrate  the  power  of  a  word  of  com- 
mand, by  referring  to  his  own  experience  as  an 
officer  and  a  master.  For  I  also  am  a  man* 
nnder  authority  ....  and  I  say,  etc. 
It  is  plain  that  '  under  authority '  is  opposed  to 
'having  under  myself  soldiers  '  (Rev.  Ver.) — 
notice  the  '  myself.'  He  is  a  subordinate  com- 
mander, accustomed  both  to  obey  and  to  be 
obeyed,  and  he  is  confident  that  in  like  man- 
ner (me  word  of  command  from  Jesus  will 
cure  disease.  There  is  involved  a  sort  of  per- 
sonification of  the  disease,  as  in  Luke  4 :  39, 
'  he  rebuked  the  fever.'  But  what  is  the  force 
of  'also'?  (Com.  Ver.  followed  Geneva  in 
neglecting  'also.'  which  was  given  bj'  Tyn., 
Great  Bible,  Rheims).  The  centurion  evi- 
dently means  that  his  case  is  like  that  of  Jesus 
in  regard  to  the  word  of  command.  Some 
think  (Humphrey)  that  he  regarded  Jesus  as 
under  divine  authority,  while  having  power 
over  disease.  Or  it  may  be  that 'also'  refers 
to  the  latter  part  of  the  statement:  for  I  also 
am  a  (subordinate)  commander,  and  my  word 
of  command  is  obeyed.  To  my  servant, 
slave  (see  on  v.  6).  We  cannot  tell  whether 
he  meant  the  particular  servant  that  was  sick, 
or  the  servant  to  whom  he  spoke  in  any  case. 
10.  Marvelled — or — wondered.     Here    he 


1  For  this  nonHnal  use  of  the  Greek  particle  that  fol- 
lows, see  on  5:29.  Comp.  the  classical  construction 
with  'fit'  (viz.,  theiniinitive)  in  1  Cor.  15:  9. 

*The  margin  of  Rev.  Ver.  here  follows  W  H.  in  men- 


tioned. If  genuine  here,  what  ground  can  be  suggested 
for  its  omission  by  almost  all  documents?  It  is  wrong 
to  follow  B  and  {<  against  the  clearest  internal  evidence, 
especially  when  with  internal  evidence  began  the  whole 


tioning  that  some  ancient  authorities  (B  K  and  some  ;  line  of  argument  by  which  W  H.  have  established  the 
others)  insert  'set.'    Bnt  this  evidently  is  an  interpola-  ,  great  general  excellence  of  their  text. 
tioD  from  Luke  7 :  8,  and  so  should  not  have  been  men-  \ 


Ch.  VIII.] 


MATTHEW. 


179 


11  And  I  saj  unto  you,  That  many  shall  come  from  I  11  found  so  great  faith,  no,  not  in  Israel.    And  I  say 
the  east  and  west,  and  shall  sit  down  with  Abraham,  unto  you,  that  many  shall  come  from  the  east  and  the 

and  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  I       west,  and  shall  i  sit  down  with  Abraham,  and  Isaac, 


wondered    at     faith ;    on    another    occasion 
(Mark6:6),  at  Unbelief.     "We  need  not  speculate 
about  his  wondering,   nor  weaken  the  state- 
ment by  attempted  explanations.     Jesus  won- 
dered as  a  man,  while  as  God  nothing  could 
be  wonderful   to  him.     It  is  only  the  same 
difBculty  that  we  meet  with  in  such  facts  as 
his  growing  in  wisdom,  and  his  not  knowing 
the  day  and  hour.     Verily  I  say  unto  you. 
Bee  on  5:  18.     I   have   not  found   so   great 
faith,!  no,  not  in  Israel.    A  similiar  case 
of  great  faith  on  the  part  of  a  heathen  is  found 
in  15:  22  following.     We  feel  sure  that  a  per- 
son with   such   beautiful  humility  and  such 
faith  in  the  power  of  Jesus  to  work  miracles, 
must  have  possessed,  or  would  soon  come  to 
possess,  faith  in  his  power  to  forgive  sins  also. 
(Comp.  on  V.  3. )  What  our  Lord  thus  strongly 
commends  is  not  his  humility,  but  that  faith 
which  is  the  root  of  every  thing  spiritual. 
(Comp.  15:28;  Luke  18:  8.)    Observe  that  he 
does  not  express  surprise  at  finding  so  great 
faith   in  a  soldier.     There  is  no  warrant  in 
Scripture  for  the   notion  of  incompatibility 
Btween  piety  and  the  soldier's  life. 
11.  And  I  say  nnto  you  (see  on  5:  18), 
jpeating  the  solemn  affirmation  of  the  pre- 
sding  sentence,  because  he  was  about  to  say 
rhat  the  Jews  would  be  slow  to  believe,  and 
rhat  was  of  the  greatest  importance.     From 
le  east  and  west  (cbmp.  Isa.  45:  6),  from 
^he  farthest  parts  of  the  earth  in  every  direc- 
Jon,  from  the  remotest  Gentile  nations.   Here 
already  an  intimation  that  Christianity  will 
jrcad  to  all  nations.     And  shall  sit  down, 
^iterally  recline  (see  margin  Rev.  Ver.),  i.  c, 
It  table.     The  custom  of  the  Persians,  which 
jread  to  the  Greeks  and  Romans,   had  also 
Ben   adopted   by  the  Jews,  viz.,  to  lie  on  a  | 
juch  while  eating.     This  was  placed  beside 
^he  table,  and  on  it  the  person  reclined  lean- 
Ig  on  his  left  elbow,  so  as  to  take  food  from 
le  table  with  his  right  hand,  while  the  feet 
[tended  obliquely  to  the  outside  of  the  couch. 
Phus  the  feet  could  be  washed  while  one  was 
dining    (Lnkai:  ss;  johDU:«r.) ;  a  man  could 


lean  his  head  back  upon  the  breast,  or  lie  ''  in 
the  bosom  "  of  one  who  reclined  behind  him. 

(John  13:  23,25;  1:   18;  Luke  16:  23.)        This     luXUrioUS 

mode  of  eating  had  not  been  the  usage  of 
their  ancestors  (see  Gen.  27:  19;  Judges  19: 
6;  1  Sam.  20:  24  f ,  where  the  Hebrew  de- 
termines it  to  have  been  really  sitting) ;  and 
the  prophet  Amos  (6:4, 7),  rebukes  it  as  a  part 
of  the  wicked  luxury  of  the  people,  that  they 
stretched  thetnselves  at  their  banquets.  Rutin 
the  time  of  our  Lord  it  had  become  the  uni- 
versal custom,  certainly  at  all  formal  meals, 
and  to  do  otherwise  would  have  seemed  sin- 
gular. Wherever  in  the  N.  T.  'sit,'  'sit  down,' 
etc.,  are  used  with  reference  to  eating,  or 
where  the  phrase  is  'sit  at  meat,'  etc.,  the 
Greek  alvva3's  has  some  word  denoting  'to  re- 
cline' ;  and  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  Rev.  Ver. 
did  not  place  this  in  the  text  rather  than  in 
the  margin.  Wye,  Tyn.,  and  Great  Bib.  had 
'  rest,'  Geneva  and  Rheims  'sit  down.'  With 
Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob.  The  Jews 
considered  that  their  descent  from  these  patri- 
archs made  it  certain  that  they  would  share 
with  them  the  blessings  of  the  Messianic  reign  ; 
and  the  Rabbinical  writings  show  that  splen- 
did entertainments,  enjoyed  with  the  patri- 
archs, belonged  to  their  conception  of  the 
Messianic  felicity.  Here,  as  so  often,  our 
Saviour  adapted  himself  to  thecommon  modes 
of  expression.  See  the  same  image  in  Luke 
14  :  15  ;  16:  23,  the  parables  concerning  feasts, 
and  in  Rev.  19:9.  It  was  specially  appro- 
priate in  the  present  case;  the  Jews  would 
not  at  all  eat  with  Gentiles  ;  yet  it  is  here  de- 
clared that  many  Gentiles  from  every  direc- 
tion will  recline  at  table  with  the  great  patri- 
archs, while  Jews  themselves  shall  be  cast  out. 
This  had  been  foreshadowed  by  the  prophets, 
but  Israel  was  too  blind  now  to  see  it.  The 
Talmud  says  (Schoettgen) :  "In  the  future 
world  I  will  spread  for  you  a  groat  table, 
which  the  Gentiles  will  see  and  be  ashamed." 
Luke  does  not  give  this  saying  of  our  Lord 
with  reference  to  the  centurion,  but  in  13:  39 
he  gives  the  same  image  as  introduced  on  a 


'The  marginal  reading  of  Rev.  Ver.  has  considerable  [  tlonal  probability;  there  would  be  no  substantial  dif- 
Bpport,  especially  in  versions,  and  some  transcrip-  i  ference  in  meaning. 


180 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  VIII. 


12  But  the  cfaildren  of  the  kingrdom  shall  be  cast  out   12  and  Jacob,  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven  :  but  the  sons 


into  outer  darkness :  there  shall  be  weeping  and  gnash 
iuK  of  teeth. 

13  And  Jesus  said  unto  the  centurion,  Go  thy  way  ; 
and  as  thou  hast  believed,  so  be  it  done  unto  thee.  And 
his  servant  was  healed  in  the  selfsame  hour. 

14  And  when  Jesus  was  come  into  Peter's  house,  he 
saw  his  wile's  uioiber  laid,  and  sick  of  a  fever. 


of  the  kingdom  shall  be  cast  forth  into  the  outer 
darkness:  there  shall  be  the  weeping  and  gnashing 

13  of  teeth.  And  Jesus  said  unto  the  centurion,  Go 
thy  way  ;  as  thou  hast  believed,  so  be  it  done  unto 
thee.    And  the  i  servant  was  healed  in  that  hour. 

14  And  when  Jesus  was  come  into  Peter's  house,  he 


I  Or,  bof. 


different  occasion.  As  to  the  phrase,  king- 
dom of  heaven,  see  on  8 :  2.  It  must  here 
refer  to  the  future  state. 

13.  But  the  children — sons— of  the  king- 
dom. By  a  Hebrew  idiom  a  variety  of  ideas 
of  intimate  relation  or  close  connecti(m  are 
expressed  by  the  use  of  'son'  or  'child';  e.  g., 
in  Old  Test.  '  sons  of  Belial  (wickedness)',  as 
it  were  born  of  wickedness,  deriving  their  very 
nature  from  wiclxcdness.  So  with  'children  of 
disobedience'  (Eph. 2 : 2, Eev. ver.),  and  'children 
of  obedience.'  (1  Pet.  1 :  14,  Rev.  ver.)  In  '  children 
of  wrath'  (Eph, 2:s),  'children  of  cursing' 
(2Pet. 2:i«,  Ber.  Ver.),  we  have  a  very  strong  ex- 
pression of  the  idea  that  these  persons  are  by 
their  very  nature  objects  of  wrath,  of  a  curse. 
'  The  sons  of  this  world  '  (i-u^e  is  =  s,  Rev.  ver.)  are 
wholly  devoted  to  this  world,  as  it  were  with 
a  filial  devotion.  (See  also  on  9:  15;  11:  19; 
13:  38;  23  :  15,  andcomp.  1  Mace.  4:2.)  'The 
sons  of  the  resurrection'  (Luke20:36, Rev. ver.)  are 
those  who  partake  of  it.  And  so  'the  sons  of 
the  kingdom '  here  are  the  persons  who  are 
considered  as  having  a  right  to  its  privileges 
by  reason  of  their  birth.  Our  Lord  tells  the 
Jews  that  strangers  to  the  kingdom  would 
come  and  enjoy  its  privileges,  while  its  own 
sons  would  be  cast  out.  Into  (the)  outer 
darkness.  The  image  is  derived  from  a 
brightly  lighted  mansion  during  an  evening 
entertainment.  Persons  expelled  from  the 
house  would  find  themselves  in  the  darkness 
without.  So  in  22 :  13 ;  25 :  30,  and  comp. 
'the  blackness  of  darkness  forever'  in  Jude 
13;  2  Pet.  2:  17.  There  shall  be  (the) 
weeping  and  (the)  gnashing  of  teeth, 
while  within  is  the  feast  of  the  soul,  and  the 
song  of  the  blest.  Why  ^  the  weeping'? 
Probably  the  idea  of  these  as  belonging  to  the 
punishment  of  Gel^enna  was  familiar  to  our 
Lord's  hearers.  The  same  expression  occurs 
six  times  in  Matthew  (see  13:  42,  50;  22:  13; 
24:  51;  25:  30),  and  in  Luke  13:  28;  always 
with  the  article,  and  always  associated  with 
the  idea  of  ftiture  punishment.  (Comp. 
Buttm.,  p.  88.)    Bengel  understands  it  to  be 


the  weeping  by  eminence,  and  adds  :  "In  this 
life  sorrow  is  not  yet  sorrow." 

13.  Go  thy  way,  go  along  (comp.  v.  4), 
said  here  in  kindness  and  encouragement; 
quite  otherwise  in  4:  10.  So  be  it  done 
unto  thee,  more  literally,  so  let  it  happen  to 
thee,  'come  to  pass  for  thee,'  the  term  ex- 
plained on  6:  10.  His  faith  was  great,  and  so 
should  the  blessing  be.  Our  Lord  frequently 
(not  always)  required  faith  in  order  to  the 
reception  of  his  miracles  of  healing,  where 
there  was  a  person  capable  of  exercising  it. 
But  the  healing  cannot  with  any  show  of  pro- 
priety be  considered  the  effect  of  imagination, 
excited  by  credulous  faith,  as  in  some  ap- 
parent cures  at  the  present  day,  for  in  this 
and  various  other  cases  it  was  not  the  sufferer 
that  believed,  but  some  other  person — and 
sometimes  a  person  at  a  distance.  (15:28;  John 
*:63.)  Moreover  our  Lord  wrought  miracles 
upon  the  dead,  and  upon  inanimate  nature, 
where  such  an  explanation  would  be  out  of 
the  question.  In  the  selfsame — or,  {71  that 
— hour,  with  some  emphasis  on  'that.' 

III.  14-17.  Healing  of  Peter's  Moth- 
ER-iN-LAW,  and  of  many  others.  From  the 
parallel  accounts  in  Mark  1 :  29-34;  Luke  4: 
38-41,  it  appears  that  this  took  place  before 
the  delivery  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount, 
and  upon  a  Sabbath-day,  after  leaving  the 
synagogue  in  Capernaum.  Matthew  groups 
these  miracles  with  little  concern  for  exact 
time  and  place.  (See  on  v.  1.)  Peter's 
house,  at  Capernaum,  see  Mark  1  :  21,  29. 
Andrew  lived  with  his  brother,  and  James 
and  John  accompanied  Jesus  on  a  visit  to 
them.  Peter  and  Andrew  were  natives  of 
Bethsaida  (Johni:44),  but  had  removed  to  Ca- 
pernaum. (See  the  town  described  on  4;  13.) 
It  seems  strange  that  Romanists  can  so  insist 
on  the  celibacy  of  the  clergy,  when  Peter 
himself,  of  whom  the  Pope  is  imagined  to  be 
the  successor,  was  a  married  man,  and  not 
only  at  this  time  but  long  after,  when  at  the 
height  of  his  apostolic  labors;  and  'the  rest 
of  the  apostles'  were  likewise,  except  Paul. 


Ch.  VIIL] 


MATTHEW. 


181 


15  And  he  touched  her  hand,  and  the  fever  left  her: 
and  she  arose,  and  ministered  unto  them. 

16  When  the  even  was  come,  they  brought  unto  him 
many  that  were  possessed  with  devils :  and  he  cast 
out  the  spirits  with  Ais  word,  and  healed  all  that  were 
sick : 

17  That  it  might  be  fulfilled  which  was  spoken  by 
Esaias  the  prophet,  saying,  Himself  took  our  infirmi- 
ties, and  bare  our  sicknesses. 


15  saw  his  wife's  mother  lying  sick  of  a  fever.  And  he 
touched  her  hand,  and  the  fever  left  her;  and  she 

16  arose,  and  ministered  unto  him.  And  when  even 
was  come,  they  brought  unto  him  many  i  possessed 
with  demons :  and  he  cast  out  the  spirits  with  a 

17  word,  and  healed  all  that  were  sick:  that  it  might 
be  fulfilled  which  was  spoken  through  Isaiah  the 
prophet,  saying,  Himself  took  our  infirmiiies,  and 
bare  our  diseases. 


1  Or,  denu>ntac«. 


(i  Cor. 9: 5.)  Sick  of  a  fcvcr.  Malarial  fevers 
are  common,  from  the  marshes  near  the  mouth 
of  the  Jordan.     (Thomson,  Geikie.) 

15.  It  seems  from  Mark  1 :  30,  and  Luke 
4 :  38,  that  the  family  requested  Jesus  to  heal 
her.  And  he  touched  her  hand.  Our  Lord 
several  times  wrought  miracles  without  touch- 
ing, and  even  at  a  distance,  as  in  the  healing  of 
the  centurion's  slave  in  the  preceding  verses; 
but  he  usually  performed  some  act,  such  as 
touching  the  person,  taking  him  by  the  hand, 
etc.,  which  would  make  it  evident  to  all  con- 
cerned that  he  was  the  cause  of  the  miracu- 
lous cure.  And  ministered  unto  them — 
literally,  as  in  best  texts,  waited  on  him. 
The  verb  is  explained  on  4 :  11,  and  the  Greek 
tense  denotes  that  the  action  was  continued. 
'  Them,'  found  in  some  early  documents,  is 
a  manifest  assimilation  to  Mark  and  Luke, 
where  companions  of  Jesus  are  mentioned. 
The  service  would  consist  in  supplying  food, 
and  any  other  needed  attentions — a  natural 
way  for  a  woman  in  her  home  to  express  her 
gratitude.  Jerome:  "  That  hand  ministered, 
which  had  been  touched,  and  healed." 
(Comp.  Luke  10:  40,  where  the  same  word  is 
rendered  'serving.')  A  severe  fever  (Luke 4:38) 
always  leaves  a  person  very  weak ;  but  so  com- 
plete was  the  miraculous  healing,  that  she  was 
at  once  prepared  for  active  exertion.  Wordfi- 
worth:  "In  the  case  of  Christ's  miracles,  it 
was  with  diseases  as  with  the  sea.  After  the 
storm  there  is  a  swell,  before  the  sea  sinks 
into  a  calm.  But  Christ  reduced  the  fury  of 
the  sea  by  a  word  to  perfect  calm,  as  he  did 
the  rage  of  the  fever  to  perfect  health." 

16.  This  miracle  became  noised  abroad,  and 
only  deepened  the  impression  produced  by 
the  casting  out  of  the  unclean  spirit  that  same 
day  in  the  synagogue.  (M»rit  i:  si-as.)  So  that 
all  the  people  became  anxious  to  bring  their 
demoniac  or  diseased  friends  to  seek  like 
miraculous  relief.  But  the  Jews  were  too 
scrupulous  to  do  this  on  the  Sabbath  day. 
When  the  even  was  come  (comp.  14 :  15). 


Luke  yet  more  definitely,  'when  the  sun  was 
setting.'  The  Jewish  day  was  reckoned  as 
beginning  and  ending  at  sunset ;  so  they  came 
the  moment  the  Sabbath  was  past.  Matthew 
says  nothing  to  show  why  they  waited  till 
evening;  he  is  simply  throwing  together  a 
number  of  miracles  without  giving  all  the 
circumstances  of  their  occurrence.  It  is  not 
to  be  inferred  that  Jesus  himself  shared  these 
scruples  about  healing  on  the  Sabbath,  a  thing 
which  he  had  just  done  (Mark  and  Luke), 
and  repeatedly  did  afterwards.  Possessed 
with  devils,  much  better,  demoniacs  (as  in 
margin  Kev.  Ver. ),  see  on  v.  28  and  4:  24. 
The  Evangelist  has  already  mentioned  in  gen- 
eral (*:24)  that  Jesus  healed  all  the  demoniacs 
that  were  brought  to  him  during  this  circuit 
of  Galilee.  With  his  (a)  word,  just  as  he  had 
'  with  a  word'  healed  the  centurion's  slave, 
(v.  8.)  All  that  were  sick,  a  general  expres- 
sion embracing  every  class  of  diseases,  as  in 
4:  24.  Kitto  :  "  The  sun  which  had  set  upon 
an  expectant  crowd  of  miserable  creatures, 
arose  next  morning  upon  a  city  from  which 
disease  had  fled."  Our  Lord's  miracles  were 
very  numerous.  Those  particularly  described 
by  the  Evangelists  are  only  specimens,  and 
we  are  repeatedly  told  in  passing,  of  his  heal- 
ing very  many  persons  and  of  many  diseases. 
Simply  to  read  the  statements  in  4:  24;  9:  35; 
ll:4f. ;  12:  15;  14:  35;  15:  30;  19:  2,  would 
be  apt  greatly  to  e;ilarge  one's  idea  of  the  ex- 
tent of  his  labor  of  beneficence  in  this  respect. 
17.  That  it  might  be  fulfilled.  This 
naturally'  means  that  the  events  in  question 
had  been  actually  predicted  in  the  prophecy 
quoted,  and  had  taken  place  in  the  arrange- 
ments of  Providence  in  order  that  the  predic- 
tion might  be  fulfilled.  (See  on  1:  22;  the 
particle  rendered  'that'  is  not  the  same  here 
as  there,  but  has  practically  the  game  force.) 
By  Esaias. — More  exactly  through,  as  in 
2:  5,  17,  23;  3:  3;  4:  14,  the  idea  being  by  the 
Lord  through  the  prophet,  as  fully  expressed 
in  1:  22;  2:  16.     'Isaiah,'  instead  of  'Esaias,' 


182 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  VIII. 


see  on  1 :  2.  It  is  only  Matthew  that  here  re- 
fers to  the  fuliillment  of  a  prediction,  this 
being  the  sixth  propliecy  vvliicli  he  cites  as 
being  fulfilled  in  Jesus.  (Conip.  1 :  23;  2:5, 
15,  28;  4:  14.)  Himself  took  our  infirmi- 
ties and  bare  our  sicknesses.  The  quo- 
tation is  from  Isa.  53:  4,  rendered  in  Com. 
Eng.  Ver.,  'He  hath  borne  our  griefs  and 
carried  our  sorrows.'  The  whole  passage  in 
Isaiah  (52 :  is  to  53 :  12)  unquestionably  refers  to 
Christ's  suffering  for  men  as  their  substitute. 
(Corap.  1  Pet.  2:  24.)  There  is  thus  diflSculty 
in  perceiving  the  ground  of  the  Evangelist's 
application  of  this  prophecy  to  our  Lord's  heal- 
ing diseases.  The  original  of  Isaiah  literally 
means  'Our  diseases  he  took,  and  our  pains 
he  bore,'  with  slight  emphasis  both  times  on 
'our'  and  '  he,'  the  word  'pains'  comprising 
both  bodily  and  mental  distresses.  As  to  the 
words,  Matthew  has  thus  exactly  followed  the 
Hebrew  (the  hypothesis  of  his  following  an 
oral  Aramaic  version  is  believed  to  be  without 
adequate  support),  departing  from  the  Sept., 
which  here  renders,  "  He  bears  our  sins,  and 
is  pained  about  us."  But  how  as  to  the  mean- 
ing? Christ  took  upon  himself,  and  thus  took 
away  from  us,  sin  and  all  the  distresses  pro- 
duced by  sin.  These  distresses  were  divinely 
appointed  punishments  of  sin,  and  we  may 
suppose  that  but  for  Christ's  atoning  work, 
God's  justice  would  not  have  allowed  them  to 
cease.  For  believers  in  Christ,  diseases  and 
various  mental  sufferings  do  indeed  still  con- 
tinue, yet  not  as  punishments,  but  to  disci- 
pline them  for  their  good.  What  our  Saviour 
suffered,  in  his  life  of  humiliation  and  his 
death  of  agony,  was  not,  as  the  prophet  says 
men  would  think  it  was,  the  penalty  of  wrong- 
doing on  his  own  part,  but  was  the  taking  on 
himself  of  our  sin,  and  all  our  consequent 
woe.  Of  course  he  did  not  endure  the  precise 
and  identical  sufferings,  temporal  or  eternal, 
which  we  should  otherwise  have  borne,  but 
what  he  suffered  in  our  stead  made  it  right 
that  we  should  be  relieved,  to  some  extent 
even  in  this  life,  and  completely  in  eternity, 
of  all  the  consequences  of  our  sins.  His  tak- 
ing away  bodily  diseases  was  thus  not  only  a 
symbol  (Meyer),  but  in  some  sense  a  part  of 
his  taking  away  sin.  The  matter  may  also  be 
viewed  as  Piumptre  does:  "He  himself 
'took'  and  'bore'  the  sufferings  which  he  re- 
moved.   He  suffered  with  those  he  saw  suffer. 


The  power  to  heal  was  intimately  connected 
with  the  intensity  of  his  sympathy,  and  so 
was  followed  (as  analogous  works  of  love  are 
followed,  in  those  who  are  most  Christ-like  in 
their  lives),  by  weariness  and  physical  ex- 
haustion. "What  is  related  by  St.  Mark  and 
St.  Luke  of  our  Lord's  seeking  out  the  refuge 
of  solitude  at  the  earliest  dawn  of  the  day 
that  followed,  is  entirely  in  harmony  with  the 
view  thus  suggested." 

HOMILETICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

V.  2  f.  This  suggests  bj'  analogy  the  need 
and  the  means  of  spiritual  healing.  Four 
questions  as  to  our  salvation  :  1)  Is  Jesus  able 
to  save?  2)  Is  Jesus  willing  to  save?  8)  Do 
we  need  to  be  saved  ?  4)  Do  we  wish  to  be 
saved  ?  Only  the  last  question  is  really  doubt- 
ful, and  that  depends  on  ourselves. — V.  4.  Do 
not  make  loud  professions  of  what  Christ  has 
done  for  you,  but  prove  it  by  acting  according 
to  God's  law.  Schaff  remarks  that  it  is  possi- 
ble to  make  too  much  of  the  miracles — "a  kind 
of  materialism,  no  less  than  the  denial  of  the 
possibility  of  such  miracles." 

V.  5  ff.  The  centurion.  1)  His  munificent 
gift  to  the  people  of  God.  (Luke7:5.)  2)  His 
affectionate kindnesstoaservant.  (T.6;Luke7:  2.) 
3)  His  poor  opinion  of  himself,  (v.  8.)  4)  His 
great  faith  in  Jesus,  (v.  s,  10.)  5)  The  exact  and 
immediate  answer  to  his  petition,  (v.  13.) — The 
three believingcenturions.  1)  Thiscenturion  at 
Capernaum.  2)  The  centurion  who  had  charge 
of  the  crucifixion  (27:54.)  3)  The  centurion 
Cornelius.  (Actsio:  1.) — A  deeply  pious  soldier. 
Hall:  "Even  the  bloody  trade  of  war  yielded 
worthy  clients  to  Christ." — Kindness  to  a 
servant.  Hall:  "Had  the  master  been  sick, 
the  faithfulest  servant  could  have  done  no 
more.  He  is  unworthy  to  be  well  served,  that 
will  not  sometimes  wait  upon  his  followers. 
Conceits  of  inferioritj'  may  not  breed  in  us  a 
neglect  of  charitable  oflBces.  So  must  we  look 
down  upon  our  servants  here  on  earth,  as  that 
we  must  still  look  up  to  our  Master  which  is 
in  heaven." — V.  7.  Developing  faith.  By  re- 
fusing all  that  was  asked  (15: 24);  2)  By  offering 
more  than  was  asked ;  3)  By  granting  just 
what  was  asked.— V.  8.  It  was  no  feigned 
humility  with  which  the  centurion  spoke. 
He  deeply  felt  himself  unworthy  of  the  pres-  i 
ence  and  society  of  the  Great  Teacher.  Yet  the 
Jewish  elders  thought  him  worthy.  (Luke  7: 4.)    * 


Ch.  VIII.] 


MATTHEW. 


183 


18  Now  when  Jesus  saw  great  multitudes  about  him, 
he  gave  comuiandment  to  depart  uuto  the  other  side. 

19  Aud   a  certain  scribe  cauie,  aud  said  unto  hiui, 
Master,  I  will  follow  thee  whithersoever  thou  goest. 


18  Now  when  Jesus  saw  great  multitudes  about  him, 
he  gave   commandment  to  depart  unto  the  other 

19  side.   Aud  there  came  'a  scribe,  and  said  unto  him, 
2  Master,  1  will  follow  thee  whithersoever  thou  goest. 


I  Or.  one  scn'ie. ..  .2  Or,  Teacher. 


They  who  most  deserve  the  esteem  of  others 
are  apt  to  ha%'C  the  humblest  opinion  of 
themselves;  not  because  ignorant  of  any 
excellencies  they  may  have  attained,  but 
because  more  accustomed  to  dwell  on  their 
faults,  and  more  absorbed  in  the  desire  to  cor- 
rect them.  A  man  may  be  conscious  of  his 
powers  and  attainments,  may  rejoice  in  his 
achievements,  may  be  pleased  that  men  praise 
him,  and  at  the  same  time  be  truly  humble, 
and  full  of  gratitude  to  him  who  has  given  it 
all.  This  is  difficult  for  human  weakness,  but 
so  much  the  more  earnestly  and  prayerfully 
must  it  be  sought.  "What  is  the  first  thing 
in  religion?  Humility.  And  what  is  the 
second  thing  in  religion?  Humility.  And 
what  is  the  third  thing  in  religion  ?  Humil- 
ity."— Hall:  "Many  a  one,  if  he  had  been 
in  the  centurion's  coat,  would  have  thought 
well  of  it ;  a  captain,  a  man  of  good  ability 
and  command,  a  founder  of  a  synagogue,  a 
patron  of  religion;  yet  he  overlooks  all  these, 
and  when  he  casts  his  eye  upon  the  divino 
worth  of  Christ  and  his  own  weakness,  he  says, 
'I  am  not  worthy.'  While  he  confessed  him- 
self unworthy  of  any  favor,  he  approved  him- 
self worthy  of  all."  Edersheim:  "Here 
was  one  who  was  in  the  state  described  in  the 
first  clauses  of  the  Beatitudes,  and  to  whom 
came  the  promise  of  the  seccmd  clauses;  be- 
cause Christ  is  the  connecting  link  between  the 
two."  Chrys.  :  "For  because  he  made  himself 
out  unworthy,  even  to  receive  Christ  into  his 
house,  he  became  worthy  both  of  a  kingdom, 
and  of  attaining  unto  those  good  things  which 
Abraham  enjoyed." — V.  9.  Obeying  and  com- 
manding. Hall:  "Oh  that  I  could  be  but  such 
a  servant  to  mine  Heavenly  Master!  Alas! 
every  one  of  his  commands  says,  'Do  thi.s,' 
and  I  do  it  not;  every  one  of  his  inhibitions 
says,  'Do  it  not,'  and  I  doit.  He  says,  'Go 
from  the  world,'  I  run  to  it;  he  says,  'Come 
tome,'  I  run  from  him.  Wo  is  me!  this  is 
not  service,  but  enmity." — V.  10.  Jesus  won- 
dering: 1)  At  the  great  faith  of  a  heathen; 
2)  At  the  unbelief  of  his  fellow-townsmen. 
(ii»rk«:«.)  Believing  heathen  still  often  shame 
those  reared  in  Christian  lands. 
V.  15.  What  can  we  do  for  Jesus,  who  has 


done  so  much  for  us?  We  cannot  now  minis- 
ter to  him  in  the  way  of  personal  attention, 
but  1)  We  can  bring  others  to  be  his  followers 
(John  1:41) ;  2)  We  Can  minister  to  his  suffering 
brethren  (25  = «) ;  3)  In  general,  we  can  show 
our  love  by  keeping  his  commandments, 
(johaurio.) — V.  17-  Steinmeyek :  "  As  a  par- 
able shows  on  earthly  grounds  the  reflex  of  a 
higher  truth,  in  order  to  serve  as  a  means  of 
explaining  the  latter,  so  a  miracle  which 
relieves  an  earthly  pain  is  the  symbol  of  the 
help  within  reach  for  a  deeper  need.  Our 
Lord  cures  the  sick  of  the  palsy  ;  but  the  first 
words  of  the  narrative  point  most  expressly  to 
a  higher  region.  He  gives  sight  to  him  that 
was  born  blind;  but  the  concluding  words  of 
the  history  exclude  the  thought  of  a  mere 
deed  of  compassion." 

18—9 :  1.— Stilling  the  Tempest,  and 
Healing  the  Demoniacs. 

To  the  miracles  already  adduced  (see  on  v. 
1),  Matt,  now  adds  two  which  are  very  re- 
markable. It  is  evident  from  Mark  4  :  35  ff., 
and  Luke  8  :  22  ff.,  that  they  occurred  after  the 
delivery  of  the  parables  in  chap.  13,  and  ap- 
parently in  the  evening  of  the  same  day  on 
which  those  parables  were  delivered.  Matt, 
is  giving  a  group  of  miracles  in  chap.  8  and  9. 

18.  Great  multitudes,  literally,  many 
crowds,  as  in  4:  25;  8:  1,  etc.  Unto  the 
other  side,  i.  c,  of  the  Lake  of  Galilee; 
literally,  into  the  beyond.  The  region  east  of 
the  lake  and  of  the  lower  Jordan  was  com- 
monly called  by  the  .lews  'The  Perea,'  i.  e., 
'  The  Beyond  (region),'  see  on  4 :  25  and  19  :  1. 
We  cannot  suppose  he  sought  escape  from 
personal  annoyance  or  discomfort.  The  fanati- 
cal excitement  of  the  people  (chap.  12  and  13) 
was  rising  too  high  'comp.  on  8:  4);  there 
was  less  opportunity  to  do  real  good  by  his 
teachings  when  the  crowd  became  so  great  as 
to  produce  confusion  and  disturbance;  and  in 
general,  it  was  his  plan  to  diffuse  his  labors 
throughout  the  country.  Mark's  phrase  (* :  35), 
'  when  the  even  was  come '  (comp.  Matt.  8 :  16), 
might  include  the  late  afternoon  (see  on  14 : 
15).  It  is  thus  not  certain,  though  probable, 
that  the  stormy  passage  was  after  night-fall. 
19.  While  they  were  preparing  to  cross  the 


184 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  VIII. 


20  And  Jesus  saith  unto  him,  The  foxes  have  holes,  ]  20  And  Jesus  saith  unto  hiui.  The  foxes  have  holes, 
and  the  birds  of  the  air  luive  nests ;  but  the  Son  of  uiau  and  the  birds  of  the  heaven  have  ^  nests ;  but  the  Sou 
hath  not  where  to  lay  his  head.  I 


1  Or.  lodging-plaeeM, 


lake,  there  occurred  the  conversation  men- 
tioned in  V.  19-22.  Mark  has  no  mention  of 
this.  Luke  (s.-s-ff.)  gives  similar  conversation 
as  taking  place  at  a  much  later  period,  on  the 
final  journey  from  Galilee  to  Jerusalem,  six 
months  before  the  crucifixion.  (See  below,  on 
19:  1.)  Perhaps  our  Lord  repeated  these  say- 
ings, as  he  often  did.  (See  Introduction  to 
chap.  5.)  Or  it  may  be  supposed  that  either 
Matthew  or  Luke  has  transposed  these  say- 
ings from  another  time,  as  neither  gives  any 
distinct  expression  of  connection.  And  a 
certain  scribe  came  ;  literally,  'one  scribe' 
(margin  Kev.  Ver. ),  perhaps  designed  to  in- 
timate that,  while  most  of  Jesus'  followers 
were  men  of  private  station  and  in  humble 
life,  here  was  one  of  the  teachers,  a  Rabbi. 
But  in  many  languages  the  numeral  'one' 
came  at  length  to  be  used  as  what  gramma- 
rians call  the  indefinite  article;  e.  g.,  German 
eiji;  English  an,  a,  from  Anglo-Saxon  an, 
Scotch  ane ;  French  un,  from  Latin  unus ; 
and  so  in  modern  Greek ;  and  it  may  be  that 
we  ought  so  to  understand  here  (see  Winer,  p. 
117  [145] ),  and  in  19:  16;  21:  19.  There  is  a 
similar  question  as  to  a  few  uses  of  the  He- 
brew word  for  'one.'  As  to  the  Scribes,  see 
on  2:  4.  Whithersoever  thou  goest,  (com p. 
Rev.  14 :  4),  not  merely  now,  across  the  lake, 
but  always  and  everywhere.  Tliis  Scribe  was 
already  in  a  broad,  general  sense,  a  'disciple' 
of  Jesus — as  is  implied  by  'another'  in  v.  21 
— but  wished  to  be  one  of  his  constant  fol- 
lowers. 

The  various  words  which  the  Common  Ver- 
sion renders  master  areas  follows:  Kurios, 
usually  rendered  'Lord,'  whether  as  applied 
to  God.  to  the  master  of  a  slave,  or  to  any 
person  in  respectful  address,  equal  to  'Sir.' 
(See  on  v.  2.)  It  is  rendered  'master'  in  6: 
24;  15:  27;  and  really  signifies  master  in  sev- 
eral passages  in  which  it  is  rendered  'Lord,' 
as  in  18:  25  AT.  ;  24:  45  ff. ;  25:  18.  DespoUs. 
strictly  the  master  of  a  slave,  and  rendered 
by  that  term  in  1  Tim.  6:  If.,  etc.,  is  not 
found  in  the  Gospels.  Rabbi,  originally  sig- 
nifying a  superior  (rab,  'great,'  like  mag — 
ister  from  m.ag — nus),  was  the  common  Jew- 
ish word  for  a  teacher.      It  was  primarily 


my  rah,  'my  teacher,'  used  only  in  address- 
ing him,  but  afterwards  also  in  speaking  of 
him,  like  Monsieur,  Monsignore.  A  strength- 
ened form  was  Rabboni,  expressing  the  pro- 

foundest     respect.       (Markl0:51;  John20:  le.)      It    is 

frequently  retained  without  translation,  but  is 
by  Com.  Ver.  rendered  'master'  in  26:  25, 
49.  (Rev.  Ver.,  Rabbi.)  Epistates,  literally, 
'one  set  over,'  variously  used  in  the  classics, 
in  New  Test,  always  a  teacher,  and  found 
onl3'  in  Luke.  (5:5,  etc.)  Kathegetea,  leader, 
guide,  instructor,  only  in  23 :  10.  Didaskalos, 
literally  and  strictly  teacher,  is  so  rendered  in 
John  3 :  2,  and  wherever  it  is  used  in  Acts 
and  the  Epistles  (except  James  3:  1,  'mas- 
ters'), and  rendered  'doctor'  (a  Latin  word, 
meaning  teacher)  in  Luke  2:  46.  Every- 
where else  in  tiie  Gospels  the  Com.  Ver. 
renders  it  'master,'  used  like  schoolmaster. 
In  the  Gospels  'master'  always  represents 
som.e  word  denoting  a  'teacher,'  except  in  6: 
24;  15:  27;  Mark  13:  35;  Luke  14:  21;  16: 
13.  In  like  manner  our  missionaries  among 
the  heathen  are  constantly  addressed  by  the 
people  as  "Teacher." 

20.  The  birds  of  the  air,  or  heaven,  as 
in  6 :  26.  Nests  should  be  habitations  or 
'haunts,'  the  word  meaning  simply  a  dwell- 
ing-place (Rev.  Ver.,  margin) ;  and  nests  be- 
ing actually  occupied  only  during  incubation. 
The  birds  that  fly  free  and  wide  in  the  heaven 
have  some  regular  place  to  which  they  come 
to  spend  the  night.  A  kindred  verb  in  13 :  32 
is  rt-ndered  'lodge.'  Various  Fathers  wildly 
allegorize  the  foxes  and  the  birds  (see  Aqui- 
nas, Cat.  Aur.).  Hath  not  where  to  lay 
his  head,  i.  e.,  no  fixed  habitation.  It  does 
not  so  much  denote  extreme  poverty  and  dis- 
comfort, as  the  fact  that  his  life  was  a  wander- 
ing one.  He  had  friends,  at  whose  houses  he 
was  always  welcome,  and  hospitality  was 
often  tendered  him  by  others.  But  frequently 
journeying  far  and  wide  over  the  country, 
even  as  now  he  was  about  to  cross  tlie  lake 
into  a  wild,  inhospitable  region,  his  life  was 
(>ne  of  peculiar  trial  and  self-denying  toil, 
and  if  the  Scribe  proposed  to  follow  him 
wherever  he  went,  he  must  make  up  his 
mind  to  follow  a  homeless  wanderer,  and  so  to 


Ch.  VIIL] 


MATTHEW. 


185 


21  And  another  of  his  disciples  said  unto  him,  Lord,  I  21  of  man  hath  not  where  to  lay  his  head.  And  another 
suffer  me  first  to  go  and  bury  my  father.  |       of  the  disciples  said  unto  hiiu.  Lord,  suffer  me  first 


endure  many  hardships.  Euthymius  (comp. 
Chrys.,  Jerome)  supposes  the  Scribe  to  have 
thought  that  large  pay  was  received  for  the 
miracles  of  healing,  which  we  know  that 
Jesus  told  the  Twelve  they  must  perform 
gratis.  (10:8.)  More  likely  the  Scribe  was 
thinking  of  a  temporal  Messianic  reign,  with 
which  the  teacher  was  somehow  coiinecti-d, 
and  which  would  bring  its  subjects  power  and 
wealth.  We  see  from  this  incident  how  care- 
ful our  Lord  was  to  warn  men  beforehand 
what  they  were  to  expect  in  entering  upon  his 
service  (comp.  Luke  14:  28-33).  And  although 
it  is  not  now  the  duty  of  all  his  followers  to 
spend  their  lives  in  wandering  labors,  it  is  still 
the  duty  of  every  one  to  "renounce  himself, 
and  take  up  his  cross,"  and  in  the  highest 
sense  to  "follow"  Jesus.  We  are  not  in- 
formed whether  the  Scribe  determined,  not- 
withstanding the  warning  he  had  received, 
that  he  would  still  follow  the  Teacher;  one 
would  hope  that  he  did,  and  would  rather  in- 
fer so  from  the  Evangelist's  silence,  seeing 
that  on  other  occasions  (e.  g.,  19 :  22 ;  John  6 : 
6G)  the  turning  back  of  various  apparent  dis- 
ciples is  distinctly  recorded;  also  from  the 
association  with  the  person  next  mentioned. 
Expositors  have  perhaps  been  severe  in  their 
judgment,  in  taking  it  for  granted  that  the 
Scribe's  motives  were  mercenary,  and  that 
he  turned  back  at  once.  He  was  over  confi- 
dent, and  the  kind  Teacher  warned  him  to 
count  the  cost.  The  Son  of  man.  This  re- 
markable expression  was  no  doubt  founded 
on  Dan.  7:  13,  "I  saw  in  the  night  visions, 
and  behold,  there  came  with  the  clouds  of 
heaven  one  like  unto  a  son  of  man,"  Eev. 
Ver.,  a  passage  which  the  Jewish  writers 
agree  in  referring  to  the  Messiah.  The  so- 
called  "  Book  of  Enoch"  frequently  speaks 
of  the  coining  Messiah  as  the  Son  of  man. 
We  learn  from  John  12:  34  that  the  Jews  un- 
derstood this  plirase  to  mean  the  Messiah  ;  and 
from  Luke  22:  0'.)  f.  that  they  saw  little  differ- 
ence between  calling  him  the  S<m  of  man  and 
the  Son  of  God.  Our  Lord's  fn-quent  use  of 
the  phrase  (more  than  seventy  times)  consti- 
tutes an  oft-repeated  claim  to  be  the  Messiah 
ie.  q.,24:  30;  26:  M] ;  it  was  also  probably  de- 
-igned  to  render  prominent  the  great  fact  that 
lie  was  genuinely  and  thoroughly  a  man,  a  fact 


which  believers  in  his  divinity  sometimes  fail 
to  appreciate.  The  phrase  is  never  applied  to 
him  by  any  other  than  himself,  except  in  Acts 
7:  56,  and  perhaps  in  Kev.  1 :  13  ;  14 :  14.  As 
the  Hebrew  phrase  originally  suggested 
human  feebleness  and  frailty  (as  in  Psa.  8:4; 
146:3),  it  may  have  seemed  on  that  account 
less  appropriate  to  the  now  exalted  and  glori- 
fied Redeemer.  The  many  attempts  to  explain 
the  phrase  '  Son  of  man  '  in  some  other  sense 
than  as  denoting  the  Messiah,  are  well  stated 
and  briefly  refuted  in  Meyer. 

21,  And  another  of  his  disciples.  Both 
he  and  the  Scribe  must  have  been  disciples 
only  in  the  wider  sense  of  the  term  (see  on  6: 
1).  Tyndale  and  Geneva  translate  "  another 
that  was  one  of  his  disciples,"  thus  excluding 
the  Scribe,  but  that  is  a  forced  rendering. 
There  is  a  tradition  (Clem.  Alex.)  that 
this  second  man  was  the  apostle  Philip, 
but  we  have  no  means  of  deciding.  Conjec- 
tures, such  as  that  the  Scribe  was  Judas 
Iscariot  and  the  other  Thomas  (Lange),  or 
that  they  were  Thomas  and  Simon  Zelotes 
(Keim),  are  simply  idle.  Why  will  commen- 
tators and  preachers  waste  time  in  such  base- 
less and  useless  guess-work?  Luke  9:  69, 
represents  the  man  as  called  on  by  our  Lord 
to  follow  him,  and  replying  with  the  request 
that  he  might  first  go  and  bury  his  father; 
Matthew  does  not  mention  such  a  call.  The 
man's  request  pertained  to  a  matter  which  the 
Jews  reckoned  of  great  consequence.  Thus 
in  Tobit  6:  15,  Tobias  fears  that  he  will  die 
and  be  the  death  of  his  parents,  and  says, 
"they  have  no  other  son  to  bury  them."  It 
is  natural  to  suppose  that  this  man's  father 
was  already'  dead,  and  it  was  the  custom  to 
bury  the  dead  vor^'  soon ;  but  it  was  also  cus- 
tomary (Lightfoot)  to  observe  thirty  days  of 
special  mourning,  and  wo  cannot  decide 
whether  the  man  meant  to  include  that  time. 
Elisha's  somewhat  similar  request  of  Elijah 
was  not  denied  (i  King»i9:2o)  ;  and  the  man 
might  well  have  thought  himself  justified  in 
asking  leave  to  go  home  first.  Yet  a  high- 
priest  or  a  Nazirite  was  required  by  the  law  to 
avoid  the  dead  body  of  even  father  or  mother. 
(Lev.  21 :  11 ;  Num.  6i«f.) ;  and  onc  of  tlio  late  Jew- 
ish commentaries  says  (Wet.)  that  "when  the 
study  of  the  law  and  the  necessity  of  burying 


186 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  VIII. 


22  But  Jesus  said  unto  him,  Follow  me;  and  let  the 
dead  bury  their  dead. 

23  And  wlien  he  was  entered  into  a  ship,  his  disci- 
ples followed  hiui. 

24  And,  behold,  there  arose  a  great  tempest  in  the 
sea,  iusoiuuch  that  the  ship  was  covered  with  the 
waves :  but  he  was  asleep. 


22  to  go  and  bury  my  father.  But  Jesus  saith  unto 
him.  Follow  me ;  and  leave  the  dead  to  bury  their 
own  dead. 

23  And  when  he  was  entered  into  a  boat,  his  disciples 

24  followed  him.  And  behold,  there  arose  a  great 
tempest  in  the  sea,  insomuch  that  the  boat  was 


the  dead  conflict,  care  of  the  dead  takes  pre- 
cedence ;  but  that  if  there  is  a  sufficient  num- 
ber of  pet^ons  in  attendance,  the  student  must 
not  leave  the  law."  V.  22.  Let  the  dead 
burV)  or,  as  in  Ile%'.  Ver.,  Leave  the  dead  to 
bury  (so  Darby,  Davidson),  the  Greel<  being 
stronger  than  'let  the  dead  bury.'  To  bury 
their  {own)  dead.  This  cannot  mean  let  the 
dead  bury  each  other,  i.  e.,  let  them  remain 
unburiod,  for  that  is  a  forced  explanation  and 
an  idea  unworthy  of  our  Lord.  We  must 
understand  the  dead  spiritually  and  the  dead 
literally,  as  in  Rev.  3:  1.  (Comp.  John  11: 
25  f.)  Such  a  play  upon  words  is  natural  and 
pleasing  to  the  Oriental  mind,  and  different 
forms  of  it  occur  frequently  in  Scripture, 
including  many  passages  where  it  cannot  be 
preserved  in  translation.  (Comp.  on  16:  25.) 
The  idea  here  is  that  there  were  enough  of 
those  who  were  spiritually  dead  to  perform  all 
the  offices  of  affection  to  the  dead,  and  so 
Christ's  followers  were  at  liberty  to  devote 
themselves  to  their  own  far  higher  work. 
(Comp.  10:  37.)  In  Luke's  account  (9:6o,Bib. 
un. Ver.),  we  have  the  addition,  'but  go  thou 
and  announce  the  kingdom  of  God.'  It  does 
not  follow  that  Jesus  would  require  all  his 
followers,  under  all  circumstances,  to  neglect 
the  burial  of  their  dead,  in  order  that  they 
might  work  exclusively  at  spreading  the  gos- 
pel ;  any  more  than  he  extends  to  every  one 
the  command  laid  upon  the  rich  young  ruler, 
to  sell  all  he  had  and  give  to  the  poor.  (i9: 21.) 
But  we  can  easily  conceive  of  circumstances 
now,  in  which  it  would  be  proper  to  hold  in 
abeyance  the  strongest  promptings  of  natural 
affection,  in  order  to  do  our  duty  to  Jesus; 
just  as  a  soldier  may  see  his  brother  fall  at  his 
side  in  a  charge,  and  yet  sometimes  cannot 
pause  to  care  for  him,  but  must  rush  on. 
Their  own  dead.  In  Gen.  23:  4,  6  we  have 
the  expressions  'my  dead,  'thy  dead,'  and 
similar  expressions  are  common  now.  So 
Jesus  means  to  say  that  the  dead  in  such  a  case 


are  not  yours,  but  belong  to  the  spiritually 
dead,  and  should  be  buried  by  them.  Here, 
as  in  V.  20,  we  are  not  informed  whether  the 
man  at  once  followed  Jesus,  but  it  would 
seem  probable  that  he  did.  Luke  9:  60  f., 
adds  a  tliird  case. 

23.  MiRACLK  OF  Stilling  the  Tempest 
(v.  23-27.)  Comp.  Mark  4  :  36  ff.  ;  Luke  8 :  22  ff. 
Into  a  shipi — or,  the  boat,  probably  a  boat 
suited  to  fishing,  and  without  sails  (see  on  4  : 
21).  It  is  called  '  the  boat,'  most  likely  as 
being  the  one  prepared  in  pursuance  of  his 
order  to  go  across  (v.  is) ;  perhaps  it  was  a  boat 
kept  for  their  regular  use.  We  ought  to  trans- 
late 'boat'  and  not  'ship.'  See  on  4:  21.  His 
disciples  followed  him,  some  in  the  same 
boat,  and  others  in  additional  boats  mentioned 
by  Mark.  (« :  36.)  These  little  fishing  craft  were 
very  numerous  on  the  lake.  (John6:23f.)  The 
'disciples'  are  most  naturally  understood 
here  as  including  not  merely  the  Twelve  (who 
as  shown  by  the  order  of  Mark  and  Luke  had 
been  selected  before  this  time)  but  others  of 
his  followers,  who  could  be  called  disciples  in 
the  more  general  sense  of  the  term.  (See  on 
5:1.) 

24.  And,  behold,  an  expression  much  used 
by  Matthew  in  calling  attention  to  what  fol- 
lows as  wonderful.  Tempest.  The  word 
in  the  original  denotes  a  shaking  or  shock,  and 
is  usually'  applied  to  an  earthquake,  both  in 
the  classical  writers  and  in  the  New  Test.  (e.  g., 
24:7;  27:54;  28:  2),  but  here  used  for  a 
mighty  storm,  such  as  would  shake  men's 
dwellings,  and  seem  to  make  the  very  earth 
tremble.  Luke  (8:23)  tells  us  yet  more  dis- 
tinctly, 'and  there  came  down  a  storm 
(another  and  more  common  word)  of  wind 
upon  the  lake,'  viz.,  down  the  ravines  on  its 
sides,  as  often  happens  (see  description  of  the 
lake  on  4:  18).  Bartlett  witnessed  a  precisely 
similar  occurrence:  "All  the  day  there  had 
not  been  a  breath  of  air,  the  sultry  heat  had 
been  that  of  a  furnace ;  but  now  a  cool  breeze 


t  Some  early  documents  here  omit  the  Greek  article,    probably  imitated  Luke  8 :  22,  and  it  is  more  likely  cor- 
leaving  the  expression  equivalent  to  '  into  a  boat' ;  and    rect  to  retain  the  article. 
60  W  H.  and  Bev,  Ver.    But  those  documents  have  | 


Ch.  VIII.] 


MATTHEW. 


187 


25  And  bis  disciples  came  to  him,  and  awoke  him, 
saying,  Lord,  save  us:  we  perish. 

•26  And  he  saith  unto  them.  Why  are  ye  fearful,  O  ye 
of  little  faith  ?  Then  he  arose,  and  rebuked  the  winds 
and  the  sea ;  and  there  was  a  great  calm. 


25  covered  with  the  waves:  but  he  was  asleep.  And 
they  came  to  him,  and  awoke  him,  saying,  Save, 

26  Lord ;  we  perish.  And  he  saith  unto  theiu.  Why  are 
yu  fearful,  O  ye  of  little  faith?  Then  he  arose,  and 
rebuked  the  winds  and  ihe  sea;  and  there  was  a 


came  off  the  table  land,  and  rushing  down 
the  ravines  that  descend  to  the  lake,  began  to 
ruffle  its  placid  bosom.  As  it  grew  darker, 
the  breeze  increased  to  a  gale,  the  lake  became 
a  sheet  of  foam,  and  the  white-headed  break- 
ers dashed  proudly  on  the  rugged  beach  ;  its 
gentle  murmur  has  now  changed  into  the 
wild  and  mournful  sound  of  the  whistling 
wind  and  the  agitated  waters.  Afar  off  was 
dimly  seen  a  little  barque  struggling  with  the 
waves,  and  then  lost  sight  of  amidst  the  misty 
rack."  As  the  lake  is  far  below  the  level  of 
the  Mediterranean,  the  air  is  often  greatly 
heated  and  ascends  rapidly ;  and  into  the 
vacuum  comes  rushing  down  the  cold  air  from 
the  eastern  and  western  table  lands. — (  Thom- 
son.) The  ship — boot — was  covered,  or, 
'  was  becoming  covered,'  the  form  of  the 
Greek  verb  denoting  an  action  in  progress ;  so 
also  in  Mark  (4:37),  and  Luke  (»:-i3.)  But 
he  was  asleep— s^eepin^r— the  Greek  indi- 
cating some  emphasis  on  'he,'  i.  e.,  he, 
for  his  part.  Mark,  who  so  often  gives  piquant 
details,  adds  '  on  the  cushion,'  i.  e.,  the  one 
they  had  in  the  boat,  as  a  part  of  the  couth 
in  the  stern  on  which  he  was  lying.  This 
makes  a  picture:  Jesus  sleeping  with  his 
head  on  the  cushion,  while  the  storm  howled, 
the  boat  was  tossed  to  and  fro,  the  billows 
brokeover  and  were  rapidly  filling  it — soundly 
and  quietly  sleeping.  The  order  of  Mark  and 
Luke  make  it  appear  that  this  was  on  the 
evening  which  followed  the  blasphemous  ac- 
cusation of  chapter  12,  and  the  great  group  of 
parables  in  chapter  13.  After  a  day  of  such 
mental  strain,  the  Saviour  would  naturally 
be  exhausted.  Probably  also  it  was  night. 
(See  on  v.  18.) 

26.  Thedisciples— or,  Mey— came.  'His 
disciples'  was  an  unnecessary  addition  of  the 
copyists.  So  with  us,  read  Save,  Lord,  we 
perish.  Mark  («:«)  has  literally  'Teacher' 
(didaskalos) ;  Luke  (»:  m)  has  '  Master,  master' 
(epistates),  see  on  v.  19.  It  is  often  evident 
that  the  Evangelists  have  not  undertaken  to 
give  the  exact  words  used.  (See  on  3:  17.) 
The  peril  must  have  been  really  very  great; 
"for  these  men  exercised  to  the  sea  many  of 


them  from  their  youth,  and  familiar  with  all 
the  changes  of  that  lake,  would  not  have  been 
terrified  by  the  mere  shadow  of  a  danger."  — 
Trench.  Luke  (8:23)  says  expressly,  and  they 
"were  in  jeopardy."  'Save'  here  of  course 
means  save  our  lives,  not  referring  to  the  sal- 
vation of  the  soul.  If  the  language  is  by  us 
applied  to  the  latter,  it  is  very  appropriate, 
but  such  application  is  made  on  our  own 
authority. 

26.  Why  are  ye  fearful,  more  exactly, 
cowardly,  which  expresses  the  force  of  the 
Greek  term  according  to  its  use  in  the  classics 
and  in  the  Septuagint.  In  the  New  Test,  it 
is  found  only  here  (including  Mark  4:  40)  and 
in  Rev.  21 :  8,  or  kindred  forms  in  2  Tim.  1 : 
7;  John  14:  28,  in  all  which  cases  the  idea  of 
unworthy  and  discreditable  fear  is  appro- 
priate. O  ye  of  little  faith,  see  on  G:  30. 
Faith  makes  men  courageous,  and  the  dis- 
ciples were  discreditably  timid,  cowardly,  be- 
cause they  had  so  little  faith.  This  is  often 
understood  to  mean  faith  in  Jesus,  but  does  it 
not  rather  mean  a  lack  of  faith  in  the  provi- 
dence of  God  their  Heavenly  Father,  as  in  6: 
30?  Then  he  arose  and  rebuked.  He 
first  rebuked  the  disciples  while  still  lying  on 
the  couch,  and  afterwards  arose  and  rebuked 
the  winds  and  the  sea.  This  expression  in- 
volves an  obvious  personification  (comp.  Ps, 
106:9:  Nahum  1:4);  and  Mark  (4:89)  gives 
the  words  addressed  to  the  sea,  as  if  speaking 
to  a  person,  or  to  some  fierce  monster.  Those 
words  might  be  rendered  'Be  silent,  hush'; 
but  the  latter  word  is  literally  'be  muzzled,' 
applicable  to  a  furious  beast.  A  great  calm, 
just  as  there  had  been  'a great  tempest.'  (v. 2*) 
Here  was 'a  greater  than  Jonah.  (12*1.)  How 
perfectly  was  the  Saviour's  humanity  mani- 
fested even  when  he  exercised  more  than 
human  power.  Wearied,  in  body  and  in 
mind,  by  his  labors  during  the  day  (see  on 
13:  1),  he  is  sleeping  on  the  cushion  ;  the 
next  moment  ho  rises,  and  speaks  to  the 
winds  and  the  waves  with  the  voice  of  their 
Creator.  So  he  wept  in  human  sympathy 
with  the  sisters  of  Lazarus,  just  before  ho 
spoke  the  word  tliat  brought  him  to  life. 


188 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  VIII. 


27  But  the  luen  marvelled,  saving,  What  manner  of 
uian  is  tbis,  that  even  the  wind:)  aud  the  sea  obey 
hiui ! 

•2ti  And  when  he  was  come  to  the  other  side  into  the 
country  of  the  Gergeseues,  there  met  him  two  possessed 
with  devils,  coming  out  of  the  tombs,  exceeding  tierce, 
so  that  uo  man  might  pass  by  that  way. 


27  great  calm.  And  the  men  marvelled,  saying,  What 
mauuer  of  man  is  this,  that  even  the  winds  and  the 
sea  oliey  him  ? 

28  And  when  he  was  come  to  the  other  side  into  the 
country  of  the  Gadarenes,  there  met  him  two  i  pos- 
sessed with  demons,  coming  lorth  out  of  the  tombs, 
exceeding  fierce,  so  that  no  man  could  pass  by  that 


1  Or,  demoniacs. 


27.  And  the  men  marvelled.  'Tliemen' 
is  a  general  term  for  the  persons  present,  in- 
cluding such  as  were  disciples  (conip.  14:  33), 
and  also  verj'  possibly  some  men  employed  in 
the  boats.  (Mwk*:  36.)  That  even  the  winds 
and  the  sea  obey  him,  a  thing  they  had 
not  previously  witnessed,  which  would  there- 
fore seem  to  them  more  remarkable  than  that 
diseases  obeyed  him.  Doubtless  also  this 
would  especially  strike  men  whose  lives  had 
been  spent  as  sailors  and  fishermen,  and  who 
had  so  often  seen  exhibited  the  terrible  power 
of  the  stormy  sea.  Stier  :  "This  empire  over 
nature  is  a  new  thing  which  Matthew  has  to 
record  concerning  Jesus.  His  narrative  of 
selected  miracles  in  chapters  eight  and  nine 
rises  through  a  gradation  of  importance; 
cleansing  of  the  leper  (a  great  thing  even  to 
begin  with) — healing  ata  distance  by  his  word, 
'Be  it  done' — commanding  the  wind  and  the 
sea — saying  to  the  devils  ^ go'  —forgiving  the 
sins  of  the  paralytic  (more  indeed  than  saying 
arise!  or,  go  hence!  more  than  ruling  the 
sea) — finally  giving  life  to  the  dead." 

28.  Healing  of  the  two  demoniacs. 
(8: 28  to 9:1.)  Comp.  Mark  5:  1-21;  Luke  8: 
26-40.  If  the  preceding  miracle  shows  our 
Lord's  command  of  the  forces  of  nature,  that 
which  follows  exhibits  his  power  over  evil 
spirits.  Trench:  "And  Christ  will  do  here 
a  yet  mightier  work  than  that  which  he  ac- 
complished there;  he  will  prove  himself  here 
also  the  Prince  of  peace,  the  bringer  back  of 
the  lost  harmony;  he  will  speak,  and  at  his 
potent  word  this  madder  strife,  this  blinder 
rage  which  is  in  the  heart  of  men,  will  allay 
it-^elf ;  and  here  also  there  shall,  be  a  great 
calm."  Theophyl. :  "While  the  men  in  the 
boat  are  doubting  what  manner  of  man  this 
is,  that  even  the  winds  and  the  sea  obey  him, 
the  demons  come  to  tell  them." 

To  the  other  side,  viz.,  of  the  lake,  fts  in 


v.  18.  The  point  reached  was  below  the  mid- 
dle of  the  lake;  and  as  they  had  probably 
come  from  the  vicinity  of  Capernaum,  the 
voyage  would  be  eight  or  ten  miles.  Into 
the  country  of  the  Gergesenes.  The  text 
of  this  and  the  parallel  passages  (Mark  s:  i;  i.uke 
8: 26)  is  greatly  confused,  some  documents  for 
each  of  the  three  passages  reading  each  of  the 
three  words,  Gadarenes,  Gerasenes,  Gerge- 
senes. The  best  documents,  however,  give 
Gadarenes  in  Matthew,  and  Gerasenes  in  Mark 
and  Luke.  Thomson,  Vol.  II.  p.  353-5,  found  a 
village  called  Gersa,  about  the  middle  of  the 
eastern  shore,  with  ancient  tombs  in  the  adja- 
cent mountain,  and  near  the  village  found  a 
steep  place  exactly  suiting  the  story  of  the 
swine.  So  also  Wilson,  McGarvey,  and  Mer- 
rill. We  thus  account  for  the  name  Gerasenes 
entirely  apart  from  the  large  city  of  Gerasa, 
which  was  some  thirty  miles  away.  Gadara 
was  a  well-known  city  lying  a  few  miles  south- 
east of  the  lake,  the  ruins  of  which  are  still  ex- 
tensive and  striking.  The  countryjmmediately 
around  a  city  usually  belonged  to  it,  and  was 
called  by  its  name;  we  have  only  to  make  the 
very  natural  supposition  that  the  village  of 
Gerasa  (Khersa)  belonged  to  the  territory  of 
Gadara,  and  we  see  how  the  people  may  be 
called  both  Gerasenes  and  Gadarenes.  The 
name  Gergesenes.  which  might  be  introduced 
by  students  or  copyists,  is  thought  by  some  to 
have  arisen  from  the  Girgashites.  (oen.  io:i6; 
Deut.  T :  1 ;  Josbuii 3 :  10  )  Origeii  saj's  there  was  a 
city  called  Gergesa  near  the  lake,  and  Euseb. 
("Onom.")  saj's  the  same,  but  may  have  de- 
rived it  from  Origen.  The  form  Gergesa  may 
possibly  have  been  merely  a  different  pro- 
nouiiciation  of  Gerasa,  the  r  of  the  latter  tak- 
ing a  rattling,  guttural  sound  like  that  of 
the  strong  Ayin,  which  in  modern  Arabic 
sounds  much  like  our  r^.*  But  however  that 
may  be,  the  genuine  names  Gadarenes  and 


iThis  suggestion  is  supported  by  the  statement  of 
Thomson  (part  II,  ch.  2.5)  that  when  he  asked  the  Bed- 
win  for  Gergesa,  they  invariably  said  it  was  at  Gersa 
(or  Khersa),  seeming  to  pronounce  the  words  alike. 


But  Thomson  omits  this  statement  in  ed.  2.  Experts 
in  Arabic  visiting  the  lake  ought  to  determine  how  the 
Bedwin  really  pronounce  the  name  of  the  ruins.  Eu- 
sebius  ("  Onom,"  ed.  Lagarde,  p.  242)  remarks  that  Ger- 


Ch.  VIII.] 


MATTHEW. 


189 


Gerasenes,  and  all  the  circumstances,  are  ex- 
actly explained  by  the  discov  ry  of  Khersa; 
and  in  this  case,  as  in  many  others,  current 
research  in  text-criticism  and  Biblical  geogra- 
phy is  clearing  up  a  once  celebrated  difficulty. 
There  met  him  two.  Mark  and  Luke  men- 
tion only  one.  It  is  an  obvious  explanation 
to  suppose  (so  already  Chrys.  and  Aug.)  that 
one  was  more  remarkable  and  prominent 
than  the  other.  Mark  and  Luke  give  more 
details  than  Matthew  does,  and  in  so  doing 
might  naturally  take  only  the  more  conspicu- 
ous case,  to  render  the  description  more  vivid. 
In  20:  30  also  Matt,  has  two  blind  men,  Mark 
and  Luke  but  one.  Robinson  ("Harmony") : 
"A  familiar  example  will  illustrate  the  prin- 
ciple. In  the  year  1824,  Lafayette  visited  the 
United  States  ;  and  was  everywhere  welcomed 
with  honors  and  pageants.  Historians  will 
describe  the.se  as  a  noble  incident  in  his  life. 
Other  writers  will  relate  the  same  visit  as 
made,  and  the  same  honors  as  enjoyed,  by 
two  persons,  viz.:  Lafayette  and  his  son.  Will 
there  be  any  contradiction  between  these  two 
classes  of  writers  ?  Will  not  both  record  the 
truth?" 

Two  possessed  with  devils — demoniacs — 
literally,  'demonized  (persons.')  It  has  al- 
wa^'S  been  a  matter  of  dispute  whether  the 
demoniacal  possessions  so  often  mentioned  in 
the  history  of  our  Lord  are  to  be  understood 
as  real.  Yet  it  would  seem  that  there  ought 
to  be  no  doubt  of  their  reality,  when  one  con- 
siders the  following  facts  :  (1)  The  Evangelists 
constantly  speak  of  them  as  real.  (2)  Jesus 
himself  is  recorded  as  speaking  of  them  in  the 
same  way;  and  even  as  speaking  #o  the  evil 
spirits  (Mark  1: 25) ;  and  this  not  merely  before 
the  multitude,  but  in  private  conversation 
with  his  disciples  he  says,  'This  kind  can 
come  out  by  nothing,  save  by  prayer.'  (M;.rk9: 
29,  Rer.  ver.)  (8)  Jcsus  argucs  upon  the  assump- 
tion of  their  reality.  (Luke  10:17-20.)  When  the 
seventy  rejoiced  that  even  the  demons  were 
subject  to  them  by  his  name,  he  said  to  them, 
'I  beheld  Satan  fallen  as  lightning  out  of 
heaven ' ;  that  is,  he  connected  their  expulsion 
of  demons    with    the    downfall    of    Satan's 


power.     (4)  The  demoniacs  speak  with  super- 
human knowledge,  acknowledging  Jesus  to 
be  the  Son  of  God.     True,  he  repressed  this 
testimony   (Mark  1:31;  Luke  4:  41),    doubtless    be- 
cause his  enemies  would  otherwise  have  been 
ready  to  charge  that    the    expulsion   was  a 
thing  arranged  between  him  and  Satan  for  the 
purpose  of  deceiving  the  people;  even  as  we 
find  that,  without  any  such  excuse,  they  did 
repeatedly  say   that  he  cast  out  demons  by 
league  with  Beelzebub  (see  on  12 :  24).     But 
though  the  testimony  was  repressed,  it  showed 
superhuman    knowledge.     These    four   facta 
would  seem  to  put  the  matter  beyond  ques- 
tion.     But  there  are  objections  to  the  reality 
of  the  possessions,  which  are  apt  to  perplex 
the  enquirer.     (1)  The  symptoms,  it  may  bo 
said,  often  resemble  those  of  certain  bodily 
and  mental  diseases,  such  as  epilepsy  and  in- 
sanity.    Now  it  is  perfectly  conceivable  that 
the  possessions  might  produce  insanity  and 
nervous  diseases  ;  it  may  be  also  that  persons 
having  such  affections  became  thereby  more 
liable  to  be  taken  possession  of  by  evil  spirits. 
This  probable  relation  between  them  will  ac- 
count for  the  fact  that  possessions  are  often 
mentioned  in  connection  with  various  diseases 
of  body  or  mind,  and  yet  are  always  distin- 
guished from  them.     (See  4:  24;  8:16;  Mark 
1:  34.)    Also  for  the  use  of  the  term  'heal ' 
with   reference  to  demoniacs.     Also  for  the 
people's  saying,  as  a  familiar  phrase,   'Thou 
hast  a  demon'   (John  7:20;  8:48-52;  io:20\  whers 
we  should   sai>',  "You  are  deranged."     The 
possessed  were  virtually  deranged,  whether  as 
effect  or  occasion  of  the  possession,  so  as  to  be 
the  sport  of  delusive  fancies;  and  notice  that 
in  John  10:  20  the  two  are  both   stated  as  if 
distinct:  'He  has  a  demon  and  is  mad' I  Thus 
there  is  in  all  this  no  reason  to  depart  from  the 
plain  declarations  of  Scripture.     And  the  en- 
trance of  the  evil  spirits  into  the  herd  of  swine 
is  here  in  point.  It  might  be  possible  that  swine 
should   have*  physical   symptoms  resesibling 
insanity,  but  we  could  not  account  for  theso 
being  suddenly  transferred  to  thom  from  men. 
(2;  The  Evangelists  and  Jesus,  in  speaking  of 
these  possessions  as  real,  are  held  to  be  simply 


gesa  Is  said  to  be  Gerasa.    If  the  native  pronunciation  I  the  lake,  and  adjacent  to  the  territory  of  Ondarn,  and 
contains  the  rattiing  sound,  it  will  then  be  probable  that     this  accounts  for  the  narrative,  the  viirioiis  readings  in 
Oergesenes  is  the  original  form,  changed  to  (Jerasenes     Matt.,  Mark,  and  Luke,  and  the  Btatements  of  Origen 
I>ecau8e  Gerasa  was  a  familiar  name.    But  in  any  case,     and  Eusebius. 
we  have  now  a  place  called  tiergesa  or  Gerasa,  beside  I 


190 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  VIII. 


employing  popular  phraseology  without  en- 
dorsing it;  as  when  Scripture  writers  speak 
of  the  sun  as  rising,  standing  still,  etc.  And 
if  Jesus  addresses  the  spirit,  bidding  it  come 
out,  etc.,  he  is  supposed  to  be  merely  humor- 
ing the  fancy  of  the  deranged  person  in  order 
to  cure  him.  But  if  the  belief  in  demoniacal 
possessions  was  erroneous,  how  far-reaching 
was  that  error,  and  how  important,  especially 
in  that  age  of  great  superstition.  As  to  hu- 
moring, etc.,  the  wisest  authorities  upon  the 
treatment  of  the  insane  now  say  that  that  is 
not  the  best  course;  they  do  not  contradict  so 
as  fo  exasperate,  but  neither  do  they  confirm 
in  delusive  fancies— they  try  to  divert  atten- 
tion. Thus  we  should  have  Jesus  adopting  a 
very  questionable  mode  of  treatment,  which 
would  encourage  a  most  injurious  error, 
when  he  was  able  to  heal  in  any  way  he 
pleased.  See  too  (Trench),  how  distinctly 
false  his  sayings  would  become.  We  speak 
of  lunatics,  using  the  popular  teiin  without 
meaning  to  endorse  the  idea  in  which  it  had 
its  origin,  that  such  persons  are  powerfully 
affected  bj'  the  moon  (in  Latin  luna) ;  but 
suppose  one  addressing  the  moon,  bidding  it 
cease  troubling  the  man,  etc.,  that  would  be 
falsehood  ;  and  in  our  Lord's  case  such  gratu- 
itous deception  is  incredible.  (3)  Why  should 
these  possessions  occur  only  about  the  time  of 
our  Lord's  sojourn  upon  the  earth  ?  It  is  not 
absolutely  certain  that  they  do  not  always 
exist;  and  mere  uncertainty  on  that  point 
de*=troys  the  force  of  the  objection,  as  an  ob- 
jection. But  we  can  see  a  reason  why  they 
should  occur  only  then;  or  should  then  be 
especially  manifested  and  recognized.  The 
Eternal  Word  was  then  manifesting  himself 
in  the  flesh  ;  and  thus  the  great  struggle  which 
is  always  going  on  was  brought  out  into  visible 
ap)>earance,  so  as  to  exhibit  in  a  visible  and 
striking  way  the  absolute  powerlessness  of  the 
evil  spirits  to  contend  against  God.  (Comp. 
nt  the  beginning  of  chap.  4,  as  to  the  appear- 
ance of  Satan  in  bodily  form.)  (4)  The  thing 
itself  is  so  hard  to  understand.  But  this  might 
be  expected  in  such  a  subject.  And  can  we 
understand  the  union  of  the  divine  and  human 
nature  in  the  person  of  Jesus ;  the  action  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  on  the  human  spirit;  or  the 
connection  of  our  own  mind  and  body?  Yet 
none  the  less  are  all  these  facts. 
It  appears  then  that  the  demoniacal  posses- 


sions are  to  be  received  as  a  reality.  And  thus 
regarded  they  are  not  only  wonderful,  but  in- 
structive. The  expulsion  of  the  evil  spirits  by 
Jesus  and  his  apostles,  was  a  signal  exhibition 
of  the  beneficent  character  of  the  gospel  and 
of  the  Saviour;  a  striking  proof  of  his  divine 
mission  ;  and  an  impressive  manifestation  of 
that  victory  over  Satan  by  our  Lord,  which  is 
real  already,  and  shall  in  due  time  be  com- 
plete. Finally,  we  thus  vindicate  as  correct 
the  plain,  obvious  meaning  of  Scripture  state- 
ments, which,  seeing  that  the  Scriptures  were 
written  for  the  people,  is  a  matter  of  great  im- 
portance.— The  Gospel  of  John  does  not  men- 
tion the  castingout  of  demons  by  Jesus  (though 
it  refers  to  the  pojmlar  belief  in  demoniacal 
possessions,  John  7:  20;  8:  48-52;  10:  20  f.). 
But  we  must  remember  that  John  mentions 
very  few  incidents  of  our  Saviour's  ministry, 
usually  such  only  as  formed  the  occasion  of 
some  remarkable  discourse.  Demoniacal  pos- 
sessions are  not  mentioned  in  the  Old  Test. 
nor  the  Apocrypha,  nor  (Edersheim)  in  the 
Mishna,  yet  are  repeatedly  mentioned  in 
Josephus  ("Ant.,"  6,  8,  2;  6,  11,  3;  8,  2,  5; 
"  War,"  7,  6,  3).  But  the  popular  Jewish 
views  were  quite  different  from  those  of  the 
New  Test.  (Edersh.  App.  XVI.)  (As  to 
'devil '  and  'demon,'  see  below  on  v.  31.) 

Coining  ont  of  the  tombs.  Driven  from 
the  town  by  the  fears  of  the  people  or  by 
their  own  frenzy,  the  poor  demoniacs  would 
find  the  caves,  or  chambers  hewn  in  the  rock, 
and  appropriated  to  the  dead,  a  convenient 
and  perhaps  congenial  abode;  though  no  Jew  4- 
in  his  right  mind  would  dwell  in  a  tomb,  * 
which  would  make  him  in  the  ceremonial 
sense  perpetually  unclean.  Such  rocky  tombs 
still  abound  in  the  mountains  lying  east  of 
the  southern  part  of  the  lake.  Luke  (8:27) 
seems  in  Com.  Ver.  to  contradict  Matthew  s 
statement,  saj'ing,  'There  met  him  out  of  the 
city  a  certain  man,'  but  the  correct  rendering 
of  Luke  is,  'there  met  him  a  certain  man  out 
of  the  city,'  viz.,  a  man  who  was  a  citizen  of 
the  city.  So  that  no  man  might  pass  by 
that  way,  viz.,  along  the  road  that  passed 
near  the  tombs,  and  led  from  the  place  at 
which  the  boat  had  landed  towards  the  city. 
The  unfortunate  men  had  first  rushed  forth 
to  meet  Jesus  and  his  followers,  precisely  as 
they  had  often  done  to  others  who  came  along 
the  road.     Mark  and  Luke  give  many  addi- 


Cii.  VIII.] 


MATTHEW. 


191 


'29  And,  behold,  they  cried  out,  sayiug,  What  liave 
we  to  do  with  thee,  Jesus,  thou  Son  of  God?  art  thou 
couie  hither  to  torment  us  belore  the  time? 

HO  And  there  was  a  good  way  ott'  from  them  a  herd 
of  many  swine  feeding. 

31  So  the  devils  besought  him,  saying.  If  thou  cast 
U8  out,  suffer  us  to  go  away  into  the  herd  of  swine. 


29  way.  And  behold,  they  cried  out,  saying.  What 
liave  we  to  do  with  thee,  thou  Son  of  God  ?  art 
thou  come  hither  to  torment  us  before  the   time? 

30  Now  there  was  afar  olf  from  them  a  herd  of  many 

31  swine  feeding.  And  the  demons  besought  him, 
saying,  if  thou  cast  us  out,  send  us  away  into  the 

32  herd  of  swine.    And  he  said  unto  them,  Go.     And 


tional  particulars  concorning  the  more  con- 
spicuous demoniac  whom  they  describe. 

29.  And,  behold,  calling  special  attention, 
as  in  V.  24,  32,  34,  and  very  often  in  Matthew. 
What  have  we  to  do  with  thee,  literally, 
'  What  (is  there)  to  us  and  thee,'  a  phrase 
found  in  Hebrew,  Greek,  and  Latin  (Buttm., 
p.  238),  and  which  obviously  means,  what 
have  we  in  common,  what  have  we  to  do  with 
each  other?    It  would  express  a  severe  rebuke 

(•iSam.  1«:10;  K«ia4:3),  or  a  mild    TCpulse    (John  2  :  4), 

according  to  the  circumstances,  the  relation 
of  the  parties,  and  the  manner  of  utterance. 
Thou  Son  of  God.  The  name  Jesus  was 
wrongly  inserted  here  in  many  documents, 
by  way  of  assimilation  to  Mark  and  Luke. 
It  is  evident  that  the  men  spoke  what  the 
evil  spirits  thought  and  felt.  We  cannot  de- 
termine just  how  much  these  dark  beings  did 
feel.  It  is  likely  that  they  very  imperfectly 
understood  what  was  involved  in  calling 
Jesus  the  Son  of  God ;  and  the  same  was 
probably  true  of  Satan,  their  chief  (comp.  on 
4:3).  Mark  (8:Uf.)  declares  this  testimony 
to  have  been  given  in  all  cases,  but  he  may 
be  referring  only  to  a  particular  period  of 
our  Lord's  ministry.  To  torment  us 
before  the  time.  The  word  rendered 
'time'  means  'occasion,'  'season,'  etc. 
(See  on  11 :  25.)  The  evil  spirits  were  per- 
suaded that  a  worse  torment  than  they  had 
ever  endured  awaited  them  at  some  future 
period,  and  they  shrank  from  the  thought 
that  the  Son  of  God  might  be  about  to  inflict 
such  aggravated  torment  by  anticipation. 
We  are  told  in  Jude  6  that  this  future  occa- 
sion is  "the  judgment  of  the  great  day,"  after 
which  time  Satan  and  his  agents  "shall  be 
tormented  day  and  night  forever  and  ever." 
(B«v.20:io.) — There  are  striking  contradictions 
in  the  conduct  of  the  demoniacs;  they  came 
forth  fiercely  to  meet  Jesus  and  his  followers; 
as  they  drew  near  they  'ran  and  worshipped 
him'  (M.irk5:  8);  and  now  they  speak  words  of 
dread  and  dislike.  Such  self-contradictions, 
such  sudden  changes  of  feeling,  would  seem 
perfectly  natural  for  one  possessed  by  an  evil 
spirit;  at  one  moment  he  expresses  his  own 


feeling  of  distress  and  need,  at  another  he 
speaks  for  the  dreadful  being  who  occupies 
and  controls  him. 
3<>.  A  good — long — way  from  them,  the 

same  Greek  term  as  in  Luke  15:  20  and  Acts 
22:  21.  The  old  Latin  and  the  Vulgate,  fol- 
lowed of  course  by  Wyclif  and  Kheims,  have 
'  not  a  long  way  '  probably  to  avoid  a  supposed 
conflict  with  Mark  (5:  ii)  and  Luke  {»■■  s-t),  who 
say  'there  was  there  a  herd,'  etc.  Tyndale 
and  his  followers,  accustomed  to  read  the 
Vulgate,  seem  to  have  had  the  same  fear,  so 
that  while  following  the  Greek  in  omitting 
'not'  they  yet  softened  the  expression  into  'a 
good  way.'  But  'a  long  way'  is  obviously 
a  relative  expression,  signifying  a  greater  or 
less  distance  according  to  circumstances. 
Matthew  apparently  wished  to  show  that  the 
herd  was  too  far  off  to  be  frightened  by  the 
demoniacs.  Absurd  as  such  a  fancy  might 
seem  there  have  not  been  wanting  "rational- 
ists" of  recent  times  to  say  that  the  "maniacs" 
ran  in  among  the  herd,  and  terrified  them 
into  a  stampede  (see  even  Ewald);  or  that 
the  convulsicms  and  cries  attendant  upon  their 
healing  had  that  effect.  Mark  and  Luke 
simply  tell  us  that  the  herd  was  there,  with- 
out saying  that  it  was  near  or  far  away; 
and  Mark,  according  to  his  custom  of  giving 
descriptive  details,  adds  '  near  the  mountain,' 
that  is,  the  mountain  range  which  runs  along 
near  the  eastern  side  of  the  lake.  (See  on  4: 
18.)  A  herd  of  many  swine.  Mark  says 
they  were  'about  two  thousand.' 

31.  And  the  devils  {demons)  besought 
him.  The  word  'devil'  (see  on 4:  1)  is  a  con- 
traction of  diabolos,  thd  Greek  name  of  him 
who  is  in  the  Hebrew  called  Satan.  This 
Greek  word  is  applied  in  Scripture  only  to 
Satan,  never  to  his  subordinates,  who  are  de- 
scribed by  daimon,  from  which  we  derive 
demon,  demoniac,  etc.,  or  dnimonion,  a 
diminutive  form  with  equivalent  meaning. 
The  term  'devil'  has  become  familiar  to  Eng- 
lish usage  as  den<HinGr  either  Satan  or  nn<!  of 
hi«  subordinates,  and  the  Enff/ish  Revir^ers  of 
1881  were  unwilling  to  abandon  it;  while  the 
/lmc?"icart  Revisers  preferred  'demon,'  which 


192 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  VIII. 


32  And  he  said  unto  them,  Go.  And  when  they  were 
come  out,  they  went  into  tlie  herd  of  swine:  and,  be- 
hold, the  whole  herd  of  swine  ran  violently  down  a 
steep  place  into  the  sea,  and  perished  in  the  waters. 

33  And  they  that  kept  them  fled,  and  went  their 
ways  into  thecity,  and  told  every  thing,  and  what  was 
befallen  to  the  possessed  of  the  devils. 

34  And,  behold,  the  whole  city  came  out  to  meet 


they  came  out,  and  went  into  the  swine :  and  behold, 
the  whole  herd  rushed  down  the  steep  into  the  sti., 

33  and  perished  In  the  waters.  And  they  that  leil 
them  fled,  and  went  away  into  the  city,  and  told 
every  tiling,  and  what  was  befallen  to' them  that 

34  were  1  possessed  with  demons.  And  behold,  all  the 
city  came  out  to  meet  Jesus:  and  when  they  saw 


1  Or,  d«montac«. 


is  certainly  much  better ;  for  sometimes  it  is 
important  to  distinguisli  between  the  two 
words.  Matthew  speaks  of  the  demons  with- 
out intimating  whether  there  were  simply  two, 
one  in  each  possessed  person,  or  more.  Mark 
and  Luke  say  that  the  more  conspicuous  per- 
son declared  himself  possessed  by  a  legion  of 
demons,  and  the  full  Roman  legion  of  that 
day  amounted  to  six  thousand  men.  The  cor- 
rect reading  here  is  not  suffer  us  to  go  away, 
resembling  Luke  8:  32,  but  send  us  away,  re- 
sembling Mark  5 :  12. 

32.  Go — or,  go  along — 'away  with  you,' 
the  same  word  as  in  4 :  10 ;  5 :  24,  41 ;  8 :  4,  13. 
The  whole  herd.  Some  copyists  made  the 
useless  addition  'of  swine.'  A  steep  place, 
literally,  the  precipice — i.  c,  the  one  leading 
from  the  plain  on  which  they  were  feeding, 
into  the  sea.  And  perished.  The  word  is 
really  '  died^  (so  Geneva,  Eheims,  Darby, 
Davidson),  and  there  was  never  anything 
gained  by  substituting  Tyndale's  'perished.' 
Swine  are  extremely  averse  to  entering  deep 
water,  and  require  to  be  forced  into  it;  so 
there  could  be  no  mistake  here  as  to  the  cause. 
The  fact  that  irrational  animals  were  thus  pos- 
sessed by  the  evil  spirits  shows  that  the  posses- 
sion of  men  cannot  have  been  merely  a  matter 
of  imagination  or  insanity.    (See  on  v.  28.) 

The  question  has  often  been  raised,  How 
was  it  right  for  our  Lord  to  destroy  so  much 
valuable  property?  "VVe  need  not  have  re- 
course to  the  supposition  that  the  owners  were 
Jews,  whom  the  law  forbade  to  eat  swine  and 
the  Scribes  forbade  to  keep  them,  and  that  so 
their  property  was  confiscated.  It  is  enough 
to  say  that  the  Saviour  was  acting  in  the  ex- 
ercise of  Divine  Sovereignty.  Stier  :  "The 
question  why  our  Lord  permitted  the  demons 
to  enter  the  swine,  is  already  answered  by 
another  question — Why  had  the  Lord  permit- 
ted them  to  enter  the  men  ?  "  Godet :  "  It  is 
one  of  those  cases  in  which  the  power,  by  its 


very  nature,  guarantees  the  right."  All  the 
other  miracles  of  Jesus,  save  this,  and  the  de- 
struction of  the  fig-tree  (see  on  21 :  19),  were 
purely  beneficent  in  their  character  and  ten- 
dency. Moreover  the  important  lessons  we 
may  learn  from  this  extraordinary  occurrence, 
the  light  it  sheds  on  the  reality  of  demoniacal 
possessions,  will  amply  account  for  the  de- 
struction of  property. 

It  has  also  been  inquired  why  the  demoiis, 
after  earnestly  begging  permission  to  take 
refuge  in  the  swine,  should  immediately  cause 
them  to  destroy  themselves.  It  may  be  sup- 
posed that  in  their  malignity  they  took  delight 
in  doing  any  harm,  even  destroying  property. 
Theophylact  and  Euthymius  think  they 
wished  to  destroy  the  swine  for  the  purpose  of 
prejudicing  the  owners  against  Jesus — a  result 
which  actually  followed. 

33.  And  they  that  kept — i.  e.,fed — them. 
The  word  is  rendered  'feed'  in  the  parall(4 
passages  of  Mark  and  Luke,  and  ever3'where 
else  in  the  New  Test.,  and  it  was  verj'  little 
worth  while  for  the  King  James  Version,  in 
its  passion  for  variety  (and  following  Great 
Bible)  to  employ  here  another  word,  'kept.' 
Went  their  ways  into  the  city,  vi/.., 
Gerasa  (Khersa,  see  on  v.  28.)  And  told 
every  thing,  and  what  had  happened, 
etc. — literally,  and  the  (things)  of  the  dcjnon- 
ized,  what  had  happened  to  them.  The  first 
thing  told  would  reluctantly  be  the  loss  of  the 
swine,  the  rest  being  secondary  in  the  view  of 
the  swine-herds. 

34.  And,  behold,  for  this  too  was  won- 
derful. (Comp.  V.  24,  29,  32.)  The  whole 
city,  an  obvious  and  natural  hyperbole,  such 
as  we  frequently  employ'.  (Comp.  on  3,  5.) 
Luke  (8:34,37)  adds  that  the  swine-herds  had 
carried  the  news,  not  only  into  the  city,  but 
into  the  fields,  and  that  all  the  multitude  of 
the  surrounding  country  of  the  Gerasenes  • 
came  forth.     That  he  would   depart  >  ont  ' 


>  This  is  a  nonflnal  use  of  hopos,  corresponding  to  a  common  New  Test,  use  of  kina  (see  on  5 :  29),  and  found 
In  Homer  (Goodwin's  "  Moods  and  Tenses.") 


-J 


^ 


Ch.  VIII.] 


MATTHEAV. 


193 


Jesus :  and  when  they  saw  him,  they  besought  him  that  i 
he  would  depart  out  of  their  coasts. 

AND  he  entered  into  a  ship,  and  passed  over,  and 
came  into  his  own  city.  | 


him,  they  besought  him  that  he  would  depart  from 
their  borders. 
1      And  he  entered  into  a  boat,  and  crossed  over,  and 


out  of  their  coasts.  'From'  and  not  'out 
of,'  see  on  3:  16.  'Borders'  rather  than 
'coasts,'  as  in  2:  16,  Kev.  Ver. ;  4:  13.  'De- 
part' is  not  the  word  commonly  thus  ren- 
dered, but  signifies  literally,  to  remove,  trans- 
fer oneself.  Why  did  they  wish  him  to 
leave?  Partly,  no  doubt,  because  their  prop- 
erty had  been  destroyed,  and  they  feared 
other  losses,  partly  also  (see  already  Theod. 
Mops.,  Jerome,  in  Cat.),  because  their  con- 
science was  aroused  by  such  an  exhibition  of 
divine  power,  and  conscious  of  guilt  they  felt 
uneasy  in  his  presence.  Compare  the  feelings 
of  Peter  after  the  miraculous  draught  of 
fishes  (Luke 5: 8),  and  contrast  the  conduct  of 
the  Samaritans  of  Sychar.  (John4:«).)  While 
meekly  retiring  at  the  request  of  the  fright- 
ened people,  he  left  them  efficient  teachers  in 
the  men  who  had  been  dispossessed  (Lnke  8:38  r.); 
and  ho  afterwards  revisited  their  country. 
(15:29.) — This  miracle  forms  the  most  instruct- 
ive and  impressive  instance  of  demoniacal 
possession  found  in  the  Gospels.  The  whole 
scene  appears  before  us  with  a  vivid  and  ter- 
rible reality. 

Ch.  9:  1.  This  sentence  is  the  end  of  the 
narrative  beginning  with  8 :  18,  and  should  by 
all  means  have  formed  a  part  of  the  preceding 
chapter.  Comp.  on  10:  1.  Mark  (5:i8fr.)  and 
Luke  (8:38f.)  relate  that  when  Jesus  had  en- 
tered the  boat,  the  man  who  had  been  deliv- 
ered begged  to  go  with  him,  but  was  sent  back 
to  tell  what  God  had  done  for  him.  (Comp. 
on  8:  4.)  Passed  over,  and  came  into 
his  own  city,  viz.,  Capernaum.  (See  on  4: 
13.)  Chrys.  remarks  (Cat.),  "For  Bethle- 
hem bore  him,  Nazareth  reared  him,  Caper- 
naum was  his  residence." 

HOMILETICAL  AND   PRACTICAL. 

V.  19  f.  The  Scribe :   1)  Willing,  (a)  to  ac- 
cept the  teachings  of  Jesus,  (b)  to  share  his 
fortunes.     2)  Warned,  to  count  the  cost  of  fol-  ; 
lowing  him;  comp.  Luke  14:  28-33.    3)  Went  i 
on,   notwithstanding.     So  let  us  suppose  he  | 
did,  and  so  let  us  do. — Ministers  and  churches 
ought  to  note  the  Saviour's  example  in  regard 
to  this  Scribe,  and  declare  plainly  to  all  who  j 
propose  to  be  his  followers,  what  it  is  they  are  l 
undertaking.     In  dealing  with  a  Scribe,  with 


any  person  of  superior  cultivation  and  posi- 
tion, we  are  in  danger  of  too  readily  taking  for 
granted  tliat  he  understands  the  whole  matter. 
Ryle:  "Nothing  has  done  more  harm  to 
Christianity  than  the  practice  of  filling  the 
ranks  of  Christ's  army  with  every  volunteer 
who  is  willing  to  make  a  little  profession,  and 
talk  fluently  of  his  experience."  Stier: 
"  Nothing  was  less  aimed  at  by  our  Lord  than 
to  have  followers,  unless  they  were  genuine 
and  sound  ;  he  is  as  far  from  desiring  this  as 
it  would  have  been  easy  to  attain  it." — V.  20. 
Jesus  the  wandering  missionary. — V.  21  f. 
Even  the  strongest  natural  feelings  must  some- 
times give  way  to  Christian  duties.  Even 
sacred  natural  duties  may  have  to  be  disre- 
garded for  Christ's  sake.  How  much  less  then 
should  any  ordinary  matters  turn  us  away 
from  spiritual  thoughts  or  activities.  The- 
OPHYL. :  "We  must  honor  our  parents,  but 
honor  God  still  more  highly."  Lutteroth  : 
"What  good  thing  could  be  accomplished  on 
earth  if  aftections  mustoverride  obligations?" 
Henry  :  "An  unwilling  mind  never  lacks  an 
excuse.  Many  are  hindered  from  and  in  the 
way  of  serious  godliness,  by  an  over-concern 
for  their  families  and  relations." 

V.  23.  Bengel:  "Jesus  had  a  traveling 
school ;  and  in  that  school  the  disciples  were 
much  more  solidly  instructed  than  if  they  had 
lived  under  a  college  roof  without  any  anx- 
iety and  temptation." — V.  24.  Contrast  Jesus 
and  Jonah  sleeping  amid  a  storm.  Chrys.  : 
"Their  very  alarm  was  a  profitable  occur- 
rence, that  the  miracle  might  appear  greater, 
and  their  remembrance  of  the  event  be  ren- 
dered lasting.  .  .  .  Therefore  also  he  sleeps; 
for  had  he  been  awake  when  it  happened, 
either  they  would  not  have  feared,  or  they 
would  not  have  besought  him,  or  they  would 
not  have  even  thought  of  his  being  able  to  do 
any  such  thing.  Therefore  he  sleep.s,  to  give 
occasion  for  their  timidity,  and  to  make  their 
perception  of  what  was  happening  more  dis- 
tinct."— V. '26.  Stilling  the  tempest.  1)  Jesus 
sleeping  soundly  amid  the  storm — after  a  day 
of  great  exertion  and  strain — the  picture.  2) 
The  disciples  afraid,  through  lack  of  faith  in 
God — they  awake  the  sleeping  Master  to  save 
them.     3)  He    stills  the  tempest  by  a  word 


N 


194 


MATTFIEW. 


[Ch.  IX. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


2  And,  behold,  they  brought  to  him  a  man  sick  of  the  1 
palsy,  lying  on  a  bed :  and  Jesus  seeing  their  faith  said 
unto  the  sick  of  the  palsy  ;  Son,  be  of  good  cheer ;  thy 
Bins  be  forgiven  thee. 


2  came  into  his  own  city.  And  behold,  they  brought 
to  iiim  a  man  sick  of  the  palsy,  lying  on  a  bed :  and 
Jesus  seeing  their  faith  said' unto  the  sick  of  the 
palsy,  1  Son,  be  of  good  cheer ;  thy  sins  are  forgiven. 


(coinp.  Mark  4:  39),  as  by  a  word  he  had 
healed  the  centurion's  servant.  (8:8,  i3.)  4) 
The  disciples  greatly  wondering  that  the 
winds  and  the  sea  obey  him  ;  we  no  longer 
wonder,  but  we  too  must  obey. — AH  the  suf- 
ferings and  perils  to  which  in  God's  provi- 
dence we  may  be  exposed,  are  trials  of  our 
faith.  If  we  have  strong  faith  we  shall  not 
yield  to  craven  fear.  "  With  Christ  in  the 
vessel,  I  smile  at  the  storm."  This  tempest 
doubtless  proved  a  great  blessing  to  the  disci- 
ples in  strengthening  their  faith ;  and  our 
trials  are  among  our  greatest  blessings,  if  they 
have  a  similar  effect. — Not  in  the  way  of  ex- 
egesis, but  of  illustration,  we  may  say  that 
there  are  storms  in  life,  stormy  passions  in  the 
soul,  which  only  Christ  can  calm. — V.  27. 
Nicoll:  "It  is  incomplete  to  say  that  the 
miracles  justify  belief  in  Christ,  and  it  is 
equally  incomplete  to  say  that  it  is  belief  in 
Christ  that  makes  miracles  credible.  Christ 
comes  before  us  as  a  whole — his  person  and  his 
work.  It  is  impossible  to  separate  the  two, 
and  we  believe  in  the  whole — that  is,  in  both." 
V.  29.  Chrys  :  "Because  the  multitudes 
called  him  man,  the  demons  came  proclaim- 
ing his  Godhead,  and  they  that  heard  not  the 
sea  swelling  and  subsiding,  heard  from  the 
demons  the  same  cry,  as  it,  by  its  calm,  was 
loudly  uttering." — V.  31.  Here  was  very 
earnest  asking,  but  we  should  not  call  it 
prayer.  And  the  thing  asked  was  granted,  as 
was  Satan's  request  with  respect  to  Job  ;  yet 
it  was  not  the  prayer  which  God  approves  and 
accepts.  Let  us  beware  lest  our  supplications 
be  sometimes  the  mere  utterance  of  selfish 
desire,  and  not  the  prayer  of  a  trusting,  lov- 
ing, devout  spirit.— V.  34.  Luther  :  "  The 
mass  of  men  would  gladly  hold  to  the  gospel, 
if  it  did  not  touch  their  kitchen  and  income. 
If  Jesus  gives  them  good  things,  they  can 
very  well  endure  him  ;  but  when  he  inflicts 
damage,  as  here,  they  say,  '  Begone,  Jesus, 
gospel,  and  all.'"  Hall:  "O  Saviour,  thou 
hast  just  cause  to  be  weary  of  us,  even  while 
we  sue  to  hold  thee ;  but  when  once  our 
wretched  unthankfulness  grows  weary  of  thee, 


who  can  pity  us  to  be  punished  with  thy  de- 
parture?" 

9.  2-34.  FtTRTHER  Miracles,  with 
Call  of  Matthew,  and  Discourse  at 
Matthew's  Feast. 

The  series  of  miracles  (see  on  8 :  1,  18)  is 
now  continued  by  giving — 

I.  The  Paralytic  Healed,  9:  2-8; 
comp.  Mark  2:  1-12;  Luke  5:  17-26.  The 
connection  in  Mark  renders  it  probable  that 
this  miracle  preceded  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount.  "We  have  already  observed  that 
Matthew  is  evidently  here  not  following  the 
chronological  order,  but  grouping  together 
certain  specimens  of  our  .Lord's  actions  and 
sayings  in  the  way  best  calculated  to  subserve 
his  object,  viz.,  to  establish  the  Messiahship 
of  Jesus,  and  exhibit  the  nature  of  the  Mes- 
sianic reign.  We  cannot  always  see  the  par- 
ticular principle  on  which  he  groups.  But  in 
the  present  case  Alexander  has  pointed  out  a 
natural  relation  between  the  events,  which  ac- 
counts for  their  being  thrown  together. 
Shortly  after  the  miracle  of  the  two  demoni- 
acs (8:28-34),  occurred  the  raising  of  the  ruler's 
daughter  (9:i8-s6),  as  we  learn  from  Mark  5: 
22;  Luke  8:  41.  But  we  see  from  9:  18  that 
the  ruler  came  to  Jesus  while  he  was  talking 
with  the  Pharisees  about  fasting;  and  that 
conversation  occurred  (v.  u)  directly  after 
what  he  said  to  the  Pharisees  in  reply  to  their 
complaints  that  he  had  associated  with  publi- 
cans and  sinners,  at  Matthew's  feast,  (v.  io-i:<.) 
Now  this  feast  would  naturally  suggest  to  the 
Evangelist's  mind  his  own  call  to  follow 
Jesus,  which  led  to  the  feast  given  some  time 
after  the  call.  (See  on  v.  10.)  But  the  call  oc- 
curred (v.  9;  while  Jesus  was  going  away  from 
the  house  at  which  he  healed  the  para^'tic; 
and  this  was  a  very  important,  a  peculiarly 
instructive  miracle,  which  it  was  desirable  to 
introduce.  So  instead  of  taking  up  at  once 
the  raising  of  the  ruler's  daughter,  Matthew 
first  describes  the  healing  of  the  paralytic 
(v.  2-8),  and  his  own  call,  on  that  same  day 
(v.  9) ;  then  passes  (see  on  v.  10)  to  the  feast  he 


Ch.  IX.] 


MATTHEW. 


195 


subsequently  gave,  and  the  conversation  which 
ensued  (v.  lo-is,  u-n);  and  thus  approaches  the 
case  of  the  ruler's  daughter,  and  the  other 
notable  miracle  connected  therewith  (v.  18-26)  ; 
afterwards  appending  two  other  miracles 
which  took  place  the  same  day.  (t.  27-31,  32-;m.) 
We  may  also  note  (Lutteroth)  an  internal  re- 
lation between  the  complaint  of  the  Scribes  in 
V.  3,  and  that  of  the  Pharisees  in  v.  11,  cul- 
minating in  V.  34;  and  this  may  have  affected 
the  grouping.  That  the  Evangelist's  mind 
should  thus  have  worked  according  to  the 
natural  laws  of  suggestion,  is  altogether  com- 
patible with  the  inspiration  of  his  narrative  ; 
for  every  part  of  the  Bible  bears  the  impress 
of  human  thinking,  only  preserved  by  the 
Spirit  from  error  and  guided  into  all  truth,  so 
that  the  inspired  writer  says  precisely  what 
God  would  have  him  say. 

The  scene  of  this  miracle  was  in  Capernaum 
(M»rk2:i,  12),  and  quite  probably  at  Peter's 
house,  which  might  well  be  our  Lord's  recog- 
nized stopping  place.  Mark  and  Luke,  as  is 
frequently  the  case,  give  fuller  details  than 
Matthew.  Weiss  holds  that  Matthew  makes 
this  occur  on  the  street,  and  thus  conflicts 
with  Mark;  but  Matthew  gives  not  the 
slightest  hint  of  locality.  What  in  the  world 
is  gained  by  manufacturing  discrepancies? 

2.  And  behold,  see  on  8:  2,  24.  They 
brought  to  him,  literally,  were  bringing,  a 
form  of  expression  which  not  merely  narrates 
the  fact,  but  depicts  it  as  going  on.  A  man 
sick  of  the  palsy,  a  paralytic — see  on  4:  24; 
8:6.  Lying  on  a  bed.  '  Lying '  is  the  same 
word  as  in  8:  6,  14.  The  'bed  '  was  doubtless 
a  thin  mattress,  or  a  well-wadded  quilt,  the 
inner  material  being  wool.  It  may  have  been 
placed  in  the  present  case  on  a  slight  frame  of 
wood,  making  it  more  comfortable  and  easier 
to  carry  ;  but  it  was  usually  for  ordinary  sleep- 
ing laid  on  the  floor ;  while  sometimes  a  more 
elevated  bedstead  was  employed  ;  see  Mark 
4:  21,  R.  v.,  'under  abed.'  We  learn  from 
Mark  and  Luke  that  four  men  were  bearing 
the  paralytic  on  the  bed,  and  that  in  conse- 
quence of  the  great  crowd  in  and  about  the 
house  where  Jesus  was,  they  got  on  the  house- 
top, broke  through  the  roof,  and  let  him  down 
on  his  bed  into  the  presence  of  Jesus.  (Comp. 


Edersh.)    And  Jesns   seeing  their  faith, 

that  is,  the  faith  of  the  bearers  and  the  para- 
lytic.   He  was  more  ready  to  work  miracles  for 
those  who  had  faith,  (see  on  v.  19,  28) ;  and 
where  forgiveness  of  sins  was  also  invohed,  it 
was  indispensable  that  the  person  concerned 
should  have  faith.  (Comp.  on  8  :  3.)    '  Seeing ' 
their  faith  is  of  course  a  mere  vivid  expression 
for  perceiving,  as  when  we  say  "I  see  your 
motive."     The  pains  they  had  taken  (Mark  and 
Luke)  showed  their  faith  all  the  more  plainly. 
Son,  be  of  good  cheer.    Literally,  Be  en- 
couraged, child,  or  we  should  better  imitate 
thesimplicity  and  vigor  of  the  original  by  say- 
ing, 'Courage,  child.'     'Child'   is  the  literal 
rendering  (marg.   Eev.  Ver.,   comp.   Darby, 
Davidson),  and  is  often   used   in   colloquial 
English  as  an  expression  of  familiar  affection, 
though  not  now  suited  to  an  elevated  style. 
Comp.  '  daughter,   v.  22.     Thy  sins  be — or, 
rtre— forgiven,  as  correctly  rendered  by  Com. 
Ver.  in  Luke  (5:20.)     The  Greek  verb  is  not 
imperative,  but  indicative,  while  the  old  Eng- 
lish 'be'  is   used  for   either.     The  common 
Greek  text  has  a  perfect  tense,  meaning  'have 
been  forgiven,'  stand  forgiven  (so  in  Luke  7: 
47  f. ;  1  John  2:  12) ;  Westcott  and  Hort  have 
the  present  tense,  which  would  cause  the  for- 
giveness to  be  conceived  of  as  just  then  taking 
place;  it  is  not  easy  to  decide  which  form  is 
the  original  text.^    The  position  of  the  Greek 
words  makes  '  forgiven '  emphatic.     No  doubt 
all  present  were  much  surprised,  when  instead 
of  healing  the  bodily  disease,  Jesus  spoke  to 
the  man  thus.     It  seems  probable  that  the  dis- 
ease had  in  this  case  resulted  from  some  form 
of  dissipation,  such  as  not  un frequently  pro- 
duces paralysis.     Comp.  the  man  at  the  Pool 
of  Beth  esda  (John  5: 14,  lit.;,   'Thou  hast  become 
well ;   do  not  sin  any  more,   lest  something 
worse  happen  to  thee.'     It  would  not  at  all 
follow  that  all  peculiar  diseases  and  remark- 
able misfortunes  result  from  some  special  sin — 
an  idea  prevalent  among  the  Jews,  but  dis- 
tinctly corrected  by  our   Lord.  (John 9: 3;  Luke 
13:  2f.)    We  may  not  unreasonably  think  that 
the  poor  paralytic  was  troubled  and  dispirited, 
because  ho  felt  that  his  sad  disease  was  the 
consequence  and  the  merited  punishment  of 
his  sin;  so  the  words  of  Jesus,  which  surprised 


1  The  perfect  might  have  been  Introduced  by  way  of    form  of  the  verb, 
aniiuilation  to  Luke  5 :  20  (where  there  Is  no  variation),    Mark  2  :  5. 
or  might  have  been  abandoned  because  it  is  an  unusual  | 


There  ia  a  similar  difficulty   in 


196 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  IX. 


8  And,  behold,  certain  of  the  scribes  said  within 
themselves.  This  man  blaspbeuieth. 

4  And  Jesus  knowing  their  thoughts  said,  Wherefore 
thluk  ye  evil  in  your  hearts  ? 

5  For  whether  is  easier,  to  say.  Thy  sins  be  forgiven 
thee ;  or  to  say,  Arise,  and  walk  ? 

6  But  that  "ye  may  know  that  the  Son  of  man  hath 
power  on  earth  to  forgive  sins,  (then  saiih  he  to  the 
sick  of  tho  palsy,)  Arise,  take  up  thy  bed,  and  go  unto 
thine  house. 


3  And,  behold,  certain  of  the  scribes  said  within  them- 

4  selves.  This  wan  biasphemeth.  And  Jesus  •  know- 
ing their  thoughts  said.  Wherefore  think  ye  evil  in 

5  your  hearts?    For  whether  is  easier,  to  say.  Thy 

6  sins  are  forgiven:  or  to  say.  Arise,  and  walk?  But 
that  ye  may  know  that  the  Son  of  man  hath 
authority  on  earth  to  forgive  sins  (then  saith  he 
to  the  sick  of  the  palsy).  Arise,  and  take  up  thy  bed. 


IMan;  ancient  autborlcies  read,  teeing. 


all  the  bj'standers,  would  be  to  him  precisely 
in  place  and  full  of  comfort.  Yet  it  would 
suffice  to  say  (SchafF)  that  "the  man's  con- 
science was  aroused  through  his  sickness," 
without  supposing  the  disease  to  have  been 
caused  by  special  sin. 

3.  And,  behold,  this  too  being  remarkable 
(comp.  V.  2).  As  to  the  scribes,  see  on  2:  4. 
Luke  (5 :  17,  Bib.  Vn.  ver.)  mentions  that  there  were 
present  "Pharisees  and  teachers  of  the  law 
(the  latter  being  substantially  the  same  as 
'scribes'),  who  had  come  out  of  every  village 
of  Galilee  and  Judea  and  Jerusalem."  Here 
was  quite  a  crowd  of  critical  hearers.  Said 
within  themselves.  Comp.  on  3:  9.  Bias- 
phemeth. The  Greek  word,  borrowed  by  us, 
signifies  to  speak  injuriously,  or  insultingly, 
to  defame,  slander,  etc.,  as  in  Rom.  3:  8;  1 
Pet.  4:  4;  Tit.  3:  2.  From  this  it  was  ap- 
plied to  reviling  God ;  saying  anything  insult- 
ing to  God,  anything  impious.  The  Scribes 
held  Jesus  to  be  blaspheming,  because  he 
arrogated  to  himself  a  power  and  right  which 
belonged  exclusively  to  God,  viz.,  that  of  for- 
giving sins.  This  is  distinctly  expressed  by 
them,  in  the  additional  words  recorded  by 
Mark  and  Luke,  '  Who  can  (is  able  to)  for- 
give sins  but  God  only  ? '  He  who  claimed  a 
power  peculiar  to  God,  spoke  what  was  injuri- 
ous and  insulting  to  God.  Yet  it  is  not  wise 
to  find  here  a  proof  of  our  Lord's  divinity ;  for 
he  speaks  as  the  Son  of  man,  and  speaks  of 
authority  given  him."  (v.  e-s.  oomp.  28:  is.) 

4.  Knowing — properly,  seeing — their 
thoughts,  like  seeing  their  faith  in  v.  2.^ 
Mark  («:»)  has  the  expression  'perceived  in 
his  spirit  that  they  so  reasoned  within  them- 
selves.' The  faith  of  the  paralytic  and  his 
bearers  could  be  seen  from  their  actions  ;  but 
to  see  the  unexpressed  thoughts  of  the  Scribes 
required    superhuman    perceptions.     Comp. 


Luke  6:  8;  9:  47;  Mark  12:  15;  John  2: 
24  f;  4:  29.     Wherefore  think   ye  evil  in 

your  hearts?  The  'heart,'  according  to 
Scripture  use,  is  regarded  as  the  seat  of  the 
thoughts  as  well  as  the  affections.  (See  on  6: 
21.)  Jesus  replies  not  only  with  a  mild  re- 
buke, but  with  a  proof  that  he  was  not  blas- 
pheming. 

5.  For  whether — or,  which — is  easier  ! 
It  was  as  easy  to  say  one  as  the  other,  viz.,  to 
say  it  with  effect.  Euthym:  "  Both  were  pos- 
sible for  God,  both  impossible  for  man."  In 
the  case  of  the  healing  they  could  test  the 
reality  uf  the  power  he  claimed ;  and  from 
this  they  ought  to  infer  that  he  possessed  tlie 
other  power  also,  seeing  that  he  claimed  to 
possess  it,  and  that  one  who  could  work  a 
miracle  ought  to  be  believed.  They  had 
already  had  many  proofs  at  Capernaum  of 
his  power  to  work  miracles.  We  are  often 
told  at  the  present  day  that  Jesus  always  re- 
lied on  his  teaching  to  convince  men,  and  not 
at  all  on  his  miracles ;  but  here  he  distinctly 
appeals  to  miracles  as  establishing  the  truth 
of  his  teachings. 

C.  The  Son  of  man,  our  Lord's  favorite 
designation  of  himself,  see  on  8  :  20.  Power. 
The  word  thus  rendered  is  much  used  through- 
out the  N.  T.  It  signifies  primarily,  per- 
mission (license,  privilege),  then  authority, 
(dominion,  rule,  etc.),  and  this  sometimes 
suggests  ability  and  power.  The  word  very 
often  conveys  two  of  these  ideas  at  once,  as 
privilege  and  power  (Johni:  12),  authority  and 
power.  (John  19: 10.)  Comp.  on  7:  29;  28:  18. 
The  Rev.  Ver.  has  everywhere  else  in  Matt, 
rendered  'authority,'  and  it  would  have  been 
better  to  do  so  here,  as  is  done  by  the  Ameri- 
can Revisers,  Davidson,  and  Noj^es.  In  this 
passage  it  is  meant  that  Jesus  has  authority  to 
forgive  sins,  and  the  power  which  such  au- 


1  Obvious  as  is  the  meaning  of  this,  several  MSS.  (in-  W  H.  (who  cannot  forsake  B),  and  is  unwisely  fol- 
cluding  B)  and  several  early  versions  took  the  trouble  lowed  by  Rev.  Version.  How  can  we  account  for  a 
to  change  it  to  '  knowing ' ;  this  is  adopted  of  course  by  |  change  of '  knowing '  into  '  seeing  '  ? 


^€h.  IX.] 


MATTHEW. 


197 


7  And  he  arose,  and  departed  to  his  house. 

8  But  when  the  multitudes  saw  it,  they  marvelled, 
and  glorified  God,  which  had  given  such  power  unto 
men. 

9  And  as  Jesus  passed  forth  from  thence,  he  saw  a 
man,  named  Matthew,  sitting  at  the  receipt  of  custom : 
and  he  saith  unto  him,  Follow  me.  And  he  arose,  and 
followed  him. 


7  and  go  unto  thy  house.    And  he  arose,  and  departed 

8  to  his  house.  But  when  the  multitudes  saw  it,  they 
were  afraid,  and  glorified  God,  who  had  given  such 
authority  unto  men. 

9  And  as  Jesus  passed  by  from  thence,  he  saw  a  man, 
called  Matthew,  sitting  at  the  place  of  toll :  and  he 
saith  unto  him,  Follow  me.  And  he  arose,  and  fol- 
lowed him. 


thority  carries  with  it;  this  power  is  alluded 
to  by  the  phrase,  '  Who  can,  (Mark  2:7, Luke s:  21), 
and  'Which  is  easier  (v. 5, Bib. un. ver.).  The 
word  'authority'  is  in  this  passage  so  placed 
as  to  be  emphatic,  'the  Son  of  man  hath 
authority,'  etc.  And  while  they  naturally 
thought  of  forgiveness  of  sins  as  performed 
only  by  God  in  heaven,  he  will  show  them 
that  the  Son  of  man  hath  authority  on  earth 
to  forgive  sins.  Comp.  the  authority  to  judge, 
John  5 :  27.  He  does  not  proceed  to  tell  the 
Scribes  what  he  will  do  to  prove  his  authority, 
but  turns  to  the  paralj'tic  and  lets  them  see. 
Take  up  thy  bed.  Being  such  as  described 
on  v,  2,  a  man  could  easily  take  it  up  and 
carry  it.  Go,  or  'go  along,'  not  said  severely, 
as  in  4:  10,  but  kindly,  as  in  8:  13 ;  the  word 
taking  color  from  the  connection. 

7  f.  What  a  moment  of  suspense  for  all  the 
beholders — some  hoping,  others  fearing;  that 
the  man  would  indeed  show  himself  to  be 
healed.  AVhat  a  thrill  must  have  passed 
through  the  crowd,  as  he  arose  and  went  off. 
How  the  Scribes  must  have  been  abashed  and 
confounded.  The  paralytic  went  away  'glori- 
fying God'  (Lake 3: 25);  we  Can  imagine  his 
feelings  of  joy  and  gratitude,  when  he  found 
himself  carrying  the  bed  which  had  carried 
him,  treading  the  earth  in  vigor  and  health 
again,  yea,  and  with  his  sins  all  forgiven.  The 
effect  upon  the  bystanders  at  large  is  stated  in 
V.  8.  But  when  the  multitudes — the  crowds 
— saw  it.  'Crowds'  is  the  same  word  as  in 
6:  1.  They  marvelled— better, /ert?-erf— this, 
and  not  '  wondered,'  being  pretty  certainly 
the  correct  reading  of  the  text.*  They  felt 
that  alarm  and  painful  uneasiness  which  is 
apt  to  be  awakened  in  the  bosom  of  sinful  man 
by  anything  that  seems  to  bring  God  nearer 

to     him.        (LukeS :  8;oomp.  aboTeon8:S4.)        But      tllis 

alarm  quickly  passed  into  praise,  and  they 
glorified  God,which  had  given  such  power 
nnto  to  men.    (Comp.  Luke  5:  26.)  Regard- 


ing Jesus  as  only  a  man,  it  was  right  that 
they  should  give  the  glory  to  God.  (5:  16.) 
And  they  probably  did  not  consider  this  au- 
thority and  power  as  peculiar  to  him,  but  as 
bestowed  on  men,  and  possible  for  others  also. 
It  was  true,  in  a  sense  which  cannot  have  en- 
tered into  their  thoughts,  that  what  was  given 
to  Jesus  was  given  to  mankind. 

Before  proceeding  to  furtlier  miracles,  the 
Evangelist  narrates — 

II.  The  Call  op  Matthew,  and  Con- 
versation AT  A  Feast  he  Gave,  9:  9-17. 
These  are  also  described  in  Mark  2:  13-22; 
Luke  5:  27-39. 

9.  And  as  Jesus  passed  forth  from 
thence.  Mark  (2 ;  i»)  shows  that  this  occurred 
immediately  after  the  healing  of  the  paralytic, 
as  implied  in  Matthew's  '  from  thence.'  Sit- 
ting at  the  receipt  of  cnsio fa—custo-m-house 
— (so  translated  in  Rheims)  probably  the  place 
for  receiving  tolls  on  the  fishing  and  trade  of 
the  lake.  The  Romans  laid  taxes,  as  the 
Syrian  kings  had  done  before  them,  on  almost 
everything.  (See  details  in  Edersh.)  Mat- 
thew. Luke  calls  him  'Levi,'  and  Mark 
'Levi,  the  son  of  Alpheus.'  It  had  become 
very  common  for  a  Jew  to  bear  two  names; 
and  probably  the  first  readers  of  the  different 
Gospels  would  readily  understand  that  Levi, 
the  son  of  Alpheus,  was  also  called  Matthew. 
(The  name  Matthaias,  Mattai,  might  mean 
simply  'given,'  like  Nathan;  or  else  might 
be  a  contraction  of  Mattijah,  'gift  of  Jeho- 
vah,' like  Jonathan,  Nethaniah.)  It  would 
be  natural  that  Matthew  should  give  only  the 
name  by  which  he  was  known  as  an  apostle, 
which  Mark  and  Luke  also  give  in  their  lists 
of  the  apostles  (M:irk3:  is;  Lukee:  is),  and  should 
avoid,  as  Paul  did,  the  name  associated  with 
his  former  life.  Some  argue  that  this  Mat- 
thew was  not  the  Evangelist,  since  he  is  spoken 
of  in  the  third  person  ;  but  it  has  always  been 
common,   in  ancient  and  modern  times,  for 


'Superficial  students  and  copyists  would  fail  to  see  I  nal  probability  here  concurs  with  the  testimony  of  the 
the  deep  meaning  of  '  feared '  iu  this  case,  and  change    early  MSS.  and  versions, 
it  to- the  more  obvious  term  '  wondered.'    So  the  Inter-  ' 


ft 


198 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  IX. 


10  And  it  came  to  pass,  as  Jesus  sat  at  meat  in  the  I 
house,  behold,  many  publicans  and  siuuers  came  and 
sat  down  with  him  uud  his  di^iples.  J 


10      And  it  came  to  pass,  as  be  isat  at  meat  in  the 
house,  behold,  many  publicans  and  sinners  came 


1  Gr.  reclined :  aod  ao  always. 


writers  thus  to  speak  of  themselves;  and  the 
apostle  John,  in  his  Gospel,  employs  elaborate 
circumlocutions  to  avoid  even  mentioning  his 
own  name.  Luke  here  tells  us  (Luke 5:27)  that 
Matthew  was  a  publican,  which  is  implied  in 
the  narratives  of  Matthew  and  Mark,  and 
stated  by  Matthew  in  the  list.  (lO:  s)  As  to 
the  publicans,  see  on  5:  46;  and  as  to  Matthew, 
tee  further  on  10:  3.  And  he  arose  and 
followed  him.  Luke  says' (5:28,  Bit.  un.ver.), 
'  And  leaving  all,  he  arose,'  etc.  Matthew 
dbes  not  mention  this,  because  it  would 
have  been  speaking  in  his  own  praise, 
which  the  Evangelists  never  do.  (Comp. 
on  v.  10.)  We  can  account  for  his  imme- 
diately leaving  all  and  following  Jesus  by 
the  reasonable  supposition  that  at  the  place 
of  toll  by  the  lake-side  he  had  often  seen  and 
heard  him,  and  had  gradually  become  pre- 
pared in  mind  to  obey  such  a  call.  It  is  even 
possible  that  he  had  been  following  Jesus  be- 
fore, and  only  now  attached  himself  perma- 
nently to  him  (comp.  on  4:  18  ff.).  At  the 
same  time  we  may  be  sure  there  was  some- 
thing deeply  impressive  in  the  Saviour's  tone 
and  look  as  he  spoke  the  simple  words.  (Comp. 
John  18:  6.)  Observe  that  while  all  of  the 
Twelve  seem  to  have  been  men  in  humble  life, 
Matthew  belonged  to  a  class  greatly  despised. 
The  Talmud  (Edersh.)  distinguishes  custom- 
house officials  from  other  tax-gatherers,  and 
speaks  of  them  with  peculiar  hate,  probably 
because  their  extortions  were  more  frequent 
and  more  manifest.  This  publican  Matthew, 
and  the  notorious  persecutor  Saul,  were  as 
unlikely,  humanly  speaking,  to  become  apos- 
tles of  Christ  as  any  men  that  could  be  found. 
Yet  such  has  been  the  work  of  sovereign 
grace  in  every  age  of  Christianity. 

10.  We  have  now  the  account  of  .some  con- 
versation that  arose  while  Jesus  and  his  disci- 
ples were  eating  at  Matthew's  house,  in  com- 
pany with  many  publicans  and  sinners.  It  is 
clear  from  v.  14  and  Luke  5:  33  that  the  in- 
quiry about  fasting  and  the  Saviour's  reply 
occurred  during  this  meal ;  and  from  v.  18, 
that  the  ruler's  request  to  come  and  raise  his 
daughter  was  made  while  Jesus  was  speaking 
in  response  to  that  inquiry.     But  from  Mark 


5:  22  f.,  and  Luke  8  :  41  f.,  we  see  that  the 
raising  of  the  ruler's  daughter  took  place  after 
our  Lord's  return  from  Gadara,  and  thus  at  a 
much  later  period  than  the  healing  of  the 
paralytic  and  the  call  of  Matthew.  We 
therefore  conclude  that  the  feast  was  actually 
given  by  Matthew  a  considerable  time  after 
his  call,  and  that  it  is  merely  introduced  by 
him,  and  also  by  Mark  and  Luke,  in  connec- 
tion with  the  call,  because  it  was  natural  to 
bring  the  two  together,  thereby  completing  at 
once  all  that  had  any  personal  relation  to  this 
apostle.  It  thus  appears  that  all  three  put  the 
case  of  Jairus'  daughter  in  its  actual  chrono- 
logical position,  and  all  three  bring  together 
the  call  and  the  feast,  although  they  were 
really  separated  by  a  considerable  interval ; 
the  difference  is,  that  Mark  and  Luke  tell  of 
the  paralytic  and  the  call  at  the  early  period 
when  they  occurred,  adding  the  feast  by 
anticipation,  and  then  some  time  afterwards 
introduce  the  healing  of  Jairus'  daughter, 
which  we  know  immediately  followed  the 
feast;  while  Matthew  puts  the  feast  in  its  real 
chronological  connection  with  the  application 
of  Jairus,  and  just  before  the  feast  introduces 
the  call  (which  had  occurred  earlier)  and  the 
healing  of  the  paralytic,  which  preceded  the 
call.  (Comp.  on  V.  2.)  Any  one  who  will 
take  the  trouble  thoroughly  to  grasp  the  facts, 
will  see  that  this  view  removes  all  the  diffi- 
cultj'  attendant  upon  harmonizing  the  three 
Gospels  at  this  point,  a  thing  which  has  often 
been  declared  impossible.  We  need  not  feel 
bound,  nor  imagine  ourselves  able,  to  remove 
all  such  discrepancies,  but  it  is  surely  worth 
while  to  do  so  when  practicable.  If  the  ner- 
vous harmonizers  stand  at  one  extreme,  the 
scornful  despisers  of  harmonizing  certainly 
stand  at  the  other. 

And  it  came  to  pass,  the  same  word  as  in 
1 :  22 ;  5 :  18 ;  6  :  10 ;  7 :  28  ;  8 :  13.  As  Jesus 
sat  at  meat,  etc.,  better,  while  he  was  re- 
clining in  the  house,  comp.  on  8 :  11,  where  the 
Greek  word  is  similar  and  substantially 
equivalent.  Matthew  omits  to  mention  who-se 
house  it  was ;  probably  he  omitted  it  through 
modesty  (comp.  on  v.  9),  or  perhaps  'the 
house'  seemed  enough  in  his  vivid  recoUec- 


Ch.  IX.] 


MATTHEAV. 


199 


11  And  when  the  Pharisees  saw  it,  they  said  unto  his  !  11  and  sat  down  with  Jesus  and  his  disciples.     And 


disciples,  Why  eatetb  your  master  with  publicaus  and 
sinners? 

12  But  when  Jesus  heard  that,  he  said  unto  them, 
They  that  be  whole  need  not  a  physician,  but  they  that 
are  sick. 


when  the  Pharisees  saw  it,  they  said  unto  his  dis- 
ciples. Why  eateth  your  '  Master  with  the  publicaus 
12  and  sinners  ?    But  when  he  heard  it,  he  said.  They 
that  are  ^  whole  have  no  ueed  of  a  physician,  but 


1  Or,  Teacher 2  Gr.  ttrong. 


tion;  though  it  is  implied  in  the  connection  ; 
Mark  (2 :  isj  and  Luke  (& :  29)  distinctly  state  that 
it  was  Levi's  house,  and  Luke  says  that  '  Levi 
made  a  great  feast'  (literally  'reception')  in 
his  house.'  This  would  indicate  that  he 
possessed  some  means ;  he  seems  to  have  sac- 
rificed a  somewhat  lucrative  position  in  order 
to  follow  Jesus.  Meyer's  attempt  to  make 
'the  house'  here  mean  Jesus'  own  house, 
and  thus  to  bring  Matthew  into  conflict  with 
Mark  and  Luke,  is  strained  and  uncalled  for. 
Even  Keim  and  Weiss  understand  it  to  be 
Matthew's  house.  Behold,  see  on  8:2,  29. 
Many  publicans  and  sinners  came  and 
sat  down,  or,  were  reclining.  As  to  the  pub- 
licans, see  on  5:  46.  The  Jews  were  accus- 
tomed to  call  those  persons  'sinners'  who 
lived  in  open  violation  of  the  moral  or  cere- 
monical  law;  and  they  shrank  from  contact 
with  all  such  as  polluting.  Matthew's  previous 
associations  had  brought  him  into  connection 
not  only  with  publicans,  but  with  all  those 
other  men,  who,  disregarding  many  of  the 
prevailing  religious  observances,  and  feeling 
themselves  to  be  objects  of  popular  dislike, 
naturally  flocked  together.  Lukes  expres- 
sion as  to  the  number  present  is  still  stronger, 
'a  great  crowd.'  Mark  (2:i!>)  mentions  tliat 
these  '  followed'  Jesus,  as  if  of  their  own  ac- 
cord. This  is  not  inconsistent  with  the  idea 
that  Matthew  invited  them  in,  while  it  im- 
plies that  the  fea.st  was  a  sort  of  public  affair, 
which  agrees  with  the  fact  that  the  Pharisees 
appear  to  have  pressed  in  as  spectators,  (v.  11.) 
Matthew  doubtless  wished  to  show  respect  to 
his  Teacher  by  inviting  a  numerous  company 
to  meet  him,  perhaps  asking  in  every  one 
who  followed  Jesus  toward  his  house.  At 
the  same  time  he  must  have  had  some  cher- 
ished friends  among  these  despised  men,  some 
whom  he  knew  to  have  better  stuff"  in  them 
than  was  generally  supposed,  and  to  have 
been  driven  by  popular  neglect  and  scorn  into 
association  with  abandoned  persons;  and  he 
would  hope  that  they  might  be  benefited  b}'  be- 
ing in  company  with  Jesus  and  hearing  what 
ho  said.    The  example  deserves  imitiition. 


Imagine*  the  character  of  the  general  con- 
versation at  this  great  entertainment.  We 
should  not  suppose  that  the  presence  or  the 
words  of  Jesus  chilled  the  guests  into  a  dead 
stillness;  that  he  showed  a  lack  of  sympathy 
with  the  common  concerns  and  feelings  of 
mankind.  He  was  not  proud,  haughty,  and 
forbidding,  like  many  of  the  Rabbis,  but  was 
meek  and  lowly,  kind  and  gentle,  and  every- 
thing about  him  tended  to  attract  men  rather 
than  repel.  Whatever  he  spoke  of,  it  would 
be  in  a  spirit  marked  by  fidelity  to  truth,  and 
yet  by  delicate  consideration  for  the  feelings 
of  others.  And  when  it  was  appropriate  to 
introduce  distinctively  religious  topics,  we 
can  see  with  what  ease  and  aptness  he  would 
bring  them  in,  from  striking  examples  in 
Luke  14:  7,  12,  15,  16,  and  John  4 :  10,  16. 

11.  It  is  plain  that  these  Pharisees  were 
not  themselves  guests  at  the  feast,  for  in  that 
case  tliey  would  have  been  doing  the  very 
thing  they  complained  of  in  Jesus.  Probably 
they  pressed  into  the  house  before  the  feast 
ended,  in  order  to  hear  what  Jesus  would  be 
saying.  In  Luke  7:  36  6".  no  surprise  is  ex- 
pressed at  the  woman's  entering  the  dining- 
room,  and  no  objection  made  by  the  host. 
Pharisees,  see  on  3:7.  Why  eateth  your 
master  (or  your  teacher,  didaskalos,  see  on  8 : 
19),  with  (the)  publicans  and  sinners  ?  The 
two  nouns  with  but  one  article  present  the  two 
classes  as  forming  but  one  group.  According 
to  tlie  prevailing  Jewish  ideas,  a  Rabbi,  of  all 
men,  "ought  carefully  to  avoid  all  intercourse 
with  such  persons."  There  was  not  only  the 
social  objection  to  "keeping  low  company," 
but  the  constant  dread  of  ceremonial  pollu- 
tion, from  coming  in  contact  with  persons 
likely  to  be  ceremonially  unclean  (Mark 7:4); 
and  also  that  feeling  so  natural  to  man.  which 
says,  "Stand  back;  lam  holier  than  thou." 
(i»».65:5.)  Accordingly,  our  Lord  was  fre- 
quently met  with  the  objection  hero  made  to 
his  course.     (11  ms:  Luke  15:2  ir.) 

12  f.  He  said,  the  correct  text  omitting 
'Jesus'  and  'to  them.'  The  disciples  told 
their  Teacher  of  the  question  which  had  been 


200 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  IX. 


13  Bnt  go  ye  and  learn  what  t/uit  meaneth,  I  will  have  I  13  they  that  are  sick.  But  go  ye  and  learn  what  this 
mercy,  and  not  sacrifice :  for  I  am  not  come  to  call  the  meaneth,  I  desire  mercy,  and  not  sacrifice:  for  I 
righteous,  but  sinners  to  repentance.  |       came  not  to  call  the  righteous,  but  sinners. 


sisked.  They  were  themselves  as  yet  very  im- 
perfectly freed  from  the  erroneous  Jewish 
conceptions  of  the  Messiah's  work,  and  would 
probably  find  it  difficult  to  explain  why  Jesus 
should  pursue  such  a  course.  It  was  cunning 
in  the  Pharisees  to  asl<  them,  in  hope  of  turn- 
ing them  away  from  their  Teacher.  It  ap- 
pears from  the  connection,  and  is  distinctly 
stated  by  Luke  (5:  so,  31),  that  his  reply  was  ad- 
dressed especially  to  the  Pharisees,  witii  whom 
the  question  had  started.  This  reply  embraces 
three  points:  (1)  an  argument  from  analogy; 
(2)  an  appeal  to  Scripture;  (3j  an  express 
declaration  that  his  mission  was  to  men  as 
sinners,  and  so  he  was  now  acting  accord- 
ingly. In  like  manner  Paul,  1  Cor.  9:  7, 
presents  first  an  argument  from  the  analogy 
of  men's  common  modes  of  action,  and  after- 
wards an  argument  from  Scripture. — (1)  They 
that  be  Avhole,  or  are  strong,  stout,  well, 
comp.  the  connection  of  the  English  words 
hale,  health,  whole.  Luke  5:  81  lias  literally, 
'they  that  are  in  health.'  But  they  that  are 
sick,  or  ill,  the  same  expression  as  in  4:  24; 
8:  16.  The  order  of  the  Greek  words  puts  an 
emphasis  on  need  not.  The  force  of  the  il- 
lustration is  manifest;  the  physician  goes 
among  the  sick,  and  why  should  not  the 
teacher  of  salvation  go  among  sinners?  Here 
is  a  lesson  needed  in  every  age,  for  we  are  too 
apt  to  hold  ourselves  aloof  from  the  vile  and 
disreputable,  when  kind  and  patient  efforts 
might  win  some  of  them  to  better  things.  At 
the  same  time  we  must,  like  the  physician, 
take  great  pains  to  avoid  the  contagion  of 
the  diseases  we  seek  to  cure.  And  if  our 
good  is  evil  spoken  of,  as  happened  here 
to  our  Lord,  we  should  be  careful  not  to  afford 
any  just  occasion  or  excuse  for  such  reproach. 
(2)  The  second  point  of  his  reply  is  an  appeal 
to  Scripture.  But  go  ye  and  learn.  The 
Rabbis  frequently  employed  the  same  form- 
ula, ^^go  ye  and  learn,"  indicating  that  one 
needs  further  reflection  or  information  on  the 
subject  in  hand.  This  was  a  severe  rebuke  to 
Scribes  (Luke s:. so)  and  Pharisees,  who  assumed 
and  were  popularly  supposed  to  be  particu- 
larly versed  in  Scripture.  Learn  what  that 
meaneth  (literally  is),  i.  e.,  the  following 
saying.     The  passage  is  referred  to  as  familiar 


to  them,  while  yet  they  were  quite  ignorant 
of  its  real  meaning.  The  Old  Test,  through- 
out, when  rightly  understood,  agreed  with  the 
teachings  of  Jesus.  I  will  have  {wish,  desire) 
mercy,  and  not  sacrifice,  quoted  according 
to  the  Hebrew,  (hos.  6:6.)  The  Hebrew  word 
includes  the  ideas  of  kindness  and  compassion 
toward  men,  and  of  piety  towards  God.  So 
piety  and  pity  are  originally  the  same  word. 
Hosea's  connection  shows  thafr  the  word  was 
by  him  taken  in  the  widest  sense,  but  the  single 
idea  of  kindness  or  mercy  is  all  that  is  here 
necessary  to  the  connection.  The  absolute 
statement  'and  not  sacrifice,'  is  not  intended 
to  be  taken  literally,  but  as  a  strong  expres- 
sion of  preference  for  mercy.  (Comp.  Luke 
14:  12.)  The  idea  is,I  wish  kindly  feeling  and 
conduct  toward  others,  especially  toward  the 
needy  and  suffering,  rather  than  the  externals 
of  religion — of  which  sacrifice  was  then  the 
most  important.  So  the  Sept.  translates,  'I 
wish  mercy  rather  than  sacrifice.'  Or  the 
passage  might  be  expressed,  I  wish  kindness, 
and  I  do  not  want  sacrifice  without  this.  The 
rendering  '  I  will  have  mercy,'  which  Com. 
Ver.  took  from  Great  Bible  and  Geneva,  is 
very  apt  to  mislead,  because  to  have  mercy 
now  usually  means  to  exercise  it. — The  mere 
externals  of  religion  are  offensive  to  God, 
where  its  spirit  and  life  are  absent.  The  Phar- 
isees were  extremely'  particular  to  avoid  that 
external,  ceremonial  pollution  which  they 
might  incur  by  mixing  with  the  publicans  and 
sinners,  but  were  not  anxious  to  show  them 
kindness  or  do  tiiem  good.  Notice  that  it  is 
Matthew  only  that  records  this  argument 
drawn  from  the  Old  Test.,  just  as  he  most  fre- 
quently refers  to  the  prophecies  fulfilled  in 
the  person  of  Jesus;  this  course  being  natural 
for  one  who  wrote  especially  for  Jewish  read- 
ers. See  the  same  passage  quoted  again  in 
12:  7.  (3)  I  am  not  come  (see  on  5 :  17),  to 
call  the  righteous,  but  sinners.  The  words 
'unto  repentance'  are  not  properly  a  part  of 
the  text  of  Matthew,  but  they  are  genuine  in 
the  parallel  passage  of  Luke,  and  so  were  actu- 
ally spoken  on  this  occasion.  Such  addi- 
tions to  one  Gospel  from  a  parallel  passage  in 
another,  are  often  found  in  MSS.  and  versions. 
This  third  point  of  our  Lord's  reply  is  that  his 


Ch.  IX.] 


MATTHEW. 


201 


14  Then  came  to  him  the  disciples  of  John,  saving, 
Why  do  we  and  the  Pharisees  fast  oft,  but  thy  disciples 
fastnot? 

15  And  Jesus  said  unto  them,  Can  the  children  of  the 
bridechamber  mourn,  as  long  as  the  bridegroom  is  with 
tliera  ?  but  the  days  will  come,  when  the  bridegroom 
shall  be  taken  from  them,  and  then  shall  they  fast. 


14  Then  come  to  him  the  disciples  of  John,  saying, 
Why  do  we  and  the  Pharisees  fast  loft,  but  thy  dis- 

1j  ciples  fiist  not?  And  Jesus  said  unto  them.  Can  the 
sous  of  the  bride-chamber  mourn,  as  long  as  the 
bridegroom  is  with  them?  but  the  days  will  come, 
when  the  bridegroom  shall  be  taken  away  from  them, 


1  Some  ancient  authorities  umit.  oft. 


conduct  in  associating  with  the  very  wicked 
accords  with  the  design  of  his  mission,  '/o;- 1 
came  not,'  etc.  The  word  translated  'right- 
eous' has  no  article.  He  is  not  speaking  of 
any  actually  existing  class  as  righteous,  but 
uses  the  term  in  a  general  way  for  contrast. 
(Comp.  Luke  15:  7.)  There  is  comfort  to  the 
burdened  soul  in  the  thought  that  our  Lord's 
mission  was  to  men  as  sinners,  even  to  the 
most  vile. 

14.  The  inquiry  about  fasting,  and  our 
Lord's  reply  (»-i*-"),  are  also  found  in  Mark 
2:  18-22;  Luke  5 :  33-39.  Then.  The  con- 
nection in  Luke  (5:  ss)  also  indicates  that  this 
conversation  immediately  followed  the  pre- 
ceding (for  the  whole  connection  see  on  v.  2). 
Luke  represents  the  Pharisees,  to  whom  Jesus 
had  been  speaking  just  before,  as  asking  the 
question  ;  Matthew  has  the  disciples  of  John 
asking  him,  and  Mark  (a: is)  says  that  both 
came  and  asked,  and  thus  suggests  a  way  in 
which  many  similar  "discrepancies"  may  be 
explained.  The  questioners  do  not  venture 
directly  to  find  fault  with  Jesus  himself. 
(Comp.  V.  11.)  "Who  are  these  disciples  of 
John,  who  in  respect  to  fasting  resemble 
the  Pharisees  rathc^  than  the  disciples  of 
Jesus?  It  was  the  design  of  John's  ministry 
(comp.  on  3:  1)  to  bring  men  to  believe  on 
Jesus  as  coming,  and  to  follow  him  when 
he  came;  and  he  took  great  pains  to  prevent 
the  people  from  regarding  himself  as  the 
Messiah.  (John  i:  20;  8:  xs-ao;  acu  i9:  4.)  Yet  there 
were  some  who,  failing  to  follow  out  their 
master's  teachings,  felt  jealous  of  the  growing 
influence  of  Jesus  (Johns:  26),  and  continued  to 
hold  exclusively  to  John  ;  and  in  the  second 
century  we  find  heretics  who  maintained  that 
John  was  the  Messiah.  How  many  there 
wore  at  this  time  who  kept  themselves  aloof 
from  Jesus,  and  were  simply  disciples  of 
John,  aud  what  were  their  precise  views,  we 


have  no  means  of  determining.  As  to  their 
fasting  frequently,  like  the  Piiarisees  (Luke  18:12), 
it  is  enough  to  understand  that  they  had  not 
really  changed  from  the  prevailing  Jewish 
(^pinions  and  practices.  Even  among  the 
Jewish  Christians  addressed  in  the  Epistle  of 
James  we  find  many  characteristic  Jewish 
errors  and  evil  practices.  It  is  possible,  be- 
sides, that  these  disciples  of  John  found  en- 
couragement to  fasting  in  that  self-denying 
mode  of  life  which  John  pursued  for  a  special 
reason.  It  seems  likelj'  from  Mark  2 :  18  that 
thej'  were  for  some  reason  fasting  at  this  par- 
ticular time;  it  may  have  been  one  of  their 
regular  daj's  of  fasting,  or  it  may  possibly 
have  been  from  grief  at  John's  long-continued 
imprisonment.*  Jerome:  "The  disciples  of 
John  were  certainly  to  blame,  in  calumni- 
ating him  whom  they  knew  to  have  been  pro- 
claimed by  their  teacher,  and  joining  the 
Pharisees  whom  they  knew  to  have  been  con- 
demned by  John." — The  strict  Jews  not  only 
fasted  very  often,  but  in  many  cases  on  very 
trivial  occasions.  The  Talmud  of  Jerus. 
speaks  of  one  rabbi  as  fasting  four-score  times 
to  see  another;  and  of  a  second  wlio  fasted 
three  hundred  times  to  see  the  same  person, 
and  did  not  see  him  at  last. 

15.  The  reply  of  Jesus  is  convoyed  lay  three 
illustrations,  (v.  15. 16. it.)  Luke  (5:39)  has  a 
fourth.  The  children  {sons)  of  the  bride« 
chamber.  The  term  'son'  is  employed,  as 
explained  on  8:  12,  strongly  to  express  the 
idea  of  intimate  relation  to  the  object  men- 
tioned, but  in  what  precise  sense  must  in  every 
particular  expression  be  determined  by  the 
nature  of  the  case.  Here  it  denotes  (Edersh.) 
the  guests  invited  to  a  wedding,  while 
"friends  of  the  bridegroom"  meant  his 
special  attendants.  (See  Judges  14  :  11 ;  John 
3:  29.)  The  festivities  were  commonly  pro- 
longed during  a  week.    (See  on  25 :  1  fl^.)    The 


•  The  word  rendered  'oft,'  literally  '  much,'  is  want-  [  with  Luke.    There  is  no  important 'difference,  as  Mat- 
ing in  B  X  and  a  few  cur8ive.<i,  and  hence  oniittetl  by    thew's   expression  without   'oft'   naturally  indicates 
Tisch.  and  W  11.    One  cannot  readily  decide  whether    that  they  were  in  the  habit  of  fasting. 
U  was  omitted  to  agreo  with  Mark  or  inserted  to  agree  | 


202 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  IX. 


16  No  man  piittetb  a  piece  of  new  clotli  unto  an  old  I  16  and  then  will  they  fast.  And  no  man  putteth  a 
garment;  lor  that  which  is  put  in  to  fill  it  up  taketh  piece  of  undressed  cloth  upon  an  old  garment;  for 
from  the  garment,  and  the  rent  is  made  worse.  I       that  which  should  fill  it  up  taketh  from  the  garment. 


word  rendered  can  is  so  placed  as  to  be  em- 
phatic: can  it  be,  in  the  nature  of  things? 
And  the  Greek  has  the  peculiar  particle  which 
denotes  that  a  negative  answer  is  taken  for 
granted.  The  Talmud  declares  that  the  bride- 
groom, his  personal  friends,  and  the  sons  of 
the  bride-chamber,  were  free  from  the  obliga- 
tion to  dwell  in  booths  during  the  Feast  of 
Tabernacles — these  being  unsuited  to  their 
festivities ;  and  were  not  expected  to  attend  to 
the  stated  prayers.  This  shows  how  natural 
and  probable,  according  to  the  prevailing 
ideas  and  usages,  was  our  Lord's  illustration. 
Already  in  prophecy  had  the  Messiah  been 
spoken  of  as  a  bridegroom  (ps.  45,  ete.j ;  and 
John  the  Baptist  had  employed  a  figure  drawn 
from  the  nuptial  ceremonies  as  setting  forth 
his  own  relation  to  Jesus  (John  3: 29)  ;  so  that  in 
answering  John's  disciples  this  image  was  all 
the  more  appropriate.  But  the  days  will 
come  when  the  bridegroom  shall  be  taken 
away  from  them — and  then  shall  tbey 
fast.  The  term  '  will  come '  is  so  placed  as 
to  be  empliatic.  For  "  when  "  read  whenever, 
which  will  indicate  that  the  time  of  his  being 
taken  away  is  uncertain ;  this  is  the  first  in- 
stance recorded  in  Matthew  of  our  Lord's 
alluding  to  his  death.  Fasting  is  naturally 
and  properly  an  expression  of  grief,  and 
therefore  unnatural  and  unsuitable  at  a  time 
of  great  joy.  Such  a  time  was  this  when  the 
disciples  were  delighting  in  their  Teacher's 
presence.  But  there  was  coming  a  time  when 
it  would  be  natural  for  them  to  grieve,  and 
therefore  appropriate  to  fast.  The  immediate 
reference  is  to  the  grief  which  would  be  felt 
by  his  disciples  at  the  time  of  his  death.  After 
his  resurrection,  ascension,  and  glorious  exalt- 
ation, their  sorrow  was  turned  into  joy  again. 

(John  16:  2'ff.;  Acts2:  32-36;   3:  13  ff.,eto.)        Yet     often 

afterwards,  and  often  ever  since,  have  his  fol- 
lowers grieved  over  his  absence  and  longed 
for  his  coming  again ;  so  that  the  time  for 
fasting  still  continues.  By  this  illustration 
our  Lord  teaches  that  fasting  is  not  to  be  re- 
garded or  observed  as  an  arbitrary,  "  positive" 
institution,  but  as  a  thing  having  natural 
grounds,  and  to  be  practiced  or  not,  accord- 
ing to  the  dictates  of  natural  feeling  as  grow- 
ing out  of  the  circumstances  in  which  we  find 


ourselves.  In  some  situations  it  is  appropriate 
and  may  be  made  beneficial ;  in  others,  it  is  out 
of  place.  We  have  no  evidence  that  Jesus  ever 
fasted  himself,  except  in  the  quite  extraordi- 
nary case  of  the  forty  days,  (for  17  :  21  is  a  spu- 
rious passage) ;  but  we  know  that  the  apostles 
and  other  Christians  of  their  time  fasted  upon 

special      occasion.      (Acta    IS:  2;   14:23;  2  Cor.  11:  27.) 

The  principle  here  laid  down  cuts  at  the  root 
of  fasting  as  a  regulated  observance,  leaving 
it  to  be  done  or  omitted,  not  indeed  according 
to  accidental  or  momentary  impulse,  but  ac- 
cording as  it  is  most  suitable  under  the  circum- 
stances and  likely  to  do  good.  (Comp.  on6: 
16-18.) 

16  f.  Eegulated  fasting,  though  enjoined 
by  Moses  only  on  the  occasion  of  the  Day  of 
Atonement  (Luke  16: 29),  yet  was  now  frequently 
practiced  among  the  Jews,  and  quite  in  accord- 
ance with  the  distinctive  spirit  of  the  Old 
Dispensation.  But  it  did  not  suit  the  spirit  of 
the  gospel ;  and  our  Lord  shows,  hy  two 
homely  and  striking  illustrations,  how  incon- 
gruous and  injurious  would  be  the  connection 
with  the  new  of  what  was  peculiar  to  the  old. 
Luke  (5.36)  calls  this  a  'parable,'  i.  e.,  com- 
parison for  the  purpose  of  illustration.  The 
parables  of  the  Gospel  are  usually  in  the  form 
of  narrative,  but  not  necessarily.  (See  on 
13:  3.)  No  man  putteth,  etc.,— Iiterall3-, 
patches,  a  patch  of  an^infulled  piece  (t.  c, 
fragment  of  cloth)  upon  an  old  garment.  The 
word  rendered  garment  is  here  naturally  taken 
in  the  general  sense,  and  not  to  denote  simply 
the  outer  garment.  (o:40;  9:20.)  What  is 
meant  is  not  simply  new  cloth,  for  that  is  often 
used  for  patching,  but  cloth  which  has  not 
been  completely  dressed.  A  part  of  the  pro-  J 
cess  of  preparing  woolen  cloth  for  use  consists 
in  shrinking  it,  and  a  patch  of  'unfulled' 
cloth,  not  dul^'  shrunk,  would  contract  the 
first  time  it  should  become  wet,  and  as  the 
older  and  weaker  cloth  all  around  must  then 
give  way,  the  result  would  be  a  worse  rent. 
We  must  remember  that  Jewish  garments  of  , 
that  day  were  usually  all  wool ;  and  if  un- 
fulled, would  shrink  almost  like  our  flannel. 
Mark's  statement  of  the  comparison  (2:21) 
is  almost  identical  with  this.  Luke  (5:36) 
gives    it  in    quite  a  diflTerent  form,   though 


Ch.  IX.] 


MATTHEW. 


203 


17  Neither  do  men  put  new  wine  into  old  bottles :    17  and  a  worse  rent  is  made.    Neither  do  men  put  new 
else  the  bottles  break,  and  the  wine  runneth  out,  and         wine  into  old  i  wine-skius:  else  the  skius  burst,  and 


the  bottles  perish :  but  they  put  new  wine  into  new 
bottles,  and  both  are  preserved. 


the  wine  is  spilled,  aud  the  skius  perish:  but  they 
put  new  wine  into  fresh  wine-skius,  and  both  are 
preserved. 


1  Tbat  ia,  tk'ma  used  at  hottlet. 


the  general  purport  is  the  same.  Neither  do 
men  put,  literally,  they,  the  usual  imper- 
sonal expression,  see  on  5 :  11,  Into  old 
bottles — or,  skins.  The  Greek  word  signifies 
properly  and  exclusively  skins  for  containing 
liquids,  such  as  the  Orientals,  ancient  and 
modern,  have  largely  employed.  The  skin  is 
usually  that  of  a  goat  or  kid,  which  is  tough 
and  light.  The  head  and  feet  of  the  animal 
being  removed,  the  skin  is  stripped  off  whole. 
It  is  then  sometimes  tanned  in  a  peculiar  way 
to  prevent  a  disagreeable  taste,  and  the  orifices 
are  tied  up,  leaving  one  leg  or  the  neck  as  the 
opening.  The  hairy  side  is  of  course  out- 
ward. These  skins  are  habitually  used  for 
transporting  liquids,  such  as  wine,  water, 
milk,  oil,  and  are  admirably  adapted  to  that 
purpose.  Every  traveler,  in  Egypt  or  Pales- 
tine, often  sees  them,  and  sometimes  drinks 
water  from  them.  They  are  mentioned  by 
Homer  and  other  classical  writers,  and  in 
various  passages  of  the  Old  Test.  Both  in 
ancient  and  modern  times,  larger  vessels  have 
sometimes  been  prepared  of  the  skin  of  the 
ox  or  the  camel.  However  preserved,  these 
skins  would  of  course  become  hard  as  they 
grew  old,  liable  to  crack  and  burst,  through 
the  fermentation  of  new  wine.  (Comp.  Ps. 
119:  &3;  Job  32:  19.)  It  is  a  mistake  to  sup- 
pose that  the  Jews  had  no  other  vessels  for 
holding  liquids  than  these  skins.  Vessels  of 
metal,  as  gold,  of  earthenware,  even  fine  por- 
celain, of  stone,  and  alabaster,  and  of  vari- 
ously colored  glass,  were  in  use  among  the 
Egyptians  from  an  early  period,  and  most  of 
them  among  the  Greeks,  Etruscans,  and  As- 
syrians; and  the  Jews,  especially  in  New 
Test,  times,  would  no  doubt  import  and  use 
them.  (Comp.  26:  7;  Jer.  19:  1;  Lam.  4:  2.) 
This  second  illustration  is  to  the  same  effect 
as  that  in  v.  16;  just  as  we  often  find  a  pair  of 
parables,  in  chap.  IJ^,  and  elsewhere.  Both 
are  drawn,  as  is  usual  in  our  Lord's  compari- 
sons, from  matters  of  common  observation 
and  experience.  The  "spiritualizing"  as  to 
what  the  'skins'  represent,  and  what  the 
'wine' — what  the  'garment'  stands  for,  and 
what   the    'patch,'    is  wholly   unwarranted. 


(See  on  13 :  3. )  We  have  simply  a  vivid  illus- 
tration of  the  general  truth  that  the  combina- 
tion of  the  Old  and  the  New  Dispensations 
would  be  not  merely  unsuitable  but  injurious, 
tending  to  defeat,  rather  than  to  promote,  the 
aims  of  the  Messianic  Dispensation.  And  in 
the  second  case  there  is  added  the  positive 
statement.  Buttheyput  new  wine  into  new 
bottles,  etc.,  showing  (Meyer)  that  a  new  life 
needs  new  forms.  "While  the  principle  here 
illustrated  was  introduced  with  regard  to 
fasting,  it  is  obviously  of  wider  applica- 
tion, extending  to  everything  in  which  the 
two  dispensations  characteristically  differ; 
and  the  great  mass  of  the  Christian  world, 
from  an  early  period,  has  sadly  exhibited  the 
evil  results  of  disregarding  this  principle. 
They  would,  notwithstanding  this  and  numer- 
ous other  warnings,  connect  Levitical  rites 
with  Christianity.  The  simple  preacher  and 
pastor  must  be  regarded  as  a  priest,  and  spir- 
itual blessings  must  depend  on  his  mediation, 
as  if  it  were  not  true  that  all  Christians  are 
priests,  and  all  alike  have  access  through  the 
one  Mediator.  The  simple  memento  of  the 
Saviour's  death  must  be  a  sacrifice,  offered  by 
the  priest  for  men's  sins.  Numerous  religious 
festivals  and  stated  fasts  must  be  established 
and  enjoined,  tending  to  make  religion  a  thing 
only  of  special  seasons.  Thebuildingsin  which 
Christians  meet  to  worship  must  be  conse- 
crated as  being  holy  ground,  like  the  temple, 
and  splendid  rites,  in  imitation  of  the  temple 
worship,  must  lead  men's  minds  away  from 
the  simple  and  sublime  spirituality  of  that 
worship  which  the  gospel  teaches.  With  good 
motives,  no  doubt,  on  the  part  of  many,  was 
this  jumble  of  Judaism  and  Christianity  in- 
troduced, and  with  good  motives  do  many  re- 
tain it ;  but  none  the  less  is  it  the  very  kind  of 
thing  the  Saviour  here  condemned  ;  and  with 
results  as  ruinous  as  he  declared.  It  is  not 
strange  that  Chrysostom  and  his  followers 
(Theophyl.,  Euthym.),  and  Jerome,  prac- 
ticing a  Judaized  Christianity,  were  unable  to 
understand  this  passage. 

Returning  now   to  the  series  of  miracles, 
Matthew  gives — 


204 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  IX. 


IS  While  he  spake  these  things  unto  them,  behold,  i 
there  cauje  a  cenain  ruler,  and  worshipped  him,  say- 
iu),',  My  daughter  is  even  now  dead:  but  come  and  lay 
tiiy  hand  upon  her,  and  she  shall  live. 

19  And  Jesus  arose,  and  followed  him,  and  so  did  his 
diMiiples. 

2U  And,  behold,  a  woman,  which  was  diseased  with 
an  i^ue  of  blood  twelve  years,  came  behind  Aim,  and 
touched  the  hem  of  his  garment : 


18  While  he  spake  these  things  unto  them,  behold, 
there  came  i  a  ruler,  and  worshippt-d  him,  saying, 
My  daughter  is  even  now  dead :  but  come  and  lay 

19  thy  baud  upon  her,  and  she  shall  live.  Aud  Jesus 
arose,  and  followed  him,  and  so  did  his  disciples. 

20  And  behold,  a  woman,  who  had  an  issue  of  blood 
twelve  years,  came  behind  him,  and  touched  the 


1  Or.  one  ruler. 


III.  Thk  Ruler's  Daughter,  and  the 
Woman  with  a  Flow  of  Blood,  v.  18-26. 

This  is  found  also  in  Mark  (»:  w-«)  and  Luke 
(8:  *i-56),  who  as  in  many  other  cases  give  va- 
rious details  which  Matthew  omits.  For  the 
general  connection,  see  on  v.  2. 

While  he  spake  (teas  saying)  these  things 
nnto  them,  with  emphasis  on  "  these  things." 
It  is  thus  plain  that  the  application  of  the 
ruler,  which  led  to  these  two  miracles,  was 
made  while  Jesus  was  in  the  act  of  speaking 
to  John's  disciples  and  the  Pharisees  (comp. 
on  V.  14)  These  miracles  must  therefore  have 
taken  place  at  Capernaum.  Behold,  some- 
thing remarkable.  A  certain  ruler,  or,  'one 
ruler '  (margin  Rev.  Yer. ),  as  in  8 :  19.  The 
Greek  text  is  here  greatly  confused,  but  there 
is  little  doubt  that  the  true  reading  is  that  of 
the  Rev.  Ver.  The  term  'ruler'  is  ambigu- 
ous, and  might  denote  a  member  of  the  San- 
hedrin,  as  Nicodemus  is  called  a  'ruler  of  the 
Jews'  (Johns:  1);  but  Mark  (»:  22)  says  he  was 
'one  of  the  rulers  of  the  synagogue.'  There 
were  several  of  these,  having  authority  over 
the  conduct  of  public  worship  in  the  syna- 
gogue (Acta  13: 15),  and  a  certain  influence 
rather  than  authority  over  the  social  relations 
and  personal  conduct  of  the  people  (comp.  on 
4:  23).  We  see  therefore  that  it  was  a  man 
of  importance  who  made  this  application. 
Luke  (8:41)  gives  his  name,  Jairus;  in  Old 
Test.  Jair.  Came.  The  common  Greek  text 
would  make  it  came  in,  viz.,  to  the  scene  of 
the  preceding  conversation,  probably  Mat- 
thew's residence  ;  but  the  more  probable  read- 
ins:  (as  in  W  H. )  would  mean  'came  near,' 
'approached.'  Worshipped  him,  bowed 
down  before  him  as  an  expression  of  profound 
respect  (comp.  8:  2).  My  daughter  is  even 
now  dead.  Luke  (»:«,  Bib.  un.  ver.)  in  giving 
the  substance  of  what  Jairus  said,  has  it 
'w^as  dj'ing.'  Mark  (s:  m,  Rev.ver.)  has,  'My 
little  daughter  is  at  the  point  of  death.'  And 
then  Mark  and  Luke  inform  us  that  while 
Jesus  was  on  his  way  to  the  ruler's  house,  and 


after  the  healing  of  the  woman,  messengei-s 
came  meeting  him  to  tell  the  ruler  that  his 
daughter  was  now  dead ;  and  that  Jesus  told 
him  not  to  fear,  etc.  Matthew  makes  no  men- 
tion of  this  me-sage,  and  we  conclude  (Cal- 
vin) that  designing  a  very  brief  account,  he 
has  condensed  the  incidents  so  as  to  present  at 
the  outset  what  was  actually  true  before  Jesus 
reached  the  house.  For  a  similar  case  of  con- 
densing see  on  8:  5.  But  come  and  lay  thy 
hand  upon  her.  Jairus  probably  thought  it 
necessary  that  Jesus  should  be  present  and 
touch  the  person  to  be  healed,  as  the  noble- 
man in  the  same  town  thought  (Johu4;47, 49) ; 
the  centurion  of  that  town  (8:8)  had  a  juster 
view. 

19.  In  Mark  (5:**)  and  Luke  (8:42)  we  are 
told  that  a  great  crowd  thronged  around 
Jesus  as  he  was  going,  and  that  Jesus  after- 
wards inquired,  when  in  the  midst  of  the 
crowd,  as  to  who  touched  him  (comp.  on  v. 
22). 

20-22.  On  the  way  to  the  ruler's  house  oc- 
curred another  miracle.  And,  behold,  a 
fresh  wonder.  A  woman  ....  with  an 
issue  of  blood  twelve  years.  We  know 
nothing  as  to  the  particular  nature  of  the 
hemorrhage,  but  the  most  obvious  supposition 
is  probably  correct.  We  learn  from  Mark 
(5:26)  and  Luke  (8:43)  that  she  had  been  sub- 
jected to  a  variety  of  methods  of  treatment  by 
numerous  physicians,  spending  her  entire  es- 
tate in  paying  them,  but  instead  of  receiving 
benefit,  had  been  growing  worse — a  chronic, 
aggravated,  and  unmanageable  case.  Strauss 
finds  an  unveracious  element  in  the  double 
occurrence  of  the  number  twelve  in  this  nar- 
rative (the  woman  has  suflTered  twelve  years, 
and  the  maiden  was  twelve  years  old,  Mark 
5:  42);  some  of  our  allegorizers  would  find  in 
it  a  deep  spiritual  meaning  —  which  is  the 
sillier  notion?  Came,  etc.,  or  coming  to  him 
from,  behind,  partly,  no  doubt,  through  gen- 
eral timidity,  partly  from  a  reluctance  to  have 
public  attention  called  to  her  peculiar  afflic- 


Ch.  IX.] 


MATTHEW. 


205 


21  For  she  said  within  herself,  If  I  may  but  touch  hia 
garment,  I  shall  be  whole. 

22  But  Jesus  turned  him  about,  and  when  he  saw  her, 
he  said.  Daughter,  be  of  good  comfort ;  thy  faith  hath 
made  thee  whole.  And  the  woman  was  made  whole 
from  that  hour. 


21  border  of  his  garment:  for  she  said  within  herself. 
If  I  do  but  touch  his  garment,  I  shall  be  i  made  whole. 

22  But  Jesus  turniug  aud  seeing  her  said.  Daughter,  lie 
of  good  cheer;  thy  faith  hath  *made  thee  whole. 
And  the  woman  was  ^made  whole  from  that  hour. 


1  Or,  lattd.... Staved  thee. 


I 


tion;  and  perhaps  also  because  the  law  made 
her  ceremonially  unclean  (Le».  i5:.j5),  and  she 
was  afraid  of  being  censured  and  repelled  if  it 
should  be  known  that  in  that  condition  she 
had  come  into  the  crowd,  since  any  one 
would  likewise  become  unclean  by  touching 
her.  Touched  the  hem  (border)  of  his 
garment.  We  know  from  Num.  15:  37  ff. ; 
Deut.  22:  12,  that  the  Israelites  were  directed 
to  wear  on  the  corners  of  the  upper  garment  a 
fringe  or  tassel  (we  cannot  certainly  deter- 
mine the  exact  meaning),  with  an  occasional 
blue  thread.  These  were  designed,  as  being 
always  before  their  eyes,  to  remind  them  con- 
tinually of  the  commandments  of  the  Lord, 
which  they  were  solemnly  bound  to  obey.  If 
we  think  of  the  outer  garment  as  merely  an 
oblong  cloth  thrown  around  the  person  like  a 
large  shawl — as  it  undoubtedly  was  in  many 
cases  (see  on  5:  40) — then  'tassel'  is  the  more 
natural  idea;  and  in  that  case  'the  tassel' 
would  be  simply  the  one  nearest  to  her.  The 
Jews  attached  great  importance  to  this  fringe 
or  tassel,  the  ostentatious  Pharisees  making  it 
very  large  (see  on  23 :  5) ;  and  it  is  possible 
that  the  woman  thought  there  might  be  a 
peculiar  virtue  in  touching  this,  wiiich  was 
worn  by  express  divine  command — though 
such  a  supposition  is  not  necessary.  See  a 
good  discussion  of  the  probable  dress  of  Jesus 
in  Edersheim. 

21.  For  she  said  within  herself,  as  in 
V.  3.  Strictly  it  is,  was  saying ;  i.  e.,  at  the 
time  when  she  pressed  through  the  crowd  and 
touched  him.  If  I  may  but— better,  if  I  only 
— touch  his  garment.  The  '  may  '  of  Com. 
Ver.  is  misleading.  We  do  not  know  how  far 
this  feeling  of  hers  was  mingled  with  supersti- 
tion, but  in  the  main  her  conviction  was  just, 
since  Jesus  commends  her  faith,  and  power 
did  go  forth  from  him  (Luke8:4«).  the  moment  I 
she  touched  him.  It  was  usual  in  miracles  of 
healing  that  some  manifest  connection  should 
be  established,  however  slight,  between  the 
sufferer  and  the  healer,  as  in  Peter's  shadow 
(Act«5:io)  and  Paul's  handkerchiefs.  (Acts  i9: 12 )  j 
See  also  14:  36;  Mark  6:   56;  Luke  6:  19.  I 


I  shall  be  (7na.de)  whole,  literally,  'saved' ; 
the  word  has  been  explained  on  1 :  21  as  sig- 
nifying 'preserve'  and  'deliver,'  and  as  ap- 
plied to  physical  dangers,  disease  and  death,  as 
well  as  to  sin  and  its  consequences.  What 
strong  faith  this  woman  possessed!  And  it 
was  justified  by  the  event ;  for  immediately 
(Mark 5:29)  she  felt  the  discasc  was  indeed 
healed — healed  by  merely  touching  the  edge 
of  Jesus'  garment,  when  all  the  skill  of  the 
ablest  physicians,  through  all  the  weary  years, 
had  been  unable  to  relieve  it. 

22.  But  Jesus  turned,  etc.  Matthew 
omits  the  facts  narrated  at  length  by  Mark 
and  Luke,  that  she  touched  him  in  the  midst 
of  a  great  crowd,  and  he  insisted  on  being 
told  who  it  was  that  had  touched  him.  We 
can  see  that  it  was  not  proper  to  let  her  be 
healed  and  go  off,  apparently  without  his 
knowledge;  because  this  fact,  as  it  should 
gradually  become  known,  would  confirm  men 
in  the  superstitious  notion  that  he  performed 
healing  involuntarily  and  unconsciously,  as 
if  by  some  magical  virtue  inherent  in  his  per- 
son. His  asking  who  it  was  is  not  inconsistent 
with  the  idea  that  he  knew.  Comp.  Elisha's 
asking,  'Whence  comest  thou,  Gehazi?' 
(iKingsS:  ?5),  though  Well  aware  of  all  that  he 
had  done;  and  God's  saying  to  Adam,  'Where 
art  thou?'  See  also  Luke  24:  19,  where 
Jesus  asks,  'What  things?'  though  he  must 
have  understood  what  they  meant.  He  asked 
the  woman  in  order  to  brin^her  to  confession, 
which  would  be  a  benefit  to  herself — prevent- 
ing superstition,  strengthening  faith,  and 
deepening  gratitude — as  well  as  to  others. 
Daughter,  etc.,  or.  Courage,  daughter. 
Comp.  on  v,  2.  '  Daughter,'  in  this  figurative 
and  kindly  use,  appears  nowhere  in  the  New 
Test.,  save  in  this  narrative.  (M.irk5:34;  i,uite«:48.) 
Thy  faith  hath  made  thee  whole,  literally, 
saved,  as  in  v.  21.  The  perfect  tense  vividly 
represents  the  healing  as  standing  complete. 
Her  faith  was  of  course  not  the  source  of  the 
healing,  but  its  procuring  cause,  as  leading 
her  to  apply  to  the  healing  power  of  Jesus, 
and  as  being  the  reason  why  the  application 


206 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  IX. 


23  And  when  Jesus  came  into  the  ruler's  house,  and 
saw  the  minstrels  and  tlie'people  making  a  noise, 

24  He  said  unto  them, (jive  place:  for  the  maid  is  not 
dead,  but  sleepeth.    And  they  laughed  him  to  scorn. 

25  lUit  when  the  people  were  put  forth,  he  went  in, 
and  took  her  by  the  hand,  and  the  maid  arose. 


23  And  when  Jesus  came  into  the  ruler's  house,  and 
saw  the    tlute-players,  and    the   crowd  making  a 

24  tumult,  he  said,  Give  place:  for  the  damsel  is  not 
dead,  but  sleepeth.     And  they  laughed  him  to  scorn. 

25  But  when  the  crowd  was  put  forth,  he  entered  in, 
and  took  her  by  the  hand;  and  the  damsel  arose. 


was  successful.  See  the  same  expression  used 
in  Luke7:50;  17:  19;  18:  42.  Was  made 
whole  {healed)  from  that  hour.  The  heal- 
ing took  place  at  the  moment  of  the  touch ; 
what  ii  here  said  is  that  from  that  time  for- 
ward she  was  no  more  sick,  but  well — not  only 
delivered,  but  preserved.  So  in  15:  28;  17:  18. 
Eusebius  ("Hist."  VII.  17)  gives  a  tradition 
that  this  woman's  name  was  Veronica. 

23-26.  This  resumes  the  narrative  of  v.  18  f. 
We  learn  from  Mark  (5:37)  and  Luke  (8:oi) 
that  Jesus  suffered  no  one  to  go  into  the  house 
with  him  save  Peter  and  James  and  John,  and 
the  parents  of  the  girl.  The  other  two  occasions 
on  which  he  took  these  three  disciples  only, 
viz., the  Transfiguration  and  Gethsemane,were 
singularly  solemn  and  momentous.  What  was 
there  corresponding  in  this  case  ?  It  was  the  first 
instance  of  our  Lord's  raising  the  dead.  And 
saw  the  minstrels,  etc.,  rather  in  Rev.  Ver., 
theflute  players  (comp.  Rev.  18:  22),  and  the 
crowd  making  atumult,  the  same  Greek  word 
as  in  Mark  6:  39;  Acts  17:  5;  20:  10.  This 
last  expression  is  confined  in  the  original  to 
the  crowd,  so  that  a  comma  is  needed  after 
'  flute  players.'  It  was  the  custom  in  the  East 
and  still  is,  for  the  relatives  and  special  friends 
of  the  dying  person  to  gather  round  the  couch, 
and  the  moment  the  breath  ceased  they  would 
break  out  into  loud  cries,  with  every  excla- 
mation and  sign  of  the  most  passionate  grief; 
and  unable  to  continue  this  themselves,  they 
would  hire  professional  mourners,  especially 
women,  who  wouJd  keep  up  the  loud,  wailing 
cry  throughout  the  day  and. night.  (Comp. 
Jer.  9:  17;  16:  6  f.  ;  Ezek.  24:17;  Amos  5 : 
16;  2  Chron.  35:  26.)  Persons  of  wealth 
might  afford  to  hire  musicians  also ;  and  Jairus 
being  a  man  of  consideration,  a  ruler  of  the 
synagogue,  we  find  that  the  flute  players  have 
arrived,  and  although  but  a  few  minutes  after 
the  child's  decease,  already  there  is  a  crowd 
present,  making  a  tumultuous  noise  of  lam- 
entation. All  these  things  are  witnessed  by 
travelers  in  Egypt  or  Palestine  at  the  present 
day. 

24.  Is  not  dead,  bat  sleepeth.  Jesus 
speaks  with  reference  to  what  he  intends  to 


do.  She  is  going  to  rise  up  presently  as  one 
who  had  been  asleep,  so  that  her  death  will  be, 
in  the  result,  no  death  ;  it  will  only  be  as  if  she 
were  sleeping.  Likewise  in  John  11 :  11,  he 
speaks  of  Lazarus  as  sleeping,  because  he  was 
going  to  awake  him  out  of  sleep.  Thus  there 
was  no  occasion  for  the  noisy  mourning,  and 
the  preparations  for  a  funeral ;  and  the  crowd 
must  withdraw.  Laughed  him  to  scorn. 
This  might  onlj'  mean  that  anybody  could  see 
she  was  dead  (Lukesiosi,  and  it  seemed  silly  to 
think  otherwise.  But  there  in  Capernaum, 
where  he  had  wrought  many  miracles,  it  may 
be  that  they  supposed  he  would  tr}'  to  heal 
her,  and  thought  the  attempt  absurd,  as  she 
was  unquestionably  dead,  and  it  was  too  late. 
It  is  not  likely  they  thought  he  was  i)roposing 
to  bring  the  dead  to  life,  which  he  had  never 
done.  Their  scornful  laughter  shows  that  the 
people  were  by  no  means  swift  to  believe  in 
his  miraculous  powers  and  his  divine  mission  ; 
and  thus  renders  the  wondering  acknowledg- 
ment, repeatedly  extorted  from  them  by  facts, 
an  evidence  all  the  more  valuable  and  satis- 
factory. 

25.  But  when  the  people  were  put 
forth,  or,  thrust  out,  the  word  implying  some 
constraint  or  urgency.  He  was  as  yet  in  the 
more  public  reception  room  of  the  dwelling. 
Having  expelled  the  crowd,  he  (with  the 
parents  and  his  three  followers  (LukeS:  si),  went 
in,  viz.,  into  the  inner  room  where  the  body 
was  lying.  Took  her  by  the  hand.  Touch- 
ing the  dead  body,  like  touching  the  leper 
(8:s),  or  being  touched  by  the  woman  with  a 
flow  of  blood,  would  have  the  effect,  accord- 
ing to  the  law,  of  producing  the  highest  de- 
gree of  ceremonial  unclcanness;  but  in  all 
these  cases  Jesus,  instead  of  receiving  pollu- 
tion through  the  touch,  imparted  cleansing. 
Mark  (5;  «)  and  Luke  (8:54)  relate  that  in  ad- 
dition to  grasping  her  hand  he  spoke,  and 
bade  her  arise.  Also  that  he  charged  her 
parents  much,  not  to  tell  what  had  happened 
(comp.  on  8  :  4),  notwithstanding  which  we 
find  here  that  the  fame  thereof  went 
abroad  into  all  that  land,  i.  e.,  Galilee,  or 
the  parts  of  Galilee  adjacent  to  Capernaum. 


Ch.  IX.] 


MATTHEW. 


207 


26  And  the  fame  hereof  went  abroad  into  all  that  land. 

27  And  when  Jesus  departed  thence,  two  blind  men 
followed  him,  crying,  and  saying.  Thou  Son  of  David, 
have  mercy  on  us. 

28  And  when  he  was  come  into  the  house,  the  blind 
men  came  to  him  :  and  Jesus  saith  unto  them,  Believe 
ye  that  1  am  able  to  do  this?  They  said  unto  him.  Yea, 
Lord. 

29  Then  touched  he  their  eyes,  saying,  According  to 
your  faith  be  it  unto  you. 


26  And  1  the  fame  hereof  went  forth  into  all  that  land. 

27  And  as  Jesus  passed  by  from  thence,  two  blind 
men  followed  him,  crying  out,  and  saying.  Have 

28  mercy  on  us,  thou  Son  of  David.  And  when  he  was 
come  into  the  house,  the  blind  men  came  to  him: 
and  Jesus  saith  unto  them,  Believe  ye  that  I  am 
able  to  do  this?    They  say  unto  him.  Yea,  Lord. 

29  Then  touched  he  their  eyes,  saying,  According  to 


1  Or.  thitfamt. 


The  woman,  for  one  reason,  was  required  to 
tell;  Jairu3,for  another,  was  forbidden  to  tell. 
It  cannot  be  that  Jesus  expected  the  matter 
to  remain  wholly  unknown ;  he  probably 
wished  to  prevent  their  speaking  of  it  at  once 
and  generally,  as  they  would  have  done,  be- 
cause in  that  case  there  would  have  been  too 
much  excitement  produced,  by  the  series  of 
extraordinary  miracles  then  occurring  in  im- 
mediate succession.  (Comp.  on  v.  28.;  Stier  : 
"Three  awakenings  from  death  the  Spirit  has 
caused  to  be  recorded  for  us,  though  others 
may  well  have  taken  place ;  and  these  indeed, 
in  a  remarkable  and  significant  progression 
....  the  maiden  is  here  dead  upon  her  bed,  the 
young  man  at  Nain  was  carried  forth  upon  liis 
bier,  Lazarus  had  lain  four  days  in  his  grave." 
The  series  of  miracles  in  ch.  9,  and  the 
whole  group  of  ch.  8  and  9,  ends  with — 

IV.  Healing  Two  Blind  Men,  and  a 
Dumb  Demoniac,  v.  27-34. 

These  miracles  are  not  recorded  by  the 
other  Evangelists. 

^7 '3\.  Healing  the  blind  men.  And  when 
Jesus  departed  thence — was  passing  along 
thence — the  same  expression  as  in  v.  9.  It  shows 
that  the  following  miracles  occurred  immedi- 
ately after  the  preceding.  Followed  him,  in 
the  purely  literal  sense,  went  along  behind  him. 
They  may  have  been  sitting  beside  the  road 
when  hepassed  by,  as  in  Luke  18:  35-87.  Have 
mercy,  or,  have  pity.  The  word  really  includes 
both  ideas,  and  the  latter  is  the  one  here  promi- 
nent (SeeonS:  7.)  By  saying,  Son  of  David, 
they  declare  their  belief  that  he  is  the  Mes- 
siah. (Comp.  22:  42;  16:  22.)  The  order  of 
the  Greek  shows  that  their  first  thought  was 
for  mercy  on  themselves — very  naturally. 
They  had  probably  heard  of  Jesus'  niiraclei», 
perhaps  of  the  two  wonderful  works  juot 
wrought.  If  one  inquires  why  they  should 
believe  him  to  be  Messiah,  while  others 
did  not,  we  can  only  reply  by  asking  why 
there  is  a  similar  difference  now.  The  Gos- 
pels frequently  mention  blind  i)ersons  healed. 


(11:6;  U:  22;  15:30;  20:30;  -21:14;  Mark  8:  22  ;  John  5  :  3;  9:1.) 

Blindness  is  much  more  common  in  the  East 
than  among  us,  in  consequence  of  abounding 
dust,  the  practice  of  sleeping  in  the  open  air, 
the  sudden  change  from  darkened  houses  to 
dazzling  light  without,  and  the  fact  that  their 
head-dress  does  not  protect  the  eyes. 

28.  Into  the  house,  viz.,  the  house  to 
which  he  returned  from  that  of  the  ruler, 
(v. 23.)  It  may  have  been  Matthew's  house 
(v.  10),  or  Peter's  (»:  u),  or  some  other  which 
Jesus  made  his  usual  place  of  abode  at 
Capernaum.  (Comp.  13  :  1,  86;  17  :  25.)  Ob- 
serve that  in  Capernaum  occurs  all  that  is 
narrated  in  v.  2-34,  as  well  as  in  8:  5-22.  As 
they  followed  him  along  the  street,  Jesus  gave 
them  no  answer  or  notice;  but  when  he  had 
entered  the  house,  they  approached  and  he 
spoke  to  them.  This  failure  to  notice  them  at 
first  was  doubtless  designed  (1)  to  develop 
and  strengthen  their  faith  (comp.  15:  23); 
(2)  to  avoid  the  excitement  which  another 
public  miracle  just  then  might  have  produced 
among  the  people,  already  stirred  by  the 
healing  of  the  woman,  and  by  the  rapidly 
spreading  news  of  the  raising  of  Jairus' 
daughter  to  life.  (Comp.  on  v.  2-6.)  The 
question,  Believe  ye  that  I  am  able?  de- 
veloped into  greater  clearness  the  faith  they 
had  already  shown  bj-  following  and  asking. 
In  their  answer,  Lord  is  probably  no  more 
than  a  very  respectful  form  of  address.  (See 
on  8:  2.)  Jesus  was  more  ready  to  work 
miracles  where  tliere  was  faith  in  him, 
(Comp.  on  V.  2,  22,  and  18:  58.)  But  it  is 
too  much  to  suj'  that  he  never  wrought 
miracles  without  faith;  instance  the  widow's 
son  at  Nain,  and  Malchus'  ear.  Observe  that 
his  question  was  simply  whether  they  believed 
that  he  could  heal  them;  his  willingness  re- 
mained to  be  seen.     (Comp.  on  8:2.) 

20.  T«)Uching  the  eyes  of  the  blind  (comp. 
20-34),  was  a  natural  and  kindly  act,  like 
taking  the  hand  of  one  prostrate  with  fever. 
(8: 1&.)    According  to  your  faith  be  it — let 


208 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  IX. 


30  And  their  eyes  were  opened;  and  Jesus  straitly 
charged  them,  saying,  See  that  no  man  know  U. 

31  But  they,  when  they  were  departed,  spread  abroad 
his  fame  iu  all  thut  country. 

32  As  they  went  out,  hehold,  they  brought  to  him  a 
dumb  man,  possessed  with  a  devil. 

33  And  wlien  the  devil  was  cast  out,  the  dumb  spake: 
and  the  muliitudus  marvelled,  saying.  It  was  never  so 
seen  in  Israel. 

34  But  the  Pharisees  said.  He  casteth  out  devils 
through  the  prince  of  the  devils. 


30  your  faith  be  it  done  unto  you.  And  their  eyes  were 
opened.    And  Jesus  >  strictly  charged  them,  sayiug, 

31  See  that  no  man  know  it.  But  they  went  forth,  and 
spread  abroad  his  fame  in  all  that  land. 

32  And  as  they  went  forth,  behold,  there  was  brought 

33  to  him  a  dumb  man  possessed  with  a  demon.  And 
when  the  demon  was  cast  out,  the  dumb  man  spake: 
and  the  multitudes  marvelled,  saying.  It  was  never 

34  80  seen  iu  Israel.  But  the  Pharisees  said,  2  By  tbe 
prince  of  the  demons  casteth  he  out  demons. 


)  Or,  itarnlg....2  Or,  In. 


it  happen— unto  you.  (Cornp.  on  8:  13). 
An  old  German  writer  says  that  faith  is  like  a 
bucket  by  which  we  draw  from  the  inex- 
liaustible  fountain  of  God's  mercy  and  good- 
ness, to  which  otherwise  we  cannot  penetrate ; 
and  Calvin  compares  it  to  a  purse,  which 
may  itself  be  worthless,  but  filled  with  money 
makes  the  man  rich. 

30.  And  their  eyes  were  opened.  We 
have  no  means  of  judging  whether  this  physi- 
cal blessing  was  attended  with  the  pardon  of 
their  sins.  (Comp.  on  8:3.)  The  fact  that 
they  soon  after  disobeyed  Christ's  explicit  and 
emphatic  command  renders  it  improbable 
that  they  believed  unto  salvation,  though  not 
impossible.  And  Jesus  straitly  {sternly) 
charged  them,  an  unclassical,  but  natural 
sense  of  the  Greek  word,  found  also  in  Mark 
1:  43.  The  expression  implies  that  he  would 
be  seriously  di.spleased  if  they  disobeyed.  As 
to  the  probable  reasons  for  this,  comp.  on  8: 
4;  and  add  here  that  they  were  virtually  call- 
ing him  Messiah,  which  might  excite  popu- 
lar fanaticism.  (16:20;  John  6: 15.)  He  may  have 
spoken  with  greater  severity  of  manner,  be- 
cause a  similar  injunction  in  previous  cases 
had  been  disregarded ;  yet  it  was  disregarded 
again  in  this  case.  Spread  abroad  his  fame 
in  all  that  country,  as  in  v.  26.  The  Com. 
Ver.,  with  its  passion  for  variety,  must  needs 
give  'land'  in  v.  26,  and  'country'  here, 
though  the  Greek  has  the  same  word  and  in 
the  same  connection,  and  though  the  earlier 
Eng.  versions  translate  it  alike  in  both  places. 
Some  have  sought  to  excuse  the  disobedience 
of  tbe  two  men  on  the  ground  that  it  was 
very  natural,  and  was  no  doubt  sincerely  de- 
signed to  do  him  honor.  But  still  it  was  a 
fault.  What  can  be  so  pleasing  to  him,  or  so 
conducive  to  his  glory,  as  simple,  unquestion- 
ing, loving  obedience? 


32-34.  Healing  a  dumb  demoniac.  This 
is  not  related  by  the  other  Evangelists.  And 
as  they  went  {tcere  going)  out,  namely,  out 
of  the  house  in  which  they  had  been  healed. 
(T.28-)  'They'  is  slightly  emphatic,  standing 
in  contrast  to  the  next  person  who  came  to  be 
healed.  Behold,  calling  attention  to  what 
follows  as  wonderful.  They  brought  to  him, 
i.  e.,  some  persons  brought;  impersonal  or 
indefinite,  as  in  5  :  11 ;  9  :  17,  and  often.  A 
dumb  man  possessed  with  a  devil,  a  de- 
moniac, see  on  8  :  28,  31.  Comp.  Mark  9 :  25 
for  a  similar  case.  Mark  7:  32  mentions  a 
deaf  man  who  spoke  with  difliculty,  and  sai'S 
nothing  of  demoniacal  influence.  Matt.  12:  22 
gives  a  demoniac  who  was  both  blind  and 
dumb.  And  the  multitudes,  crowds,  as  in 
5:  1;  9:  8,  and  often.  Marvelled, etc.  Won- 
dered, saying,  It  never  at  any  time  appeared 
thus  in  Israel;  there  was  never  such  a  thing 
seen  before,  in  all  the  wonderful  history  of 
the  nation.  (Comp.  Mark  2:  12;  John  9:  32.) 
Probably  their  wonder  referred  not  mereh' 
to  this  last  case  of  the  dumb  demoniac,  but  to 
the  series  of  miracles  that  daj' wrought,  and,  it 
would  seem,  in  quick  succession — the  woman, 
the  daughter  of  Jairus,  the  two  blind  men, 
and  now  the  dumb  man.  The  Evangelists 
never  stop  to  say  themselves  that  the  miracles 
of  Jesus  were  wtmderful.  To  them  these 
things  were  not  astonishingnow  as  they  looked 
back  from  the  time  of  writing  their  narratives, 
for  it  was  a  fact  long  familiar  to  their  minds 
that  he  who  wrought  thein  was  divine ;  and  so 
they  calmly  tell  the  storj'  of  miracle  after  mir- 
acle, withoutany  exclamation  or  remark.  But 
it  was  appropriate  to  mention,  as  they  often 
do,  the  wonder  felt  by  the  persons  witnessing 
a  miracle,  because  this  was  one  of  the  evi- 
dences of  its  manifest  reality.  V.  34.'  But 
the  Pharisees  said,  strictly  'were  sayitig,' 


1  W  H.  bracket  this  verse,  as  of  doubtful  genuineness. 
But  the  only  evidence  for  omitting  is  that  of  D,  two 
copies  of  the  old  Latin,  and  two  Latin  Fathers  of  the 
fourth  century,  evidence  exclusively  "  Western,"  and 


j  quite  meagre.  This  often  arbitrary  "  Western  "  type 
of  text  might  easily  have  omitted  the  sentence,  from 
the  notion  th.-it  such  a  thing  occurred  but  once  and 

I  that  its  true  place  is  iu  12 :  24. 


ri 


Ch.  IX.] 


MATTHEW. 


209 


viz.,  while  the  people  were  expiessing  their 
wonder.  Through,  literally  't«'  (margin  of 
Rev.  Ver.),  i.  e.,  in  union  with,  by  power  de- 
rived from,  the  prince  of  the  devils,  de- 
mons.  This  insulting  charge  was  probably 
made  on  the  present  occasion  in  the  absence 
of  Jesus,  but  made  afterwards  in  his  presence; 
see  on  12:  24.  The  Pharisees;  see  on  3:  7. 
They  had  been  finding  fault  with  Jesus  in 
connection  with  all  the  preceding  matters  for 
undertaking  to  forgive  sin  (v.  3),  for  associa- 
ting with  publicans  and  sinners  (v.  11),  and 
for  not  fasting  (v.  14),  and  now  their  opposi- 
tion grows  yet  more  bitter  and  bold,  when 
tliey  venture  upon  the  accusation  of  union 
with  Satan.  The  crowds,  for  their  part,  won- 
dered at  the  unparalleled  event,  but  the  Phari- 
sees tried  to  explain  it  away,  by  however  base- 
less and  blasphemous  a  supposition.  So  also 
in  12:  23  f.  They  were  not  willing  to  ac- 
knowledge the  truth  about  Jesus'  miracles, 
for  it  would  diminish  their  own  consideration 
among  the  people;  and  so  they  struck  out 
midly  after  some  explanation  or  other. 

Thus  ends  the  remarkable  series  of  miracles 
which  Matthew  has  grouped  (chap.  8  and  9), 
as  specimens  of  our  Lord's  wonderful  works. 
(Comp.  on  8:  1). 

HOMILETICAL   AND    PRACTICAL. 

Ch.  9:  2-8.  Sickness  and  sins:  1)  Some 
kinds  of  sickness  proceed  directly  from  sin, 
and  are  its  penalty.  21  Forgiveness  of  sin  is 
far  more  important  than  cure  of  sickness.  3) 
He  who  could  by  a  word  heal  the  severest 
sickness  can  also  forgive  sin.  4)  The  usual 
condition  of  miraculous  healing  was  faith, 
and  faith  is  the  indispensable  condition  of 
forgiveness  (v.  2).  6)  The  highest  ground  of 
cheerfulness  and  gratitude  is  to  have  our  sins 
forgiven  (v.  3).— V.  2.  Faith  and  healing.  1) 
In  rare  cases  Jesus  healed  without  faith,  as 
Malchus.  2)  Sometimes  upon  the  faith  of 
others,  as  the  nobleman  (John4:50),  the  cen- 
turion (8:10),  the  Syrophcenician.  fii:28)  3) 
Usually  upon  the  faith  of  the  sufferer,  v.  22, 
28,  and  often.  4)  Here  upon  the  faith  both  of 
the  sufferer  and  of  his  friends. — V.  3.  Henry  : 
"If  we  have  the  comfort  of  our  reconciliation 
to  God,  with  the  comfort  of  our  recovery  from 
sickness,  this  makes  it  a  mercy  indeed  to  us, 
88  to  Hezekiah.  Isa.  38:  17."— V.  4  f.  Chrys.  : 


"Jesus  here  does  two  things  superhuman — 
seeing  thoughts,  and  forgiving  sins." — V.  6. 
Chrys.:  "1)  Proof  of  the  forgiveness  by 
healing.  2)  Proof  of  the  healing,  by  carrying 
the  bed."— V.  8.  Comp.  the  effect  produced  at 
Carmel.  (i  Kings  is  :s!».)  Henry:  "Others' mer- 
cies should  be  our  praises." 

V.  9-11.  Matthew.    Ij  Abandoning  a  lucra- 
tive employment  to  follow  Jesus  in  poverty. 
2)  Turning  from  a  worldly  occupation  to  fol- 
low  Jesus  in   spirituality.       3)  Bringing  his 
former  wicked  companions  to  hear  Jesus,  if 
perchance  they  will  follow  him  too.    4)  Eising 
from  despised  publican  to  apostle  and  evan- 
gelist.—Chrys.  :  1)  "The  power  of  the  caller. 
2)  The  obedience  of  the  called." — Probably 
prepared   before   hand,   yet  still   at    his   old 
business  when  called. — Hknry  :    "As  Satan 
chooses  to  come,  with  his  temptations,  to  those 
that  are  idle,  so  Christ  chooses  to  come,  with 
his  calls,  to  those  that  are  employed." — V.  11. 
Jesus  eating  with  publicans  and  sinners.     1) 
Social  intercourse  affords  a  great  opportunity 
for  doing  people  good.     2)  The  worst  men 
must  be  treated  with  respect,  if  we  would  win 
them  to  piety ;  and  the  worst  men  have  in 
them  something  to  be  respected.     (Hall:  "I 
do  not  find  where  Jesus  was  ever  bidden  to 
any  table,  and  refused.'")     3)  A  man  of  de- 
spised calling  maj'  become  a  Christian,  and 
an  eminent  minister.    4)  It  may  be  lawful  to 
associate  with  very  wicked  people,  when  we 
can   he  confident  of  doing  them   good,   and 
are  duly  guarded  against  receiving  injury'. — 
V.  13.  Mercy  and  not  sacrifice.     1)  Professed 
teachers  of  Scripture  may  greatly  mistake  its 
meaning.     2)   The  externals  of   religion   are 
unacceptable  to  God,  without  its  true  spirit. 
3)  The  spirit  of  Christianity  teaches  a  kindly 
pit3'   for    even    the    grossly    wicked.      Jesus 
seemed  to  be  transgressing  the  law  of  cere- 
mony;  the  Pharisees  really  were  transgress- 
ing the  law  of  mercy.     4)  The  greatest  kind- 
ness we  can  do  to  wicked  people,  is  to  lead 
them  to  be  truly  pious.     5^  In  order  to  reach 
the  most  degraded  with  Christian  influences, 
we  must  treat  them  with  courtesy  and  respect. 
v.  14.  Henry:    "Fal.se  and   formal   pro- 
fessors often  excel  others  in  outward  acts  of 
devotion,  and  even  of  mortification.  ...  It  is 
common  for  vain   professors  to  make  them- 
selves a  standard  in  n  ligion,  by  which  to  try 
and  measure  persons  and  things,  as  if  all  who 


210 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  IX. 


35  And  Jesus  went  about  all  the  cities  and  villages,  I  35  And  Jesus  went  about  all  the  cities  and  the 
teaching  in  their  synago(jues,  and  preaching  the  gospel  villages,  teaching  in  their  synagogues,  and  preach- 
of  the  kingdom,  and  healing  every  sickness  and  every  ing  the  gospel  of  the  kingdom,  and  heuliug  all 
disease  among  the  people.  I 


differed  from  them  were  so  far  in  the  wrong; 
as  if  all  that  did  less  than  they,  did  too  little, 
and  all  that  did  more  than  they,  did  too 
much." — V.  15.  Fasting  is  proper  only  when 
it  has  a  natural  basis  in  some  actual  grief. — 
V.  16  f.  Christianity  and  Judaism  are  in  many 
respects  incongruous ;  let  us  not  Judaize  our 
Christianity. 

V.  18-21.  Parental  grief  and  personal  suf- 
fering both  leading  to  Jesus.— V.  20-22.  The 
timid  sufferer's  faith.  1)  Follows  the  failure 
of  all  natural  efforts  (Mark  6: 26)  ;  2)  Overcomes 
timidity  and  shame ;  3)  Presses  through  an 
unfriendly  throng;  4)  Brings  healing  instantly 
and  permanently  ;  5)  Gains  the  Saviours  ap- 
proval ;  6)  Bears  her  away  happy. — V.  23- 
26.  The  ruler" s  daughter.  1)  The  sorrowing, 
but  believing  father  ('■•is).  2)  The  noisy 
mourners,  loudly  proclaiming  her  dead.  3) 
The  silent  chamber  (comp.  Mark  6;  40),  and 
the  young  life  restored.  4)  The  supernatural 
healing,  followed  immediately  by  giving 
natural  food.  (Mark5:*3.)  Comp,  John6:  12. 
5)  The  restored  life  devoted,  let  us  hope,  to 
the  good  of  man,  and  the  glory  of  God. 

V.  27.  He>'ry:  "  It  becomes  those  that  are 
under  the  same  affliction,  to  concur  in  the 
same  prayers  for  relief  Fellow-sufferers 
should  be  joint  petitioners.  In  Christ  there  is 
enough  for  all." — V.  28.  Luthkr:  "Christ 
is  rejoiced  to  see  our  faith  persistent,  un- 
wearied, stiff-necked." — V.  29.  Hknry  : 
"They  who  apply  themselves  to  Jesus 
Christ  shall  be  dealt  with  according  to  their 
faith ;  not  according  to  their  fancies,  not 
according  to  their  professions,  but  accord- 
ing to  their  faith."— V.  30  f.  "We  often  fail  to 
speak  for  Jesus  when  we  ought,  but  sometimes 
fail  to  be  silent  when  we  ought 

V.  2-34.  Striking  examples  of  belief  in 
Jesus,  and  of  unbelief  (1)  Of  belief,  (a) 
The  paralytic,  v.  2 ;  (b)  The  publican,  v.  9 ; 
(c)  The  ruler  of  the  synagogue,  v.  18 ;  (d) 
The  long-afflicted  woman,  v.  21  f;  (e)  The 
two  blind  men,  v.  28.  (2)  Of  unbelief,  (a) 
The  scribes  accusing  him  of  blasphemy,  v.  3  ; 
(b)  The  Pharisees  complaining  that  he  eats 
with  publicans  and  sinners,  v  11;  (c)  The 
di.sciples  of  John,  with  their  skeptical  inquiry 
about  fasting,  v.  14;  (d)  The  crowd  at  Jairus' 


house  laughing  scornfully,  v.  24;  (e)  The 
Pharisees  charging  league  with  Satan,  v. 
34. 

9 :  35—10 :  15.  Mission  of  the  Twelvk. 

Our  Lord  here  undertakes  another  circuit 
of  Galilee,  similar  to  that  described  in  4:  23 
ff.,  and  in  connection  with  it  he  now  sends  out 
the  Twelve  to  engage  in  the  same  work,  viz., 
to  make  the  same  proclamation  of  the  near 
apjjroach  of  the  Messianic  reign  (c^mp.  10:  7 
with  4:  17),  and  to  work  similar  miracles  of 
healing.  (io:i,8.)  Before  sending  forth  the 
Twelve,  our  Lord  addressed  them  a  long 
discourse  (io:5-42),  giving  them  instruction  not 
only  for  this  mission,  but  for  all  their  subse- 
quent labors  in  his  name;  after  which  dis- 
course he  went  to  his  work  (u:i),  and  they  to 
theirs.  (Markeiiir. ;  Luke 9: 6.) — Somc  prefer  to  Con- 
sider this  as  not  the  record  of  a  distinct  jour- 
ney, but  simply  a  return  to  the  general  state- 
ment of  4:  23.  The  idea  would  thus  be,  that 
having  given  a  grand  specimen  of  our  Lord's 
teaching  (ch. 5-7),  and  a  group  of  specimens 
of  his  miracles  (ch.  s  and  9),  the  Evangelist 
now  repeats  the  general  description  of  his 
journeying,  teaching  and  healing  (same  terms 
in  9:  35  as  in  4:  23),  and  presently  branches 
off  again  to  describe  the  mission  of  the  Twelve. 
But  it  seems  more  likely  that  this  was  a  sec- 
ond and  distinct  journey.  Indeed,  Luke  ap- 
pears to  give  a  third  journey  (Luke  8: 1-3).  which 
a  Harmony  would  make  intermediate  between 
the  two  in  Matthew. — Our  present  section  in- 
cludes so  much  of  the  address  to  the  Twelve 
as  is  given  by  Mark  and  Luke  also.  The 
remainder  (v.  16-42)  is  given  by  Matthew 
only. 

I.  9 :  35  to  10 :  1.  Je-stts  is  moved  to 
SEND  OUT  THE  TwELVE.  While  engaged  in 
a  circuit  of  Galilee,  he  is  moved  with  com- 
passion at  the  spiritual  destitution  of  the 
people,  and  begins  to  prepare  the  Twelve  for 
going  out  as  teachers.  The  portion  in  v.  35-38 
is  found  in  Matthew  alone,  except  that  Mark 
(6:6)  says  simply,  'And  he  went  round  about 
the  villages  teaching.' 

35.  Same  as  4 :  23.  except  that  for  '  went  about 
all  Galilee'  we  here  have  more  particularly, 
went  about  all  the  cities  and  (the)  vil- 
lageS)  referring  still  to  Galilee,  as  the  con- 


Ch.  IX.] 


MATTHEAV. 


211 


36  But.  when  he  saw  the  multitudes,  he  was  moved 
with  compassion  on  them,  because  they  "fainted,  and 
were  scattered  abroad,  as  slieep  liaving  no  sheplierd. 

37  Then  saith  he  unto  his  disciples,  The  harvest 
truly  1*  plenteous,  but  the  lalwurers  are  few; 

38  Pray  ye  therefore  the  Lord  of  the  harvest,  that  he 
will  send  forth  labourers  into  his  harvest. 


36  manner  of  disease  and  all  manner  of  sickness.  But 
wlieu  he  saw  the  multitudes,  he  was  moved  with 
compassion  for  them,  because  they  were  distressed 

37  and  scattered,  as  sheep  not  having  ashepherd.  Then 
saith   he  unto  his  disciples.    The  harvest  truly  is 

38  plenteous,  but  the  labourers  are  few.    Pray  ye  there- 
fore the  Lord  of  the  harvest,  that  he  send  forth  ^ 
labourers  into  liis  harvest. 


!  tired  and  lay  down. 


nection  and  the  circumstances  show.  All  is 
so  placed  in  the  Greek  as  to  he  confined  to  the 
cities;  and  lie  could  not  have  visited  alL  the 
villages.  Josephus  says  there  were  in  Galilee 
not  less  than  two  hundred  and  four  cities  and 
populous  villages.  (See  on  4:  12.)  The  word 
rendered  villages  denotes  properly  a  town 
without  walls,  as  opposed  to  a  fortified  town. 
The  larger  places  would  of  course  all  be  for- 
tified. We  learn  then  that  our  Lord  made  a 
thorough  circuit,  going  into  all  the  large 
towns,  and  very  generally  into  the  smaller 
places  also.  He  did  «not  go  only  where  he 
could  have  a  very  large  congregation.  For 
every  sickness  and  every  disease — i.  e., 
every  kind,  not  necessarily  every  case — and 
for  the  other  terms,  see  on  4 :  23.  Among  the 
people,  com.  Greek  text,  is  omitted  on  over- 
whelming evidence.  Here  again,  as  in  8:  16 
and  4:  23,  we  must  pause  and  dwell  on  the 
strong  general  statement,  or  we  shall  not  ade- 
quately conceive  of  the  immense  extent  of 
our  Lord's  work  as  a  Healer. 

36.  But  when  he  saw  the  multitudes — 
crowds — as  in  5:  1.  As  there  his  compassion 
led  to  a  long  address  on  the  Mount,  so  here  it 
leads  him  to  send  out  the  Twelve,  that  they 
might  aid  in  the  so  much  needed  work  of 
teaching  and  healing.  Similarly  after  the 
return  of  the  Twelve.  (Mark 6:  si.)  In  the  pres- 
ent case,  as  in  5:  1,  we  understand  that  what 
follows  took  place  at  some  unassigned  time 
in  the  course  of  the  circuit  just  described. 
Because  they  fainted,  best  text,  were  dis- 
tressed, or  'harassed,'  'worried,'  rendered 
'trouble'  in  Mark  5:35;  Luke  8:  49.  The 
evidence  for  this  Greek  word  rather  than 
'  fainted'  (com.  Greek  text)  is  ample.  Scat- 
tered, literally,  'thrown,'  'hurled,'  might  i 
mean  prostrate  (so  Davidson),  lying  down,  as 
being  worn  out  and  unable  to  go  forward,  or 
might  mean  cast  off,  neglected ;  the  general 
conception  remains  the  same,  that  of  a  flock 
worried  and  suffering  for  lack  of  a  shepherd's 
care.  In  the  East,  where  sheep  wander  freely 
in  wild,  unenclosed  regions,  so  as  to  require 


constant  attention,  this  image  is  very  striking. 
Meyer  supposes  that  our  Lord  saw  the  people 
to  be  worn  out  with  following  him  in  long 
journeys,  and  that  this  suggested  to  him  the 
image  of  a  flock  tired  down  ;  but  the  supposi- 
tion seems  quite  improbable.  (Weiss).  The 
people  were  greatly  in  need  of  spiritual  in- 
struction and  guidance,  for  those  who  pro- 
fessed to  be  their  shepherds  were  hot  faithful 
and  safe  guides.  (See  the  same  expression  in 
Num.  27  :  17,  and  comp.  1  Kings  22:  17 ;  Jer. 
50:  6;  Ezek.  34:  5;  Zech.  10:  2.) 

37,  38.  He  seeks  to  awaken  a  similar  com- 
passion in  his  followers.  Disciples,  see  on 
5:  1.  There  were  probably  other  disciples 
present,  besides  the  Twelve  (io:i),  and  the  ex- 
hortation to  pray  was  addressed  to  them  all, 
but  only  the  Twelve  were  at  that  time  sent 
forth ;  at  a  later  period,  seventy  others.  (Luke 
10:1.)  The  figure  of  reaping  a  harvest  he  had 
employed  before  (perhaps  a  year  before),  at 
Jacob's  well  (John  4: 35  er.),  and  will  use  again 
when  sending  out  the  seventy.  (Luke  10:2.) 
Truly  represents  the  Greek  word  (men)  ex- 
plained on  3:  11,  which  denotes  merely  that 
this  clause  is  set  in  contrast  with  what  follows. 
The  idea  is  suflicientl3'  expressed  in  English 
by  an  emphatic  utterance  of  'harvest'  and 
'laborers';  it  was  so  rendered  by  Tyn.  and 
Gen.  (so  also  Davidson),  'truly'  being  intro- 
duced by  Great  Bible.  The  harvest  signi- 
fies, not  (as  some  explain)  the  elect,  those 
who  will  actually  be  saved,  but  men  in  gen- 
eral, who  unless  gathered  and  saved  will 
perish  like  wheat  that  is  not  reaped. — Thi« 
compassion  for  perishing  men  will  naturally 
lead  to  prayer  for  laborers  (v.  36),  nnd  such 
compassion  and  prayer  will  foi'm  the  best, 
preparation  for  going  forth  to  be  laborers  our- 
selves. (10: 1.)  Any  man  who  is  called  of  God 
to  devote  himself  to  preaching  the  gospel 
will  have  felt  something,  ought  to  have  felt 
much,  of  this  pitying  love  for  his  perish- 
ing fellow  men,  and  will  have  prayed  much 
for  their  rescue;  and  those  engaged  in 
that  work  should  be  careful  to  maintain,  as 


212 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  X. 


CHAPTER  X 


AND  when  he  had  called  unto  him  his  twelve  disci- 
ples, he  gave  them  power  »ooa t»i»<  uncleau  spirits, 
to  cast  them  out,  and  to  heal  all  uianuer  of  sickness 
and  all  manner  of  disease. 

2  Now  the  names  of  the  twelve  apostles  are  these ; 
The  first,  Simon,  who  is  called  Peter,  and  Andrew  his 
brother;  James  the  son  of  Zebedee,  and  John  his 
brother ; 


1  And  he  called  unto  him  his  twelve  disciples,  and 
gave  them  authority  over  uncleau  spirits,  to  cast 
them  out,  and  to  heal  all  manner  of  disease  and  all 
manner  of  siclcness. 

2  Now  the  names  of  the  twelve  apostles  are  these: 
The  first,  Simon,  wiio  is  called  Peter,  and  Andrew 
his  brother ;  James  the  son  of  Zebedee,  and  Jolin  his 


long  as  they  live,  this  same  pity  and  prayer. 
And  not  only  preachers,  but  all  Christians, 
should  feel  as  Jesus  felt,  and  should  regularly 
and  habitually  pray  this  prayer.  Send  forth 
is  literal h'  cast  out,  'throw  out,'  or  'thrust 
out,'  the  same  word  that  is  used  in  v.  33  f ,  in 
10:  1,  and  above  in  v.  25  (where  see  note). 
Comp.  its  use  in  Mark  1 :  12;  James  2:  25.  It 
always  implies  urgency,  haste,  constraint,  or 
some  such  idea,  and  here  means  that  the 
laborers  should  be  sent  out  promptly,  pushed 
into  their  work.  Beza  :  "  For  we  are  all  very 
tardy,  especially  in  such  matters."  This  same 
word  is  retained  when  our  Lord  speaks  to  the 
seventy.  (Lukeio:2.)i  Such  laborers  as  the 
Lord  of  the  harvest  does  put  forth,  we  may 
endeavor,  with  his  blessing,  to  train  for  the 
better  performance  of  their  work  (see  on  10 : 
1);  but  they  must  be  his  laborers,  not  ours, 
called  into  the  work,  and  urged  to  the  per- 
formance of  it,  by  himself. 

10  :  1.  Having  led  the  disciples  to  feel  in- 
terest in  perishing  throngs  of  men,  and  en- 
couraged them  to  pray  for  laborers,  Jesus  now 
bids  them  go  forth  to  labor  themselves.  We 
ought  carefully  to  observe  the  slow  and  grad- 
ual process  by  which  our  Lord  prepared  the 
Twelve  for  theirgreat  and  important  life-work. 
First,  he  called  various  individuals  to  be  his  dis- 
ciples, as,  for  example,  those  in  John  1 :  35-51 ; 
these  went  with  him  for  a  time,  but  afterwards 
returned  to  their  homes  and  their  secular  em- 
ployments. Next,  he  called  some  to  attach 
themselves  permanently  to  him,  as  above  in 
4 :  18-22,  stating  at  the  time  his  intention  to 
make  them  fishers  of  men.  After  a  while,  he 
selected  from  the  general  mass  of  his  follow- 
ers the  Twelve,  who  were  to  be  specially  near 
to  him,  and  to  be  trained  for  special  duties; 
delivering  to  them,  immediately  after  their 
selection  (see  on  5:  1),  a  great  discourse  on  the 
true  nature  of  that  Messianic  reign  which  they 
were  to  aid  in  bringing  about.     And  now,  at 


a  still  later  period,  when  they  have  been  long 
hearing  his  discourses  to  the  people,  talking 
with  him  familiarly  in  private,  and  witnessing 
his  multiplied  miracles,  he  sends  them  forth, 
two  and  two,  to  preach  and  heal ;  but  not  yet 
to  work  independently  of  him,  for  they  are 
only  to  go  before  and  prepare  the  way  for  his 
coming.  After  a  season  spent  in  such  personal 
labors,  they  will  return,  and  remain  long  with 
him,  receiving  further  instruction,  which  they 
will  more  earnestly  desire  and  more  fully  ap- 
preciate, from  their  attempts  at  actual  preach- 
ing. And  finally,  after  his  ascension,  they 
will  be  ready,  with  the  Holy  Spirit  as  their 
abiding  Instructor,  to  go  and  disciple  all  na- 
tions. After  all  this  training  they  could  do 
nothing  without  the  Spirit;  yet,  though  they 
were  to  have  the  Spirit,  they  must  also  have 
this  training— doing  what  they  could,  mean- 
while, to  reap  the  great  and  perishing  harvest, 
but  devoting  themselves  mainly  to  prepara- 
tion for  wider  usefulness  in  the  coming  years. 

With  v.  1-15  comp.  Mark  6:  7-11 ;  Luke  9: 
1-5.  Disciples,  see  on  5:  1. — Vowet,  author- 
ity, which  in  such  a  case  would  carry  with  it 
the  power,  see  on  9:6.  As  to  demoniacal 
possessions,  see  on  8:  28.  These  spirits  are 
called  unclean,  because  of  their  own  wicked- 
ness, and  perhaps  because  their  presence  was 
a  pollution  to  the  person  possessed  (comp.  on 
12:  43  ff. )  ;  and  this  served  to  distinguish 
them  from  good  or  pure  spirits.  Sometimes 
they  are  called  'evil  spirits.'  All  manner  of, 
etc.,  every  disease  and  every  infirmity,  comp. 
9:35;  4:23. 

II.  2-4.  List  of  the  Twelve.  Matthew 
has  not  mentioned  the  selection  of  the  Twelve, 
which  took  place  before  this.  ^Mn^k  a:  is;  i.uke6:  is, 
comp.on5:i.)  At  the  time  when  he  wrote,  the 
twelve  apostles  were  well  known,  and  he 
speaks  of  them  accordingly :  '  his  twelve  disci- 
ples,' 'the  twelve  apostles.'  The  number 
twelve  was  probablj'  chosen  with  reference  to 


I 


I  *  That  he  send  forth'  is  a  non-final  use  of  hopos,  see  on  5:  29. 


Ch.  X.] 


MATTHEW. 


213 


the  number  of  tribes  (see  on  19:  28).  Apos- 
tles ;  the  name,  borrowed  from  Greek  apos- 
tolos,  'one sent  off,'  or  'sent  forth,'  is  here  in- 
troduced by  Matt,  for  the  first  time,  in  con- 
nection with  the  occasion  on  which  they  were 
first  actually  sent  forth  (».  s)  to  labor.  But 
our  Lord  gave  them  that  name  when  he 
selected  the  Twelve  (see  Luke  6 :  13).  The 
word  is  translated  '  one  that  is  sent '  in  John 


13:  16;  'messenger'  in  2  Cor.  8:  23;  Phil.  2: 
25;  everywhere  else  in  Com.  Ver.  and  Rev. 
Ver.,  it  is  'apostle.'  Jesus  himself  is  called 
an  apostle,  i.  e.,  sent  by  God,  in  Heb.  3:  I, 
Our  word  missionary,  derived  from  the  Latin, 
likewise  signifies  "one  sent." 

Curious,  and  in  some  respects  instructive  re- 
sults, may  be  obtained  from  a  comparison  of 
the  four  lists  of  the  Twelve. 


Matthew  10 :  2  f. 

1  Simon  Peter. 

2  Andrew. 

3  James. 

4  John. 

5  Philip. 

6  Bartholomew. 

7  Thomas. 

8  Matthew. 

9  James  the  son  of 

Alpheus. 

10  Thaddeus. 

11  Simon  the 

Canaanite. 

12  Judas  Iscariot. 


Mark  3  :  16  f. 

Simon  Peter, 

James. 

John. 

Andrew. 

Philip. 

Bartholomew. 

Matthew. 

Thomas. 

James  the   son  of 

Alpheus. 
Thaddeus. 
Simon   the 

Canaanite. 
Judas  Iscariot. 


We  observe  at  once  that,  with  all  the 
variety  in  the  order  of  succession,  Simon 
Peter  is  always  first,  and  Judas  Iscariot  last. 
Again,  the  first  six  names  in  Matthew,  Mark, 
and  Luke  are  the  five  earliest  known  converts. 
(John 1: 35-31),  together  with  James,  the  brother 
of  one  of  them;  and  the  first  four  in  all  the 
lists  are  the  two  pairs  of  brothers  whose  call 
to  follow  Jesus  is  the  earliest  mentioned. 
(4:i8-.H.)  Furthermore  we  note  in  each  of  the 
lists  three  groups  of  four,  headed  respectively 
in  every  list  by  Peter,  Philip,  and  James, 
which  groups  contain  always  the  same  four 
persons,  though  within  the  limits  of  each 
group  the  order  greatly  varies,  except  as  to 
Judas  Iscariot.  It  seems  a  natural  and  un- 
avoidable inference  that  the  Twelve  were  in 
some  sense  divided  into  three  companies  of 
four,  each  having  a  recognized  leader.  The 
foremost  in  the  first  company,  and  at  the  head 
of  all  the  Twelve,  is  Simon  Peter.  When 
Matthew  says.  First,  Simon  Avho  is  called 
Peter,  he  cannot  mean  merely  that  this 
happens  to  be  the  name  first  mentioned  by 
him ;  and  there  is  no  explanation  in  the  fact 
that  those  are  mentioned  first  who  first  came 
toJesus;  for  then  Andrew  and  probably  John, 
ought  to  precede  Peter.  (Johnjsir.)    It  is  un-| 


Luke  6:  14  f.  Acts  1 :  13  f. 

Simon  Peter.  Simon  Peter. 

Andrew.  James. 

James.  John. 

John.  Andrew. 

Philip.  Philip. 

Bartholomew.  Thomas. 

Matthew.  Bartholomew. 

Thomas.  Matthew. 

James  the  son  of  James  the  son   of 

Alpheus.  Alpheus. 

Simon  the  Zealot.  Simon  the  Zealot 

Judas  the  brother  Judas  the  brother 

of  James.  of  James. 

Judas  Iscariot.  (Vacant). 

leader  among  the  Twelve.  (See  on  16:  18.) 
As  regards  the  remaining  members  of  the  first 
company  or  group  of  four,  we  may  suppose 
that  Matthew  and  Luke  put  Andrew  next  to 
Simon  because  they  were  brothers;  while 
Mark  and  Acts  and  Mark  13  :  3  place  James 
and  John  next  to  Simon,  because  they  three 
were  admitted  to  special  intimacy  and  favor 
with  Jesus,  being  the  only  persons  present 
on  several  solemn  occasions.  (See  on  17  :  1.) 
The  four  who  formed  this  first  group  are  men- 
tioned in  Mark  13:  3  as  making  private  in- 
quiries of  Jesus  concerning  the  destructicm  of 
the  temple,  etc.  In  the  second  company,  Mat- 
thew puts  Thomas  before  himself  (comp. 
Acts),  while  Mark  and  Luke  place  Matthew 
first.  After  Philip,  Matthew,  3Iark  and  Luke 
put  Bartholomew,  probably  the  same  as  Na- 
thanaol,  who  was  brought  to  Jesus  by  Philip. 
(johni:46ir.)  In  the  third  company  of  four, 
Simon  the  Cananite  in  Matthew  and  Mark  is 
obviously  the  same  as  Simon  the  Zealot  in 
Luke  and  Acts  (see  below);  hence  Thaddeus 
(Lebbeus  is  a  false  reading)  must  be  only 
another  name  of  Judas  the  brother  of  James. 
He  might  naturally  be  put  next  to  his  brother, 
as  by  Matthew  and  Mark  ;  or  Luke's  order 
may  indicate  that  Simon  the  Zealot  was  reek- 


questionable  that  Simon  Peter  was  a  sort  of  oned  the  more  important  personage.    Observe 


214 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  X. 


that  there  are  among  the  Twelve  three  pairs 
of  brothers — Simon  and  Andrew,  James  and 
John,  James  the  son  of  Alpheus,  and  Judas 
the  brother  of  James  (though  this  last  may  be 
'son,'  see  below)  ;  also  that  Matthew  and 
Luke  give  the  list  in  couples,  and  Mark  {^-.i) 
says  they  were  sent  forth  'by  two  and  two,' 
and  these  couples  would  easily  lead  to  the 
grouping  into  fours.  It  would  be  natural  that 
in  different  journeyings  the  couples  should 
somewhat  vary,  and  this  might  perhaps  ac- 
count for  the  different  order  of  names  in  the 
several  groups  of  four. 

Simou  who  is  called  Peter.  Simou  was 
a  Greek  name,  but  in  the  New  Test,  is  pretty 
certainly  a  contraction  of  Simeon,  which  form 
is  given  in  Acts  15:  14,  and  by  some  authori- 
ties in  2  Peter  1 :  1.  Simeon  signified  hearing. 
(Geu.29:33.)  Simon  was  a  native  of  Bethsaida 
(johni:«),  a  town  ou  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  de- 
scribed below  on  11:21.  His  father's  name 
was  Jonah  or  John  (see  on  16:  17).  He  and 
his  brother  Andrew  were  fishermen  on  the 
Lake  of  Galilee.  Andrew,  and  probably 
Simon  also,  was  a  disciple  of  John  the  Bap- 
tist, before  coming  to  know  Jesus.  (John  i :  35  ff.) 
Jesus  gave  to  Simon  when  he  first  approached 
him,  the  surname  of  Cephas  (John  1:43),  which 
in  the  Aramaic  language  spoken  by  them, 
signified  a  rock  or  stone  (Kepha,  Greek  form 
Kephas),  and  which  was  translated  into  the 
Greek  Petros,  signifying  the  same  thing; 
hence  Latin  Petrus,  English  Peter.  The 
Aramaic  Cephas  is  always  used  bj'  Paul  (i  cor., 
Gal.  correct  text),  and  nowlicre  else  in  N.  T.  (ex- 
cept John  1:  43.)  After  following  Jesus  for 
some  time,  Simon  appears  to  have  returned  to 
his  business  as  a  fisherman,  and  was  subse- 
quently prominent  among  those  called  to  be 
regular  attendants.  (Seeon4:  18ff. )  The  prin- 
cipal events  of  his  subsequent  life  are  given 
in8:14ff.;  14:28ff.;  16:16;  16,22ff.;  Johnl3: 
6ff. ;  Matt.  26:  33;  '26:  69  ff. ;  John  21:  15  ff.; 
thenin  Acts  1:15;  2:14;  4:8;  5:8;  8:14ff.; 
10:  Iff.;  12:3ff. ;  15:7.  He  was  an  ardent 
and  impulsive  man,  of  great  force  of  charac- 
ter, and  extremely  self-confident.  Sad  expe- 
rience, through  the  special  influences  of  the 
Sprit,  wrought  a  great  change  in  him,  though 
still,  the  last  time  he  appears  distinctly  in  the 
N.  T.  history,  we  discern  the  same  impul- 
siveness and  readiness  to  change,  as  of  yore. 
(G«i.  2 :  11.)    He  seems  to  have  been  at  Babylon, 


where  there  were  many  Jews,  at  the  time  of 
writing  his  First  Epistle.  (1  Peter  5:  is.)  The  tra- 
ditions concerning  his  later  life  are  very  un- 
certain, and  so  as  to  all  the  apostles  except 
John.  As  regards  Peter's  position  of  leader 
among  the  Twelve,  see  on  16:  18  f. 

Andrew.  The  name  is  Greek,  signifying 
'  manly.'  The  facts  concerning  his  parentage, 
residence,  occupation,  and  early  discipleship, 
have  been  mentioned  in  connection  with 
Peter.  The  only  other  cases  in  which  he  ap- 
pears are  John  6:  8;  12:  22;  Mark  13:  3.  The 
traditions  concerning  him  are  wholly  unre- 
liable. Yet  he  is  important  to  us,  not  only  as 
one  of  the  inspired  apostles,  but  as  the  means 
of  bringing  to  Jesus  his  own  brother  Simon. 
All  the  usefulness  of  Simon  Peter  is,  in  one 
sense,  due  to  the  brother  who  told  him  of 
Jesus.  And  so,  many  a  one  in  every  age, 
little  known  himself,  and  of  no  marked  influ- 
ence otherwise,  has  been  among  the  great 
benefactors  of  mankind,  by  bringing  to  Jesus 
some  other  person  who  proved  widely  useful. 

James  .  .  and  John.  James  was  prob- 
ably the  elder,  as  he  is  usually  mentioned 
first,  while  John  is  sometimes  put  foremost, 
(Luke  9:  28;  Aou  12: 2),  probably  bccause  more 
prominent,  and  because  alone  surviving  when 
the  books  were  written.  James  is  originally 
the  same  "name  as  Jacob,  'supplanter,'  being 
written  in  the  Greek,  lacobos,  Latin,  lacobus, 
then  Jacopus,  Jacomus,  and  so  James.  John 
is  the  Hebrew  Johanan,  'Jehovah  graciously 
gave,'  see  on  3:  1.  Their  father,  Zebedee, 
was  a  fisherman  on  the  Lake  of  Galilee  (*:2i)i 
but  apparently  a  man  of  some  property,  as  he 
employed  hired  servants  (Mark  1:20),  and  as  his 
wife  was  one  of  the  women  who  contributed 
to  the  support  of  Jesus  and  his  disciples 
(27 :  55  f.  J  Luke  8 : 3),  and  probably  a  man  of  good 
social  position,  as  we  find  John  familiarly 
acquainted  at  the  house  of  the  high  priest. 
(johni8:i5f.)  From  their  mother  Salome  (see 
on  27:  56)  was  perhaps  inherited  the  ambition 
(see  on  20:  20),  and  perhaps  also  the  ardor, 
intensity,  vehemence,  and  warm  affection, 
which  characterized  her  sons.  These  qualities 
of  theirs  were  doubtless  the  ground  of  the 
name  Boanerges,  'sons  of  thunder,'  which 
Jesus  gave  to  the  two  brothers.  (Mark3:i7.) 
John  appears  to  have  been  a  disciple  of  John 
the  Baptist,  it  being  almost  certain  that  he 
was  the  unnamed  disciple  of  John  1 :  35-41. 


Ch.  X.] 


MATTHEW. 


215 


3  Philip,  and  Bartholomew;  Thomas,  aud  Matthew 
the  publican  ;  Jaiues  <Ae  son  of  Alpheus,  aud  Lebbeus, 
whose  surname  was  Thaddeus ;  1 


3  brother;  Philip,  and  Bartholomew;  Thomas,  and 
Matthew  the  publican ;  James  the  jon  of  Alphseus, 


I 


We  have  no  account  of  any  call  of  James, 
until  the  time  when  the  two  brothers,  with 
Simon  and  Andrew,  were  called  to  become 
our  Lord's  constant  followers  (♦:2i);  John  at 
least  was  probably  with  Jesus  during  the  pre- 
vious labors  recorded  in  his  Gospel,  (cbap.  2:4.) 
The  peculiar  temperament  of  the  brothers 
appears  in  Mark  9;  38  ff. ;  Luke  9:  52  ff.; 
Matt.  20:  20  flf.  After  this  last  event,  we  hear 
nothing  of  James,  save  as  present  at  Geth- 
semane,  and  included  in  the  list  of  Acts  1: 
13,  until  the  time  when  Herod  Agrippa  L  put 
him  to  death  (Acts  12: 2),  the  first  martyr  among 
the  apostles. 

John,  however,  appears  quite  frequently, 
usually  in  immediate  association  with  Peter, 
between  whom  and  himself  there  was  prob- 
ably a  special  friendship.  Together  they  were 
sent  to  prepare  for  the  Paschal  Supper  (Luke 
22:8),  at  which  John  was  allowed  to  lean  on 
Jesus'  breast,  "the  disciple  whom  Jesus 
loved."  Together  they  (and  James)  witnessed 
the  agony  in  the  garden,  and  both  followed  to 
the  trial.  (John  is:  15.)  At  the  cross,  John  only 
of  the  Twelve  seems  to  have  been  present, 
drawn  by  his  ardent  affection,  and  perhaps 
relying  to  some  extent  on  his  acquaintance 
with  the  high-priest  for  safety  ;  and  there  he 
received  the  mother  of  his  dying  friend  as  one 
of  his  own  family.  Peter  and  John  were  also 
together  in  John  20:  2  ff. ;  21 :  2  ff. ;  Acts  3 :  1 
flr.;  8:  14;  Gal.  2:  9.  From  Rev,  1:  9  we 
learn  that  at  some  time  he  was  in  exile  on  the 
Island  of  Patraos.  There  seems  little  doubt 
tliat  he  spent  many  years  in  "Asia,"  i.  e.. 
Proconsular  Asia,  particularly  about  Ephe- 
sus,  and  there  wrote  his  inspired  works.  Sev- 
eral early  traditions  in  regard  to  him  are 
pleasing  and  probably  true,  particularly  the 
story  of  his  reclaiming  the  young  robber,  of 
his  keeping  a  tame  bird,  of  his  saying,  "  Little 
children,  love  one  another,"  and  of  his  leav- 
ing a  house  because  a  noted  false  teacher  was 
there.  John  as  disciplined  by  grace,  exhibits 
one  of  the  noblest  types  of  human  character. 
The  love  with  which  his  Epistles  abound  has 
in  it  nothing  eflFeminate.  He  strongly  con- 
demns and  severely  denounces  the  prevailing 
errors  and  evils.  He  is  not  merely  contempla- 
tive,  but  intensely  practical ;    insisting  that 


Christian  love  must  show  itself  in  holiness 
and  usefulness,  or  it  is  naught.  Still  vehe- 
ment, uncompromising,  and  outspoken,  the 
loving  and  beloved  old  man  has  not  ceased  to 
be  the  "Son  of  Thunder"  ;  but  the  vaulting 
ambition  which  once  aspired  to  be  next  to 
royalty  in  a  worldly  kingdom,  now  seeks  to 
overcome  the  world,  to  bear  testimony  to  the 
truth,  to  purify  the  churches,  and  glorify 
God. 

3.  Philip.  The  name  is  Greek,  signifying 
"lover  of  horses."  Philip,  like  Peter  and 
Andrew,  was  a  native  of  Bethsaida  (John  1 :  45), 
and  one  of  those  who  left  the  Baptist  at  the 
Jordan  to  follow  Jesus,  his  friend  Nathanael, 
or  Bartholomew,  being  also  brought  to  Jesus 
through  his  influence.  (Johni:«ff.)  The  only 
recorded  incidents  of  his  life  are  given  in 
John  6:  5  AT.  ;  12:21;  14:  8  ff.  And  yet  he 
was  apparently  one  of  the  leaders  among  the 
Twelve,  always  standing  at  the  head  of  the 
second  group  of  four.  The  traditions  con- 
cerning him  are  quite  unreliable.  He  must 
of  course  be  distinguished  from  Philip  the 
Evangelist,  of  whom  we  read  in  the  Acts. 
The  name  BartholomeAV  is  Bar  Tolmai, 
'son  of  Tolmai,'  and  Tolmai  (perhaps  '  plow- 
man') is  an  O.  T.  name,  having  in  the  Sept. 
of  Joshua  15:  14  the  form  Tholami,  and  in 
Josephus  "Ant.,"  20,  1,  1,  the  form  Tholo- 
meus.  Nathanael  denotes  'God-given,'  like 
Theodore,  etc.  From  Jolin  21 :  2  wc  naturally 
suppose  Nathanael  to  have  been  one  of  the 
Twelve;  and  as  it  was  Philip  who  brought 
Nathanael  to  Jesus  (John  1:44  fr.),  and  Barthol- 
omew stands  immediately  after  Philip  in  the 
catalogues  of  Matthew,  Mark,  and  Luke,  we 
conclude  that  Nathanael  and  Bartholomew 
were  the  same  person.  The  only  fact  known 
in  his  history  is  that  he  was  a  native  of  Cana. 
(jobn2i:2.)  The  traditions  concerning  him  are 
of  little  or  no  value.  But  he  stands  out  in 
conspicuous  lustre  from  the  tribute  of  Josus 
when  he  first  approached  him,  "Behold,  an 
Israelite  indeed,  in  whom  is  no  guile"  !  (John 
1:  4T.)  Thomas.  This  name  signifying 
'twin'  was  sometimes  translated  into  the 
Greek  Didymus  (Joh»  ii:  i«),  which  means  the 
same  thing,  just  as  Cephas  and  Peter  are  used, 
or  Messiah  and  Christ.     The  incidents  given 


216 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  X. 


of  his  life  are  in  John  11:  16;  14:  4f.;  20:  24  ff. 
He  does  not  deserve  to  be  called  "doubting 
Thomas,"  in  the  usual  sense  of  the  phrase; 
he  was  desponding,  slow  to  believe  what  he 
ardently  desired  (as  he  had  been  ready  to  be- 
lieve the  worst,  John  11 :  16),  but  when  con- 
vinced, uttering  the  noblest  confession  in  the 
Grospels.  (Joiiu20:.f8.)  The  traditions  concern- 
ing him  are  uncertain.  As  to  Matthew,  see 
on  9:  9.  It  is  a  trait  of  humility  that  he 
speaks  of  himself  as  Matthew,  the  publi- 
can ;  recalling  the  discreditable  business 
which  he  had  formerly  followed,  while  the 
other  catalogues  make  no  such  allusion. 
Eusebius  says  ("  Hist."  iii.  24,  6)  that  "  Mat- 
thew, after  first  preaching  to  the  Hebrews, 
when  he  was  about  to  go  also  to  other  nations, 
committed  to  writing  in  his  native  tongue  the 
Gospel  according  to  him,  thus  suppljMng  the 
place  of  his  presence."  Papias,  who  wrote 
about  A.  D.  130,  says :  "  Matthew  composed  in 
the  Hebrew  language  the  oracles,  and  evprv 
one  interpreted  them  as  he  was  able."  The 
term  "oracles"  might  mean  simply  discourses, 
or  might  have  a  more  general  sense,  including 
narrative,  as  in  Rom.  3:  2.  The  relation  of 
this  Hebrew  (Aramaic)  writing  to  our  Greek 
Gospel  we  have  scarcely  the  means  of  deter- 
mining. See  the  works  on  Canon  and  on  In- 
troduction.— The  later  history  of  Matthew  is 
unknown  ;  the  traditions  are  unreliable. 

James  the  son  of  Alphens.  If  we  adopt 
the  much  more  probable  view  that  this  James 
is  distinct  from  "James  the  brother  of  the 
Lord  "  (see  on  13 :  5o\  we  are  left  with  scarcely 
any  knowledge  of  this  eminent  apostle,  the 
leader  in  the  third  group  of  four.  His  father's 
name  was  Alphens  or  Halpheus,  which  was 
also  the  name  of  Matthew's  father.  (Mark i-.u.) 
Clopas  (John  19: 23)  might  be  another  form  of 
the  same  name,  but  we  cannot  say  that  it  was 
the  same  person.  As  to  whether  James  was 
the  brother  of  Judas  Thaddeus,  see  below. 


The  copious  accounts  sometimes  given  of  him 
result  from  identifying  him  with  James  the 
brother  of  the  Lord.  Thaddeus.  This  alone 
is  the  name  in  Matt,  and  Mark,  according  to 
the  correct  text.*  We  have  seen  from  com- 
paring the  catalogue  that  Thaddeus  must  be 
only  another  name  of 'Judas  the  brother  of 
James,'  as  given  in  Luke  and  Acts.  He  was 
thus  known  as  Judas  the  beloved,  or  darling. 
In  Luke  and  Acts  he  is  distinguished  from 
Judas  Iscariot  by  calling  him  'Judas  of  James, ' 
or  '  James's  Judas,'  a  form  of  expression  which 
is  quite  common  in  Greek,  and  which  usually 
adds  the  father  of  the  person  described,  but 
sometimes  another  connection,  such  as  hus- 
band, son,  brother,  or  even  friend.  (See 
Winer,  p.  190  [237].)  An  eminent  example 
is  that  of  the  early  Christian  writer  Eusebius, 
who,  after  the  death  of  his  friend  Pamphilus, 
always  called  himself  Eusebius  of  Pamphilus. 
If  nothing  were  known  to  the  contrary,  we 
should  naturally  translate  'Judas  son  of 
James,'  as  is  done  by  the  Peshito  and  The- 
baic versions,  and  by  our  Rev.  Ver.  (Luke  6:  le; 
Actsi:i3.)  Comp.  Bishop  Lightfoot  on  Gal.,  p. 
256.  But  as  the  Epistle  of  Jude  begins  '  Judas, 
aservant  of  Jesus  Christ  and  brother  of  James " 
(where  brother  is  expressed  in  the  Greekl,  we 
seem  entirely  warranted  in  using  that  fact  to 
solve  the  ambiguity  of  Luke's  expression 
'Judas  of  James,'  and  understanding  it  to' 
mean  the  brother  of  James;  yet  it  is  im- 
possible to  determine  the  question  with  cer- 
tainty, for  we  cannot  even  be  certain  that  the 
Epistle  was  written  by  the  apostle  Judas.  The 
only  incident  in  the  life  of  Judas  Thaddeus  is 
given  in  John  14:  22.  The  traditions  concern- 
ing him  are  worthless. 

Simon  the  Canaanite,  or  Cananaean. 
The  name  Simon  being  very  common,  this 
apostle  is  distinguished  from  Simon  Peter  and 
others  by  the  surname  Cananaean,  which  in 
Aramaii:  would  signify  the  same  thing  as  the 


1  It  iii  given  by  B  X,  2  cursives,  the  two  Egyptian  ver- 
sions, the  Latin  Vulgate,  and  several  copies  of  the  Old 
Latin.  Lebbens  alone  is  given  by  D,  some  Latin  docu- 
ments, and  Hesycbius,  and  so  is  a  feebly  supported 
"Western"  reading.  (D  and  some  copies  of  the  Old 
I<atin  make  the  same  change  in  Mark  3:  18.)  From 
these  two  easily  arose  "conflate"  readings,  "Lebbeus 
who  was  sumamed  Thaddeus,"  "  Thaddeus  who  was  sur- 
named  Lebbeus,"  etc.  The  name  Thaddeus  is  usually 
derived  from  the  Aramaic  Ihad,  the  female  breast,  Heb. 
thad,  and  would  thus  signify  cherished  in  the  bosom, 


'beloved.'  Now,  Jerome  .^ays  that  Lebbeus  (which  ob- 
viously conies  from  leh,  heart)  signifies  coroilum.  sweet- 
heart, darling.  We  can  easily  understand  how  the 
"Western"  documents,  so  given  to  arbitrary  changes, 
might  change  the  unfamiliar  Thaddeus  to  a  word  of 
similar  meaning  formed  upon  a  very  familiar  root. 
Thus  all  the  phenomena  are  accounted  for,  and  Thad- 
deus alone  stands  as  the  name  in  Matt.,  as  well  as  in 
Mark.  The  perplexity  of  several  recent  writers  has 
arisen  from  taking  Lebbeus  to  mean  hearty,  courage- 
ous, overlooking  Jerome's  definition. 


I 


Ch.  X.] 


MATTHEW 


217 


4  Siiuon  the  Canaanite,  and  Judas  Iscariot,  who  also  I    4  and  Tbaddseus;  Simon  the  iCaiianKan,  and  Judas 
betrayed  him.  | 


1  Or,  Zealot.    S«e  Luke  vi.  15;  Aou  i.  I. 


Greek  word  Zelotes  given  in  Luke  and  Acts, 
viz.,  'Zealot.'  Thirty  years  later  than  this, 
a.s  we  find  from  Josephus  ("War,"  4,  3,  9), 
there  existed  a  party  calling  themselves  Zealots, 
as  being  very  zealous  for  the  national  religion 
and  institutions.  (Comp.  Acts  21 :  20;  Rom. 
10:  2.)  They  were  accustomed  to  punish 
without  trial,  to  "lynch"  any  Jew  who 
seemed  to  them  a  traitor  or  violator  of  the 
law,  finding  precedent  and  sanction  in  the 
case  of  Phinehas.  {Num.25:  7.)  This  practice,  as 
must  always  happen  when  it  is  continued,  led 
finally  to  gross  abuses  and  horrid  cruelties, 
and  the  Zealots  had  no  small  part  in  the  ruin 
of  the  nation.  It  is  likely  that  the  party  al- 
ready existed  in  the  time  of  our  Lord  (having 
come  down  from  Judas  the  Galilean),  (acws:  «), 
though  on  a  much  smaller  scale  than 
afterwards,  and  that  Simon  had  at  one  time 
belonged  to  it,  and  thus  acquired  his  surname, 
Zelotes  or  Cananaean.  It  is  quite  a  mistake 
to  confound  this  with  Canaanite,  which  in 
Greek  is  materially  ditFerent  (is:  22);  the  mis- 
take is  found  as  early  as  Great  Bible,  "  Simon 
of  Canaan,"  (so  in  Bagsters  Hexapla,  both 
in  Matt,  and  Mark.  Bishop  Lightfoot  [Rev.] 
seems  to  be  mistaken  in  ascribing  the  double 
A  to  the  Bishop's  Bible.)  Of  this  apostle's  his- 
tory we  know  nothing  at  all.  The  fact  that  he 
had  been  a  Zealot  would  suggest  an  ardent  na- 
ture; itisprobablethat,  like  Paul, he  showed  in 
doing  good  the  same  fiery  zeal  he  had  shown 
in  doing  evil. 

Judas  Iscariot  has  the  same  surname  in 
John   12:   4;    13:   2.     His  father  was  called 

Simon  Iscariot.    (John  e :  71 ;  is :  26,  correct  text.)   JudaS 

is  a  Greek  form  of  Judah.  (See  on  1 :  2.)  The 
surname  Iscariot  is  Ish-Kerioth,  'man  of 
Kerioth,'  a  town  in  the  tribe  of  Judah  (Jo»h. 
15:15);  it  is  spelled  Iscarioth  in  the  better 
Greek  text  of  Mark  3 :  19;  Luke  6:  10.  So 
Ish-Tob,  'man  of  Tob'  or  'men  of  Tob'  is 
in  the  Sept.,  Istob,  and  in  Josephus  Istobos. 
The  fact  that  his  father  had  the  same  surname 
quite  excludes  Lightfoot's  fanciful  etymolo- 
gies from  Latin  scortea,  a  leathern  apron,  be- 
cause he  carried  the  bag,  or  from  Hebrew 
naknrn,  strangling.  All  the  other  disciples 
appear  to  have  been  Galileans  (though  that  is 
not  certain),  and  this  difference  might  have 


some  effect  on  Judas  in  preventing  full  sym- 
pathy with  the  others.  We  know  nothing  of 
his  early  history  or  his  call  to  be  a  disciple. 
It  was  not  only  a  matter  of  divine  fore- 
knowledge that  he  would  betray  his  Teacher 
— as  all  things  are — but  was  distinctly  foreseen 
from  an  early  period  by  Jesus  (Joime:  64),  who 
in  his  human  mind  was  not  omniscient.  (2*:  a*) 
That  a  person  in  whom  this  was  foreseen 
should  be  chosen  one  of  the  Twelve,  is  not 
more  mysterious  than  a  thousand  other 
things  which  are  done  in  the  providence  of 
the  same  Lord.  Weiss:  "  The  other  disciples, 
too,  were  not  without  great  weaknesses  and 
faults  of  character,   which   were  certainly  no 

secret  to  Jesus On  the  other  hand, 

Judas  must  have  possessed  special  endow- 
ments, for  Jesus  to  consider  it  desirable  to 
secure  him  as  a  disciple."  His  talent  for 
business,  with  the  care  of  the  common  fund, 
seems  to  have  developed  a  ruinous  avarice, 
even  in  the  very  company  of  Jesus.  He 
shows  us  that  the  greatest  outward  privileges 
may  be  of  no  avail,  and  may  even  be  per- 
verted into  a  curse;  and  he  exemplifies  the 
gradual  progress,  the  terrible  power,  and  the 
awful  results,  of  covetousness.  It  may  very 
well  be  that  in  the  beginning  he  was  sincere 
and  meant  to  be  faithful ;  but  as  so  often  hap- 
pens, his  gift  became  his  snare. — It  is  some 
relief  to  our  distress  when  we  see  men  in  high 
places  of  Christian  usefulness  at  the  present 
day  falling  utterly  away,  to  remember  that  it 
was  so  at  the  beginning,  even  among  our 
Lord's  chosen  Twelve.  Judas  must  have 
wrought  miracles  like  the  others  (comp.  7  : 
22  f  ),  and  his  preaching  must  have  produced 
effects  like  theirs,  or  the  difference  would  have 
been  noticed  by  him  and  them.  In  like  man- 
ner now,  a  bad  man  sometimes  preaches,  and 
God  converts  souls  through  his  instrumen- 
tality; and  these,  when  he  afterwards  turns 
out  to  have  been  all  the  while  a  bad  man  at 
heart,  may  well  mourn  for  him,  but  need 
have  no  fears  as  to  the  preciousness  of  the 
truths  he  proclaimed,  or  scruples  as  to  the 
validity  of  the  ordinances  he  administered. 
As  to  the  motives  of  Judas  in  the  betrayal, 
see  on  26:  14  ff.,  and  as  to  his  remorse  and  self- 
destruction,    see    on    27:  SfT.     Betrayed,  is 


218 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  X. 


5  These  twelve  Jesus  sent  forth,  and  commanded 
them,  saying.  Go  not  into  the  way  of  the  (jentiles,  and 
iuto  any 'city  ot°  the  Samaritans  enter  ye  not : 


5  Iscariot,  who  also  *  betrayed  him.     These  twelve 
Jesus  sent  forth,  and  charged  them,  saying. 
Go  not  iuto  any  way  of  the  Gentiles,  and  enter  not 


I  Or,  delivered  kim  up  ;  Bud  so  alwaj-s 


literally,  delivered  up  (margin  Rev.  Ver. ), 
the  same  word  as  in  v.  17,  19,  21,  above  in 
5:  25,  and  often,  It  is  a  part  of  the  charac- 
teristic moderation  of  the  Evangelists  that 
never,  except  in  Luke  6:  16,  do  they  apply 
to  Judas  the  harsh  words  betray  and  traitor, 
which  have  become  so  fixed  in  our  usage. 
Comp.  on  17  :  22. 

III.  5-15.  Ikstructions  to  the  Twelve. 
The  remainder  of  chap.  10  contains  the  charge 
given  to  the  Twelve  on  sending  them  out. 
(Comp.  on  9:  35.)  The  earlier  portion  of 
this  (v:&.i3),  is  also  briefly  reported  by  Mark 
(6:  8-u),  and  Luke  (»=  »-3).  The  rest  (v.i6-*2)  is 
found  in  Matthew  only.  (See  below  on  v. 
16.)  A  charge  closely  resembling  the  earlier 
part  of  this  discourse  was  also  given  to  the 
Seventy,   when    sent    out    some   time    later. 

(Luke  10:  1-16.) 

5  f.  These  twelve  Jesus  sent  forth  ;  in 

Greek  the  verb  from  which  comes  apostolos, 
'  one  sent  off.'  (See  on  v.  2.)  "We  learn  from 
Mark  («:  :)  that  he  sent  them  'two  and  two.' 
This  arrangement  may  possibly  have  been 
suggested  by  the  fact  that  there  were  among 
the  Twelve  two  or  three  pairs  of  brothers  (see 
on  v.  2  f. ),  but  it  had  also  some  important  ad- 
vantages, both  as  regards  the  apostles  them- 
selves, and  as  to  their  work.  The  two  served 
as  company  for  each  other,  preventing  the 
loneliness  which  the  apostle  Paul  took  so 
much  pains  to  avoid  on  his  journej's.  They 
could  also  relieve  each  other  in  preaching, 
which,  in  the  open  air,  and  to  the  crowds  gath- 
ered by  their  miracles,  would  be  laborious,  as 
our  Lord  himself  found  it.  And  then  the 
testimony  of  the  two  witnesses  concerning  the 
teachings  and  miracles  of  the  Great  Prophet 
who  was  coming  after  them,  would  be  more 
impressive  among  the  people  than  that  of  one 
alone.  The  Seventy  also  were  sent  forth  two 
and  two.  (Lnueioii.)  Comp.  Eccl.  4: 9-12;  Luke 
7  :  19. — How  long  these  journeyings  and  labors 
of  the  six  pairs  of  apostles  continued,  we  have 
no  means  of  ascertaining;  one  would  conjec- 
ture a  few  weeks.  Way  of  the  Gentiles, 
like  'the  removal  of  Babylon'  (comp.  on  1: 
11),  and  '  the  way  of  the  tree  of  life,  (Gen..t:24 , 
readily  signifies  a  way  leading  to  the  Gentiles 


(so  rendered  by  Tyndale),  a  road  to  Gentile 
countries.  (Comp.  also  Jer.  2  :  18 ;  Acts  2 :  28 ; 
10:  17.)  In  traveling  on  the  southern  border 
of  Galilee,  they  would  of  course  come  near 
some  Samaritan  towns ;  thus  we  see  that  the 
language  is  quite  precise — Do  not  enter  a 
city  of  the  Samaritans,  do  not  go  oflT  into  a 
road  to  the  Gentiles. 

Samaritans.  Samaria  was  the  district 
lying  between  Judca  and  Galilee.  The  dis- 
like between  the  Jews  and  the  Samaritans 
had  its  beginnings  as  far  back  as  the  earliest 
times  of  Israel  in  the  jealousy  existing  be- 
tween the  tribes  of  Judah  and  Ephraim, 
which  finally  led  to  the  division  into  two 
kingdoms.  "When  the  people  of  the  Northern 
Kingdom  (who  came  to  be  called  Samaritans 
from  the  capital  city,  Samaria,  1  Kings  16;  24), 
were  carried  into  captivity  by  the  Assj-rians, 
the  country  was  partly  occupied  by  Mesopo- 
tamian  colonists,  who  were  idolaters.  These 
gradually  coalesced  with  the  dregs  of  the  Is- 
raelites who  had  been  left  in  the  land,  and 
with  the  fugitives  who  returned  from  sur- 
rounding countries,  into  a  half-heathen  na- 
tion, attempting  to  unite  idolatry  with  the 
worship  of  Jehovah.  When  the  people  of 
the  Southern  Kingdom,  the  Jews,  returned 
from  their  captivity  in  Babylon,  and  under- 
took to  rebuild  the  temple  at  Jerusalem,  tlie 
Samaritans  proffered  to  help  them  ;  and  being 
repulsed,  as  not  of  pure  Israelitish  descent, 
they  then  did  all  in  their  power  to  hinder  the 
building  of  the  temple,  and  the  fortification 
of  the  city.  A  brother  of  the  Jewish  high- 
priest,  having  married  a  Samaritan  woman, 
and  being  unwilling  to  put  her  away  as  re- 
quired, went  over  to  the  Samaritans,  and  was 
made  priest  in  a  temple  built  for  him  on 
Mount  Gerizim  (.Jos.  "Ant.,"  11,  8,  2),  which 
the  Samaritans  from  that  time  began  to  con- 
tend was  the  proper  place  for  the  worship  of 
.Jehovah,  rather  than  Jerusalem.  (John 4: 20.) 
These  causes  naturally  led  to  bitter  hatred  be- 
tween Jews  and  Samaritans,  and  they  were 
constantly  attempting  to  injure  and  insult 
each  other,  while  under  the  dominion  of  the 
Greek  kings  of  Syria.  .John  Hyrcanus  con- 
quered the  Samaritans,  destroying  their  tem- 


Ch.  X.] 


MATTHEW. 


219 


6  But  go  rather  to  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of 
Israel. 

7  And  as  ye  go,  preach,  saying.    The  kingdom  of 
heaven  is  at  hand. 


6  into  any  city  of  the  Samaritans:  but  go  rather  to 

7  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel.    And  as  ye  go, 
preach,  saying.  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand. 


pie  and  capital  (about  b.  c.  125).  Pompey 
established  their  independence  (b.  c.  63).  At 
the  time  of  our  Lord's  public  ministry,  Judea 
and  Samaria  were  governed  by  the  same 
Roman  procurator,  but  as  distinct  adminis- 
trative districts;  and  the  hatred  between  the 
two  nations,  cherished  through  centuries,  and 
combining  all  the  elements  of  race  jealousy, 
religious  rivalry,  political  hostility,  and  nu- 
merous old  grudges,  had  become  so  intense 
that  the  world  has  probably  never  seen  its 
parallel.  The  theory  of  some  writers  that  the 
Samaritans  were  of  purely  heathen  origin, 
would  suppose  that  the  entire  population. of 
the  Northern  people  was  deported  by  the  As- 
syrians— a  thing  extremely  improbable ;  would 
render  the  frequent  claim  of  the  Samaritans 
to  be  Jews  an  absurdity ;  and  would  make  it 
difBcult  to  account  for  the  Samaritan  Penta- 
teuch, and  the  Samaritan  expectation  of  Mes- 
siah. For  the  Samaritans,  like  the  Jews,  ex- 
pected the  Messiah  (John 4: m, 29),  and  something 
like  a  year  before  this  mission  oP  the  Twelve 
our  Lord's  preaching  among  them  at  Sychar 
was  warmly  received,  and  many  believed  on 
him.  (Johni: 89-42.)  Some  time  after  this  mjs- 
sion  he  also  went  twice  through  Samaria,  and 
spoke  and  acted  kindly  towards  them.  (Luke 9: 
51  ir.;  17 :n  s.)  Why,  then,  might  not  the  Twelve 
go  into  their  cities?  It  is  enough  to  reply  that 
the  Twelve  had  not  then  such  feelings  towards 
that  people  as  would  qualify  them  to  do  good 
there.  The  proposal  of  James  and  John  to 
call  down  fire  from  heaven  upon  a  Samaritan 
village  (Luke9:52ff.)  shows  that  there  would 
have  been  bitter  controversies,  with  the  old 
national  hate  ever  ready  to  burst  out.  (Comp. 
Bruce,  "Training  of  the  Twelve.")  In  Acts 
1 :  8,  Samaria  is  expressly  included  in  the 
field  of  their  appointed  labors  after  the  ascen- 
sion.    (Comp.  Acts  8:  6.) 

6.  To  the  lost  sheep^  etc.,  comp.  on  9: 
38 ;  and  see  the  same  figure  employed  in  Isa. 
03:  6;  Jer.  60:  6;  Ezek.  34:6.  Our  Lord 
confined  his  own  personal  labors  almost  en- 
cirely  to  the  Jews ;  he  declares,  in  15  :  24,  that 
his  mission  was  'to  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house 
of  Israel,'  the  same  expression  as  here; 
though  at  a  later  period  he  says  that  he  has 


'other sheep  which  are  not  of  this  fold.'  (John. 
10: 16.)  It  was  a  part  of  the  peculiar  privileges 
of  the  Jewish  nation  that  the  gospel  should  tbe 

first  preached  to  them  (Luke  2*:  47;   Aois  13:46;   Rom. 

I- 16);  yet  Jesus  frequently  intimated  that 
these  exclusive  privileges  could  not  last  always. 

(8:11;  10:18;  21:43;  22:9;  24:14.)       By    COntiniug    his 

labors  and  those  of  the  Twelve  to  them  he 
avoided  exciting  their  prejudices,  and  thus  de- 
prived them  of  even  the  poor  excuse  for  re- 
jecting him  which  they  would  have  found  in 
his  preaching  freely  among  the  Gentiles  and 
Samaritans.  Accordingly,  Matthew  mentions 
this  limitation,  while  Mark  and  Luke  do  not. 
Even  at  a  later  period,  Paul  found  it  almost 
impossible  to  convince  some  Jewish  Christians 
that  the  Gentiles  were  to  be  admitted  to  the 
privileges  of  the  gospel,  without  becoming 
Jews.  And  then  had  the  reign  of  Messiah 
been  proclaimed  to  the  Gentiles  before  it  had 
been  welcomed  by  many  Jews,  the  former 
might  have  made  it  a  very  plausible  objection 
to  the  new  religion  that  it  was  not  believed  in 
at  home,  where  it  was  best  understood.  Fur- 
thermore, as  regards  this  mission  of  the 
Twelve,  they  were  as  yet  too  ignorant  them- 
selves of  the  true  nature  of  Messiah's  king- 
dom to  undertake  its  propagation  among  the 
Gentiles;  they  would  have  introduced  the 
current  Jewish  errors  on  the  subject.  Some 
years  later,  when  their  own  course  of  early  in- 
struction was  completed,  and  the  Spirit  was 
come,  they  were  prepared  to  preaeh  "repent- 
ance and  remission  of  sins  .  .  .  unto  all  (be 
nations."  (Luke  24: 47,  Rev. ver.)  For  the  present 
they  could  prepare  the  Jews  among  whom 
they  went  for  the  preaching  of  Jesus,  and 
what  they  said  would  not  strengthen,  but  so 
far  as  it  went  would  rathercorroct  the  popular 
errors.  Such  a  restriction  of  labor  to  the  Jews 
is  not  addressed  to  the  Seventy  (Lukeio:  1  ir.), 
but  it  is  really  involved  in  the  statement  that 
they  were  to  go  where  Jesus  was  going. 

"7  f.  Preach,  see  on  4:  17.  The  kingdom 
of  heaven  is  at  hand,  see  on  3  :  2.  This  was 
the  same  announcement  that  John  the  Bap- 
tist had  made,  and  with  which  Jesus  him.«elf 
had  begun  his  ministry  in  Galilee  (comp.  on 
4:  1?1 ;   so  tha  Seventy  likewise.   (LukeiC:^) 


220 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  X. 


8  Heal  the  sick,  cleanse  the  lepers,  raise  the  dead,  j 
cast  out  devils :  freely  ye  have  received,  freely  give. 

9  a  Provide  neither  gold,  nor  silver,  nor  brass  iu  your 
purises ;  j 


8  Heal  the  sick,  raise  the  dead,  cleanse  the  lepers,  cast 

9  out  demons:  freely  ye  received,  freely  give.    Get  you 


Heal  the  sick,  cleanse  the  lepers,  raise 
the  dead,  cast  out  devils — demons.  The 
Greek  has  no  article.  The  original  means, 
Heal  sick,  i.  e.,  persons,  etc.  They  were  not 
commanded  to  heal  all  the  sick  they  met  with. 
Probably  they  restricted  their  miracles,  as 
Jesus  himself  usually  did,  to  those  who  showed 
desire  and  faith.  The  Seventy  also  were  com- 
manded to  heal  the  sick,  in  every  city  which 
received  them.  (Lukeio:9.)  As  to  leprosy,  see 
on  8:  2;  and  upon  demoniacal  possessions,  see 
on  8 :  28-31.  The  clause  raise  dead,  i.  e.,  per- 
sons,  is  not  certainly  genuine,  but  most  prob- 
able.* Freely  (or,  gratis)  ye  have  received, 
freely  (or,  gratis)  give.  The  word  which 
Tyn.,  etc.,  and  Com.  Ver.  here  render  'freely ' 
really  signifies  'as  a  gift,'  and  is  exactly  ren- 
dered gratis,  by  the  Latin  versions  and 
Rheims.  It  is  not  opposed  to  the  idea  of 
giving  or  receiving  in  a  stingy  way,  or  on  a 
small  scale,  but  to  the  idea  of  giving  or  re- 
ceiving for  pay.  Observe  the  force  of  the 
word,  as  thus  explained,  in  Eom.  3 :  24 ;  2 
Cor.  11:  7;  Rev.  21:  6;  22:  17.  (Comp.  Isa. 
55:  1.)  The  Jewish  exercisers  who  pretended 
to  cast  out  demons  were  no  doubt  accustomed 
to  have  pay ;  and  physicians  of  course  took 
pay  for  healing  the  sick.  The  Twelve  could 
easily  have  obtained  money,  in  large  sums, 
for  the  cures  they  were  empowered  to  perform. 
We  might  think  it  strange  that  they  should 
need  to  be  told  not  to  do  so ;  but  thej'^  had  as 
yet  very  imperfect  conceptions  of  the  nature 
of  Christ's  work,  and  not  merely  might  Judas 
Iscariot  have  been  glad  enough  to  drive  a 
brisk  trade  in  miraculous  healing  for  pay,  but 
othersof  them  might  haveseen  no  impropriety 
in  receiving  compensation  for  conferring  such 
important  benefits.  Jesus  tells  them  they  re- 
ceived gratis,  and  must  give  gratis.  They  had 
not  purchased  the  power  of  miraculous  heal- 
ing— as  Simon  Magus  wished  to  do,  (acus:  is) — 


nor  obtained  it  by  long  and  expensive  study, 
and  laborious  practice ;  it  was  received  as  a 
gift,  and  must  be  exercised  in  like  manner. 
The  miracles  were  really  credentials  for  their 
teaching,  as  well  as  indications  of  divine  be- 
nevolence, and  should  be  used  accordingly. 
As  to  teaching,  we  find  Micah  (3:  u)  making  it 
a  reproach  that  the  heads  of  Israel  "judge  for 
reward,  priests  teach  for  hire,  and  prophets 
divine  for  money."  Some  of  the  later  Jewish 
writers  maintained  very  earnestly,  though 
often  on  fanciful  grounds,  and  though  many 
rabbis  acted  quite  otherwise,  that  a  man  ought 
not  to  teach  the  law  for  pay,  but  gratuitously 
— ^just  as  Socrates  and  Plato  held  with  refer- 
ence to  philosophy. 

9  f.  While  they  were  thus  to  work  their 
miracles,  and  teach  the  people,  without  pay, 
they  must,  on  the  other  hand,  look  to  those 
among  whom  they  went  for  food  and  clothing 
(v.  9f.),  and  for  a  hospitable  reception,  (v.  ii-is.) 
They  must  rteither  seek  for  gain  (v.  s),  nor  be 
anxious  about  their  livelihood,  but  laying 
aside  both  selfish  aims  and  personal  cares,  de- 
vote themselves  to  their  appointed  task.  He 
therefore  directs  them  to  lay  in  no  money, 
whether  gold,  silver,  or  copper,  no  provision- 
bag,  nor  staff,  nor  extra  clothing,  nor  even 
a  loaf  of  bread  (Mark  6:8;  Luke  9: 3) ;  sincc  the  la- 
borer is  worthy  of  his  sustenance.  Our  Lord 
is  not  giving  an  exact  list  of  objects  to  be  dis- 
pensed with,  but  is  only  illustrating  the  prin- 
ciple; and  so  (Lutteroth)  it  is  not  strange  that 
the  other  Gospels  give  the  details  somewhat 
differently. 

Provide  neither  gold,  etc.,  or,  as  in  Rev. 
Ver.,  Get  you  no  gold,  nor  silver,  nor  copper, 
in  your  girdles.  The  expression  involves  a 
climax — not  gold,  nor  yet  silver,  nor  even 
copper.  Mark  (6:8)  mentions  only  copper; 
Luke  (9:8)  only  silver.  'Brass,'  as  in  Com. 
Ver.,  a  mixture  of  copper  and  zinc,  is  not 


1  It  is  omitted  by  all  later  uncials,  and  more  than  one 
hundred  and  fifty  cursives,  by  the  Thebaic  and  Arme- 
nian, some  Syriac  and  JEthiopic  codices,  and  some 
Fathers.    The  concurrence  of  B  and  K  with  C  and  D, 


The  words  may  have  been  omitted  because  no  other 
passage  of  the  Gospels  ascribes  to  the  ajxjstles  fhis 
power.  Pluraptre  thinks  they  were  inserted  because  of 
such  later  instances  as  Acts  9  :  40 ;  20 :  9  ff.    The  words 


supported  by  the  other  versions,  some  fifteen  cursives    are  retained  by  Lachm.,  Tisch.,  Treg.,  W  H.,  and  Weiss, 
and  Tarious  Fathers,  requires  us  to  retain  the  reading.  ' 


i 


Ch  X.] 


MATTHEW. 


221 


10  Nor  scrip  for  your  journey,  neither  two  coats,  I  10  no  gold,  nor  silver,  nor  brass  in  your '  purses ;  no 
neither  shoes,  nor  yet  •  staves :  lor  the  workman  is  wor-  wallet  for  your  journey,  neither  two  coats,  nor  shoes, 
thy  of  his  meat.  {       uor  staff:   for  the  labourer  is  wortliy  ul  his  food. 


>  Gr.  a  ttaff. ...  1  Or.  girdlet. 


believed  to  have  been  in  use  among  the 
ancients;  they  made  coins,  and  a  great  variety 
of  utensils  and  implements,  sometimes  of  pure 
copper,  but  more  frequently  of  bronze,  a  mix- 
ture of  copper  and  tin,  and  it  is  this  that  is 
commonly  meant  in  Scripture  by  the  word 
copper.  The  *  girdle  '  (see  on  3:  4)  was  often 
of  fine  materials  and  elegant  workmanship, 
and  made  hollow  so  as  to  carry  money.  The 
word  rendered  '  purse  '  in  Luke  10 :  4,  is  dif- 
ferent, and  denotes  a  small  pouch,  like  our 
purse.  No  scrip,  etc.,  or,  no  bag  for  the 
road,  (traveling  bag,  or  haversack),  the  word 
signifying  a  leather  bag  or  wallet,  used  for 
carrying  provisions  when  traveling.  The 
English  word  'scrip'  was  formerly  used  in 
that  sense,  but  is  now  obsolete.  Two  coats, 
the  word  meaning  the  inner  garment  or  long 
shirt,  described  on  5:  40.  It  was  not  uncom- 
mon to  wear  two  of  them  at  once,  but  was 
unnecessary;  and  so  John  the  Baptist (Lukss:  u) 
directed  him  who  had  two  to  give  to  him  who 
had  none.  In  setting  out  on  a  journey  it  is 
natural  to  assume  additional  or  thicker  cloth- 
ing; and  even  this  is  here  prohibited.  (Comp. 
Mark  6:9.)  Or  it  may  mean  that  they  must 
not  carry  with  them  a  change  of  clothing,  but 
trust  to  obtaining  it  when  needed.  Neither 
shoes,  or,  sandals.  See  on  3:  11.  Nor  yet 
staves — better — nor  staff.  The  singular  is 
tl)e  best  supported  reading  of  the  Greek  text. 
Mark  (*■»),  'he  charged  them  to  take  nothing 
for  their  journey'-  save  a  staff  only,'  would  not 
necessarily  conflict  with  Matthew.  The  one 
forbids  them  to  pmcttre  a  staff  for  the  pur- 
pose, the  other  allows  them  to  carry  with 
them  one  already  possessed.  But  Luke  (»:«) 
uses  the  same  Greek  term  as  Mark,  they  must 
not  carry  a  staff,  and  we  have  to  fall  back 
upon  the  principle  stated  above;  there  are 
indeed  many  cases  in  which  the  Evangelists 
give  details  differently,  while  the  sukstance  is 
the  same.  So  in  Matthew  they  are  forbidden 
to  procure  sandals,  while  Mark  has  it.  'but  to 
go  shod  with  sandals.'  These  soles  of  leather 
or  raw  hide,  bound  under  the  feet,  would  very 
soon  wear  out  in  traveling,  and  one  setting 
out  on  a  long  pedestrian  journey  would  natu- 
rally wish  to  lay  in  a  supply  of  them  ;  but  the 


disciple  must  go  with  those  they  had  on. 
Comp.  as  to  the  Seventy  Luke  10:  4.  We 
might  take  for  granted  that  these  specific  di- 
rections were  designed  only  for  the  existing 
circumstances  of  the  disciples,  and  were  meant 
to  be  followed  after  the  Ascension  only  ac- 
cording to  the  principles  involved,  not  accord- 
ing to  the  particular  details.  Still  more 
clearly  is  that  seen  in  the  directions  of  v. 
11  ff.,  which  are  manifestly  founded  upon  the 
peculiar  usages  of  Oriental  hospitality.  Ai.d 
this  view  is  established  beyond  controversy 
by  Luke  22:  35  ff.,  where  under  different  cir- 
cumstances they  are  commanded  to  pursue  an 
altogether  different  course.  Yet  there  have 
not  been  wanting  some  to  contend,  and  even 
persons  fanatical  enough  to  attempt  carrying 
the  idea  into  practice,  that  ministers  now,  and 
especially  foreign  missionaries,  should  always 
go  forth  in  the  way  here  directed.  But  our  Lord 
himself  and  the  Twelve  with  him  sometimes 
had  money,  which  Judas  carried  in  a  purse 
(John  12: 6),  and  expended  from  time  to  time  in 
supplying  their  wants  and  in  relieving  the 
poor.  ( John  13 :  is.)  For  the  Workman  is  wofthy 
of  his  meat — nr— sustenance,  this  being  the 
exact  meaning  r.f  the  word  —  whatever  is 
needed  to  sustain  life.  To  the  Seventy  he  said 
(LnkelO:?),  'for  the  laborer  is  worthy  of  his 
hire,'  and  this  is  the  form  in  which  Paul  quotes 
the  saying,  (i  Tim.  s:  i8.l  Aristotle  says,  "A 
slave's  hire  is  his  sustenance."  (Comp.  Num. 
18:  31.)  It  was  a  very  useless  variation  for 
Tyndale,  etc..  and  Com.  Ver.,  to  put  'work- 
man' here,  when  the  same  word  is  rendered 
'laborers'  just  above  in  9 :  37  f.,  and  also  in 
the  corresponding  passages  of  Luke  and 
1  Tim.  Our  Lord  here  distinctly  sets  forth 
thesametruth  concerningthe  preacher's  right 
to  have  his  wants  supplied  by  those  among 
whom  he  labors,  which  Paul  teaches  in  1  Cor. 
9,  and  1  Tim.  5:  17  f.  Some  think  the  mean- 
ing here  to  be  that  as  God's  liiborors  they  had 
a  right  to  expect  that  he  would  give  thotn  sus- 
tenance, bj'  his  providence ;  but  that  view 
does  not  well  suit  the  connection  here,  or  in 
Luke  10:  7,  nor  at  all  accord  with  Paul's  use 
of  the  saying  in  1  Tim.  See  also  I  Cor.  9:  14, 
which  seems  to  refer  to  this  passage,  if  we 


222 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  X. 


11  And  luto  whatsoever  city  or  town  ye  shall  enter, 
inquire  who  in  it  is  worthy ;  and  there  abide  till  ye  go 
thence. 

12  And  when  ye  come  into  a  house,  salute  it. 

\A  And  if  the  {louse  be  worthy,  let  your  peace  come 
upon  it:  but  if  it  be  not  worthy,  let  your  peace  return 
to  you. 

U  And  whosoever  shall  not  receive  you,  nor  hear 
your  words,  when  ye  depart  out  of  that  bouse  or  city, 
shake  off  the  dust  of  your  feet. 


11  And  into  whatsoever  city  or  village  ye  shall  enter, 
search  out  who  in  it  is  worthy  ;  and  there  abide  till 

12  ye  go  forth.    And  as  ye  enter  into  the  house,  salute 

13  It.    And  if  the  house  be  worthy,  let  your  i)oaee  come 
•     upon  it :  but  if  it  be  not  worthy,  let  your  peace  re- 

14  turn  to  you.  And  whosoever  shall  not  receive  you, 
nor  hear  vour  words,  as  ye  go  forth  out  of  that 
bouse  or  ttat  city,  shake  off  the  dust  of  your  feet. 


there  understHnd  'the  Lord'  to  mean,  as  so 
often  in  the  Epistles,  the  Lord  Jesus. 

11-13.  Whatsoever  city  or  town  {village), 
see  on  9 :  35.  Nearly  all  the  people  were 
gathered  into  cities  or  villages,  it  being  un- 
usual to  live  alone  in  the  country,  and  indeed 
unsafe,  from  the  unsettled  condition  of  affairs 
and  the  prevalence  of  robbers  ;  in  fact,  travel- 
ers in  Palestinehave  to  pursue  a  similar  course 
now.  Inquire,  search  out,  or  'ascertain  by 
investigation'  a  stronger  term  than  'enquire.' 
Who  in  it  is  worthy,  i.  e.,  a  man  of  piety 
and  hospitality,  such  as  would  make  a  fit 
associate  and  a  willing  host.  And  there 
abide  till  ye  go  hence,  viz.^  forth  from  the 
city.  In  addressing  the  Seventy  (takeio:  7),  he 
adds  'go  not  from  house  to  house.'  The  chief 
object  of  this  injuncticm  seems  to  have  been  to 
make  them  feel  perfectly  easy  about  the  bur- 
den of  entertaining  them  ;  they  must  not  even 
trouble  themselves  to  change  their  stopping- 
place  in  a  town,  with  a  view  to  divide  the 
burden.  They  had  a  right  to  a  support,  and 
must  go  without  fear  to  a  suitable  place  and 
stay  there.  It  would  not  prove  a  real  burden 
to  entertain  two  men  <ma  hurried  journey, 
and  they  would  of  course  not  go  to  stay  with 
a  family  which  they  learned  was  very  poor. 
We  can  see  another  advantage  of  this  course 
in  that  thoy  could  give  themselves  more  unin- 
terruptedly to  their  public  labors.  Thomson 
says  (Vol.  ii.,  407),  that  at  the  present  day, 
"  when  a  stranger  arrives  in  a  village  or  an 
encampment,  the  neighbors,  one  after  another, 
usually  invite  him  to  eat  with  them.  There 
is  a  strict  etiquette  about  it,  involving  much 
ostentation  and  hypocrisy,  and  a  failure  in 
the  due  observance  of  such  hospitality  is  fre- 
quently resented,  and  often  leads  to  aliena- 
tions and  feuds  amongst  neighbors." — The 
apostles  found  in  carrying  out  the  directions 
here  given,  that  they  lacked  nothing — all 
their  wants  were  .supplied.  (Lnteii-.  n5.)  Into  a 
(the)  house,  i.  e.,  the  one  selected  according 
to  his  direction.  Salute  it.  The  form  of 
salutation  would  be  readily  understood,  and 


was  stated  to  the  Seventy  (Lniteio:6),  "Peace 
be  to  this  house."  This  was  the  common 
salutation  among  the  Jews,  e.  g.,  Luke  24:  36; 
John  20:  19,  21,  26;  1  Sam.  25:  6;  Psa.  122: 
7,  8.  The  Hebrew  word  employed,  shalom, 
signified  originally  wholeness,  soundness,  and 
hence  health,  welfare,  prosperity,  well-being 
in  general ;  and  then  peace,  as  oppcsed  to 
war,  because  this  so  greatly  conduces  to  pros- 
perity and  welfare  in  general.  As  a  .saluta- 
tion, the  term  was  thus  an  invocation  of  good 
of  every  kind,  a  benediction,  a  wish  that  one 
might  be  blessed  in  every  respect.  It  is  im- 
portant to  observe  this  breadth  of  meaning  in 
the  term,  when  studying  various  passages, 
such  as  John  14:  27;  James  2:  16.  and  tbe 
opening  and  closing  salutations  of  several  of 
the  Epistles.  The  same  word,  salnam,  is  now 
used  by  the  Arabs.  If  the  house  be  worthy, 
i.  e.,  of  your  abiding  in  it,  as  in  v.  11.  The 
emphasis  in  the  Greek  is  on  'be,'  and  if  the 
house  be  worthy,  as  you  were  informed. 
(v.  11.) — If  it  be  not  worthy,  let  your  peace 
return  to  you,  without  having  accomplished 
anything.  (Comp.  Isa.  45:  23  ;  55  :  11.)  The 
explanation  offered  bj'  many,  that  he  says  the 
benediction  would  come  back  and  do  good 
to  themselves,  does  not  Appear  to  be  warranted 
I  by  the  usage  of  similar  expressions,  although 
the  idea  which  would  thus  be  conveyed,  is 
itself  just  and  Scriptural. 

14  f.  Out  of  that  house  or  {that)  city. 
He  refers  at  the  same  time  to  the  case  of  an 
!  individual  refusing  them  hospitality,  and  of  a 
community  refusing  to  hear  their  message. 
1  They  would  turn  away  from  an  individual, 
I  shaking  off  the  dust  of  their  feet,  if  he  re- 
I  fused  to  receive  or  hear,  but  would  not  neces- 
j  sarily  abandon  the  whole  community  for  his 
I  sake.  But  if  a  city  refused  to  receive  or  hear, 
!  then  they  would  turn  away  from  that  city, 
;  shaking  off  the  dust  of  their  feet.  These  two 
I  directions  are  blended  in  one  sentence.  Who- 
i  soever  is  singular  here,  plural  in  Luke  9:  5. 
;  Shaking  off  the  dust,  etc.,  denoted  that  they 
I  wanted  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  them. 


Ch.  X.] 


MATTHEW. 


223 


counting  them  vile,  and  all  that  pertained  to 
tlieni  polluting.  "We  find  Paul  doing  this  in 
Acts  13:  51 ;  18:  6.  The  Talmud  represents  it 
as  common  for  Jews  to  do  so  when  re-entering 
the  Holy  Land  from  a  heathen  country.  Simi- 
lar is  the  ancient  and  modern  Oriental  custom 
of  removing  shoes  when  entering  a  holy  place. 
Our  Lord  himself  had  already  been  rejected 
at  Nazareth  (Lake4:i6),  and  in  the  country  of 
the  Gadarenes,  and  was  rejected  afterwards  at 
a  Samaritan  village  (Luke9:62j;  indeed,  in  gen- 
eral, 'he  came  to  his  own,  and  his  own  re- 
ceived him  not.'  (Johniai.)  We  need  not  then 
be  surprised  if  some  reject  us  and  our  message, 
since  it  was  so  with  Jesus,  and  so  with  the  apos- 
tles, even  on  the  Day  of  Pentecost  More 
tolerable  for  the  land  of  Sodom  and  Go- 
morrah, comp.  on  11:  22,24.  This  solemn 
utterance  is  here  given  by  Matthew  only,  the 
corresponding  sentence  in  Mark  6:  11  being 
an  unquestionably  spurious  though  early  ad- 
dition to  the  text,  such  as  we  so  often  find 
made  in  parallel  passages. 

HOMILETICAL  AND   PRACTICAL. 

Ch.  9 :  36-38.  "What  a  theme  for  meditation 
is  the  Saviour's  compassion — at  once  human 
compassion  and  divine — and  not  a  mere  senti- 
ment, but  leading  him  to  corresponding  ac- 
tion, as  Teacher  and  as  Redeemer;  and  alsa 
leading  him  to  send  out  others  to  teach  the 
way  of  salvation.  Every  one  now  who  is 
truly  sent  forth  of  God  to  spend  his  life  in 
proclaiming  salvation  is  really  a  fruit  of  the 
Saviour's  compassion  for  the  perishing. — 
Looking  over  a  congregation,  or  any  crowd, 
do  you  feel  a  tender  concern  for  their  salva- 
tion? Thinking  of  the  millions  who  are 
perishing,  in  our  own  and  other  lands,  do 
you  long  for  their  salvation  and  pray  for  it? 
If  not,  you  are  not  like  Jesus. — The  prayer 
for  laborers  ought  much  oftener  to  form  a 
part  of  our  public  and  private  supplications. 
All  Christian  men  and  women,  and  boj's  and 
girls,  ought  to  feel  that  they  have  a  work  to 
do  in  gathering  the  great  harvest  of  souls, 
that  waves  wide  and  perishing  over  all  the 
earth.— V.  36-38.  Luther:  "The  world  think 
nothing  more  trifling  and  despicable  than  tho 
ministers  of  the  word,  or  laborers  in  the  Lord's 
harvest;  but  that  is  like  rejoicing  over  their 
own  endless  misfortune." 

9:  36  to  10:  5.    Origin  and  development  of  a 


call  to  the  ministry.  1)  Compassionate  reflec- 
tion upon  the  perishing  condition  of  men,  v. 
36  f.  2)  Prayer  that  God  will  send  forth 
laborers,  v.  38.  3)  Conviction  that  we  our- 
selves must  go,  V.  1,  6.  Hbnky:  "Those  who 
are  to  be  ministers  ought,  1)  to  live  near  to 
Christ;  2)  to  be  -taught  by  him." — "V.  1. 
Henry:  "This  was  that  famous  jury,  (and 
to  make  it  a  grand  jury,  Paul  was  added  to 
it)  that  was  impaneled  to  inquire  between 
the  King  of  kings  and  the  body  of  mankind; 
and  in  this  chapter  they  have  their  charge 
given  them  by  him  to  whom  all  judgment 
was  committed." — "V.  2.  Henry:  "Kinsmen 
may  be  dear  companions  in  Christian  labor." 
— V.  7  f.  The  relation  between  the  supernatural 
and  the  miraculous. — V.  9-13.  Hospitality  to 
traveling  preachers;  comp.  Heb.  13:  2;  2 
John  10. — V.  12  f.  The  courtesies  of  life  may 
be  the  vehicles  of  temporal  and  spiritual  bless- 
ing.— "V^.  14  f.  Dreadful  guilt  of  rejecting  the 
gospel.  Henry:  " The  best  and  most  power- 
ful preachers  of  the  gospel  must  expect  to 
meet  with  some  who  will  not  so  much  as  give 
them  the  hearing,  nor  show  them  any  token 
of  respect." — It  may  be  suggested  that  in  ser- 
mons on  the  twelve  apostles  it  would  be  well  to 
group  two  or  more  of  those  concerning  whom 
we  know  very  little  into  one  discourse,  rather 
than  use  uncertain  traditions  as  material. 

10 :  16-11 :  1.  Further  Instructions  to 
THE  Twelve. 

Our  Lord's  instructions  to  the  Twelve  close 
in  Mark  (6:  u)  and  Luke  (9:  6)  at  this  point. 
But  Matthew  goes  on  to  give  much  additional 
matter  spoken  on  the  same  occasion.  There 
are  several  other  remarkable  cases,  as  the  Ser- 
mon on  the  Mount,  the  discourse  in  ch.  18, 
and  that  on  the  Mount  of  Olives  (ch.  24  and 25), 
in  which  Matthew  gives  much  more  than 
Mark  and  Luke.  The  remainder  of  the  pres- 
ent address  consists  of  warnings  as  to  coming 
persecutions,  directions  how  to  act  when  per- 
secuted, and  reasons  why  they  should  not 
shrink  from  duty  because  of  danger.  Some 
of  these  warnings  and  directions  look  beyond 
this  brief  mission  in  Galilee  and  on  to  their 
labors  after  the  Ascension.  In  the  address  to 
tiie  Seventy  (i.nkeiO:2-io)  there  is  no  such  refer- 
ence to  future  time.  It  was  natural  that  he 
should,  on  first  sending  them  out  to  labor,  give 
directions  which  would  be  of  service  to  them 
throughout  their  appointed  course.      Bruce: 


224 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  X. 


15  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  It  shall  be  more  tolerable  |  15  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  It  shall  be  more  tolerable  for 


for  the  land  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  in  the  day  of 
judgment,  than  for  that  city. 

16  Behold,  I  send  you  forth  as  sheep  in  the  midst  of 
wolves:  be  ye  therefore  wise  as  serpents,  and  harmles.i* 
as  doves. 


the  land  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  in  the  day  of 
judgment,  than  for  that  city. 
16      Behold,  I  send  you  forth  as  sheep  in  the  midst  of 
wolves :  be  ye  therefore  wise  as  serpents,  and  i  harm- 


1  Or.  timpU. 


"  It  was  his  way  on  solemn  occasions,  to  speak 
as  a  prophet,  who  in  the  present  saw  the 
future,  and  from  small  beginnings  looked  for- 
ward to  great  ultimate  issues.  This  Galilean 
mission,  though  humble  and  limited  comj)ared 
with  the  great  undertaking  of  after  years,  was 
really  a  solemn  event.  It  was  the  beginning 
of  that  vast  work  for  which  the  Twelve  had 
been  chosen,  which  embraced  the  world  in  its 
scope,  and  aimed  at  setting  up  on  the  earth 
the  kingdom  of  God."  The  parts  most  pecu- 
liar to  that  journey  apply  in  principle  (Eder- 
sheim)  to  us  and  to  all  time;  the  parts  which 
pointed  to  the  remotest  future  applied  in  prin- 
ciple to  the  immediate  journey  about  Galilee. 
These  considerations  form  a  sufficient  reply  to 
those  who  insist  that  Matthew  has  here  put 
together  matters  actually  spoken  on  different 
occasions  at  a  later  period.  Mark  and  Luke 
give  some  similar  sayings  in  the  discourse  on 
the  Mount  of  Olives,  and  Matthew  there  omits 
them.  It  was  natural  that  if  similar  things 
were  said  in  different  discourses  an  Evangel- 
ist should  give  them  in  one  case  and  omit 
them  in  another;  and  it  was  perfectly  natural 
that  Jesus  should  say  similar  things  on  differ- 
ent occasions.  On  this  point  comp.  at  the  be- 
ginning of  ch.  5.  In  applying  the  present 
discourse  to  ourselves,  allowance  must  bu 
made  for  the  difference  of  situation.  We  do 
not  work  miracles,  and  are  not  inspired;  the 
opposition  we  meet  is  rather  moral  than  phys- 
ical ;  we  often  go  to  foreign  countries. 

I.  16-23.  They  Must  be  ox  Their 
Guard  Against  Comixg  Persecution. 
We  have  here  the  general  intimation  and  coun- 
sel of  V.  16 ;  warnings  as  to  the  persecutions 
which  awaited  them  (v.  nr),  with  directions  us 
to  the  defence  of  themselves  when  brought 
before  the  tribunals  (vwf);  further  state- 
ments concerning  persecutions  and  hatred 
(t.  21  f.) ;  and  the  direction  to  flee  from  any 
town  in  which  they  were  persecuted  into  the 
next. 

16.  They  are  going  forth  into  the  midst  of 
perils,  and  must  therefore  exercise  a  blended 
prudence  and  simplicity.      These  ideas  are 


beautifully  and  strikingly  expressed  by  fig- 
ures. Behold,  I  send  you  forth.  'Be- 
hold' calls  special  attention  to  what  follows. 
'I' is  expressed  in  the  Greek,  and  therefore 
in  some  sense  emphatic.  The  idea  perhaps  is 
that  they  are  not  going  out  like  sheep  wander- 
ing into  dangers,  without  the  knowledge  of 
their  shepherd  ;  he  himself  sends  them  forth 
into  the  midst  of  these  perils;  and  hence  both 
a  reason  why  they  should  strive  to  come  off 
safe,  and  an  encouragement  to  hope  they 
would  succeed.  He  sends  them  forth  as 
^heep,  weak  and  defenceless,  and  not  only 
in  a  region  where  there  was  danger  of  wolves, 
but  in  the  midst  of  wolves — the  language  is 
very  strong.  To  the  Seventy  (Lukeio:«)  it  is 
still  stronger;  they  are  'lambs.'  Herodotus 
speaks  of  leaving  a  man  as  a  sheep  among 
wolves.  Be  ye  therefore  wise  (pi-tident) 
as  serpents,  and  harmless  (shnple)  as 
doves.  'Be'  is  more  exactly  'becorne,'  get 
to  be,  implying  that  they  are  not  so  now. 
'  Therefore'  may  be  taken  as  an  inference  not 
merely  from  the  fact  that  they  would  be  as 
sheep  in  the  midst  of  wolves,  but  also  from 
the  fact  that  he  sent  them  as  sheep  in  the 
midst  of  wolves ;  there  is  a  duty  to  themsel  vea 
and  a  duty  to  him.  'Wise,'  more  exactly 
'prudent'  (comp.  on  7:24);  Latin  versions 
prudentes  or  astuti.  Serpents  show  great  cau- 
tion and  skill  in  avoiding  danger.  The 
Egyptian  hieroglyphics  use  the  serpent  as  the 
symbol  of  wisdom.  We  may  understand  that 
they  were  to  be  prudent  in  the  recognition  of 
danger,  and  in  the  choice  of  means  for  oppos- 
ing or  escaping  it— in  general  as  to  their  be- 
haviour when  in  danger.  But  such  prudent 
regard  for  self-preservation  is  very  apt  to  be 
accompanied,  in  men  as  in  serpents,  with  the 
tricks  of  low  cunning.  This  is  forbidden  by 
the  other  injunction.  The  word  rendered 
'harmless,'  better  'simple'  (margin  Rev. Ver.) 
signifies  literally  unmixed,  and  hence  pure 
(as  pure  wine,  pure  gold),  uncorrupted,  and  so 
guileless,  sincere.  The  Latin  versions  all 
have  sitnplicrs :  the  Peshito,  a  word  denoting 
whole-minded,  upright,  sincere;    Chrys.   ex- 


Ch.  X.] 


MATTHEW. 


225 


17  Bnt  beware  of  men :  for  they  will  deliver  you  up  I  17  less  as  doves.  But  beware  of  men :  for  they  will 
to  the  councils,  and  they  will  scourge  you  in  their  syu-  deliver  you  up  to  councils,  and  in  their  synagogues 
agogues ;  ' 


plains  by  simple  and  artless.  The  English  use 
of  'simple'  does  not  quite  clearly  express  the 
idea,  but  it  is  exactly  hit  by  the  substantive 
'simplicity.'  The  other  proposed  derivation, 
without  horns,  and  so  'harmless,'  adopted 
by  King  James,  is  highly  improbable.  The 
Greek  word  is  used  also  in  Phil.  2:  15,  and 
Rom.  16:  19,  Rev.  Ver.,  "wise  unto  that 
which  is  good,  and  simple  unto  that  which  is 
evil."  In  our  passage  the  word  is  trans- 
lated 'simple'  in  Wye.  and  Rheims,  McClel- 
lan,  and  Davidson,  and  'innocent'  in  Tynd., 
Great  B.,  and  Geneva.  They  were  not  to 
deserve  injury,  or  afford  any  pretext  for  it; 
and  w^ere  to  employ  no  trickery  or  other 
improper  means  of  escaping  from  danger. 
They  must  combine  prudence  and  simplicity. 
If  the  dove  alone  were  taken  as  model, 
they  might  become  silly  (hos.  7:ii);  if  the 
serpent  alone,  they  would  become  tricky. 
(Geii. 3:1.)  SUev :  "So  that  thy  wisdom  shall 
never  degenerate  into  cunning,  nor  thy  sim- 
plicity into  ignorance  or  imprudence."  Plato : 
"  Knowledge  without  justice  should  be  called 
cunning  rather  than  wisdom."  If  we  are  to 
fail  in  either,  it  is  doubtless  better  to  be  lack- 
ing in  Christian  prudence  than  in  Christian 
simplicity.  But  the  injunction  is  to  combine 
both  in  due  proportion ;  and  the  example  of 
Jesus  shows  this  to  be  possible.  How  prudent 
he  was,  constantly  taking  pains  to  avoid 
danger  till  his  hour  was  come,  and  at  the 
same  time  how  innocent,  guileless,  and  pure. 
Not  merely  in  respect  to  persecution,  but  in 
all  the  dangers  to  ourselves  and  our  work 
which  throng  about  Christian  laborers,  we 
have  constant  need  of  prudence,  united  with 
simplicity.  In  a  late  Jewish  commentary 
(Midrash),  a  Rabbi  says:  "God  says,  toward 
me  the  Israelites  are  simple  as  doves,  but 
toward  the  Gentiles  subtle  as  serpents."  This 
may  have  been  borrowed  from  the  Gospels ; 
we  know  that  the  later  Jews  borrowed  from 
every  direction. 

17  f.  With  V.   17-22  comp.  similar  things 
said  to  the  four  disciples  in  the  great  discourse 

on  the  Mount  of  Olives  (M«rkl8:81.1;  Luke  21:  IM9) ; 

there  Matt,  does  not  record  them.  But  beware 
of  men,  i.  e.,  of  mankind  in  general,  spoken 
of  as  hostile  to  them,  like  'the  world'  in  John 


15:  18;  17:  14.  They  were  few,  and  men  were 
against  them.  Councils  does  not  here  mean 
the  great  Sanhedrin,  as  in  26:  59,  but  appar- 
ently refers  to  the  smaller  judicial  bodies 
which  existed  in  every  city  and  village,  as  in 
5:  22.  Synagogues,  see  on  4:  23.  Other 
allusions  to  scourging  in  the  synagogues,  ap- 
parently in  the  very  place  of  worship,  and  in 
the  actual  presence  of  the  worshiping  assem- 
bly, are  found  in  23:  34;  Mark  13:  9;  Acts 
22:  19;  comp.  Acts  26:  11.  At  a  later  period 
it  is  said  that,  on  one  occasion,  the  Jews  sung  a 
psalm  while  a  man  was  receiving  a  scourging 
in  the  synagogue  ;  and  Maimonides  says  that 
the  principal  judge  would  read  passages  of 
Scripture  throughout  the  scourging.  The 
Jews  were  very  scrupulous  not  to  exceed  forty 
stripes,  according  to  the  law  which  Moses 
made  (Dem.  25:3)  to  mitigate  the  dreadful 
severity  of  the  common  Oriental  scourgings; 
and  to  make  sure  of  not  going  beyond  forty 
they  stopped  at  thirty-nine.  (2C0r.1i:  24.)  And 
ye  shall  be  brought  (even)  before  govern- 
ors and  kings  for  my  sake.  This  is  intro- 
duced as  more  imporcant  ('  even  ')  than  what 
precedes-;  and  it  was  so  not  merely  because 
they  would  be  tribunals  of  greater  dignity,  but 
because  they  could  punish  with  death,  which 
the  Jewish  tribunalsat  that  time  could  not  do. 
It  was  also  a  remarkable  thing  that  they  were 
to  be  brought,  not  onl3'  before  the  religious 
authorities  of  their  own  people,  but  before  the 
civil  authorities,  the  highest  Roman  ofBcials. 
The  word  rendered  'governors'  is  a  general 
term,  which  would  include  several  kinds  of 
Roman  rulers  of  provinces,  viz.:  propraetor, 
proconsul  (like  Sergius  Paulus,  and  Gallio), 
and  procurator  (like  Pilate,  Felix,  Festus), 
and  is  used  in  the  same  broad  sense  in  1  Peter 
2:  14.  As  to  their  being  brought  before 
'  kings,'  we  have  examples  in  the  persecutions 
of  James  and  Peter  by  Herod  Agrippa  I. 
(A0U12),  and  the  appearance  of  Paul  before  his 
son  Herod  Agrippa  II.  (acm  26.)  The  term 
king  was  also  frequently  applied  to  the  Roman 
imperator  or  emperor  (i  Peter 2: 13  r.),  and  in  that 
sense  we  should  have  an  example  in  Paul's 
trials  before  Nero.  For  a  testimony  against 
(to)  them  and  against  (to)  the  Gentiles. 
The  Greek  might  mean  'against  them  '  (Com. 


226 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  X. 


18  And  ye  shall  be  brought  before  governors  and 
kings  for  iny  sake,  for  a  lesiimoiiy  against  them  and 
the  Gentiles. 

19  But  when  they  deliver  you  up,  take  no  thought 
how  or  what  ye  shall  speak:  for  it  shall  be  given  you 
io  that  same  hour  what  ye  shall  speak. 

20  For  it  is  not  ye  that  speak,  but  the  Spirit  of  your 
Father  which  spi-iiketh  in  you. 

21  And  the  brother  shall  deliver  ttp  the  brother  to 
death,  and  the  father  the  child:  and  the  children  shall 
rise  up  against  their  parents,  and  cause  them  to  be  put 
to  death. 


18  they  will  scourge  you ;  yea  and  before  governors 
and  kings  shall  ye  be  brought  lor  my  sake,  for  a 

19  testimony  to  them  and  to  the  Gentiles.  But  when 
they  deliver  you  up,  be  not  anxious  how  or  what  ye 
shall  speak:  for  it  shall  be  given  you  in  that  hour 

20  what  ye  shall  speak.  P'or  it  is  not  ye  that  speak, 
but  the  Spirit  of  your  Father  that  speaketh  in  you. 

21  And  brother  shall  deliver  up  brotlier  to  death, "and 
the  father  his  child:  and  children  shall  rise  up 
against  parents,  and  i  cause  them  to  be  put  to  death. 


1  Or,  put  them  to  death. 


Ver.),  but  the  other  is  a  more  natural  mean- 
ing, and  better  suits  thg  connection.  'To 
them'  may  mean  the  rulers  just  mentioned, 
as  distinguished  from  the  nation  at  large  ;  or 
it  more  probably  means  the  Jews,  spoken  of 
as  'they,'  'them;'  as  in  v.  17,  in  11 :  1,  and 
often.  The  idea  would  thus  be  that  the  design 
of  Providence  in  suffering  the  disciples  to  be 
brought  before  these  tribunals  was,  that  they 
might  bear  witness  to  rulers  and  people — or, 
more  probably,  to  Jews  and  Gentiles  (Phu.  i :  i3; 
I  Tim.  4: 17) — of  the  truths  they  were  going  forth 
to  proclaim.  (Comp.  a  similar  expression  in 
8:  4;  24;  14.)  All  this  we  cannot  understand 
as  referring  simply  to  their  brief  journey 
about  Galilee,  during  which  they  would  per- 
haps encounter  some  persecution  (see  on  v. 
23),  but  were  certainlj'  not  brought  before 
governors  and  kings.  It  must  therefore  be 
understood  as  glancing  forward  to  persecu- 
tions they  would  suffer  in  future  days,  while 
prosecuting  that  mission  as  Christ's  apostles,  of 
which  this  journey  would  be  the  first  stage. 
(Comp.  on  V.  16.)  How  plainly  our  Lord 
spoke  to  his  followers  of  the  perils  and  ))erse- 
cutions  which  awaited  them  in  doing  his  work. 
He  would  have  them  count  the  cost.  And 
they  did  not  shrink  from  his  service,  though 
warned  what  it  would  cost  them,  being  doubt- 
less sustained  by  their  own  devotion,  and  by 
such  promises  as  those  of  v.  19  and  22. 

19  f.  When  thus  called  before  the  authori- 
ties for  trial,  they  need  not  be  anxiously  con- 
sidering as  to  the  defence  they  shall  make,  the 
testimony  they  are  to  bear,  for  it  shall  be  com- 
municated to  them  by  the  Divine  Spirit  (v.  is), 
who  indeed  will  be  speaking  in  them  as  his 
instruments,  (v.  20.)  Comp.  the  similar  prom- 
ise  on   the    Mount    of  Olives    (Markl3:n;Luke21: 

wf.),  and  on  another  occasion.  (Luke  12: 12.)  Take 
no  thought,  be  not  anxious,  or  'do  not  anx- 
iously consider.'  See  on  6:  25.  They  would  be 
more  likely  to  feel  anxious  what  they  should 


say,  because  it  was  common  to  make  verj' 
elaborate  addresses  and  affecting  appeals;  and 
before  the  Koman  tribunals,  even  to  employ 
counsel,  such  as  Tertullus  (Acts24:i),  who 
would  understand  Roman  law  and  judicial 
methods,  and  could  deliver  high-wrought 
orations.  Knowing  that  importance  was  at- 
tached to  such  addresses,  and  conscious  of  in- 
experience in  Roman  legal  procedure,  the 
disciples  might  naturally  feel,  when  they  were 
delivered  up,  great  solicitude;  and  this  would 
be  increased  by  the  fact  that  they  were  called 
to  present,  not  only  a  defense  of  themselves, 
but  a  testimony  for  Jesus.  There  was  thus 
great  comfort  for  them  in  the  promise  here 
given.  As  specimens  of  the  addresses  made 
by  some  of  them  under  such  circumstances, 
we  have  the  speeches  of  Peter  and  Stephen 
before  the  Sanhedrin,  and  of  Paul  before 
Felix,  Festus,  and  Agrippa.  How  or  what 
ye  shall  speak.  'How'  suggests  the  general 
plan  and  delivery  of  their  defence,  and 
'what'  suggests  the  subject  matter.  Comp. 
'mouth  and  wisdom'  in  Luke  21:  15;  and 
comp.  Luke  12:  12. 

20.  For  it  is  not  ye  that  speak,  etc. 
With  the  form  of  expression  comp.  Gen.  45: 
8,  "It  was  not  you  that  sent  me  hither,  but 
God,"  and  so  Exod.  16:8.  Your  Father, 
see  on  6:9.  This  was  clearly  a  promise  of 
special  inspiration,  in  the  highest  sense  and 
degree  (comp.  Ex.  4:  12).  To  apply  it  to  un- 
inspired preachers  of  to-day,  is  unwarranted 
and  absurd.  They  may  expect,  and  should 
earnestly  seek,  the  gracious  aids  of  the  H0I3' 
Spirit  in  their  previous  reflections  and  in  their 
actual  preaching;  but  they  have  no  right 
whatever  to  expect  inspiration.  This  prom- 
ise of  inspiration  was  repeated  by  our  Lord  in 
the  pronfise  of  the  Comforter  (John  ch.  i*  to  le)  ; 
and  that  assures  us  that  in  their  writings  also 
the  apostles  were  inspired. 

21.  f.  Not  only  will  the  public  authorities 


Ch.  X.] 


MATTHEW. 


227 


22  And  ye  shall  be  hated  of  all  men  for  my  name's 
sake :  but  "he  that  endureth  to  the  end  shall  be  saved. 

23  But  when  they  persecute  you  in  this  city,  flee  ye 
into  another;  lor  verily  I  say  unto  you,  Ye  shall  not 
have  gone  over  the  cities  of  Israel,  till  the  &>on  of  man 
be  come. 


22  And  ye  shall  be  hated  of  all  men  for  my  name's 
sake:  but  he  that  endureth  to  the  end,  the  same 

23  shall  be  saved.  But  when  they  persecute  you  iu 
this  city,  flee  into  the  next:  for  verily  I  say  unto 
you,  Ye  shall  not  have  gone  through  the  cities  of 
Israel,  till  the  Son  of  man  be  come. 


be  d'sposed  to  persecute  them,  but  men  will 
deliver  to  the  tribunals  their  own  dearest  kin- 
dred for  being  Christians,  and  will  put  them 
to  death,  and  the  hatred  against  them  will  be 
universal ;  yet  let  them  endure  to  the  end,  and 
tli'^y  shall  be  saved.  See  a  similar  passage  in 
Mark  13  :  12  f.  and  Luke  21 :  16-19,  as  spoken 
on  the  Mount  of  Olives,  and  part  of  it  is  in 
this  case  given  by  Matthew  also.  (2*:  9-13.)  And 
the  children  shall  rise  np  against  their 
parents,  and,  literally,  put  them  to  death, 
(see  margin  of  Rev.  Ver).  This  doubtless 
means,  will  put  them  to  death  through  the  in- 
strumentality of  the  authorities.  But  Rev. 
Ver.  ought  hardly  to  have  followed  Com. 
Ver.  in  giving  a  mere  interpretation  a  place 
in  the  text,  and  throwing  into  the  margin  the 
correct  translation  of  Tj'n.  and  his  successors, 
and  of  Davidson,  Noyes,  Darby.  The  dread- 
ful effects  of  religious  bigotry,  as  here  pre- 
dicted, and  as  so  often  witnessed  in  the  world's 
history,  should  impress  us  with  the  immense 
power  and  importance  of  the  religious  prin- 
ciple in  man  ;  just  as  when  a  train  of  cars 
runs  off  the  track,  or  a  dynamite  factory  ex- 
plodes, we  see  all  the  more  clearly  from  the 
ruinous  consequences  the  power  of  the  forces 
in  question,  and  the  importance  of  their  being 
properly  directed  and  controlled.  For  the 
motive  to  such  persecutions  has  usually  been, 
not  opposition  for  its  own  sake  to  the  religion 
persecuted,  but  attachment  to  another  religion 
with  which  it  was  thought  to  interfere.  But 
he  that  endureth  to  the  end,  shall  be 
saved.  It  seems  proper  here,  as  is  manifestly 
necessary  in  the  discourse  on  the  Mount  of 
Olives  (24: 13;  Mark  13: 13)  to  Understand  the  as- 
surance as  having  a  twofold  application; 
first,  he  that  endures  to  the  end  of  the  perse- 
cutions and  other  evils  in  question  shall  at  last 
be  saved,  delivered,  from  those  evils;  but  also 
more  widely,  he  that  endures  to  the  end  of 
life's  trials  shall  be  saved,  in  the  usual  sense 
of  attaining  eternal  life.  The  propriety  of 
understanding  a    twofold    allusion    in    such 


passages,  or  making  a  varied  application  of 
them,  will  be  discussed  at  the  beginning  of  ch. 
24;  see  also  on  the  next  verse. 

23,  Flee  ye  into  another,  or  the  other, 
i.  e.,  into  the  next.  The  particular  city  in 
which  they  are  persecuted,  and  the  one  next 
in  order  are  conceived  of  as  forming  a  pair, 
'this,'  'the  other.'  1  In  thus  avoiding  perse- 
cution they  would  be  '  prudent  as  the  ser- 
pents'  (v.  16) ;  so  Paul  and  Barnabas  acted  in 
going  from  Antioch  in  Pisidia  to  Iconiuin,  etc, 
(Acts,  ch.  13  and  14.)  Fof  verilyl  say  nnto  you, 
see  on  5 :  18.  Some  fancy  that  this  expression 
in  V.  15,  23,  42,  marks  the  close  of  three  dis- 
tinct sections  of  the  discourse ;  but  this  is  sup- 
posing a  very  artificial  use  of  the  phrase,  and 
if  so  designed,  it  ought  also  to  occur  in  v.  83 
and  35.  Ye  shall  not  have  gone  over 
{oT,  finish)  the  cities  of  Israel,  till  the  Sou 
of  man  be  come,  '  Not '  is  a  strong  negative, 
translatt^d  'in  no  wise'  in  John  6:  37  and  Heb. 
13:  5,  and  in  Matthew  5:  20;  10:  4'2,  etc. 
'  Finish  '  (so  rendered  by  Tyn.,  Gen.,  Rheims, 
and  margin  of  Com.  Ver.),  in  the  sense  of 
visiting  them  all.  They  must  not  stay  in  one 
city,  vainly  endeavoring  to  overcome  oppo- 
sition and  persecution,  but  flee  to  the  next; 
for  there  were  more  cities  than  they  would  be 
able  to  visit  before  the  Son  of  man  should 
come.  It  is  quite  difficult  to  determine  the 
meaning  of  this  last  expression,  as  here  em- 
ployed. It  has  been  supposed  to  mean  : 
(1)  Till  he  come  and  rejoin  the  Twelve  at  the 
end  of  this  journey.  (2)  Till  he  make  his 
appearance  as  the  Messiah,  distinctly  present 
himself  as  such.  (3)  Till  he  come  spiritually 
to  console  and  support.  (Joiin  i4: 23.)  (4)  Till  he 
come  to  put  an  end  to  the  Jewish  institutions 
at  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem.  (5)  Till  he 
come  to  judge  the  world.  The  Jii-st  sense 
might  at  the  outset  strike  one  as  natural  and 
good,  and  it  would  be  possible  that  he  should 
return  from  the  more  general  view  of  their 
coming  labors  and  persecutions,  to  speak  of 
the  particular  journey  then  before  them ;  as 


iThe  "Western"  documents,  with  Origen  and  the  1  would  be  an  unimportant  expansion.  It  is  difficult  to 
Armenian  version  add  "  And  if  out  of  this  they  perse-  decide  whether  it  is  more  likely  to  have  been  inserted 
cute  you,  flee  into  the  other  "  (so  W  U.  margin),  which  '  or  omitted. 


228 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  X. 


24  The  disciple  is  not  above  hit  master,  nor  the  serv-  I  24     A  disciple  is  not  above  his  i  master,  nor  a  i  servant 
an  I  above  his  lord. 


1  Or,  (eaek«r....2  Or.  hondaervant. 


ill  the  discourse  on  the  Mount  of  Olives  he 
sometimes  returns  from  the  second  topic  to 
the  first.  In  the  mission  of  the  Seventy 
(Lukeio:  1,  R. V.;,  it  is  Said  that  he  sent  them 
'before  his  face  into  every  city  and  place, 
whither  he  himself  was  about  to  come.'  It  is 
natural  to  suppose  that  he  was  going  to 
follow  the  Twelve  also;  and  indeed  he 
must  have  done  so,  since  their  work  was 
ocmfined  to  Galilee  (see  on  v.  5),  and  he 
himself  went  about  all  the  cities  of  Galilee. 
"When  the  objection  is  made  that  it  is 
hardly  probable  they  were  persecuted  during 
this  journey,  one  may  reply  that  Jesus  him- 
self was  persecuted  at  Nazareth,  and  seriously 
threatened  with  death  at  various  other  places. 
The  greatest  difficulty  in  the  way  of  under- 
standing the  expression  in  this  sense  is  that 
the  language  seems  too  elaborate  and  solemn 
for  so  simple  an  idea.  He  does  not  say  "for 
you  will  not  finish  the  cities  of  Galilee  till  I 
come,"  but  employs  the  solemn  phrase  'till 
the  Son  of  man  come,'  and  prefaces  it  by 
'verily  I  say  to  you,'  using  also  the  more 
general  term  Israel.  The  second  sense  pro- 
posed is  not  supported  by  any  similar  use  of 
the  phrase  elsewhere,  and  does  not  seem  very 
appropriate  to  the  connection.  There  was 
indeed  no  broadly  marked  epoch  at  which  he 
appeared  as  the  Messiah,  and  the  occasional 
intimations  of  his  Messiahship  commenced 
long  before  the  delivery  of  this  discourse. 
The  third  sense  is  that  of  Chrys.  and  his  fol- 
lowers, of  Beza,  Maldonatus;  while  Calvin 
and  Bleek  understand  similarly  his  coming  in 
the  mission  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  But  the  time 
of  his  spiritual  coming  would  be  a  very  vague 
chronological  epoch ;  and  Jesus  certainly 
seems  to  be  speaking  of  some  personal  coming. 
The  fourth  sense  is  accepted  by  many  recent 
writers.  In  16:  28.  'the  Son  of  man  coming' 
unquestionably  refers  to  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem.  The  idea  here  would  thus  be  that 
they  would  not  reach  all.  the  Jews  with  their 
ministry  before  the  overthrow  of  the  Jewish 
institutions;  and  hence  they  must  not  waste 
time  in  remaining  where  they  were  perse- 
cuted. But  in  the  discourse  on  the  Mount  of 
Olives  (ch.  24  and  25),  the  coming  to  dcstroy  Jeru- 
salem and  the  coming  at  the  end  of  the  world 


are  constantly  associated,  and  sometimes  both 
referred  to  in  the  same  expression.  So,  also, 
in  16:  27  f.  It  would,  therefore,  seem  natural 
to  combine  with  this  fourth  the  fifth  sense. 
On  no  occasion  would  there  be  greater  pro- 
priety in  emplo^'ing  the  obscure  language  and 
perspective  view  of  prophecy  than  here.  He 
wishes  to  give  counsel  which  shall  apply  not 
only  to  this  journey,  but  to  their  labors  after 
the  Ascension,  and  perhaps  even  to  the  labors 
of  his  followers  in  all  ages;  and  to  intimate 
that  in  each  of  those  periods  there  would  be 
more  to  do  than  they  could  complete  before 
the  season  in  question  would  end.  It  may, 
therefore,  be  that  the  phrase  was  intended  to 
include  in  some  obscure  fashion  the  first, 
fourth,  and  fifth  senses.  It  was  manifestly 
impossible  that  the  Twelve  should*  at  that  time 
understand  any  distinct  reference  to  the 
coming  to  destroy  Jerusalem ;  indeed  it  is 
not  probable  that  they  understood  when  he 
spoke  of  it  on  the  Mount  of  Olives.  It  was 
necessary,  therefore,  as  so  often  in  O.  T.  and 
N.  T.  prophecies,  to  employ  language  which 
would  refer  to  each  of  these  at  the  same  time; 
which  would  be  understood  at  once  as  re- 
garded the  present  journey,  and  would  after- 
wards be  viewed  in  its  broader  meaning  when 
needed.  (Com p.  on  v.  22,  and  at  the  begin- 
ning of  ch.  24.)  The  notion  of  Origen,  that 
Scripture  has  everywhere  a  twofold,  or  even 
threefold,  sense,  is  now  justly  rejected;  our 
present  danger  is  that  of  rejecting  along  with 
it  the  unquestionable  fact  that  Scripture  does 
sometimes  use  language  referring  at  once  to  a 
nearer  and  a  remoter  event. 

II.  24-33.  Encouragemekt  TO  THE  Per- 
secuted. The  ke^'-note  is  here  'fear  not,' 
which  occurs  three  times,  in  v.  26,  28,  31. 

24  f.  They  need  not  think  strange,  or  com- 
plain that  they  were  going  to  be  persecuted ; 
this  would  only  be  sharing  the  fate  of  their 
Teacher  and  Master,  The  disciple  is  not 
above  his  master  (teacher,)  nor  the  servant 
above  his  lord  (master),  (see  margin  Rev. 
Ver.)  For 'disciple'  see  on  5:1;  for 'teacher' 
(didaskalos),  and  'master'  (kurios),  on  8:  19; 
and  for  'slave'  (doulos),  on  8:  6.  This  saying 
is  also  given  by  Luke  (6:4o),  as  used  in  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount ;  by  John  (is:  le),  as  em- 


1 


Ch.  X.] 


MATTHEW. 


229 


25  It  is  enough  for  the  disciple  that  he  be  as  his  mas- 
ter, and  the  servant  as  his  lord.  If  they  have  called  the 
master  of  tlie  hoiis^  Beelzebub,  how  much  more  sImU 
they  call  them  of  his  household : 

26  Fear  them  not  therefore :  for  there  is  nothing 
covered,  that  shall  not  be  revealed ;  and  hid,  that  shall 
not  be  known. 

27  What  I  tell  you  in  darkness,  that  speak  ye  in  light : 
and  what  ye  hear  in  the  ear,  that  preach  ye  upon  the 
housetops. 


25  above  his  lord.    It  is  enough  for  the  disciple  that  he 
-  be  as  his  i  master,  and  the  '■'servanl  as  his  lord.    If 

they  have  called  the  master  of  the  house  ifUeelzebub, 
how  much  more  shall  they  call  them  of  his  house- 

26  hold !     Fear  them  not  therefore :  for  there  is  nothing 
covered,  that  shall  not  be  revealed;  and  liid^that 

27  shall  not  be  known.   What  I  tell  you  in  the  darkness, 
speak  ye  in  the  light:  and  what  ye  hear  in  the  ear, 


1  Or,  teacher. ,..'l  bondservant 3  Gr.  Beelzebul :  aud  so  etsewbere. 


I 


ployed  in  another  connection ;  and  also  in  John 
15:  20,  where  the  application  is  much  the 
same  as  here.  The  saying,  "  It  is  enough  for 
the  slave  to  be  as  his  master"  (comp.  v.  25), 
occurs  repeatedly  in  the  later  Jewish  writings, 
and  was  perhaps  proverbial  when  used  by 
Jesus.  (Comp.  on  7:5,  12.)  There  are  of 
course  exceptional  cases  in  which  a  pupil  does 
have  a  better  lot  than  his  teacher,  or  even  a 
slave  than  his  master ;  but  the  general  fact 
is  as  here  expressed,  and  so  the  disciples  need 
not  be  surprised  at  hearing  that  they  would 
suffer  the  same  treatment  to  which  Jesus  him- 
self was  exposed.  If  they  (i.  e.,  people,  the 
impersonal  use)  called  the  master  of  the 
house  Beelzebub)  or  Beelzebul  (see  margin 
Rev.  Ver. ).  'Master'  is  heredespotes  (see  on 
8:  19),  which  we  borrow  as  despot.  The 
compound  term  of  the  original  '  house-master' 
presents  him  as  ruler  of  the  household  in  gen- 
eral ;  a  man's  authority  over  his  wife  and 
children  was  then  scarcely  less  absolute  than 
over  his  slaves.  The  Pharisees  had  already 
charged  Jesus  with  being  in  league  with 
Beelzebul  (see  on  9 :  34 ;  12 :  24) ;  are  we  to  un- 
derstand here  that  they  had  actuallj'  applied 
the  name  to  Jesus  ?  The  expression  does  not 
necessitate  this  supposition,  but  we  know  they 
had  said  what  amounted  to  it,  and  on  other 
unrecorded  occasions  they  may  have  literally 
called  him  by  that  name, 

20  f.  With  V.  26-33  comp.  Luke  12 :  2-9, 
where  substantially  the  same  things  are  said 
in  another  discourse.  The  thought  of  v.  26  is 
also  found  in  Luke  8:  17,  as  introduced  in 
yet  another  connection.  The  injunction, 
Fear  them  not  (i.  c,  the  persecutors,  v.  25, 
V.  16-23)  is  presented  on  the  one  hand  as  an 
inference  from  what  precedes — therefore  do 
not  fear,'  viz.,  because  if  they  oppose  and 
persecute  you,  it  is  nothing  more  than  your 
Master  encounters;  and  on  the  other  hand  is 
supported  by  the  assurance  that  the  truths 
they  bear  forth  are  destined,  in  spite  of  all  op- 


position, to  be  made  known — for  there  is 
nothing  covered  that  shall  not  be  revealed 
(or  uncovered) ;  and  hid  that  shall  not  be 

known.  And  so  they  must  proclaim  every- 
thing boldly  and  publicly,  even  what  he 
taught  them  in  his  private  instruction,  (v. zt.) 
V.  26  might  also  mean,  as  some  suppose,  that 
the  apostles,  so  misunderstood  and  persecuted, 
should  in  a  coming  day  be  differently  re- 
garded, all  men  then  perceiving  that  they 
were  the  benefactors  of  their  time;  but  the 
other  view  better  suits  the  connection.  The 
expression  of  v.  27  gives  a  different  turn  to 
the  idea  than  that  found  in  Luke  12:  3,  but  it 
amounts  to  the  same  thing.  There  is  repeated 
mention  in  the  Talmud  of  Jewish  teachers  as 
having  one  standing  by,  to  whom  the  teacher 
would  whisper  something,  and  who  would 
then  proclaim  it  to  the  audience.  It  is  likely 
that  such  a  practice  existed  already  in  our 
Lord's  time,  and  it  may  be  that  he  here  al- 
ludes to  it,  not  as  meaning  that  he  literally 
did  this,  but  as  a  figurative  and  striking  way 
of  saying  that  they  were'to  keep  nothing  back 
through  fear,  but  even  his  private  instructions 
to  them  were  to  be  proclaimed  in  the  mo.«t 
public  manner.  Upon  the  housetops.  The 
roofs  of  the  houses  were  flat,  and  surrounded 
by  a  narrow  battlement.  It  was  common  (and 
still  is)  for  persons  to  walk  on  the  roof,  and 
this  would  naturally  afford  an  elevated  stand 
from  which  to  j)roclaim  anything  to  the  peo- 
ple in  the  street  below.  Thus  Josephus,  having 
taken  refuge  in  a  house  from  a  mob  in  Tar- 
ichaea,  "  went  up  on  the  roof,  and  with  his 
right  hand  quieting  the  uproar,  said,"  etc. 
("War.,"  2,  21,  5.)  The  Talmud  represents 
a  religious  official  as  proclaiming  from  a 
housetop,  with  the  sound  of  a  trumpet,  the 
approach  of  any  religious  festival ;  and  the 
same  thing  is  often  done  at  the  present  day. 
Indeed,  the  muezzin's  call  to  prayer,  from 
the  minaret  of  the  mosque,  is  the  same  sort  of 
thing. 


230 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  X. 


28  And  fear  not  them  which  kill  the  body,  but  are 
not  able  to  kill  the  soul :  but  rather  fear  him  which  is 
able  to  destroy  both  soul  and  body  in  hell. 

29  Are  not  two  sparrows  sold  tor  a  "  farthing?  and  one 
of  them  shall  not  fall  on  the  ground  wiiliout  your 
Father. 

30  But  the  very  hairs  of  your  head  are  all  numbered. 

31  Fear  ye  not  therefore,  ye  are  of  more  value  than 
many  sparrows. 

32  Whosoever  therefoi-e  shall  confess  me  before  men, 


28  proclaim  upon  the  housetops.  And  be  not  afraid  of 
them  that  kill  the  body,  but  are  not  able  to  kill  the 
soul:    but  rather  fear  him  who  is  able  to  destroy 

29  both  soul  and  body  in  i  hell.  Are  not  two  sparrows 
sold  for  a  penny  ?  and  not  one  of  them  shall  fall 

30  on  the  ground  without  your  Father :    but  the  very 

31  hairs  of  your  head  are  all  numbered.  Fear  not 
therefore  ;  ye  are  of  more  value  than  many  sparrows. 

32  Every  one  therefore  who  shall  confess  "me  before 


-1  Or.  Gehenna. 


28.  Let  them  not  fear  men,  but  fear  God. 
The  idea  of  some  tliat  the  phrase  Him  which 
IS  able  to  destroy  both  soul  and  body  in 
hell,  means  Satan,  is  wholly  unwarranted  and 
unsuitable.  God  is  able  to  destroy;  he  does 
not  wish  that  any  should  perish.  (2Pei.  3:9.; 
Jesus  does  not  say  that  God  will  kill  the  soul, 
but,  avoiding  that  term,  says  he  will  destroy 
both  soul  and  body.  For  '  destroy '  need  not 
mean  annihilation,  but  only  ruin,  perdition, 
the  destruction  of  all  that  makes  existence 
desirable.  Hell  is  gehenna,  see  on  5:  22,  and 
comp.  on  5;  29.  Fear  is  natural  to  man;  and 
our  Lord  does  not  say  we  must  root  it  out  and 
have  no  fear,  but  that  the  less  fear  must  give 
^N>iy  to  the  greater.  The  gospel  does  not 
teach  stoicism  or  self-abnegation,  but  appeals 
to  the  human  mind  according  to  its  actual 
constitution.  Comp.  the  appeal  to  a  higher 
self-interest  in  5:  29,  and  to  hope  and  fear  in 
V.  32  f.  below.  In  proportion  as  one  has  a 
true  fear  of  God  he  will  feel  no  fear  of  man. 
It  was  a  saying  of  Col.  Gardiner,  "  I  fear  God, 
therefore  there  is  none  else  that  I  need  fear." 
And  not  only  with  reference  to  persecution 
or  any  open  opposition,  but  to  a  concern  for 
approbation  or  blame,  does  the  thought  of 
this  passage  apply.  How  much  more  im- 
portant that  we  should  avoid  God's  dis- 
pleasure, than  that  of  our  fellow-men.  Comp. 
Luke  12:  4  f . ;  James  4:  12.  The  thought 
occurs  often  in  Jewish  writings.  In  2  Macca- 
bees 6:  26,  "  For  even  if  for  the  present  I  shall 
be  delivered  from  the  vengeance  of  men,  yet 
neither  while  living  nor  after  dying  shall  I 
escape  the  hands  of  the  Almighty."  In  4 
Mace.  13:  14,  "Let  us  not  fear  him  who 
thinks  to  kill  the  body;  for  great  is  the 
danger  to  the  soul,  consisting  in  eternal  tor- 
ment to  those  who  transgress  the  command- 
ment of  God."  Philo  says,  "For  men  reckon 
the  e.xtreme  penalty  to  be  death  ;  but  in  the 
divine  court  of  justice  this  is  scarcely  the  be- 
ginning." And  the  Mldrash  on  Numbers 
(Wet.):  "He  who  causes  a  man  to  sin  is  worse 


than  he  who  slays  him  :  because  he  who  slays, 
slays  him  in  this  world,  and  he  has  part  in  the 
world  to  come;  but  he  who  causes  him  to  sin, 
slays  him  both  in  this  world  and  in  that  which 
is  to  come." 

29-31.  Let  them  not  only  dread  God's  dis- 
pleasure (»-^8),  but  trust  in  his  protection;  he 
who  cares  for  the  least  objects,  will  not  fall  to 
care  for  them.  Comp.  6:  26  ff.,  and  Luke  12: 
6  f.  (See  above  on  v.  2(3.)  The  word  ren- 
dered farthing,  denotes  a  Koman  copper  or 
bronze  coin,  actually  equal  not  to  about  three 
farthings  sterling  (as  in  margin  of  Com. 
Ver.),  or  one  and  a  half  cents,  but  to  about 
five-eighths  of  a  cent  (Edersh.  I.,  649),  and 
frequently  used  to  denote  any  trifling  amount. 
Fall  on  the  ground,  viz.,  dead.  Without 
your  Father,  without  his  agency  or  permis- 
sion. On  'your  Father,'  comp.  on  v.  20,  and 
see  on  6:9.  The  Mldrash  on  Genesis  says 
(Wet.),  "A  bird  without  heaven  (God)  is  not 
taken,  how  much  less  so  many  souls  of  men." 
In  V.  30  the  position  of  the  Greek  words 
makes  'your'  emphatic,  and  so  with  'ye'  in 
V.  31.  A  single  hair  falling  from  the  head 
seems  to  us  a  matter  of  the  most  trifling  con- 
sequence (comp.  1  Sam.  14:  45);  but  every 
one  of  them  is  numbered  by  Gcd.  (Comp. 
Luke  21:  18;  Acts  27:  34.)  A  late  Jewish 
compilation  (Wet.)  represents  God  as  saying, 
"Do  I  not  number  all  the  hairs  of  every 
creature?"  This  was  very  likely  borrowed 
from  the  New  Test.  Our  Lord's  line  of  argu- 
ment here  is  in  precisely  the  contrary  direc- 
tion to  that  which  men  often  follow  on  this 
subject.  They  will  say  that  no  doubt  God 
controls  great  matters,  but  that  It  Is  question- 
able whether  his  care  extends  to  such  little 
things  as  the  concerns  of  an  individual  man. 
Jesus  says,  God  takes  care  of  the  smallest  and 
most  trifling  things,  and  therefore  we  may  be 
sure  he  cares  for  a  man,  who  is  so  much  more 
important. 

32  f.  Whosoever  (every  one)  therefore 
who  shall  confess  me.  'Therefore'  presents 


Ch.  X.] 


MATTHEW. 


231 


hiiu  will  I  confess  also  before  my  Father  which  is  in 
heaven. 

33  But  whosoever  shall  deny  me  before  men,  him  will 
1  also  deny  before  my  Father  which  is  is  heaven. 

34  Think  not  that  I  am  come  to  send  peace  on  earth  : 
I  came  not  to  send  peace,  but  a  sword. 

35  For  I  am  come  to  set  a  man  at  variance  against 
his  father,  and  the  daughter  against  her  mother,  and 
the  daughter  in  law  against  her  mother  in  law. 

3G  And  a  man's  foes  shall  he  they  of  his  own  house- 
hold. 


men,  i  him  will  I  also  confess  before  my  Father  who 

33  is  in  heaven.  But  whosoever  shall  deny  me  before 
men,  him  will  I  also  deny  before  my  Father  who  is 
in  heaven. 

34  Think  not  that  I  came  to  '  send  peace  on  the  earth : 

35  I  came  not  to  "send  peace,  but  a  sword.  For  I  came 
to  set  a  man  at  variance  against  his  father,  and  the 
daughter  against  her  mother,  and  the  daughter  in 

36  law  against  her  mother  iu  law :  and  a  man's  foes 


1  6r.  in  Kim.,*,*i  Gr.  C€tit. 


what  follows  as  an  inference  from  what  pre- 
cedes. Since  God  will  protect,  there  is  no  ex- 
cuse for  shrinking  from  duty  through  fear  of 
men,  and  therefore  he  will  confess  only  those 
who  confess  him.  This  affecting  statement 
stands  last  and  highest  in  a  climax  of  reasons 
for  going  forward  undeterred  by  the  fear  of 
men  -.first,  the  fact  that  if  they  are  maltreated 
and  slandered,  it  Is  no  more  than  their  Master 
himself  suffered  (v.  24f.);  second,  that  the 
truths  they  proclaimed  are  destined  to  be 
made  known,  and  thus  no  opposition  will  pre- 
vent it  (v.  26f.);  third,  that  God's  wrath  is 
more  to  be  dreaded  than  man's  (v.  -28);  fourth, 
that  he  who  cares  for  trifling  things  will  cer- 
tainly care  for  them  (v.  29-31);  finally,  that  if 
we  do  not  confess  Christ  before  men  he  will 
not  confess  us  before  his  Father  in  heaven. 
It  is  thus  manifest  that  the  confession  here  en- 
joined upon  us  does  not  consist  nierelj'  in  a 
particular  ceremony,  or  other  single  act,  but 
denotes  in  general  that  we  come  out  as  his  fol- 
lowers, and  speak  and  act  as  his,  under  all  cir- 
cumstances and  at  all  hazards.  The  term 
rendered  'confess' '  has  been  explained  on  7  : 
23,  where  it  is  rendered  '  profess '  ;  see  also 
1  Tim.  6 :  12.  Observe  that  we  have  here  a  per- 
fectly general  proposition,  (a)  In  v.  20-31  It 
is  'ye' ;  but  in  v.  32  f.  it  is  'every  one'  and 
'whosoever.'  (b)  While  the  statement  is  here 
specially  suggested  by  the  idea  of  confessing 
Jesus  when  persecuted,  when  brought  before 
tribunals  (»■"'),  yet  the  language  Is  general, 
and  doubtless  intended  to  Include  every  kind 
of  confession  during  the  whole  course  of  life. 
Many  who  have  once  publicly  confessed  I 
Christ,  and  are  numbered  with  his  people,  ! 
oflen  fail  to  confess  him  afterwards  in  word  or 
deed.  It  is  of  course  possible  that  one  should 
show  bad  judgment  and  bad  taste  in  announc- 


ing himself  a  Christian  where  there  is  no  oc- 
casion for  it;  but  for  every  person  wlio  does 
this  unseasonably,  there  are  very  many  who 
shrink  from  such  an  avowal  when  it  ought  to 
be  made,  and  still  more  fall  to  confess  by  the 
actions  which  "speak  louder  than  words." 
Will  I  confess,  acknowledge  as  mine. 
(Comp.  7:  23.)  What  a  question  it  is,  whether 
we  are  going  to  be  confessed  or  denied  by 
Jesus,  before  his  Father  in  heaven.  Hero 
again,  as  in  7  :  22  f.,  our  Lord  speaks  freely  of 
his  coming  exaltation  as  Messiah  ;  but  It  Is 
likely  that  the  disciples  ai  first  understood  it 
all  of  elevation  and  honor  In  a  temporal  king- 
dom. With  V.  32  f.,  comp.  Luke  12:  7  f. 
(See  above  on  v.  26.)  As  to  deny,  comp. 
on  16:  24. 

III.  34-39.  Persecution  is  Inevitable. 
Let  no  one  be  surprised  at  learning  that  so 
much  persecution  is  to  be  encountered  by  the 
Twelve,  and  by  Christ's  followers  in  general; 
for  it  was  the  object  of  Christ's  mission  to  in- 
troduce principles  which  would  be  sure  to 
cause  divisions  and  conflicts  among  men,  even 
within  the  bosom  of  families.  His  religion 
was  so  wholly  opposed  to  the  spirit  of  tho 
world,  that  such  a  result  was  Inevitable. 
Think  not  that  I  am  come,  (came)  comp. 
on  5:  17.  Here  ngain,  as  so  often,  the  Com. 
Ver.  (but  here  following  Tyn.,  Great  B.,  and 
Gen.),  introduces  an  unnecessary  variation  in 
the  rendering  of  v.  34  f. ;  for  in  all  three  cases 
the  Greek  has  the  same  form,  'I  came.'  Our 
Lord  here,  as  in  5:  17,  speaks  of  himself  as 
having  come  among  men  on  a  special  mission. 
The  Jews  were  accustonipd  to  bloody  conflicts 
between  their  politico-religious  parties,  the 
Pharisees  and  Sadduceos,  and  (Lijjhtf. )  be- 
tween the  followers  of  Hillel  and  Shammai, 
but  they  were  likely  to  think  Messiah's  reign 


I 'Confess  In  me'  (margin  Rev.  Ver.),  j.  «.,' make 
confession  in  iny  case'  is  an  imitation  in  the  Greek  of 
an  Aramaic  expression,  and  easily  returns  to  it  in  the 
Peshito.    So  '  in  him  will  I  aUo  confess.'    It  signifies  to 


make  confession  in  the  case  of,  in  the  matter  of,  the 
person  stated.  Similar  is  Sept.  1  8am.  16  :  1>,  and  comp. 
1  John  4:  9,  16. 


232 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  X. 


87  He  that  lovelh  father  or  mother  more  than  me  is 
not  worthy  of  me:  and  he  that  loveth  son  or  daughter 
more  than  me  is  not  worthy  of  me. 

38  And  he  that  talceth  not  his  cross,  and  followeth 
after  me,  is  not  worthy  of  uie. 

39  He  that  findeth  his  life  shall  lose  it:  and  he  that 
loseth  his  life  for  my  sake  shall  tind  it. 

40  He  thai  receiveth  you  receiveth  me;  and  he  that 
receiveth  me  receiveth  him  that  sent  me. 


37  shall  be  they  of  his  own  household.  He  that  loveth 
father  or  mother  more  than  me  is  not  worthy  of  me : 
and   he  that   loveth    son   or  daughter  more  than 

38  me  is  not  worthy  of  me.  And  he  that  ditli  not 
take  his  cross  and  follow  after  me,  is  not  wortliv  of 

39  me.  He  that  i  findeth  his  life  shall  lose  it ;  auJ  he 
that  -  loseth  his  life  for  my  sake  shall  find  it. 

40  He  that  receiveth  you  receiveth  me,  and  he  that 
receiveth  me  receiveth  him  that  sent  me.    He  that 


1  Or./ound 2  Or,  loat. 


would  be  a  reign  of  peace,  for  so  the  prophets 
had  predicted  ;  the  disciples  of  Christ  were 
especially  apt  to  think  so,  if  they  then  knew 
of  the  angelic  song  at  his  birth.  The  gospel 
does  tend  to  bring  men  into  peace  with  each 
other,  but  only  in  proportion  as  they  are 
brought  into  peace  with  God.  So  as  to  the 
prophecies ;  men  will  beat  their  swords  into 
plow-shares,  only  when  men  ground  the  amis 
of  their  rebellion  against  God.  Till  then  the 
enemies  of  God  will  be  enemies  of  his  people, 
and  often  bitter  enemies.  To  send  (or  cast 
as  margin  of  K.  Y.)  a  sword  upon  the 
earth,  is  a  natural  image;  and  this  led  to  the 
use  of  the  same  term  with  peace,  '  to  cast 
peace  upon  the  earth';  com  p.  Luke  12:49, 
'  to  (cas^)  send  fire  upon  the  earth.'  When 
he  says  that  he  came  to  cast  a  sword,  etc.,  to 
divide  the  nearest  relatives,  etc.,  we  under- 
stand that  he  came  for  the  purpose  of  doing  a 
work  which  would  inevitably  lead  to  this; 
not  that  these  evils  were  what  he  wished  for. 
The  language  of  v.  35  f.  resembles  that  of 
Micah  7:  6,  where  the  prophet  is  describing 
the  perfidiousness  and  general  wickedness 
which  existed  in  the  reign  of  Ahaz.  It  is  not 
here  quoted  as  a  prophecy,  but  the  same  ideas 
and  similar  expressions  are  introduced,  and 
describe  a  similar  state  of  things.  V.  35 
brings  up  again  the  ideas  of  v.  21  above. 
Plumptre  thinks  the  statements  may  have  been 
suggested  by  occurrences  among  our  Lord's 
followers.  "Had  Zebedee  lo-^ked  with  dis- 
pleasure on  tlie  calling  of  his  two  sons  ?  .  .  . 
Were  the  brethren  of  the  Lord,  who  as  yet 
believed  not,  as  the  foes  of  a  man's  own 
household?  "  With  v.  34  f.  comp.  Luke  12: 
51-53,  where  like  sentiments  and  expressions 
are  found  introduced  on   another  occasion. 

In  such  a  state  of  division  even  in  families, 
the  true  follower  of  Christ  must  not  hesitate. 
Better  to  give  up  the  nearest  kindred  (▼•  37), 
take  cross  on  shoulder  (v.  ss),  and  be  content  to 
lose  life  itself  (v. 39),  than  to  forsake  Christ. 
The    question  whether   one   loves    father   or 


mother  more  than  Christ,  is  put  to  the  te.«t  in 
any  case  in  which  the  wishes  of  parents  stand 
opposed  to  the  known  will  of  Christ.  As  to 
the  dut3'  of  keeping  all  natural  affections  sub- 
ordinate to  our  love  for  the  Saviour,  comp.  on 
8:  22;  19:  29.  Is  not  worthy  of  me.  On 
another  occasion  (Lukeu:'i6),  he  uses  still 
stronger  expressions  :  '  If  any  man  cometh 
unto  me,  and  hateth  not  his  father  and  mother 
.  ...  he  cannot  be  my  disciple.'  As  to  v. 
38  f.,  see  on  16  :  24  f.,  where  the  same  solemn 
truths  are  repeated  in  a  different  connection. 
The  peculiar  and  striking  expression  of  v.  39 
was  also  repeated  on  two  other  occasions. 
(Luke  17:3:);  John  12: 25.)  As  to  ourLord's  fre- 
quent repetition  of  striking  sayings,  see  at  the 
beginning  of  ch.  5.  The  apostles  would  read- 
ily understand  the  image  of  v.  38,  since  cruci- 
fixion was  a  common  punishment  for  high 
crime  (comp.  on  16  :  24),  but  they  did  not  yet 
know  that  Jesus  was  to  be  crucified,  and  so 
this,  like  many  other  sayings  of  his,  was  not 
fully  understood  by  them  until  later.  The 
term  find  was  obviously  suggested  by  the  con- 
trast to  lose  ;  he  who  by  yielding  to  persecu- 
tion and  failing  to  confess  Christ  has  avoided 
the  loss  of  his  life  (the  natural  life),  shall  lose 
his  life  (spiritual  and  eternal  life) ;  and  he  who 
has  lost  (margin  Rev.  Ver. )  his  natural  life 
for  Christ's  sake,  shall  find  life  eternal  (comp. 
on  16 :  25).  As  to  such  uses  of  a  word  in  two 
different  senses  in  the  same  sentence,  comp. 
on  8 :  22. 

IV.  40-42.  Those  who  do  Not  Perse- 
cute, BUT  Receive  and  Aid  Them,  shall 
BE  Rewarded.  Having  said  so  much  about 
the  unkind  treatment  his  followers  will  often 
receive,  Jesus  returns  to  speak  of  those  who 
will  treat  them  kindly,  and  of  the  reward 
which  such  shall  obtain.  To  receive  them 
will  be  receiving  him  who  sent  them,  yea,  the 
Father  who  sent  him.  (Comp.  a  similar 
thought  in  18:  5,  and  -igain  in  John  13:  20.) 
Receiveth  is  here  meant  especially  of  receiv- 
ing into  one's  house  (▼•  "),  which  would  not 


Ch.  X.] 


MATTHEW. 


233 


41  He  that  receiveth  a  prophet  in  the  name  of  a   41  receivetb  a  prophet  in  the  name  of  a  prophet  shall 


prophet  shall  receive  a  prophet's  rewai-d  ;  and  he  that 
receiveth  a  righteous  man  in  the  name  of  a  righteous 
man  shall  receive  a  righteous  man's  reward. 

42  And  whosoever  shall  give  to  drink  unto  one  of 
these  little  ones  a  cup  of  cold  water  only  in  the  name  of 
a  disciple,  verily  1  say  unto  you,  he  shall  in  uo  wise  lose 
bis  reward. 


receive  a  prophet's  reward;  and  he  that  receiveth  a 
righteous  man  in  the  name  of  a  righteous  man  sliall 
42  receive  a  righteous  man's  reward.  And  whosoever 
shall  ^ive  to  drink  uiito  one  of  these  little  ones  a 
cup  ot  cold  water  only,  in  the  name  of  a  disciple, 
verily  1  say  unto  you,' he  shall  in  uo  wise  lose  his 
reward. 


only  be  an  act  of  respect  to  the  Lord's  servant, 
but  would  be  helping  him  in  his  work. 
(Comp.  2  John  10  f. ;  3  John  8.)  But  any 
other  act  by  which  one  encourages  and  assists 
a  servant  of  the  Lord  in  his  worli,  is  of  the 
same  class,  and  shall  in  like  manner  be  re- 
warded; even  if  it  be  merely  giving  a  cup  of 
cool  water  to  one  of  the  humblest  disciples 
because  he  is  a  disciple,  it  shall  assuredly  have 
a  reward.  'Receiveth'  may  perhaps  also  in- 
clude the  notion  of  listening  to  their  message 
and  accepting  it  as  truth.  He  said  to  the 
Seventy  (Lakeio:i6),  'He  that  heareth  you, 
heareth  me;  and  he  that  rejecteth  you,  re- 
jecteth  me,  etc'  Yet  the  notion  of  hospi- 
tality and  help  appears  at  least  to  be  the 
prominent  one  in  the  present  discourse, 
as  is  shown  by  the  concluding  thought  of  the 
series.  ("•«■)  He  that  receiveth  a  prophet 
(a  person  speaking  by  divine  inspiration,  see 
on  7:  22)  in  the  name  of  a  prophet,  with 
reference  to  the  name  of  a  prophet,  i.  e.,  out 
of  regard  for  the  fact  that  he  bears  the  name 
of  a  prophet,  or,  as  we  should  say,  because  he 
is  a  prophet;  not  on  any  other  account,  such 
as  kindred,  friendship,  admiration  of  abilities, 
etc.,  but  because  he  is  a  prophet;  and  not 
simply  from  the  hope  of  reward,  for  that  would 
not 'be  doing  it  because  he  is  a  prophet. 
(Comp.  Luke  14:  14.)  Shall  receive  a 
prophet's  reward,  the  Messianic,  eternal 
reward.  Since  he  treats  kindly  and  helps  the 
prophet  because  he  is  a  prophet,  he  shall  get 
in  eternity  the  same  sort  of  reward  as  if  he 
had  been  himself  an  inspired  teacher,  because 
he  has  been  helping  an  inspired  teacher  to  do 
his  work.  So  as  to  receiving  any  righteous 
man.  Prophets  and  righteous  men  are  in 
like  manner  united  in  13:  17;  23:  '29.  We 
have  among  us  no  inspired  teachers;  but 
every  member  of  a  church,  in  so  far  as  he 
encourages  and  assists  his  pastor,  takes  part  in 
the  pastor's  labors,  and  shall  in  like  propor- 
tion have  the  sort  of  eternal  reward  which 
pastors  have ;  so  in  regard  to  missionaries,  and 
all  Christian  workers.  As  to  future  rewards, 
comp.  on  6:  1,  19.    The  sentiment  of  v.  42  is 


also  given  in  Mark  9:  41,  as  repeated  on  a 
diflerent  occasion.  One  of  these  little  ones 
refers  to  Christ's  disciples  as  despised  and  per- 
secuted (comp.  on  18:  6  IT).  To  do  the  very 
smallest  kindness  to  the  very  humblestdisciplo 
because  he  is  a  disciple,  shall  not  fail  of  reward. 
V.    Ch.    11 :    1.    Having  Finished  In- 

STBUCTING    THE   TWELVE,     JeSUS    RESUMES 

His  Own  Labors.  With  this  concluding 
remark  by  the  Evangelist,  comp.  7  :  28.  De- 
parted thence.  It  was  somewhere  in  Galilee 
(comp.  on  9:  35),  but  there  is  no  intimation  as 
to  the  precise  locality.  To  teach  and  preach 
in  their  cities.  He  did  not  by  any  means 
send  forth  the  Twelve  in  order  to  relieve  him- 
self, but  immediately  set  out  to  continue  his 
own  labors.  '  Preach  '  is  the  common  word 
kerusso,  explained  on  4:  17.  In  their  cities, 
means  not  the  cities  of  the  disciples,  though 
they  are  the  persons  just  mentioned,  but  of 
the  people,  the  Jews  (comp.  10:  18).  This 
verse  properly  belongs  to  the  preceding  chap- 
ter, and  should  have  been  included  in  it.  V. 
2  introduces  a  new  subject,  and  actually  refers 
to  a  different  period.  As  to  the  frequent 
awkwardness  of  our  division  into  chapters, 
see  on  9:  1.  Matthew  docs  not  stop  to  say  ex- 
pressly that  the  Twelve  also  went  forth  as 
they  were  bidden,  but  leaves  that  to  be  taken 
for  granted.  Mark  (6:i2f.),  and  Luke  (»:«), 
state  that  they  went  forth,  preaching  repent- 
ance and  working  miraculous  cures,  as  the 
Lord  had  directed.  Nor  does  Matt,  say  any- 
thingof  their  return  and  report,  which  is  men- 
tioned by  Mark  (s.so)  and  Luke  (9:io);  see 
below  on  14:  13. 

HOMILETICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

V.  16.  Luther:  "That's  a  slim  affair, 
when  sheep  preach  to  wolves,  lay  down  the 
law  to  them,  and  judge  them  1  Bettor  send 
lions.  But  this  comes  to  pass,  as  Paul 
says  Cicor.j:5),  that  your  faith  should  not 
stand  in  the  wisdom  of  men,  but  in  the  power 
of  God."— Christian  Prudence  and  Simplicity. 
(Sermons  by  Jkrkmy  Taylor. )— Find  ex- 
amples of  combined  prudence  and  simplicity 


234 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  X. 


in  the  life  of  Paul  and  in  the  life  of  Jesus. 
Grruakd  (Lange):  "Have  a  serpent's  eye 
and  a  dove's  heart."  Chrys.  :  "These 
things  have  had  an  accomplishment,  and 
men  became  prudent  as  serpents  and  simple 
as  doves;  not  being  of  another  nature,  but  of 
the  same  with  us.  Let  not  then  any  one  ac- 
count Christ's  injunctions  impracticable.  For 
he,  beyond  all  others,  knows  tlie  nature  of 
things;  he  knows  that  fierceness  is  not 
quenched  by  fierceness,  but  by  gentleness." 
Bruce:  "Happy  they  who  can  be  both; 
but  if  we  cannot,  let  us  at  least  be  doves. 
The  dove  must  come  before  the  serpent  in 
our  esteem,  and  in  the  development  of  our 
character.  If  we  invert  this  order,  as  too 
many  do,  and  begin  by  being  prudent  to  admi- 
ration, the  higher  virtue  will  not  only  be  post- 
j>oned,but  sacrificed ;  the  dove  will  be  devoured 
by  the  serpent." — V.  19.  Chrys.:  "It  is  no 
small  consolation,  that  they  are  suffering  these 
things  both  for  Christ,  and  forthe  Gentiles'  con- 
viction." Lange  :  "  The  dangers  of  care  for 
oratorical  finery  in  preaching.  1)  It  springs 
from  anxiety,  and  restrains  the  spiritual  life. 
2)  It  manifests  itself  by  excitement  and 
excess,  and  adulterates  the  spiritual  life.  3j 
It  leads  to  weariness  or  self-seeking,  and  de- 
stroys the  spiritual  life." — DiflFerence  between 
inspiration,  and  the  spiritual  help  which  may 
now  be  expected. — V.  21.  Christianity  as 
awakening  hatred  and  as  promoting  love. — 
V.  22.  Unpopularity  is  not  always  alarming. 
It  maybe  easier  to  persevere  amid  the  world's 
fri/wns  than  its  smiles. 

V.  26.  Two  reasons  why  the  Christian 
worker  should  not  fear.  1)  He  need  not  be 
discouraged  by  reviling  and  assault,  which 
even  perfect  innocence  and  perfect  prudence 
did  not  escape.  (»•  2* ' •)  2)  He  may  be  encour- 
aged by  the  assurance  that  the  gospel  must 
and  wiil  be  made  known,  (v. 26f.)  Henry: 
"  There  is  no  partof  Christ's  gospel  that  needs, 
upon  any  account,  to  be  concealed  ;  the  whole 
counsel  of  God  must  be  revealed,  (acmm:?:.) 
In  never  so  mixed  a  multitude,  let  it  be 
plainly  and  fully  delivered." — V.  28-31.  Two 
reasons  why  we  must  do  our  duty  notwith- 
standing opposition.  1)  If  through  fear  of 
man  we  shrink  from  duty,  God  will  punish 
us.  2)  If  amid  all  opposition  we  persevere, 
God  will  care  for  us.  — V.  32  f.  Confession 
and  denial.     1)  We  are  all  constantly  doing 


one  or  the  other.  2)  There  are  many  ways  of 
confessing  Christ,  and  many  of  denying  him. 
3)  There  are  present  benefits  in  confessing 
him,  and  present  losses  in  denying  him.  4) 
Life-long  confession  will  bring  eternal  re- 
ward, life-long  denial,  eternal  ruin.  Luther: 
"  What  a  great  difference.  1)  The  confessors, 
we  and  Christ ;  2)  The  place,  earth  and 
heaven  ;  3)  The  hearers,  wretched  men  and 
God  and  the  angels." 

V.  34-36.  When  Christiatity  divides  fami- 
lies and  produces  wars,  this  is  not  the  fault  of 
Christianity,  but  of  human  nature.  Luther: 
"If  our  gospel  were  received  in  peace,  it 
would  not  be  the  true  gospel."  Henry: 
"They  mistake  the  design  of  the  gospel,  who 
think  their  profession  of  it  will  secure  them 
from,  for  it  will  certainly  expose  them  to, 
trouble  in  tliis  world.  Christ  has  dealt  fairly 
and  faithfully  with  us  in  telling  us  the  worst 
we  can  meet  with  in  his  service ;  and  he  would 
have  us  deal  so  with  ourselves,  in  sitting  down 
and  counting  the  cost." — V.  37.  Not  that  we 
should  love  kindred  less,  but  Christ  more. — 
V.  38.  William  Penn:  "No  cross,  no 
crown." — V.  38  f.  We  ought  to  be  ready  to 
die  for  Christ ;  a  fortiori,  we  ought  to  be 
living  for  him.  But  "  men  are  ready  to 
argue  for  Christianity,  ready  to  fight  for  it, 
even  to  die  for  it,  anything  rather  than  live 
for  it." — The  great  paradox — losing  by  find- 
ing, finding  by  losing.  Contradictions  in  the- 
ory may  often  be  completely  reconciled  in 
practice. — V.  40-42.  Helping  the  great  work- 
ers. 1)  We  cannot  all  be  prophets  or  apostles, 
missionaries,  evangelists,  eloquent  preachers, 
etc.  2)  But  the  greatest  workers  need  help, 
and  the  lowliest  can  give  it.  3)  Thus  sharing 
the  blessed  work,  we  shall  share  the  blessed 
reward. 

V.  24-42.  Thomas:  "Encouragements  to 
evangelical  labor.  1)  The  cause  for  which 
the  true  evangelist  suffers  is  most  honorable, 
V.  22.  2)  The  example  he  has  is  most  glori- 
ous, v.  24.  3)  The  success  of  the  cause  is  most 
certain,  v.  26  f.  4)  The  providential  care  of 
God  over  him  is  positively  guaranteed,  v.  29- 
31.  5)  His  reward  will  be  most  glorious  at 
last,  V.  32  f  6)  If  actuated  by  the  right  spirit, 
he  will  find  the  greatest  trials  the  greatest 
blessings,  v.  38  f.  7)  His  interests  are  thor- 
oughly identified  with  those  of  Christ,  v.  40, 
42." 


Ch.  XL] 


MATTHEW. 


235 


CHAPTEK  XI. 


AND  it  canie  to  pass,  when  Jesus  had  made  an  end  of 
commanding  his  twelve  disciples,  he   departed 
thence  to  teuch  and  to  preach  in  their  cities. 

2  Now  when  John    had  heard    in  the  prison  the 
works  of  Christ,  be  sent  two  of  his  disciples, 


1  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Jesus  had  made  an 
end  of  commanding  his  twelve  disciples,  he  de- 
parted theuce  to  teach  and  preach  iu  their  cities. 

2  Now  when  John  heard  iu  the  prison  the  works  of 


Ch.  11:  2-19. — Message  From  John  the 
Baptist,  and  Kesultinq  Discourse.  2-19. 

Having  given  a  general  account  of  our 
Lord's  journeys  about  Galilee,  with  some  im- 
portant specimens  of  his  teaching  and  his 
miracles  (comp.  on  8:  1),  and  having  added 
an  account  of  his  sending  out  the  Twelve, 
with  much  preparatory  instruction,  Matthew 
now  advances  to  other  topics.  Before  intro- 
ducing examples  of  the  Parables  (oh.  is),  he 
mentions  a  remaricable  message  from  John 
the  Baptist,  and  our  Lord's  discourse  there- 
upon (11 : 2-30),  and  then  gives  instances  of 
avowed  opposition  to  him  on  the  part  of  the 
Pharisees,  (ch.  n.)  The  paragraph  given  above 
(11:2-19)  includes  so  much  of  the  discourse  oc- 
casioned by  John's  message  as  relates  to  John 
himself.  This  is  also  given,  and  with  unusu- 
ally little  difference  of  phraseology,  by  Luke 
{- :  18-35) ;  and  from  the  connection  of  his  narra- 
tive it  appears  probable  (comp.  Luke  7:  1,  11, 
18),  that  this  message  from  John  was  sent 
shortly  after  the  delivery  of  the  Sermon  on 
the  Mount.  We  have  heretofore  seen  that 
the  arrangement  of  Matthew,  in  chapters  5  to 
13,  is  not  chronological  but  topical,  a  course 
not  uncommonly  pursued  by  historians  and 
biographers. 

2  f.  The  Message.  Now  when  John 
had  heard  in  the  prison.  As  to  John's 
early  life  and  ministry,  see  on  8  :  1  ff.  It  has 
been  stated  in  4:  12,  that  he  was  'delivered 
up,'  in  the  way  familiar  to  Matthew's  first 
readers,  and  afterwards  described,  (u-.ia.) 
He  had  now  been  confined  in  the  Castle  of 
Machaerus,  east  of  the  Dead  Sea  (see  on  14: 
3),  for  probably  not  less  than  twelve  mt)nths, 
during  which  time  Jesus  has  been  pursuing 
his  ministry  in  Galilee.  John  was  allowed 
some  intercourse  with  his  followers  (T.2;Luke 
i  i»),  who  brought  him  accounts  of  what  was 
going  on  in  the  outer  world.  Yet  this  year 
of  imprisonment  must  have  been  for  him  a 
dreary  time.  He  had  indeed  been  accustomed 
to  comparative  solitude  for  years  'in  the 
deserts'  (i.nkei:8o);  but  at  tliat  time  life  was 
before  him  with  its  high  hopes,  and  he  doubt- 


less felt  himself  to  be  preparing  for  a  great 
mission,  the  nature  of  which  was  gradually 
growing  clearer  to  his  mind.  Then  came 
some  eighteen  months  of  public  labors,  during 
which  he  was  attended  by  vast  crowds,  and 
his  ardent  nature  must  have  reveled  in  the 
high  excitement  of  his  work.  And  now  he  is 
shut  up,  he,  a  "son  of  the  wilderness,"  in  one 
of  the  deep,  dark,  and  frightfully  hot  dun- 
geons of  Machaerus,  deprived  of  fresh  air 
and  bodily  exercise,  of  cheerful  mental  em- 
ployment and  opportunity  to  do  good,  and 
dependent  for  any  future  opportunities  on  the 
caprice  of  a  weak  king  and  a  cruel  woman. 
As  Elijah  sometimes  got  sadly  out  of  heart, 
so  John,  who  in  many  respects  closely  resem- 
bled him  (see  on  3:4),  would  be  likely  to 
grow  desponding,  in  this  season  of  enforced 
idleness  and  uncertain  danger.  (Comp.  the 
occasional  depression  of  Moses  also.)  This 
state  of  things  may  account  for  the  perplexity 
which  John's  message  of  enquiry  seems  to  in- 
dicate. He  heard  from  his  disciples  (Luke  7 :  is), 
who  would  learn  the  report,  circulated 
throughout  the  country  (Luke  7:  w),  and  some 
of  whom  had  at  least  on  one  occasion  heard 
J  esus  th  e  m  sel  ves.  ( Matt.  9  -.  u. ) 

The  works  of  (the)  Christ.  Matthew's 
narrative  usually  employs  our  Lord's  proper 
name,  Jesus;  but  in  introducing  John's  ques- 
tion whether  Jesus  was  the  Messiah,  he  im- 
plies the  answer  by  calling  him  'the  Christ,' 
i.  e.,  the  Messiah.  (Comp.  on  16:  21  and  on 
1:  1.)  For  the  importance  of  the  article, 
'  the  Christ,'  see  on  2  :  4.  His  '  works  '  sig- 
nify his  general  activity  (which  would  include 
teaching),  but  especially  his  miracles.  This 
seems  to  be  suggested  by  the  answer  (»•♦'•), 
which  points  to  the  things  they  'hoar  and 
see,'  to  his  miracles  and  the  good  tidings  he 
preached.  Likewise  'all  these  things'  in 
Luke  7:  18,  would  naturally  include  not 
merely  the  two  miracles  which  there  immedi- 
ately precede,  but  some  account  of  his  remark- 
able teachings,  as  in  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount,  which  had  just  occurred.  Even  in 
John,  who  usually  employs  the  term  '  works' 


236 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XI. 


3  And  said  unto  hini,  Art  thou  he  that  should  couie, 
or  do  we  look  for  another  ? 


3  the  Christ,  he  sent  by  his  disciples,  and  said  unto 
hiiu.  Art  ihou  he  that  coiueth,  or  look  we  for  another  ? 


to  mean  miracles  (John  s :  s6 ;  lo :  S8,  etc.),  in  9  :  4, 
'work  the  works  of  him  that  sent  me,'  can 
hardly  be  restricted  to  miraculous  works. 
Sent  two  of  (properly  by)  his  disciples 
(comp.  Rev.  1:  1),  was  in  many  manuscripts 
and  versions  altered  into  'sent  two  of  his  dis- 
ciples' (simply  changing  rfta  to  rfMo\  so  as  to 
be  like  Luke  7 :  19.  The  true  reading  in 
Matt,  'by'  or  'through'  implies  all  the  more 
strongly  that  John  sent  the  message  of  enquiry 
for  his  own  satisfaction.  We  still  know  from 
Luke  (7:  19)  that  the  number  of  messengers 
was  two;  they  would  bo  company  for  each 
other  in  the  journey  of  some  eighty  miles,  and 
might  supplement  and  confirm  each  other's 
statements  upon  returning.  (Comp.  on  10:  5.) 
For  the  word  disciples,  see  on  5:  1;  as  to 
the  position  of  the  disciples  of  John  at  this 
period,  see  on  9  :  14. 

Art  thou  he  that  should  come,  or  the 
coming  {one)f  'Thou'  is  expressed  in  the 
original  and  at  the  head  of  the  sentencie,  so  as 
to  be  strongly  emphatic;  and  to  this  corre- 
sponds the  emphatic  position  in  the  Greek  of 
another.  '  The  coming  (one) '  had  become  a 
familiar  designation  of  the  Messiah  (3:11;  21: 

9;  23:  S9;  John6:  U;  11:  27:  Heb.  10:  37),  having  prob- 
ably been  derived  from  Psa.  118  :  26  ;  Matt.  3  : 
1  f.,  etc.  Look  Ave,  or  more  probably,  'are 
we  to  look,'  as  in  Noyes  and  Darby,  or  'shall 
we  look'  as  in  Tyndale  and  Geneva.  The 
Greek  subjunctive  has  in  this  word  the  same 
form  as  the  indicative,  and  so  the  term  is  am- 
biguous. The  Latin  versions  take  it  as  indic- 
ative, and  this  probably  influenced  the  Com- 
mon Version,  following  Great  Bible  and 
Rheims.  The  Peshito  is  ambiguous,  but  the 
Memphitic  is  distinctly  subjunctive.  The 
majority  of  leading  commentators  take  it  as 
subjunctive  (see  Meyer,  Weiss).  The  plural, 
'  are  we  to  look,'  means  persons  in  general 
who  cherished  the  Messianic  hope.  The  form 
of  John's  question  seems  naturally  to  imply 
(Weiss)  that  he  had  regarded  Jesus  as  the 
Messiah,  and  that  he  wished  to  learn  whether 
he  should  still  think  so.  The  whole  tone  of 
the  narrative,  even  more  in  Luke  than 
Matthew,  naturally  suggests  that  John  asked 
at  least  in  part  on  his  own  account,  to  remove 
difficulties  in  his  own  mind.  So  alreadj' 
Orig en  {Qremer):  "John's  question  was  not 


for  his  own  sake  alone,  but  also  for  the  sake 
of  those  who  were  sent."  Tertullian  also  three 
times  intimates  that  John  himself  was  in 
doubt  whether  Jesus  was  the  Messiah.  So 
among  recent  writers,  Neander,  Meyer,  Bleek, 
Ewald,  Keim,  Reuss,  Godet,  Plumptro, 
Schaff,  etc. 

But  many  have  thought  it  wholly  inconsist- 
ent with  John's  position  and  previous  testi- 
mony to  suppose  that  he  now  felt  personally 
the  slightest  doubt;  and  so  they  hold  that  he 
sent  simply  for  the  satisfaction  of  his  disciples. 
So  Chrys.  (and  his  fullovvers),  with  Cyril, 
Aug.,  and  Jerome,  followed  by  Luther,  Cal- 
vin, and  Beza,  by  Bengel,  Maldonatus,  and 
many  others.  Now,  it  is  always  desirable  to 
accept  the  plain,  straightforward  meaning  of 
a  passage,  unless  there  be  insuperable  difH- 
culties  in  the  way  of  so  doing.  Any  one  who 
did  not  know  John's  previous  utterances 
would  certainly  understand  Matt,  and  Luke 
as  here  implying  that  he  sent  to  Jesus  for  his 
own  sake  as  well  as  that  of  his  disciples.  It  is 
very  difficult  to  believe  that  John  would  send 
in  his  own  name  ('are  we  to  look  for  another?') 
and  Jesus  send  back  the  answer  to  him  per- 
sonally ('Go  your  way  and  tell  John  '),  when 
it  was  all  merely  for  effect  upon  the  minds  of 
John's  followers.  Theophyl.  actually  says 
that  John  "affects  to  inquire,"  and  Euthym., 
"in  pretence  inquiring."  The  only  reason 
for  adopting  such  an  interpretation  is  the  sup- 
position that  .lohn  cannot  have  been  in  doubt 
after  his  known  previous  testimon3'.  But 
while  John  knew  himself  to  be  the  harbinger 
of  Jesus  (John  1:33)  and  also  to  be  the  harbinger 
of  the  Messiah  (John3:28),  as  indeed  had  been 
understood  by  his  father  Zachariah  (Lukei: 
67-"9),  still  it  was  conceivable  that  Jesus  might 
possibly  not  be  the  Messiah.  Among  the  va- 
rious confused  ideas  which  the  Jews  had  de- 
veloped from  imperfectly  understood  Mes- 
sianic prophecies,  the  notion  was  entertained 
by  some  that  a  succession  of  great  personages 
would  arise.  Elijah,  they  generally  believed, 
would  return  to  life ;  some  thought  that  Jere- 
miah also  would  return,  and  perhaps  others 
of  the  great  prophets;  then  there  was  'the 
prophet'  predicted  in  Deut.  18:  15,  who  was 
not  universally  identified  with  the  Messiah. 
(See  John  1 :  20  f  ;    7:  40  f. ;    Matt.  16:  14; 


Ch.  XL] 


MATTHEW. 


237 


4  Jesus  answered  and  said  nnto  them,  Go  and  show 
John  again  those  tilings  which  ye  do  hear  and  see : 

5  The  hlind  receive  their  sight,  and  the  lauie  walk, 
the  lepers  are  cleansed,  and  the  deaf  hear,  the  dead  are 
raised  up,  and  the  poor  have  the  gospel  preached  to 
theiu. 


4  And  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  theui,  Go  your 
way  and  tell  John  the  things  which  ye  do  hear  and 

5  see :  the  blind  receive  their  sight,  and  the  lame  walk, 
the  lepers  are  cleansed,  and  the  deaf  hear,  and  the 
dead  are  raised  up,  and  the  poor  have  '  good  tidings 


1  Or,  the  gospel. 


Luke  9:  19.)  Some  thought  it  very  likely 
that  these  would  come  in  quick  succession,  to 
herald  with  all  the  greater  pomp  the  approach 
of  the  glorious  King  of  Israel.  Some  such 
notion  is  certainly  involved  in  the  question, 
'Art  thou  the  coming  (one),  or  are  we  to  look 
for  another  f  Now,  John  would  naturally 
share  the  current  Jewish  ideas  (as  the  apostles 
did  at  that  time),  except  so  far  as  they  were 
corrected  by  the  special  revelations  given  to 
him.  These  revelations,  according  to  the 
whole  history  and  manifest  law  of  God's 
communications  to  men,  extended  only  to 
the  truths  necessary  for  his  own  station  and 
appointed  work.  There  is  therefore  nothing 
surprising,  and  nothing  derogatory  to  John, 
in  the  idea  that  amid  the  despondent  and  per- 
plexed thoughts  of  a  weary  prisoner,  he  began 
sometimes  to  question  whether  Jesus  was  him- 
self the  Messiah,  or  only  a  second  and  greater 
forerunner.  Points  which  later  revelations 
have  made  clear  enough  to  us,  may  easily 
have  perplexed  him.  We  need  not  suppose 
that  he  at  any  time  wholly  lost  his  persuasion 
that  Jesus  was  the  Messiah,  but  only  that  he 
became  harassed  by  difficulties  that  he  could 
not  solve;  and  he  shows  great  confidence  in 
Jesus  by  referring  the  whole  question  to  him. 
These  'works'  which  he  heard  of  as  wrought 
by  Jesus  were  very  remarkable.  But  how 
strange  it  was  that  the  great  worker,  to  whom 
he  had  himself  borne  testimony,  did  not  come 
out  publicly  in  the  Messianic  character,  and 
have  himself  crowned,  and  reign  as  the 
Anointed  King;  how  strange  that,  with  the 
power  of  working  such  astonishing  miracles, 
he  should  leave  his  devoted  servant  and 
herald  to  languish  so  long  in  this  unjust  im- 
prisonment, cut  off  from  the  work  in  which 
he  delighted.  John  was  embarrassed,  per- 
plexed— perhaps  (Kdhler,  Morison)  impatient 
— he  knew  not  what  to  think,  and  was  weary 
of  waiting — he  would  send  and  ask  Jesus  him- 
self; and  while  the  answer  cleared  up  his  own 
perplexity,  as  he  hoped  would  be  the  case, 
and  perhaps  aroused  Jesus  to  prompter  ac- 
tion, it  might  at  the  same  time  help  him  in 


overcoming  (comp.  John  3:  25-30)  the  obsti- 
nate hostility  to  Jesus  which  some  of  his  dis- 
ciples manifested    (Comp.  on  9:  14.) 

4-6.  The  Answkk.  Jesus  answered 
and  said  unto  them.  It  is  of  course  im- 
plied that  the  disciples  of  John  came  and 
asked  as  directed,  which  Luke  {t-.-m)  states  in 
detail.  Jesus  must  have  been  touched  by  this 
indication  of  perplexity  and  doubt  on  the  part 
of  his  imprisoned  forerunner.  Ewald:  "And 
surely  at  no  moment  of  these  years  did  the 
whole  picture  of  all  his  fortunes  in  the  many- 
colored  past  since  his  first  meeting  with  the 
Baptist,  come  so  freshly  before  his  soul  as 
now."  Go  and  shew  John  again,  carry 
back  the  message  to  John.  '  Again'  in  the 
Com.  Ver.  is  correct,  but  apt  to  mislead,  as  it 
might  be  understood  to  mean,  'show  a  second 
time.'  Those  things  which  ye  do  hear 
and  see,  the  teachings  and  miracles  which 
he  proceeds  to  mention.  Luke  (7:2i)  states 
that  '  in  that  hour  he  cured  many,'  etc.  Just 
before  (Lake?),  Jesus  had  healed  the  centurion's 
servant  and  brought  to  life  the  son  of  the 
widow  of  Nain  ;  but  'hear  '  seems  most  natu- 
rally to  refer,  not  to  the  report  they  heard 
about  his  great  miracles  (Luke?:  it),  but  to  whaj; 
they  heard  Jesus  saying  on  that  occasion — par- 
ticularly to  the  fact  that  he  was  proclaiming 
good  tidings  to  the  poor.  Jesus  was  not  yet 
prepared  to  avow  publicly,  in  so  many  words, 
his  Mossiahship  (comp.  on  16:  13  ff.)  ;  and 
John  ought  to  be,  and  we  may  suppose  was, 
satisfied  with  the  evidence  furnished  by  his 
working  such  miracles,  and  bringing  such 
good  tidings  to  the  poor,  as  were  specially  pre- 
dicted in  connection  with  the  Messiah. 

The  blind,  the  lame,  etc.  (v.»;i  The  Greek 
has  here  no  articles,  which  is  appropriate  and 
expressive,  but  cannot  be  imitated  in  the  Eng- 
lish idiom  without  awkwardness,  though 
Davidson  and  Darby  so  translate  — '  blind  see 
again  and  lame  walk'  etc.,  (comp.  10:  8). 
'And'  before  dead,  is  the  best  supported 
reading;  it  was  probably  omitted  in  order 
(Weiss)  to  have  three  parallel  clauses.  In 
Isa.  85:  5  f.  we  read,  "Then  the  eyes  of  the 


238                                              MATTHEW. 

[Ch.  XI. 

6  And  blessed  is  he,  whosoever  shall  not  be  o£fended  1   6  preached  to  them. 
In  me.                                                                                     | 

And  blessed  is  he,  whosoever 

blind  shall  be  opened,  and  the  ears  of  the  deaf 
shall  be  unstopped;  then  shall  the  lame  man 
leap  as  an  hart,  and  the  tongue  of  the  dumb 
eing."  (Rev.  Ver.)  Here  was  then  a  literal 
fultillraent  of  a  prophecy  which  referred  also 
to  the  spiritual  healing  Jesus  came  to  accom- 
plish. In  addition  to  the  things  thus  pre- 
dicted, Jesus  was  cleansing  lepers,  yea,  and 
raising  dead  persons.  The  message  of  John 
came  shortly  after  Jesus  had  raised  to  life  the 
son  of  the  widow  at  Nain  (Luke  7 :  ii-is  ) ;  and 
the  raising  of  Jairus"  daughter  may  have 
been,  as  the  Harmonists  tiiink,  some  time 
earlier.  Only  a  few  specimens  of  our  Lord's 
miracles  are  described,  and  it  may  well  be 
that  other  cases  of  raising  the  dead  occurred, 
but  were  not  recorded.  The  poor  have  the 
gospel  (good  tidings)  preached  to  them, 
doubtless  refers  to  Isa.  61 :  1,  where  Messiah 
is  described  as  commissioned  to  "bring  good 
tidings  to  the  lowly."  This  last  word  in  the 
Hebrew  signifies  those  who  are  oppressed  and 
afflicted,  and  bear  it  with  meekness — persons 
lowlj^  in  condition  and  in  spirit.  For  all  such 
Messiah  had  good  tidings  (comp.  on  5:  31. 
The  Sept.  renders  by  'poor,'  and  that  word  is 
retained,  as  sufficiently  expressing  the  force 
of  the  Hebrew,  both  in  this  passage  of  Matt, 
and  Luke,  and  in  Luke  4:  18.  For  the  Greek 
word  rendered  '  have  good  tidings  preached  to 
them,'  see  on  4:  17.  It  here  means  more 
than  what  we  express  by  "preach  the  gospel," 
signifying  more  generally  the  tidings  of  bless- 
ings to  be  enjoyed  by  them  through  Messiah's 
reign.  The  masses  of  mankind,  poor  and 
ignorant  and  suffering,  received  little  atten- 
tion from  the  heathen  philosophers  or  from  the 
Jewish  rabbis.  The  latter  often  spoke  of 
them  with  the  greatest  contempt,  Fiterally: 
"  But  this  crowd  i^rabble),  who  know  not  the 
law,  are  accursed"  (John 7:49);  and  they  de- 
lighted to  stigmatize  them  as  "countryfolks," 
ancient  culture  being  almost  entirely  con- 
fined to  cities.  It  was  thus  the  more  remark- 
able that  Jesus  brought  tidings  of  good  to  the 
poor,  to  the  suffering,  despised,  and  lowly. 

This  appeal  to  his  'works,'  as  testifying  in 
his  behalf,  was  repeatedly  made  by  our  Lord 
towards  the  close  of  his  ministry  (Johnio:  «8;  u: 
II:  15: 24);  and  indeed  had  already  been  made, 
at  a  period  probably  earlier  than  this  message 


of  John  the  Baptist.  (John5:»6.)  These  miracles 
and  good  tidings  for  the  lowly,  showing  that 
Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  the  predicted  Messiah, 
still  stand  as  an  evidence  of  Christianity. 
The  Emperor  Julian  (Wet.)  says  scornfiillj', 
that  "Jesus  wrought  nothing  worth  j' of  report, 
unless  somebody  thinks  that  to  heal  the  lame 
and  blind,  and  to  relieve  demoniacs,  in  the 
villages  of  Bethsaida  and  Bethany,  were 
among  the  greatest  works."  And  blessed 
{happy,  same  word  as  in  5;  3ff. )  is  he,  who- 
soever shall  not  be  offended  (find  no  occa- 
sion of  stumbling)  in  me.  See  the  same 
image  in  Isa.  8:  14.  For  the  word  meaning 
'to  be  made  to  stumble,'  or  'to  find  occasion 
of  stumbling,'  see  on  5:  29;  it  has  here  the 
second  meaning  there  given — whoever  does 
not  find  in  me  an  obstacle  to  believing,  and 
hence  reject  me.  Jesus  was  doing  and  saying 
things  predicted  of  Messiah.  But  the  Jews 
stumbled  at  his  failure  to  do  various  other 
things  which  they  expected  in  Messiah,  and 
so  most  of  them  rejected  him.  (Comp.  \?>:  57; 
26:  31.)  John  was  now  perplexed  by  the 
same  things;  and  Jesus  declares,  'Happy  is 
he  who  shall  not  stumble  at  me.'  The  form 
of  expression  delicately  suggests  a  warning, 
that  he  who  does  thus  stumble  will  be  any- 
thing else  than  happy. — This  saying  is  clearly 
a  part  of  what  they  were  to  report  to  John, 
and  this  best  accords  with  the  idea  that  the 
reply  was  meant  for  John's  own  benefit  also, 
and  not  merely  for  his  disciples.  Were  John's 
perplexities  and  doubts  relieved  by  the  answer 
sent?  We  are  not  told,  but  circumstances 
suggest  that  tliey  were  (Keim).  John's  dis- 
ciples, after  his  death,  went  and  told  Jesus 
(u:  12)  ;  and  subsequently  we  find  Jesus  speak- 
ing of  John  in  a  tone  of  high  commendation 
(17:12;  21:25,82),  as  indeed  he  proceeds  to  do  on 
the  present  occasion,  thereby  showing  his  con- 
fidence that  John  is  right  at  heart. 

7-15.  Testimony  of  Jkstts  to  His  Fore- 
runner. John  had  repeatedly  borne  testi- 
mony   to    Jesus     (Johnl:  15,  26f.,  29-84,  35f.!   3:26-30), 

and  now  when  he  is  cut  off  from  usefulness 
by  imprisonment,  Jesus  bears  testimony  to  f 
him.  John's  disciples  are  sufficiently  devoted 
to  him  ;  so  Jesus  speaks  this  commendation 
when  they  are  out  of  hearing,  for  the  benefit 
of  the  people  at  large.     This  was  grateful  to 


Ch.  XL] 


MATTHEW. 


239 


7  And  as  they  departed,  Jesus  began  to  say  unto  the 
multitudes  conceruiug  John,  What  went  ye  out  into  the 
wilderness  to  see?    A  reed  shaken  with  the  wind  ? 

8  But  what  went  ye  out  for  to  see?  A  man  clothed 
iu  soft  raiment  ?  behold,  they  that  wear  soft  clothing 
are  in  kings'  houses. 

9  But  what  went  ye  out  for  to  see  ?  A  prophet  ? 
yea,  I  say  unto  you,  and  more  than  a  prophet. 

lu  For  this  is  he.,  of  whom  it  is  written.  Behold,  I 
send  my  messenger  before  thy  face,  which  shall  pre- 
pare thy  way  before  thee. 


7  shall  find  none  occasion  of  stumbling  in  me.  And 
as  these  went  their  way,  Jesus  began  to  say  unto  the 
multitudes  concerning  John,  What  went  ye  out  into 
the  wilderness  to  behold?   a  reed  shaken  with  the 

8  wind?  But  what  went  ye  out  for  to  see?  a  man 
clothed  in  soft  raiment*     Behold,  they  that  wear 

9  soft  raiment  are  in  kings'  houses,  i  But  wherefore 
went  ye  out?  to  see  a  prophet?    Yea,  I  say  unto  you, 

10  and  much  more  than  a  prophet.  This  is  he,  of  whom 
it  is  written. 

Behold,  1  send  my  messenger  before  thy  face, 
Who  shall  prepare  thy  way  before  thee. 


1  Many  nncietit  authorities  read,  But  what  went  ye  out  to  aee  T  a  prophet  t 


the  people,  among  whom  John  was  highly 
esteemed.  (21:26.)  Began  to  say.  While 
the  messengers  were  going,  Jesus  began  the 
discourse  which  continued  after  they  had  dis- 
appeared. Unto  the  multitudes  {crowds, 
so  also  Luke  7:  24),  see  on  5:  1.  Into  the 
wilderness,  see  on  3 :  1,  To  see,  to  behold, 
look  at,  as  a  spectacle;  the  word  explained  on 
6:  1.  It  seems  to  be  implied  that  they  went 
too  much  as  if  to  look  at  a  sort  of  show.  (In 
V.  8  f .  it  is  'to  see,'  the  common  and  simple 
word.)  Doubtless  those  who  went  out  to  see 
and  hear  John  were  much  influenced  by 
curiosity.  But  what  was  the  object  of  this 
curious  gazing?  Was  it  a  reed  shaken  with 
the  wind?  Some  understand  Jesus  to  be 
asking  whether  they  .went  merely  to  see  an 
ordinary,  natural  object.  But  the  phrase 
shaken,  or  'tossed  by  the  wind,'  and  the  use 
of  the  singular,  'a  reed,'  much  more  natur- 
ally suggests  that  this  is  a  symbol  of  fickle- 
ness. They  did  not  go  out  to  see  a  fickle 
doubter,  and  they  must  not  think  he  is  really 
a  fickle  doubter  now.  The  perplexities  and 
diflBculties  indicated  by  his  message  were  not 
of  the  sort  due  to  inconstancy,  or  to  any  weak- 
ness of  character.  Nor  was  it  (com p.  on 
3:  4)  to  see  a  man  in  soft  raiment,  elegant 
clothing,^  such  as  courtiers  wore;  John  had 
refused  to  play  courtier,  as-  all  the  people 
knew,  and  had  gone  to  prison  for  it.  We 
learn  from  Jewish  writers  (Jost,  in  Plumptre) 
tiiat  in  the  early  days  of  Herod  the  Great, 
some  Scribes  who  attached  themselves  to  him, 
laid  aside  their  usual  plain  dress,  and  wore  the 
gorgeous  raiment  of  courtiers.  But  John  was 
no  weakling,  no  self-seeker. 


These  introductory  questions  lead  up  to  the 
great  question,  which,  in  the  correct  text,*  has 
a  slightly  altered  form.  What  went  ye  out 
for  to  see,  etc. — Rev.  Ver,  But  wherefore 
went  ye  out  f  to  see  a  prophet  f  We  learn  from 
21 :  26,  that  the  masses  of  the  people  univer- 
sally regarded  John  as  a  prophet ;  and  the 
fact  that  there  had  been  no  prophet  for  so 
many  weary  centuries  invested  him  with  a 
heightened  interest.  Jesus  says  he  was  indeed 
a  prophet,  and  something  exceedingly  more 
than  a  prophet  (the  word  rendered  'more' 
is  neuter  gender;  comp.  12:  6,  41).  He  was 
indeed  an  inspired  man  who  came  to  speak 
for  God  (see  on  7 :  22),  like  the  prophets  of 
earlier  days.  He  was  also  something  more 
than  a  prophet,  for  he  was  the  fulfillment  of 
prophecy  (''■lo),  and  he  had  a  unique  and 
singularly  dignified  position,  as  the  immediate 
forerunner  of  Messiah,  ushering  in  his  glo- 
rious reign.  Euthym. :  "The  heralds  that 
march  near  the  king  are  greater  than  the 
others.  .  .  .  And  John  not  merely  saw  the 
predicted  one,  but  also  baptized  him." 
Morison:  "He  not  only  said,  He  will  come: 
he  said.  He  has  come ;  and  there  he  is."  Our 
Lord  was  here  in  fact  exalting  his  own  mission 
by  exalting  that  of  John.  The  people  should 
hearken  to  him,  to  whom  this  more  than 
prophet  liad  testified. 

10.  'This  is  he  of  whom  it  is  written, 
has  been  written,  and  now  stands  on  record 
(see  on  2:  5).  The  quotation  is  from  Mai. 
3:  1,  and  the  literal  rendering  of  the  Hebrew 
is,  "  Behold  I  send  my  messenger,  and  ho 
shall  prepare  the  way  before  my  face."  There 
Jehovah  speaks  as  if  coming  himself,  namely, 


•' Raiment,' though  Implied,  is  not  expressed  in  the 
earliest  authorities,  and  was  probably  added  from  Luke 
7 :  25 ;  80  it  is  here  properly  placed  in  italics  by  Kev. 
Ver. 

*  This  as  glren  in  B.  K  Z.,  and  others,  would  be  easily 
altered  to  make  it  like  v.  7  f.  and  T.nke  7 :  26. 

!*  'For'  of  the  common  Greek  text  is  wanting  in 


several  of  the  earliest  authorities.  We  can  easily 
explain  its  insertion,  but  not  its  omission,  for  it  ex- 
presses the  real  argumentative  relation  between  the 
sentences.  So  we  conclude  that  it  was  not  originally 
In  the  text.  In  many  such  cases,  the  better  we  like  a 
particular  reading,  the  more  certainly  it  is  to  be  re- 
garded as  a  later  insertion. 


240 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XI. 


U  Vorily  I  say  unto  you.  Among  them  that  are  born 
of  women  there  hath  not  risen  a  greater  than  .)ohii  the 
Baptist:  notwith!<tanding,  he  that  is  least  in  the  Iciug- 
doui  of  heaven  is  greater  than  he. 


U  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  Among  them  that  are  born 
of  women  there  hath  not  arisen  a  greater  than  John 
the  Baptist :  yet  he  that  is  >  but  little  iu  the  kingdom 


in  the  coming  of  Messiah.  In  the  application 
here  made,  Jehovah  addresses  Messiah,  as  if 
sending  a  messenger  before  him.  This  is 
only  bringing  out  more  clearly  an  idea  really 
involved  in  the  prophecy,  as  the  N.  T.  writers 
have  in  various  cases  done,  with  an  obvious 
propriety  (comp.  on  2:  6).  The  prophecy  is 
quoted  with  exactly  the  same  variation  of 
expression,  in  Luke  7:  27,  and  in  Mark  1;  2, 
and  the  same  variation  is  implied  in  the  evi- 
dent reference  to  this  passage  in  Luke  1 :  76. 
The  most  natural  explanation  is  that  in  this 
form  it  was  commonly  given  in  the  oral  apos- 
tolical teaching.  The  supposition  of  quotation 
by  the  Evangelist  from  an  oral  Aramaic  sj-na- 
gogue  version  (Toy),  seems  to  have  no  clear 
and  adequate  ground,  here  or  elsewhere.  As 
to  the  image  involved,  that  of  sending  forward 
H  messenger  to  prepare  the  way  for  a  journey,, 
see  on  3;  3,  where  a  similar  passage  is  quoted 
from  Isaiah. 

11.  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  see  on  5:  18. 
Among  those  .  .  born  of  women,  comp. 
Job  14:  1;  Gal.  4:  4.  A  greater.  Luke 
(7:28)  has  it  'a  greater  prophet.'  The  expres- 
sion obviously  refers  principally  to  his  exalted 
position,  and  also,  perhaps,  to  his  faithfial 
devotion  to  its  duties.  No  person  had  occu- 
pied a  position  of  higher  privilege  than  John 
the  Baptist,  involving  clearer  views  of  truth, 
or  greater  honor  in  the  sight  of  God.  Never- 
theless he  that  is  least,  literally,  less,  viz., 
than  all  others  (comp.  Mark  4:  31),  and  so 
equivalent  to  'he  that  is  least.'  Similar  ex- 
pressions are  found  in  18 :  1 ;  Luke  22:  24,  etc., 
and  in  the  Sept.  of  Judg.  6:  15,  where  Gideon 
says,  "I  am  the  least  in  my  father's  house." 
The  Old  Latin  and  Vulg.  (as  well  as  the  Mem- 
phitic)  render  'less,'  and  so  all  the  Eng.  Ver. 
before  that  of  King  James,  which  may  here 
(as  so  often)  have  followed  Beza.  who  renders 
'least.'  The  Peshito  also  translates  as  if  it 
were  a  superlative.  The  rendering  of  the 
Rev.  Ver.  'but  little,'  does  not  commend  itself 
as  particularly  good,  for  the  Greek  either 
means  'least'  or  'less';  the  occasional  ren- 
dering of  the  comparative,  somewhat  little, 
rather  little,  etc.,  seems  to  be  here  quite  out  of 


place.  Chrys.  understands  that  it  means 
Jesus,  as  'less'  than  John,  "less  in  age,  and, 
according  to  the  opinion  of  the  multitude," 
which  is  excessively  far-fetched.  To  refer  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  here  to  the  future  life, 
as  many  do,  is  entirely  unsuitable.  We  must 
understand  that  the  lowest  subject  of  the 
Messianic  reign  is  in  a  position  of  greater 
privilege  and  dignity  (comp.  Zech.  12:  8) 
than  the  great  forerunner;  or,  else,  perhaps 
(Calvin),  that  the  lowest  of  all  the  teachers 
instructed  by  the  Messiah  himself  was  supe- 
rior as  a  teacher  to  the  forerunner. 

In  any  case  this  expression  implies  that 
John  was  not  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
The  inference  is  often  drawn  that  he  belonged 
entirely  to  the  Old  Testament  Dispensatitm. 
It  is  frequently  asserted,  and  by  many  taken 
for  granted,  that  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
began  on  the  Day  of  Pentecost  following  our 
Lord's  Ascension,  and  so  John  had  no  con- 
nection with  it  except  fo  predict  its  approach. 
But  if  this  be  so,  where  did  the  ministry  of 
Jesus  himself  belong,  the  early  part  of  which 
ran  parallel  to  that  of  John,  and  embodied 
the  same  announcement  (♦:  i7;  Mark  i:  is)?  If 
John's  teaching  and  baptizing  are  to  beset 
off  as  essentially  different  in  kind  from  Chris- 
tian teaching  and  Christian  baptism,  these 
beginning  only  on  the  Day  of  Pentecost,  then 
we  have  the  strange  contradiction  that  Christ 
himself,  as  a  teacher  and  baptizer  (John  3;  22: 
«:if.),  did  not  belong  to  the  Christian  Dis- 
pensation. Moreover,  in  v.  12,  and  also  in 
Luke  16:  16,  our  Lord  speaks  of  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  as  already  in  actual  existence,  and 
counts  John  among  the  preachers  of  the  king- 
dom of  heaven,  as  distinct  from  those  who 
merely  predicted  it.  (Comp.  Luke  17:  21; 
10:  '23  f.;  Matt.  13:  16.)  If  some  argue  that 
John's  baptism  was  not  regarded  by  the 
apostles  as  Christian  baptism,  from  the  single 
and  peculiar  case  of  re-baptism  in  Acts  19: 
1  ff.,  it  may  be  answered  that  those  persons 
were  re-baptized  because  it  was  evident  that 
when  they  previously  received  baptism  (prob- 
ably from  some  ignorant  disciple  of  John),  it 
had  been   without  knowing  what  they  were 


Ch.  XI.] 


MATTHEW. 


241 


12  And  from  the  days  of  John  the  Baptist  until  now  i  12  of  heaven  is  greater  than  he.  And  from  the  days  of 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  sutfereth  violence,  and  the  vio-  John  the  Baptist  until  now  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
lent  take  it  by  force.  {       suffereth  violence,  and  men  of  violence  take  it  by 


1  Or,  ia  gotten  hy  force,  and  they  that  thrust  men. 


about,  without  understanding  the  funda- 
mental truths  of  the  Messianic  reign,  as  an- 
nounced by  John  himself.  As  this  isolated 
case  can  be  accounted  for  in  this  way,  and 
indeed  in  various  other  ways,  it  is  quite  un- 
warrantable to  make  it  the  proof  of  a  radical 
distinction  between  Christian  baptism  and  the 
baptism  administered  by  John  and  by  Christ 
himself. 

How  then  are  we  to  conceive  of  John's  po- 
sition ?  In  some  sense  he  belongs  to  the  king- 
dom of  Messiah,  the  Christian  Dispensation, 
his  work  constituting  its  introductory  stage; 
and  yet  his  position  is  inferior  in  dignity  and 
privilege  to  the  least  in  that  kingdom.  His 
work  may  be  compared  to  a  landing-place  in 
u  stairway;  the  highest  step  of  the  lower 
flight,  or  the  lowest  step  of  the  upper  flight, 
or,  whenever  you  choose  so  to  regard  it,  higher 
than  the  highest  of  one,  lower  than  the  lowest 
of  the  other.  Or  (Chrys. ),  it  may  be  com- 
pared to  the  hour  between  dawn  and  sunrise — 
part  of  the  day,  yet  less  light  than  the  first 
moment  after  the  sun  is  actually  risen.  The 
beginning  of  John's  ministry  was  the  dawn 
of  the  Messianic  reign,  whose  light  gradually 
increased  throughout  the  ministry  of  Jesus; 
the  Day  of  Pentecost  was  its  sunrise,  when  it 
appeared  in  full-orbed  beauty  and  brightness; 
its  noontide  glory  is  yet  to  come.  In  this 
passage,  then,  John's  position  is  distinguished 
from  that  of  one  living  when  the  New  Dis- 
pensation should  be  fully  established;  while 
in  other  passages  he  is  spoken  of  ag  himself 
belonging  to  thai  Dispensation,  in  its  opening 
stage.  His  position  was  so  peculiar,  that  it 
could  be  variously  regarded,  according  to  the 
point  of  view  in  each  case. 

12.  This  is  connected  especially  with  the 
former  clause  of  v.  11.  The  importance  of 
John  is  shown  by  a  reference  to  the  great  ex- 
citement his  ministry  had  produced  among 
the  people  (comp.  Josephus,  "Ant.,"  18,  5,  2), 
and  which  still  continued,  at  the  time  when 
our  Lord  was  speaking.  From  the  days  of 
John  the  Baptist  means  from  the  time  when 
John  was  engaged  in  active  labors,  which 
closed  with  his  imprisonment.  These  labors 
had     probably    continued     about     eighteen 


months,  and  from  six  to  twelve  months  had 
elapsed  since  their  close.  Until  now  shows 
that  the  work  in  question  was  still  going  on, 
but  without  at  all  implying  that  it  would  now 
cease.  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  here  con- 
ceived of  as  not  simply  near,  but  in  actual 
existence,  and  as  having  begun  to  exist  with 
the  beginning  of  John's  ministry.  (See  on 
V.  11.)  The  kingdom  of  heaven  suffereth 
violence,  or,  'is  taken  by  violence.'  (David- 
son, Darby.)  The  image  employed  appears  to 
be  not  precisely  that  of  storming  a  city  (•^Maco. 
H:  41),  but  that  of  invading  and  seizing  a  king- 
dom. Before  the  time  of  John  many  were 
expecting  the  establishment  of  tht.  Messianic 
kingdom,  but  in  general  were  quietly  wait- 
ing, without  any  earnest  eflbrts  to  prepare  for 
it,  and  share  its  blessings.  John's  ministry 
awakened  an  eager  expectation  of  its  imme- 
diate appearance,  and  men  were  aroused  to 
press  into  it,  like  invaders  pressing  into  a 
country  and  taking  possession.  Our  Lord 
described  this  state  of  things  by  the  same 
striking  image  on  a  later  occasion.  (Luke  i6:  i8.) 
It  is  appropriate  and  eminently  desirable  that 
both  individuals  and  communities  should  be- 
come greatly  aroused  on  the  subject  of  re- 
ligion, and  be  deeply  in  earnest  about  it,  so 
as  to  resemble,  in  their  pursuit  of  salvation, 
the  resolution  and  irresistible  force  with  which 
an  invading  army  presses  into  a  country. 
How  it  forces  its  way  along — every  obstacle 
is  overcome,  every  stronghold  is  seized,  every 
opposing  host  Is  broken  and  scattered — nothing 
can  withstand  its  conquering  advance.  Of 
course  the  application  of  this  is  to  spiritual 
energy,  and  it  gives  no  warrant  for  violent 
bodily  exercises,  except  in  so  far  as  these  may 
sometimes  naturally  result  from  uncontrollable 
feelings  of  soul ;  but  It  does  show  the  propriety 
of  impassioned  earnestness  and  indomitable 
resolution  In  the  entrance  upon,  and  pursuit 
of,  a  Christian  life.  (Comp.  7:  13;  Luke  13: 
24;  Phil.  3:  12  ff".,  etc.)  The  period  in  ques- 
tion was  the  first  of  those  seasons  of  wide- 
spread religious  excitement  which  have  re- 
peatedly marked  the  progress  of  Christian 
history.  Christianity  was  born  in  a  great  re- 
vival.—Weiss  interprets  v.  12  as  said  in  the 


242 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XI, 


13  For  all  the  prophets  and  the  law  prophesied  until 
John. 

14  And  if  ye  will  receive  it,  this  is  Elias,  which  was  for 
to  coiue. 

13  He  that  hath  ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear. 


13  force.    For  all  the  prophets  and  the  law  prophesied 

14  until  John.    And  it'  ye  are  willing  to  receive  i  it,  this 

15  is  Elijah,  who  is  to  come.    He  that  hath  ears  'to 


1  Or,  Aim. . .  .2  Some  Hnoleat  RUthnrictes  omit  to  hear. 


way  of  censure,  viz.,  that  John  had  intro- 
duced a  hasty  and  stormy  way  of  entering 
the  kingdom  of  heaven,  opposed  to  the  quiet 
and  gentle  introduction  of  it  in  which  Jesus 
was  engaged.  This  is  ingenious,  but  it  ill 
suits  the  following  connection,  and  the  whole 
tone  of  our  Lord's  testimony  to  John. 

13-15.  This  reference  to  Elijah  is  not  given 
by  Luke,  who  on  the  other  hand  makes  at  this 
point  some  remarks  (i.uke7:29f,)  not  made  by 
Matthew.  For  gives  a  reason  for  the  statement 
of  V.  12.  This  great  religious  movement,  men 
pressing  with  eagerness  and  violence  into  the 
kingdom  of  heaven,  he  has  just  declared  to 
have  existed  from  the  days  of  John  the  Bap- 
tist; for,  until  John,  until  his  time,  the  pro- 
phets and  the  law  (see  on  5 :  17;  prophets 
here  mentioned  first,  doubtless  because  pre- 
diction was  a  less  prominent  element  of  the 
law)  prophesied  of  th<3  Messianic  reign ; 
but  this  period  of  prophecj'  ended  with  the 
coming  of  the  new  Elijah,  in  the  person  of 
John,  who  was  at  once  the  last  predicter  of 
the  kingdom  of  heaven,  and  the  first  preacher 
of  it;  and  now  the  good  news  of  the  reign  of 
Messiah  is  made  known  (Luke  i6:  le),  and  men 
are  pressing  into  it  with  violence.  Athana- 
sius :  "Up  to  John  the  law;  from  him  the 
gospel."  (Comp.  on  v.  12.)  And  if  ye  will 
(are  willing  to)  receive,  i,  e.,  most  naturally 
'to  receive  it,'  possibly  'to  receive  him' 
(margin  Kev.  Ver.  and  Geneva).  They 
might  be  slow  to  receive  it,  because  it  con- 
flicted with  the  popular  notion  that  Elijah  in 
his  own  proper  person  would  appear  to  anoint 
the  Messiah  (Justin  Martyr,  Trypho  8,  49); 
and  because  too,  of  John's  present  helpless 
captivity,  which  they  might  fancy  God  would 
not  permit  in  the  case  of  one  sent  by  him  on  a 
great  mission.  This  is  Elias — he,  and  no 
other,  the  original  being  emphatic,  as  in  1 :  21 


and  elsewhere.  As  to  reasons  for  giving  the 
Old  Test,  form  of  the  name,  Elijah,  rather 
than  Elias,  see  on  1:2.  Which  was  for 
(that  is)  to  come,  or  'that  is  going  to  come.' 
This  was  the  expression  used  among  the  Jews 
concerning  the  expected  coming  of  Elijah, 
and  our  Lord  retains  it,  as  the  familiar  phrase, 
though  the  coming  had  now  taken  place  (so 
also  in  17:  11).  The  prediction  of  Mai.  4:  5, 
"  Behold,  I  will  send  you  Elijah  the  prophet," 
etc.,  was  generally  understood  by  the  Jews  to 
mean  that  Elijah  would  come  to  life  again, 
and  many  of  the  modern  Jews  have  that  ex- 
pectation still.  Jesus  means  that  John  had 
come  "in  the  spirit  and  power  of  Elijah" 
(Luke  1:17),  a  Similar  man,  and  to  a  similar 
work;  and  this  is  all  that  the  prophecy  meant. 
(Comp.  on  3:  4;  17:10ff.)  John  himself  was 
asked  (John  i:  21)  whether  he  was  Elijah,  and 
answered  '  No'  ;  but  he  was  answering  in  the 
sense  of  their  question — he  was  not  Elijah 
come  to  life  again.  He  that  hath  ears^ 
let  him  hear.  As  Elijah  was  to  be  forerun- 
ner of  the  Messiah,  and  as  John  the  forerun- 
ner of  Jesus  was  Elijah,  it  followed  that 
Jesus  was  the  Messiah — if  they  had  ears, 
and  were  willing  to  receive  it.  This  pecu- 
liar phrase,  'he  that  hath  ears,'  etc.,  was 
repeatedly  used  by  our  Lord,  especially 
after  saying  something  which  was  important, 
and  also  likely  through  ignorance  or  preju- 
dice not  to  be  understood  (comp.  on  13:  9,43; 
24 :  15)  ;  and  it  is  still  used  in  the  last  words 
he  has  spoken  on  the  earth,  the  messages  to 
the  seven  churches.  (Rev.  2 :  7, 11, 17, 29  i  8:6,  u,  22.) 
We  can  scarcely  conceive  how  difficult  it  was 
for  the  Jews  to  accept  the  assertion  that  the 
prophecy  of  Elijah's  coming  was  fulfilled  in 
John  the  Baptist.  And  we  have  abundant 
need  to  fear  lest  we  ourselves  lack  ears  to  hear, 
lack  the  spiritual  perception  and  sympathy. 


I 


I'To  hear,' after '  ears,'  should  pretty  certainly  be 
omitted  (as  in  Rev.  Ver.  niarg.),  following  B  D,  32,  k  ; 
as  also  in  13 :  9,  following  B  X  L,  and  some  copies  of  Old 
Latin;  and  in  13:  43,  following  K  (first  hand)  B,  some 
copies  of  Old  Latin,  and  some  of  Vulgate.  The  fact 
seems  clearly  to  be  that  Matt,  in  all  three  cases  gives 
simply  '  he  that  hath  ears,  let  him  hear,'  while  Mark 


(4:9,2.1)  and  Luke  (8:8!  U: 35)  give  without  variation 
'he  that  hath  ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear';  and  that 
Matthew's  expression  early  began  to  be  changed  into 
the  fuller  form.  (Comp.  Rev.  Ver.  of  13:  9,  43.)  It  is 
noteworthy  that  in  all  three  cases  B  has  the  correct 
text,  while  its  companions  vary. 


i 


Ch   XL] 


MATTHEW. 


243 


16  But  whereunto shall  I  liken  this  generation?  It 
is  like  unto  children  sitting  iu  the  markets,  and  call- 
ing unto  their  fellows, 

17  And  saying.  We  have  piped  unto  you,  and  ye 
have  uot  danced  :  we  have  uiuurued  uuto  you,  and  ye 
have  not  lamented. 


16  hear,  let  him  hear.  But  whereunto  shall  I  liken  this 
generation  ?  It  is  like  unto  children  sitting  in  the 
marketplaces,  that  call  unto  their  fellows,  and  say, 

17  We  piped  unto  you,  and  ye  did  not  dance ;  we  wailed, 


the  candor  and  willingness  to  follow  truth, 
the  readiness  to  let  the  Bible  mean  what  it 
wishes  to  mean,  which  are  necessary  to  a 
thorough  understanding  of  Scripture. 

16-19.  But  both  John  and  Jksus  arb 
Kejkctkd.  The  thought  of  this  passage  was 
naturally  suggested  by  the  reception  which 
many  had  given  to  the  great  Forerunner,  the 
new  Elijah,  and  to  Jesus  himself.  John  was 
unsurpassed  in  the  dignity  of  his  position,  the 
greatness  of  his  work ;  he  whom  John  heralded 
was  greater  still ;  yet  both  were  rejected.  They 
had  different,  even  opposite,  peculiarities  and 
modes  of  life;  but  that  willful  and  unreason- 
able generation  rejected  each  of  them,  thus 
showing  a  determined  and  invincible  opposi- 
tion to  the  heavenly  wisdom  which  both  were 
seeking  to  inculcate,  and  which  was  justified 
and  vindicated  by  its  effects  in  all  who  re- 
ceived it. 

10  f.  But  whereunto  shall  I  liken  this 
generation  ?  Their  conduct  was  so  strange, 
in  its  inconsistent  and  willful  opposition  to  the 
truth,  that  he  was  at  a  loss  to  find  anything 
like  it  for  an  illustration.  (Comp.  Mark  4:  30; 
Luke  13:  18,  20;  Lam.  2:  13;  and  the  rabbis 
have  a  similar  formula.)  In  saying  'this 
generation,'  he  does  not  mean  all  without  ex- 
ception, but  refers  to  the  general  tone  of  pub- 
lic sentiment,  and  especially  to  the  leading 
men,  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees  who  gave  that 
tone.  Luke  (t:  »)  informs  us  that  of  the  per- 
sons present  on  that  occasion  the  mass  of  the 
people  and  the  publicans  justified  God,  hav- 
ing received  John's  baptism;  but  the  Phari- 
sees and  the  lawyers  rendered  void  as  regarded 
themselves  the  counsels  of  God,  not  having 
been  baptized  by  John.  Our  Lord  was  not 
yet  prepared  to  make  open  discrimination 
among  the  Jews,  and  denounce  the  Scribes 
and  Pharisees  by  name,  as  he  did  at  a  later 
period,  (chap  zs.)  It  is  like  unto  children, 
etc.     There  is  a  certain   colloquial   inexact- 


ness in  the  expression,  which  ought  not  to  oc- 
casion any  difficulty.  He  does  not  mean  that 
the  men  of  this  generation  correspond  dis- 
tinctively to  the  children  who  speak,  which 
would  make  John  and  himself  answer  to  the 
parties  complained  of;  but  in  general,  the 
conduct  of  this  generation  corresponds  to  the 
case  of  children  sitting  in  the  market-place, 
some  of  them  saying  to  others,  etc.  So  in  13  : 
45,  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  said  to  be  like  a 
merchant,  etc.,  but  it  is  not  meant  that  the 
kingdorti  resembles  the  person,  but  that  in  a 
general  way  the  two  cases  are  similar.  (So  also 
in  18 :  23 ;  20 : 1. )  The  comparison  in  such  cases 
is  made  somewhat  loosely,  and  is  to  be  under- 
stood according  to  the  nature  of  the  case. 
There  is  thus  no  need  at  all  for  the  various 
artificial  explanations  by  which  some  able 
expositors  (as  Meyer,  Ewald,  Keim,  "Weiss, 
Plumptro),  try  to  work  out  the  view  that 
John  and  Jesus  are  the  persons  called  to,  and 
complained  of,  for  not  doing  as  the  people 
wished.  The  simple  and  obvious  application 
in  the  contrary  direction  is  much  more 
natural  and  appropriate.*  In  the  markets — 
marketplaces.  The  word  denotes  a  public 
square,  or  place  of  public  resort  in  a  town,  such 
as  the  Greeks  called  Agora  (the  word  here 
used),  the  Romans  called  forum,  and  we  call 
place  or  square.  In  Oriental  cities  this  place 
was  just  inside  the  gate.  Here  the  citizens  as- 
sembled, the  judges  sat,  business  was  trans- 
acted, and  markets  were  opened  ("en.  i9:  i;  Ruth 
4:i!ProT.si:23,eto.);  and  here,  as  a  matter  of 
course,  loafers  would  lounge  (p»8.  89:i2),  and 
boys  would  gather  to  play.  The  children, 
t.  c,  boys,  are  represented  as  imitating,  in 
their  play,  the  practice  of  their  elders 
at  merry-makings  or  funerals.  We  have 
piped  unto  you,  the  instrument  intended 
somewhat  resembling  a  flageolet.  We  have 
mourned,  (or,  wailed),  i.  e.,  sang  the  funeral 
wail  or  dirge  (Davidson  and  Noycs  translate 


1  Some  slight  dliferences  in  the  Greek  text  do  not 
affect  the  substantial  meaning.  '  Who  call  ....  and 
say '  is  beyond  question  the  correct  text.  It  is  difficult 
to  decide  between  'their  fellows '  (hetairoU)  and  'the 
others'  (A« 'eroij),  like  Luke  7:  32, 'one  another.'  The 
earliest  autuorities  for  the  most  part  give  helerou,  but 


the  other  would  be  more  easily  changed  into  this 
by  assimilation  to  Luke.  The  two  words  are  pro- 
nounced exactly  alike  In  Modern  Greek,  and  probably 
were  when  our  oldest  copies  were  made.  '  To  you  '  is 
rightly  omitted  in  the  second  clause. 


244 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XI. 


IS  For  John  came  neither  eating  nor  drinking,  and 
they  say,  He  hatli  a  devil. 

19  The  Son  of  man  came  eating  and  drinlting,  and 
they  sav,  Hehold  a  man  gluttonous  and  a  wiuebibber, 
a  t'riena  of  publicans  and  sinners.  But  wisdom  is  jus- 
tified of  her  children. 


18  and  ye  did  not  '  mourn.  For  John  came  neither  eat- 
ing nor  drinking,  and  they  say.  He  hath  a  demon. 

19  The  Son  of  man  came  eating  and  drinking,  and  they 
say.  Behold,  a  gluttonous  man,  and  a  winobibber,  a 
friend  of  publicans  and  sinners!  And  wisdom  ^is 
justified  by  her  *  works. 


I  Gr,  htatihe  breast 2  Or,  teat a  Maiir  auclent  authorities  read,  children:  as  in  Luke  vii.  35. 


'sang  a  dirge  ')i  such  as  hired  mourners  were 
accustomed  to  sing  at  a  funeral.  (Comp.  on 
9:  23.)  Lamented,  literally,  'beat  your- 
selves,' beat  the  breast,  as  the  publican  smote 
his  breast,  (i-ukeisris.)  The  boys  had  tried 
their  comrades  with  notes  of  joy  and  with 
notes  of  grief,  and  met  no  response  to  either. 
Stier  :  "It  cannot  but  be  noted  that  the  Lord, 
nihil  humani  a  se  alienum  putans  [deeming 
nothing  human  without  interest  to  himself], 
as  he  tooii  notice  of  the  rending  of  mended 
garments  (9:i6),  and  the  domestie  concerns  of 
the  children  in  their  beds  (Luke  u:  7),  so  also 
observes  the  children's  play  in  the  market 
place,  and  finds  in  everything  the  material 
for  the  analogies  of  his  wise  teaching."  Who 
is  not  moved  at  thethought  of  the  Saviour 
standing  sometimes  in  the  marlcetplace,  with 
the  busy  throng  around,  and  watching  the 
boys  at  their  play?  This  is  the  only  place  in 
the  Bible  (Nicholson)  where  any  game  of 
children  is  described. 

18  f.  Our  Lord  then  applies  the  illustration. 
For,  presents  this  as  a  proof  of  the  previous 
statement.  The  case  of  this  generation  does 
resemble  that  of  the  children,  for  they  treat 
John  and  Jesus  exactly  as  the  children's  com- 
rades treated  them.  John  came  neither 
eating  nor  drinking,  i.  e.,  as  other  men  do 
(Luke  7:  33,  'eating  no  bread  nor  drinking 
wine');  not  sharing  with  men  in  general  in 
their  modes  of  life,  but  living  apart  and 
abstemiously.  (Comp.  on  3:  4.)  He  hath 
a  devil— demon.  See  on  8:  28,  31.  As  one 
now  would  say,  he  is  deranged.  It  is  natural 
that  such  an  expression  should  become  com- 
mon (John?;  20;  8:48),  sincc  dcmoniacal  posses- 
sions were  often  found  in  conjunction  with 
mental  derangement,  whether  as  causing  it, 
or  because  persons  were  thereby  rendered 
more  suitable  to  be  thus  possessed.  Demo- 
niacs would  sometimes  go  into  a  wild  region, 
and  live  on  such  food  as  they  could  procure 
there  (8=28);  to  these  the  people  compared 
John.     Though  "  willing  to  rejoice  for  a  sea- 


son in  his  light,"  as  "the  lamp  that  burneth 
and  shineth"  (john5:35,  Rev.  ver.),  they  were  now 
rejecting  his  witness  to  Jesus  and  ridiculing 
his  mode  of  life,  saying,  "He  has  a  demon." 
On  the  other  hand,  Jesus  lived  among  men, 
eating  and  drinking  as  they  did.  He  was  ac- 
customed to  drink  wine,  as  Was  common, 
almost  universal— those  light  and  pure  wines 
which  abounded  in  that  country,  and  which, 
taken  in  moderate  quantity,  and  mixed  with 
a  double  quantity  of  water  according  to  cus- 
tom, would  stimulate  about  as  much  as  our 
tea  and  coffee.  He  went  to  the  houses  of 
Pharisee  and  Publican,  of  scrupulous  ob- 
servers of  the  law  and  open  transgressors  of 
it,  and  shared  their  customary  food  and  drink. 
And  immediately  they  cried.  Behold  a 
gluttonous  man,  and  a  wine-bibber! 
The  Greek  word  here  used  for  man  implies 
in  such  connections  a  certain  contempt,  as  we 
sometimes  use  'a  person.'  A  friend  of  pub- 
licans and  sinners.  The  emphasis  is  not 
on  'friend,'  but,  as  the  Greek  order  shows, 
separately  on  'publicans'  and  'sinners.'  Be- 
cause he  ate  pleasant  food  like  others,  and 
with  no  special  abstemiousness,  they  called 
him  a  glutton.  Because  he  sometimes  drank 
wine  as  others  did,  he  was  a  wine-bibber;  one 
who  drank  habitually  and  to  excess.  Because 
he  treated  bad  men  with  civility  and  kind- 
ness, earnestly  seeking  to  do  them  good,  he 
himself  also  was  bad.  (Comp.  Luke  15:  1,  2, 
and  see  above  on  9:  11.)  So  they  talked. 
John  was  not  enough  like  other  people — a 
crazy  sort  of  man.  Jesus  was  too  much  like 
other  people.  Nothing  could  please  them. 
The  Son  of  man,  see  on  8:  20.  Publicans 
and  sinners,  comp.  on  5:  46. 

Now,  what  shall  be  the  consolation  of  those 
religious  teachers  who  see  that,  do  as  they 
may,  men  will  find  fault  with  their  conduct, 
and  reject  their  message?  That  in  which 
Jesus  took  comfort.  But  wisdom  is  justi> 
lied  of  her  children.  '  Works '  is  clearly  the 
correct  text  here,  'children'  in  Luke  7:  35.* 


1  'Works'  in  B  (1st  hand)  K.  124,  Memphitic,  the  Pe-  I 
ghito  and  Harklean  Syriac,  the  .Ethiopic,  and  some  I 


codices  of  the  Armenian;   and  Jerome  and  Ambrose 
say  it  so  reads  in  some  copies.    Now,  this  might  easily 


Ch.  XI.] 


MATTHEW. 


245 


Though  the  people  in  general  rejected  the 
true  wisdom,  yet  she  was  justified,  shown  to 
be  right,  both  in  Jolm's  way  of  living  and 
teaching  and  in  that  of  Jesus,  by  her  works — 
the  general  effects  of  the  true  wisdom  in  those 
who  receive  and  practice  it,  and  in  particular 
those  miraculous  works  which  proved  Jesus  to 
be  the  Messiah,  ^v.  2,  *  r.)  There  is  thus  no 
great  substantial  difference  between  'justified 
by  her  works,'  as  affecting  those  who  receive 
her,  and  seen  in  them,  and  'justified  by  all 
her  children'  (Luke 7: 35),  recognized  and  ap- 
preciated by  all  of  kindred  spirit  to  her,  all 
the  truly  wise.  (Comp.  the  expression  'justi- 
fied God'  a  little  before,  in  Luke  7:  29.)  The 
peculiarities  of  John  and  of  Jesus  were  in 
each  case  appropriate  and  effective,  producing 
such  works  as  the  truly  wise  must  recognize 
to  be  the  legitimate  effects  of  wisdom.  John's 
mode  of  life  was  suitable  to  the  stern  rebukes 
and  warnings  he  came  to  proclaim  (see  on 
3:4);  while  Jesus  moved  freely  among  men, 
and  conformed  himself  pleasantly  to  their  way 
of  living,  as  representing  especially  the  kind 
invitations  and  joyful  tidings  of  the  gospel. 
Both  methods  were  blamed  by  the  people  at 
large,  but  both  were  justified  by  their  effects, 
and  both  were  from  God.  And  so  as  to  the 
peculiarities  of  temperament,  modes  of  life, 
and  methods  of  working,  on  the  part  of  re- 
ligious teacliers  now.  Every  sort  of  preacher 
will  be  found  fault  with  by  the  ungodly 
world;  but  every  truly  devout  and  wise 
preacher  will  be  justified  by  the  effects  of  his 
ministry. 

HOMILKTICAL   AND    PRACTICAL. 

V.  2  f.  The  stern  law  that  exercise  is  neces- 
sary to  health,  bodily,  mental,  and  spiritual, 
enforces  itself  even  in  a  case  of  involuntary 
idleness. — V.  2-6.  Is  Christianity  divine?  1) 
Reasons  for  inquiring,  (a)  Christianity,  as  a 
power  in  the  world,  has  to  be  accounted  for. 
(b)  Our  own  need,  (c)  The  need  of  others.  2) 
Evidences,  (a)  The  effects  of  Christianity  are 
beneficent,  to  body  and  soul,     (b)  They  corre- 


spond to  the  O.  T.  predictions  as  to  its  character 
and  results.  3)  Occasions  of  stumbling,  (a) 
Slow  progress  of  Christianity  in  the  world,  (b) 
Its  highest  benefits  are  not  seen  and  temporal, 
but  spiritual  and  eternal,  (c)  Many  faithful 
workers  seem  to  fail,  and  are  left  to  suffer 
(like  John).  Happy  he  who  earnestly  presses 
the  inquiry,  wisely  appreciates  the  convincing 
evidences,  and  rises  above  all  the  obstacles. 
Comp.  Peter  (i8:i6f.),  Martha  (John  u  127), 
Thomas  (Joho20:28f.). — V.  6.  Stumbling  at 
Jesus.  Calvin:  "Every  man  builds  for 
himself  a  heap  of  stumbling-stones,  because 
men  are  malignantly  anxious  to  keep  aloof 
from  Christ."  Plumptre  :  "How  tenderly 
our  Lord  dealt  with  the  impatience  implied 
in  John's  question.  A  warning  was  needed, 
but  it  was  given  in  the  form  of  a  beatitude 
which  it  was  still  open  to  him  to  claim  and 
make  his  own." 

V.  7-9.  Henry  :  "  They  who  attend  on  the 
word  will  be  called  to  an  account,  wliat  their 
intentions  and  what  their  improvements  were. 
We  think  when  the  sermon  is  done  the  care  is 
over;  no,  then  the  greatest  of  the  care  begins." 

V.  11.  John  the  Baptist.  1)  The  dignity 
and  importance  of  his  work  as  a  forerunner. 
2)  His  transitional  relation  to  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.  3)  In  what  respects  the  humblest 
Christian  now  is  more  favored  than  John. — 
V.  11-15.  John  the  Baptist.  1)  Coming  as 
the  climax  of  prophecy,  and  the  new  Elijah. 
2)  More  than  a  prophet,  and  unsurpassed 
among  mankind,  v.  9,  11.  3)  Belonging  to 
the  Messianic  reign,  yet  not  enjoying  its 
highest  privileges,  V.  11.  4)  Awakening  that 
Great  Revival,  in  which  Christianity  was 
born,  V.  12. — V.  14.  Comparison  of  John  and 
Elijah.  1)  In  outward  circumstances  and 
mode  of  life.  2)  In  temper  and  spirit.  3)  In 
work,  (a)  Evils  to  be  corrected  ;  (b)  oppo- 
sition encountered  ;  (c)  gpod  done. 

V.  16  f.  Those  who  reject  Christianity  are 
without  excuse  ;  for  it  sings  joyous  strains  and 
mournful   strains,   presents  a  bright   side  to 


be  changed  Into 'children,'  to  conform  to  Luke.  The  |  fancy  that  apo,  'from  hor  children,  looked  strange, 
Iranscriptional  process  of  assimilating  parallel  passage's,  j  and  that  'works'  was  suggested  by  v.  2,  and  by  the 
which  so  often  exhibits  itself,  is  here  further  betrayed  I  appeal  in  v.  4  f.,  but  this  would  be  a  very  poor  explaua- 
by  the  fact  that  some  cursives  insert '  all'  from  Luke,  1  tlon,  while  as  good  as  any  of  the  others  that  have  been 
and  that  K  (alone)  in  Luke  changes  'cliildren'  to  !  suggested.  The  change  here  to 'children  '  is  one  of  the 
'works.'  If  we  suppose  'children'  to  have  been  the  many  early  "Western  "  alleratious,  being  found  in  D, 
original  reading  in  iioth  Gospels,  it  is  very  difficult  to  j  Old  Syrlac,  and  Old  Latin, 
account  for  the  change  here  into '  works.'    We  niighl  I 


246 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XI. 


20  Then  began  he  to  upbraid  the  cities  wherein  most 
of  his  mighty  works  were  duue,  l>ecause  they  repented 
not: 


20      Then  began  he  lo  upbraid  the  cities  wherein  most 
of  his  1  mighty  works  were  done,  because  they  re- 


1  Qr.  power: 


win  and  a  dark  side  to  warn,  calls  to  repent- 
ance and  welcomes  to  faith,  offers  heaven  and 
threatens  hell  —  and  they  find  fault  still. — 
V.  18  f.  We  often  see  precisely  the  same 
spirit  manifested  now.  Let  a  minister,  or 
other  active  Christian,  be  grave  and  serious, 
and  people  will  at  once  complain  of  him  as 
sour  or  dull ;  let  him  be  cheerful,  and  they 
will  say,  "Entirely  too  much  levity."  If  he 
is  careful  about  his  affairs,  they  charge  that  he 
is  worldly,  too  fond  of  money  ;  if  he  silently 
allows  himself  to  be  cheated,  rather  than  seem 
to  stickle  for  pecuniary  interests,  they  say 
compassionately,  "Very  good  sort  of  man, 
very— but  doesn't  know  much  about  business 
— hasn't  much  common  sense."'  And,  alas! 
it  still  continues  true  that  many  will  quite 
disregard  the  intrinsic  value  of  the  truths 
proclaimed,  and  will  treat  them  with  respect 
or  neglect,  according  as  they  fancy  or  not  the 
habits  and  manners  of  the  preacher.  Henry  : 
"It  is  some  comfort  to  faithful  ministers, 
when  they  see  little  success  of  their  labors, 
that  it  is  no  new  thing  for  the  best  preachers 
and  best  preaching  in  the  world  to  come  short 
of  the  desired  end." — Christianity  and  social 
life.  1)  In  some  respects  antagonizing  social 
usages.  2)  In  other  respects  conforming  to 
social  usages.  3)  In  both  cases  often  mis- 
judged and  rejected.  4)  In  all  cases  justified 
by  its  fruits. 

20-30.  Upbraiding  the  Impenitent 
Cities,  and  Inviting  the  Heavy  Laden. 

The  remainder  of  tlie  discourse  given  by 
Matthew  as  occasioned  by  the  message  from 
John  the  Baptist  (":  *),  consists  of  two  main 
divisions. — V.  20-24  is  given  also  by  Luke 
(10:  is-15)  as  spoken  with  reference  to  the  mis- 
sion of  the  Seventy.  (Comp.  Matt.  10:  15.) — 
As  to  V.  25-30,  see  on  v.  25.  Some  recent 
commentators  coolly  take  for  granted  that 
Matt,  has  wrongly  located  a  passage  really 
belonging  where  it  is  given  by  Luke.  But  it 
is  perfectly  natural  that  a  religious  teacher, 
going  from  place  to  place,  should  repeat 
favorite  thoughts.  (Comp.  at  beginning  of 
cb.  5.)  The  present  passage  is  as  appro- 
priately connected  in  Matt,  as  in  Luke. — V. 
20.   Then  would    naturally  mean    immedi- 


ately or  soon  after  what  precedes,  but  is 
sometimes  used  quite  generally.  (See  on  3: 
13. )  The  same  is  true  of  the  stronger  expres- 
sion in  V.  25,  'on  that  occasion,'  'at  that 
season.'  (Comp.  on  12:  1.)  It  is  easy  here 
to  trace  an  internal  connection.  The  thought 
of  the  unreasonable  conduct  of  the  people 
towards  John  and  himself  (t.i6-i9)  would 
naturally  suggest  the  kindred  fact  that  even 
the  cities  in  which  the  greater  part  of  his 
miracles  occurred,  were  still  refusing  to  re- 
pent, (t.  20-24.)  (See  further  as  to  the  connec- 
tion on  V.  25.)  Began  is  perhaps  nothing 
more  than  a  touch  of  that  circumstantiality  of 
description  for  which  the  Hebrew  style  is  re- 
markable. (Comp.  on  5:  2.)  So  probably  in 
16:  22:  while  in  other  cases  we  can  see  that 
'begin'  adds  something  to  the  sense;  as  in 
11:  7;  16:  21;  24:  49;  26:  22,  37,  74.  To 
npbraid,  rendered  'reproach'  in  5:  11;  27: 
44.  This  strong  term,  and  the  language  of 
the  following  verses,  shows  that  he  felt  not 
only  pitying  grief,  but  also  indignation.  It 
was  not  mere  childish  folly, — as  some  might 
perhaps  have  thought  from  v.  16, — it  was  a 
wicked  and  shameful  thing,  that  they  so 
acted.  Stier :  "Gracious  as  is  the  Son  of 
man  in  his  exhibition  of  himself  as  the  friend 
of  publicans  and  sinners  (ii:i9),  he  can  also 
insist  upon  repentance,  and  threaten  judg- 
ments upon  the  impenitent  as  severely  as 
John  himself;  yea,  more  vigorously  and 
severely  than  he,  since  he  is  himself  the 
Judge."  Wherein  most  of  his  mighty 
works  were  done,  or  'occurred,'  the  word 
explained  on  1:  22;  5:  18;  6:9,  etc.  Mighty 
\f oriiSf  or  miracles,  (see  on  12:  38),  literally 
powers,  works  of  power,  and  hence  rendered 
by  Com.  Ver.  'mighty  works.'  But  Tyndale 
and  his  followers  here  translated  it  '  miracles ' 
(t.  20, 21, 23),  and  that  word  ought  to  be  restored, 
as  in  Bible  Un.  Ver.,  and  Noyes.  Repented, 
see  on  3:  2.  Our  Lord's  main  object,  in 
working  his  numerous  and  striking  miracles, 
was  to  convince  men  of  his  divine  mission, 
and  thus  induce  them  to  repent,  that  they 
might  become  subjects  of  the  Messianic  reign. 
If  they  did  not  repent,  they  had  witnessed  his 
miracles  in  vain,  yea,  with  aggravated  guilt, 


Ch.  XI.] 


MATTHEW. 


247 


21  Woe  unto  thee,  Chorazin  !  woe  unto  thee,  Beth- 
saida  1  I'or  if  the  mighty  works,  which  were  done  in 
you,  had  been  done  in  Tyre  and  Sidon,  they  would 
have  repented  long  ago  in  sackcloth  and  ashes. 


21  pented  not.  Woe  unto  thee,  Chorazin !  woe  unto 
thee,  Bethsaida  I  I'or  if  the  i  mighty  works  had  been 
done  in  Tyre  and  Sidon  which  were  done  in  you. 
they  would  have  repented  long  ago  in  sackcloth  and 


1  Gr.  power*. 


SO  that  they  were  more  blameworthy  than  the 
most  wicked  heathen.  Bengel:  "Every 
hearer  of  the  New  Test,  is  either  much  liappier 
(v.  11),  or  much  more  wretched  than  the  men 
who  lived  before  Christ's  coming."  'Most  of  his 
miracles'  may  mean  only  a  majority  of  those 
which  occurred  in  that  partof  the  country.  We 
have  no  record  of  any  miracles  wrought  at 
Chorazin  or  Bethsaida,  though  we  read  of 
many  at  Capernaum  (see  on  v.  23).  The 
great  mass  of  the  miracles  are  unnoticed  ex- 
cept by  some  such  general  expression  as  this 
(comp.  on  4:  21;  8:  16,  and  see  John  20:  30). 
That  Matthew  and  Luke  should  record  this 
saying  without  having  described  any  miracles 
as  wrought  at  Bethsaida  or  Chorazin,  is  really 
a  proof  {Plumptre)  that  the  words  are  genu- 
ine, for  they  would  not  have  been  introduced 
into  a  pre-existing  narrative  without  exam- 
ining whether  any  miracles  had  been  referred 
to  those  places. 

21  f.  Examples  of  the  upbraiding.  Woe 
unto  thee.  See  in  23:  13 ff.  Chorazin,  not 
mentioned  elsewhere  in  New  Test.,  save  the 
similar  passage  in  Luke  10 :  13.  Eusebius  and 
Jerome  tell  us  that  it  was  now  deserted,  and 
two  Roman  miles  from  Capernaum.  If  the 
latter  be  placed  at  Tel  Hum,  as  is  of  late  the 
almost  universal  opinion  (see  on  4:  13),  then 
there  can  be  little  doubt  that  Chorazin  is  the 
extensive  ruin  called  Kerazeh,  which  is  up 
among  the  hills,  two  miles  from  Tel  Hum  ; 
and  the  Arabic  name  would  be  the  singular 
form,  corresponding  to  Chorazin,  as  Aramaic 
plural.  So  Wilson,  Gu6rin,  McGarvey. 
Bethsaida  probably  signifies  '  house  of  fish- 
ing,' English  fish-town,  indicating  that  it  be- 
gan as  a  fishing-station.  There  seem  to  have 
been  two  places  of  that  name  on  or  near  the 
Lake  of  Galilee.  The  well-known  Bethsaida 
Julias,  near  to  which  the  five  thousand  were  fed, 
was  on  the  northeastern  side  of  the  lake ;  in  fact 
on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  River  Jordan,  some 
distance  above  its  mouth  (see  on  14:  13).  The 
Bethsaida  here  and  most  frequently  mentioned, 
the  native  place  of  Andrew  and  Peter  and  of 
Philip  (JohDi:*4;  H:  ji),  was  in  the  land  of  Gen- 
nesaret  (M»rk6:45. m),  on  the  northwestern  side 
of  the  lake.    (See  on  14:  34.)    This  fact  seems 


to  preclude  the  otherwise  plausible  suggestion 
of  Dr.  Thomson  ("Land  and  Book"),  that 
Bethsaida  was  originally  on  both  sides  of  the 
Jordan,  and  that  the  eastern  part,  being  (as 
we  know)  greatly  favored  by  the  tetrarch 
Philip,  gradually  drew  everything  away  from 
the  western  part,  which  thus  entirely  dis- 
appeared. The  question  of  its  exact  location 
depends  on  the  extent  of  the  land  of  Gen- 
nesaret,  and  may  never  be  settled.  But  there 
is  now  little  doubt  that  there  were  two  towns 
ofthisnameon  opposite  sides  of  the  lake  or 
the  river — a  thing  very  natural  upon  a  lake  so 
abounding  in  fish,  and  in  districts  seldom 
under  the  same  rule.  Observe  that  John  12: 
21,  '  Bethsaida  of  Galilee,'  seems  clearlj'  to  in- 
dicate that  there  was  another  Bethsaida  from 
which  this  needed  to  be  distinguished.  Before 
Reland  suggested  this  idea  (Palestina,  a.  d. 
1714),  the  allusions  to  Bethsaida  were  a  vexed 
question,  and  no  doubt  gave  rise  to  many 
charges  of  hopeless  "discrepancy"  between 
the  Gospels. 

Tyre  and  Sidon  were  doubtless  chosen  be- 
cause they  lay  close  by,  had  long  been  famous 
for  the  splendid  wickedness  which  so  often 
marks  commercial  centres,  and  were  inti- 
mately associated  with  the  Baal  worship 
which  had  wrought  such  evil  in  Israel.  Their 
wickedness  was  often  denounced  by  the 
prophets,  Joel,  Amos,  Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  and 
particularly  that  of  Tyre  by  Ezekiel,  ch.  26- 
28.  Repented  in  sackcloth  and  ashes, 
as  the  people  of  Nineveh  actually  did  at  the 
preaching  of  Jonah.  (jon»hs:5(r.)  The  sack- 
cloth so  often  mentioned  in  Scripture  was 
roughly  woven  from  the  short  hair  of  camels, 
cattle,  etc.,  and  was  worn  as  an  expression  of 
great  grief— sometimes  instead  of  the  ordi- 
nary garments  (Jou«h3:6),  oftenor  under  them, 
next  to  the  flesh  (2King«6:3o),  and  loosely  girt 
around  the  waist.  (»8»n>.  8:«ii  jmi  i:8.)  Some- 
times the  person  spread  it  under  him  and  sat 
on  it  (i»».  58:5),  or  lay  on  it  at  night,  (i  Kingi 
•ii:«T.)  (As  to  the  similar  coarse  garments  of 
hair,  habitually  worn  by  Elijah  and  some 
other  prophets,  see  on  3:  4.)  On  occasions  of 
extraordinary  mourning  they  often  added 
ashes,  which  were  sometimes  put  on  the  head 


248 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XI. 


22  But  I  say  unto  you,  It  shall  be  more  tolerable  for 
Tyre  aud  8ulou  at  ilie  day  of  judgment,  than  lor  you. 

2a  Aud  thou,  Capernaum,  which  art  exalted  uuto 
heaven,  shall  be  brouglu  down  to  hell:  for  if  the 
luighty  works,  which  have  been  doue  in  thee,  had  been 
done  iu  Sodom,  it  wuuid  have  remained  until  this  day. 


22  ashes.  Howbeit  I  say  unto  you,  it  shall  be  more 
tolerable  for  Tyre  and  Sidon  in  tUe  day  of  judgment, 

23  than  for  you.  And  thou,  t'apernuum,  shalt  thou  be 
exalted  unto  heaven?  thou  ishalt  'go  down  unto 
Hades:  for  if  the  ^uiighty  works  haO  been  done  in 
t;odom  which  were  done  in  thee,  it  would  have  re- 


1  Haojr  ancient  authoritiea  read,  be  brought  down. . .  .2  Gr. powert. 


(ssain.  is:i9;  Laiu.2:io)j  and  at  Other  times  the 
mourner  sat  in  ashes  (Jonah s:6),  lay  in  them 
(Esther*: 3),  evcu  WiiUowed  himsclf  in  them. 
(jer.6:-26i  Mic.  1:10.)  Accordingly  Job  says  («:6), 
"I  abhor  myself  and  repent  in  dust  and 
ashes,"  and  Daniel  prayed  long  i^-.a),  "with 
fasting  and  sackcloth  and  ashes."  (Comp. 
above  on  6:  16.)  It  should  be  remarked  that 
the.se  and  various  other  modes  of  manifesting 
grief  among  the  Israelites  (such  as  rending 
the  garments,  tearing  the  hair,  etc.),  were  not 
a  matter  of  divine  appointment,  but  were 
natural  to  the  impassioned  Oriental  character, 
and  are  still  customary  among  Eastern  nations. 
22.  But  I  say  unto  you.  The  connecting 
word  rendered  'but'  or  'nevertheless'  (Tyn- 
dale  and  followers)  seems  to  imply  some  such 
idea  as  this:  "  It  is  true  that  Tyre  and  Si  Jon 
did  not  have  the  opportunity  of  witnessing 
these  miracles,  and  you  may  thus  regard 
yourselves  as  peculiarly  favored  ;  but  it  shall 
be  more  tolerable  even  for  them  in  the  day  of 
judgment  than  for  you ;  therefore  be  not 
proud  of  your  privilege,  but  tremble  at  j'our 
responsibility  and  guilt."  The  words  Tyre 
and  Sidon  are  so  placed  in  the  Greek  as  to 
be  emphatic.  The  '  woe  '  denounced  against 
Chorazin  and  Bethsaida  seems  to  combine  the 
ideas  of  temporal  calamity  to  the  cities,  and 
future  punishment  to  individuals,  as  in 
3  :  lO-l'i;  but  v.  22  seems  to  show  (Oodet)  that 
the  latter  idea  is  the  prevailing  one.  Day  of 
judgment.  This  phrase  appears  in  Matt. 
10:  15;  11:  22,  24;  12:  36;  2  Pet.  2:  9;  3:  7; 
1  John  4:  17,  and  comp.  Acts  17:  31 ;  Jude  6. 
It  is  also  called  the  day  of  God,  of  the  Lord, 
of  Christ,  the  last  day,  the  day  of  wrath,  that 
day  (7:22;  iThes!..  5:4),  and  (simply)  the  day 
(Heh.  10:25;,  also  the  judgment  (12: «  f.).  He  who 
here  foretells  the  decisions  of  the  day  of  judg- 
ment will  himself  be  the  King  and  Judge. 

(7:22;  25:34.) 

This  declaration  of  Jesus  was  no  doubt 
startling  to  the  Jews,  accustomed  to  think 
themselves    safe    for   eternity  because    they 


were  Abraham's  descendants,  and  to  lock 
down  with  contempt  upon  all  Gentiles.  And 
to  us,  in  general,  there  is  here  brought  out  the 
great  truth  that  mSn's  lot  in  the  world  to  come 
will  have  degrees  proportioned  to  their  advan- 
tages in  this  world.  (Comp.  on  12  :  41 ;  23  :  13, 
and  consult  Luke  12 :  47  f )  This  truth  throws 
some  rays  of  light  athwart  the  dark,  sad  ques- 
tion of  the  fate  of  the  heathen.  Men  will  be 
judged  and  punished  according  to  their  op- 
portunities of  knowing  truth  and  duty.  The 
heathen  will  not  be  condemned  for  rejecting 
Jesus  if  they  had  no  opportunity  to  know  of 
him ;  but  only  for  disregarding  their  own  con- 
science (Rom.  2: 14-16),  the  light  of  external  nature 
(Kom.  i:20ff.),  and  any  true  religious  ideas  which 
may  in  whatsoever  way  have  reached  them. 
On  the  other  hand,  those  who  know  of  Jesus, 
and  live  surrounded  by  Christian  influences, 
and  yet  will  not  repent,  incur  an  unspeakable 
aggravation  of  guilt  and  punishment.  But 
the  expression  'more  tolerable,'  or  more 
endurable,  easier  to  bear,  is  general  and  in- 
definite, and  does  not  warrant  any  attempt  to 
determine  precise  degrees  of  punishment. 

23  f.  The  same  thing  is  here  said,  and  in  yet 
stronger  terms,  of  Capernaum,  which  was  a 
more  prosperous  city  than  Chorazin  or  Beth- 
saida, and  more  favored  with  the  Saviour's 
residence,  miracles,  and  teaching.  Stier:  "To 
the  two  cities,  two  others  are  first  opposed ;  and 
then  one  city  to  the  one."  Capernaum,  see  on 
4:  13.  Numerous  miracles  (Plumptre)  have 
been  described  as  occurring  at  Capernaum 
(besides  the  allusion  in  Luke  4 :  23) :  the  noble- 
man's son  (John  4: 46-54);  the  dcmoniac  in  the  Syn- 
agogue (Mark  I :  2:i-28);  with  Peter'swife'smother, 
and  mention  of  a  multitude  of  other  healings 
(8:  14-17)  ;  the  paralytic  borne  by  four  (9:  2-8) ; 
Jairus'  daughter  and  the  woman  with  the 
issue  of  blood,  together  with  the  two  blind 
men  and  the  dumb  demoniac  (9: 18-3.3) ;  and  the 
centurion's  servant.  (8:5-1.3.)  Which  art, etc., 
rather,  Shalt  thou  be  exalted  unto  heaven  ? 
thou  shalt  go  down  unto  Hades.^    In  the  ques- 


1 '  Shalt  thou  be  exalted '  is  the  reading  of  B  X  C  D  L    and  most  of  the  early  versions.    It  could  easily  change, 
(which  represent  all  three  pre-Syrian  types  of  text),    by  a  slight  alteration  of  two  Greek  words,  into  'that 


Ch.  XL] 


MATTHEW. 


249 


24  But  I  say  unto  you,  That  it  shall  be  more  tolerable  I  24  niained  until  this  day.     Howbeit  I  sav  unto  you, 
for  the  laud  of  Sodom  in  the  day  of  judgment,  than  that  it  sliall  be  more  tolerable  for  the  laud  of  Sodom 

for  thee.  |       in  the  day  of  judgment,  than  for  thee. 


tion  a  Greek  particle  is  used  which  implies 
that  the  answer  must  be  negative.  Caper- 
naum, already  prosperous,  was  cherishing, 
like  Babylon  (isa.  u:  is),  arrogant  hopes  of  un- 
limited prosperity  in  future.  But  this  expect- 
ation is  delusive.  The  result,  as  in  the  case 
of  Babylon  (ua.  i4:i5),  will  on  the  contrary  be 
utter  destruction,  as  the  penalty  of  privileges 
abused.  The  contrasted  expressions  'exalted 
to  heaven'  and  'brought  down  to  Hades' 
seem  here  to  indicate  the  temporal  prosperity 
and  destruction  of  the  city,  as  they  do  in  the 
passage  of  Isaiah  from  which  the  imagery  is 
derived.  This  destruction  might  have  been 
obviated.  Capernaum  might  have  continued 
to  exist  and  prosper  if  it  had  listened  to  the 
miracle-working  Teacher,  and  repented,  as 
even  the  wicked  Sodom  would  have  done.  We 
might  not  be  able  to  decide  whether  v.  23  indi- 
cated, besides  temporal  destruction  of  the  city, 
the  future  punishment  of  individuals;  but 
this  thought  is  brought  out  clearly  in  v.  24. 

Hell.  The  Greek  word  Hades,  which  ety- 
mologically  means  'the  unseen  (land),  '  'the 
invisible  (world),  '  is  in  accordance  with  its 
classical  use,  and  with  that  of  the  Heb.  Sheol, 
employed  in  Sept.  and  New  Test,  to  denote 
the  receptacle  of  departed  spirits,  without  ref- 
erence to  differences  of  condition  between 
good  and  bad.  It  was  conceived  of  as  far 
under  the  ground,  and  so  'brought  down  to 
Sheol'  (Hades)  was  contrasted  with  'exalted 
to  heaven.'  (Comp.  Job  11:8;  Ps.  139:  8; 
Amos  9:2;  Rom.  10:  6,  7.)  Some  have  pro- 
posed to  render  it  'the  underworld'  (Bible 


Un.  Ver.,  Noyes),  which,  though  inadequate, 
is  perhaps  the  best  translation  our  language 
now  affords.  The  word  'hell'  formerly  trans- 
lated Sheol  and  Hades,  for  it  originally  signi- 
fied (Skeat),  a  concealed  or  hidden  (place.) 
But  it  has  come  to  be  associated  so  exclusively 
with  the  idea  of  torment,  that  Rev.  Ver. 
properly  uses  it  only  to  translate  Gehenna 
(see  on  5:  22),  and  borrows  Hades  whenever 
that  term  occurs  in  the  New  Test.  (So  Darby, 
Davidson.)  In  like  manner  the  Heb.  Sheol, 
substantially  equivalent  to  Hades,  is  borrowed 
by  Rev.  Ver.  in  many  passages  of  Old.  Test., 
and  ought  by  all  means  (as  by  Amer.  Revisers, ) 
to  have  been  used,  every  where,  instead  of  some- 
times retaining  'grave'  and  'hell,'  which  are 
both  misleading.  Hades  is  used  in  some  pas- 
sages of  the  New  Test,  where  the  connection 
does  not  suggest  any  idea  either  of  happiness 
or  misery — it  is  simply  the  abode  of  the  de- 
parted (Acta  -i:  27, 31 ;  Eev.  1:  i8j ;  one  passagc  has  '  in 
Hades,  being  in  torment.'  (Luke  16:23.)  It  is 
also  employed  in  16:  18  (see  below),  in  1  Cor. 
15:  55  (common  Greek  text,  but  the  correct 
reading  is  'death'  in  both  clauses);  and  in 
Rev.  6:8;  20:  13  f.  In  2  Pet.  2:  4,  still  an- 
other Greek  word  is  used,  derived  from  Tar- 
tarus, and  signifying,  like  Gehenna,  the 
place  of  torment. 

24.  Sodom  was  a  still  more  conspicuous  ex- 
ample than  Tyre  and  Sidon,  of  wickedness 
and  punishment.  All  the  world  knows  how 
it  was  suddenly  and  completely  destroyed. 
Its  indescribable  abominations  and  its  terrible 
doom  have  alwavs  thrilled  men  with  horror 


wast  exalted';  and  the  former  being  an  unexpected 
turn  of  expression,  the  lalter  is  likely  to  have  been 
preferred  by  ordiuary  copyists,  while  really  the  sharp 
and  startling  interrogation  is  much  after  the  manner 
of  the  Great  Teacher.  Thus  both  intrinsic  and  tran- 
scriptional probability  concur  with  the  leading  (If)cu- 
uiiMits  in  supporting  tlie  former  reading.  The  case  is 
substantially  the  same  in  I>uke  10:  1.5. — Whether  the 
second  clause  shall  reail  'go  down 'or  '  l)e  brought 
down,' is  a  difficult  question.  The  external  evidence 
for  the  former  comprises  r)nly  the  "  VV(«tern  "  docu- 
ments and  B.  In  Luke  10:  1%  it  has  only  part  of  the 
usual  "  Western  "  group  with  B.  Now  the  Rev.  Test, 
concludes  that  this  reading  is  riuhl  ill  Matthew  and 
wrong  in  Luke,  which  would  account  for  the  phenom- 
ena thus  far    stated ;    while  W  II.  as  usual   follow  B, 


and  rend  '  go  down  '  in  both  passages.  But  the  imagery 
is  evidently  drawn  from  Isa.  14:  i:i-15  (see  W  11,  Ap- 
pendix), which  reads  '  go  down,'  without  known  varia- 
flttn.  It  is  then  a  very  natural  supposition  that  the 
"  Western  "  documents,  which  make  so  many  arbitrary 
changes,  have  altered  the  text  of  Matthew  an<l  some  of 
them  that  of  Luke,  into  accordance  with  the  S<-pt.,  a 
very  common  species  of  alteration.  This  view  would 
doubtless  be  at  once  acci'pte<l  by  every  one,  were  it  not 
for  the  support  of  B.  But  W  II.  admit  that  B  has  some 
merely  ''Western"  readings  in  the  Kpistles  of  Paul, 
and  internal  evidence  is  ixflieved  to  show  that  the  same 
is  true  in  the  Gospels.  If  this  be  so, the  reading  'go 
down'  sliould  probably  1h;  rejectee*!  both  in  MaKhew 
and  in  Luke,  as  a  "  Western  "  alteration.  Internal 
evidence  is  in  this  case  not  clear  on  either  side. 


250 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XI. 


2o  At  that  time  Jesus  answered  aud  said,  I  ttiauk 
thee,  O  Father,  Lord  of  heaven  aud  earth,  because 
thou  hast  hid  these  things  from  the  wise  and  prudent, 
and  hast  revealed  them  unto  babes. 


25  At  that  season  Jesus  answered  and  said,  I  i  thank 
thee,  0  Fattier,  Lord  of  heaven  aud  earth,  that  thou 
didst  hide  these  things  from  the  wise  aud  uuder- 


1  Or.  praii*. 


whenever  it  has  been  mentioned.  And  yet 
Sodom  would  have  repented,  and  remained 
through  two  thousand  yei.rs  till  our  Saviour's 
day,  had  its  people  seen  the  miracles  which 
took  place  in  Capernaum.  (Comp.  Ezek.  16: 
48.)  Is  this  a  mere  hyperbole,  like  the  pre- 
cept to  turn  the  other  cheek,  or  to  go  two 
miles  with  the  impressing  officer?  We  are 
hardly  warranted  in  saying  so.  If  then  one 
should  ask  why  the  messenger  Jehovah,  who 
stayed  behind  with  Abraham,  did  not  go  with 
the  two  angels  to  Sodom,  work  miracles,  teach 
repentance,  and  save  it  from  destruction,  we 
may  see  two  things  to  reply.  (1)  We  may 
answer  as  Paul  does  in  Rom.  9:  18-20,  that 
Grod  is  sovereign,  doing  what  he  pleases,  and 
always  doing  right.  (2)  We  may  observe 
that  the  divine  plan  required  that  the  perma- 
nent appearance  of  the  Son  of  God  should  take 
place  only  among  the  Jews,  and  only  "when 
the  fulness  of  time  was  come"  (Oai. *:<),  and 
this  divine  plan,  whether  we  can  see  it  or 
not,  was  doubtless  best  for  total  humanity, 
and  for  the  moral  government  of  the  uni- 
verse. When  the  time  came,  many  of  the 
Jews  had  been  hardened  by  disregarding  pre- 
vious divine  influences,  so  that  they  were 
slower  to  believe  Christ,  with  all  his  mighty 
miracles,  than  wicked  heathen  cities  would 
have  been.  (Comp.  John  1 :  11-13. )  The 
land  of  Sodom,  the  district  belonging  to  the 
city,  and  not  simply  the  city  itself.  (Comp. 
4:  15;  Acts  7:  11.)  I  say  unto  you.  .  .  . 
than  for  thee.  In  v.  22,  each  clause  has  the 
plural,  which  must  t^en  refer  to  the  people 
of  the  two  cities ;  therefore  the  opening  plural 
here  probably  refers  to  the  people  of  Caper- 
naum, and  not  generally  to  the  hearers  of  the 
discourse.     If  we  suppose  the  discourse  to 


have  been  delivered  at  Capernaum  or  in  the 
j)lain  of  Gennesaret — which  is  probable,  but 
the  point  cannot  be  determined— then  the 
hearers  were  mainly  people  of  those  three 
cities,  and  that  would  account  for  the  ambi- 
guity of  the  expression.  'Thee'  of  course 
means  Capernaum,  but  with  reference  to 
the  eternal  destiny  of  its  individual  inhabi- 
tants. For  but  {howbeit},  more  tolera- 
ble,  and  day  of  judgment,  see  on  v.  22. 
Stier :  ''We  read  of  no  enmity  or  persecu- 
tion to  which  he  was  subjected  in  Capernaum ; 
but  the  careless  reception  of  his  word  and 
j  works  was  yet  worse,  and  more  condemnable 
than  anj'  eruption  of  malice  would  have 
been  ;  it  bespoke  that  slothful,  dead,  impas- 
sive indifference,  for  which  nothing  more 
could  be  done." 

25  f.  The  remaining  division  of  the  dis- 
course given  by  Matthew  as  occasioned  by  the 
message  from  John  fcomp.  on  v.  2 and  v.  20), 
viz.,  V.  25-30,  consists  of  two  distinct  portions. 
V.  25-27  is  also  given  by  Luke  (io:2if.),  as 
spoken  immediately  after  the  return  of  the 
Seventy :  v.  28-30  is  found  in  Matt,  only,  but 
is  closely  connected  with  the  end  of  v.  27. 

At  that  time,  'on  that  occasion'  '  (comp. 
12:1;  14:  1).  This  answers  to  'then'  in  v. 
20,  and  connects  all  with  the  message  from 
John  the  Baptist,  (n:*)  Our  Lord  has  been 
speaking  of  the  unreasonable  and  determined 
rejection  of  both  John  and  himself  by  the 
Jews  (t.  16-19),  and  the  impenitence  of  even 
the  cities  in  which  most  of  his  miracles  occur- 
red, (v.  20-24.)  Yet  these  Jews,  especially  the 
religious  teachers  and  other  leading  men, 
were  wise  and  intelligent,  well  acquainted 
with  many  aspects  of  religious  truth.  It 
seemed  strange  that  they  should  fail  to  com- 


1  The  word  kairos  is  not  adequately  translated  by 
'  time,'  for  it  denotes  the  exact  time,  the  fixed  time,  the 
appropriate  time,  occasion,  opportunity,  season.  The 
Com.  Ver.  renders  '  season '  in  various  places,  including 
21 :  41 ;  24 :  45  ;  Luke  13 : 1  (where  the  phrase  is  similar 
to  this  of  Matt.);  Acts  1:  7;  24:  25;  Gal.  6:  9;  and 
'opportunity 'in  Gal.  6:  10;  Heb.  11:  15.  It  should  be 
rendered  '  season '  in  many  others,  including  12:1;  13 : 
30;  14:  1;  21  :  34,  and  'opportunity'  in  several,  as 
Ephes.  5:  16;  Col.  4:  5,  'buying  up  the  opportunity 


(Rev.  Ver.  margin).  But  there  are  some  cases  in  which 
neither  season  nor  opportunity,  nor  any  other  term 
will  suit  the  connection,  and  we  have  to  lose  the  pecu- 
liar color  of  the  Greek  word  and  content  ourselves 
with  rendering 'time,' as  in  8:  29  ;  16 : 3  (spurious) ;  26: 
18;  yet  in  every  case  the  Greek  word  has  its  own  dis- 
tinctive meaning,  though  we  cannot  express  it.  The 
Rev.  Ver.  has  translated  it  by  '  sea-son  '  in  many  more 
places  than  Com.  Ver.,  but  might  have  done  so  iu  sev- 
eral others,  as  13 :  30. 


Ch. 

XI 

•] 

MATTHEW. 

251 

26  Even 
eight. 

80, 

Father: 

for 

so 

it  seemed 

good  in  tbj 

26  standing. 
1       Father,  i 

an 
for 

d  didst  reveal  theui  unto  babes 
so  it  was  well-pleasing  in  thy 

yea, 
sight. 

lOr, 

that. 

prehend  and  appreciate  Christ's  teachings, 
which  were  understood  and  received  by  the 
lowly  and  comparatively  ignorant.  This  is 
the  point  to  which  he  now  addresses  himself. 
He  not  only  submits  to  this  state  of  things, 
but  he  recognizes  the  propriety  of  it,  and 
gives  thanks  for  it.  Answered.  By  a  pecu- 
liar Heb.  idiom,  this  word  is  often  used  in  the 
Scriptures  where  there  is  no  previous  ques- 
tion, nor  even  any  thing  that  has  been  said 
by  another.  Yet  in  probably  all  cases,  we 
can  see  something  in  the  foregoing  connection 
to  which  the  words  are  in  some  sense  a  re- 
sponse, or  which  formed  the  occasion  for  their 
being  spoken (comp.  17:  4;  26:63;  28:  5).  In 
response  to,  or  as  suggested  by,  the  sad  truths 
just  uttered  (▼.  i6-i».  v.  20-24),  Jesus  states  the  com- 
forting thoughts  which  follow.  I  thank 
thee.  The  word  originally  signifies  to 'make 
open  or  full  confession  or  acknowledgment,  as 
above  in  3 :  6 ;  derivatively,  like  a  correspond- 
ing Heb.  word,  and  somewhat  like  our  phrase 
"to  make  acknowledgments,"  it  signifies  to 
thank  and  hence  to  praise.  (Bom.  u:9.)  The 
early  and  the  recent  Eng.  versions  are  here 
about  equally  divided  between  praise  and 
thank.  The  idea  seems  to  be,  "  I  fully  recog- 
nize the  propriety  of  thy  course,  I  rejoice  over 
it  (consult  Luke  10:21),  and  praise  thee  for 
it."  O  Father.  We  find  a  similar  direct  ad- 
dress to  his  Father  in  John  11 :  41 ;  12:  28; 
Luke  23 :  34.  The  added  form  of  address. 
Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  is  impressively 
appropriate.  It  is  the  Sovereign  of  the  uni- 
verse that  does  this;  who  shall  hesitate  to  ac- 
knowledge that  what  he  does  is  right?  Our 
Lord  here  sets  us  the  example  of  employing 
in  prayer  such  names  of  God,  and  phrases  de- 
Hcriptive  of  him,  as  are  appropriate  to  the 
special  subject  of  the  prayer,  or  of  each  par- 
ticular portion  of  it — a  thing  manifestly 
proper  and  important,  but  often  neglected. 
That  thoa  hast  hid  these  things,  viz,  the 
things  taught  by  Jesus,  as  for  example,  the 
teachings  of  this  discourse.  From  the  wise 
and  prudent — uruier standing,  or  'intelli- 
gent.' 'Prudent'  was  a  good  translation  in 
the  Latin  and  early  English  versions  (though 
Geneva  gave  'men  of  understanding'),  but 
in   modern   English   it    is   too   restricted  in 


meaning  (see  also  in  Acts  13 :  7 ;  1  Cor.  1 :  19). 
Bible  Union  Ver.  and  Noyes  give  'discern- 
ing'; Davidson  retains  'prudent.'  The 
Greek  has  no  article,  '  from  wise  and  intelli- 
gent (persons'),  comp.  on  9:  13;  11 :  5.  Tho 
expression  is  general,  but  here  applies  espe- 
cially to  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  and  other 
religious  teachers  (comp.  on  11 :  16).  The 
reference  is  of  course  to  wisdom  and  intelli- 
gence misused,  perverted  through  pride,  sep- 
arated from  a  child-like  spirit.  Unto  babes, 
literally,  infants,  those  who  cannot  speak 
(comp.  Rom.  2 :  20).  This  surely  does 
not,  as  some  imagine,  designate  simply 
the  apostles,  but  the  disciples  of  Jesus  in 
general.  Those  who  were  not  wise  and 
intelligent,  but  had  a  child's  simplicity  and 
humble  docility,  understood  and  delighted  in 
the  teachings  of  Jesus  (comp.  Psa.  19:  7: 
116:6;  John  7:  48  f. ;  1  Cor.  1:  26  ff.).  We 
often  now  witness  the  same  state  of  things. 
Intelligent  and  reflecting  men  frequently 
overlook  the  simple  beauty  and  perfect  fitness 
of  the  plan  of  salvation,  which  is  plain  enough 
to  those  who  are  consciously  and  confessedly 
weak,  and  who  gladly  receive  the  Lord's 
teachings  without  cavil  or  diflBculty.  The 
gospel  is  so  intensely  practical  that  it  can  be 
understood  at  the  outset  only  by  persons  will- 
ing to  receive  it,  and  will  be  thoroughly 
known  only  in  proportion  as  it  is  truly  loved. 
Here,  as  everywhere,  we  see  the  adaptation  of 
the  gospel  to  mankind.  Not  all  men  can  be- 
come wise  and  intelligent,  but  all  may,  by  the 
grace  of  God,  become  babes  (comp.  1  Cor. 
3:  18).  The  most  useful  Christians  will  be 
those  who  are  'wise  and  intelligent,'  and  are 
also  'babes' — intellectual  and  cultivated  as 
possible,  but  childlike  in  spirit.  And  when 
the  wise  and  intelligent  fail  to  discover  the 
significance  and  value  of  Christ's  teachings,  it 
is  not  the  fault  of  their  intelligence,  but  of  this 
lack  of  a  right  spirit.  Paul  says  '  not  many 
wise  after  the  flesh'  (icor.  i:m);  there  have 
always  been  some.  Observe  that  Jesus  makes 
acknowledgment  to  the  Father  both  for  hiding 
these  things  from  the  one  class,  and  for  reveal- 
ing them  to  the  other.  We  may  say  that  the 
latter  is  the  chief  subject  of  thanksgiving,  j-et 
the  former  is  here  the  immediate  occasion  of 


252 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XI. 


27  All  things  are  delivered  uuto  me  of  luy  Father:  |  27  All  things  have  been  delivered  unto  me  of  my  Father 


and  no  man  knuueth  the  Son,  but  the  Father;  neither 
kuowetli  any  man  the  Father,  save  the  Sou,  and  he  to 
whomsoever  the  Sou  will  reveal  him. 

28  Come  uuio  me,  all  ye  that  labour  and  are  heavy 
laden,  aud  I  will  give  you  rest. 


and  no  one  k  uoweth  the  Son,  save  the  Father ;  neither 

doth  any  know  the  Father,  save  the  Son,  and  he  »o 

28  whomsoever  the  Son  willeth  to  reveal  him.    Come 

unto  me,  all  ye  that  labour  and  are  heavy  laden. 


introducing  the  topic.  Meyer  justly  says  that 
both  propositions  form  the  ground  of  the 
thanksgiving  and  praise,  being  two  sides  of 
one  great  truth.  So  in  Rom.  6:  17,  wliicli  is 
often  compared  with  this  passage. 

Our  Lord  enters  into  no  exphinations  of 
Gods  sovereign  dealings  with  men.  He 
simply  adds,  Even  so  (or  yea)  Father,i  for 
so  it  t«eemed  good  (or,  was  well-pleasing) 
in  thy  sight.  (Comp.  Eph.  1:  6,9;  Phil. 
2:  13.)  'Well-pleasing,'  as  in  3:  17;  Luke 
2:  14  (Rev.  text;.  If  with  some  of  the  ablest 
expositors  and  Rev.  Ver.  margin,  we  render 
'that'  instead  of  'for'  (the  original  word 
meaning  either  according  to  the  connection), 
the  sense  is  substantially  the  same:  'Yea, 
Father,  (I  thank  and  praise  thee)  that  so  it 
was  well-pleasing  in  thy  sight.'  Notice  that 
this  is  not,  as  often  quoted,  an  expression  of 
mere  resignation.  Our  Lord  acknowledges 
the  propriety  of  the  sovereign  Father's  course, 
and  praises  him  for  it.  Whatever  pleases  God 
ought  to  please  us. 

27.  Having  referred  to  the  fact  that  not  the 
wise  and  intelligent,  but  babes,  understand 
his  teachings,  Jesus  now  presents  himself  as 
Teacher;  declaring  that  only  he  can  give  a 
true  knowledge  of  the  Father  (v. 27),  and  in- 
viting all  to  come  and  learn  from  him  (v.  js-:*). 
All  things  were  delivered  to  me  of  {by) 
my  Father.  At  some  past  time,  not  speci- 
fied, say  when  he  entered  upon  his  earthly 
mission — or,  perhaps,  when  the  covenant  of 
redemption  was  formed  in  eternity  (comp.  on 
8 :  17) — all  things  were  committed  to  him,  viz., 
all  that  pertains  to  the  instruction  of  men  in 
religious  truth.  (Comp.  John  16:  15.)  It  is 
another  and  distinct  fact  that  all  authority  in 
heaven  and  earth  was  given  to  him  as  the 
Mediatorial  King,  (m:  is  ;  1  cor.  15 :  u  t.)  Jesus 
is  the  authorized  instructor  in  the  knowl- 
edge of  God.  No  man  {no  one)  knoweth. 
The  verb  is  compounded  with  a  preposition, 
so  as  to  mean  'knows  fully,'  as  in  7:  16;  and 


I  so  Davidson  here  translates.  Luke  in  the 
I  similar  passage  (io:w)  has  the  uncompounded 
i  verb  'know.'  On  the  one  hand,  no  one  really 
I  and  thoroughly  knows  the  Son  except  the 
Father,  so  that  he  must  not  be  considered  a 
j  mere  ordinary  human  teacher*  and  so  that  we 
need  not  wonder  if  the  wise  and  intelligent  of 
earth  fail,  in  their  proudly  speculative  and 
merely  theoretical  study,  to  comprehend  and 
appreciate  his  teachings.  (Comp.  'reveal' 
here  and  in  v.  25.)  On  the  other  hand,  no 
one  knows  the  Father,  with  that  real  knowl- 
edge which  is  eternal  life  (Joimnis),  except  the 
Son,  and  he  to  whomsoever  the  Son  will 
(tvilleth  to)  reveal  him.  In  old  English 
'will  reveal'  expressed  the  idea,  but  that 
phrase  has  become  a  simple  future,  and  the 
Greek  must  now  be  translated  'willeth  to,'  'is 
pleased  to,'  or  the  like.  (See  especially  John 
7:  17;  1  Tim.  2:  4;  2  Pet.  3:  9.)  All  their 
wisdom  and  intelligence  will  not  avail  to  gain 
a  true  knowledge  of  the  Father,  unless  the 
Son  chooses  to  reveal  him  to  them.  To  him, 
then,  let  all  come.  (Comp.  John  8:  19;  10: 
15;  14:  9;  16:  15.)  Keim:  "This  self-en- 
closed world  of  the  Father  and  the  Son  opens 
itself  to  the  lower  world,  to  men,  only  by  its 
own  free  act,  because  it  wills  to  open  itself 
and  to  admit  to  companionship  whom  it 
will."  Jerome:  "It  is  one  thing  to  know 
by  equality  of  nature,  and  another  by  the 
condescension  of  him  who  reveals."  On  an- 
other occasion  also  (Luke  10:22)  he  adds  to  his 
thanksgiving  that  the  Father  had  hid  these 
things,  etc.,  the  same  statement  as  here,  'AH 
things  were  delivered,'  etc.;  which  shows  that 
the  two  ideas  are  very  closely  related.  The 
Son  approves  the  Father's  will  as  to  hiding 
and  revealing,  and  the  Father  has  authorized 
him  to  reveal  or  not,  according  to  his  will. 
(Weiss. )  Meyer  says  that  this  statement  (v.  27) 
"bears  the  stamp  of  superhuman  conscious- 
ness." Only  here  (with  Luke  10:  22)  and  in 
Mark  13:  32  (with  perhaps  Matt.   21:  30)  do 


t  Here  the  Greek  nominative  with   the   article   is  1  Dialogues  ofPlato;audaccordingly  it  appears  frequently 
clearly  used  in  address,  and  equivalent  to  the  vocative  I  in  Biblical  Greek,  which  rests  on  a  colloquial  basis; 
in  T.  25.    This  was  a  common  colloquial  usage  in  Greek,  1  important  examples  are  John  20 :  28 ;  Heb.  1 :  8. 
Been  often  (Buttmann,  p.  140)  in  Aristophanes  and  the  1 


Ch.  xr.] 


MATTHEW. 


25a 


29  Take  my  yoke  upon  you,  and  learn  of  me ;  for  I  I  29  and  I  will  give  you  rest.    Take  my  yoke  upon  you, 

I       and  learn  of  me;  for  I  am  meek  aiid"  lowly  in  heart: 


the  three  first  Gospels  contain  the  expression 
'the  Son.'  This  whole  passage  (v. 25-30)  has 
often  been  remarked  upon  as  resembling  the 
Gospel  of  John,  and  suggests  to  us  that  great 
mass  of  similar  sayings  of  Jesus  which  only 
the  Fourth  Gospel  contains.  John's  mental 
and  spiritual  constitution  peculiarly  fitted 
him  to  be  the  medium  of  communicating  to 
us  those  discourses,  as  may  be  seen  from  his 
employing  in  his  Epistles  a  style  which  so 
closely  resembles  them.  But  such  passages  as 
this  show  that  that  class  of  ideas  and  ex- 
pressions was  not  foreign  to  the  other  Gos- 
pels, and  that  the  Jesus  of  the  Fourth  Gospel 
is  not  essentially  difterent  from  the  Jesus  of 
the  other  three. 

28-30.  He  stands  as  the  Great  Teacher, 
who  alone  can  give  true,  saving  knowledge  of 
God  (v-2t),  whose  teachings,  while  hid  from 
the  wise  and  intelligent,  are  revealed  to  babes, 
(v.  25.)  Though  rejected  by  many  (v.  20-24),  and 
even  slandered  and  reviled  (v.  16-19),  still  he 
stands,  in  the  fullness  of  his  wisdom,  and  the 
gentleness  of  his  love,  and  invites  all  the  toil- 
ing and  burdened  to  come  to  him,  to  wear  the 
easy  yoke  of  his  instruction,  and  they  shall 
find  rest  for  their  souls,  Notice  how  the  in- 
vitation follows  immediately  upon  the  state- 
ment that  no  one  knows  the  Father  but  the 
Son,  and  he  to  whomsoever  the  Son  chooses  to 
reveal  him.  To  his  mind  there  was  no  contra- 
diction between  sovereign,  electing  grace,  and 
the  free  invitations  of  the  gospel.  Come 
nnto  me,  literally,  hither  to  me,  the  word  in 
the  original  being  an  adverb  much  used  in 
animated  invitations.  (Comp.  4:  19;  19:  21; 
21:38;  22:  4;  25:  34;  28:  6).  It  expresses  lively 
interest  on  the  part  of  the  speaker,  and  invites 
them  to  come  at  once  and  heartily.  '  Me'  is 
not  emphatic,  as  the  original  shows;  the 
point  is,  I  alone  can  give  knowledge  of  the 
Father ;  come  to  me,  and  receive  my  in- 
struction. All,  together  with  the  whole 
connection,  suggests  a  general  audience 
(Weiss);  and  if  we  understand  all  since 
11 :  2  to  be  one  discourse,  then  we  know  that 


'  multitudes' were  present.  (ii:7.)  All  ye  that 
labor  and  are  heavy  laden ,  or  more  literally, 
all  the  toiling  and  burdened.  'Toiling'  denotes 
active  effort  to  perform  difficult  and  painful 
duties,  while  'burdened'  denotes  passive  en- 
durance.* The  Jewish  teachers  of  the  time 
promised  rest  on  condition  of  minute  atten- 
tion, not  only  to  all  the  ceremonies  of  the 
written  law,  but  also  to  all  the  traditions  of 
the  elders.  This  was  declared  by  Peter 
(Acta  15: 10)  to  be  "a  yoke  which  neither  our 
fathers  nor  we  were  able  to  bear."  And  Jesus 
said  of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees  («3: «), 
"They  bind  heavy  burdens,  and  grievous  to 
be  borne,  and  lay  them  on  men's  shoulders; 
but  they  themselves  will  not  move  them  with 
their  finger."  Our  Lord  does  not  mean  to  ex- 
clude any  from  the  privilege  of  coming  to 
him,  who  are  not  toiling  and  burdened  ;  but 
no  one  wmild  care  to  learn  from  him  who  did 
not  desire  saving  knowledge  of  God,  or  who 
was  satisfied  with  the  knowledge  already  pos- 
sessed, and  he  addresses  his  invitation  to  those 
who  in  the  nature  of  the  case  would  be  likely 
to  accept  it.  The  most  natural  tendency  with 
any  one  who  has  become  painfully  conscious 
of  sin,  is  to  seek  God's  fav(»r  by  his  own 
doings  and  sufferings.  And  I  will  give  you 
rest.  The  original  makes 'I'  emphatic;  he 
would  do  what  the  Scribes  and  other  Kabbis 
did  not  do.  The  great  difference  between 
Jesus  and  other  religious  teachers  is  that  he 
can  give  power  to  be  and  do  what  he  requires; 
we  find  rest  not  simply  in  the  superiority  of 
his  precepts,  but  in  the  supports  of  his  grace. 
Take  my  yoke  upon  you,  and  learn  of 
[from.)  me.  Among  the  Jews  a  pupil  who  sub- 
mitted himself  to  the  instruction  of  a  certain 
teacher  was  sometimes  said  to  take  his  yoke. 
Comp.  Sirach  (Ecclus.)  51 :  25,  where  Wisdom 
says,  "  I  opened  my  mouth  and  spoke,  ac- 
quire for  yourselves  without  money;  put  your 
neck  under  the  yoke,  and  let  your  soul  receive 

instruction see  with  your  eye  that  I 

toiled  a  little,   and  found   for  myself  much 
rest" — 'toil'  and   'rest'  being  also  the  same 


1  The  Geneva  version  has  '  all  ye  that  are  weary  and  ]  traditional  use,  aided  doubtless  by  a  hymn  of  which 
laden'    (instead   of  Tyndale's    'that   labor   and    arc  [  one  verse  begins,  "  Come,  ye  weary,  heavy-laden."   (By- 
laden')  ;  this  (iencva  rendering  Is  still  common   in  re-  ,  John  Hart,  written  in  Mo'i.) 
ligious  speech  and  writing,  having  been  perpetuated  by  | 


254 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XI. 


am  meek  and  lowly  in  heart:  and  ye  shall  find  rest  I  SO  and  ye  shall  find  rest  unto  your  soula.    For  my  yoke 
unto  your  souls.  is  easy,  and  my  burden  is  light. 

30  Kur  uiy  yoke  it  easy,  and  my  burden  is  light.  I 


words  H8  here.  Comp.  iilso  Sirach  6:  24.  The 
later  Jewisli  writers  frequently  speak  of  tak- 
ing or  rejecting  tiie  yoke  of  the  hiw,  the  yoke 
of  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  (Coinp.  Acts 
15 :  10. )  '  Take  my  yoke  upon  you  '  is  there- 
fore only  a  figurative  way  of  saying,  Become 
my  pupils  (disciples),  submit  yourselves  to 
my  instruction  ;  which  is  then  stated  again  in 
unflgurative  terms,  'and  learn  from  me.'  To 
interpret  this  last  as  meaning  simply,  learn 
from  my  example,  is  not  natural  to  the  ex- 
pres.sion,  nor  appropriate  to  the  connection. 
For  I  am  meek  and  lowly  in  heart. 
'Meek'  as  opposed  to  the  haughty  and  harsh 
teachers  to  whom  they  were  accustomed. 
(Comp.  James  1:  0.)  'Lowly  (or 'humble') 
in  heart,'  not  proud  and  repulsive,  and  not 
ambitious  of  domination  over  the  minds  of 
men.  Accustomed  to  haughtiness  and  pride 
in  their  teachers  (Johui:49),  his  hearers  might 
be  slow  to  come  to  him  ;  and  he  condescends 
to  assure  them  that  he  is  meek  and  humble, 
and  they  need  not  shrink  from  him.  Remem- 
ber also  that  some  teachers  may  be  outwardly 
meek  and  humble  without  being  so  in  heart. 
Stier :  "  I  am  meek  in  heart,  although  I 
spoke  words  of  such  stem  condemnation,  v. 
20,  24 I  am  lowly  in  heart,  notwith- 
standing that  I  have  borne  witness  to  myself 
as  the  Son  of  the  Father,  v.  25-27."  Here 
also,  as  in  v.  26,  it  is  possible  to  render  '  that ' 
instead  of  'for,'  learn  from  me  that  I  am 
meek,  etc.  So  the  Peshito,  and  possibly 
(though  less  naturally)  the  Latin  versions; 
and  so  Augustine  interpreted,  with  many 
Latin  followers.  (See  Aquinas,  Mald(matus.) 
This,  however,  is  an  artificial  interpretation, 
and  not  suitable  to  the  connection — which 
n.akes  it  all  the  more  natural  that  Matthew 
Arnold  should  receive  it.  And  ye  (shall  And 
rest  unto  (for)  your  soulsi  This  expression 
is  drawn  from  Jer.  6 :  16,  according  to  the 
Heb.,  not  the  Sept.  Remember  that  our 
Lord  used  two  expressions  from  the  Psalms 

when    on    the    cross    (Matt. «;«;  Luke  «3;M),    and 

made  three  quotations  from  Deut.  during  the 
Temptation.  (MRtt.*:4ir.)  AH  religions  profess 
to  give  rest  for  the  spirit — Christianity  alone 
can  truly  fulfill  the  promise.  Others  may  give 
a  kind   of  repose,    but   it   is    that   of  self- 


righteousness,  or  other  self-delusion. — Chris- 
tianity affords  a  well-founded  and  lasting 
repose,  as  to  our  guilt,  our  inability  to  gain 
(rod's  favor,  and  our  sinfulness  of  nature. 
How  Jesus  will  do  this,  he  does  not  here  set 
forth  ;  indeed  it  could  be  fully  understood 
only  after  his  atoning  death  and  ascensicm, 
and  the  special  coming  of  the  Holj' 
Spirit,  and  so  the  complete  explanation  of 
it  was  left  for  the  inspired  writings  of  his 
apostles  (c.  g.,  Rom.  5:  1  ff. ;  8  :  1  ff. )  From 
them  we  know  that  our  guilt  may  be  can- 
celled through  the  Saviour's  atonement, 
that  we  may  be  accepted  into  God's  favor 
through  his  perfect  righteousness,  that  the 
dominion  of  sin  within  us  can  be  broken  by 
his  regenerating  Spirit,  and  by  degrees  com- 
pletely destroyed  by  that  Spirit's  sanctifying 
grace.  Even  the  painful  consciousness  of  re- 
Jnaining  tendencies  to  sin  need  not  prevent  a 
certain  repose  of  spirit,  since  we  have  the 
assurance  of  God's  word  that  in  the  truly  re- 
generate and  believing  soul  these  tendencies 
shall  at  last  be  completly  overcome.  Yet, 
even  now  the  Saviour's  invitation  and  prom-, 
ise,  in  the  unexplained  and  concrete  form, 
brings  rest  and  joy  to  many  a  trusting  heart. 
A  loving  reliance  on  the  personal  Jesus,  a 
loving  submission  to  his  authority,  and  obedi- 
ence to  his  commandments,  is  the  very  essence 
of  Christian  piety. 

For  my  yoke  is  easy,  and  my  burden  is 
light.  There  is  no  particular  emphasis  on 
'my';  the  contrast  with  other  teachers  has 
been  sufficiently  indicated  before,  and  is  not 
here  expres-sed.  'For'  presents  this  as  a  rea- 
son for  what  precedes,  in  general,  but  espe- 
cially for  the  promise  just  given:  'Ye  shall 
find  rest  for  your  souls,  for  my  yoke  is  easy,' 
etc.  The  word  rendered  '  easy  '  means  agree- 
able and  serviceable — a  yoke  that  does  not 
gall  the  neck,  nor  cramp  so  as  to  hinder  the 
drawing.  The  Latin  version  and  Peshito 
render  by  words  signifying  sweet,  pleasant, 
and  Davidson  'good.'  He  requires  of  his 
pupils  only  what  is  possible  to  do  and  bear, 
so  that  they  will  actually  find  rest,  and  not  be 
vainly  seeking  it.  Still  we  must  really  take 
his  yoke  upon  us — must  receive  his  instruc- 
tions, and  submit  to  his  directions — must  set 


Ch.  XI.] 


MATTHEW. 


255 


ourselves  to  do  what  he  bids  us,  whether  it 
seems  likely  to  be  pleasing  or  painful.  He 
not  only  teaches  what  to  do,  but  can  give  ua 
strength  to  do  it.  And  in  proportion  as  we 
do  really  submit,  and  conform  and  trust,  we 
shall  find  his  requirements  "not  grievous" 
(ijohn5:3),  but  helpful  and  pleasant.  If 
Christ's  yoke  ever  galls  the  neck,  it  is  because 
we  do  not  work  steadily  in  it.  Augttntine : 
"  This  burden  is  not  the  weight  upon  one  that 
is  laden,  but  the  wing  of  one  that  is  about  to 
fly."  And  if  it  ever  feels  like  a  weight  and  an 
incumbrance,  that  is  when  the  soul  has  soiled 
this  heavenly  plumage  with  the  mire  of  earth. 
It  is  true  that  the  morality  enjoined  by  Jesus 
was  more  spiritual,  and  thus  in  one  sense 
more  severe  than  that  taught  by  the  Scribes 
and  Pharisees  (comp.  5:  17  fl'.),  but  a  morality 
depending  on  a  multitude  of  minute  outward 
observances  and  imperfectly  known  tradi- 
tions must  necessarily  be  burdensome,  while 
spiritual  morality  grows  increasingly  easy  to 
the  spiritually  minded.  Observe  that  our 
Lord's  invitation  is  supported,  not  only  by 
the  great  promise,  'ye  shall  find  rest  for  your 
souls,'  but  by  two  encouragements;  one,  the 
personal  character  of  the  Teacher,  '  meek 
and  humble  in  heart' ;  the  other,  the  fact  that 
his  requirements  are  not  severe  and  oppres- 
sive: 'my  yoke  is  easy,  and  my  burden  is 
light.' 

The  most  exactly  parallel  application  of 
this  invitation  now,  is  to  persons  who  vainly 
strive  in  other  than  gospel  ways  to  obtain  sal- 
vation and  find  rest;  as,  for  example,  by  an 
upright  and  charitable  life,  or  by  the  diligent 
observance  of  religious  ceremonies — toiling  to 
make  the  exterior  of  their  life  correct  in  the 
sight  of  men  and  acceptable  to  God,  while 
within,  the  pollution  of  sin  is  not  removed, 
the  power  of  sin  is  unbroken,  the  guilty  con- 
science can  find  no  true  relief;  so  also  to  those 
who  are  trying  to  obtain  rest  through  false  re- 
ligions, or  perversions  of  the  true  religion,  or 
any  of  the  forms  of  would-be  philosophic  in- 
fidelity. All  such  persons,  if  deeply  earnest 
in  their  quest,  are  assuredly  "tt)iling  and 
burdened."  Oh,  that  they  would  listen  to 
the  Great  Teacher  I  But  the  invitation  may 
be  naturally  and  reasonably  extended  to  all 
who  desire  religious  repose  in  the  knowledge 
of  God.  Jesus,  and  he  only,  can  give  it,  and 
he  has  left  a  standing  invitation:  "Come  to 


me,  take  me  as  yourreligious  Teacher,  and  ye 
shall  find  rest  for  your  souls." — When  we 
come  to  Jesus  now,  that  is  not  a  bodily  re- 
moval from  one  place  to  another;  for  be  is 
present  whenever  and  wherever  we  seek  him. 
But  the  object  in  coming,  the  feeling  with 
which  we  come,  may  be  the  same  now  as 
when  he  was  on  earth.  Whenever  we  want 
anything  from  Jesus,  let  us  draw  near  to  him 
in  heart,  and  ask  him  for  it  as  if  bodily 
present. 

HOMILBTICAl,  AND  PRACTICAL. 

"V.    20.    Gospel-hardened  I      Henry:    "He 
began  to  preach  to  them  long  before  (*:  "), 
but  he  did  not  begin   to  upbraid  till  now. 
Rough  and  unpleasing  methods  must  not  be 
taken,   till    gentler    means    have    first    been 
used."— v.  22.  Meeting  the  heathen  on  the 
day  of  judgment.    1)  The  doom  of  all  will 
be  proclaimed  as  a  thing  unalterably  deter- 
mined.    2)  Men  will  be  judged  according  to 
j  their  opportunities  in  this  life:  and  the  con- 
j  demnation  of  the  impenitent  from  Christian 
j  countries  will  be  unsrpeakably  more  terrible 
than  that  of  the  heathen.    8)  Then  should  we 
j  not  avoid  sending  the  gospel  to  the  heathen? 
I  Nay,  for  on  that  principle  we  ought  to  keep 
j  our  own    children    ignorant   of  the   gospel, 
ought  to  wish  there  had  never  beenany  gospel. 
j  4)  Will  not  the  heathen  pour  upon  us  de- 
I  served  upbraidings  because  we  left  them  in 
'  ignorance  of  the  only  true  God,  and  Jesus 
I  Christ  whom  he  sent  (John  » :  s)  ? 
I     V.  25.  Mankind  are  prone  to  find  fault  with 
j  God's  mode  of  procedure  in  every  respect. 
'•■  All  rulers  are  blamed;  and  the  only  perfect 
I  ruler   is    blamed    most    of  all.      The  pious 
heart  should  sympathize  with  this  utterance 
of  Jesus,  and  make  acknowledgment  to  the 
Father  that  he  is  right  in  all  his  doings.     But 
this  does  not  mean  that  we  are  to  be  indifl'er- 
ent  to  the  fate  of  our  fellow-men.     This  same 
Jesus  wept  over  ruined  Jerusalem.    Greoory 
THE  Grkat  (Aquinas) :  "  In  which  words  we 
have  a  lesson  of  humility,  that  we  should  not 
rashly  presume  to    discuss   the    counsels    of 
heaven  concerning  the  calling  of  .some,  and 
the   rejection   of  others;    showing  that  that 
cannot  be  unrighteous  which  is  willed  by  Him 
that  is  righteous." — The  gospel  offered  to  nil. 
1)  Not  all  can  be  rich,  but  all  may  be  poor, 
and  poor  in  spirit.    (»  =  «•)    2)  Not  all  can  be 


256 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XII. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


AT  that  time  Jesus  went  on  the  sabbath  day  through 
the  curn  :  and  his  disciples  were  a  hungered,  aud 
began  to  pluck  the  ears  of  corn,  aud  to  eat. 


1  At  that  season  Jesus  went  on  the  sabbath  day 
through  the  corufields;  and  his  disciples  were  an 
hungered,  and  began  to  pluclc  ears  of  corn,  and  to 


wise  and  intelligent,  but  all  may  be  babes. 
3)  No  one  can  commend  himself  to  God  by  his 
natural  good  works,  but  any  one  may  believe 
in  Christ,  and  gain  the  gift  of  the  Holy 
Spirit. — V.  25-30.  Sovereignty  and  Invitation. 
1)  The  sovereign  Father  reveals  the  Son 
only  to  the  lowly.  2)  The  sovereign  Son  re- 
veals the  Father  only  to  such  as  he  chooses. 
3)  All  who  need  and  desire  the  rest-giving 
knowledge  of  the  Father  are  invited  to  learn 
from  this  sovereign,  yet  meek  and  lowly 
Teacher.— V.  27-30.  Full  knowledge  of  God. 
1)  It  can  be  had  only  through  the  Son  of 
God.  2)  It  is  conferred  by  the  Son  upon  such 
only  as  he  willeth.  3)  He  willeth  to  confer  it 
upon  all  who  will  come  and  take  him  as  re- 
ligious Teacher.  4)  He  is  a  gentle  Teacher, 
and  his  requirements  are  easy  and  pleasant. 
0)  To  accept  his  teaching  will  bring  rest  to 
the  soul. — V.  27  f.  True  knowledge  of  God, 
and  true  rest  in  God. — V.  28.  Alexander  : 
"Inviting  men  to  come  to  him,  not  in  the 
way  of  speculation,  but  of  penitent  submission, 
not  as  philosophers  to  be  enlightened,  but  as 
sinners  to  be  saved.  There  is  exquisite  beauty 
in  this  sudden  but  not  harsh  transition  from 
the  mysteries  of  the  Godliead  to  the  miseries  of 
man.  The  Son  is  the  Revealer  of  the  Father, 
not  to  stimulate  or  gratify  a  mere  scientific 
curiosity  as  to  the  mode  of  the  divine  exist- 
ence, but  to  bring  the  Godhead  into  saving 
contact  with  the  sin-sick,  ruined  soul.""  Me- 
LANCHTHOX  (in  Meyer):  "In  this  all  thou 
shouldst  include  thyself  also,  and  not 
think  that  thou  dost  not  belong  therein  ;  thou 
shouldst  seek  no  other  list  of  them  that  are 
God's."  Luther:  "They  are  words  of 
majesty  when  he  says,  I  will  give  you  rest. 
No  angel,  let  alone  a  man,  would  undertake 
to  promise  that."— V.  28-30.  The  Great  Invi- 
tation. 1)  The  gentle  Teacher.  2)  The  easy 
yoke.  3)  The  assured  rest.  Chrysostom: 
"Christ  did  not  mention  the  gracious  things 
only,  and  then  hold  his  peace,  nor  the  painful 
things  only,  but  set  down  both.  Thus  he 
both  spake  of  a  yoke,  and  called  it  easy;  both 
named  a  burden,  and  added  that  it  was  light ; 
that  thou  shouldst  neither  flee  from  them  as 
toilsome,   nor  despise    them   as   over  easy." 


Hilary  :  "  And  what  is  easier  than  his  yoke, 
what  lighter  than  his  burden?  To  become 
praiseworthy,  to  abstain  from  wickedness,  to 
choose  the  good  and  refuse  the  evil,  to  love  all 
and  hate  none,  to  gain  eternal  things  and  not 
be  taken  with  things  present,  to  be  unwilling 
to  bring  upon  another  what  yourself  would 
And  hard  to  endure." — To  be  toiling  and  bur- 
dened does  not  confer  the  right  to  come  to 
Christ,  but  should  produce  the  disposition  to 
come.  Some  persons  come  truly  to  Christ 
without  any  long  and  conscious  tolling  to 
save  themselves  otherwise ;  such  persons  are 
not  specially'  addressed  in  this  particular  invi- 
tation, but  are  amply  invited  elsewhere. — 
V.  29.  We  are  freed  from  the  yoke  of  sin  by 
taking  the  yoke  of  Christ.  Hekry  :  "The 
way  of  duty  is  the  way  of  rest."  Augustine  : 
"Thou  hast  made  us  for  thyself,  and  our  heart 
is  restless  until  it  rests  in  thee." — V.  30. 
Henry  :  "  It  is  a  yoke  that  is  lined  with  love." 
Augustine:  "All  things  are  light  to  love." 
Luther:  "Christ's  burden  is  light  because 
he  helps  us  to  bear  it,  and  when  it  becomes  too 
heavy  for  us  he  puts  himself  under  the  load 
with  us.  The  world  thinks  it  heavy  and  un- 
bearable; but  not  so,  for  one  has  a  good  com- 
rade. You  two  can  easily  bear  a  load,  though 
one  by  himself  cannot." 


Ch.  12:  1-21.  Jesus  is  Accused  of 
Breaking  the  Sabbath. 

Pursuing  his  treatment  of  successive  topics, 
connected  with  our  Lord's  life  and  labors 
(comp.  on  11 :  2),  the  Evangelist  now  speaks 
(ch.i2)  of  the  opposition  he  encountered.  This 
subject  has  been  several  times  already  briefly 
alluded  to  (9:s,  ii,  14,34;  io:25;  ii:  w),  but  is  here 
treated  at  length,  various  instances  of  opposi- 
tion being  stated,  with  our  Lord's  reply  in 
each  case.  First,  we  have  two  instances  of 
their  charging  him  with  violating  the  Sab- 
bath, viz.,  because  the  disciples  plucked  ears 
of  grain  on  the  Sabbath  (v.  i-s),  and  because  he 
healed  the  withered  hand  on  the  Sabbath, 
(v.  9: 13.)  At  this,  the  indignation  of  the  Phari- 
sees became  so  violent  that  it  was  necessary 
for  Jesus  to  withdraw,  in  which  withdrawal 


Ch.  XII.] 


MATTHEW. 


257 


the  Evangelist  points  out  the  fulfillment  of 
another  prophecy,  (^t.  i*-2i.)  Next,  we  have 
their  charge  that  he  cast  out  demons  by  league 
with  Beelzebub,  (v.  22-37.)  Then,  the  demand 
for  a  "sign."  (▼. S8-45.)  And  finally,  an  in- 
stance of  opposition  even  from  his  nearest 
relatives,  (v.  46-30.)  The  fact  that  these  last 
cases  (v.  22-50)  occurred  on  the  same  day  on 
which  he  afterwards  spoke  the  great  series  of 
Parables  in  ch.  13  (see  on  13:  1),  may  account 
for  Matthews's  introducing  the  whole  subject 
of  opposition  just  at  this  point  of  his  treatise. 
Our  present  section  comprises  the  two  accusa- 
tions of  violating  the  Sabbath  and  the  imme- 
diate consequences.  We  shall  see  that  this 
belongs  much  earlier  in  the  history  than  the 
remaining  instances. 

I.  1-8.  The  Disciples  Pluck  Ears  of 
Grain  on  the  Sabbath.  Comp.  Mark  2; 
23-28;  Luke  6:  l-o.  At  that  time  {season), 
the  same  expression  in  Greek  as  in  11:  25.  It 
does  not  necessarily  show  that  what  follows 
took  place  on  the  same  day  with  what  pre- 
cedes, but  only  that  it  belongs  to  the  same 
general  period  of  time.  (Comp.  on  3:  1,  and 
contrast  13:  1.)  At  that  period,  viz.,  while 
Jesus  was  engaged  in  journeying  about  Gali- 
lee, teaching  aiid  healing  (see  on  4:  23  and  9: 
85),  occurred  the  events  now  to  be  narrated. 
The  order  of  Mark,  who  is  usually  chronologi- 
cal, supported  by  that  of  Luke,places  these  first 
instances  of  opposition  in  the  early  part  of  the 
Galilean  ministry,  before  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount.  The  standing  grain  shows  the  time 
of  year,  between  Passover  and  Pentecost.*  As 
it  thus  followed  a  Passover,  the  question  arises 
to  which  of  the  Passovers  mentioned  in  the 
Fourth  Gospel  we  must  refer  it.  Now,  it 
cannot  have  been  that  of  John  2:  13,  after 
which  Jesus  tarried  in  Judea  (John  3:22),  with 
so  extensive  results  of  his  ministry  (Johni:  i)  as  1 
to  require  at  least  several  months.  To  place  j 
it  just  after  the  Passover  of  John  6:  4,  a  year  ! 
before  the  crucifixion  (Kder^h.,  oh.35),  is  to  dis- | 
regard  altogether  the  order  of  Mark  and 
Luke,  for  this  supposes  that  Mark  2:  23  f.  | 


follows  Mark  6:  31  flF.,  and  Luke  6:  1  ff.  fol- 
lows Luke  9:  10  fi".  But  if  we  suppose  the 
feast  of  John  5:  1  to  be  a  Passover,  (as  most  of 
the  Harmonies  do),  all  fits  exactly.  This  is 
long  enough  after  the  beginning  of  our  Lord  s 
ministry  for  the  hostility  to  have  become 
acute;  these  instances  of  opposition  on  the 
ground  of  Sabbath-breaking  in  Galilee  cor- 
respond to  one  during  the  just  preceding 
Passover  in  Jerusalem  (Jouudiio),  in  both  cases 
awakening  a  desire  to  put  him  to  death  (Joha 
5: 18;  Matt.  12:  u) ;  and  the  ordcr  of  Mark  and 
Luke  is  conserved.  Of  course  it  is  possible 
that  the  Passover  here  in  question  should  be 
one  not  mentioned  in  the  Fourth  Gospel;  but 
the  other  supposition  is  far  more  probable. 

Through  the  corn  (or,  grain-fields), 
literally,  through  the  sown  (places),  which 
Tyndale  and  his  followers  rendered  'through 
the  corn,'  while  in  Mark  2:  23  and  Luke  6:  1, 
they  make  it  'corn-fields,'  though  the  Greek 
is  the  same.  The  word  'corn,'  in  various 
European  languages,  is  applied  to  bread-stuflFs 
in  general,  especially  to  that  most  used  in  the 
particular  nation,  whether  wheat,  barley,  rye, 
or  oats.  In  England  it  means  especially 
wheat,  while  in  America  it  has  become  con- 
fined to  maize,  which  our  English  ancestors 
called  Indian  corn.  Besides  this  and  the 
parallel  passages,  we  find  Tj^ndale  and  fol- 
lowers using  'corn'  in  Mark 4:  28;  Acts?:  12, 
where  the  Greek  has  the  common  word  for 
'wheat,'  so  translated  by  them  all  in  Matt. 
3:  12;  13:  25,  and  wherever  else  in  New  Test. 
it  occurs.  In  John  12:  24  'a  corn  of  wheat' 
(Com.  Ver.)  means  a  grain  of  wheat  (Kev. 
Ver. ),  as  in  barley  corn.  Why  Rev.  Ver. 
should  not  here  say  '  grain-fields  '  and  '  ears  of 
grain'  (Noycs,  Bible  Un.  Ver.)  and  'wheat' 
in  Mark  4:  28;  Acts  7:  12,  is  hard  to  tell. 
Among  the  Jews  the  lands  of  different  owners 
were  not  usually  separated  by  fences,  but  only 
by  stones  set  up  at  intervals  as  landmarks 
(Deut.  i9:u).  and  the  roads  were  not  distinct 
from  the  fields,  as  commonly  among  us,  but 
ran  right  through  them,  as  Southern  planta- 


'  In  Luke  6:  1  W  H.  and  Rev.  Ver.  omit  'second-  I  fortnnately,  it  is  of  no  historica)  importance,  for  the 
first,"  bill  transcriptional  probability  is  very  strongly  stnodlng  grain  sufflcicntly  shows  the  time  of  rear, 
in  favor  of  retaining  this  otherwise  unknown  and  very  !  The  most  probable  interpretation  of  thf  '.second-flrst 
obscure  compound  word.  Meyer's  theory  of  its  origin,  Sabbath'  makes  it  mean  the  first  Sabbath  after  the 
adopted  by  W  H.,  is  possible,  but  far  from  probable.  :  second  day  of  the  Pa.ssover  festival,  when  the  sheaf  o( 
The  question  of  Its  genuineness  is  quite  hard  to  solve,  i  grain  wa.s  presented,  after  which  day  the  new  harvest 
and  its  discnssion  belongs  to  a  commentary  on  Luke;  i  could  be  eaten.   (Lev.  23:  5-15.) 

11 


258 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XII. 


2  But  when  the  Pharisees  saw  il,  they  said  unto  him, 
Behold,  thy  disciples  do  that  which  is  uot  lawlul  to  do 
upon  the  sabbath  day. 

a  But  he  said  uuio  theui.  Have  ye  not  read  what 
David  did,  when  he  was  a  hungered,  and  they  that  were 
with  him ; 


2  eat.  But  the  Pharisees,  when  they  saw  it,  said  unto 
him.  Behold,  thy  disciples  do  that  which  it  is  not 

3  lawful  to  do  upon  the  sabbath.  But  lie  said  unto 
them,  Have  ye  not  read  what  David  did,  when  he 
was  an  hungered,  and  they  that  were  with  him; 


tation  paths  often  do,  so  that  the  grain  grew 
up  to  the  edge  of  the  path  (comp.  on  13:  4); 
the  same  thing  is  seen  in  Palestine  to-day. 
Disciples,  see  on  5:  1.  Began  to  pluck 
the  ears  of  corn  (grain),  either  wheat  or 
barley,  probably  the  latter,  if  it  was  just  after 
the  Passover.  Luke  6 :  1  adds,  '  rubbing  them 
in  their  hands,'  a  thing  familiar  to  every  one 
who  has  been  much  in  harvest  fields.  Began 
to  pluck,  and  presently  the  Pharisees  inter- 
fered, and  tried  to  stop  it. 

2.  These  Pharisees  (comp.  on  3:  7)  were  mak- 
ing a  short  Sabbath  day's  journey,  about  one 
thousand  yards,  through  the  same  grain-fields. 
Behold, calling  liis  attention  to  something  im- 
portant. Thy  disciples  do  that  {are doing). 
Mark  (2:2*)  makes  it  a  question  addressed  to 
him,  and  Luke  (6: 2)  a  question  addressed  10  the 
disciples.  In  many  cases  the  Evangelists  do 
not  undertake  to  give  the  exact  language 
employed,  but  onl^'  the  substance  of  it  (comp. 
on  3 :  17).  Which  is  not  lawful  to  do  upon 
the  Sabbath.  It  was  expressly  permitted  to 
do  this  in  general  (Deut.  23: 25),  and  such  things 
are  still  common  in  Palestine,  but  the  Jews 
maintained  that  it  should  never  be  done  on  the 
Sabbath.  For  that  day  they  numbered  each 
distinct  act  that  could  be  called  work  as  a 
separate  sin,  requiring  a  separate  sin-offering; 
to  pluck  the  ears  was  one  act,  to  rub  out  the 
grains  was  a  second  (comp.  Edersh.,  ch.  35). 
As  to  the  numerous  and  often  absurd  Kabbi- 
nical  regulations  for  the  Sabbath,  see  Edersh., 
Appendix  17,  Geikie,  ch.  38. 

3  f.  Our  Lord's  reply  to  this  censure  of  the 
disciples  and  himself  contains,  as  here  re- 
ported, four  distinct  arguments,  v.  3  f.,  v.  5  f., 
V.  7,  and  v.  8.  A  fifth  argument  is  given  in 
this  connection  by  Mark  2:  27,  a  sixth  below 
in  V.  11  f.,  a  seventh  (probably  just  before  at 
.Jerusalem)  in  .John  5:  17,  and  an  eighth 
(much  later)  in  John  7:  22 f.  The  first  argu- 
ment is  an  appeal  to  history,  viz.,  to  the  con- 
duct of  David  (1  snm.2i:i-8),  which  these  Phari- 
sees would  admit  to  have  been  justifiable. 
The  point  of  the  argument  is,  that  necesHity 
would  justify  a  departure  from  the  strict  law 
as  to  things    consecrated.     And  they  that 


were  with  him  may  be  connected  either  with 
'did,'  or  with  'was  hungry,'  and  there  is  no 
substantial  difference.  The  participation  of 
David's  followers  is  unmistakably  indicated 
in  1  Sam.  21:  4  f;  our  Lord  brings  it  out 
clearly  in  order  to  make  the  case  more  ob- 
viously parallel  to  that  of  himself  and  his 
followers.      The  house   of   God,  meaning 

the  tabernacle.  (Kx.  23:  19;  Judg.  18:31;  ISam.  1 :  7, 24; 
3:  15;  2  Sam.  12:  20;  Ps.  5:  7;  oomp.  2  Cor.  5:1.)      SheW> 

bread,  literally,  loaves  of  the  setting-out, 
loaves  that  were  set  out,  the  common  Septua- 
gint  expression,  in  Heb.  usually  'bread  of  the 
face,  i.  e.,  placed  before  the  face  of  Jehovah. 
For  the  law  about  this,  see  Lev.  24:  5-9. 
Twelve  very  large  loaves  of  bread  were  placed 
on  a  small  table  (at  a  later  period,  two  tables, 
1  Chron. -'s :  16),  which  Sat  ou  the  right  side  of  the 
holy  place  to  one  entering.  When  the  Sab- 
bath came,  new  loaves  were  substituted,  and 
the  old  ones  eaten,  there  in  the  holy  place,  by 
the  priests,  the  descendants  of  Aaron — for  this 
offering  was  to  be  regarded  as  peculiarly 
sacred.  (Lev.  24:9.)  David  was  fleeing  south- 
ward from  Gibeah,  Saul  having  determined 
to  slay  him,  and  came  to  Nob,  just  north  of 
Jerusalem,  where  the  tabernacle  then  was. 
Having  left  in  great  haste,  without  food,  he 
deceived  the  high-priest  by  saying  that  the 
king  had  sent  him  on  a  secret  and  urgent  mis- 
sion, and  thereby  induced  him,  as  there  was 
no  other  bread  on  hand,  to  bring  some  of  the 
shew-loaves,  which  had  been  removed  from 
the  table,  but  not  yet  eaten.  It  seems  likely, 
from  1  Sam.  21 :  5  f.,  though  not  certain,  that 
the  bread  had  been  changed  on  that  day, 
which  was  therefore  the  Sabbath.  This 
would  give  additional  appositeness  to  the 
illustration,  but  the  point  of  the  argument 
does  not  depend  on  it.  Our  Lord  makes  no 
allusron  to  the  deception  practiced  by  David, 
which  any  one  would  agree  was  wrong.  The 
sole  point  he  makes  is,  that  for  David  and  his 
attendants  (Luke  6: 4)  to  eat  the  hallowed  bread 
was  justifiable,  on  the  ground  of  necessity — a 
view  in  which  all  his  hearers  would  concur. 
Kimchi,  a  celebrated  Jewish  commentator  of 
the  thirteenth  century,  on  1  Sara.  21:  5,  main- 


Ch.  XII.] 


MATTHEW. 


259 


4  How  he  entered  into  the  house  of  God,  and  did  eat 
the  shewbread,  which  was  not  lawful  for  hiui  lo  eat, 
neither  for  them  which  were  with  hiui,  but  ouly  for  the 
priests? 

5  Or  have  ye  not  read  in  the  law,  how  that  on  the 
sabbath  days  the  priests  in  the  temple  profane  the  sal>- 
baih,  and  are  blameless? 

6  But  I  say  unto  you,  That  in  this  place  is  one  greater 
than  the  temple. 

7  But  if  ye  had  known  what  this  meaneth,  I  will 
have  mercy,  and  not  sacrifice,  ye  would  not  have  con- 
demned the  guiltless. 


4  how  he  entered  into  the  house  of  God,  and  'did  eat 
the  shewbread,  which  it  was  not  lawful  for  him  to 
eat,  neither  for  them  that  were  with  him,  but  only 

5  for  the  priests?  Or  have  ye  not  read  in  the  law, 
how  thai  on  the  sabbath  day  the  priests  in  the  tem- 

6  pie  profane  the  sabbath,  and  are  guiltless  ?  But  I  say 
unto  you,  that  ^  one  greater  than  the  temple  is  here. 

7  But  if  ye  had  known  what  this  meaneth,  I  desire 
mercy,  and  not  sacrifice,  ye  would  not  have  con- 


1  Some  aucient  authorities  read,  they  did  eat 2  Gr.  a  greater  thing. 


tains  that  in  case  of  hunger  the  shew-bread 
might  be  eaten  by  those  who  were  not  priests; 
not  only  that  which  had  been  removed  from 
the  table,  but  that  which  was  upon  it ;  yea, 
even  when  there  was  none  to  put  in  its  room. 
And  if  the  law  about  the  hallowed  bread 
might  be  set  aside  by  necessity,  so  might  the 
law  about  the  hallowed  day.  The  disciples 
really  needed  food.  Mark  (i-  27)  here  records 
our  Lord's  adding  the  general  principle,  'The 
Sabbath  was  made  for  man,  and  not  man  for 
the  Sabbath.'  It  came  into  existence  for  the 
benefit  of  mankind,  and  so  it  may  be  tempo- 
rarily set  aside  by  any  imperative  necessity. 
(Comp.  2  Mace.  5:  19.) 

5  f ,  A  second  ground  of  justification  for 
the  disciples  was  drawn,  not  from  sacred  his- 
tory, but  from  the  law.  (Num.28:9, 10.  is,  i9.) 
Here  as  in  5:  17,  Jesus  shows  (Weiss)  that  he 
is  not  abrogating  or  violating  the  law,  for  he 
justifies  his  course  out  of  the  law  itself.  Or, 
introducing  another  argument,  as  in  7:  9. 
Have  ye  not  read,  as  in  v.  3  (comp.  v.  7) ; 
19:  4;  21:  16,  etc.,  reproaches  them  with  igno- 
rance of  Scripture.  Temple  is  here  the 
general  terra  hieron,  'sacred  (place),'  includ- 
ing the  whole  consecrated  enclosure — build- 
ings, courts,  and  all  (see  on  4:  5),  thus  apply- 
ing equally  well  to  the  tabernacle  and  to  the 
Temple.  The  priests  were  directed  to  offer 
certain  sacrifices  in  the  sacred  place  on  the 
Sabbath — more,  in  fact,  than  on  other  days — 
though  to  do  80  required  the  slaying  of  ani- 
mals and  other  acts  prohibited  on  the  Sabbath, 
and  which  under  any  other  circumstances 
would  '  profane  the  Sabbath.'  This  was  right, 
because  the  temple  with  its  sacrifices  was  of 
higher  importance  than  the  Sabbath,  and 
would  override  the  requirements  of  its  sanc- 
tity. Blameless,  or,  guiltless,  both  in  v.  5 
and  v.  7,  or  else  'blameless'  in  both,  the 
Greek  word  being  the  same  in  both  verses, 
and  the  verbal  connection  being  of  some  im- 


portance. Our  Lord  argues  that  the  same 
principle  applies  to  the  ease  in  hand,  and  still 
more  strongly,  because  here,  he  solemnly  tells 
them,  is  one — or,  somethhig — greater  than 
the  temple.  The  correct  reading  makes  the 
Greek  word  not  masculine,  'a  greater  (man),' 
but  neuter,  ''a  greater  (thing),' comp.  v.  41,  and 
11 :  9.  This  peculiar  form  of  expression  may 
have  been  intended  to  render  the  statement 
less  distinctly  offensive  to  Jewish  prejudices, 
but  it  unquestionably  asserts  a  superior  dig- 
nity and  importance  connected,  in  whatever 
way,  with  him  and  his  mission.  The  temple 
was  superior  to  the  Sabbath,  and  there  was 
that  here  which  was  superior  to  the  temple; 
much  more,  then,  might  the  usual  law  of  the 
Sabbath  be  set  aside  without  blame,  when  it 
became  necessary  for  his  disciples  in  his  ser- 
vice. This  argument  would  be  best  appre- 
ciated by  Jewish  readers,  and  is  given  by 
Matthew  only.  On  a  later  occasion,  our 
Lord  drew  a  similar  argument  from  circum- 
cision. (John  7:  22"  f.)  The  principle  he 
here  lays  down  would  show  the  propriety, 
even  upon  grounds  of  Old  Test,  law,  of  all 
such  active  exertions  on  the  Sabbath  as  are 
really  necessary  in  attending  upon  and  con- 
ducting religious  worship.  (V.  8  goes  furtlier 
still.) 

7.  A  third  point  in  the  defence  is  drawn 
from  a  prophet,  as  the  others  had  been  from 
history  and  law.  This  again  is  given  by 
Matthew  only,  who  has  Jewish  readers  es- 
pecially in  mind.  But  if  ye  had  known 
what  this  meaneth — literally — what  is,  i.  e., 
what  means,  see  on  9:  13.  These  Pharisees, 
many  of  them  Scribes,  did  know  what  the 
passage  was  in  its  words,  but  did  not  know 
what  it  was  in  its  true  meaning.  The  quotation, 
from  Hos.  6:  6,  has  been  explained  above  on  9: 
13.  The  idea  here  may  bo  thus  expressed: 
"If  you  knew  that  p^od  desires  kindness  and 
good-will  to  men,  rather  than  sacrifice,  you 


260 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XII. 


8  For  the  Son  of  man  Is  Lord  even  of  the  sabbath  I    8  demned  the  guiltless.    For  the  Son  of  man  is  lord  of 
day,  I       the  sabbath. 


would  not  have  condemned  the  guiltless."  It 
is  implied  that  if  they  really  knew  the  mean- 
ing of  the  passage,  they  would  have  acted 
according  to  it.  Only  those  who  are  willing 
to  obey  Scripture,  fully  comprehend  its  spir- 
itual instruction  (comp.  John  7:  17).  The 
disciples  are  'guiltless,' just  as  the  priests  in 
the  temple  are,  because  they  are  busy  in  con- 
nection with  something  even  greater  than  the 
temple.  And  if  these  Pharisees  were  disposed, 
according  to  the  prophet's  words,  to  treat  their 
follow-men  kindly  and  fairly,  rather  than  to 
make  piety  consist  exclusively  in  outward  ob- 
servances, they  would  not  have  condemned 
them  (comp.  23  :  23). 

8.  This  gives  a /owr^A  defence  of  the  disci- 
ples, in  the  shape  of  a  reason  for  declaring 
them  'guiltless.'  Acting  under  their  Master's 
authority,  they  had  a  right  to  do  what  would 
not  usually  be  proper  on  the  Sabbath, /or-  he 
is  Lord  of  the  Sabbath.  (Even  is  genuine  in 
Mark  and  Luke,  but  not  in  Matt.)  This 
statement  carries  higher  the  idea  of  v.  6. 
There  he  declared  the  presence  of  something 
superior  to  the  temple,  and  ss.  fortiori,  to  the 
Sabbath;  here  he  says  that  the  Messiah  is 
Lord  of  the  Sabbath,  having  full  authority  to 
control  and  regulate  it  as  he  may  see  proper. 
In  both  cases  it  is  implied  that  the  speaker  is 
the  person  referred  to,  but  it  is  not  distinctly 
stated,  because  the  time  for  publicly  taking 
such  a  position  has  not  yet  come.  The  Son 
of  man,  see  on  8  :  20.  If  the  inspired  apos- 
tles of  Jesus  afterwards  changed  the  day  to  be 
observed,  and  absolved  Christians  from  all 
particular  Mosaic  as  well  as  traditional  rules 
concerning  the  manner  of  observing  it,  they 
were  not  going  beyond  the  authoritative  con- 
trol over  the  Sabbath  which  their  Master  him- 
self had  claimed. 

As  a  sixth  point,  our  Lord  now  shows  (v.  »-i3) 
that  it  is  also  proper  to  depart  from  the  strict 
observance  of  the  Sabbath,  when  requisite  to 
the  relief  of  a  suffering  fellow-man,  or  even  a 
suffering  brute.  These  two  instances  have  led 
to  the  familiar  saying,  derived  from  the  "West- 
minster Catechism,  that  we  maj'  do  on  the 
Sabbath  'works  of  necessity  and  mercy." 
Another  example  of  healing  on  the  Sabbath 
had  occurred,  apparently  Just  before,  leading 
to  a  seventh  argument   (John  5 : 9,  it)  ;  and  yet 


other  instances  are  recorded  in  Mark  1:  '21, 
29  f. ;  Luke  13:  10  ff.  ;  14:  3 ;  John  9 :  14  ff. 
This  frequent  departure  from  what  the  Jews 
thought  to  be  proper  on  the  Sabbath,  with  the 
pains  here  taken  to  explain  and  defend  his 
course,  was  doubtless  designed  by  our  Lord 
as  a  part  of  his  general  undertaking  to  teach 
them  a  more  spiritual  interpretation  and  ob- 
servance of  the  law  (comp.  on  5:  17-21).  In 
order  to  this  he  showed,  by  word  and  deed, 
the  error  and  folly  of  that  rigid  formalism 
with  which  they  insisted  so  much  on  the 
minute  and  literal  observance  of  all  its  outward 
requirements,  regardless  of  its  true  spirit  and 
real  design.  He  has  here  said  nothing  at  all 
calculated  to  impair  the  sanctity  of  the  Sab- 
bath. On  the  contrary,  as  "the  exception 
proves  the  rule,"  his  argument  that  there  are 
peculiar  circumstances  in  which  its  observance 
should  be  set  aside,  necessarily  involves  the 
idea  that  in  general  it  should  be  observed. 
The  Sabbath  seems  to  have  been  enjoined 
upon  our  first  parents  as  soon  as  they  were 
created  ;  it  and  the  institution  of  marriage 
form  the  only  relics  that  remain  to  us  of  the 
unfallen  life  in  Paradise.  The  command  to 
hallow  it  was  included  among  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments, the  moral  law  which  is  of  per- 
petual obligation.  The  very  term  '■'■Remem- 
ber the  Sabbath-day  to  keep  it  holy  "  (ex.  20;8), 
seems  to  treat  it  as  not  something  new,  but  an 
already  existing  institution ;  and  it  appears 
from  the  history  of  the  first  fall  of  manna 
(Ex.  16:5, 22-30)  that  the  people  were  previously 
acquainted  with  the  Sabbath  and  that  some 
of  them  were  disposed  to  forget  or  neglect  it. 
Recent  research  shows  that  the  Babylonians 
before  the  time  of  Abraham  observed  a  week 
of  seven  days,  ending  with  a  rest  day  which 
they  strictly  kept,  and  which  the  Assyrian 
writers  call  by  the  name  Sabbath.  With  this 
agrees  the  week  repeatedly  mentioned  in  Gen- 
esis, and  it  is  now  too  late  to  say  that  the  Sab- 
bath was  unknown  till  the  lawgiving  at  Mount 
Sinai.  In  the  further  legislation  which  fol- 
lowed the  giving  of  the  Ten  Commandments, 
to  the  general  idea  of  hallowing  the  daj-,  is 
added  the  prohibition  of  work  on  the  Sabbath, 
under  penalty  of  death,  (ex.  3i:  u;  35:2.)  To 
carry  this  out  more  effectually,  they  were  pro- 
hibited to  kindle  a  fire  on  that  daj'  (ex.ssis), 


Ch.  XII.] 


MATTHEW: 


261 


9  And  when  he  was  departed  thence,  he  went  into 
their  synagoKiie: 

10  And,  behold,  there  was  a  man  which  had  his  hand 
withered.  And  they  asked  liini,  saying.  Is  it  lawtul  to 
heal  on  the  sabbath  days?  that  they  might  accuse  hiui. 


9      And  he  departed  thence,  and  went  into  their  sy na- 

10  gogue :  and  behold,  a  man  having  a  withered  hand. 

And  they  asked  hiui,  saying,  Is  it  lawful  to  heal  on 


probably  in  order  to  prevent  cooking,  just  as 
a  double  supply  of  manna  fell  on  the  sixth 
day,  and  none  on  the  seventh.  This  regula- 
tion about  making  a  fire  being  forgotten  or 
contemned  by  one  of  the  people,  who  was 
found  gathering  sticks  on  the  Sabbath,  he 
was,  by  divine  direction,  stoned  to  death 
(Nam.  15:  S2-M6) ;  on  which  occasioii  it  was  provided 
that  the  people  should  wear  a  fringe  on  the 
garment,  with  a  riband  of  blue  (see  above  on 
9:  20),  to  remind  them  continually  of  the 
commandments  of  Jehovah,  which  they 
seemed  so  prone  to  forget.  (Numb,  is :  .'<7-4i.)  Now 
these  particular  regulations,  being  a  part  of 
the  civil  and  ceremonial  law  of  the  Jewish 
people,  ceased  to  be  obligatory  when  the  nat- 
ural gave  way  to  the  spiritual  Israel,  through 
the  work  of  Christ.  But  the  Sabbath  still  re- 
mained, as  it  existed  before  Israel,  and  was 
even  from  the  creation  a  day  appointed  by 
God  to  be  holy  (Gen.2:8),  which  the  Mosaic  law 
recognized  at  the  outset,  in  reminding  the 
people  to  keep  it  holy.  After  the  resurrec- 
tion of  Christ  an  additional  significance  was 
given  to  the  day,  as  representing  not  only  "the 
completion  of  God's  work  of  Creation,"  but 
also  "the  triumphant  completion  of  the  still 
more  glorious  work  of  Redemption."  (Boyce, 
Catechism  of  Bible  Doctrine.)  In  order  to 
this,  the  day  appears  to  have  been  changed  by 
tbe  apostles  from  the  seventh  to  the  first  day 
of  the   week,  as  that  on  which  Christ  rose. 

(John20:l»,   26;   Act>20:7il   Cor.l6:2;    Bev.   1:10.)      Thls 

added  significance  and  change  of  day  did  not 
nflfect  the  perpetual  obligation  to  keep  holy 
the  Sabbath.  But  Christianity,  true  to  its 
spiritual  character,  gives  no  particular  pre- 
cepts as  to  the  mode  of  observing  the  day,  and 
leaves  us  to  perform  the  duty  of  keeping  it 
holy  in  such  methods  as  an  enlightened  con- 
science may  deem  most  conformable  to  its 
twofold  significance  and  its  general  design. 
Comp.  below,  "Homiietical  and  Practical." 

II.  9-13.  Healing  THE  WiTHKRKD  Hand 
ON  THE  Sabbath.  (Comp.  Mark  3:  1-5; 
Luke  6:  0-10.)  And  when  he  was  de- 
parted thence,  he  went  into  their  syna- 
gogue.   We  should  most  naturally  infer,  had 


we  Matthew's  narrative  alone,  that  this  inci- 
dent took  place  on  the  same  Sabbath  as  the 
preceding.  But  Luke  6:  6  says,  'on  another 
Sabbath';  and  nothing  in  Matthew's  state- 
ment necessarily  conflicts  with  this.  The  con- 
nection in  Mark  3:  7  appears  to  show  that  the 
place  was  in  Galilee,  but  it  cannot  be  more 
exactly  determined.  'Their  synagogue' 
means  the  synagogue  of  the  people  in  that 
vicinity.  (Comp.  on  11:  1.)  As  to  the  syna- 
gogues, see  on  4:  23.  A  man  which  had, 
etc.  Having  a  withered  hand  is  the  best  sup- 
ported reading.  Luke  adds  (6:  e)  that  it  was 
his  right  hand.  We  cannot  determine  the 
precise  nature  of  the  affection  which  caused  his 
hand  to  wither.  Jerome  mentions  that  the 
so-called  "Gospel"  of  the  Nazarenes  called 
him  a  stone-mason — whicli,  thougli  only  a  tra- 
dition, would  illustrate  for  us  the  importance 
of  his  right  hand.  And  they  asked  him. 
Luke  states  that  they  were  the  Scribes  and 
Pharisees.  He  and  Mark  only  mention  that 
they  watched  him  to  see  whether  he  would 
heal  on  the  Sabbath  ;  Matthew  docs  not  con- 
tradict them,  but  simply  adds  that  they  asked 
him  whether  it  was  'lawful.  That  they 
might  accuse  him,  probably  before  the 
'judgment,'  the  local  tribunal  (see  on 5:  21). 
The  later  Jewish  writings  show  much  discus- 
sion as  to  the  propriety  of  healing  on  the  Sab- 
bath. All  agreed  that  it  ought  to  be  done 
where  life  was  in  danger  (see  Wet,  Wiin.,  or 
Edersh.),  but  they  of  course  differed  much  on 
the  question  what  diseases  could  be  consid- 
ered as  endangering  life.  The  Talmud  gives 
a  host  of  directions  for  different  cases,  with 
many  absurd  distinctions;  e.  g.,  "One  who 
has  a  sore  throat  must  not  gargle  with  oil ;  but 
he  may  swallow  oil  (for  food),  and  if  that 
cures  him,  all  right."  One  Rabbi  taught  that 
a  man  might  take  a  purgative  drink,  if  he 
took  it  for  pleasure,  but  must  not  take  it  for  the 
purpose  of  healing.  The  law  had  said  nothing 
about  healing  disease  on  tlie  Sabbath,  but 
many  Rabbis  took  the  ground  tliat  it  was 
"work."  (Kx.  31:14.)  Tyndalo  and  followers, 
including  our  Com.  Ver.,  have  'on  the  Sab- 
bath days,'  in  v.  10  and  12,  but  the  plural  form 


262 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XII. 


11  And  he  said  unto  them,  What  man  shall  there  be 
among  you,  that  shall  have  one  sheep,  and  if  it  fall  into 
a  pit  on  the  sabbath  day,  will  he  not  lay  hold  on  it,  and 
lift  i7  out  ? 

12  How  much  then  is  a  man  better  than  a  sheep? 
Wherefore  it  is  lawful  to  do  well  on  the  sabbath  days. 

13  Then  saith  he  to  the  uiau,  Stretch  forth  thine 
band.  And  he  stretched  it  forth ;  and  it  was  restored 
whole,  like  as  the  other. 

14  Then  the  Pharisees  went  out,  and  "held  a  council 
against  him,  how  they  might  destroy  him. 


11  the  sabbath  day?  that  they  might  accuse  him.  And 
he  said  unto  them,  What  man  shall  there  be  of  you 
that  shall  have  one  sheep,  and  if  this  fall  into  a  pit 
on  the  sabbath  day,  will  he  not  lay  hold  on  it,  and 

12  lift  it  out?  How  much  then  is  a  man  of  more  value 
than  a  sheep !    Wherefore  it  is  lawful  to  do  goo<l  on 

13  the  sabbath  day.  Then  said  he  to  the  man,  Stretch 
forth  thy  hand.    And  he  stretched  it  forth ;  and  it 

14  was  restored  whole,  as  the  other.  But  the  Pharisees 
went  out,  and  took  counsel  against  him,  bow  they 


a  Or,  took  countel. 


of  the  Greek  word  is  frequently  used  (Grimm) 
in  the  singular  sense,  as  they  all  translate  in 
V.  11. 

11  f.  He  appeals  not  as  in  the  former  in- 
stance, to  the  history,  the  law,  or  the  pro- 
phets, but  to  the  course  pursued  by  the  people 
themselves  in  other  matters.  This  argument 
is  here  given  by  Matthew  only,  but  similar 
arguments  are  given  by  Luke  (i3:i5;u:5),  as 
afterwards  used  on  other  occasions.  Mark 
mentions  (s;*)  that  Jesus  told  the  man  to 
stand  up  in  the  midst,  probably  that  the 
bystanders  might  look  at  him  with  sympathy, 
and  thus  justly  appreciate  the  propriety  of 
healing  him.  To  awaken  healthy  feeling,  is 
S(imetimes  the  best  remedy  for  unreasonable 
prejudice.  One  sheep  would  be  a  matter  of 
no  great  consequence,  and  yet  even  this  the 
owner  would  lift  out  of  a  pit  on  the  Sabbath 
day.  In  the  Talmud  some  Eabbis  maintained 
that  it  was  enough  when  a  beast  fell  into  a  pit 
to  give  it  food;  others  said,  put  something 
under  it  to  lie  on,  and  if  by  means  of  this  it 
climbs  out,  all  right ;  others  said,  take  it  out 
with  the  intention  of  killing  it,  even  though 
afterwards  you  change  your  mind  and  pre- 
serve it.  To  such  silly  evasions  were  men 
driven,  by  the  attempt  to  convert  morality 
into  a  mere  system  of  rules.  Jesus  appeals 
to  common  sense,  asking  whether  any  one 
present  would  fail  in  such  a  case  to  preserve 
his  property.  Edersh. :  "  There  could  be  no 
doubt,  at  any  rate,  that  even  if  the  [traditional] 
law  was,  at  the  time  of  Christ,  as  stringent  as 
in  the  Talmud,  a  man  would  have  found  some 
device  \>y  which  to  recover  his  sheep."  The 
old  Roman  religious  law  provided  that  on  the 
sacred  days  an  ox  might  be  drawn  out  of  a  pit. 
A  man  better  —  of  more  value — than  a 
sheep,  see  a  like  argument  in  6:  26,  and  in 
10:29-31.  Wherefore,  or,  'so  that,'  a  gen- 
eral inference  from  what  precedes.  It  is 
lawful.  The  word  law  does  not  enter  into 
the  Greek  expression  (see  also  in  v.  10),  which 


means  simply  it  is  allowable,  or  permissible. 
To  do  well  {good)  on  the  Sabbath.  Com. 
Ver.  'to  do  well,'  looks  literal,  but  really 
gives  a  different  sense.  "Wyclif  used  '  to  do 
good,'  Tyn.,  Cran.,  Gen.,  Rheims,  'to  do  a 
good  deed.'  In  Mark  and  Luke  he  first  puts 
this  as  a  question,  '  Is  it  lawful  on  the  Sabbath 
to  do  good,  or  to  do  harm,'  intimating  that  by 
delaying  to  heal  the  man  he  would  be  inflict- 
ing an  injury.  They  made  no  answer,  and  he 
'looked  round  about  on  them  with  anger, 
being  grieved  at  the  hardening  of  their  heart.' 
(Mark  3: 5.)  They  could  not  reply  to  his  argu- 
ments, nor  deny  that  he  was  right,  and  yet 
would  not  give  up  their  fierce  opposition. 
And  so  he  looked  upon  them  with  mingled 
indignation  and  grief. 

13.  And  it  Avas  restored  in  the  act  of 
stretching  it  forth.  Whole,  healthy,  sound, 
well.  Even  from  their  own  point  of  view  the 
Pharisees  must  have  found  it  difficult  to  call 
this  breaking  the  Sabbath,  for  Jesus  used  no 
remedy,  performed  no  action,  simply  spoke  a 
word,  and  the  man  merely  stretched  forth  his 
hand.  They  had  hoped  to  make  a  strong  case 
against  Jesus,  and  being  silenced  by  his  argu- 
ment and  baffled  by  his  action,  they  were 
all  the    more    angry,    'filled  with    madness, 

(Luke  6:  11.) 

14-21.  Plot  to  Destroy  Jesus,  and 
His  Withdrawal.  For  the  plot  comp.  Mark 
3:6;  Luke  6:  11;  the  consequent  withdrawal 
is  described  hy  Mark  (3: 7-12)  with  his  charac- 
teristic fullness  of  detail.  Held  a  council, 
rather,  took  counsel,  against  him,  as  the 
same  phrase  is  rendered  by  Com.  Ver  in  22: 
15,  and  elsewhere,  and  a  similar  one  in  Mark 
3:  6,  and  as  all  English  versions  before  King 
James  rendered  here.  Mark  tells  us  that  the 
Pharisees  drew  into  this  consultation  the 
Herodians,  who  were  their  own  enemies. 
(Comp.  on  22:  16.)  Remembering  that  this 
was  before  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  (see  on 
v.  1  and  V.   15),   and    probably  almost    two 


Ch.  XIL] 


MATTHEW. 


263 


15  But  when  Jesus  knew  it,  he  withdrew  himself 
from  thence :  and  great  multitudes  followed  him,  and 
he  healed  them  all ; 

16  And  charged  them  that  they  should  not  make  him 
known: 

17  That  it  might  be  fulfilled  which  was  spoken  by 
Esaias  the  prophet,  saying, 


15  might  destroy  him.    And  Jesus  perceiving  it  with- 

16  drew  from  thence :  and  many  followed  him ;  and 
he  healed  them  all,  and  charged  them   that  they 

17  should  not  make  him  known:  inat  it  might  be  ful- 
filled which  was  spoken  through  Isaiah  the  prophet, 
saying. 


years  before  the  Crucifixion,  we  perceive  that 
the  enmity  of  the  leading  Jews  had  already 
gone  very  far.  A  similar  eflbrt  to  slay  him  in 
Jerusalem  and  upon  the  same  charge  of 
breaking  the  Sabbath  (Joho  5 :  le-is) ,  probably 
belongs  in  the  history  Shortly  before  this 
effort  in  Galilee.  (See  on  v.  1.)  The  two 
movements  may  have  arisen  independently, 
or  emissaries  may  have  been  sent  from  Jeru- 
salem, as  was  done  a  year  later.  (i5:  i.)  Their 
pretended  reason  for  plotting  his  destruction 
was  that  he  violated  the  Sabbath,  and  so  was 
condemned  to  death  by  the  law  (ex.  3i:  u;  25:2j ; 
the  true  reason  seems  to  have  been  their  jeal- 
ousy of  his  growing  credit  among  the  people, 
and  fear  that  he  would  impair  their  own  in- 
fluence. What  a  reproach  upon  human 
nature,  to  see  men  maintaining  that  it  was  a 
mortal  sin  to  heal  disease  on  the  Sabbath,  and 
yet  foully  plotting  on  that  same  sacred  day, 
how  they  might  destroy  the  innocent  Teacher 
and  Healer. 

15.  Learning  that  such  was  their  intention, 
our  Lord  retired  from  that  neighborhood,  and 
when  crowds  gathered  to  him  in  his  new  posi- 
tion beside  the  Lake  of  Galilee,  he  healed 
them  all,  and  charged  them  not  to  make  hiin 
known  (v.  i8);  in  which  course  on  his  part  the 
Evangelist  points  out  the  fulfillment  of  another 
prophecy,  (v.ii-ii.)  Already  in  4:  12  we  have 
seen  him  withdraw  from  some  place  to  avoid 
persecution;  and  there  will  be  similar  in- 
stances hereafter.  (u:i3;  i5:ii;  i6:5.)  Alexan- 
der: "The  retreat  before  his  enemies  was 
prompted  not  by  fear,  but  by  that  wise  dis- 
cretion which  was  constantly  employed  in  the 
selection  and  the  use  of  the  necessary  means 
for  the  promotion  of  the  great  end  which  he 
came  to  accomplish.  As  it  entered  into  the 
divine  plan  that  his  great  atoning  work  should 
be  preceded  by  a  prophetic  ministry  of  several 
years'  duration,  the  design  of  which  was  to 
indoctrinate  the  people  in  the  nature  of  his 
kingdom,  to  prepare  the  way  for  its  erection, 
and  to  train  the  men  by  whom  it  should  be 
organized,  it  formed  no  small  part  of  his 
work  to  check  and  regulate  the  |)rogre88  of 
events,  so  as  not  to  precipitate  the  consum- 


mation, but  to  secure  and  complete  the  re- 
quisite preparatory  process."  The  hour  was 
not  yet  come,  for  the  Son  of  man  to  be  de- 
livered into  the  hands  of  sinners.  (26:45.)  He 
never  shrank  from  doing  good  because  of  the 
knowledge  that  it  would  provoke  opposition  ; 
he  simply  transferred  his  beneficent  labors  to 
another  scene,  as  he  directed  the  disciples  to 
do  (10: 23).  And  great  multitudes — or,  many 
— followed  him.  This  was  early  strength- 
ened by  some  copyists  into  the  familiar  phrase, 
'many  crowds,'  or  'great  crowds,'  as  in  4:  25, 
and  often.  And  he  healed  them  all. 
Another  general  and  comprehensive  state- 
ment of  his  great  work  (comp.  on  4:  23; 
8:  16;  9:  35).  At  this  period,  as  appears  from 
a  comparison  of  12 :  15  with  Mark  3  :  7-12,  and 
Luke  6 :  11-20,  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  was 
delivered.  We  have  already  seen  (on  4:  12, 
and  8:  1),  that  in  all  this  portion  of  his  Gospel, 
Matthew  departs  from  the  order  of  time,  and 
groups  his  materials  according  to  the  relation 
of  topics,  as  is  often  done  by  historical  writers. 
And  (he)  charged  them,  the  Greek  word 
iniplying  threats  of  displeasure  if  they  should 
disobey  him.  For  some  general  reasons  why 
he  usually  prohibited  persons  healed  from 
talking  about  it,  see  on  8:4.  An  additional 
and  special  reason  is  here  given,  viz.,  that  it 
might  be  fulfilled  which  Avas  $>poken  by 
(through)  Esaias  the  prophet.  For  these 
phra.ses,  comp.  on  1 :  22,  and  4:  14.  It  was 
the  divine  design  in  his  teaching  thus  quietly 
and  unostentatiously-,  that  this  prophecy 
might  be  fulfilled.  The  connection,  there- 
fore, looks  especially  to  that  part  of  the  pro- 
phecy which  is  contained  in  v.  19  f.,  but  the 
Evangelist  cites  a  larger  portion,  because  the 
remainder  also  found  a  fulfillment  in  Je.<u.s. 
The  Jews  expected  the  Messiah  to  be  a  great 
conqueror,  whose  warlike  exploits  would 
attract  universal  attention;  and  as  the  charac- 
ter and  course  of  Jesus  were  quite  the  reverse 
of  all  this,  it  was  important  for  Matthew's  pur- 
pose of  convincing  the  Jews  that  he  was  Mes- 
siah, to  point  out  that  his  action  in  this  respect 
was  in  accordance  with  a  Messianic  prediction 
— all  the  more,  as  the  current  Sept.  translation 


264 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XII. 


18  Behold,  my  servant,  whom  I  have  chosen  ;  my  be- 
loved, 111  whom  my  soul  is  well  pleased  :  1  will  put  my 
Spirit  upon  him,  and  he  shall  shew  judgment  to  the 
Cfentiles. 

19  He  shall  not  strive,  nor  cry;  neither  shall  any 
man  hear  his  voice  in  the  streets. 


18  Behold,  my  servant  whom  I  have  chosen  ; 
My  beloved  in  whom  my  soul  is  well  pleased: 
1  will  put  my  Spirit  upon  him, 

And  he  shall  declare  judgment  to  the  Gentiles. 

19  He  shall  not  strive,  nor  cry  aloud  ; 

Neither  shall  any  one  hear  his  voice  in  the  streets. 


had  so  interpolated  the  passage,  as  to  turn 
away  attention  from  its  proper  Messianic  ap- 
plication (see  on  v.  18).  This  quotation,  from 
Isa.  42:  1-4,  is  made  by  Matthew  alone,  being 
the  seventh  prophecy  he  cites,  as  fulfilled  in 
Jesus  (comp.  on  8:  17),  besides  the  two  with 
reference  to  John  the  Baptist  (3:3;  u:io).  It 
is  quite  characteristic  of  the  two  first  Gospels, 
that  while  Matthew  alone  gives  the  prophecy, 
Mark  (3:7-12)  gives  much  more  copious  details 
of  the  withdrawal  and  the  healings. 

18-21.  This  interesting  quotation  is  partly 
from  the  Sept.,  but  with  various  alterations, 
for  the  sake  of  close  conformity  to  the  He- 
brew, or  to  bring  out  more  clearly  the  Messi- 
anic application.  Isa.  42:  1-4  may  be  literally 
translated  from  the  Hebrew  as  follows:  "  Be- 
hold my  servant,  whom  I  will  sustain;  my 
chosen  (one)  in  whom  my  soul  delights.  I 
put  my  Spirit  upon  him;  he  will  bring  forth 
judgment  to  the  Gentiles.  He  will  not  cry 
out,  he  will  not  lift  up  his  (voice),  he  will  not 
cause  his  voice  to  be  heard  abroad  (or,  'out  of 
doors').  A  bruised  reed  he  will  not  break, 
and  a  dim  wick  he  will  not  quench.  He  will 
bring  forth  judgment  unto  truth.  He  will 
not  grow  dim  [like  the  wick,  i.  e.,  become 
feeble,  faint],  nor  be  broken  [like  the  reed, 
i.  e.,  broken  down,  disheartened],  till  he  set 
judgment  in  the  earth ;  and  for  his  law  (or, 
'instruction')  distantcoasts  shall  wait."  Now 
comp.  Matthew.  Behold  my  servant.  The 
'servant  of  Jehovah,'  in  Isa.  ch.  42 :  19,  is  pri- 
marily Israel.  But  here,  as  in  Hos.  11 :  1,  and 
elsewhere,  there  is  a  typical  relation  between 
Israel  and  Messiah  (comp.  above  on  2:  15); 
and  the  'servant  of  Jehovah'  also  means 
Messiah.  Some  of  Isaiah's  expressions  refer 
equally  well  to  either,  Israel  or  Messiah;  in 
others,  as  Isa.  52 :  13,  and  ch.  53,  the  reference  to 
Israel  seems  to  sink  out  of  sight,  and  to  our  eye 
there  appears  nothing  but  Messiah.  (Comp. 
at  the  beginning  of  chap.  24.)  The  Sept. 
translators,  understanding  Isa.  42  :  1  of  Israel, 
inserted  the  name,  "Jacob,  my  servant.  .  .  . 
Israel  my  chosen."  The  Greek  word  here 
rendered  'servant'  in  Matthew  and  Sept.,  is 
pais  (see  on  8:  6),  which  might  of  itself  mean 


either  'child'  (Tyndale,  Cran.),  or  'servant' 
(Geneva,  Com.  Ver.);  but  the  Hebrew,  here 
and  elsewhere  in  Isa.,  is  ebed,  which  unam- 
biguously means  'servant.'  In  like  manner 
the  question  is  settled  as  to  Acts  3:  13,  26;  4: 
27,  30,  by  the  manifest  reference  to  this  por- 
tion of  Isa.  Whom  I  have  chosen,  while 
the  Heb.  has  'will  sustain.'  Matthew  may 
have  purposely  used  the  term  'have  chosen' 
from  Isa.  43:  10;  44:  1,  as  better  bringing  out 
the  Messianic  reference  in  the  term  'servant 
of  the  Lord.'  It  was  certainly  lawful  for  an 
inspired  writer  to  express  more  clearly  in  hi» 
quotation  an  idea  tliat  was  really  present  in 
the  prophet's  language.  (Comp.  on  2:  6.) 
God  will  sustain  this  servant  of  his,  because 
he  has  chosen  him,  to  perform  an  important 
work.  So  as  to  my  beloved,  instead  of  Heb. 
'  my  chosen.'  The  expression  'is  well  pleased' 
reminds  us  of  the  words  spoken  from  heaven 
at  the  baptism  and  the  transfiguration,  which 
probably  alluded  to  this  passage  of  Isa.  (See 
above  on  3;  17.)  I  will  put  my  Spirit  upon 
him,  i.  e.,  in  a  special,  remarkable  degree. 
(Com.  Isa.  61:1;  Luke  4:18;  John  3:  34, 
and  see  above  on  3 :  16.)  And  he  shall  shew 
{will  declare)  judgment  to  the  Gentiles. 
'Announce'  or  'declare'  (as  in  Heb.  2:  12) 
interprets  the  general  term'  bring  forth '  of  the 
Hebrew.  'Judgment'  exactly  translates  the 
Heb.  word.  It  might  have  been  understood 
as  meaning  justice  and  rectitude  in  general. 
(28 :  23:  Luke  n;  42.)  But  it  is  better  to  take 
it,  in  the  prophecy  and  here,  as  denoting  the 
whole  body  of  what  God  declares  to  be  just 
and  right.  (Comp.  Isa.  51:  4.)  Strive,  or 
'wrangle,'  may  have  been  chosen  by  Mat- 
thew to  c<mtrast  Jesus  with  the  Scribes,  who 
were  constantly  disputing  and  wrangling; 
perhaps  also  (Plumptre)  to  contrast  him  with 
"false  prophets  and  leaders  of  revolt,  such  as 
Judas  of  Galilee  had  been."  In  the  streets, 
gives  greater  distinctness  to  the  Hebrew 
phrase;  he  would  not  talk  in  public  places, 
in  a  way  designed  to  attract  attention.  (Comp. 
6:6.)  If  on  such  an  occasion  as  John  7:  37, 
Jesus  'stood  and  cried  out'  in  the  temple 
court,  it  was  not  through  ostentation,  but  for 


Ch   XIL] 


MATTHEW. 


265 


20  A  bruised  reed  shall  he  not  break,  and  smoking 
flax  shall  he  not  quench,  till  he  send  forth  judgment 
unto  victory. 

21  And  in  bis  name  shall  the  Gentiles  trust. 


20  A  bruised  reed  shall  he  not  break, 
And  smoking  flax  shall  he  not  quench. 
Till  he  send  forth  judgment  unto  victory. 

21  Aud  in  his  name  shall  the  Gentiles  hope. 


the  good  of  those  by  whom  he  would  make 
himself  heard.  A  bruised  reed  shall  he 
not  break,  completely  break,  break  off. 
And  smoking  flax  (a  wick),  literally,  stnoking 
linen.  The  lamp  wick  was  usually  a  strip  of 
linen;  when  there  was  but  little  oil,  it  would 
burn  dimly  and  smoke.  Instead  of  being  a 
harsh  conqueror  and  monarch,  Messiah  would 
be  gentle  and  kind ;  persons  bowed  down  with 
conscious  uii worthiness,  feeble  as  if  verging 
toward  spiritual  extinction,  he  would  not 
overwhelm  and  destroy,  but  would  console 
and  strengthen.  Till  he  send — or  bring — 
forth  judgment  unto  victory.  The  pro- 
phecy is  quoted  in  a  condensed  form.  The 
play  upon  words  in  the  Hebrew,  He  will  not 
grow  dim  (like  the  wick),  nor  be  broken  (like 
the  reed),  could  not  be  made  fully  intelligible 
in  a  translation  without  tedious  circumlocu- 
tion, and  as  that  clause  was  not  important  to 
the  present  fulfillment  of  the  prophecy,  Mat- 
thew omits  it.  He  then  combines,  to  some 
extent,  the  two  brief  clauses,  'he  will  bring 
forth  judgment  unto  truth"  (i.  e.,  truthfully, 
thoroughly,  so  that  the  whole  truth  about  it 
should  be  known;,  and  'until  he  set  judgment 
in  the  earth'  (i.  e.,  establish  it),  in  each  of 
which  clauses  the  leading  term  is  'judgment,' 
1.  e.,  God's  righteous  requirements.  The  re- 
sult is  this  expression,  'till  he  send  forth 
judgment  unto  victory,'  i.  e.,  victoriously, 
which  includes  the  two  notions  of  its  being 
fully  manifested  and  fully  established.  The 
Evangelist  thus  avoids  complexity,  and  com- 
prises the  whole  in  one  simple  expression. 
'Send  forth'  is  literally  thrust  forth,  cast 
abroad,  the  word  explained  on  9:  38;  and  its 
notion  of  forcible  action  fits  the  following 
term  victory.  Messiah  will  overcome  all  ob- 
stacles and  opposition,  and  victoriously  pro- 


claim and  establish  God's  word.  And  in  his 
name  shall  the  Gentiles  trust,  or  hopeA 
(Comp.  Rom.  15:  12.)  Here  the  Evangelist 
follows  the  Sept.,  which  was  sufficiently  ac- 
curate for  his  purpose  (comp.  on  3:  3)  ;  nay, 
which  states  more  clearly  than  the  Heb.  ex- 
pressions a  notion  specially  appropriate  to 
the  gospel,  and  which  the  Heb.  really  con- 
tained. The  Heb.  word  rendered  '  isles ' 
or  'coasts'  is  frequently  used  for  distant 
lands  in  general  (isa.  «:i,5;  «t:i;  5i:5),  so  that 
'nations,'  or  Gentiles  (see  on  4:  15),  is  in  such 
a  case  equivalent  to  it.  The  Heb.  'shall 
wait  for  his  law'  meant  shall  confidently 
expect  or  hope  for  his  instruction,  (isa.  i:io; 
ProT.  1:  8;  4:  j;  7: 2.)  (Couip.  Toy  ou  Quota- 
tions.) The  Sept.  substituted  'name'  and' 
Matt,  retained  it,  since  'hope  in  his  name' 
amounted  to  much  the  same  thing  as  'wait 
for  his  instruction,'  both  denoting  dependence 
on  him.  Alexander:  "As  the  first  part  of 
the  prophecy  was  cited  as  an  introduction,  so 
this  last  part  was  added  to  give  roundness  and 
completeness  to  the  whole  quotation.  At  the 
same  time  these  supplementary  expressions, 
although  not  what  the  author  meant  especi- 
ally to  quote,  serve  the  incidental  but  import- 
ant purpose  of  suggesting,  in  the  language  of 
a  prophet,  the  extent  of  the  Messiah's  mission 
and  the  ultimate  conversion  of  the  Gentiles." 
Where  Matt,  departs  from  both  Heb.  and 
Sept.  it  is  surely  quite  as  easy  to  refer  the 
changes  to  the  inspired  Evangelist  himself,  as 
to  a  hypothetical  oral  Aramaic  version  used 
inthesynagogue.  (Toy.) — With  this  prophetic 
description  of  Messiah,  comp.  what  Jesus  sa3'6 
of  himself  in  11:  23.  How  different  was  his 
quiet  course  of  life  from  the  turbulent  violence 
of  those  pretended  Messiahs,  who  frequently 
involved  the  nation  in  confusion  and  distress. 


1  There  is  an  intimate  connection  between  the  ideas 
of  hope  and  trust,  though  really  quite  distinct,  and  tlie 
words  are  often  confounded  in  popular  8i)eech.  Tyn- 
dale,  Cran.,  Gen.,  and  King  .Tames  (not  Wye,  nor  com- 
monly KheimK)  seem  to  have  thought  '  hope'  often  an 
inadequate  translation  of  the  corresponding  Gr.  word, 
80  that  they  commonly  render  by  '  trust'  (as  here),  and 
even  by  'believe'  in  1  Cor.  15:  19  (T.  C.  G.)  and  1  Tim. 
4 :  10.  (T.  C.)  The  noun  they  all  regularly  translate 
•  hope,'  except '  trust '  in  2  Cor.  3 :  12  (T.  C.  G.),  and  In 


Heb.  10:  28,  where  Com.  Ver.  actually  ha.s  'faith,' 
though  all  the  others  there  have  '  hope.'  The  popular 
phrase  "profession  of  faith"  is  perhaps  founded  on 
this  erroneous  translation  of  Heb.  10:  I'A.  In  like 
manner  1  Pet.  .3:  \!i  is  often  quoted  'a  reason  of  the  faith 
tlint  is  in  you,'  though  it  is  really  '  hopt;.'  The  I{ev. 
Ver.  has  rendered  both  noun  and  verb  by  'hoi>e'  in  all 
cases,  sometimes  '  set  your  hope,'  or  the  like.  ICxamine 
especially  Luke  24:  21;  John  5:  45;  ITim.  6:  17;  Heb. 
10:  23;  1  Pet.  3:5. 


266 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XII. 


HOMILETICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

In  the  Christian  world  at  the  present  day, 
we  may  find  two  extremes  in  respect  to  the 
observance  of  the  Sabbath,  as  well  as  to  many 
other  things.  Some  act  as  if  the  Mosaic  regu- 
lations for  the  manner  of  observing  the  Sab- 
bath were  still  in  force,  and  so  they  are  ex- 
cessively strict,  and  unwisely  scrupulous. 
Others  imagine  that  when  the  civil  and  cere- 
monial law  ceased  to  be  binding,  the  Sabbath 
also  ceased  to  be  obligatory,  and  so  they  come 
to  hold  very  loose  notions  as  to  abstaining 
from  ordinary  employments  on  the  Lord's 
Day.  One  class  incline  to  condemn  all  en- 
joyment on  the  Sabbath,  at  home  or  abroad; 
the  other  class  are  in  danger  of  making  it  a 
day  of  mere  idleness  and  festivity.  Some  make 
no  distinction  between  the  Jewish  Sabbath  and 
the  Christian  ;  others,  in  urging  that  the  Lord's 
Day  is  wholly  different  from  the  Jewish  Sab- 
bath, forget  that  it  is  nevertheless  the  same  as 
the  primeval  Sabbath,  with  only  an  additional 
significance  and  a  change  in  the  day  of  the 
week.  It  is  a  day  "  hallowed  "  by  divine  ap- 
pointment— distinguished  from  other  days, 
and  set  apart  to  sacred  uses ;  a  day  of  rest 
from  ordinary  toils,  bodily  and  mental,  of 
worship  and  other  distinctively  religious  em- 
ployments. In  an  age  when  reading  occupies 
BO  large  a  part  of  civilized  life,  it  would  cer- 
tainly seem  important  to  abstain  on  the  Lord's 
Day  from  secular  reading,  especially  since  we 
have  so  rich  a  store  of  properly  religious  lit- 
erature. In  deciding  how  far  to  deny  our- 
selves exercise,  society,  table  luxuries,  and  the 
like,  we  must  have  regard  both  to  the  objects 
of  the  day,  to  our  own  bodily,  mental,  and 
spiritual  health,  and  to  the  influence  of  our 
example.  As  regards  children, it  is  extremely 
important  to  afford  them  interesting  and  ap- 
propriate employment,  and  pleasant  food,  so 
that  they  may  not  find  the  day  wearisome  and 
disagreeable.  In  general  it  should  be  remem- 
bered that  most  of  us  are  far  more  likely  to  be 
too  lax  than  too  stringent,  that  we  gravitate 
much  more  powerfully  towards  self-indul- 
gence than  self-denial. 

V.  2.  Henry:  "It  is  no  new  thing  for  the 
most  harmless  and  innocent  actions  of  Christ's 
disciples  to  be  evil  spoken  of  and  reflected 
upon  as  unlawful,  especially  by  those  who  are 
zealous  for  their  own  inventions  and  imposi- 
tions."— V.  5.  Henry:    "Ignorance  of  the 


meaning  of  the  Scripture  is  especially  shame- 
ful in  those  who  take  upon  them  to  teach 
others." — V.  8.  Christ  is  Lord  of  the  Sabbath, 
and  the  Christian  Sabbath  is  the  Lord's  Day. 
Kev.  1 :  10. 

V.  1-8.  The  ceremonial  and  the  moral  ele- 
ments of  Christian  piety.  1)  Ceremony  must 
yield  to  necessity,  v.  3  f.  2)  Worship  is  su- 
perior to  any  sacredness  of  place  or  time,  v. 
5  f.,  comp.  John  4:  21.  3)  Kindly  and  just 
judgment  of  others  is  more  acceptable  to  God 
than  are  ceremonial  observances,  v.  7.  4j 
Christ  is  above  all  ceremonies,  v.  8. — V.  9-14. 
Baffled  disputants.  1)  They  seek  to  entrap  the 
Teacher  with  a  question,  v.  10.  2)  They  are 
unable  to  answer  his  argument,  v.  11  f.,  comp. 
Matt.  3:6.  3)  They  can  find  no  fault  with 
his  action,  v.  13.  4)  Therefore  they  plot  to 
kill  him. — V.  13.  Godet:  "  Like  every  call 
addressed  to  faith,  this  command  contained  a 
promise  of  the  strength  necessary  to  accom- 
plish it,  provided  the  will  to  obey  was  there. 
He  must  make  the  attf  mpt,  depending  on  the 
word  of  Jesus,  and  divine  power  will  accom- 
pany the  effort."  Theophyl.  :  "Many  now 
also  have  their  hands  withered — that  is,  not 
compassionating  and  not  communicating; 
but  whenever  they  hear  the  gospel  word,  they 
stretch  forth  their  hands  to  give." — V.  15. 
Theophyl.  :  "  Plunging  into  danger  is  not 
pleasing  to  God." 

V.  19  f.  The  quiet  and  gentle  character  here 
asscribed  to  Messiah  by  the  prophet,  corre- 
sponds to  what  Jesussaid  of  himself,  meek  and 
lowly  and  rest-giving,  11:  29.— V.  18-20.  A 
prophetic  picture  of  the  Saviour.  1)  A  chosen 
and  beloved  servant  of  God,  v.  18.  2)  Spe- 
cially endued  with  the  Spirit  of  God,  v.  18. 
3)  Quiet  in  teaching,  and  compassionate  to 
the  timid  and  distressed,  v.  19  f.  4)  Destined 
to  be  victorious  in  proclaiming  God's  right- 
eousness, and  winning  the  nations  to  himself, 
V.  18,  20,  21. 

22-37.— The  Blasphemy  Against  the 
Spirit. 

In  the  course  of  those  labors  in  Galilee  of 
which  the  Evangelist  has  just  given  a  general 
account  (vi»/-),  there  occurred  the  events  nar- 
rated in  the  remainder  of  ch.  12,  followed  by 
other  events  on  the  same  day.  (See  on  13:  1.) 
This  was  a  good  deal  later  than  the  two  Sab- 
baths of  V.  1-13.  Between  that  time  and  this, 
the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  was  delivered.    (See 


Ch.  XII.] 


MATTHEW. 


267 


22  Then  was  brought  unto  him  one  possessed  with  a 
devil,  blind,  and  dumb:  and  he  healed  him,  insomuch 
that  the  blind  and  dumb  both  spake  and  saw. 

23  And  all  the  people  were  amazed,  and  said,  Is  not 
this  the  Sou  of  David? 

24  But  when  the  Pharisees  heard  it,  they  said,  This 
fellow  doth  not  cast  out  devils,  but  by  «  Beelzebub  the 
prince  of  the  devils. 


22  Then  was  brought  unto  him  *  one  possessed  with  a 
demon,  blind  and  dumb  :  and  he  healed  him,  inso- 

23  much  that  the  dumb  man  spake  and  saw.    And  all 
the  multitudes  were  amazed,  and  said,  Can  this  be 

24  the  son  of  David?    But  when  the  Pharisees  heard 
it,  they  said,  This  man  doth  not  cast  out  demons, 


a  Gr.  BeeUebul,  and  iso  r.  27 2  Or,  a  demoniac. 


on  V.  15,  and  comp.  Mark  3:  19.)  Consulting 
unity  of  topic  rather  than  chronological  order, 
Matthew  throws  together  these  several  in- 
stances of  opposition  to  Jesus.  Our  present 
section  treats  of  the  blasphemous  accusation ; 
the  other  cases  of  opposition  will  follow. 
Luke  11:  14-23  describes  a  similar  blasphe- 
mous accusation,  probably  belonging  to  the 
ministry  in  Judea  and  Perea,  during  the  six 
months  preceding  the  crucifixion.  (Wieseler, 
Clark.) 

Then,  not  necessarily  on  the  same  day  as 
the  preceding,  but  some  time  more  generally, 
at  the  same  period  (see  on  3:  13 ;  11 :  20) ;  here 
it  means,  at  the  time  when  he  was  engaged  in 
the  labors  of  v.  15  f.  One  possessed,  etc., 
(a  demoniac)  blind  and  dumb,  see  on  8:  28, 
where  it  has  been  remarked  that  various 
bodily  affections  were  frequently  connected 
with  the  demoniacal  possessions,  whether  us 
cause  or  effect.  Insomuch,  etc.,  so  that  the 
dumb  man  spake  and  saw  is  the  correct  text. ' 
And  all  the  people  (crowds),  same  word  as 
in  5:  1,  and  often.  Jesus  was  in  a  house,  and 
the  throng  was  so  great  that  he  and  his  dis- 
ciples could  not  even  eat  bread.  (Mark3:20.)  Is 
(omit  not)  this  the  sou  of  David?  meaning 
the  Messiah,  see  on  9:  27.  The  Greek  has  an 
interrogative  particle  which  uniformly  im- 
plies that  a  negative  answer  is  expected,  as  in 
7:  16;  11:23,  and  it  is  quite  erroneous  to 
render  '  Is  not  this,'  etc.,  as  in  Tyndale,  Cran., 
Gen.,  and  in  all  the  recent  editions  of  Com. 
Ver.,  while  the  two  earliest  editions,  a.  d. 
1611  and  1613,  give  it  without  the  '  not' ;  found 
already  in  Hammond,  1669  (Trench  on  Rev.),  j 
It  is  true  that  sometimes  the  speaker  may  in- 
tend to  intimate  that  perhaps  the  answer 
ought  to  be  affirmative,  as  here  and  in  John 
4:  29  (Winer,  p.  511  [642] );  but  the  form  of 
expression  is  otherwise,  and  it  ought  to  be 
translated  accordingly.      Colloquial   English. 


could  give  it  quite  exactly.  "This  is  not  the  Mes- 
siah, isit?"  Eng.Rev. give*'Isthis,"Am.Rev., 
"Can  this  be  the  son  of  David,"  as  in  John 
4:  29.  The  miracle  suggested  to  the  crowds 
the  idea  that  Jesus  might  be  the  Messiah;  yet 
surely,  they  would  think,  it  cannot  be  so, 
since  he  does  not  appear  and  act  as  Messiah 
will  do,  viz.,  as  a  mighty  conqueror  and 
splendid  monarch.  Observe  that  the  miracle 
suggested  the  possibility  that  he  was  the  Mes- 
siah;  and  in  v.  38,  some  of  the  Pharisees  ex- 
press their  wish  to  see  a  'sign'  from  him,  after 
it  had  been  intimated  (v.  28)  that  he  was  the 
Messiah.  So  the  Jews  did  expect  the  Messiah 
to  work  miracles,  though  Maimonides  (twelfth 
cent.)  declares  that  no  miracles  are  to  be  ex- 
pected from  the  Messiah  ,  perhaps  departing 
from  the  older  view  in  order  to  secure  an  ar- 
gument against  Jesus. 

24.  But  when  the  Pharisees  heard  it. 
Mark  (3:22)  describes  them  more  particularly 
as  'the  scribes  that  came  down  from  Jerusa- 
lem.' They  had  no  doubt  come  to  Galilee  for 
the  purpose  of  observing  the  miracles  and 
teaching  of  Jesus,  and  seeking  to  prevent  the 
people  from  believing  on  him.  (Comp.  on  v. 
14  and  15:1.)  The  Scribes  usually  belonged 
to  the  great  Pharisee  party,  comp.  v.  88,  and 
see  on  2:  3.  These  men  set  about  their  work 
very  vigorously.  They  saw  that  if  his  mir- 
acles were  recognized  the  people  would  be- 
lieve that  he  was  sent  from  God  (John  3: 2), 
and  then  all  his  teachings  must  be  received 
as  true,  and  all  his  clairns  admitted  as  just. 
Thoy  could  not  question  the  reality  of  the 
healing,  nor  ascribe  it  to  more  human  agency; 
they  therefore  resorted  to  the  absurd  idea  of 
a  league  with  Satan,  though  .Tosus  was  really 
destroying  Satan's  work.  'Heard  it,'  viz., 
the  inquiry  made  among  the  crowds.  This 
fellow  doth  not  cast  out  devils  (the 
demons),  but  by(tra)  Beelzebub,  the  prince 


'So  X  B.  D.,  Old  Latin  (some  copies).  Old  .Syriac,  I  ments:  while  Old  Latin  (most  copies)  and  Latin  Vul- 
Memph.,  JEth.  This  was  easily  altered  into  '  the  blind  '  gate  omit  both  terms,  and  read  simply  '  so  that  he  spake 
and  dumb  man,'  as  in  most  documents  and  Common  '  and  saw.'  These  variations  are  instructive  to  the 
Text,  or  'the  dumb  and  blind  oiau,'  as  in  many  docu-  1  student.    The  first  reading  accounts  for  all  the  othcre. 


268 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  xn. 


25  And  Jesus  knew  their  thoughts,  and  said  unto 
tbeni,  Ei-ery  kingdom  divided  aeainst  itf>elf  is  brought 
to  desolation ;  and  every  city  or  nouse  divided  agaiust 
itself  shall  not  stand  : 


25  but  'by  Beelzebub  the  prince  of  the  demons.  And 
knowing  their  thou^rhts  he  said  uuto  them,  Every 
kingdom  divided  against  itself  is  brought  to  desola- 
tion ;  and  every  city  or  house  divided  against  itself 


of  the  devils  ((Zewons).  'This'  correiponds 
to  the  inquiry  of  v.  23;  there  is  nothing  to 
authorize  the  contemptuous  term  'fellow'  of 
Com.  Ver.  'Demons,'  and  not  'devils,'  see 
on  8:  31.  'In'  rather  than  '  by,'  see  on  9:  34; 
so  also  in  v.  27  f.,  'in  Beelzebub,'  'in  whom,' 
'  in  the  Spiritof  God'  (so  Wyclif  and  Kheims 
in  all  these  expressions),  everywhere  denoting 
intimate  union.  'Beelzebul'  is  unquestion- 
ably' the  proper  form  of  the  name,'  though  it 
might  not  be  worth  while  now  to  attempt  a 
change  in  the  popular  usage.  The  name  was 
probably  derived  from  Baal-zebub,  the  Fly- 
god  of  Ekron  (2  Kings  1:2,3,6,16),  but  there  is 
doubt  as  to  the  reason  for  changing  the  last 
letter,  and  for  applying  the  name  to  Satan. 
(t.  26.)  This  application  to  Satan  is  not  found 
in  the  old  Jewish  writings,  and  only  in  Matt. 
10:  25;  12:  24,  27;  Mark  3:  22;  Luke  11:  15- 
19,  all  referring  to  the  blasphemous  accusation. 
Flies  are  often  so  terrible  a  plague  in  the  East 
that  we  need  not  be  surprised  to  find  one  of  the 
forms  under  which  Baal  was  worshiped  to  be 
Baal-zebub,  Baal  of  the  fly,  or  Lord  of  the 
fly ;  Sept.  makes  it  Baal-fly.  So  one  of  the 
Greek  titles  of  Zeus  (Jupiter)  was  "he  who 
drives  off  the  flies."  It  would  be  very  natural 
for  the  later  Jews  to  express  their  abhor- 
rence of  this  Philistine  idol  by  using  his 
name  for  Satan.  The  change  of  the  last 
letter  may  have  been  merely  euphonic, 
as  Bab-el -mandeb  (the  strait  at  the  en- 
trance of  the  Red  Sea)  is  often  written  Bab- 
el-mandel,  and  Belial  is  sometimes  written 
Beliar;  but  more  likely  the  change  was  de- 
signed to  give  a  new  meaning,  which  might 
be,  according  to  diflferent  etymologies,  (1) 
"  Lord  of  dung" — as  we  know  the  Jews  were 
fond  of  contemptuously  punning  upon  the 
names  of  idols;  or  (2)  "  Lord  of  the  house," 
which  would  agree  with  the  image  of  v.  29. 
This  name  for  Satan  was  sufficiently  common 
to  be  readily  understood,  as  appears  from 
Mark  3:  22,  'he  has  Beelzebul,'  like  'he  has 


a  demon,'  and  from  our  Lord's  using  it  in  his 
reply,  v.  27.  For  the  other  names,  Satan  and 
Devil,  seeon  4:  1.  'Prince' is  literally 'ruler,' 
a  general  term ;  we  do  not  know  the  precise 
nature  of  his  authority  over  the  demons,  but 
everything  indicates  that  it  is  absolute.  Satan 
is  also  called  '  prince  of  this  world '(  Johni2:»i; 
14:30;  16: 11),  and  '  priucc  of  the  power  of  the 
air.'  (Kph. 2:2.)  In  9:  34,  Matt,  has  already 
stated  that  the  Pharisees  had  recourse  to  this 
absurd  charge,  on  occasion  of  a  similar  miracle 
of  healing;  but  he  did  not  there  pause  to  tell 
how  Jesus  refuted  and  solemnly  rebuked  it. 
Luke  11 :  15  ff'.  gives  what  is  probably  a  third 
instance  in  another  part  of  the  country  ;  it 
was  very  natural  that  the  same  class  of  malig- 
nant enemies,  involved  in  the  same  logical 
difficulty,  should  attempt  the  same  blasphe- 
mous explanation. 

25  f.  His  reply  divides  itself  into  v.  25  f. 
(with  which  V.  29  is  closely  connected)  v.  '27  f., 
V.  30,  V.  31  f.,  and  v.  33-37.  And  Jesus 
knew  their  thoughts  and  said,  comp.  on 
9:  4.  'Jesus'  was  an  early  addition  to  the 
text,  being  thought  necessary  for  clearness. 
Such  insertions  of  the  name  frequently  occur. 
The  Scribes  and  Pharisees  appear  to  have 
made  the  blasphemous  charge  in  a  low  tone  to 
those  around  them,  so  that  Jesus  might  not 
hear.  They  were  at  some  little  distance  from 
him,  in  another  part  of  the  principal  room  or 
court  of  the  house  (Marks:  19),  for  Mark  (3:23) 
says  he  'called  them  unto  him'  and  replied 
to  the  charge.  They  were  disposed  to  suggest 
their  slanderous  and  insulting  accusations  in 
an  underhand  way,  and  he  chose  to  reply 
openly.  Mark  says  he  spoke  to  them  'in 
comparisons,'  literally  '  parables,'  see  on 
13:  3.  Our  Lord  in  his  pitying  condescension 
first  argues  calmly  against  their  insulting 
charge,  before  proceeding  to  declare  their 
awful  guilt  in  making  it.  He  does  this,  we 
may  suppose,  partly  to  leave  the  blasphemers 
not  even  a  seeming  excuse,  and  partly  to  pre- 


*  80  in  all  Greek  MSS.  and  most  of  the  early  versions.  I  2  Kings  1 :  2  ff.,  and  Jerome  likewise  probably  borrowed 
Beelzebub  is  found  in  the  Old  and  Vulgate  Syrlac,  the  it  from  the  Hebrew.  The  Latin  Vulgate  made  this 
Vulgate  Latin,  and  one  or  two  copies  of  the  Old  Latin.  |  form  familiar  to  Christendom.  Notice  that  the  margin 
The  Syriac  would  naturally  take  the  Hebrew  form  from  j  ef  Com.  Version  says,  Greek  BeeUebuL 


Ch.  XII.] 


MATTHEW. 


269 


26  And  if  Satan  cast  out  Satan,  he  is  divided  against 
himself;  how  shall  then  his  kingdom  stand? 

27  And  if  I  by  "Beelzebub  cast  out  devils,  by  whom 
do  your  children  cast  them  out?  therefore  they  shall  be 
your  judges. 


26  shall  not  stand:  and  if  Satan  casteth  out  Satan,  he 
is  divided  against  himself;  how  then  shall  bis  kiug- 

27  dom  stand'.'    And  if  I  >  by  Ueelzebub  cast  out  de- 
mons, 1  by  whom  do  your  sons  cast  them  out  ?  there- 


a  Btelxehnl. 1  Or,  in. 


vent  the  bystanders  from  imagining  for  a 
moment  that  there  was  any  ground  for  the 
charge  (comp.  on  v.  30).  His  argument  from 
analogy  does  not  mean  that  every  case  of  in- 
ternal strife  or  civil  war  will  destroy  a  State, 
but  that  such  is  the  tendency,  and  every  such 
act,  so  far  as  it  goes,  contributes  to  that  end. 
And  observe  that  if  this  charge  was  accepted 
as  applying  to  a  single  case  of  casting  out  a 
demon,  it  must  be  understood  as  extending  to 
all  cases;  the  whole  work  of  Jesus  in  casting 
out  demons  must  be  ascribed  to  this  cause, 
and  throughout  his  entire  ministry  he  would 
be  having  the  help  of  Satan  in  breaking  down 
Satan's  power.  That  wise  "prince  of  the 
demons"  is  too  cunning  to  pursue  so  suicidal 
a  course.  And  if  Satan  cast  out  Satan. 
For  the  prince  of  the  demons  to  cast  out  his 
subjects  would  be  virtually  casting  out  him- 
self, since  they  vyere  doing  his  work.  Those 
persons  who  so  dislike  the  rendering  'deliver 
us  from  the  evil  one'  («:  is,  Eev.ver.)  ought  to 
notice  that  here  and  often  Jesus  distinctly 
recognizes  Satan  as  personal. 

27  f.  Condescending,  as  he  did  with  refer- 
ence to  the  Sabbath  (n:sr.),  to  present  the  ar- 
gument in  a  variety  of  ways,  our  Lord  here 
gives  it  a  new  and  startling  turn,  being  what 
logicians  call  argumentum  ad  hominem,  an 
appeal  to  their  own  case.  Your  children 
(sons)  means  those  who  had  been  instructed 
by  the  Pharisees,  like  "sons  of  the  prophets' 
in  2  Kings  2:  3;  comp.  the  use  of  '  father'  for 
a  revered  teacher  in  23:  9;  1  Cor.  4:  15,  and 
'disciples'  of  the  Pharisees  in  22:  16.  Ex- 
orcists would  naturally  belong  to  the  Phari- 
see party,  for  no  Sadducee  would  profess  the 
expulsiort  of  demons,  since  that  party  did  not 
believe  in  spirits,  evil  or  good.  To  make 
'your  sons'  mean  Christ's  own  apostles,  as 
Chrys.  and  other  Fathers,  and  some  modern 
writers  do,  seems  unwarranted  and  absurd, 
leaving  the  argument  without  force.  It 
doubtless  arose  from  an  unwillingness  to  ad- 
mit that  the  Jewish  exorcists  did  really  cast 
out  demons,  and  a  failure  to  observe  that  our 
Lord  does  not  affirm  that  they  did,  but  only 
argues  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  blas- 


phemers. He  appeals  to  the  case  of  their 
own  followers  to  silence  them,  without  then 
stopping  to  examine  the  question  whether 
their  pretended  expulsions  were  real.  (Paul 
uses  the  same  kind  of  argument  in  1  Cor.  15: 
29.)  It  was  very  common,  about  the  time  of  our 
Lord,  for  Jews  to  profess  to  cast  out  demons. 
Curious  accounts  of  the  methods  they  em- 
ployed, such  as  the  use  of  a  remarkable  root, 
with  incantations,  which  they  pretended  were 
handed  down  from  Solomon,  are  given  by 
Josephus,  "Ant.,"  8,  2,  5,  "War.,"  7,  6,  3; 
comp.  Tobit  8:  2;  Justin  Martyr,  Trypho, 
ch.  85.  In  Acts  19:  13  we  read  of  strolling 
Jewish  exorcists  who  thought  there  must  be 
some  magical  charm  in  the  name  of  Jesus 
which  Paul  named  when  working  miracles, 
and  tried  to  use  it  themselves.  Therefore 
they  shall  be  your  judges  ('they'  being 
emphatic,  as  in  6:  4  ff. ;  comp.  on  1 :  21),  i.  e., 
shall  convict  you  either  of  being  yourselves  in 
league  with  Beelzebul,  or  of  unreasonable 
and  wicked  conduct  in  accusing  another  of 
league  with  him  for  doing  what  they  claim  to 
do.  But  if  I  cast  out  devils  (demons)  by 
the  Spirit  of  God,  assumes  that  he  does  ;  and 
he  has  just  shown  that  the  contrary  supposi- 
tion would  charge  Satan  with  sheer  folly,  and 
would  involve  the  accusers  in  self-condemna- 
tion. The  chief  emphasis  of  the  sentence  (ac- 
cording to  the  correct  reading  of  the  Greek) 
is  on  the  words  '  by  the  Spirit  of  God ' ;  but 
'I'  is  also  emphatic,  and  suggests  a  contrast 
between  his  case  and  theirs.  'Spirit'  basin 
the  Greek  no  article,  but  is  made  definite  by 
the  appended  genitive,  since  there  is  but  one 
Spirit  of  God.  Then  is  in  the  similar  passage 
of  Luke  (11:20)  rendered  by  Com.  Ver.  'no 
doubt' — another  of  the  numerous  unnecessary 
variations.  So  'unto  you'  here  in  Com.  Ver. 
and  'upon  you'  in  Luke,  are  for  the  same 
Greek  preposition.  Then  the  kingdom  of 
God  is  (or  has)  come  unto  yon.  Matthew 
here  has  'kingdom  of  God'  instead  of  his 
usual  'kingdom  of  heaven'  (see  on  3:  2) 
probably  because  of  the  verbal  connec- 
tion here  between  'Spirit  of  God'  and 
'kingdom    of    God.'      The    word    rendered 


270 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XII. 


2S  But  if  I  cast  out  devils  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  then 
the  kiugdoiu  of  God  is  come  uuto  ^ou. 

29  Or  else,  how  cau  one  enter  into  a  strong  man's 
house,  and  spoil  his  goods,  except  he  iirat  bind  the 
strong  man?  and  then  he  will  spoil  his  house. 

3U  He  that  is  not  with  me  is  against  me;  and  he  that 
gatbereth  not  with  me  scatteretn  abroad. 


28  fore  shall  they  be  your  judges.  But  if  I  i  by  the 
Spirit  of  God  cast  out  demons,  then  is  the  kiugdom 

29  or  God  come  upon  you.  Or  how  cau  one  enter  into 
the  house  of  the  strong  man,  and  spoil  his  goods, 
except  he  tirst  bind  the  strong  mau?  and  then  he 

30  will  spoil  his  house.  He  that  is  not  with  me  is 
against  me;   and  he  that  gatbereth  not  with  me 


'has  come'  usually  signifies  to  anticipate, 
to  be  beforehand,  and  so  to  come  un- 
expectedly ;  and  some  urge  such  a  sense 
here — has  already  arrived,  when  you  simply 
thought  it  would  come  before  long  —  has 
taken  j-ou  unawares.  But  the  word  ap- 
pears in  the  later  Greek  usage  to  have  some- 
times meant  simply  come,  arrive,  etc.  (i  Tiiess. 
J:  16;  Kom.  9:  31;  Phil.  3:  16.)  The  idea  then  Is,  the 
kingdom  of  God,  the  Messianic  Dispensation, 
has  made  its  appearance  in  your  presence. 
(Comp.  Luke  17:  20  f.)  Here  again,  as  in 
6:  17;  7:  21-23;  12:  8,  our  Lord  strongly  in- 
timates that  he  is  the  Messiah,  yet  without 
distinctly  declaring  it.  The  full  conviction 
announced  by  the  apostles  in  16:  16  seems  to 
have  been  then  recently  arrived  at.  But  that 
conclusion  would  not  preclude,  it  would 
rather  pre-suppose,  a  previous  stage  of  per- 
plexed inquiry,  like  that  of  John  the  Baptist 
(,ii:»),  and  is  not  fundamentally  inconsistent 
with  an  early  flush  of  delighted  persuasion 
when  some  of  them  first  met  him,  as  recorded 
by  John  (i;  «•  «,)  There  is  thus  no  such  con- 
tradiction between  John  and  the  Synoptics  on 
this  point  as  some  have  imagined.  Nor  is  it 
strange  that  Jesus  should  occasionally  inti- 
mate his  Messiaship  long  before  he  thought 
proper  publicly  to  avow  it.  But  what  as  to 
the  force  of  the  argument  in  this  passage? 
How  did  it  follow,  that  if  he  was  casting  out 
the  demons  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  then  the 
kingdom  of  God  had  arrived?  The  miracles 
of  Jesus  did  not  directly  prove  him  to  be  the 
Messiah,  but  they  proved  it  indirectly.  This 
constant  divine  assistance  in  working  his  great 
series  of  miracles  showed  that  he  must  have  a 
divine  mission,  and  attested  all  his  claims  as 
just;  but  he  claimed  to  be  the  Messiah,  as  he 
has  before  intimated  and  intimates  here; 
therefore  the  miracles  proved  him  to  be  the 
Messiah,  So  Paul  says  he  was  shown  to  be 
the  Son  of  God  by  the  resurrection  from  the 
dead.  (Rom.i:*.)  Besides,  incastingoutdemons, 
he  was  to  that  extent  destroying  the  kingdom 
of  Satan,  (v.  2«),  and  in  so  far  establishing  the 
correlative  kingdom  of  God.     (Comp.  v.  29.) 


29.  This  connects  itself  clo.sely  with  the 
thought  of  V,  25  f.  Or,  to  look  at  the  matter 
in  another  way.  (Comp,  7-:  9;  12:  6.)  Else 
in  Com,  Ver,  (following  Cranmer,  Gen.)  has 
no  representative  in  the  original.  How  can 
one  enter,  etc.  This  is  a  general  truth,  with 
an  obvious  application  to  the  matter  in  hand. 
Jesus  was  taking  away  from  Satan  a  part  of 
his  property,  in  delivering  the  demoniacs,  and 
this  could  not  be  unless  he  were  at  variance 
with  Satan,  and  strong  enough  to  bind  him. 
The  word  translated  goods  means  utensils, 
implements  (as  those  for  cooking,  eating, 
sleeping),  and  would  suggest  that  the  demoni- 
acs were  the  instruments  of  Satan.  Spoil,  or 
'plunder,'  at  the  end  of  the  sentence,  repre- 
sents a  compound  word,  'thoroughly plunder,' 

30.  Here  again,  as  in  the  preceding  verses, 
our  Lord  speaks  in  apophthegms  (Mark  3: 23), 
each  sentence  containing  a  d'istinct  truth,  ex- 
pressed in  general  terms.  It  naturallj'  follows 
that  no  connection  between  these  is  outwardly 
indicated,  and  we  are  left  to  see  for  ourselves 
the  internal  connection  of  the  thoughts. 
(Comp,  at  thebeginning  of  ch,  7,)  The  Scribes 
said  that  our  Lord  was  in  league  with  Satan, 
but  in  reality  he  is  opposing  and  overthrow- 
ing Satan's  power,  binding  him,  as  it  were, 
and  plundering  his  house.  In  this  great  and 
deadly  struggle,  there  can  be  no  neutral- 
ity, No  man  can  be  friends  with  both  sides, 
nor  be  indiflTerent  to  both.  It  is  probable  that 
many  of  those  present  were  thinking  they 
would  not  take  sides  between  Jesus  and  the 
blaspheming  Scribes,  To  them,  in  the  first 
place,  this  saying  would  come  home ;  but  it  is 
general,  and  applicable  to  all  times,  and  all 
varieties  of  character  and  conduct.  The  sen- 
tence contains  two  parallel  and  practically 
equivalent  members — the  Hebrew  parallelism. 
(Comp.  on  4:  16.)  The  image  in  the  second 
member  is  from  gathering  grain  in  har- 
vest, as  in  3:  12;  6:  26;  John  4:  36.  Men 
often  fancy  that  they  are  by  no  means  oppos- 
ing Christ's  service,  though  not  engaged  in  it; 
that  they  are  friendly  to  religion  in  others, 
though  not  personally  religious.     But  in  the 


Ch.  XII.] 


MATTHEW. 


271 


31  Wherefore  I  say  unto  you,  All  manner  of  sin  and 
blasphemy  shall  be  forgiven  uuto  men :  but  the  blas- 
phemy against  the  Holy  Ghost  shall  not  be  forgiven 
unto  men. 

32  And  whosoever  speaketh  a  word  against  the  Son 
of  man,  it  shall  be  forgiven  him  :  but  whosoever  speak- 
eth against  the  Holy  Gnost,  it  shall  not  be  forgiven  him, 
neither  in  this  world,  neither  in  the  world  to  come. 


31  scattereth.  Therefore  I  say  unto  you.  Every  sin 
and  blasphemy  shall  be  forgiven  unto  men ;  but  the 
blasphemy  against  the  Spirit  shall  not  be  forgiven. 

32  And  whosoever  shall  speak  a  word  against  the  Son 
of  man  ,  it  shall  be  forgiven  him;  but  whosoever 
shall  speak  against  the  Holy  Spirit,  it  sh.ill  not  be 
forgiven  him,  neither  in  this  '  world,  nor  in  that 


I  Or,  agt. 


nature  of  the  case,  this  is  impossible.  Stier  : 
"Neutrality  here  is  no  neutrality,  but  a  re- 
maining on  the  side  of  the  enemy  ;  indolence 
here  is  no  mere  indolence,  but  opposition  ;  the 
merely  not  believing  and  not  obeying  is  still 
resistance  and  rejection."  The  gospel  is  of 
such  a  nature,  as  to  its  offers  and  its  claims, 
that  it  cannot  tolerate  indifference.  If  it  de- 
serves our  respect,  it  deserves  our  entire  and 
hearty  reception.  If  we  are  not  yielding 
Christ  our  whole  heart,  we  are  really  yielding 
him  nothing.  Professed  neutrality,  with  real 
hostility  of  heart,  may  even  be  more  offensive 
to  him,  and  is  sometimes  more  injurious  in  its 
influence,  than  avowed  opposition. — In  Mark 
9:  40;  Luke  9:  60  there  is  an  expression 
which  at  first  seems  to  contradict  this,  viz., 
'He  that  is  not  against  us  is  for  us.'  But  so 
far  is  this  from  being  the  case  that  both  say- 
ings (Alexander)  "may  be  exemplified  in  the 
experience  of  the  very  same  persons.  For 
example,  Nicodemus,  by  refusingto  take  part 
with  the  Sanhedrin  against  our  Lord,  although 
he  did  not  venture  to  espouse  his  cause,  proved 
himself  to  be  upon  his  side  (Johm:DOf.);  but  if 
he  had  continued  the  sifme  course  when  the 
crisis  had  arrived,  he  would  equally  have 
proved  himself  to  be  against  him."  Comp. 
the  apparently  contradictory  sayings  of  Prov. 
26;  4f.  ;  Gal.  6:  2,  5;  Rom.  3:  28,  as  related  to 
James  2 :  24. 

31  f.  Our  Lord  now  solemnly  declares  that 
a  blasphemy  against  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the 
only  unpardonable  sin;  and  it  is  distinctly 
implied  that  their  accusation,  that  he  cast  out 
demons  by  the  help  of  Beelzebul,  was  a  blas- 
phemy against  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  so 
was  past  forgiven-ess.  Therefore,  viz.,  on 
account  of  all  that  he  has  been  saying,  from  v. 
25  onward.  It  was  manifest  from  such  analo- 
gies that  their  charge  of  league  with  Beelze- 


bul was  absurd  ;  and  they  must  have  known 
that  it  was  not  true,  and  that  the  miracle  was 
really  wrought  by  divine  power.  Jesus  says 
it  was  wrought  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  so 
their  accusation  was  not  merely  an  insult  to  a 
man,  but  a  blasphemy  against  the  Spirit  of 
God.  For  this  reason  he  solemnly  tells  them 
that  such  blasphemy  will  never  be  forgiven. 
And  we  can  see  (Edersh. )  that  their  malignant 
hostility  to  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  as  appear- 
ing in  a  form  so  contrary  to  what  they  ex- 
pected and  would  have  been  willing  to  recog- 
nize, here  reached  an  acme  of  virulence  from 
which  they  went  straight  on  to  procure  his 
death.  I  say  unto  you,  see  on  5: 18,  all  man- 
ner of  sin.  Every  fsin  is  the  exact  transla- 
tion. With  the  general  truth  that  every  sin 
shall  be  forgiven  unto  men,'  he  connects 
the  specific  term  and  blasphemy,  to  leave  no 
doubt  that  every  blasphemy  too  (as  well  as 
every  other  sin)  will  be  forgiven;  and  thus 
brings  out  all  the  more  strongly  the  sole  ex- 
ception, but  the  blasphemy  against  the 
Holy  Spirit  (Me  spirit)  shall  not  be  for- 
given. This  promise  of  forgiveness  for  every 
sin  and  blasphemy  is  of  eourse  to  be  limited 
by  the  conditions  of  repentance,  etc.,  else- 
where laid  down  in  Scripture,  and  understood 
in  such  a  case  without  being  stated.  (Comp. 
on  7:  7  f. )  'Blasphemy'  has  been  explained 
on  9 :  3  as  signifying  in  general  injurious  or 
insulting  speaking,  and  so  with  regard  to  God, 
speaking  impiously.  Blasphemy  was  consid- 
ered among  the  Jews  a  very  great  ofl'cnoe. 
(^8:65.)  In  V.  32  we  find  the  general  expres- 
sion speaketh  against.  Here  the  guilt  of 
what  the  Pharisees  have  done  is  shown  by 
another  contrast  The  Son  of  man,  see  on 
8:  20.  Our  Lord  had  not  distinctly  claimed 
to  be  more  than  man.  To  sjjeak  against  him 
personally,  regarding  him   simply  as  a  man 


>  The  marginal   reading  in  Rev.  Ver.  (not  in  Amer.  1  margin ;  but  it  is  stranpe  that  the  revisers  should  fol- 
Kevisers) 'unto  you  men' has  no  support  but  B,  a  single  I  low  when  internal  evidence  yields  nothing  decisive. 


cursive,  and  a  passage  in  Athanasius.    It  mny  not  be 
strange  that  W  H.  should  cling  to  B  and  put  this  iu  the 


.\fter  the  second  '  forgiven  '  many  documents  add  '  unto 
men  '  as  in  Com.  text,  and  some  add  '  uuto  them.' 


Si72 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XII. 


83  Either  make  the  tree  good,  and  his  fruit  good ;  |  33  which  is  to  come.  Either  mal;e  the  tree  good,  and 
or  else  make  the  tree  corrupt,  and  his  fruit  corrupt ;  j  its  fruit  good  ;  or  make  the  tree  corrupt,  and  its  fruit 
for  the  tree  Is  known  by  his  fruit.  I 


(«.  g.  11 :  19),  did  not  involve  as  great  guilt  as 
to  speak  against  the  Holy  Spirit,  whose  in- 
fluences filled  his  human  spirit  i^see  on  3:  16; 
4:1),  and  gave  to  him,  as  a  man,  the  power 
of  working  miracles,  (v.  as.)  In  the  phrase, 
but  whosoever  speaketh  against  the 
Holy  Ghost,  Spirit,^  the  word  'holy'  is  so 
placed  in  the  Greek  as  to  be  emphatic.  They 
said,  'He  hath  an  unclean  spirit'  (Mark 3 : so i; 
while  in  truth  he  was  full  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
(Yet  there  is  no  propriety  in  inserting  the 
word  '  holy'  in  v.  31,  as  in  Com.  Ver. )  Their 
charge  of  league  with  Beelzebul  was  there- 
fore not  simply'  a  slander  against  the  man, 
Jesus  of  Nazareth,  nor  simply  an  insult  to 
the  Son  of  man,  the  Messiah,  but  was  a  blas- 
phemy against  the  Holy  Spirit.  And  it  will 
not  do  to  say  that  he  was  merely  warning 
them  against  a  possibility;  for  he  is  surely 
speaking  of  the  blasphemy  they  have  uttered, 
as  blasphemy  against  the  Holy  Spirit.  (Comp. 
V.  28.)  It  must  be  observed  that  the  Holy 
Spirit,  the  Spirit  of  God  (v  as),  here  represents 
the  Divinity  in  general.  There  is  here  no  al- 
lusion to  the  peculiar  gracious  ofBce  and  work 
of  the  Spirit  in  calling,  renewing,  and  sancti- 
fying the  soul ;  it  is  the  Spirit  of  God  as  giv- 
ing power  to  work  miracles.  (Comp.  Acts  2: 
4;  8:  14-19,  etc.)  These  Pharisees  ascribe  to 
the  influence  and  aid  of  Satan  what  was  man- 
ifestly and  unmistakably  wrought  by  divine 
power  ;  and  this  was  not  merely  an  insult  to  a 
man,  but  was  a  malignant  insult  to  God. 
Similar,  in  this  particular  respect,  was  the  sin 
of  Ananias  and  Sapphira,  who  undertook  to 
practice  a  deception,  not  merely  upon  the 
apostles,  but  upon  the  Holj'  Spirit,  who 
was  well  known  to  give  them  supernatural 
knowledge.  (Acts5:8(r.)  Paul  had  blasphemed 
Jesus  of  Nazareth,  and  yet  was  forgiven, 
because  he  "did  it  ignorantly,  in  unbelief." 
(iTim.i:i3.)  He  did  not  then  believe  that 
Jesus  spoke  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  there- 
fore was  not  blaspheming  the  Holy  Spirit. 
Afterwards  he  learned  and  taught  that  the 
Spirit    of  God    is    "the  Spirit  of  Christ." 

(lioai.8:».) 


The  conditions,  then,  under  which  this  un- 
pardonable sin  of  blasphemy  against  the  Spirit 
of  God  is  committed,  are  (1)  that  there  shall 
be  a  Work  manifestly  supernatural,  unmistak- 
ably the  work  of  God  and  not  of  man,  and 
(2)  that  one  shall,  in  determined  and  malig- 
nant opposition,  insultingly  ascribe  to  Satan 
this  which  he  knows  to  be  the  work  of  God. 
Now,  are  these  conditions  ever  fulfilled,  except 
in  an  age  §f  miracles?  Can  any  other  divine 
work,  as,  for  instance,  the  conversion  of  a 
friend,  or  a  general  revival  of  spirituality, 
be  so  unquestionably  and  unmistakably  the 
work  of  God,  that  a  person  ascribing  it  to 
Satan  is  guilty,  not  merely  of  sin,  but  of  that 
flagrant  and  deeply  malignant  blasphemy 
against  God  which  is  unpardonable?  This  is 
the  queslion  to  be  decided  ;  and  it  can  hardly 
be  decided  in  the  affirmative.  As  miracles 
continued  throughout  the  apostolic  age,  this 
blasphe  my  against  the  Spirit  may  very  natu- 
rally be  understood  to  be  meant  by  that  "sin 
unto  death  "  which  John  implies  (iJoi>» 5:  le) 
cannot  be  forgiven.  Indeed,  we  seem  com- 
pelled so  to  understand  it,  since  our  Lord  here 
says  that  the  blasphemy  against  the  Spirit  is 
the  only  form  of  sin  that  will  not  be  forgiven. 
The  current  phrase,  "the  sin  against  tlie  Holy 
Ghost,"  is  not  found  in  Scripture,  and  has 
been  formed  by  combining  John's  expression 
with  the  passage  before  us.  And  the  familiar 
idea  of  "sinning  away  one's  day  of  grace" 
ought  not  to  bo  confounded  with  the  blas- 
phemj'  here  spoken  of.  It  has  already  been 
remarked  that  this  blasphemy  does  not  at  all 
refer  to  the  gracious  work  of  the  Spirit  in 
calling  and  regenerating,  but  manifestly  and 
simply  to  his  miraculous  work.  Through 
neglect  of  this  distinction,  persons  often  pass 
from  speaking  of  blasphemy  against  the 
Spirit  to  discussing  what  is  called  "resisting 
the  Spirit,"  without  being  aware  that  these  are 
quite  different  things.  Even  the  passage  in 
1  John  cannot  refer  to  a  person  who  has  re- 
sisted the  Spirit  till  his  influences  are  with- 
drawn, for  no  one  else  could  decide  that  a 
man  was  in  that  condition,  while  the  apostle 


1  The  Rev.  Ver,  here  changes 'Ghost 'to'Splrit'  as  nee-  i  It  would  have  been  much  better  had  the  revisers  ererj- 
essary  in  order  to  agree  with  'Spirit'  in  v.  28  and  31.  I  where  made  this  change.    (Comp.  on  1 ;  18.) 


Ch.  XII.] 


MATTHEW. 


273 


34  O  generation  of  vipers,  liow  can  ye,  being  evil,  I  34  corrupt :  for  the  tree  is  known  by  its  fruit.  Ye  off- 
speak  good  things?  for  out  of  the  abundance  of  the  spring  of  vipers,  how  can  ye,  being  evil,  ay>eak  good 
heart  the  mouth  speaketh.  |       tilings?  for  out  of  the  abundance  of  the  heart  the 


intimates  that  the  "sin  unto  death"  can  be 
definitely  known  to  others,  .since  he  will  not 
say  that  one  who  has  committed  it  shall  be 
prayed  for.— Heb.  6:  4-8  and  10:  26  ff.,  relate 
to  the  sin  of  apostasy,  and  are  therefore  quite 
distinct  from  the  blasphemy  against  the  Spirit, 
though  often  confounded  with  it. 

Neither  in  this  world,  neither  in  the 
world  to  come.    This  is  simply  a  strong  and 
expanded  declaration  that  it  will  never  be  for- 
given.    'World'  is  here  not  kostnos,  the  phy- 
.«ical    universe,    but    nion,  a    period    or  age. 
(Comp.  on  25:  46. )  The  Jews  constantly  spoke 
of  "this  period"  and  "the  coming  period," 
as  separated  by  the  appearance  of  the  Mes- 
siah.    In  the  New  Test,  "the  period  to  come" 
is    usually    conceived    of  as    following   the 
second  coming  of  the  Lord.     (Comp.  on  13 : 
22.)     Weiss:  "Neither  in  this  world-period, 
i.  e.,  in  the  time  up  to  the  Second   Coming, 
nor  in  the  future  world-period,  which  begins 
with  the  Judgment;  and  as  the  Judgment  de- 
cides the  eternal  destiny  of  men,  there  can 
never  in  that  following  period  be  forgiveness 
of  the  sin  which  at  the  Judgment  was  estab- 
lished and  subjected  to   punishment."     Our 
Lord's  expression  might  in  itself  imply  that 
some  sins  not  forgiven  in  this  world  will  be 
forgiven  in  the  world  to  come  (Olsh.) ;  but  it 
does  not  necessarily,  nor  even  very  naturally 
teach  this;  and  as  the  idea  is  unsupported  by, 
and  inconsistent  with,  the  general  teachings 
of  Scripture  on  that  subject,  it  is  quite  im- 
proper to  base  so  important  a  doctrine  as  that 
of  "a  second  probation"  in  the  future  life, 
upon  the  merely  possible  meaning  of  this  one 
pasfsage,  with  perhaps  the  addition  of  1  Pet. 
3:  19,  according  to  one  possible  interpretation. 
That  he  only  means  to  say  it  will  never  ho  for- 
given, is  confirmed  by  Mark  3:   29  (correct 
text),  'hath  never  forgiveness,  but  is  guilty  of 
an  eternal  sin.'     Other  sins  may  be  blotted 
out,  and,  .so  to  speak,  cease  to  exist;  but  this 
must  continue,  from  the  time  it  is  committed, 
always    existing,    an    everlasting   sin.      The 
thought  of  V.   31   (.    is   not  recorded  as  re- 
peated on  the  similar  occasion  of  Luke  11: 


14,   23,   but  on  yet   another   occasion,  Luke. 
12:  10. 

33-35.  It  might  be  said  that  here  was  only 
speech,   only   words.     But  the  speech   came 
from  the  heart,  and  showed  the  character,  as 
the  tree  is  known  from  the  fruit.     This  un- 
pardonable blasphemy  was  just  what  might 
be  expected  from  its  authors;  thej'  were  bad 
men,  and  they  would  say  bad  things.     The 
portion  of  the  discourse  in  v.  33-37  is  recorded 
by  Matt.  onlj'.     The  terms  of  v.   33  are  the 
same  as  in  7:  16-19,  where  see  Notes.     There 
the  thought  is  that  we  must  test  character  by 
conduct;  here  it  is  that  conduct  (including 
speech)  is  all  the  more  important  because  it 
corresponds  to  and  reveals  character.     There 
has  been  much  discussion  about  the  sense  of 
make,  some  explaining  it  as  signifying  're- 
gard,' 'consider' ;  others,  '  suppose  to  be,' etc. 
The  idea  seems  to  be  that  the  fruit  will  be  like 
the  tree,  and  if  you  make  the  tree  good  you 
make  its  fruit  good.     The   word    'make'    is 
thus  understood  in  its  ordinary  sense.     His, 
the  old  possessive  'his'  from  it  (hyt),  see  on 
24:  32;    modern  its.   Generation  (offspring) 
of  vipers,  the  same  expression  as  in  3:  7.* 
This  was  strong  language  and  severe ;  but  the 
loving    Saviour    did    not    shrink    from    the 
severest  rebukes  where  they   were    needed. 
These  would  be  prompted,  indeed,  as  much 
by  love  to  sinners,  as  by  indignation  at  their 
sin.     (Comp.  on  5 :  2^). )    How  can  ye,  being 
evil,  speak  good  things?    How  is  it  possi- 
ble, in  the  nature  of  things,  that  you  should? 
This  is  a  moral,  not  a  constitutional  impossi- 
bility.   For  out  of  the  abundance  of  the 
heart,  more  exactly,   'the  superabundance.' 
The  word  implies  excess,  that  the  heart  is  full 
and  more  than  full ;  the  mouth  speaks  what 
pours  forth  from  the  overflowing  heart  (comp. 
15:   18);    and  as  their   heart   overflows  with 
wickedness,   how  can  it  be  that  thoy  should 
speak  what  is  good?     Comp.  1  Sam.  24:  13.— 
V.  35  varies  the  image  to  that  of  a  treasure, 
or  store,  the  word  not  necessarily  indicating 
something  precious.   The  good  man  has  in  hiiu 
a  good  store,  and  he  brings  out  from  it  good 


»  What  is  the  propriety  of  saying  (Weiss)  that  the  i  to  believing  that  Jesus  used  the  same  phrase?  Such 
Evangelist  has  manifestly  taken  this  phrase  from  .John  '  arbitrary  dicta  are  far  from  giving  real  support  to  a 
the  Baptist's  discourse?    What  objection  can  there  be    theory. 

S 


274 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XII. 


35  A  good  man  out  of  the  good  treasure  of  the  heart 
bringeth  forth  good  things:  and  an  evil  uiauout  of  the 
evil  treasure  briugeth  forth  evil  things. 

30  But  I  say  unto  you,  That  every  idle  word  that  men 
shall  speak,  they  shall  give  account  thereof  in  the  day 
of  judgment. 

37  For  by  thy  words  thou  shaltbe  justified,  and  by 
thy  words  thou  shalt  be  condemned. 


3o  mouth  speaketh.  The  good  man  out  of  his  good 
treasure  bringeth  forth  good  things;  and  the  evil 
man   out  of  his  evil  treasure  briugeth   forth  evil 

36  things.  And  1  say  unto  you,  that  every  idle  word 
that  men  shall  speak,  they  shall  give  account  thereof 

37  in  the  day  of  judgment.  For  by  thv  words  thou 
Shalt  be  justified,  and  by  thy  words  thou  shalt  be 
condemned. 


thinj^s.     This  of  course  means  the  store  of  his 
inner  man,  heart,  and  so  the  word  "heart" 
was  early  added,  in  some  quarters  (as  Old 
Syriac  version),  by  way  of  explanation,  being 
suggested  by  v.  34,  and  passed  into  many  later 
documents  and  the  Com.   text.      Bringeth 
forth  is  literally  casts  out,  throws  out,  the 
word  explained  on  9:  38,  and  here  perhaps 
implying  that  the  evil  things  are,  as  it  were, 
involuntarily  thrown  out,  "  as  a  fountain  doth 
its  waters,  by  a  natural  and  necessary  ebulli- 
tion"  (Barrow).     The  fact  that  men  speak 
good  or  evil  according  to  their  nature,  by  no 
means  frees  them  from  guilt.     This  ought  to 
be  understood  from  general  principles;   but 
our  Lord  leaves  no  room  for  uncertainty  on 
the  subject,   for  he  proceeds  to  declare  that 
words,  even  idle  words,  must  be  answered  for. 
36  f.  But  (and)  I  say  unto  you,  solemnly 
introducing  an  important  saying  (as  in  v.  31), 
see  on  5:  18.     Though  they  spoke  so  heed- 
lessly   the    most    blasphemous    words,    and 
doubtless  thought,  as  men  are  apt  to  do,  that 
what  one  says  is  of  little  importance,  j'et  he 
assures  them  that  men  shall  give  account  for 
every   idle  word.     'Idle'   exactly   renders 
the  original  term,  which  signifies  '  not  work- 
ing,'   and    hence    ineflBcient,    useless,    etc. — 
words  not  intended  to  produce   any  effect. 
In  the  day  of  judgment,  see  on  11 :  22.     In 
v.  37,  by  thy  words,  is  literally  out  of  thy 
words,  as  a  thing  proceeding  from  their  words, 
a  result  or  consequence  of  them.     Of  course 
he  does  not  mean  that  it  will  proceed  from 
their  words  alone;  every  one  admits  the  fact 
as  to  actions,  and  words  are  here  the  subject 
of  remark.     The  repetition  of  'by  thy  words' 
makes  the  statement  more  weighty  and  im- 
pressive.    Words  are  important  because  they 
reveal  character  (v.  3."),  ss),  and  because  they 
powerfully  affect  others.     The  only  sin   de- 
clared to  be  unpardonable  is  a  sin  of  speech 
(t.  31  f.)  ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  "  if  any  man 
offend  not  in  speech,  the  same  is  a  perfect  man, 
and  able  also  to    bridle  the  whole    body." 
(james»:2.)    Spcech  is  indeed  one  of  the  grand 
distinctions  of  human  beings,  and  a  mighty  | 


power  for  good  or  evil.  But  this  passage  must 
not  be  understood  as  condemning  all  light 
pleasantries  of  conversation;  itsimply  declares 
that  the  idlest  nothings  we  ever  utter  are  in- 
cluded within  the  range  of  accountability  to 
God.  We  must  therefore  see  to  it  that  our 
pleasantries  are  not  essentially  untruthful, 
that  they  are  free  from  malice  and  impurity 
—in  a  word,  that  they  are  innocent  and  help- 
ful.    (Com p.  on  5:  37.) 

HOMILETICAL  AND  PBACTICAL. 

V.  23.  Different  effects  produced  by  the 
outward  evidences  of  Christianity.  1)  Many 
half  convinced  that  it  is  divine,  but  mainly 
inclined  to  reject  it,  v.  23.  2)  Some  per- 
suading themselves  and  others  that  it  is  not 
divine,  that  its  effects  are  to  be  otherwise  ex- 
plained, V.  24.  3)  Some  trying  to  play  neu- 
tral, v.  30.  4)  Some  requiring  further  evi- 
dence, suited  to  their  own  notion,  v.  38.  5) 
Some  rejoicing  to  believe  and  ready  to  obey, 
V.  49  f. — V.  24.  Anything  to  explain  away 
the  divine  power  of  Christianity;  anything, 
though  it  be  absurd,  insulting,  blasphemous. 
— V.  25  f.  The  forces  of  evil  in  the  world  do 
not  act  at  hazard,  nor  by  blind  fate,  but  are 
directed  bj'  a  loftj'  and  shrewd  intelligence. — 
V.  26.  Satan  and  his  kingdom.  •  1)  There  is 
a  personal  spirit  of  evil.  2)  He  has  a  king- 
dom. 3)  The  demons  ar.e  his  subjects,  and 
are  striving  to  make  men  his  subjects  forever. 
4)  Jesus  opposes  and  shakes  Satan's  kingdom. 
(Comp.  Luke  10:  17-19.)— V.  30.  We  must 
be  definitely  Christ's  friends,  or  we  are  defi- 
nitely his  enemies.  Vinet,  "Gospel  Studies," 
preaches  from  this  text  on  "The  Intolerance 
of  Christianity,"  and  from  Luke  9:  50  on 
"  The  Tolerance  of  Christianity."— V.  31. 
Gladly,  in  several  recorded  cases,  the  Saviour 
said,  "Thy  sins  are  forgiven  thee."  Sorrow- 
fully he  says  that  this  sin  "shall  not  be  for- 
given."— V.  33.  Henry:  "Unless  the  heart 
be  transformed,  the  life  will  never  be  thor- 
oughly reformed." — V.  34.  A  heart  over- 
full of  evil,  a  mouth  overflowing  with  evil. — 
V.  37.     Chrys.  :   "Wherefore  not  the  slan- 


Ch.  XII.] 


MATTHEW. 


275 


38  Then  certain  of  the  scribes  and  of  the  Pharisees 
answered,  saying,  Master, we  would  see  a  sign  from  thee. 


38      Then  certain  of  the  scribes  and  Pharisees  an- 
swered him,  saying,  i  Master,  we  would  see  a  sign 


1  Or,  Teacher. 


dered,  but  the  slanderers,  have  need  to  he 
anxious  and  to  tremble.  For  the  former  are 
not  constrained  to  answer  for  themselves, 
touching  the  evil  things  which  are  said  of 
them,  but  the  latter  for  the  evil  they  have 
spoken ;  and  over  these  impends  the  whole 
danger." — V.  36  f.  Speech.  1)  It  is  a  pe- 
culiarity of  human  beings,  and  a  great  power 
in  human  life.  2)  It  reveals  character,  v.  35. 
3)  We  are  accountable  not  only  for  purposely 
wicked,  but  for  idle  speech,  v.  36.  4)  Speech 
will  help  to  determine  our  eternal  future. 
DoDDRiDGK:  "Discourse  tending  to  innocent 
mirth,  to  exhilarate  the  spirits,  is  not  idle  dis- 
course; as  the  time  spent  in  necessary  recrea- 
tion is  not  idle  time" 

38-50.  Two  Other  Cases  of  Opposi- 
tion TO  Jesus. 

These  two  instances  of  opposition  belong 
together  (t*6),  and  clearly  seem  to  have  fol- 
lowed immediately  upon  the  blasphemous 
accusation.  The  word  then  (t. 38)  does  not 
certainly  prove  this  (comp.  v.  22),  but 
there  is  an  obvious  internal  connection ; 
and  notice  that  in  Mark  (3:3i)  the  coming  of 
the  mother  and  brethren  immediately  follows 
the  blasphemous  accusation,  and  the  house 


and  the  multitude  correspond.      (Mark  3:20;  3: 

31  f.) 

I.  38-42.  The  Scribes  and  Pharisees 
ASK  A  Sign.  Comp.  Luke  11:  29-32,  which 
probably  refers  to  a  subsequent  occasion,  in 
Judea  or  Perea.     (See  above  on  v.  22. ) 

38.  Answered.  This  was  their  response 
to  the  severe  and  solemn  words  he  had  just 
spoken,  (v.  »i-37.)  Certain  of  the  Scribes 
and  Pharisees  (comp.  on  v.  24)  did  not 
concur  with  those  he  had  reproved  in  ascrib- 
ing his  miracles  to  Beelzebul  (comp.  Luke 
11:  16  f.),  but  they  intimated  that  the  miracles 
he  had  wrought  were  insufficient  to  satisfy 
them  of  his  divine  mission,  and  as  he  had  im- 
pliedly claimed  to  be  the  Messiah  (v'^s)  they 
would  like  to  see  him  present  a  sign  such  as 
they  would  admit  to  be  unmistakable.  Their 
language  was  respectful,  but  their  design  was 
bad,  as  appears  from  our  Lord's  reply;  and 
Luke  declares  on  the  similar  occasion  that 
they  did  it  'tempting  him.'  (Lukeu:i6.) 
Teacher,  didaskalos,  see  on  8 :  19.  We 
would  (wish  to)  see,  as  in  16:  24.* 

All  we  are  here  told  is  that  they  asked  to 
see  a  'sign'.  Luke(n:i6)  says  that  on  the 
similar  occasion  '  they  sought  of  him  a  sign 


*  There  are  three  Greek  words  used  in  the  New  Test, 
to  denote  what  we  commonly  and  loosely  call 
"  miracles." 

1.  Tercu  signifies  something  portentous,  suited  to 
excite  astonishment  or  alarm.  The  Npw  Test,  has  it 
only  in  the  plural,  and  always  in  connection  with 
'signs.'  It  is  uniformly  translated  in  Com.  Ver. 
'  wonders.'  (Comp.  24 :  24.)  2.  Dunaviis  strictly  signi- 
fies power,  whether  physical  or  moral,  whether  natural, 
acquired,  or  bestowed,  and  is  often  translated  '  power,' 
(e.  g.,  1i:  29 ;  24 :  29  f . ;  26  :  64,  and  in  Rev.  Ver.  14 :  2.) 
It  is  in  Com.  Ver.  translated  '  miracle'  in  Mark  9  :  39; 
Act8  2:22;8:13;I9:ll;lCor.l2:10,28,29;GaI.3:5;Heb. 
2 :  4.  Of  these  passages  Rev.  Ver.  gives  '  mighty  work ' 
in  Mark  9:  39  ;  Acts  2 :  22, '  powers  '  in  Heb.  2  :  4,  and 
retains  'miracle'  In  the  rest,  always  putting 'power'  in 
the  margin.  So  Com.  Ver.  gives  '  wonderful  works '  in 
7  :  22  (Rev.  Ver.  '  mighty  works '),  and, '  mighty  works ' 
Inll:  20-23;  13:  54,  68;  14:  2;  Mark  6:  2,5,14;  Luke 
10:  13;  19:  37,  which  Rev.  Ver.  retains,  except  that  in 
Mark  6:  14  it  changes  to  'powers,'  as  in  Matt.  14:  2. 
And  yet  in  all  these  places  except  Mark  6:2  it  was  al- 
ready rendered  '  miracles '  by  Tyndale,  Cran.,  Gen.,  and 
Rheims.  So  Xoyes,  except  in  Mark  6:  14.  This  confu- 
sion might  be  almost  entirely  corrected  by  uniformly 


rendering  this  word  '  miracle '  wherever  it  denotes  a 
deed  of  supernatural  power;  since  our  word  miracle, 
although  in  its  Latin  origin  signifying  a  wonder,  is  now 
reg'ilarly  used  in  the  general  sense  of  a  supernatural 
deed.  3  Semeion,  a  'sign,'  that  by  which  something 
is  signified  or  known,  is  used  of  things  not  supernatural 
in  16:  3;  26:  48;  Luke  2:  12;  2  Thess.  3:  17  ('token.') 
In  all  other  passsges  it  denotes  some  more  or  less  dis- 
tinctly supernatural  event.  It  is  usually  translated 
'sign.'  But  Com.  Ver.  has  'miracle' in  Luke  23:  8; 
John  2:  11,23;  3:  2;  4:  54;  6:  2,  14,26;  7:  31;  9:  16; 
10:  41;  11:  47;  12:  18,  37;  Acts  4:  16,  22;  6:  8;  8:  6; 
15:  12;  Rev.  13:  14;  16:  14;  19:  20;  and  'wonder' 
in  Rev.  12:  1,3;  13:  13.  In  all  these  passages  Rev. 
Ver.  has  given  'sign,' except  Luke  23:  8;  .\cts4:  16, 
22,  where  it  retains  'miracle,'  placing  'sign'  In  the 
margin.  In  these  last  cases  miracle  seems  in  English  a 
better  word,  but  the  other  would  sutfice,  and  Rev.  Ver. 
has  often  sacrificed  much  more  than  this  to  preserve 
uniformity  of  rendering.  The  Bible  Union  Revision 
renders  uniformly  the  first  word  by  'wonder,'  the 
second  by  '  miracle,'  the  third  by  'sign.'  This  uniform 
rendering  would  make  the  important  subject  of  mir- 
acles in  the  New  Test,  appreciably  plainer  to  the  Eng- 
lish reader. 


276 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XII. 


39  But  he  answered  and  said  unto  them,  An  evil  and 
adulterous  generation  seeketh  after  a  sign ;  and  there 
shall  no  sign  be  given  to  it,  but  the  sign  of  the  prophet 
Jonas : 

40  For  as  Jonas  was  three  days  and  three  nights  in 
the  whale's  bellf ;  so  shall  the  t>ou  ot  man  be  three  days 
and  three  nights  in  the  heart  of  the  earth. 


39  from  thee.  But  he  answered  and  said  unto  them. 
An  evil  and  adulterous  generation  seeketh  alter  a 
sign;  and  there  shall  no  sign  be  given  to  it  but  the 

40  sign  of  Jonah  the  prophet:  for  as  Jonah  was  three 
days  and  three  nights  in  the  belly  of  ihe  i  whale; 
so  shall  the  Sou  of  man  be  three  days  and  three 


1  Or.  tea  monster. 


from  heaven.'  And  on  another  occasion 
(M.itt.  16:1),  it  is  likewise  'a  sign  from  heaven.' 
Moses  gave  manna  from  heaven,  Joshua 
made  the  sun  and  moon  stand  still,  Samuel 
caused  thunder  and  hail  in  time  of  harvest, 
Elijah  brought  down  fire  from  heaven,  and 
rain  at  his  word,  Isaiah  (speaking  for  Je- 
hovah) bade  Ahaz  ask  for  a  sign,  "either  in 
the  depth,  or  in  the  height  above."  Some  such 
sign  as  these  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees  prob- 
ably wanted.  They  may  have  taken  literally 
the  prediction  of  Joel  2:  30.  (Acta  2: 19.)  Comp. 
below  on  24 :  30. 

39,  40.  An  evil  and  adulterous  gene« 
ration,  viz.,  one  which  has  forsaken  Je- 
hovah, and  demands  a  sign  such  as  itself  may 
dictate.  'Adulterous,'  when  thus  figura- 
tively employed,   is  usually  applied  in  Old 

Test,  to  idol  atry  (is*-  57 :  3 ;  Eiek.  16 :  15 ;  Hosea  3:1,  etc.), 

but  it  is  applicable  also  to  any  sin  by  which 
the  nation  forsook  her  divine  husband. 
(Comp.  James  4:  4,  Rev.  Ver.)  The  Jews  had 
never  been  generally  idolatrous  since  their 
return  from  the  Babylonian  captivity,  but 
they  were  God-forsaking  and  wicked.  And 
there  shall  no  sign  be  given  to  it.  Our 
Lord  wrought  many  miracles,  and  these  actu- 
tkWy  were,  and  ought  to  have  been  considered, 
signs  of  his    divine  mission,  as  Nicodemus 

early    recognized.     (John3:2,  Rev.  Ver., 'signs.')      But 

•when  with  a  blending  of  idle  curiosity  and 
unbelief,  they  asked  him  to  furnish  a  special 
'sign '  (and  of  the  precise  kind  that  suited  their 
fancy),  he  would  not  do  it.  So  likewise  in 
16:  4,  also  at  Nazareth  (Lnite4:23ff.),  and  before 
Herod.  (LDke23:8f.)  But  the  sign  of  the 
prophet  Jonas.  Jonah  instead  of  Jonas, 
see  on  1 :  2.  For  as  Jonas  was  three  days 
and  three  nights  in  the  Avhale's  belly, 
or,  in  the  belly  of  the  'huge  fish.'  The  Greek 
word  is  used  for  any  huge  sea-creature,  by 
Homer  once  for  a  seal,  at  a  later  period  for 
the  whale,  the  shark,  the  dog-fish,  etc.  The 
Hebrew  simply  says  'a  great  fish,'  and  the 
Greek  term  does  not  enable  us  to  say  what 
kind  of  fish  it  was.    It  was  translated  '  whale ' 


because  that  is  the  largest  of  the  huge  crea- 
tures denoted  by  the  Greek  word ;  but  the 
rendering  was  unfortunate,  for  the  whale  has 
not  a  throat  sufficiently  large  to  swallow  a 
man,  and  this  fact  has  given  rise  to  some 
sneers  from  skeptics  of  the  lower  grade.  The 
shark  or  the  dog-fish  could  readily  swallow  a 
man,  and  entire  human  bodies  have  some- 
times been  found  in  the  stomach  of  fishes  of 
this  kind.  The  prophet's  preservation  was 
obviously  miraculous;  but  it  is  useless  to 
make  the  mere  deglutition  a  miracle,  when 
the  language  does  not  really  so  indicate.  So 
shall  the  Son  of  man,  i.  e.,  the  Messiah,  see 
on  8:  20.  In  the  heart  of  the  earth.  This 
expression  was  probably  used  with  reference 
to  that  of  Jonah  2:  3,  'heart  of  the  seas'; 
comp.  Deut.  4:  11,  'unto  the  heart  of  heaven,' 
Psa.  46:  2,  'in  the  heart  of  the  seas,'  (all  these 
passages  in  Rev.  Ver.  and  margin  of  Com. 
Ver.)  The  reference  is  to  our  Lord's  inter- 
ment, and  the  passages  compared  show  that 
there  is  no  propriety  in  insisting,  as  many  do, 
that  the  language  is  too  strong  for  that  simple 
idea,  and  must  therefore  be  referred  to  what 
is  called  his  "descent  into  Hades."  Three 
days  and  three  nights.  See  Jonah  1 :  17. 
Our  Lord  was  actually  in  the  grave  less  than 
thirty-six  hours,  but  it  began  before  the  close 
of  Friday,  and  closed  on  the  morning  of  Sun- 
day, and  according  to  the  mode  of  counting 
time  among  the  Jews,  this  would  be  reckoned 
three  days,  both  the  first  and  the  last  day 
being  always  included.  (Comp.  on  17  :  1,  and 
on  27  :  63  f )  The  only  difficulty  is,  that  he  not 
merely  says  "three  daj^s,"  but  "three  days 
and  three  nights,"  when  he  spent  only  two 
nights  in  the  tomb.  But  the  Jews  reckoned 
the  night  and  day  as  together  constituting 
one  period,  and  a  part  of  this  period  was 
counted  as  the  whole.  Lightfoot  quotes  from 
the  Jerusalem  Talmud  two  Rabbis  as  saying, 
"A  day  and  a  night  make  an  Onah,  and  a 
part  of  an  Onah  is  as  the  whole."  There  was 
no  way  to  express  in  Greek  this  period  of 
twenty-four  hours,   except  by  daj'  and  night 


Ch.  XII.] 


MATTHEW. 


277 


41  The  men  of  Nineveh  shall  rise  in  judgment  with 
this  generation,  and  shall  condemn  it:  because  they 
repented  at  the  preaching  of  Jonas ;  and,  behold,  a 
greater  than  Jonas  is  here. 


41  nights  in  the  heart  of  the  earth.  The  men  of  Nin- 
veh  shall  stand  up  in  the  judgment  with  ibis  gene- 
ration, and  shall  condemn  it:  lur  they  repeuted  at 


(or  night  and  day)  as  here,  or  by  the  late  and 
extremely  rare  Greek  compound  'night-day' 
(nuchthemeron)  used  in  2  Cor.  11 :  25.  It  was 
natural  to  choose  here  the  former  phrase 
(even  if  we  suppose  the  other  known  to  Mat- 
thew), in  order  to  state  more  strongly  the  sim- 
ilarity of  the  two  cases.  "We  find  a  parallel 
use  in  1  Sam.  30:  12  f.,  where  it  is  first  said 
that  the  Egyptian  had  eaten  nothing  "three 
days  and  three  nights,"  and  then,  "  my  mas- 
ter left  me  because  three  days  ago  I  fell  sick." 
So  also  in  Esther  4:  16;  5:  1.  Some  have  in- 
ferred from  this  passage  of  Matthew  that  Jesus 
must  have  remained  seventy-two  full  hours 
in  the  grave ;  but  some  of  the  expressions  used 
in  speaking  of  his  resurrection  absolutely 
forbid  this.  See  on  27:  63.  The  only  sign 
which  should  be  given  to  that  wicked  genera- 
tion was  'the  sign  of  Jonah  the  prophet,'  a 
sign  resembling  the  miracle  which  occurred 
in  the  case  of  Jonah,  viz.,  the  resurrection  of 
Jesus  after  being  three  days  in  the  tomb. 
Jonah's  miraculous  deliverance  from  the  belly 
of  the  fish  would  naturally  be  made  known 
by  him  to  the  Ninevites,  in  accounting  for 
the  zeal  with  which  he  proclaimed  his  message. 
(Comp.  Luke  11 :  30;  'Jonah  was  a  sign  to  the 
Ninevites'),  and  would  contribute  to  their 
reception  of  his  message.  And  so  the  resur- 
rection of  Jesus  was  to  be  a  sign  to  that  gen- 
eration, which  ought  to  conquer  the  unbelief 
of   the   most  perverse,   and  did   conquer  in 

many    cases.      (Act«2:32ff. ;  4:33j   Rom.  1:4.)        JeSUS 

makes  a  similar  obscure  allusion  to  his  resur- 
rection in  John  2:  21,  in  which  case  also  he 
had  been  asked  for  a  '  sign.'  (John  2:  i8.)i 

,41.  By  a  natural  association  of  ideas,  our 
Lord  passes  to  say  that  the  men  of  'this  gen- 


eration '  are  acting  much  more  wickedly  than 
did  the  Ninevites.  It  was  a  sublime  spectacle 
when  the  whole  population  of  that  vast 
heathen  city,  the  proud  king,  the  nobles  and 
all,  down  to  the  very  humblest,  repented  at 
the  preaching  of  Jonah.  (Jouah3:5-io.)  Thisre- 
pentance,  both  in  the  grief,  the  reformation, 
and  the  prayer  for  forgiveness,  must  have 
been  genuine,  for  otherwise  God  would  not 
have  regarded  it,  nor  would  Jesus  have  ap- 
pealed to  it  here.  Subsequent  generations 
relapsed  into  idolatry,  but  so  it  often  was  with 
Israel.  Shall  rise,  more  literally,  stand 
up,  and  Rev.  Ver.  so  renders,  in  order  to  leave 
room  for  the  idea  of  standing  up  to  bear 
witness,  as  in  Matthew  14:  57.  But  this 
is  the  common  term  for  the  resurrection, 
more  common  than  the  literal  'be  raised'  of 
V.  42,  and  does  not  probably  mean  anything 
else  in  the  present  case.  In  {the)  judgmeut, 
see  on  11 :  22.  With  this  generation,  i.  e., 
along  with,  in  company  with.  And  shall 
condemn  it,  show  its  guilt  and  desert  of  con- 
demnation, by  the  contrast  between  its  con- 
duct and  their  own.  (Comp.  11:  22-24.) 
Repented,  the  verb  corresponding  to 
metanoia  (see  on  3:  2),  denoting  not  merely 
regret,  but  change  of  mind.  Tyndale,  Cran., 
Gen.,  "  amended."  At  the  preaching,  or 
proclamation,  the  word  being  derived  from 
the  verb  kerusso,  explained  on  4:  17.  The 
7>reposition  rendered  'at'  is  e?'s,  usually  ren- 
dered 'into'  or  'unto,'  and  often  denoting 
design  or  aim.  It  cannot  possibly  have  that 
sense  here,  for  certainly  the  Ninevites  did 
not  repent  in  order  that  Jonah  might  preach. 
It  clearly  introduces  the  occasion  or  ground 
of  the  repenting  -   (Winer,  p.  397  [495]) ;  and 


I  Dr.  Hort  says  (W  H.,  App.,  p.  282)  that  in  this  pas- 
sage "  It  is  difficult  to  believe  that  all  the  words  as  they 
stand  have  apostolic  authority."  Dr.  Toy  (Quotations 
p.  XXVIII.)  holds  it  probable  that  Jesus  said  only  what 
is  recorded  in  Luke  II:  30,  and  the  rest  in  Matthew 
was  added  by  "  the  oral  tradition."  Why  not  then  refer 
to  another  similar  passage,  Mark  8  :  12,  "  There  shall  no 
sign  be  given  unto  this  generation,"  and  conclude  that 
Jonah  was  not  really  mentioned  by  Jesus  at  all  ?  Why 
draw  one  conclusion  and  not  the  other,  except  because 
the  miracle  of  the  great  flsh  does  not  please  the  critics  ? 
i-deek  attempts  an  argument  to  prove  that  Luke's  My 


count  is  alone  authentic ;  but  he  is  amply  refuted  by 
Weiss.  In  fact  (though  we  need  not  urge  it),  does  not 
Luke's  own  language  really  rest  on  the  resemblance 
of  the  three  days  and  three  nights?  How  i-lsc  (Weiss 
Godet)  did  Jonah  '  become '  a  sign  to  the  Ninevites? 
and  why  else  does  Jesus  say  in  Luke  that  the  Sou  of 
man  '  shall  be '  a  sign,  instead  of  '  is '  ? 

2  The  Old  Latin  gives  herein  some  of  its  forms  the 
word-for-word  translation  mprrt!(itca(ion«n,  while  other 
forms  and  the  Vulgate  have  in  pradicatiofie.  The 
Peshito  has  '  i7i,'  i.  e.,  on  the  ground  of. 


278 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XII. 


42  Thequeen  of  the  south  shall  rise  up  in  the  judg- 
lueut  with  iliis  eeueratiun,  and  shall  condeiuuit:  lor 
ehe  came  from  the  utteruiost  parts  of  the  earth  to  hear 
the  wisdom  of  Solomou  ;  uud,  behold,  a  greater  thau 
Solomon  is  here. 


42  the  preaching  of  Jonah ;  and,  behold,  '  a  greater 
than  Jonah  is  here.  The  queen  of  the  south  shall 
rise  up  in  the  judgment  with  this  generation,  and 
shall  condemn  it ;  tor  she  came  from  the  ends  of  the 
earth  to  hear  the  wisdom  of  Solomon ;  and  behold, 


4:<  When  the  unclean  spirit  is  gone  out  of  a  man,  he  43  i  a  greater  than  Solomon  is  here.  But  the  unclean 
walketb  through  dry  places,  seeking  rest,  and  findeth  spirit,  when  -he  is  gone  out  of  the  man,  passeth 
none.  I       through  waterless  places,  seeking  i-est,  and  fludelh 

1  Or.  more  Man 2  Or,  <(. 


SO  it  may  possibly  have  the  same  force  in 
3:  11  and  Acts  2:  38.  And  behold,  calling 
attention  to  something  important.  A  greater 
— or  wore— than  Jonah  is  here.  The  word 
is  neuter,  not  'a  greater  (man),'  but  '(some- 
thing) more.'  (Comp.  on  11:  9;  12:6.)  If 
more  than  Jonah  was  here,  then  the  men  of 
this  generation  were  under  greater  obligation 
to  repent  than  the  Ninevites,  and  all  the  more 
guilty  for  not  repenting.  Some  records  of 
buried  Xineveh  have  been  recently  exhumed, 
and  the  world  eagerly  reads  their  strangely 
recovered  history ;  let  us  not  forget  that  the 
Ninevites  of  Jonah's  day  will  rise  up  in  the 
judgment  and  condemn  all  those  of  every  age 
who  hear  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  and  will 
not  repent.  Weiss:  "If  John  already  was 
more  than  a  prophet  (n^s),  why  should  not 
the  mightier  one  to  whom  he  pointed  (s:  n)  be 
beyond  comparison  more  than  Jonah?" 
"Wherever  the  gospel  of  Jesus  is  really 
preached,  the  same  thing  holds  true;  for  the 
gospel,  when  spoken  by  the  humblest  fol- 
lower of  Christ,  has  higher  claims  to  be  be- 
lieved and  heeded  than  had  the  solemn  warn- 
ing of  Jonah.  This  reply  of  our  Lord  some- 
what resembles  that  made  at  Nazareth. 
(Luke  4: 23  ff.)  In  both  cascs  miracles  were  de- 
manded, and  in  both  the  answer  rebuked  the 
arrogance  of  their  claim  by  showing  that  God 
had  sometimes  blessed  Gentiles  rather  than 
Jews. 

42.  Another  historical  instance  is  added,  to 
show  still  further  the  wickedness  of  this  gen- 
eration. They  not  only  refused  to  heed  the  call 
to  repentance  made  by  a  more  than  prophet, 
but  they  slighted  the  wisdom  taught  by  a 
more  than  Solomon.  The  queen  of  the 
south,  called  in  1  Kings  10:  1-10  'the  queen 
of  Sheba.'  This  people,  usually  called  the 
Sabaeans,  appeartohave  occupied  a  large  por- 
tion of  Southern  Arabia.  In  this  fertile  region 
they  grew  rich  by  agriculture  and  trade, 
especially  the  great  trade  with  India,  from 
which  country  they  brought  spices,  precious 
stones,   etc.,  to  supply  the  Western   nations. 


Hence  came  that  abundance  of  costly  articles 
which  astonished  the  court  of  Solomon.  In 
Joel  3:  8  the  Sabaeans  are  called  "a  nation 
far  off,"  and  so  in  Jer.  6:  20,  Sheba  is  "a  far 
country."  This  corresponds  with  our  Lord's 
expression,  came  from  the  uttermost  parts 
(the  ends)  of  the  earth  (comp.  Deut.  28: 
49),  which,  according  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
time,  would  be  no  exaggeration  as  applied  to 
the  southern  extremity  of  the  Arabian  penin- 
sula. 'Ends'  is  literal  (so  Wye,  and 
Rheims),  and  simpler  than  'uttermost  parts' 
(Tj'ndale  and  followers).  There  were  few 
books  in  the  days  of  this  queen,  and  the  only 
way  to  get  the  full  benefit  of  some  famous 
man's  wisdom  was  to  visit  and  convei-se  with 
him.  In  our  day  of  multiplied  literature, 
thoughtful  conversation  on  important  topics 
is  too  little  practiced.  A  greater  (more)  thau 
Solomon  is  here,  as  in  v.  41.  It  must  have 
startled  the  Jews  very  much  to  find  Jesus 
quietly  intimating  that  he  was  superior,  not 
only  to  the  prophet  Jonah,  but  to  Solomon, 
the  magnificent  monarch,  the  revered  sage. 
In  the  case  of  a  mere  man,  and  a  man  wise 
and  humble,  such  a  claim  would  seem  strange. 
Shall  not  the  delicate  woman,  who  took  this 
long  and  trying  journey  to  hear  the  wisdom 
of  Solomon,  condemn  us  in  the  day  of  judg- 
ment, who  have  the  history  and  writings  of 
Solomon,  the  life  and  sayings  of  Jesus,  re- 
corded in  a  book  which  is  any  hour  within 
our  reach — if  we  neglect  to  seek  its  treasures 
of  wisdom  ? 

II.  43-45. — .Jesus  Illustrates  the 
Consequences  of  Neglecting  His  Teach- 
ings. So  on  the  similar  occasion  of  Luke  11 : 
24-26.  The  illustration  was  doubtless  sug- 
gested by  the  healing  of  a  demoniac  (12:22) 
which  had  led  to  the  foregoing  discourse. 
Plumptre  thinks  this  parable  "comes  in  ab- 
ruptly." But  the  wicked  conduct  of  'this 
generation '  in  disregarding  him  who  is  more 
than  Jonah  or  Solomon  (v.  41  f.)  is  accounted 
for  by  the  parable,  which  is  distinctly  applied 
to  them  (v. 45)  and  gives  to  our  Lord's  imme- 


Ch.  XII.] 


MATTHEW. 


279 


44  Then  he  saith,  I  will  return  into  my  house  from 
whence  I  came  out;  and  when  he  is  come,  he  tindeth 
it  empty,  swept,  and  garnished. 

4.5  Then  goeth  he,  and  taketh  with  himself  seven 
other  spirits  more  wicked  than  himself,  and  they  enter 
in  and  dwell  there:  and  the  last  state  of  that  man  is 
worse  than  flie  first.  Even  so  shall  it  be  also  unto  this 
wicked  generation. 


44  it  not.  Then  ihe  saith,  I  will  return  into  my  house 
whence  I  came  out ;  and  when  i  he  is  come,  'he  tind- 
eth it  empty,  swept,  and  garnished.  Then  goeth 
1  he,  and  taketh  with  ^  himself  seven  other  spirits 
more  evil  than  !<  himself,  and  they  enter  in  and 
dwell  there :  and  the  last  state  of  thiit  man  becometh 
worse  than  the  first.  Even  so  shall  it  be  also  unto 
this  evil  generation. 


1  Or, it. ...20r,ifeV. 


diate  hearers  a  new  warning.  This  view  is 
made  clearer  by  proper  reading  'but'  in  v. 
43.  For  when,  etc.,  read,  but  the  unclean 
spirit,  when  he  is  gone  out  of  the  man,  the 
spirit  and  the  man,  meaning  a  supposed  or 
ideal  individual,  taken  as  representative  of 
what  always  happens  in  such  a  case.  For 
^unclean'  see  on  10 :  1  and  8:28.  He,  or 
it,  as  in  margin  of  Rev.  Ver.,  the  Greek 
word  for  'spirit'  being  neuter,  and  so  the  pro- 
noun being  neuter.  (So  in  v.  44  and  45.) 
Throngh  dry  {waterless)  places,  the  literal 
translation.  It  was  a  prevailing  Jewish  idea 
that  evil  spirits  especially  frequented  desert 
or  desolate  places,  see  Tobit  8:3;  Baruch  4: 
35.  And  it  need  not  be  considered  merely  as 
a  Jewish  notion,  for  it  is  favored  by  the  im- 
agery of  this  passage  and  of  Eov.  18:  2.  If 
the  evil  spirits  that  infest  the  earth  are  some- 
times not  occupied  in  possessing  or  tempting 
men,  what  spots  would  seem  to  be  a  more  ap- 
propriate abode  for  them  than  parched  and 
desolate  places?  As  to  demoniacal  posses- 
sions, see  on  8:  28.  That  demons  did  some- 
times re-enter,  after  being  cast  out,  is  implied 
by  Mark  9:  25,  "Come  out  of  him  and  enter 
no  more  into  him."  The  house  denotes  the 
man  whom  he  had  possessed  or  occupied. 
Upon  returning,  the  spirit  finds  the  house  un- 
occupied, swept,  and  adorned — ;iust  ready  for 
an  occupant;  which,  as  said  of  the  man,  de- 
notes that  after  being  delivered  from  the  un- 
clean spirit  he  does  not  occupy  his  mind  and 
heart  with  other  and  better  tilings,  but  lives 
in  a  state  of  readiness  for  repossession.  This 
language  distinctly  intimates  that  the  possi- 
bility of  demoniacal  possessions  depended  (at 
least  in  some  instances)  on  the  moral  and 
spiritual  condition  of  the  person,  as  well  as  on 
his  physical  and  mental  health.  The  unclean 
spirit,  finding  no  rest  in  all  his  wandering.*, 
no  spot  where  he  can  be  content  quietly  to  \ 
remain,  comes  to  re-enter  his  'house';  and 
seeing  it  to  be  in  such  excellent  condition  for 
occupation,  he  goes  after  others  to  share  it  i 
with  him.     Seven  other  spirits,  the  com-  1 


mon,  oft-recurring  number  (comp.  Luke  8 : 
2,  and  a  much  greater  number  in  Matt.  5:9.) 
More  wicked.  There  seem  then  to  be  de- 
grees of  wickedness  among  the  demons;  just 
as  we  find  in  Mark  9:29,  that  some  were 
harder  to  cast  out  than  others.  And  the  last 
state  (things)  of  that  man  is  (or,  becomes) 
worse  than  the  first  (things),  i.  e.,  his  last 
fortunes  or  condition.  Some  propose  to  take 
the  passage  as  a  purely  hypothetical  illustra- 
tion, derived  from  common  fancies  and  modes 
of  expression,  and  not  implying  that  such  a 
thing  ever  really  happens  as  a  dispossession 
and  repossession.  We  have  seen  on  8:  28 
that  the  demoniacal  possessions  must  be  taken 
as  Teal,  there  being  greater  diflBculties  about 
any  other  view.  And  so  here.  The  illustra- 
tion is  an  ideal  instance,  as  the  forms  of  ex- 
pression show,  but  it  corresponds  to  and  repre- 
sents realities.  Even  so  shall  it  be  also 
unto  this  wicked  generation,  comp.  v. 
89;  16:4;  24:34.  Our  Lord  distinctly  ap- 
plies his  illustration  to  the  Jewish  nation  of 
his  own  generation.  The  dispossession  may 
refer  to  the  remarkable  abandonment  of 
idolatry  after  the  captivity,  and  the  compara- 
tively improved  religious  and  moral  condi- 
tion of  the  people.  Then  the  empty,  swei)t, 
and  garnished  st:ige  might  describe  the  refusal 
to  occupy  themselves  with  the  spiritual  and 
salutary  teachings  of  Jesus.  Or,  the  dispos- 
session may  refer  to  the  great  impression 
made  by  John  and  Jesus  (n:i2),  which  in 
most  of  the  people  was  proving  temporary,  so 
that  in  finally  rejecting  the  Messianic  reign 
they  would  become  more  completely  than 
ever  the  subjects  of  Satan,  and  in  forty  years 
more  would  plunge  into  sore  calamity  and 
ruin.  Various  additional  applications  of  the 
illustration  might  be  made,  as  in  others  of  our 
Lord's  parables;  but  such  applications  are  of 
cour.se  made  by  ourselves  without  claiming 
that  they  were  contemplated  by  Jesus. 

III.  40-50.  His  MnTiiKR  AND  Bkkthren 
Try  to  Spkak  to  Him.  Comp.  Mark  3:  31- 
85;  Luke  8:  19-21.     It  was  not  enough  that 


280 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XII. 


46  While  he  yet  talked  to  the  people,  behold,  his 
mother  niul  his  brethrvu  stood  without,  desiriug  to 
speak  with  hiiu. 

47  Then  one  jiaid  unto  him,  Behold,  thy  mother  and 
tiiy  brethren  stand  without, desiring  to  speak  with  thee. 

48  Kut  he  answered  and  said  unto  him  that  told  him. 
Who  is  my  mother?  and  who  are  my  brethren  ? 


46  While  he  was  yet  speaking  to  the  multitudes,  be- 
hold, his  mother  and  his  brethren   stood   without, 

47  seeking  to  speak  to  him.    i  And  one  said  unto  him, 
Behold,  thy  mother  and  thy  brethren  stand  without, 

48  seeking  to  speak  to  thee.     But  he  answered  and  said 
unto  him  that  told  him,  Who  is  my  mother?  and 


I  Some  ancient  Huttaoritlea  omit  ver.  47. 


the  leading  men  among  his  own  people  whom 
he  came  to  save  (JoimiiJi)  rejected  him  with 
blasphemies ;  but  it  was  a  part  of  the  cruel 
opposition  Jesus  had  to  encounter  (Heb.  12:3), 
that  some  of  his  nearest  kindred  for  a  long 
time  misunderstood  him,  so  that  his  brethren 
taunted  him  (Johu7:3-5),  and  on  the  present 
occasion  "his friends"  even  said  he  was  insane, 
and  wished  to  stop  his  teaching  by  force. 
(Mark.3:2i.)  By  Combining  this  account  with 
that  of  Mark  (3:20,21,31)  we  see  that  Jesus  and 
the  Twelve  came  into  a  house,  where  a  crowd 
assembled,  so  that  they  could  not  so  much  as 
eat  bread,  and  that"  his  friends"  (Mark3:2ij, 
upon  hearing  of  it  went  forth  to  seize  him, 
saying  that  he  was  'beside  himself.'  Tlie 
peculiar  expression  in  Mark  does  not  contain 
the  term  'friends,'  but  signifies  those  that 
were  of  his  family,  or  his  country,  or  his 
party,  etc.  It  cannot  here  mean  the  apostles, 
for  they  were  with  him  in  the  housj;  and  as 
"his  motherand  his  brethren"  presently  reach 
the  house  (Mark  3: 31)  desiring  to  speak  with  hiin, 
it  is  natural  to  understand  that  they  are  meant 
bj'  the  phrase,  vaguely  rendered,  'his  friends.' 
Comp.  Fritz,  and  Mey.  (on  Mark),  Grimm, 
"Winer,  etc.  Meantime,  in  the  house,  he 
healed  a  demoniac,  and  then  occurred  the 
blasphemous  accusation  and  the  discourse  fol- 
lowing. While  he  was  yet  speaking,  his 
mother  and  brethren  arrived  at  the  house,  and 
finding  it  difficult  to  enter  because  of  the 
crowd  (v.  46;  Mark  3: 20),  they  passcd  in  word 
that  they  were  without,  and  were  seeking  to 
gpeak  to  him.  Seeking  is  the  literal  and 
exact  translation,  and  so  Wye.  and  Kheims, 
while  Tyndale  and  his  followers  improperly 
rendered  it  by  desiring,  which  fails  to  indi- 
cate that  efforts  were  made.  His  brethren, 
see  on  13:  65.     On  any  view  they  were  near 


relatives,  which  is  sufficient  for  the  present 
passage.  Bible  Com. :  "From  the  mention  of 
his  mother  and  his  brethren  only,  it  has  been 
conjectured,  with  some  probability,  that 
Joseph  was  now  dead."  V.  47  must  pretty 
certainly  be  omitted, 1  having  been  brought  in 
here  from  Mark  and  Luke  to  explain  the 
phrase  'him  that  told  him'  in  v.  48.  There 
is  evidently  no  loss  of  substantial  meaning. — 
Are  we  to  understand  that  Mary  wished  to 
seize  him,  and  thought  him  beside  himself? 
She  must  surely  have  remembered  what 
Gabriel  had  told  her,  and  Simeon  and  Anna 
had  said ;  how  can  she  have  questioned  that 
he  was  the  Messiah,  and  was  to  sit  on  the 
throne  of  his  father  David?  Did  she  merely 
give  way  to  the  influence  of  the  '  brethren,'  or 
did  she  in  fact,  as  many  prefer  to  think,  go 
along  from  no  sympathy  with  their  views  or 
intentions,  but  in  order  to  interpose  between 
Jesus  and  their  violence?  Some  suppose  that 
they  were  only  concerned  abt)ut  his  health, 
from  hearing  that  he  was  so  thronged  as  to 
have  no  opportunity  of  taking  food,  and  was 
still  speaking  on  with  solemn  vehemence  and 
consuming  zeal ;  but  this  would  hardly  have 
made  them  venture  to  'seize'  him.  (Maik3:2i.) 
Our  Lord's  reply  here  seems  to  intimate  that 
she,  as  well  as  the  brethren,  was  unwarrant- 
ably interfering  with  his  work,  as  he  had 
gentlj'  rebuked  her  for  doing  on  a  former 
occasion.  (John  2: 4.)  Perhaps  Mary  sometimes 
became  perplexed,  as  John  the  Baptist  appears 
to  have  been  (see  on  11 :  2),  by  her  son's  pur- 
suing a  course  so  widely  different  from  what 
she,  in  common  with  other  Jews,  exi)ected  of 
the  Messiah  ;  and  in  this  frame  of  miiKf  she 
could  more  easily  be  prevailed  on  by  the 
'brethren'  to  accompany  them,  without  fully 
sharing  either  their  view  or  their  purpose. 


1  It  is  wanting  in  X  (first  hand),  B  L  T,  four  cursives. 
Old  Syriac,  and  two  copies  of  the  Old  Latin.  There  is 
obvious  ground  for  supposing  it  to  have  been  inserted 
here  from  the  equivalent  statement  which  occurs  with- 
out variation  in  Mark  3:  32;  Luke  8:  20.  We  can  see 
no  reason  why  it  should  have  been  omitted,  if  originally 


present,  save  a  possible  offence  at  the  repetition  of  the 
same  words,  as  in  v.  46;  but  that  is  a  peculiarity  of 
Hebrew  style,  too  common  in  the  Bible  to  have  pro- 
voked critical  excision.  It  is  omitted  in  Weiss  and 
WH. 


Ch.  XII.] 


MATTHEW. 


281 


49  And  he  stretched  forth  his  hand  toward  his  dis-  I  49  who  are  my  brethren  ?    And  he  stretched  forth  his 


ciples,  and  said,  Behold  my  mother  and  my  brethren 

50  For  whosoever  shall  do  the  will  ot  my  Father 
which  is  in  heaven,  the  same  is  my  brother,  and  sister, 
and  mother. 


hand   towards   his  disciples,  and  said,  Behold,  my 
50  mother  and  my  brethren  !     For  whosoever  shall  do 
the  will  of  mv  Father  who  is  in  heaven,  he  is  my 
brother,  and  sister,  and  mother. 


The  person  who  told  Jesus  naturally  thought 
that  he  would  considerthe  claimsof  his  mother 
and  brothers  as  paramount,  and  would  at  once 
go  forth,  or  cause  them  to  he  admitted.  But 
he  knew  how  his  brothers  misunderstood  him, 
and  was  aware  that  their  motive  at  present 
was  not  friendly.  It  seems  to  be  implied  that 
he  continued  his  discourse,  and  only  when  this 
was  finished,  and  the  crowd  was  dispersing, 
went  out  and  spoke  with  them.  (Comp.  on 
13:  1.)  However  that  may  be,  he  took  the 
occasion  to  make  a  most  affecting  declaration 
of  his  love  for  his  disciples — for  all  who  do  the 
will  of  his  Father  in  heaven.  What  he  said 
was  addressed  especially  to  the  person  who 

spoke  to  him  (v.«8);  but  also  (MarkS:34;Luke8:21) 

to  the  persons  present  in  general.  He 
stretched  forth  his  hand  towards  his 
disciples  (comp.  Mark  3:  34\  the  word  here 
probably  including  other  disciples  as  well  as 
the  Twelve  (see  on  5  :  1).  The  same  (liter- 
ally He)  is  my  brother,  with  emphasis  on 
'he,'  as  in  1:  21.  And  sister.  Our  Lord 
had  'sisters'  in  the  same  sense  in  which  he 
had  'brothers,'  probably  in  the  most  natural 
sense  (see  on  13:  56).  Observe  that  he  does 
not  say  brother,  or  sister,  or  mother  (i  Tim.  5:2), 
but  each  person  is  at  the  same  time  '  brother 
and  sister  and  mother,'  as  much  beloved  as  all 
these  combined.  Somewhat  similarly  An- 
dromache saj's  to  her  husband,  "  Hector,  thou 
art  to  me  father,  and  revered  mother,  and 
brother,andthou  my  blooming  spouse."  Luke 
(8; 21)  only  gives  the  general  sentiment  in  the 
briefest  form.  And  so,  no  doubt,  many  a 
discourse  of  our  Lord,  which  of  necessity  is 
very  briefly  reported  to  us,  was  in  the  actual 
delivery  full  of  such  pointed  interroeation 
and^  impressive  repetition  as  we  have  here  in 
Matthew  and  in  Mark. 

HOMILETICAL   AND    PRACTICAL. 

V.  38  f.  Men  often  demand  further  evi- 
dence of  Christianity  when  they  have  abund- 
ant evidence  but  for  their  determination  not 
to  believe.  There  is  a  moral  probation  in- 
volved in  believing  or  rejecting  the  gospel. 
(1  Cor.  1: 18-25.)  Henry:  " Sigus  wcrc  granted 
to  those  who  desired  them  for  the  confirma- 


tion of  their  faith,  as  to  Abraham  and  Gideon ; 
but  were  denied  to  those  who  demanded  them 
for  the  excuse  of  their  unbelief" — V.  39.  The 
Jews  of  our  Lord's  generation.  1)  Wicked 
and  God- forsaking,  v.  39.  2)  Demanding  fur- 
ther evidence  amid  all  his  teachings  and  mira- 
cles, and  in  his  own  impressive  presence,  v. 
38.  3j  Grown  worse  since  the  first  temporary 
effect  of  his  ministry,  v.  45.  4)  On  their  way 
to  the  sin  of  crucifying  their  Messiah,  and  to 
national  calamity  and  destruction.  5)  Des- 
tined to  stand  ashamed  at  the  judgment  in 
the  presence  of  Gentiles  whom  they  despised, 
v.  41  f. — V.  39  f  Jonah  and  Jesus.  1)  Jonah 
a  great  prophet,  and  Jesus  more  than  Jonah. 
2)  The  sign  of  Jonah,  and  the  sign  of  Jesus' 
resurrection.  3)  The  preaching  of  Jonah,  and 
the  preaching  of  Jesus.  4)  The  effect  of  tiie 
one  and  of  the  oth.  r. 

V.  42.  Henry:  "The  Queen  of  Sheba.  1) 
She  had  no  invitation  to  Solomon,  nor  promise 
of  being  welcomed;  but  we  are  invited  to 
Christ,  to  sit  at  his  feet  and  hear  his  words. 
2)  Solomon  was  but  a  wise  man  ;  but  Christ  is 
wisdom  itself.  3)  The  queen  had  many  diffi- 
culties to  break  through — leaving  her  country 
to  subordinates — a  laborious  and  perilous  jour- 
ney ;  we  have  no  such  difficulties.  4)  She  could 
not  be  sure  that  Solomon  would  equal  his  fame ; 
but  we  come  to  Christ  upon  no  such  uncertain- 
ties. 5)  She  came  from  the  ends  of  the  earth ; 
but  we  have  Christ  among  us,  and  his  word 
nigh  us.  6)  It  should  seem  the  wisdom  she 
came  for  was  only  philosophy  and  politics; 
but  the  wisdom  that  is  to  be  had  witli  Christ 
is  wisdom  unto  salvation." 

V.  4:^-45.  Whenever  a  nation  or  an  indi- 
vidual attempts  a  reformation,  the  evil  princi- 
ples and  habits  that  are  cast  out  must  be  vigor- 
ously and  permanently  replaced  by  good 
principles  and  habits,  or  the  evil  will  return 
and  be  worse  than  ever. 

V.  48.  Jesus  and  his  mother.  1)  Trained 
by  her,  Luke  2:  40.  2)  Subject  to  her,  Luke 
2:  61.  3)  Gently  rebuking  her— a)  Luke  2: 
49;  h)  John  2:4;  c)  Matt.  12:  48.  4)  Provid- 
ing for  her,  John  19:  20  f.  5)  Loving  all  true 
Christians  even  more  than  he  loved  her,  v.  50. 
Edersueim:  "For  had  ho  not  entered  into 


282 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  xiir. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


THE  same  day  went  Jesus  out  of  the  house,  and  sat 
by  tho  sea  side. 
2  Ami  great  multitudes  were  gathered  together  unto 
him,  so  that  he  went  into  a  ship,  aud  sat;    aud  the 
whole  multitude  stood  on  the  shore. 


1  On  that  day  went  Jesus  out  of  the  house,  and  sat 

2  by  the  sea  side.    And  there  were  gathered  unto  him 
great  multitudes,  so  that  he  entered  into  a  boat,  and 


earthly  kinship  solely  for  the  sake  of  the 
higher  spiritual  relationship  which  he  was 
about  to  found?  Thus  it  was  not  that  Christ 
set  lightly  by  his  mother,  but  that  he  con- 
founded not  the  means  with  the  end,  nor  yet 
surrendered  the  spirit  for  the  letter  of  the  law 
of  love."  Bengkl:  "He  does  not  contemn 
the  mother,  but  he  puts  the  Father  first." 
Chrys.  :  "If  she  is  nothing  profited  by  being 
his  mother,  were  it  not  for  piety  in  her,  hardly 
will  any  one  else  be  saved  by  his  kindred. 
For  there  is  one  onl^'  nobleness,  to  do  the  will 
of  God.  This  kind  of  noble  birth  is  better 
than  the  other,  and  more  real." 


FIRST  GREAT  GROUP  OF  PARABLES. 

Ch.  13:  1-33.— The  Parable  of  the 
Sower. 

The  Parable  of  the  Sower,  and  apparently 
all  those  in  ch.  13,  were  delivered  on  the  same 
day  (t.  1)  with  the  discourse  occasioned  by  the 
blasphemy  against  the  Spirit.  (See  on  12 : 
22,  38.)  Jesus  went  forth  from  the  house  in 
which  the  blasphemous  accusation  had  ocur- 
red,  and  sat  beside  the  Lake  of  Galilee,  and 
there  spoke  the  parables  of  v.  1-35,  viz.,  the 
Sower,  the  Tares,  the  Mustard-seed,  and  the 
Leaven.  Then  leaving  the  crowds  and  enter- 
ing the  house  (v.36),  he  added  the  parables  of 
the  Hid  Treasure,  the  Prechms  Pearl,  and  the 
Net.  (v.  36-53.)  On  the  evening  of  that  same 
day  (M«rk4:35)  he  went  across  the  lake  to  the 
district  of  Gadara,  stilling  the  tempest  on  the 
way.  ai^d  there  healed  the  two  demoniacs — 
incidents  which  Matthew's  mode  of  grouping 
topically  has  led  him  to  introduce  in  an 
earlier  part  of  his  treatise.  (8:isto9:i.)  What 
a  busj'  day  was  this!  beginning  and  ending 
with  miracles,  and  filled  with  remtirkable  dis- 
courses. And  our  Lord  felt  to  the  full,  in  his 
human  nature,  all  that  bodily  and  mental 
fatigue    and  prostration    which    such  labors 


must  produce.  Seizing  upon  every  oppor- 
tunity of  doing  men  good,  excited  by  a  con- 
suming zeal,  yearning  in  unutterable  pity 
over  the  perishing,  oppressed  by  responsibili- 
ties such  as  no  other  was  ever  called  to  feel, 
and  harassed  by  the  most  unjust  and  insult- 
ing accusations,  he  toiled  on  through  the  day, 
and  at  evening  was  so  tired  that  he  slept 
st)undly  on  the  cushion  amid  all  the  tossing  of 
the  waves  and  roar  of  the  storm.  Another 
example  of  a  very  busy  day  is  pointed  out  in 
14:  33;  a  third  was  the  day  of  the  Passion  ; 
and  doubtless  there  were  many  others,  it  being 
only  occasionally  that  the  brief  narratives  of 
the  Evangelists  give  us  any  complete  view  of 
his  occupation  throughout  the  diiy.  With  this 
section  comp.  Mark  4r:   1-25;  Luke  8:  4-18. 

1  f.  The  house,  see  12 :  46,  and  comp.  Mark 
3 :  20.  Sat,  the  usual  posture  of  a  Jewish 
teacher  when  giving  instruction.  (Comp.  5: 
1.)  By  the  sea  side,  the  Lake  of  Galilee. 
(See  on  4:  18.)  Great  multitudes,  or 
'many  crowds,'  the  same  expression  as  in 
4:  25;  12:  15,  and  often.  These  crowds  so 
thronged  around  him  that  he  could  not  be 
seen  as  he  sat,  and  could  not  himself  have  any 
commanding  view  of  those  he  addressed. 
When  he  entered  the  boat,  probably  swing- 
ing by  its  cable  or  its  anchor  some  feet  from 
the  shore,  and  all  the  crowds  stood  upon  the 
sloping  and  sandy  beach,  the  situation  was  a 
beautiful  one  for  agreeable  and  impressive 
speaking.  Much  less  probable  is  Plumptre's 
view,  that  he  entered  a  boat  to  prevent  a  "hos- 
tile attack."  The  precise  point  on  the  lake 
shore  cannot  be  determined,  but  it  was  prob- 
ablj'^  in  the  Plain  of  Gennesaret.  Ship,  or 
boat,  ^  as  in  Latin  versions,  Wye,  and  Rheums, 
rather  than  'ship,'  as  in  Tyn.  and  followers. 
(Comp.  on  4:  21.)  Stood  on  the  shore, 
beach,  the  exact  word  for  the  Greek,  which 
denotes  a  pebbly  or  sandy  shore,  such  as  the 
Plain  of  Gennesaret  exhibits. 


1  It  is  probably  safer  to  follow  the  text  '  into  a  boat,' 
rather  than  the  common  Greek  text,  which  ought  to 
have  been  translated  '  into  the  boat.'  But  the  article 
may  have  been  omitted  by  Alexandrian  correctors 
(K  B  C  L  Z,  some  cursives),  because  no  boat  has  been 


recently  mentioned  in  the  narrative.  So  in  8 :  23  the 
article  is  omitted  by  X,  (second  hand)  B  C,  some  cur- 
sives. We  could  explain  the  article  l)y  referring  to 
Mark  3:  9,  and  supposing  that  the  boat  there  ordered 
had  been  kept  for  the  use  of  the  little  company. 


ch.  xiii:] 


MATTHEW. 


283 


3  Au  J  he  spake  many  things  unto  them  in  parables,  | 
saying,  Behold,  a  sower  went  forth  to  sow ;  | 


3  sat ;  and  all  the  muliitude  stood  on  the  beach.    And 
he  spake  to  them  many  things  iu  parables,  saying, 


3.  He  spake  many  things  unto  them  in 
parables.  The  nature,  design,  and  proper 
interpretation  of  our  Lord's  parables  is  a  sub- 
ject of  great  importance. 

1.  The  Greek  word  which  we  borrow  in  the 
form  parable  signifies  a  comparison,  convey- 
ing literally  the  notion  of  putting  things  side 
by  side,  whereby  their  resemblance  will  be 
perceived.  A  corresponding  Hebrew  word 
(mashal)  is  employed  in  the  Old  Test,  to  de- 
note (1)  an  illustrative  comparison  (Ezek. i7:a; 
24:  s)  ;  (2)  a  sententious  saying  or  apophthegm, 
such  as  frequently  involves  a  comparison 
(proT.  1 : 1, 6;  M:  7, 9;  Ecoi.  12 ; 9)  ;  (3)  a  Current,  often 
repeated  saying  of  this  kind,  a  proverb  (isam. 

10:12;24:13;    Kiek.  12  :  22 ;   18 :  2.  »,  etc.  )  ;    (4)    any  high 

wrought  expression,  done  into  parallel  clauses 
like  a  comparison,  as  was  common  in  Hebrew 

poetry  (Num.  23  : 1,  is ;  Job  27 :  l ,  29  :  1 ;  Isa.  14  :  4 ;  Mlc.  2:4; 

Heb.  2:8);  (5)  an  obscure  and  deep  saying 
(P3a.49:4;  78:2),  siuce  pithy  Comparisons  fre- 
quently require  much  reflection  in  order  to 
get  their  full  meaning.  It  was  natural  that 
the  New  Test,  writers  should  employ  the  Greek 
word  with  a  somewhat  similar  latitude  of  ap- 
plication.    Accordingly  we  find  it  denoting 

(a)  an  illustrative  comparison  without  the  form 

of  narrative  (15 :  15 ;  24 :  32  ;  Mark  3  :  23  ;  Luke  5 :  36;  6 :  39) ; 

(b)  an  illustrative  comparison  in  the  form  of 
narrative,  which  is  the  common  use  in  the 
first  three  Gospels,  and  has  occasioned  the 
popular  restriction  of  the  term  to  our  Lord's 
narrative  illustrations;  (c)  a  narrative  illus- 
tration not  involving  a  comparison,  as  the  Rich 
Fool,  the  Pharisee  and  Publican,  the  Good  Sa- 
maritan, the  Rich  Man  and  Lazarus;  (d)  a 
proverb  (Luke4:28),  corresponding  to  which  we 
find  that  in  John  10:  6  another  word,  which 
strictly  denotes  a  proverb,  is  applied  to  an 
illustrative  comparison;  (e)  a  profound  or 
otherwise  obscure  saying  (see  on  13:  3o,  and 
comp.  Ecclus.  38:  33;  39:  2  f.) ;  (f )  a  symbol 
or  image  not  expressed  in  language  at  all. 
(Heb.9:9;  11:19.)  Commonly,  then,  in  Matthew, 
Mark,  and  Luke,  (John  does  not  employ  it), 
the  word  we  borrow  as  parable  denotes  an 
illustration,  most  frequently  in  the  fortii  of 
narrative,  and  usually,  in  accordance  with  the 
origin  of  the  term,  involving  a  comparison, 
though  sometimes,  as  in  (c),  it  is  only  an  ex- 
ample of  the  matter  in  hand,  a  case  in  point. 


The  popular  restriction  of  the  term  to  narra- 
tive illustrations,  is  unfortunate,  for  there  is 
no  essential  difference  between  these  and  other 
illustrative  comparisons.  (See  Drummond, 
" Parabolic  Teaching  of  our  Lord.")  Some 
of  the  narrative  parables  are  very  brief,  as  in 
V.  44  f.  We  are  sometimes  unable  to  decide 
whether  the  narrative  is  real  or  fictitious.  But 
in  the  latter  case  the  story  is  always  possible, 
while /a6Zes  are  often  impossible,  representing 
beasts  and  trees  as  speaking,  etc.  The  dis- 
tinction some  propose  between  parables  and 
allegories  is  precarious.  Is  not  the  parable  of 
the  Prodigal  Son  an  allegory? 

2.  Our  Lord's  design  in  employing  these 
characteristic  illustrations  must  be  considered 
as  manifold.  (1)  Like  all  other  teachers,  he 
illustrates  moral  and  spiritual  truth  by  com- 
parison of  things  physical  and  social,  the  ma- 
terial for  this  abounding  in  actual  analogies 
between  the  two  spheres  of  existence.  Such 
teaching  by  illustrative  stories  and  other  com- 
parisons has  from  the  earliest  times  been  par- 
ticularly common  intheEast;  afewexamples 
are  found  in  the  Old  Test.,  2  Sam.  12:  1-14; 
Isa.  5 :  1-7,  and  the  fables  of  Jotham,  Judg. 
9:  8,  and  of  Joab,  2  Sam.  14:  5-7  ;  and  it  ap- 
pears from  the  Talmud  that  a  like  method  was 
common  among  the  Jewish  teachers  in  the 
time  of  Christ,  as  for  example  (Gill)  one-third 
of  Rabbi  Meir's  discourses  consisted  of  para- 
bles. In  this  as  in  other  respects  (comp.  on 
7  :  5\  Jesus  adopted  such  methods  of  instruc- 
tion as  were  natural  to  men  in  general,  and 
familiar  to  the  Jews  in  particular.  From  the 
rhetorical  point  of  view  our  Lord's  illustra- 
tions are  marked  by  exquisite  simplicity 
and  elegance,  as  well  as  the  profoundest 
wisdom.  Yet  while  of  unequaled  excellence, 
they  do  not  differ  in  kind,  but  only  in 
degree,  from  uninspired  illustrations,  and 
must  be  interpreted  on  the  same  general 
principles.  (2)  The  parables  also  served  to 
put  truths,  at  first  but  imperfectly  understood, 
into  a  compact  and  portable  form,  in  which 
they  could  be  easily  remembered,  till  they 
should  afterwards  come  to  be  understood 
more  thoroughly.  (3)  They  enabled  the 
Great  Teacher  to  state  truths  likely  to  give 
offence,  in  such  a  form  that  the  enquiring  and 
spiritually  disposed  could  understand,  whilfe 


284 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XIII. 


cavilers  would  not  see  their  point  so  ns  to  be 
prematurely  excited  to  violent  hostility,  and 
thus,  while  instructing  some  in  his  miscella- 
neous audience,  he  was  not,  in  respect  to 
others,  casting  pearls  before  swine.  Some- 
times, too,  a  man's  assent  might  thus  be 
gained  to  a  principle  before  his  prejudices 
were  aroused,  as  Nathan  dealt  with  David, 
(isani.  11: 1  If.)  (4)  In  SO  far  as  parables  were 
obscure  to  persons  lacking  in  lively  interest 
and  spiritual  sympathy,  our  Lord  employed 
them  as  a  judgment  upon  the  willfully  blind. 
This,  though  not  t:,'  be  reckoned  his  only 
reason  for  using  them  so  frequently  from  this 
time  forward,  is  the  one  which  he  states  when 
questioned  about  the  matter  on  the  present 
occasion.  (See  on  v.  10-17.)  Henry:  "A 
parable,  like  the  pillar  of  cloud  and  fire, 
turns  a  dark  side  towards  Egyptians,  which 
confounds  them,  but  a  bright  side  towards 

Israelites,    which    comforts    them A 

parable  is  a  shell  that  keeps  good  fruit  for 
the  diligent,  but  keeps  it /?'om  the  slothful.' 
Calderwood:  "There  is  a  complete  contrast 
between  the  view  taken  in  modern  times  of 
our  Lord's  parables,  and  that  taken  by  the 
audiences  to  which  they  were  first  delivered. 
Even  those  who  are  averse  to  accept  Bible 
teachiitg  have  an  admiration  of  these  gospel 
parables;  yet  to  those  who  heard  them,  they 
were  the  most  perplexing  parts  of  Christ's 
discourses."  This  is  partly  because  the  mean- 
ing of  the  parables  has  become  comparatively 
plain,  and  partlj'  because  many  skeptics  now 
regard  the  Gospels  only  as  literature. 

3.  In  the  interpretation  of  parables,  we 
have  the  guidance  of  our  Lord  himself,  who 
has  fully  interpreted  the  parables  of  the 
Sower  and  the  Tares,  and,  to  some  extent, 
that  of  the  Net.  Remember  that  our  methods 
must  apply  to  all  of  his  illustrations,  and  not 
merely  to  the  narratives,  to  which  in  popular 
usage  the  term  parable  is  restricted.  There 
are  four  things  to  be  done.  (1)  We  must 
make  sure  of  understanding  the  language  of 
the  parable  itself,  and  its  various  allusions  to 
physical  phenomena  or  social  usages.  Thus 
many  fail  to  understand  the  wayside  and  the 
rocky  ground;  the  treasure  hid  in  a  field; 
the  patch  of  unfulled  cloth  upon  an  old  gar- 
ment, and  the  wineskins  (9:i«f.);  the  double 
invitation  to  a  supper  (LukeH:i6f.),  etc.  (2) 
We  must  ascertain  what  subject  our  Lord 


here  designed  to  illustrate.  Sometimes  he 
himself  states  it,  either  before  or  after  the 
parable,  or  else  the  Evangelist  mentions  it  in 
recording  the  parable;  in  other  cases,  the 
connection,  if  carefully  observed,  will  suffi- 
ciently indicate  it,  there  being  few  instances, 
if  any,  in  which  we  are  left  to  infer  the  sub- 
ject simply  from  the  tenor  of  the  parable  it- 
self. (3)  We  must  consider  in  what  light  the 
parable  presents  this  subject.  Here  it  is  im- 
portant to  regard  the  parable  as  a  whole,  just 
as  we  do  any  other  illustration,  and  not  begin 
by  attempting  to  assign  the  meaning  of  par- 
ticular items,  without  having  considered  the 
general  drift.  Let  it  be  taken  for  granted 
that  the  Great  Teacher  used  illustrations  on 
common-sense  principles.  (4)  Then  it  re- 
mains to  determine  how  far  the  details  may 
be  understood  as  separately  significant.  In 
this  we  can  have  no  general  rule  to  guide  us, 
but  must  study  the  guidance  our  Lord  has 
given  in  his  interpretations,  exercise  sound 
judgment,  and  endeavor  to  avoid  both  ex- 
tremes. The  tendency  has  usually  been 
towards  the  extreme  of  giving  a  separate 
spiritual  meaning  to  ever^'  detail.  Yet 
Augustine  alreadj'  rebuked  this  by  the  re- 
mark that  it  is  only  the  ploughshare  that 
cuts  the  earth,  while  the  other  parts  of  the 
plough  are  also  necessary,  and,  indeed,  in- 
dispensable. That  which  is  the  mere  filling 
out  of  the  story,  the  mere  drapery  of  the 
image,  must  be  let  alone.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  should  be  remembered  that  our 
Lord  has  carried  out  his  three  interpretations 
in  much  detail,  and  we  must  not  reduce  the 
parable  to  a  bare  trunk,  stripped  of  all  its 
foliage.  In  some  cases  the  resemblance  or 
analogy  is  more  complete  than  in  others,  and 
the  points  of  contact  more  numerous.  There 
may  even  be  points  in  the  illustration  quite 
the  reverse  of  the  thing  illustrated,  as  when 
our  Lord's  coming  is  compared  to  that  of  a 
thief  in  the  night,  where  there  is,  of  course, 
no  resemblance  except  as  to  the  unexpected- 
ness of  the  coming;  and  so  as  to  the  unjust 
steward  (i.ukeie),  whose  conduct,  while  mani- 
festly dishonest,  is  employed  to  illustrate  the 
importance  of  prudent  foresight  and  prepara- 
tion for  the  future.  Alexander :  "As  the  same 
illustration  may  legitimately  mean  more  to 
one  man  than  to  another,  in  proportion  to 
the  strength  of  their  imaginative  faculties,  it 


Cu.  XIII.] 


MATTHEW. 


285 


4  And  when  he  sowed,  some  sesdg  fell  by  the  way- 
side, and  the  fowls  came  and  devoured  them  up : 

5  Some  fell  upon  stony  places,  where  they  had  not 
much  earth :  and  forthwith  they  sprung  up,  because 
they  had  no  deepness  of  earth: 

6  And  when  the  sun  was  up,  they  were  scorched ; 
and  l)ecause  they  had  no  root,  they  withered  away. 


4  Behold,  the  sower  went  forth  to  sow ;  and  as  he 
sowed,  some  seeds  fell  by  the  way  side,  and  the  birds 

5  came  and  devoured  them :  and  others  fell  upon  the 
rocky  places,  *liere  they  had  not  much  earth:  and 
straightway  they  sprang  up,  because  they  had  no 

6  deepness  of  earth:  and  when  the  sun  was  risen, 
they  were  scorched ;  and  because  they  had  no  root, 


is  highly  important  that,  in  attempting  to  de- 
termine the  essential  meaning  of  our  Saviour's 
parables,  we  should  not  confound  what  they 
may  possibly  be  made  to  mean,  with  what 
they  must  mean  to  attain  their  pnrpose."  We 
may  lawfully  employ  some  detail  of  a  parable, 
or  even  the  whole  (com p.  on  12:  45),  to  illus- 
trate some  other  truth  than  that  to  which  he 
applied  it;  but  it  must  be  done  avowedly 
upon  our  own  authority.  In  general,  the  de- 
tails of  a  parable  must  never  be  pressed  into 
teaching  what  is  contrary  to  the  plain,  un- 
flgurative  teaching  of  the  Scriptures  at  large. 
(See  on  v.  20  f.)  An  illustration,  however  ad- 
mirable, can  only  present  its  subject  in  certain 
aspects. 

4.  There  are  three  leading  groups  of  our 
Lord's  parables.  A  good  many  isolated  par- 
ables have  already  occurred,  with  or  without 
the  form  of  narrative,  as  (a)  the  wise  and 
foolish  builders,  7  :  24-27  ;  (b)  wedding  usages, 
patching  garments,  wineskins,  9:  15-17;  (c) 
children  at  play,  11:  16-19;  (d)  the  blind 
guiding  the  blind,  etc.,  Luke  6:  39  ff. ;  (e)  the 
two  debtors,  Luke  7:  41  if.  ;  (f)  the  evil  spirit 
returning,  Matt.  12:  43-45;  and  it  may  be  ob- 
served that  most  of  these  sporadic  parables 
refer  to  the  reception  given  to  Christ's  teach- 
ings. Besides  these,  Matthew  gives  two  lead- 
ing groups:  (1)  The  Messianic  reign,  its  be- 
ginnings and  growth,  ch.  13  ;  given  about  the 
middle  of  our  Lord's  ministry.  (2)  The 
Messianic  reign,  its  progress  and  consumma- 
tion ;  given  just  at  the  close  of  the  ministry. 
(3)  Between  these  two  groups  in  order  of  time, 
we  find  a  third  group,  given  by  Luke,  ch.  13- 
19,  some  of  which  relate  to  the  Messianic  reign, 
but  most  of  them  to  individual  experiences. 

The  seven  parables  of  ch.  13  are  probably 
but  a  selection  from  the  '  many  things'  of  v. 
3.  Mark  4:  26-29  gives  another,  not  men- 
tioned by  Matthew,  and  the  language  of  Mark 
4:  33  implies  that  there  were  many  others. 
Like  all  our  Lord's  illustrations,  the  parables 
of  this  first  group  were  drawn  from  familiar 
sources — from  agriculture,  fishing,  and  mer- 
chandise, from  the  preparation  of  bread,  and 


the  finding  of  hid  treasure,  this  last  also  being 
in  the  East  a  familiar  idea. 

L  3-9.  The  Parable  of  the  Sower. 
Found  also  in  Mark  4:  3-9;  Luke  8:  5-8. 
This  and  the  wicked  husbandmen  (21 :  sn-a)  are 
the  only  parables  recorded  by  all  three,  Mat- 
thew, Mark,  and  Luke.  We  may  confine 
ourselves  here  to  explanation  of  the  story 
itself,  the  interpretation  belonging  to  v.  19-23. 
(See  Notes  there.)  Behold,  calling  attention 
to  something  important.  Mark  (*■  s)  prefixes 
'Hearken.'  A  (the)  sower  went  forth  to 
sow,  the  definite  article  being  employed  to 
designate  an  ideal  individual,  who  represents 
a  class  (comp.  on  12 :  43),  as  if  in  a  fable  we 
should  say,  "the  farmer  went  out  to  look  at 
his  crops."  The  expression  shows  that  this  is 
not  given  as  the  narrative  of  a  particular, 
actual  occurrence.  Tyndale  and  Cranmer 
gave  'the  sower;'  King  James  followed 
Geneva.  Some  (seeds)  fell  by  the  wayside. 
The  roads  passed  right  through  the  cultivated 
lands  (see  on  12:  1),  and  as  he  sowed  the 
wheat  or  barley,  some  of  the  grains  would 
fall  on  the  beaten  ground  of  the  road  or  path, 
and  rebounding  would  lie  exposed  on  the  hard 
surface,  where  the  birds  could  readily  see  and 
devour  them.  (Luke  8:  5  prefixes  'trodden 
under  foot.')  It  is  still  common  in  the  East 
to  see  large  flocks  of  birds  following  the  hus- 
bandman as  he  sows  his  wheat,  and  eagerly 
picking  up  every  grain  that  has  not  sunk  out 
of  sight.  FoAvIs,  rather  birds,  sae  on  7:  26. 
Some  (o^/ters)  fell  upon  stony,  or  the  rocky 
(places).  Palestine  is  a  limestone  country 
(comp.  on  7:  24),  and  one  will  find  places 
where  a  broad,  flat,  limestone  rock  lies  just 
beneath  the  surface,  with  a  thin  layer  of  earth 
upon  it.  (Comp.  Luke  8:  6,  13,  'the  rock.') 
All  the  early  English  versions  except  Rheims 
gave  'stony'  (ground  or  places),  thus  sug- 
gesting a  soil  abounding  in  loose  stones,  which 
really  often  produces  good  wheat;  yet  the 
Greek  word  was  plain  and  unmistakable,  from 
the  same  root  as  in  16:  18.  In  such  places  the 
seeds  could  not  sink  deep,  and  the  film  of 
earth  being  readily   heated   because  of  the 


286 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XIII. 


7  And  BouefeH  ainoug  thorns,  and  the  thorns  sprung 
up,  and  choked  them : 

8  Hut  other  fell  into  good  ground,  and  brought  forth 
fruit,  some  a  hundredfold,  some  sixlyfold,  some  thirty- 
fold. 

9  Who  hath  ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear. 

10  .\ik1  the  disciples  came,  and  said  unto  him,  Why 
speakest  thuu  unto  them  in  parables? 

11  He  answered  and  said  unto  ihem.  Because  it  is 
given  unto  you  to  kuow  the  mysteries  oi  the  kingdom 
of  heaven,  but  to  them  it  is  not  given. 


7  they  withered  away.  And  others  fell  upon  the 
thorns;  and  the  thorns  grew  up,  and  choked  them  : 

8  and  others  fell  upon  the  good  ground,  and  yielded 
fruit,  some  a  hundredfold,  some  sixty,  some  thirty. 

9  He  that  hath  ears,'  let  him  hear. 

10  And  the  disciples  came,  and  said  unto  him.  Why 

11  speakest  thou  uutc  them  in  parables?  And  he  an- 
swered and  said  unto  them,  Unto  you  it  is  given  to 
kuow  the  mysteries  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  but 


1  Some  UDcieut  authorities  add  here,  aud  in  ver.  49,  to  hear :  as  Id  Mark  Iv.  V ;  Luke  viii.  8. 


underlying  rock,  they  would  come  up  sooner 
than  elsewhere,  and  at  first  would  look  un- 
commonly flourishing;  but  not  being  able 
to  send  roots  deep  into  moist  earth  (conip. 
Luke  8:  6),  when  the  hot,  dry  weather  came, 
the  stalks  would  soon  wither,  and  show  that 
the  fair  promise  of  a  crop  there  had  all  been 
deceptive.  Comp.  the  "  grass  upon  the  house- 
tops," Ps.  129:  6  f.  Among — or  upon  the — 
thorns,  there  being  in  his  field  some  place  or 
places  specially  infested  with  these.  Persons 
accustomed  to  observe  wheat-fields  will  re- 
member to  have  seen  spots  where  a  few  scat- 
tered and  spindling  stalks  were  struggling  for 
life  among  the  rank  briers.  Into — or  upon 
the— good  ground,  free  from  underlying 
rock,  and  from  thorns,  and  plowed  deep. 
Even  this  would  produce  more  in  some  spots 
than  in  others,  according  to  the  richness  of  the 
soil  and  its  preparation.  A  crop  of  even  thirty 
measures  to  one  of  seed  is  quite  a  good  yield. 
The  richer  countries  of  the  East  produce  very 
heavy  crops  (e.  g.  Gen.  26:  12),  and  some  por- 
tions of  Galilee  have  always  been  singularly 
fruitful.  (Comp.  on  4:  12.)  Various  classical 
writers  speak  of  crops  as  large  as  a  hundred  to 
one,  and  even  two  hundred  or  more,  in  very 
rich  soil.  The  point  of  the  whole  story  is  that 
the  same  seed  produced  no  wheat,  little  wheat, 
or  much  whPat,  all  according  to  the  character 
and  preparation  of  the  soil.  Who  hath  ears 
to  hear,  let  him  hear  (see  on  11 :  15),  would 
suggest  to  any  attentive  hearer  that  the  story 
was  meant  to  convey  spiritual  instruction, 
and  that  not  all  were  likely  to  understand  it. 

II.  10-17.  —  Reasons  for  Speaking  in 
Parables.  Comp.  Mark  4:  10-12;  Luke  8: 
9  f .  And  the  disciples  came  and  said 
unto  him.  They  had  probably  been  scat- 
tered among  the  crowds  on  the  shore,  and 
they  now  approached  the  boat  (v.2),  and  per- 
haps entered  it,  or  else  Jesus  drew  off  from 
the  crowd  for  a  time,  during  which  occurred 
this  conversation  with  the  disciples,  and  after- 


wards resumed  his  discourse  to  the  same  or 
similar  crowds.  Certain  it  is  that  the  reasons 
were  given  apart  from  the  people,  for  Mark 
(4 :  10)  explicitly  says, '  And  when  he  was  alone,' 
etc.  It  is  also  plain  that  several  of  the  suc- 
ceeding parables  were  addressed  to  'the 
crowds.'  (See  on  v.  36.)  These  facts  can  be 
accounted  for  on  either  of  the  above  supposi- 
tions. The  'disciples'  here  are  not  merely 
the  Twelve,  for  Mark  (4:io)says,  'They  that 
were  about  him,  with  the  twelve.'  Others, 
therefore,  of  his  constant  companions  shared 
the  privilege  of  this  conversation.  The  dis- 
ciples did  not  see  just  what  was  meant  by  this 

story    of  the    sower    (Luke  8:9;  Mark*:  is),   thoUgh 

they  saw  that  it  was  intended  as  a  compar- 
ison or  parable  to  illustrate  some  religious 
truth.  And  as  parables  in  general  were  apt 
to  be  obscure  unless  the  application  was  given, 
they  wondered  why  the  Teacher  was  employ- 
ing them.  Remember  (Goebel)  that  he  in- 
troduced the  story  of  the  sower  without  pref- 
ace, and  closed  it  without  application,  simply 
intimating  that  it  required  attention.  In 
parables,  is  plural,  while,  as  far  as  we  know, 
only  one  parable  had  been  spoken  on  this 
occasion.  Bnt  the  plural  might  be  used  as 
designating  the  method  of  instruction  in 
general.  (Comp.  Mark  4:  11.)  We  remem- 
ber also,  that  he  had  previously  given  scat- 
tered parables,  though  not  without  indicating 
the  application. 

It  need  not  be  supposed  that  our  Lord 
meant  to  give  what  follows  as  his  sole  reason 
for  employing  parables  in  general.  (Comp. 
on  v.  3.)  We  can  see  a  special  fitness  in  his 
dwelling  on  this  reason  upon  the  present  occa- 
sion, for  it  was  the  day  on  which  the  Scribes 
blasphemously  accused  him  of  league  with 
Beelzebul  (see  on  12 :  24  and  13  :  1) ;  and  he 
was  now  surrounded  by  great  and  excited 
crowds,  whose  enthusiasm  he  knew  was 
largely  superficial  and  short-lived — rockj'- 
ground  hearers.      Not  very  long   after  this 


Ch.  XIIL] 


MATTHEW. 


2OT 


12  For  whosoever  hath,  to  him  shall  be  given,  and  he  j  12  to  them  it  is  not  given.  For  whosoever  hath,  to 
shall  have  more  abundance:  but  whosoever  hath  not,  i  him  sliall  be  given,  and  he  shall  have  abundance : 
from  him  shall  be  taken  away  even  that  he  hath.  ]       but  whosoever  hath  not,  from  him  shall  be  taken 


(i4:J4-3«),  he  had  to  dispel  illusions  among 
fanatical  followers  by  the  searching  discourse 
of  John  6:  26-66;  and  he  appears  (Bruce)  to 
be  in  the  parable  of  the  sower  commencing 
this  work  of  warning  and  discrimination;  so 
also  on  a  third  and  much  later  occasion. 
(i.ukei4:2»-35.)  Oodet :  "  The  design  of  Jcsus  is 
first  of  all  to  show  that  he  is  not  deceived  by 
the  sight  of  this  crowd,  which  is  apparently 
so  attentive;  then  to  put  his  disciples  on  their 
guard  against  the  expectations  which  such  a 
large  concourse  might  create  in  their  minds; 
lastly,  and  more  than  all,  to  warn  his  hearers 
of  the  perils  which  threatened  the  holy  im- 
pressions they  were  then  experiencing." 
There  is  also  in  not  a  few  of  these  parables, 
particularly  in  the  sower,  the  mustard  seed, 
and  the  leaven,  consolation  for  Jesus  himself 
in  reference  to  the  comparatively  small  num- 
ber of  true  converts  he  was  thus  far  making. 
(Comp.  John  6:  37.)  Because  it  is  given 
unto  you,  literally,  ^ has  been  given,'  and  so 
stands  as  your  established  privilege.  To 
know  the  mysteries  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,  i.  e.,  of  the  Messianic  reign,  see  on 
3:2.  The  word  'mystery'  does  not  occur 
elsewhere  in  the  Gospels  (except  in  Mark  4: 
11  and  Luke  8:- 10,  parallel  to  this  passage), 
nor  in  the  Acts,  but  is  common  in  the  Epistles 
of  Paul  and  the  Revelation.  The  Greek, 
word  musterion  signifies  something  into 
which  one  is  initiated,  something  hidden  or 
secret,  and  known  only  to  the  initiated.  It 
might  be  a  very  simple  thing  in  itself,  but  it 
was  a  secret.  Yet  some  of  the  dotrincs  be- 
longing to  the  "Eleusinian  m3'sterie8"  and 
other  secret  associations  of  Greek,  Egypt,  etc., 
were  really  profound,  and  difficult  of  com- 
prehension, and  so  the  word  has  gradually 
come  to  suggest  the  idea  of  something  in- 
comprehensible, though  we  still  sometimes 
apply  it  to  things  which  are  merely  hard 
to  find  out.  But  in  the  New  Test,  use, 
it  uniformly  denotes  that  which  we  could 
not  know  unless  revealed,  whether  it  be 
in  its  own  nature  simple  or  profound.  Paul's 
favorite  application  of  it  is  to  the  great  fact 
that  the  Gentiles  were  to  share  in  the  salva- 
tion of  the  gospel  on  equal  terms  with  the 
Jews,  a  fact  always  before  kept  in  silence  and 


secrecy,  but  now  manifested  by  God,  and  to 
be  everywhere  proclaimed.  (Kom.  16:25.  f;  Kph.s: 
4-6!  Col.  i:Mf. ;  iTim.  3:  16.)  Our  Lord  is  in  this 
series  of  parables  setting  forth  views  as  to  the 
true  nature  of  the  Messianic  kingdom — such 
as  its  partial  acceptance  among  men,  its  small 
beginnings andgradual  spread,  itsallowingthe 
wicked  to  live  on  in  the  world  mingled  with  its 
subjects  until  the  end— which  the  mass  of  the 
Jews  were  not  spiritual-minded  enough  to 
comprehend,  nor  humble  enough  to  receive. 
So  he  presents  these  views  in  the  form  of  para- 
bles, which  would,  with  the  help  of  his  expla- 
nations, make  them  clear  to  his  disciples,  but 
would  leave  them  mysteries  (secrets)  to  the 
unspiritual  and  unbelieving  multitude.  'Se- 
crets' is  here  the  translation  of  Tj'ndale, 
Cran.,  and  Gen.  Observe  that  these  parables 
carry  on  the  work  of  instruction  begun  in  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount,  as  to  the  nature  of  the 
Messianic  reign.  Here,  as  well  as  there,  we 
must  frequently  recall  the  popular  Jewish 
errors  in  regard  to  the  character  of  that  reign 
— errors  from  which  the  disciples  themselves 
were  not  entirely  free — in  order  to  see  the 
precise  aim  and  point  of  the  discour.se.  This 
is  especially  true  in  the  parables  of  the  Tares 
and  the  Net,  and  in  those  of  the  Mustard-seed 
and  the  Leaven.  The  phrase  'mysteries  of 
the  kingdom,'  recorded  by  all  three  Evan- 
gelists (Mark*:  u;  Luke 8:  in),  should  remind  us 
(Alexander)  that  this  group  of  parables  relate 
especially  to  the  Messianic  reign  ;  while  in  so 
doing,  they  of  course  involve  individual  char- 
acter and  destiny. 

We  must  not  suppose  that  Jesus  meant,  like 
some  of  the  Greek  philosophers,  to  have  cer- 
tain (exoteric)  doctrines  for  the  masses,  and 
certain  others  (esoteric)  which  were  confined 
to  a  select  few.  The  reverse  is  clearly  shown 
by  what  he  adds  in  Mark  and  Luke  after  ex- 
plaining the  parable  of  the  sower,  'for  there  is 
nothing  hid  save  that  it  should  be  manifested,' 

etc.,   Rev.    Ver.,  (M»rk4:  SI-SS:   I>uke8:I«18)  ;    COmp 

above  on  10:  27,  and  below  on  v.  52.  In  v.  12 f, 
he  declares  that  he  withholds  some  truths 
from  the  outside  crowd  (MRik4;u)  because  of 
their  willful  blindness.  Some  previous 
knowledge  of  his  teachings  concerning  the 
Messianic  reign  was  necessary  in  order  to  un- 


288 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XIII. 


13  Therefore  speak  I  to  them  in  parables:  because 
they  seeing  see  not ;  and  hearing  they  bear  not,  neither 
do  they  understand. 

14  And  in  them  is  fulHlled  the  prophecy  of  Esaias, 
which  salt h,  By  hearing  ye  shall  hear,  and  shail  not 
understand ;  aiid  seeing  ye  shall  see,  and  shall  not  per- 
ceive: 


13  away  even  that  which  he  hath.  Therefore  speak  I 
to  them  in  parables;  because  seeing  they  see  not, 
and  hearing  they  hear  not,  neither  do  they  under- 

14  stand.  Ana  unto  them  is  fulfilled  the  prophecy  of 
Isaiah,  which  saith. 

By  hearing  ye  shall  hear,  and  shall  in  no  wise  un- 
derstand ; 

And  seeing  ye  shall  see,  and  shall  in  no  wise  per- 
ceive : 


derstand  the  hidden  truths  he  was  now  reveal- 
ing; not  (as  Meyer  and  Bleek  strangely  in- 
terpret V.  11)  previous  i<nowledge  of  the  mys- 
teries of  the  kingdom,  but  of  his  other 
teachings  as  to  the  kingdom.  Such  knowl- 
edge the  unbelieving  and  careless  had  failed 
to  obtain  or  refused  to  receive.  They  saw 
and  yet  did  not  see  (»•  »3),  i.  e.,  did  not  see  the 
real  and  full  meaning  of  his  teachings. 
They  were  already  becoming  "gospel-har- 
dened." Therefore  (t.  is)  or  more  strongly, 
on  this  account,  refers  to  the  general  principle 
just  stated,  that  he  who  has  not  shall  lose  even 
what  he  has;  and  the  reason  is  then  further 
presented  in  another  form  by  what  follows, 
because  they  seeing  see  not,  etc.  On  this 
account  he  taught  in  the  form  of  comparisons, 
which  would  be  ititelligibie  and  impressive  to 
those  prepared  to  understand,  but  unintelli- 
gible to  those  who  by  their  willful  ignorance, 
neglect,  and  opposition,  were  unprepared.  In 
Mark  {*■■  12)  and  Luke  (s.  lo)  it  is  stated  as  the 
divine  purpose,  '  that  seeing  they  may  not 
see,'  etc.  This  statement  and  Matthew's  do 
not  conflict  with  each  other.  That  which  was 
a  natural  result  of  their  character  was  also 
a  divine  judgment  upon  them.  It  was  not 
only  foreseen  that  they  would  not  understand 
these  things,  but  designed  that  they  should 
not,  as  a  punishment  deserved  by  their  char- 
acter and  conduct.  These  people  were  not 
ignorant  through  lack  of  opportunity  for 
gaining  knowledge,  but  were  willfully  negli- 
gent, and  even  malignantly  hostile  to  the  truth 
and  the  Teacher,  {u  ■■  -n-)  If  we  shrink  sensi- 
tively from  the  idea  that  the  "  Lord  of  heaven 
and  earth"  reveals  to  some  and  hides  from 
others,  we  are  strangely  out  of  s^'mpathy  with 
the  feelings  of  Jesus  and  of  Paul,  who  found 
in  this  idea  not  only  occasion  of  resignation, 
but  of  adoration  and  joy.  (ii:23f.;  Rom.9:  istr. ; 
11:30-36.)  Nor  need  we  suppose  that  our  Lord's 
object  in  using  parables  was  only  to  withhold 
truth  from  the  hardened  as  a  judgment,  for 
the  shortest  way  to  do  this  would  have  been 
(Chrys.)  to  say  nothing  to  them  at  all.     His 


parables  gave  them  still  the  opportunity  to  un- 
derstand, if  not  too  much  hardened  to  do  so, 
and  were  even  calculated  to  excite  their  curi- 
osity, awaken  their  attention,  and  lodge  some- 
thing in  their  mind,  the  spiritual  meaning  of 
which  they  might  afterwards  comprehend,  if 
any  of  them  should  come  to  have  a  better  dis- 
position. "For  the  stubborn  and  the  frivo- 
lous, this  is  still  the  only  language  which  in  a 
happy  moment  can  soften  and  awaken  them. 
After  they  have  once  heard  it  as  a  parable, 
the  figure  sticks  to  them,  the  mirror  is  ever 
turned  towards  them,  and  they  cannot  but 
look  into  it  at  some  time  or  other." 

The  saying  of  v.  1*2  is  repeated  in  25:  29; 
the  word  more,  which  in  Com.  Ver.  here 
uselessly  precedes  abundance,  is  there  not 
introduced.  In  Luke  8:  18  (Mark4:25)  we  find 
this  same  general  principle  given  as  a  reason 
for  taking  heed  how  they  hear.  Perhaps  our 
Lord  stated  it  both  at  the  point  given  by  Mat- 
thew and  also  in  his  further  remarks  after  the 
explanation  of  the  parable.  If  this  seems  im- 
probable, we  must  conclude  that  the  saj'ing 
was  transposed  either  by  Matthew,  or  by  Mark 
and  Luke,  to  a  different  connection  from  that 
in  which  it  was  spoken.  As  no  writer  could 
tell  everything,  and  some  relation  of  topics 
j  must  be  observed  in  the  grouping,  it  would  be 
inevitable  that  such  transpositions  of  particu- 
I  lar  remarks  should  sometimes  occur. 

14  f.  And  in  them,  or  unto  them  (accord- 
I  ing  to  the  correct  Greek  text),  so  as  to  affect 
j  them,  as  applying  to  them.  Is  fulfilled,  pres- 
I  ent  tense,  is  heinci  fulfilled.  As  in  so  many 
1  other  cases,  it  is  Matthew  only  who  reports 
I  the  citation  of  this  prophecj-.  Mark  C*:!^) 
and  Luke  (»:  10)  simplj'  represent  our  Lord  as 
■  using  expressions  derived  from  the  pntphecy. 
I  Esaias,  or  Isaiah,  see  on  1 :  2.  The  citation 
lis  from  Isa.  6:  9  f.,  and  exactly  follows  the 
Sept.,  which  departs  from  the  Heb.  in  only 
I  one  important  particular.  The  prophet  is 
I  directed  to  rebuke  the  people  for  their  insen- 
I  sibilty  to  God's  cause;  and  though  that  crimi- 
I  nal  insensibility  would  be  increased  by  his 


Ch.  XIII.] 


MATTHEW. 


289 


15  For  this  people's  heart  is  waxed  gross,  and  their 
ears  are  dull  of  hearing,  and  their  eyes 'they  have 
closed ;  lest  at  any  time  they  should  see  with  their  eyes, 
and  hear  with  their  ears,  and  should  understand  with 
their  heart,  and  should  be  converted,  and  I  should  heal 
them. 

16  But  blessed  are  your  eyes,  for  they  see:  and  your 
ears,  for  they  hear. 


15  For  this  people's  heart  is  waxed  gross. 
And  their  ears  are  dull  of  hearing, 
And  their  eyes  they  have  closed  ; 

Lest  haply  they  should  |)erceive  with  their  eyes, 

And  hear  with  their  ears. 

And  understand  with  their  heart. 

And  should  turn  again. 

And  I  should  heal  them. 

16  But  blessed  are  your  eyes,  for  they  see;  and  your 


message,  he  is  yet  to  proclaim  the  message. 
Accordingly  he  is  told  (in  the  Heb.),  "  Make 
the  heart  of  this  people  fat,  and  make  their 
ears  dull  and  their  eyes  dim,  lest,"  etc.  Tliis 
bids  him  produce  the  effect  by  his  message; 
not  that  such  an  eflfcct  was  in  itself  desired  by 
him  or  by  Jehovah,  but  because  his  message 
was  going  to  be  rejected  and  to  have  the  effect 
described,  and  still  he  must  proclaim  it.  The 
Sept.  translators  understood  the  Heb.  differ- 
ently, and  rendered,  "For  this  people's  heart 
has  been  made  fat,  and  with  their  ears  they 
have  heard  heavily,  and  their  eyes  they  have 
closed,"  etc.  This,  as  suflBciently  expressing 
the  general  idea  of  the  passage  (comp.  on  3 :  3), 
is  retained  by  Matt,  here,  and  also  by  Luke 
in  Acts  28:  26  f.  John  {u-w)  refers  to  the 
same  passage,  and  puts  it,  '  He  hath  blinded 
their  eyes  and  he  hardened  their  heart,'  etc., 
i.  e.,  God  has  done  so — a  rendering  which 
gives  the  same  idea  as  the  Heb.  So  likewise 
the  expressions  in  Mark  4:  12  and  Luke  8:  10 
correspond  not  to  the  Sept.,  but  to  the  Heb. 
The  insensibility  of  the  people  may  be  vari- 
ously conceived  of,  as  the  result  of  their  own 
willful  opposition,  or  as  a  judgment  already 
actually  inflicted  on  them  by  God,  or  as  a 
judgment  which  would  follow  their  rejection 
of  the  prophet's  message.  God  is  continually 
punishing  men  by  that  which  is  the  natural 
result  of  their  own  misconduct  in  violating 
the  natural  laws  which  he  has  established. 
The  prophet's  expression  '  make  the  heart  fat ' 
involves  the  image  of  a  heart  enveloped  in 
fat,  and  thus  less  sensitive  to  impressions,  and 
less  lively  in  its  movement,  with  a  resulting 
dullness  of  the  senses,  so  that  it  strikingly 
represents  a  dull,  stupid,  and  insensible  mind. 
We  have  seen  on  6:  21  that  the  heart  is  con- 
stantly used  in  Scripture  as  the  seat  of  both 
intelligence,  sensibility,  and  will.     "Fat  as 


have  sought  to  explain  it,  but  the  divine  pur- 
pose. While  God  might  icisA  them  to  hear  and 
believe  and  repent,  even  as  he  "wishes  all 
to  be  saved"  (iTim. 2:*),  he  did  not  design  to 
bring  them  all  to  this,  in  spite  of  themselves, 
but  it  was  his  purpose  to  allow  them  to  pursue 
a  course  which  would  prevent  them  from  ever 
turning  and  being  healed.  Heal  liere  in- 
volves the  idea  of  forgiving  their  sin,  and 
restoring  them  to  spiritual  health  and  the 
favor  of  God.  The  multiplication  of  similar 
and  equivalent  clauses  in  the  passage  is  but 
the  common  parallelism  of  Hebrew  poetry 
(see  on  4:  16).  Turn  again.  So  Tyndale 
'  turn,'  and  Geneva  '  return.'  The  Greek  word 
is  the  same  as  in  12:  44,  'I  will  return  into  my 
house.'  This  is  much  better  than  the  passive 
rendering  be  converted  of  Com.  Ver.  (comp. 
on  18:  3).  As  to  the  relation  between  'turn' 
and  '  repent,'  see  on  3 :  2.  A  like  insensibility 
to  that  which  the  prophet  would  encounter 
was  found  in  the  mass  of  our  Lord's  hearers 
(comp.  John  12:  40),  and  in  the  Jews  who 
assembled  to  hear  Paul  at  Rome.  (Acts  28: 25  er.; 
comp.  also  Rom.  u:  8.)  And  since  Matthew  uses 
the  word  'fulfil'  (see  on  1:  22),  we  under- 
stand that  the  language  in  Isaiah  was  designed 
by  the  Spirit  of  inspiration  as  a  prediction,  not 
merely  of  the  reception  which  the  prophet's 
message  would  meet  with,  but  also  of  the  like 
reception  which  awaited  the  teaching  of  Mes- 
siah and  his  servants.     (Comp.  on  1:  23.) 

16  f.  With  this  criminal  insensibility  of 
many  among  his  hearers,  Jesus  now  again 
contrasts  the  better  condition  and  course  of 
his  disciples,  as  above  in  v.  11  f.  The  terms 
employed  are  suggested  by  the  prophecy  just 
cited.  Your,  in  v.  16,  is  very  emphatic,  as 
shown  by  the  position  in  Greek.  But  in  the 
verbs,  they  see  and  they  hear  of  v.  16,  and 
ye  see  and  ye  hear  of  v.  17,  the  pronoun  is 


to  intellect,"  "fat  as  to  understanding,"  are  not  expressed  in  the  Greek,  and  therefore  is 
phrases  of  classic  Greek  (Grimm).  Lest  at  not  emphatic.  The  disciples  were  bles.sed, 
any  time.  Lest  hnphj,  or  '  lest  perhaps,'  is  a  ]  or  happy  (which  is  more  exnct ;  see  on  5:  3) 
n>ore  probable  rendering.  The  phrase  ex- I  in  the  fact  that  they  saw  and  henrd;  for  the 
presses,  not  the  design  of  the  people,  as  some  |  things  they  witnessed  were  those  to  which 


290 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XIII. 


17  For  verily  I  say  unto  you,  That  many  prophets 
and  righteous  men  have  desired  to  see  those  things  whicli 
ye  see,  aud  have  not  seen  t/iem ;  and  to  hear  those  things 
which  ye  hear,  aud  have  not  heard  them. 

18  Hear  ye  tlierelore  tlie  parable  of  the  sower. 

19  Wljen'any  one  heareth  the  word  of  the  kinedom, 
and  uuderstaudeth  it  not,  then  conieth  the  wicked  one, 
and  catclicth  away  that  which  was  sown  in  his  heart. 
This  is  he  which  received  seed  by  the  way  side. 


17  ears,  for  they  hear.  For  verily  I  say  unto  you,  that 
many  pt-ophetsand  righteous  meu  desired  to  see  the 
things  which  ye  see,  aud  saw  them  not;  and  to  hear 

18  the  things  which  ye  hear,  and  heard  them  not.  Hear 

19  then  ye  the  parable  of  the  sower.  Wheu  any  one 
heareth  the  word  of  the  kingdom,  and  unders'tand- 
eth  it  not,  then  cometh  the  evil  one,  and  snatcheth 
away  that  which  hath  been  sown  in  his  heart.    This 


many  prophets  and  righteous  men  (see  on 
10:  41)  had  looked  forward  with  longing,  but 
in  vain.  Here  again  (conip.  on  12:  28)  .Jesus 
distinctly  intimates  that  he  is  the  Messiah. 
Seeing  and  hearing  are  here  to  be  under-stood 
both  of  the  senses  and  of  the  spirit ;  they  saw 
the  miracles  and  heard  the  teachings  of  Jesus, 
and  they  understood  and  appreciated  their 
spiritual  meaning.  In  Luke  10:  23  f.,  we  find 
similar  language  used  on  a  different  occasion. 
It  belongs  to  a  class  of  sayings  likely  to  be 
repeated.  (Comp.  at  the  beginning  of  ch.  5.) 
This  congratulation  was  not  confined  to  the 
Twelve,  for  others  also  were  present.  (See 
onv.  10. )  Olshausen:  "All  the  longing  de- 
sires of  the  pious  throughout  the  Old  Test, 
centred  in  the  Messiah.  To  behold  him  was 
the  loftiest  object  of  Old  Test.  hope.  This 
blessing  was  granted  to  the  disciples,  and  all 
their  happiness,  all  their  glory,  consisted  in 
this,  that  they  were  illumined  by  the  radiance 
of  the  Sun  of  righteousness.  The  special  grace 
thus  vouchsafed  is  brought  to  their  remem- 
brance by  Christ,  not  to  exalt  them  above  the 
Old  Test,  saints,  but  to  lay  them  low  before 
the  Lord." 

III.  18-23.  Interpretation  of  the 
Parable  of  the  Sower.  Comp.  Mark  4: 
14-24 ;  Luke  8 :  11-18.  Our  Lord's  authorita- 
tive explanation  of  this  parable  and  that  of  the 
Tares,  furnishes  us  a  model  for  the  interpreta- 
tion of  his  parables  in  general  (comp.  on  v. 
8), — a  beautiful  medium  between  excessive 
meagreness  and  excessive  minuteness.  Hear 
ye  therefore,  better,  then  ye,  with  strong 
emphasis  on  'ye,'  as  distinguished  from  the 
heedless  and  hardened  Jews  to  whom  he  gave 
no  explanation.  'Then'  presents  this  as  a 
consequence  of  the  principles  just  before  laid 
down. 

The  idea  of  this  parable  as  a  whole  is,  that 
as  the  same  grain  j'ielded  variously,  accord- 
ing to  the  character  and  preparation  of  the 
soil  which  received  it,  so  the  same  word  of 
truth  produces  various  eflTects  according  to  the 
way  in  which  it  is  received.     No  analogy  be- 


tween physical  and  spiritual  things  can  ever 
be  perfect.  The  soil  was  not  responsible  if  it 
was  trampled,  or  rocky,  or  thorny  ;  but  men 
are  accountable  for  hearing  the  word  improp- 
erly. This  point  the  parable  does  not  mean 
to  touch,  confining  itself  to  the  general  idea 
above  stated,  and  opening  a  way  for  the  ex- 
hortation, 'take  heed  therefore  how  ye  hear.' 

(Luke  8:  18,  comp.  Mark  4:  24.)         The     AVOtd     of    the 

kingdom,  is  the  word  which  tells  of  the 
nature  and  requirements  of  the  Messianic 
reign.  (See  on  3:  2.)  Luke(8:n)  has  'word 
of  God,'  and  Mark  (*:  is)  simply  'word.' 
Comp.  'gospel  of  the  kingdom'  in  4:  23;  9: 
35;  24:  14.  This  'word  of  the  kingdom' 
means  especially  our  Lord's  own  teachings; 
and  so  in  '  understandeth  it  not'  the  reference 
is  immediately  to  his  own  hearers.  Yet  it  will 
not  do  to  say  that  'the  sower'  distinctively 
represents  Christ;  it  is  anyone  who  makes 
known  the  word  of  the  kingdom,  as  our  Lord 
intimates  in  Mark  4:  14,  'the  sower  sows  the 
word,'  characterizing  him  not  as  a  certain 
person,  but  as  the  one  who  does  a  certain  work. 
Understandeth  it  not.  Arnot  suggests  that 
in  English  as  in  Greek,  we  may  express  both 
the  material  and  the  moral  failure  by  one 
term  'does  not  take  it  in.'  Truth  that  is  not 
understood,  at  least  in  some  measure,  can  do 
men  no  good.  There  is  here  reference  to  the 
state  of  those  described  in  v.  11-13;  see  the 
same  word  'understand'  in  v.  13.  The  peo- 
ple were  hardened  into  indifference,  and  some 
of  them  even  into  malignant  opposition  to  the 
word,  and  hence  they  did  not  understand  it. 
Christianity  is  so  eminently  practical  a 
thing  that  one  will  not  truly  under- 
stand it  unless  he  is  willing  to  receive 
it.  Pascal:  "In  other  things,  a  man  must 
know  in  order  to  love;  in  religion  he 
must  love  in  order  to  know."  Whenever 
through  inattention,  lack  of  spiritual  sym- 
pathy, unwillingness  to  receive,  or  opposi- 
tion, men  fail  to  'understand'  the  word,  it 
cannot  benefit  them.  It  lies  for  a  moment  on 
the  surface  of  the  mind,  till  by  some  one  of 


Ch.  XIII.] 


MATTHEW. 


291 


20  But  he  that  received  the  seed  into  stony  places, 
the  same  is  he  that  heareth  the  word,  and  anon  with 
joy  receiveth  it; 

21  Yet  hath  he  not  root  in  himself,  but  dureth  for  a 
while :  for  when  tribulation  or  jjersecution  ariseth  be- 
cause of  the  word,  by  and  by  he  is  ofl'ended. 


20  is  he  that  was  sown  by  the  way  side.  And  he  that 
was  sown  upon  the  rocky  places,  this  is  he  that 
heareth  tho  woi-d,  and  straightway  with  joy  receiv- 

21  eth  it;  yet  hath  he  not  root  in  himself,  buteudureth 
for  a  while;  and  when  tribulation  or  persecution 
ariseth  because  of  the  word,  straightway  he  stum- 


the  thousand  evil  influences  which  Satan  and 
his  subordinates  employ,  it  is  caught  away. 
Often  the  whole  impression  made  on  some 
mind  by  a  solemn  sermon  seems  to  be  de- 
stroyed the  instant  the  service  is  over,  by  an 
idle  jest  of  a  trifling  comrade.  The  wicked, 
or  evil  one;  see  on  6:  13;  12:  45,  and  comp. 
13  :  .%  f.  Mark  (♦:  is)  has  'Satan,'  and  Luke 
(8;  12)  'the  devil.'  It  is  idle  to  profess  faith  in 
the  teaching  of  Jesus,  and  question  the  exist- 
ence and  personality  of  Satan.  Snatcheth 
aioay  better  renders  the  Greek  than  catcheth 
away  ;  the  idea  is  of  suddenly  and  violently 
seizing  and  carrying  off".  Sown  in  his  heart, 
the  seat  of  intelligence  and  will,  as  well  as  of 
feeling;  see  on  6 :  23.  This  is  he  which  re- 
ceived seed,  or  was  sown — by  the  wayside, 
comp.  on  v.  4.  It  might  seem  to  us  more 
natural  that  the  diflTerent  classes  of  hearers 
should  be  represented  by  diff'erent  kinds  of 
soil ;  but  our  Lord  makes  the  seed  that  fell  in 
the  difl'erent  places  represent  them,  which 
amounts  to  the  same  thing.  The  comparison 
is  a  general  one.  The  case  of  the  seed  sown 
beside  the  road,  and  snatched  away  by  the 
birds,  corresponds  to  the  case  of  the  hearer 
who  does  not  understand  the  word,  etc. ;  and 
our  Lord  avoids  circumlocution  by  simply 
comparing  the  hearer  to  the  seed.  (So  in  v. 
20,  22,  23.)  The  rendering  of  Com.  Ver.,  'he 
that  received  seed,'  is  quite  unwarranted;  it 
was  derived  from  Cranmer,  while  T^'n.  had 
translated  correctly;  and  in  Mark  4:  16,  18, 
the  same  words  are  correctly  rendered  in 
Com.  Ver.,  'they  which  are  sown.'  Some 
have  proposed  to  render  here  'this  is  that 
sown,'  viz.,  the  seed  sown;  but  that  seems  to 
be  forbidden  by  the  expressions  of  Mark  4 :  15 
and  Luke  8:  YL  Whatever  view  of  the 
phraseology  be  adopted,  the  general  meaning 
remains  the  same,  and  is  obvious  to  all. 

20  f.  Into  stony,  upon  the  ror.ku  (places)  ; 
see  on  v.  5.  Like  the  wheat  sown  on  a  thin 
layer  of  earth  spread  over  a  rock,  the  gospel 
will  produce  some  impression  on  such  persons 
sooner  than  elsewhere,  and  the  effect  will  look 
extremely  promising  for  a  time,  so  that  people 
think  this  person  will  soon  be  a  Christian,  or  i 


even  that  he  is  so  already.  But  wheti  persecu- 
tion or  any  severe  test  of  principle  occurs,  it 
is  at  once  seen  that  the  thing  was  not  deeply 
rooted,  for  it  perishes  without  having  pro- 
duced any  real  results.  Anon.  BqUqv straight- 
way, which  was  formerly  the  meaning  of 
'anon.'  With  joy.  It  is  often  the  case  that 
superficial  and  transient  religious  impressions 
produce  a  speedier  and  more  boisterous  joy 
than  those  which  are  deep  and  genuine. 
Such  joy  may  result  from  general  views  of 
the  beauty  of  piety  and  the  blessedness  of 
possessing  it,  with  a  self-deceived  appropria- 
tion of  its  consolations  and  hopes;  or  from 
the  excitement  of  natural  feeling  by  touching 
allusions  and  fervid  appeals;  or  from  mere 
sympathy  with  kindred  and  friends ;  or  even 
from  utterly  erroneous  notions  of  religion, 
with  the  elation  of  self-righteousness  and 
spiritual  pride.  See  an  example  on  a  large 
scale  in  John  6:  15,  22,  66.  But  the  deepest 
religious  experiences  may  also  produce,  and 
ought  to  produce,  a  true  and  abiding  joy. 
But  dnreth  for  a  while,  literally  is  tem- 
porary, the  same  Greek  word  as  in  2  Cor. 
4:  18,  'the  things  which  are  seen  are  tem- 
poral,' or  ''temporary,'  and  in  Heb.  11:  25, 
literally  'to  have  temporary  enjoj'ment  of 
sin.'  Such  "temporary  Christians"  abound 
in  times  of  extraordinary  revival.  For,  lit- 
erally, and,  when  tribulation  or  persecu- 
tion. The  Com.  Ver.  most  unwarrantably 
translated  'for  when'  following  Tyndale, 
Cran.,  and  Gen.  Such  loose  handling  of  par- 
ticles was  one  of  the  gravest  defects  in  the 
learning  of  that  age.  '  Tribulation '  is  a  more 
general  term,  'persecution  '  a  more  particular 
one.  See  the  former  also  in  24:  9,  21,  29.  The 
remote  association  of  this  Latin  word  with 
tho  process  of  threshing  is  often  referred  to 
by  preachers,  but  the  Greek  word  has  no 
such  association.  It  means  simply*  pressure, 
affliction,  etc.  It  is  best  translated  in  the 
New  Test,  sometimes  by  tribulation,  and 
sometimes  by  affliction.  The  Rev.  Ver.  has 
made  some  good  changes  in  both  directions, 
e.  g.,  1  Cor.  7:  28;  2  Cor.  1:  4,  8.  By  and 
by,  properly  straightway,   the  same   Greek 


292 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XIII. 


22  He  also  that  received  seed  among  the  thorns  is  he 
that  hearetlithe  word;  and  the  care  of  this  world,  and 
the  deceitfuluess  of  riches,  choke  theword,  and  he 
becoiueth  unfruitful. 

23  But  he  that  received  seed  into  the  good  ground  is 
he  that  heareth  the  word,  and  understandeth  it ;  which 
also  beareth  fruit,  andbringeth  forth,  some  a  hundred- 
fold, some  sixty,  some  thirty. 


22  bleth.  And  he  that  was  sown  among  the  thorns, 
this  is  he  that  heareth  the  word ;  and  the  care  ot 
the  1  world,  and  the  deceitfuluess  of  riches,  choke 

23  the  word,  and  he  becometh  unfruitful.  And  he 
that  was  sown  upon  the  good  ground,  this  is  he  that 
heareth  the  word,  and  understandeth  it ;  who  verily 
beareth  fruit,  and  bringeth  forth,  some  a  hundrei 
fold,  some  sixty,  some  tliirty. 


1  Or,  aye. 


word  as  in  v.  20  and  v.  5.  The  person  de- 
scribed immediately  receives  the  word  with 
joy,  and  when  trouble  comes,  immediately 
he  stumbles.  This  is  a  prominent  feature  in 
the  characterization;  but  Com.  Ver.  has,  as 
so  often,  obscured  the  verbal  connection  by 
employing  three  different  terms,  'forthwith,' 
'anon,'  'by  and  by.'  He  is  oifended,  or 
stumbleth,  or  'is  made  to  stumble.'  Tyndale 
and  Cran.  give  'falleth;'  it  was  Gen.  that 
here  introduced  the  unlucky  rendering  '  is 
offended.'  The  word  has  been  explained  on 
5:  29,  and  has  here  the  second  sense  there 
given  ;  the  man  finds  an  obstacle  to  progress, 
and  abandons  the  gospel  he  had  apparently 
received.  (Comp.  24:  10.)  Luke  (8:i3)  has 
an  equivalent  expres.sion,  'fall  away.'  Only 
when  grain  is  produced  does  a  crop  of  wheat 
amount  to  anything;  only  permanent  piety 
is  real  piety. 

22.  Among  the  thorns,  comp.  on  v.  V. 
That  heareth  the  word.  No  further  ex- 
pression is  here  appended,  such  as  'under- 
stands '  (v.  19, 23),  or  '  with  joy  receives  it '  (.v.  20), 
but  it  is  simply  said  '  hears,'  the  connection 
showing  that  the  impression  at  first  made  is 
afterwards  destroyed.  The  care  of  this 
Avorld.  The  correct  Greek  text  omits  '  this,' 
as  also  in  v.  40.  For  'care'  we  could  hardly 
use  '  anxiety '  in  this  place,  as  in  2  Cor.  11 :  28, 
'anxiety  for  all  the  churches,'  and  as  the  verb 
is  translated  '  be  anxious '  in  6 :  25  (see  Notes)  ; 
but  "worldly  anxieties"  will  exactly  express 
the  idea  conveyed.  'The  world'  as  in  13: 
39  f.  and  12:  32,  means  the  present  age  or 
world-period,  with  all  its  affairs;  comp.  2 
Tim.  4:  10,  'having loved  this  present  world,' 
and  see  on  25:  46.  The  deceitfnlness  of 
riches  ig  a  stronger  expression  than  simply 
deceitful  riches;  it  presents  deceitfulness  not 
merely  as  a  quality  of  riches,  but  as  here  the 
prominent  thought;  comp.  '  the  uncertainty 
of  riches'  (iTim. b:it.  Eev.ver.),  '  npwuess  of  life ' 
(Rom.6:u);  also  Heb.  3:  13;  2  Thess.  2:  10. 
Riches  deceive  men  in  many  ways :  as  to  the 
means  of  acquiring  them,  making  things  look 


honest  that  are  not  so ;  as  to  the  reasons  why 
we  desire  them,  and  the  objects  for  which  we 
intend  to  use  them,  etc.  Some  professed 
Christians  imagine  that  they  are  so  absorbed 
in  the  pursuit  of  gain,  and  so  reluctant  to  give 
much  at  present,  simply  from  a  desire  to  be 
able  to  do  great  things  hereafter;  when  the 
true  reason  is  that  they  love  wealth.  And  we 
must  remember  that  riches  often  as  grievously 
deceive  and  distract  those  who  vainly  seek,  as 
those  who  obtain  thiem.  "  They  that  desire  to 
be  rich"  (iTim. 6:  9, bbt. ver.),  may  get  the  evil 
consequences  without  getting  the  wealth. 
Luke  (8:  It)  adds  a  third  point,  "  and  pleasures 
of  this  life."  Unfrnitful.  As  fruit-bearing 
is  the  test,  they  are  thus  shown  to  have  no 
real  piety.  Alasl  how  often  men  seem  deeply 
stirred,  by  the  word  of  the  gospel,  and  per- 
haps resolve  that  they  will  give  heed  to  the 
message,  perhaps  for  a  while  seem  diligently 
to  do  so,  but  worldly  anxieties,  especially 
about  wealth,  and  worldly  desires  (Mark 4:19), 
and  worldly  pleasures  (Luke8:i4),  soon  get  com- 
plete possession  of  the  mind,  and  all  the  seem- 
ing good  effect  is  gone,  leaving  the  soul  a  very 
thicket  of  thorns.  Bruce  :  "  It  may  be  asked 
who  has  a  chance  of  bringing  forth  fruit  unto 
perfection,  for  what  character  is  free  from 
thorns?  But  the  question  is  not,  who  is  free 
from  evil  desires,  or  from  temptation  to  inor- 
dinate affection,  but  what  attitude  you  assume 
towards  these." 

23.  Into — upon — the  good  ground,  comp. 
on  V.  8.  Good  ground  here  stands  in  contrast 
with  the  three  other  kinds  of  ground,  and  so 
(Goebel)  is  conceived  of  as  a  soil  soft,  deep, 
and  clean.  Understandeth,  see  on  v.  19. 
Also — hetter  verily,  not  the  word  commonly 
rendered  verily,  but  another,  which  is  hard  to 
render,  but  calls  attention  to  this  person, 
marks  him  out  as  distinctively  the  one  who 
performs  the  action  ;  all  the  others  fail,  this  is 
the  one  that  bears  fruit.  (Comp.  Mej'er,  and 
Moulton  in  Winer,  p.  578.)  Some  a  hun- 
dred-fold, etc.  Even  of  those  who  truly  un- 
derstand and  receive  the  word,  some  exhibit 


Ch.  XIII.] 


MATTHEW. 


293 


better  results  than  others.  QUI :  "  The  fruits 
of  grace  in  believers  are  of  the  same  quality, 
yet  not  of  the  same  quantity."  That  which 
yields  a  less  abundant  harvest  is  still  called 
good  ground,  seeing  that  it  does  produce  a 
real  crop.  So  the  servant  who  made  a  good 
use  of  but  two  talents  was  a  good  and  faithful 
servant,  i^-  23.)  Yet  we  should  all  desire  and 
strive  to  be  not  merely  of  those  who  bring 
forth,  but  of  those  who  bring  fortli  a  hundred- 
fold. Ambition  is  a  worthy  and  noble  thing, 
when  it  aims  at  eminent  usefulness,  rises 
above  envy  and  jealousy,  and  subordinates 
everything  to  the  glory  of  God.  It  has  been 
remarited  that  this  last  class  is  distinctly  con- 
trasted with  each  of  the  others:  they  'under- 
stand,' in  opposition  to  the  first  class;  they 
'hold  it  fast  in  a  good  heart'  (Luke 8:15),  in  op- 
position to  the  second  class  ;  they  'bring  forth 
fruit  with  patience'  (Lukes:  15)  in  opposition  to 
the  third  class.  Yet  in  this  last  case  the  com- 
parison is  scarcely  just ;  for  the  third  class  did 
not  bring  forth  fruit  at  all,  as  is  shown  by  the 
'unfruitful'  of  Matthew  and  Mark,  and  by 
Lui<e's  expression  (8;")  'bring  no  fruit  to 
perfection.' 

The  illustration  cannot  touch  at  all  points. 
It  takes  no  account  of  the  fact  that  the  condi- 
tion of  the  spiritual  soil  may  be  altered  by 
divine  grace — that  the  trampled  ground  can 
become  soft,  the  rocky  ground  deep,  and  the 
thorns  be  rooted  out.  The  inspired  teachers 
in  general  go  straight  forward  with  the  subject 
in  hand,  and  towards  the  point  in  view,  with- 
out pausing  at  every  step  to  guard  against 
misapprehension,  or  to  introduce  related 
truths;  otherwise  their  discourse  would  gain 
no  momentum,  and  exert  no  force.  Other 
passages  of  Scripture  will  always  furnish  the 
means  of  preventing  misapprehension  or  of 
completing  the  view.  But,  taken  within  the 
limits  of  its  design,  this  parable  is  strikingly 
comprehensive.  All  those  who  hear  the  word 
to  no  real  profit  may  without  straining  be  re- 
ferred to  one  of  the  three  classes  first  given  ; 
and  the  fourth  class  comprehends  various 
grades  of  actual  fruitfulness. 

HOMILETICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

V.  2.  The  most  spiritual  preaching  must  not 
neglect  to  seek  helpful  outward  conditions. 
Our  houses  of  worship  should  be  so  constructed 
that  the  people  may  clearly  see  and  easily  hear 


the  preacher.  Many  costly  and  handsome 
buildings  are  in  these  respects  so  extremely 
defective  as  to  be  an  abomination.  If  the 
Master  took  pains  in  this  regard,  shall  not  we? 
Jerome  :  "  A  crowd  is  of  many  minds,  and 
so  he  speaks  to  them  in  many  parables,  that 
each  might  receive  appropriate  instruction. 
He  did  not  speak  everything  in  parables,  but 
many  things — mingling  the  perspicuous  with 
the  obscure,  that  by  what  they  understand 
they  may  be  aroused  to  seek  knowledge  of 
what  they  do  not  understand." — V.  9.  He 
that  hath  ears.  1)  Many  will  not  hear  spirit- 
ual truths  even  with  the  outward  ear.  2)  None 
can  hear  spiritual  truth  understanciingly, 
unless  they  have  some  desire  for  spiritual 
profit.  3)  Whoever  sees  some  meaning  in 
spiritual  teaching  should  earnestly  seek  to 
know  more  thoroughly.  4)  The  religious 
teacher  must  not  be  discouraged  by  the  failure 
of  some,  so  long  as  others  can  and  do  really 
hear.  Chrys.  :  "Even  though  the  lost  be 
more  than  such  as  receive  the  word,  yet  they 
were  not  to  despond.  For  this  was  the  case 
even  with  their  Lord,  and  he  who  fully  fore- 
knew that  these  things  should  be,  did  not  de- 
sist from  sowing." 

V.  11.  Conditions  of  gaining  a  deep  knowl- 
edge of  Christianity.  1)  A  real  desire  to 
know  thoroughly,  comp.  Heb.  6:1.  2)  Some 
existing  knowledge  as  a  preparation  for  learn- 
ing more,  v.  11,  12,  16.  3)  Earnest  effort  to 
understand  what  is  seen  and  heard,  v.  13.  4) 
Practical  conformity  to  the  knowledge  already 
gained,  comp.  John  7  :  17.  Christianity  is  in- 
tensely practical — knowing  and  doing  must 
advance  hand  in  hand. — V.  11-13.  Truth  is  not 
withheld  from  any  by  arbitrary  divine  allot- 
ment, but  as  the  penalty  of  previous  neglect 
and  hostility  (12:24);  comp.  Rom.  1:  '28. 
Chrys:  "It  was  a  voluntary  and  self-chosen 
blindness;  therefore  he  said  not,  simply,  they 
see  not,  but  seeing  they  see  not;  for  they  saw 
even  demons  cast  out,  and  ascribed  it  to  the 
prince  of  the  demons."  Theophyl.  :  "To 
give  them  plain  teaching  would  have  been  to 
cast  pearls  before  swine."  V.  14  f.  A  pic- 
ture of  many  who  ngect  God's  word.  1) 
Slight  attention,  and  no  real  understanding, 
V.  14.  2)  Cause  of  this  in  dull  torpor  of 
thought  and  feeling,  v.  15  a.  3)  Effect  in 
preventing  them  from  turning  and  being 
saved,  v.  16  b.— V.  17.     Tueophyl.  :    "  In 


29-4 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XIII. 


24  Another  parable  put  he  forth  unto  them,  saying,  I  24      Another  parable  set  he  before  them,  saying,  The 
The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  likened  unto  a  man  which  kingdom  of  heaven  is  likened  unto  a  man  that 

Bowed  good  seed  in  his  field :  | 


two  respects  the  apostles  excelled  the  prophets, 
in  seeing  bodily,  and  in  better  understanding 
spirituully." 

V.  18-SS.  Even  if  preaching  were  in  itself 
perfect,  it  would  have  a  very  diflerent  effect 
upon  different  classes  of  hearers.  Our  work 
cannot  be  fairly  tested  by  its  actual  results, 
but  rather  by  its  tendencies,  aims,  and  adapta- 
tions. Yet  a  religious  teacher  should  earnestly 
seek  for  tangible  results,  both  in  winning  and 
in  building  up. — Chrys.  :  "  Mark  this,  I  pray 
thee,  that  the  way  of  destruction  is  not  one 
only,  but  there  are  differing  ones,  and  wide 
apart  from  one  another.  Let  us  not  soothe 
ourselves  upon  our  not  perishing  in  all  these 
ways,  but  let  it  be  our  grief  in  whichever 
way  we  are  perishing." — V.  19.  The  gospel 
not  understood.  I.  Causes.  (1)  Indifference 
and  inattention  to  it  (2)  Prejudices  which 
exclude  it.  (3)  Desire  to  do  things  it  forbids, 
(4)  Insensibility  through  previous  neglect. 
II.  Consequences.  (1)  It  does  not  reach  the 
deeper  affections.  (2)  It  gives  no  impulse  to 
the  will.  (3)  It  never  touches  the  life.  (4)  It 
soon  passes  away  from  the  memory. — V.  20  f. 
The  temporary  Christian.  1)  How  he  re- 
ceives the  gospel;  a)  promptly,  b)  joyfully, 
c)  with  rich  apparent  effects  upon  life.  2) 
How  he  abandons  the  gospel ;  a)  certainly 
before  long,  b)  as  soon  as  ever  serious  trial 
comes,  c)  without  any  permanent  benefit  to 
character  or  life.— V.  22.  Chrys.:  "There 
is  a  way,  if  thou  wilt,  to  check  this  evil 
growth,  and  to  make  the  right  use  of  our 
wealth.  Therefore  he  said  not  'the  world,' 
but  'the  care  of  the  world';  nor  'riches,' 
but  'the  deceitfulness  of  riches.'  Let  us  not, 
then,  blame  the  things,  but  the  corrupt  mind. 
For  it  is  possible  to  be  rich  and  not  to  be  de- 
ceived; and  to  be  in  the  world,  and  not  to  be 
choked  with  its  cares."  Orioen:  "The  apos- 
tle's 'anxiety  for  all  the  churches'  is  not 
'anxiety  about  the  world.'  " — V.  23.  How  to 
treat  the  gospel.  1)  Hear  it,  2}  understand 
and  receive  it,  3)  act  it  out. 

24-43.  The  Tares,  the  Mustard-seed, 
THE  Leaven. 

After  explaining  the  parable  of  the  Sower, 
our  Lord  proceeds  to  utter  several  other  par- 
ables.   The  first  three  of  these  were  clearly 


spoken  on  the  same  occasion  as  that  of  the 
Sower;  for  the  'multitudes'  of  v.  34  and  36 
seem  to  be  plainly  the  same  as  those  of  v.  2; 
and  the  'house'  of  v.  36  the  same  as  that  of  v.  1; 
the  language  of  v.  51  and  54  makes  it  probable 
that  the  other  three  also  were  spoken  on  the 
same  occasion.  Mark  {*:  26-29)  has  at  this  point 
another  parable  drawn  from  sowing  seed, 
which  forms  a  sort  of  pair  with  that  of  the 
Sower.  Here  then  are  eight  parables,  in  four 
pairs,  since  that  of  the  Net  closely  resembles 
that  of  the  Tares.  Keim  urges  that  the  par- 
ables of  the  Mustard-seed  and  the  Leaven, 
asserting  the  victorious  extension  of  the  king- 
dom of  heaven  throughout  the  world,  could 
not  have  been  delivered  in  the  same  breath 
with  the  Sower  and  the  Tares,  which  are  "re- 
signed and  melancholy."  But  why  may  not 
the  Great  Teacher  have  naturally  introduced 
more  hopeful  views  for  needed  relief  to  his 
own  mind  and  to  his  hearers?  Such  quick 
reactions  of  strong  feeling  easily  occur.  There 
is  thus  here  no  occasion  for  rejecting  Mat- 
thew's order. 

I.  24-30.  The  Parable  of  the  Tares 
Given.  Put  he  forth  unto,  or  set  before, 
them,  an  image  derived  from  setting  food 
before  persons,  as  the  word  is  used  in  Mark 
8:6;  Acts  16:34;  1  Cor.  10:  27.  (Comp. 
V.  31.)  Jerome  carries  out  the  image,  com- 
paring the  different  parables  to  different  ar- 
ticles of  food,  suited  to  one  guest  or  another. 
'Them'  here  means  not  the  disciples  only 
(t.  10),  butthe  peoplein  general  again.  (v..'!4.36.) 
As  to  the  parable  of  the  Tares  (which  is  given 
by  Matthew  only"),  we  must  notice  here  the 
illustration  itself,  reserving  its  interpretation 
for  the  Notes  on  v.  37-43. 

The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  likened, 
literally,  was  likened.  This  kingdom  or  reign 
has  been  already  begun,  and  so  the  resem- 
blance may  be  spoken  of  as  existing  in  the 
past.  Or,  we  may  understand  it  in  the  sense 
that  the  kingdom  of  heaven  was  likened,  be- 
came like,  and  so  is  now  like.  Nicholson 
understands  it  to  mean  that  some  such  par- 
able as  this  already  existed;  and  so  in  18:  23 
and  22  :  2.  But  the  phrase  does  not  at  all  re- 
quire such  a  supposition,  and  while  Jesus  used 
some  current  ideas  and  expressions,  there  is 


Ch.  XIII.] 


MATTHEW. 


295 


25  But  while  men  slept,  his  enemy  came  and  sowed 
tares  among  the  wheat,  and  went  his  way. 

26  But  wnen  the  blade  was  sprung  up,  and  brought 
forth  fruit,  then  appeared  the  tares  also. 

27  So  the  servants  of  the  householder  came  and  said 
unto  him,  Sir,  didst  not  thou  sow  good  seed  in  thy  field? 
from  whence  then  hath  it  tares? 

28  He  said  unto  them.  An  enemy  hath  done  this. 
The  servants  said  unto  him,  Wilt  thou  then  that  we  go 
and  Miher  them  up? 

29  But  he  said,  Nay ;  lest  while  ye  gather  up  the 
tares,  ye  root  up  also  the  wheat  with  them. 


25  sowed  good  seed  in  his  field :  but  while  men  slept, 
his  enemy  came  and  sowed  i  tares  also  among  the 

26  wheat,  and  went  away.  But  when  the  blade  sprang 
up,  and  brouglit  forth  fruit,  then  appeared  the  tares 

27  also.  And  the  *  servants  of  the  houseliolder  came 
and  said  unto  him,  Sir,  didst  thou  not  sow  good  seed 

28  in  thy  field?  whence  then  hath  it  tares?  And  he 
said  unto  them,  *  An  enemy  hath  done  this.  And 
the  2 servants  say  unto  him.  Wilt  thou  then  that  we 

29  go  and  gather  them  up  7  But  he  saith.  Nay ;  lest 
naply  while  ye  gather  up  the  tares,  ye  root  up  the 


1  Or,  damel....2  Gr.  bondtervanf . . . .i  Or.  ^  man  that  is  an  enemy. 


no  reason  elsewhere  to  suppose  that  he  bor- 
rowed an  entire  illustration  ;  and  this  parable 
and  that  of  22:  2,  are  in  themselves  particu- 
larly unlikely  to  have  been  given  by  any 
previous  teacher,  being  so  utterly  at  variance 
with  current  Jewish  thought  and  feeling. 
The  future  tense  is  used,  shall  be  like 
(likened),  in  7:  24,  26;  11:  16;  25:  1;  and 
the  present  tense  in  11:  16;  13:  31-62;  20:  1. 
Unto  a  man.  The  Messianic  reign  (3: 2)  re- 
sembles not  simply  the  man  who  sowed,  but 
the  parable  as  a  whole;  the  comparison  is 
simply  afBrmed,  here  and  elsewhere,  witli  ref- 
erence to  the  leading  personage  of  the  story, 
or  the  object  it  is  natural  to  mention  first. 
Comp.  V.  44,  45,  47;  18:  23;  20:  1;  25:  1. 
But  while  men  slept  (comp.  Job  33:  15), 
viz.,  at  night,  when  there  was  none  to  ob- 
serve. There  is  no  reference  to  any  particular 
men  as  negligently  sleeping;  it  is  simply 
meant  that  the  enemy  selected  an  opportunity 
for  secre^^y  doing  an  injury.  The  word  ren- 
dered tares  has  been  the  subject  of  much 
discussion,  but  it  is  pretty  generally  agreed 
that  it  denotes  darnel,  a  plant  of  the  same 
family  as  wheat,  and  not  readily  distinguished 
from  it  in  the  early  stages.  Jerome,  who 
lived  in  Palestine  A.  D.  385-420,  states  that  it 
was  quite  difficult  to  distinguish  them  until 
the  head  of  the  wheat  appeared.  Robinson, 
journeying  in  Galilee  in  April,  1852,  say.s, 
"Our  path  now  lay  through  fields  of  wheat 
of  the  most  luxuriant  growth ;  finer  than 
which  I  had  not  before  seen  in  this  or 
any  other  country.  Among  those  splendid 
fields  of  grain  are  still  found  the  tares  spoken 
of  in  the  New  Testament.  As  described  to 
me,  they  are  not  to  be  distinguished  from 
the  wheat  until  the  ear  Rppears.  The  seed  re- 
sembles wheat  in  form;  but  is  smaller  and 
black.  In  Beirflt  poultry  are  fed  upon  this 
seed  ;  and  it  is  kept  for  sale  for  that  purpose,  j 
When  this  is  not  separated  from  the  wheat,  I 


bread  made  from  the  flour  often  causes  dizzi- 
ness to  those  who  eat  of  it.  All  this  corre- 
sponds with  the  lolium  iemulentum,  or  bearded 
darnel."  So  the  seeds  of  the  tares  were  not 
merely  useless  for  human  food,  but  noxious, 
wliicli  face  iPluinptre)  adds  to  the  point  of  the 
parable.  Thomson,  ii.,  p.  396,  says  that  often 
"the  roots  of  the  two  plants  are  so  inter- 
twined that  it  is  impossible  to  separate  them 
without  plucking  up  both."  The  notion  that 
the  tares  were  a  degenerate  wheat,  and  by 
cultivation  could  be  made  to  become  wheat 
again,  has  been  very  pleasing  to  someminds, 
because  it  corresponds  to  the  fact  that  wicked 
men  are  fallen  and  may  be  restored.  Such  a 
notion  as  to  darnel  appears  in  the  Talmud, 
and  is  entertained  by  some  persons  in  Pales- 
tine now  ;  and  also  by  some  American  wheat- 
growers  as  to  what  they  call  "cheat."'  But 
(Thomson)  it  is  not  supported  by  adequate 
evidence,  and  the  fancy  niaj'  be  abandoned 
without  regret,  for  it  would  introduce  an  idea 
quite  apart  from  the  design  of  the  parable. 
Among  the  wheat,  in  the  Greek  a  strong 
expression,  all  through  the  midst  of  the  wheat 
— making  the  separation  particularly  diflBcult. 
And  went  his  way,  away,  so  that  no  one 
knew  what  he  had  done.  This  practice  of 
sowing  noxious  seeds  in  an  enemy's  wheat- 
field  is  said  to  be  still  found  in  the  East, 
though  Thomson  has  never  been  able  to  hear 
of  an  instance, — ah(i  is  not  unknown  in  other 
countries.  The  blade,  the  word  rendered 
grass  in  6:  30;  14:  19.  And  brought  forth 
frnit,  not  here  the  ripe  grain,  but  the  heads 
containing  the  grain,  which  would  show  the 
character  of  the  plant.  Servants,  slaves,  rfow- 
loi,  see  on  8:  6.  Householder,  .see  on  10:  2^5, 
where  it  is  rendered  'masterof  the  house.'  Sir, 
see  on  8:  2.  An  enemy,  literally  as  in  margin 
Rev.  Ver.,  a  man  that  is  an  enemy.  The 
harvest,  more  exactly,  the  season  of  harvest, 
see  on  11 :  25.     Gather  together  and  gather 


296 


MATTHEW. 


Ch.  XII.] 


30  Let  both  grow  together  until  the  harvest:  and  in 
the  time  of  harvest  I  will  say  to  the  reapers.  Gather  ye 
together  tirst  the  tares,  and  bind  them  in  bundles  to 
burn  them  :  but  gather  the  wheat  into  my  barn. 

31  Another  parable  put  be  forth  unto'them,  saying. 
The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  to  a  grain  of  mustard 
seed,  which  a  man  took,  aud  sowed  in  his  field  : 

32  Which  indeed  is  the  least  of  all  seeds:  but  when 
it  is  grown,  it  is  the  greatest  among  herbs,  and  becom- 
eth  a  tree,  so  that  the  birds  of  the  air  come  and  lodge 
in  the  branches  thereof. 


30  wheat  with  them.  Let  both  grow  together  until  the 
harvest;  and  in  the  time  of  the  harvest,  I  will  say 
to  the  reapers.  Gather  up  first  the  tares,  and  bind 
them  in  bundles  to  burn  them :  but  gather  the  wheat 
into  mv  barn. 

31  Anotlier  parable  set  he  before  them,  saying.  The 
kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  grain  of  mustard 
seed,  which  a  man  took,  and  sowed  in  his  field : 

32  which  indeed  is  less  than  all  seeds ;  but  when  it  is 
grown,  it  is  greater  than  the  herbs,  and  becometh 
a  tree,  so  that  the  birds  of  the  heaven  come  aud 
lodge  in  the  branches  thereof. 


in  V.  30  represent  different  word.s,  but  amount- 
ing to  the  same  thing;  the  fii^t  might  be 
translated  '  collect.'  Into  my  barn,  rendered 
•garner'  in  3:  12. 

We  might  suppose  that  so  many  different 
parables  spoken  on  the  same  occasion  would 
confuse  the  minds  of  the  hearers,  and  thus 
fail  to  be  understood  or  remembered.  But 
only  a  part  of  them  were  spoken  to  the  people 
at  large  (v.  38),  and  these  not  in  immediate  suc- 
cession,     (v.  10:  Mark*:  10.) 

II.  31-33.  Parables  of  the  Mttstard- 
8EED  AXD  THE  Leavex.  The  former  is  found 
also  in  Mark  4:  30-32;  and  both  in  Luke  13: 
18-21,  as  spoken  on  a  later  occasion.  Some 
critics  wonder  why  other  parables  were  intro- 
duced between  the  parable  of  the  Tares  and 
the  interpretation  of  it.  Do  not  these,  in  cor- 
recting a  common  Jewish  error,  help  to  pre- 
pare the  mind  for  understanding  the  import- 
ant correction  and  instruction  given  by  the 
parable  of  the  Tares?  Lutteroth  suggests  that 
the  disciples,  after  the  rebuke  of  Mark  4 :  13, 
delayed  asking  the  interpretation  to  see  if 
they  could  think  it  out;  a  notion  which  may 
not  be  wholly  fanciful.  Probably  they  did 
see  the  meaning  of  the  parables  of  the  Mus- 
tard-seed and  the  Leaven,  which  is  cohipara- 
tivelj'  obvious,  and  so  did  not  ask  an  inter- 
pretation of  them.  (v.s6.)  It  will  be  found  in- 
teresting to  compare  the  four  successive  para- 
bles derived  from  the  growth  of  seeds,  viz., 
the  Sower,  the  Tares,  the  Seed  growing  of 
itself  (Mark*:  i6.29),  the  Mustard-secd. 

Put  forth,  etc.  Set  before  them,  see  on  v. 
24.  The  kingdom  of  heaven,  the  Messi- 
anic reign,  see  on  3:  2.  A  grain  of  mns- 
tard«seed.  This  is  most  likely  the  common 
mustard,  which  in  the  hot  countries  of  the 
East  is  sometimes  found  eight  or  ten  feet 
high.  Thomson:  "I  have  seen  it  on  the  rich 
plains  of  Akkar  as  tall  as  the  horse  and  his 
rider."  Hackett  ("Illustrations  of  Scrip- 
ture") saw  stalks  seven  and  nine  feet  high, 


and  before  his  eyes  a  bird  came  and  perched 
on  a  branch  and  sung,  (Comp.  Clark. )  Thom- 
son, ii.,  p.  163,  mentions  one  that  was  more 
than  twelve  feet  high.  Some  expressions  in 
the  Talmud  go  bej'ond  this,  but  Edersheim 
accounts  for  them  as  exaggerations.  Mal- 
donatus  ^sixteenth  century)  speaks  of  seeing 
great  mustard-plants  in  Spain,  with  numerous 
birds  sitting  on  the  branches  and  eagerl3-  de- 
vouring the  seeds.  Meyer  and  others  think 
that  a  tree  is  meant,  now  called  Salvndora 
Persica,  which  abounds  on  the  shores  of  the 
Sea  of  Galilee.  It  grows  twenty-five  feet 
high,  but  has  a  small  seed  of  pungent  trtste, 
used  for  the  same  purposes  as  mustard.  But 
if  a  real  tree  were  meant,  it  would  be  useless 
to  say  that  it  "is  greater  than  the  herbs,  and 
becomes  a  tree."  So  we  must  understand  the 
real  mustard-plant.  Field,  the  Greek  de- 
noting a  piece  of  cultivated  ground,  whether 
large  or  small.  Less  </tanaII  seeds  is  equiva- 
lent to  a  superlative  (as  in  11 :  11).  Greatest 
among  —  literally  greater  than  the  —  herbs 
must  be  taken  strictly  as  a  comparative;  it 
rises  above  its  own  class  of  plants,  and  be- 
comes a  tree.  The  birds  of  the  air,  or 
heaven,  see  on  6:  26.  Lodge,  or  'make  their 
habitations,'  see  on  8:  20,  and  comp.  Dan.  4: 
12;  Psa.  104:  12.  The  branches  thereof, 
rather  its  branches,  see  on  6 :  34.  The  mus- 
tard-seed seems  to  have  been  proverbially 
used  to  represent  anything  very  small  (comp. 
17:  20;  Luke  17:  6),  as  we  find  it  so  used 
(Lightf.,  Edersh.)in  the  Rabbinical  writers. 
A  Buddhist  writing  says  (Lutteroth):  "Meru, 
the  greatest  of  mountains,  never  bows  before 
a  mustard-plant."  Our  Lord  is  of  course  not 
assorting  it  as  a  scientific  fact,  that  this  is 
smaller  than  all  other  seeds  in  the  world,  but 
is  speaking  popularly,  this  being  the  smallest 
that  his  hearers  were  accustomed  to  sow,  or 
the  smallest  that  produced  a  large  plant. 

No  interpretation  of  this  parable  is  given, 
but  its  application  is  plain  from  the  nature  of 


\ 


Ch  XIIL] 


MATTHEW. 


297 


33  Another  parable  spake  he  unto  them  :  The  king- 
dom of  heaven  is  like  unto  leaven,  which  a  woman 
took,  and  hid  in.three  •>  measures  of  meal,  till  the  whole 
was  leavened. 


33  Another  parable  spake  he  unto  them:  The  king- 
dom of  heaven  is  like  unto  leaven,  which  a  woman 
took,  and  hid  in  three  ^measures  of  meal,  till  it  was 
all  leavened. 


a  The  word  in  the  Qreek  is  a  nieasura  contiduing  about  H  peck  and  a  half  waniiuK  a  liitlu  more  than  a  plot. 1  The  word  In  Uie  Greek 

denutes  tue  Hebrew  geah,  a  measure  cimtaialng  uearl;  a  peck  iind  a  balf. 


the  case.  It  represents  the  growth  of  Chris- 
tianity in  the  world,  from  small  beginnings, 
to  vast  dimensions  at  last.  Some  understand 
it  as  representing  also  the  gradual  progress  of 
piety  in  the  individual ;  but  the  use  of  the 
phrase  'kingdom  of  heaven'  throughout  this 
series  of  parables,  and  in  the  Gospels  at  large, 
appears  to  confine  the  view  to  the  former 
thought.  The  disciples  and  other  Jews,  cling- 
ing to  the  notion  of  a  vast  and  splendid  earthly 
kingdom,  would  think  it  very  strange  that 
Messiah's  reign  should  begin  so  quietly,  and 
on  so  small  a  scale;  and  in  this  parable,  and 
that  of  the  Leaven,  our  Lord  wishes  to  im- 
press it  upon  them  that  tliough  small  in  its 
beginnings,  the  Messianic  kingdom  was  des- 
tined to  attain  a  vast  extent.  If  the  disciples 
were  discouraged  by  the  blasphemous  accusa- 
tion of  that  morning,  and  by  the  parables  of 
the  Sower  and  the  Tares,  which  indicated  that 
but  few  would  become  subjects  of  Christ's 
reign,  these  other  two  would  re-assure  them. 
And  did  not  Jesus  need  to  comfort  himself, 
amid  such  small  beginnings  and  slow  prog- 
ress? We  see  the  original  circumstances 
under  which  the  parable  was  spoken  well  re- 
produced now,  at  the  first  introduction  of 
Christianity  into  some  great  heathen  nations. 
Not  only  the  heathen  themselves,  but  irre- 
ligious sailors,  merchants,  and  travelers  frona 
our  own  country,  often  sneer  at  the  idea  that 
a  few  insignificant  men,  by  means  of  so  feeble 
a  thing  as  preaching,  should  expect  to  change 
a  mighty  people.  Yet  it  is  from  similar  small 
beginnings  that  there  has  gradually  grown  up 
the  Christianity  and  the  civilization  of  Europe 
and  America  at  the  present  time. — Some  ex- 
positors, following  certain  Fathers,  find  great 
significance  in  the  sharp,  pungent  qualities  of 
the  mustard-seed  as  illustrating  the  fact  that 
Christianity,  though  small,  would  prove  very 
efficacious  and  impressive;  but  this  is  quite 
beside  the  point  of  the  parable;  and  even  if 
any  one  should  regard  the  idea  as  in  itself 
worth  notice,  he  must  accept  it  as  merely  a 
fancy,  and  not  as  a  part  of  the  Saviour's 
teaching.  Nor  are  we  to  find  any  distinct 
spiritual  meaning  in  the  birds  lodging  in  the 


branches,  which  simply  shows  in  a  vivid  way 
how  large  and  strong  the  plant  becomes.  Sev- 
eral passages  of  the  Old  Test,  represent  an  ex- 
tensive kingdom  by  a  great  tree,  with  the  birds 
dwelling  among  its  branches.  Ezek.  17:  22- 
24;  31:  3-14;  Dan.  4:  10  ff. 

33.  The  parable  of  the  Leaven  is  given 
here  by  Matt,  only  ;  Luke  (wtwr.)  records  it  as 
also  spoken  on  a  later  occasion.  Leaven,  see 
on  16:  6.  Meal,  rather  what  we  now  call 
'fiour,'  comp.  on  12:  1.  Measures.  The 
Greek  word  corresponds  to  a  common  Hebrew 
measure  of  things  dry,  called  seah,  holding 
(Josephus,  "Ant."  9,  4,  5,)  nearly  a  peck  and 
a  half  (margin);  so  that  'three  measures' 
would  be  rather  more  than  our  bushel  ;  but 
the  size  varied  in  difl'erent  parts  of  Palestine. 
(Edersh.)  It  contributes  to  the  vividness  oi 
the  parabolic  narrative,  that  it  does  not  merely 
say  "a  large  quantity,"  but  names  some  par- 
ticular quantity  ;  and  we  may  infer  from  Gen. 
18:  6;  Judg.  6:  19;  1  Sam.  1:  24,  that  three 
seahs  (equal  to  one  ephah)  was  a  quantity 
often  taken  to  make  up,  the  custom  being  to 
bake  at  once  enough  for  several  days.  To 
find  a  special  spiritual  meaning  in  the  number 
three,  would  seem  to  us  ridiculous  ;  yet  some 
great  men  among  the  Fathers,  and  some  fan- 
ciful modern  expositors,  have  actually'  made 
it  signify  Jews,  Greeks,  and  Samaritans;  or 
Asia,  Europe,  and  Africa  (how  about  America, 
now?)  ;  or  the  three  sons  of  Noah  ;  or  body, 
soul,  and  spirit,  etc.  So  with  the  attempts  to 
give  separate  significance  to  the  woman, 
when  it  was  a  matter  of  course  to  speak  of  a 
woman,  and  not  of  a  man,  making  up  bread. 
If  the  woman  here  denotes  "the  church," 
what  is  denoted  bj'  the  man  in  v.  31  ?— The 
general  meaningof  this  parable  is  the  same  as 
that  of  the  preceding.  A  small  bit  of  leaven, 
completely  hidden  from  view  in  the  great 
mass  of  dough,  would  finally  leaven  the 
whole;  and  so  Christianity,  with  its  small 
and  obscure  beginnings,  would  pervade  the 
whole  race  of  mankind.  There  is  a  like 
gradual  progress  of  piety  in  the  individual, 
but  that  does  not  seem  to  be  the  point  here  in 
view.     A  slight  but  just  distinction  has  been 


298 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XIIL 


34  All  these  things  spake  Jesus  unto  the  luultilude 
in  parables ;  aud  without  a  parable  spake  he  not  unto 
them : 

35  That  it  might  be  fulfilled  which  was  spoken  by 
the  prophet,  saying,  I  will  open  my  mouth  in  parables  ; 
I  will  utter  things  which  have  been  kept  secret  from 
the  foundation  of  the  world. 


34  All  these  things  spake  Jesus  in  parables  unto  the 
multitudes ;  and  without  a  parable  spake  he  nothing 

35  unto  them:   that  it  might  be  lulAlled  which  was 
spoken  through  the  prophet,  saying, 

1  will  open  my  mouth  in  parables : 
I  will  utter  things  hidden  from  the  foundation  i  of 
the  world. 


1  Many  aucieuc  authorities  omit,  of  the  world. 


pointed  out  between  this  parable  and  that  of 
the  Grain  of  Mustard.  That  represents  the  ex- 
pansion of  the  Christian  community  into  vast 
dimensions;  this  the  assimilating  diffusion  of 
Christianitj'  through  the  vast  mass  of  human- 
ity ;  the  one  is  extensive,  the  other  intensive. 
— Because  leaven  is  frequently  used  in  Scrip- 
ture as  the  symbol  of  things  corrupting  and 

pernicious  {16:  6;  Luke  12:  1;  Gal.  5;  9;  1  Cor.  5:  6;  and 

often  in  Old  Test.),  and  nowliere  but  here  used 
in  a  good  sense,  some  have  strangely  tried  to 
interpret  it  here  as  denoting  the  corruptions 
which  should  arise  in  connection  with  Christi- 
anity. But  can  there  be  only  one  possible 
figurative  use  of  an  object?  The  lion  repre- 
sents Satan,  and  also  the  Saviour;  but  no  one 
would  fancy  in  the  same  sense.  (Com p.  on 
3:  11.) 

III.  34  f.  A  Prediction  of  Speaking  in 
Parables.  All  these  things,  with  no 
special  emphasis  on  'all.'  Unto  the  multi- 
tudes, or  crowds  (see  13 :  2),  and  not  merely  to 
the  disciples  (comp.  on  v.  36).  Spake  he  noth- 
ing is  the  correct  Greek  text,  instead  of  spake 
he  not,  which  is  taken  from  the  parallel 
passage  of  Mark.  (♦:3«)  It  must  be  meant 
simply  that  on  this  occasion  he  said  nothing 
to  them  except  in  parables-,  we  know  that  on 
other  occasions,  afterwards  as  well  as  before, 
he  frequently  spoke  to  the  people  in  unpara- 
bolic  language.  'Spake'  is  in  Greek  an  im- 
perfect, describing  his  practice  on  that  occa- 
sion.—  Here  again,  as  in  so  many  other 
instances,  Matt,  pauses  to  point  out  the  fulfill- 


ment in  Jesus  of  an  Old  Test,  prediction. 
That  it  might  be  fulfilled,  see  on  1 :  22. 

This  expression  requires  us  to  understand  a 
real  fulfillment  of  a  real  prediction — unless 
that  idea  could  be  shown  to  be  in  the  given 
case  impossible — and  a  fulfillment  designedly 
brought  about  in  the  course  of  providence.  It 
is  difiicult,  in  the  present  instance,  to  discern 
the  prophetic  relation,  but  it  is  not  impossible. 
By  the  prophet,i  more  exactly  through, 
comp.  on  2:  6.  The  quotation  is  from  Psa. 
78:  2.  Many  of  the  Psalms  are  prophetic, 
and  the  Psalmist  David  is  expressly  called  a 
prophet.  (Acts2:so.)  The  writer  of  this  Psalm 
is  given  by  the  heading  as  Asaph,  and  he  in 
2  Chron.  29:  30  is  called  the  seer,  equivalent 
to  prophet,  (i  sam.  9:  9.)  The  Psalm  relates  the 
history  of  Israel,  and  points  out  its  lessons; 
but  Israel  was  typical  of  the  Messiah  (see 
above  on  2:  15),  and  so  the  passage  might 
contain  a  prophetic  reference  to  him,  which 
the  inspired  Evangelist  informs  us  it  did  con- 
tain. He  states  it  as  a  part  of  the  divine  pur- 
pose, in  our  Lord's  adoption  of  the  parabolic 
method  of  instruction,  that  there  should  be  a 
fulfillment  of  that  prophetic  saying.  Unless 
we  can  show  that  there  was  no  such  prophetic 
relation,  we  must  certainly-  accept  the  Evan- 
gelist's statement.  I  will  utter.  The  Greek 
word  means  to  belch,  to  vomit,  to  pour  out 
copious  speech,  and  this  last  corresponds  to 
the  Hebrew.  From  the  foundation  of  the 
world.*  The  Hebrew  has  a  phrase  usually 
signifying  'from  antiquity,'   and  thus  natu- 


1  'Through  Isaiah  the  prophet'  is  the  reading  of  {< 
(first  hand),  several  important  cursives,  one  codex  of 
the  ^thiopic ;  it  is  quoted  in  the  Clementine  homilies 
(latter  part  of  second  century),  and  said  by  Eusebius 
and  Jerome  to  have  been  found  in  some  copies  of  the 
Gospel.  Jerome  states  that  Porphyry  cited  it  as  show- 
ing the  ignorance  of  Matthew.  Transcriptional  proba- 
bility would  at  once  favor  this,  for  it  is  easy  to  suppose 
BO  obvious  an  error  to  have  been  corrected  by  copyists 
(comp.  27 :  9 ;  Mark  1:2).  On  the  other  hand,  no  prophet 
being  named,  some  one  might  have  felt  moved  to  insert 
the  name  of  the  grealetl  prophet.  It  is  also  possible 
that  some  reader,  observing  the  actual  source  of  the 
quotation,  might  have  inserted  Asaph ;  and  that  then 
(as  Euseb.  and  Jerome  suggest)  others,  not  having  heard 


of  such  a  prophet,  should  change  it  to  the  somewhat 
similar  name  Isaiah.  With  these  conflicting  transcrip- 
tional probabilities,  and  external  evidence  so  slender, 
it  seems  right  to  fall  back  on  the  intrinsic  improbability 
(apart  from  all  theories  of  inspiration)  that  an  intelli- 
gent writer  like  Matt,  and  a  special  student  of  prophecy, 
would  commit  so  manifest  an  error.  '  Isaiah '  is  read  by 
Tisch.  (following  X)  and  by  W  H.  margin;  and  strongly 
favored  by  Hort  in  Appendix. 

*  '  Of  the  world '  should  probably  be  omitted,  with  X 
(second  hand)  B,  two  cursives.  Old  Syriac,  some  copies 
of  Old  Latin,  and  some  Fathers.  '  From  the  foundation  ' 
would  really  mean  this,  and  '  of  the  world '  would  be 
easily  added  by  copyists  from  25:  34,  where  there  is  no 
variation  of  the  reading. 


Ch.  XIIL] 


MATTHEW. 


299 


36  Then  Jesus  sent,  the  multitude  away,  and  went 
into  the  house :  and  his  disciples  came  unto  him,  say- 
ing, Declare  unto  us  the  parable  of  the  tares  of  the 
field. 

37  He  answered  and  said  unto  them,  He  that  soweth 
the  good  seed  is  the  Son  of  man  : 


36  Then  he  left  the  multitudes,  and  went  into  the 
house:  and  his  disciples  came  unto  him,  saying, 
Explain  unto  us  the  parable  of  the  tares  of  the  field. 

37  And  he  answered  and  said,  He  that  soweth  the  good 


rally  applying  in  the  Psalmist's  use  to  the 
early  history  of  the  nation  (so  Sept.  'from  the 
beginning');  but  the  phrase  also  signifies 
'from  eternity,'  as  in  Deut.  33:  27;  Psa. 
55:  19,  and  in  the  prophetic  application  might 
perhaps  be  understood  in  that  sense,  to  which 
the  Evangelist's  expression  is  equivalent. 
(Com p.  on  1 :  23.) 

IV.  36-43.  Intebprbtation  of  the 
Parable  OF  THE  Tares.  Sent  away.  Rev. 
Ver.  reads,  he  left.  The  multitude,  the 
croMjrf*,  as  in  5:  1.  These  or  similar  crowds  had 
heard  the  parables  of  the  Sower,  the  Tares,  the 
Mustard-seed  and  the  Leaven,  though  not  the 
explanation  of  the  first  (see  on  13 :  10) ;  also 
the  other  parable  given  by  Mark  (4:26ff.). 
Now  the  disciples  alone  are  to  hear  the  expla- 
nation of  the  parable  of  the  Tares,  and  also  to 
hear  the  three  other  parables  that  follow. 
His  disciples  were  probably  not  merely  the 
Twelve,  but  others  also.  (See  on  v.  10.)  The 
name  Jesus  at  the  beginning  of  v.  36,  does 
not  appear  in  many  of  the  best  authorities,  and 
was  doubtless  added  by  some  early  readers, 
because  this  was  the  beginning  of  a  church 
"lesson,"  and  so  the  name  was  apparently 
needed.  The  same  thing  has  happened  in 
various  other  passages,  at  the  beginning  of 
lessons.  Into  the  house,  probably  the  bouse 
mentioned  in  13:  1,  which  may  have  been 
(ifark3:2o)  the  housc  at  Capcmaum  which  he 
usually  occupied,  viz.,  that  of  Simon  Peter. 
(Comp.  on  4:  13  and  8:  14.)  Declare,  ex- 
plain is  doubtless  the  correct  reading  (K 
first  hand,  B,  Origen,)  having  been  changed 
to  make  it  agree  with  16:  15.  The  parable 
of  the  tares  of  the  field.  This  designation 
shows  that  the  disciples  had  seized  the  most 
characteristic  feature  of  the  illustration. 
Answered  and  said,  without  unto  them, 
an  unnecessary  addition  of  many  documents. 
For  explanation  of  the  terms  and  allusions  of 
the  parable  itself,  comp.  on  v.  24-30. 

The  Jews,  including  our  Lord's  disciples, 
would  naturally  think,  with  their  rooted 
notions  of  Messiah's  reign,  that  he  would 
promptly  destroy  all  those  who  did  not  submit 
to  his  authority,  as  was  common  with  Orien- 


tal conquerors,  as  David  himself  was  known 
to  have  done.  Their  views  and  feelings  are 
illustrated  by  the  wish  of  James  and  John  to 
call  down  fire  from  heaven  and  consume  the 
Samaritan  village,  for  refusing  to  receive 
Jesus.  They  might  strengthen  themselves 
(Weiss)  in  this  view  by  supposing  that  the 
Messianic  discrimination  predicted  by  John 
the  Baptist  (s:  10-12)  would  be  the  first  part  of 
the  Messianic  work,  and  would  be  performed 
in  a  wholesale  fashion.  The  contrary  has 
already  been  intimated  by  the  parable  of  the 
Sower,  and  by  those  of  the  Mustard-seed  and 
the  Leaven,  all  showing  that  the  Messianic 
operation  would  be  gradual,  and  upon  indi- 
viduals. And  it  is  distinctly  set  forth  by  the 
present  parable,  which  declares  that  while  the 
Messiah  does  not  at  once  destroy  those  who 
refuse  him  allegiance,  but  sufl^irs  righteous 
and  wicked  to  live  on  together  in  the  world, 
and  intertwined  in  the  relations  of  life  (v. 29), 
yet  he  will  hereafter  effectually  separate  them, 
and  deal  with  each  class  according  to  their 
deserts.  The  Messianic  discrimination  is  to 
take  place  not  at  the  beginning,  but  at  the  end 
of  the  present  dispensation,  when  the  un- 
mixed wheat  will  be  gathered  into  the  garner, 
(v.  .30  having  the  same  phrase  as  3  :  12.)  "We 
have  seen  (on 3:2)  that  the  word  rendered 
'  kingdom'  is  inadequately  expressed  by  that 
one  term,  but  includes  also  what  we  mean  by 
'kingship'  and  'reign,'  one  idea  or  another 
being  especially  prominent  in  diflTerent  cases. 
Here  the  kingdom  of  heaven  (v.  24)  denotes 
especially  the  Messianic  reign,  and  the  par- 
able sets  forth  some  things  that  will  occur  in 
the  world  in  <!onnection  with  that  reign.  But 
overlooking  these  facts,  and  thinking  always 
of  the  kingdom  as  implying  an  organization 
of  subjects,  the  Christian  world  has  largely 
fallen  into  the  habit  of  confounding  the  king- 
dom of  heaven,  hero  and  often  elsewhere,  with 
what  is  popularly  called  "the  visible 
church,"  i.  e.,  the  totality  of  professed  be- 
lievers. Hence  most  expositors  from  an  early 
period,  have  understood  the  parable  as  teach- 
ing that  in  "the  church"  we  must  have 
righteous  and  wicked  together.  The  tendency 


300 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XHI. 


to  understand  it  in  this  way  was  strength- 
ened by  Constantine's  adoption  of  Christian- 
ity as  a  phink  in  his  political  platform,  lead- 
ing to  what  in  modern  times  we  call  a  Church 
Establishment,  in  which  all  are  held  as 
church-members,  and  exclusion  from  a  church, 
such  as  the  New  Test,  sometimes  enjoins 
(icor. 5:  4f.;  icoc.  i:i^;  Miut.  i8:iTir.},  becomcs  im- 
possible. Still  a  third  cause  affected  the  in- 
terpretation. When  the  Donatists  undertook 
to  excommunicate  all  persons  known  to  be 
evil,  and  in  the  case  of  traditores,  who  had 
given  up  copies  of  Scripture  to  be  burned 
during  the  persecutions,  were  unwilling  ever 
to  restore  them  to  the  church  connection, 
Augustine  wrote  against  their  views  a  great 
number  of  treatises,  in  which  he  constantly 
appealed  to  this  parable,  as  showing  that  good 
and  evil  persons  must  dwell  together  in  the 
church.  He  says  the  Donatist  bishops  would 
reply,  "It  does  not  refer  to  the  church;  the 
Lord  said,  the  field  is  the  world,  not,  the  field 
is  the  church."  But  Augustine  would  say 
that  the  world  here  means  the  church.  They 
contended  that  the  world  is  always  used  in  a 
bad  sense,  quoting  many  testimonies  from 
Scripture,  as  "If  any  man  love  the  world," 
etc.  (iJohn»:i5.)  But  he  replied  with  2  Cor. 
6:  19,  "God  was  in  Christ,  reconciling  the 
world  unto  himself"  ;  "and  assuredly"  (says 
Aug.),  "God  reconciles  to  himself  nothing 
but  the  church."  On  one  occasion  Aug. 
actually  states  it  as  a  sign  of  the  church  that 
it  contains  evil  and  good  mixed  together. 
The  influence  of  the  great  Latin  theologian 
thus  made  it  a  commonplace  of  Christian  con- 


troversy and  exposition  that  the  parable  of 
the  Tares  describes  the  church  as  containing 
good  and  bad,  and  teaches  that  church  disci- 
pline must  not  attempt  to  have  it  otherwise.* 
All  the  commentators  at  the  time  of  the  Ref- 
ormation, and  almost  all  since  that  time, 
have  been  connected  with  some  State  Church, 
and  would  readily  adopt  the  current  inter- 
pretation, because  it  accorded  with  their  educa- 
tion and  surroundings.  But  this  cannot  be  a 
correct  view  of  the  parable,  for  our  Lord's  in- 
terpretation, as  the  Donatists  urged,  expressly 
declares,  "  The  field  is  the  world."  It  is  very 
true  that  in  any  church  there  are  likely  to  be 
members  who  are  not  true  Christians,  and 
whom  it  is  often  difficult  for  us  to  detect ;  but 
Augustine's  interpretation  would  make  the 
parable  teach  that  when  detected,  and  clearly 
known,  we  must  not  exclude  them.  Now  the 
point  of  the  parable  is  not  that  obviously 
wicked  men  are  to  live  on  as  recognized  sub- 
jects of  Christ's  kingdom,  regarded  as  a  defi- 
nite organization — t.  e.,  as  members  of  his 
churches — but  that  he  suffers  them,  under  or 
during  his  reign,  to  live  on  in  the  world,  in- 
stead of  being  at  once  destroyed,  as  the  Jews 
expected.  This  would  explain  to  the  disci- 
ples, for  example,  why  he  who  could  work 
miracles  had  that  morning  allowed  himself  to 
be  insulted  and  blasphemed,  and  had  only 
given  a  solemn  warning  instead  of  blasting 
with  instant  destruction.  It  would  also  give 
another  reason  why  the  Messianic  work  was 
moving  slowly.  One  reason  already  given 
was  that  many  receive  the  '  word  of  the  king- 
dom'  improperly  (parable    of  the  Sower); 


'  The  first  sfatemenl  of  this  interpretation  we  have 
found  is  in  Cyprian,  EpUtola  51,  "  .\ltbough  tares  are 
seen  in  the  charch,  that  ooeht  not  to  hinder  our  faith  or 
our  charity,  nor  canse  us  toquitlbechurch."  Tertullian, 
"  rfe  Pugn  in  pertfev'ionr"  calls  the  threshing-floor  of 
Blatt.  3:12  the  church,  in  which  peniecntion  discerns  be- 
between  the  wheat  of  martyrs  and  the  chaff  of  deniers. 
Origensay$(on  Matthew — the  extant  portion  begins  just 
here) :  "  The  whole  world  might  be  called  (the)  field,  and 
not  the  church  of  God  only;  for  in  all  the  world  the  Son 
of  man  sowed  good  seed,  and  the  evil  one  the  tares." 
Irenseos,  ir.  66,  refers  the  parable  t<>  the  introduction 
of  evil  among  men  by  .Satan.  Hermas,  "  Simil."  iii.,  iv., 
T.,  2and  5,  gives  kindred  illu6tration.s evidently  founded 
on  this  parable,  using  the  phra^,  "The  field  is  the 
world,"  and  describing  the  presence  of  good  and  bad 
men  together  in  the  world.  The  application  to  the 
church  was  known  to  Origen,  but  apparently  owed  its 
wide  acceptance  to  Cyprian,  who  did  co  much  to  de- 


velop the  church  idea.  His  saying  is  repeatedly 
quoted  by  Augustine,  as  high  authority  from  a  martyr. 
'  Augustine's  numerous  treatises  and  letters  against  the 
!  Donatists  nearly  all  appeal  to  this  parable,  but  his  full- 
est statements  are  in  the  "  Brevieulut  Collaiionit  cum 
,  DonatUtU,'  and  the  "  Ad  DonatUta*  post  Collationem." 
I  Optatus,  whose  idea  of  the  church  appears  to  precede 
I  that  of  Augustine  and  to  have  been  developed  inde- 
pendently of  Cyprian,  says,  ("rfe  Sckitmate  Donatig- 
■  tfirvm,"  vii.,  2), "  The  field  is  the  whole  world,  in  which 
I  is  the  church" — a  more  reasonable  conception  than  that 
of  Augustine. — Gregory  Kaz.  in  several  hymns  speaks 
I  of  sowing  tares  on  earth  and  in  the  soul,  but  does  not 
.  refer  to  the  church.  Chrysostom  ton  Matthew)  under- 
,  stands  the  church,  arguing  that  the  present  world  also 
I  is  Christ's,  and  takes  the  tares  to  mean  heretics,  an  idea 
I  hinted  at  in  Basil  also. — It  would  be  well  if  some  spe- 
j  cialist  in  Church  Hist,  would  fully  work  out  the  history 
of  the  early  interpretation  of  this  parable. 


Ch.-XIIL] 


MATTHEW. 


301 


38  The  field  is  the  world  ;  the  good  seed  are  the  chil-  I 
dreo  or  the  kingdom ;  bai  the  tares  are  the  children  of 
the  wicked  one ; 

39  The  enemy  that  sowed  them  is  the  devil ;  the  har-  | 
vest  is  the  end  of  the  world;  and  the  reapers  are  the 
angels. 

40  As  therefore  the  tares  are  gathered  and  burned  in 
the  &re ;  so  shall  it  be  in  the  end  of  this  world. 


38  seel  is  the  Son  of  man ;  and  the  field  is  the  world  ; 
and  the  good  seed,  these  are  the  sons  of  the  king- 

39  dom  ;  and  the  tares  are  the  sons  of  the  evil  (me  ;  and 
the  enemy  that  sowed  them  Is  the  devil;  and  the 
harvest  isithe  end  of  the  world;  and  the  reapers 

40  are  angels.  As  therefore  the  tares  are  gathered  up 
and  hurned  with  fire ;  so  shall  it  be  in  >  the  end  of 


1  Or,  the  eomummatUm  o/  the  age. 


now  another  reason  is  that  while  the  Son  of 
man  sows  wheat  in  the  world,  the  devil,  in 
the  same  field  (the  world),  sows  tares,  all  in 
among  the  wheat. 

The  mistaken  view  of  this  parable  above 
condemned  finds  apparent  support  in  the 
phrase  'shall  gather  out  of  his  kingdom'  (see 
on  V.  41 ).  and  in  the  parable  of  the  Net.  (»• "  ir.) 

Our  Lord's  interpretation  comprises  (Goe- 
bel)  two  distinct  parts.  In  v.  37-39  a  meaning 
is  separately  and  briefly  assigned  to  each  lead- 
ing object  and  person  in  the  story.  In  v.  40- 
43,  the  final  stage  of  the  spiritual  situation 
meant  to  be  illustrated  is  vividly  described  by 
a  series  of  events. 

37-39.  The  Son  of  man,  i  e.  the  Messiah, 
see  on  8:  20.  The  field  is  the  world,  here 
the  common  Greek  term  kostnos,  having  as 
broad  and  general  a  sense  as  our  English  term 
world.  Our  Lord's  personal  ministry  was 
restricted  to  Palestine,  though  including  some 
Gentiles;  but  his  work  WJts  to  be  afterwards 
extended  into  'all  the  world'  (Mark  i6:  la), 
among  'all  nations,'  («;  w).  The  good  seed, 
t.  c,  of  course,  the  plants  springing  from  the 
sued.  The  children  isons)  of  the  kingdom 
(comp.  on  8:  12),  those  wno  have  a  right  to 
the  privileges  of  the  Messianic  reign,  as  if 
they  were  its  very  ofiTspring.  But  in  8:  12  the 
phrase  represents  those  who  were  entitled,  as 
it  were,  by  birth,  to  the  Messianic  privileges 
(viz.,  the  Jews),  but  many  of  whom  would  be 
cast  out;  while  h«!re  it  is  those  who  are  truly 
the  subjects  of  Messiah  by  the  new  birth 
(comp.  21 :  43).  And  so  the  children  (sons) 
of  the  wicked  one,  see  on  13:  19  and  6:  13, 
are  those  who  as  closely  resemble  Satan,  and 
are  as  completely  under  his  control,  as  is  the 
case  of  children  towards  their  father.  (Comp. 
John  8:  44;  1  John  5:  19.)  The  devil,  see 
on  4:  1.  Evil  in  the  human  race  owes  its 
origin  to  Satan.  As  to  the  reasons  why  God 
permitted  its  original  appearance  in  the  uni- 
verse, speculation  has  scarcely  proven  satis- 
factory, and  Scripture  is  silent.  Some  argue 
that  the  parable  must  refer  to  "the  church," 


because  the  person  who  sowed  the  good  seed 
is  the  Messiah,  and  the  enemy  sowed  after- 
wards;  while  in  Xh&  world  there  had  been  sons 
of  the  evil  one  long  before  the  Saviour's  ap- 
pearing. But  no  illustration  can  throw  light 
in  all  directions.  Thin  parable  must  o/ course 
describe  tares  as  sown  after  wheat,  for  other- 
wise the  story  would  have  been  unnaturnl. 
Therefore  this  illustration  could  depict  only 
the  present  and  future  relations  of  good  and 
evil  in  the  world,  and  could  not  bring  "within 
its  horizon  the  past  history  of  the  human 
race.  The  end  of  the  world.  The  Greek 
for  'world'  is  not  the  same  as  in  v.  38,  but 
the  same  as  in  v.  22  and  12:  32,  which,  ac- 
cording to  Jewish  usage,  frequently  denotes 
the  present  period,  the  existing  condition  of 
things,  as  opposed  to  some  past  or  future  con- 
dition of  things.  The  word  translated  'end' 
denotes  completion  or  consummation  (as  in 
margin  of  Rev.  Ver. )  ;  seethe  same  phrase 
in  24:  3;  28:  20,  and  'children  of  this  world' 
in  Luke  16:  8;  20:34.  The  end  or  consum- 
mation of  the  present  period  or  state  of  things 
will  be  at  our  Lord's  second  coming,  which 
will  open  the  new  and  eternal  period.  And 
the  reapers  are  the  angels,  see  on  18 :  10. 
The  Greek  has  here  no  article  with  'angels' ; 
the  Com.  Ver.  inserted  or  omitted  the  article 
with  great  license. — Observe  that  our  Lords 
interpretation  takes  no  account  of  the  men 
who  slept  (really  meaning  people  in  general, 
and  not  implying  blame,  see  on  v.  ttj).  nor 
of  the  servants  who  reported  what  had  hap- 
pened ;  many  commentators  are  not  content 
with  this,  and  propose  various  interpretations, 
which  cannot  be  expected  to  reward  attention. 
(Comp.  as  to  the  interpretation  of  parables  on 
18:3.) 

40-43.  Burned  with  fire  is  a  more  probable 
translation  than  in  the  fire  (Tyndale  and  fol- 
lowers), the  form  being  oftener  instrumental 
than  locative.  (Comp.  3:  12.)  In  the  end 
of  this  fproperly  the)  world, the  word  'this' 
being  an  unwarranted  addition,  as  in  v.  22. 
The  Son  of  man  ....  his  angels  .... 


302 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  xriT. 


41  The  Son  of  man  shall  send  forth  his  angels,  and 
they  shall  guther  out  of  his  kingdom  all  things  that 
ofi^ad,  and  them  which  do  iniquity ;  « 


41  the  world.    The  Son  of  man  shall  send  forth  his 
angels,  and  they  shall  gather  out  of  his  kingdom 


a  Or.  scandaU. 


his  kingdom,  suggesting  the  exalted  dignity 
to  which  he  shall  attain  who  was  once  de- 
spised and  rejected.  (Com p.  on  7 ;  21 ;  10 :  32 ; 
12:  8;  25:  31  ff.)  The  angels,  who  now  de- 
sire to  look  into  the  things  of  salvation 
(iPet.  1:  n),  who  rejoice  over  one  sinner  that 
repententh  (Lakei5:  t),  who  are  all  ministering 
spirits,  sent  forth  to  do  service  for  the  sake  of 
those  who  are  to  inherit  salvation  (Heb.  i:u), 
will  then  have  assigned  them  the  solemn  task 
of  separating  the  wicked  from  among  the  just, 
and  consigning  them  to  destruction.  (Comp. 
25:  81.)  And  they  shall  gather  out  of  his 
kingdom.  Observe  that  this  points  forward 
to  the  time  of  the  final  judgment.  The  Mes- 
sianic dominion  will  then  be  regarded  as 
virtually  extending  over  the  whole  world,  like 
God's  universal  kingship  or  reign  (Paa.  22: 27  r.); 
the  kingship  of  the  world  will  be  our  Lord's 
and  his  Christ's  (Kev.  u:  15) ;  the  kingdom  pre- 
dicted by  Daniel  will  be  about  to  complete  its 
destiny,  and  fill  the  whole  earth.  (Diin.2;35.) 
All  that  will  then  be  necessary  to  render  this 
Messianic  reign  actually  universal  will  be  to 
gather  the  wicked  out  of  the  world,  and  as 
the  world  will  then  by  anticipation  be  his 
kingdom,  it  is  said  that  the  angels  '  will  gather 
out  of  his  kingdom,'  etc.  (Comp.  a  some- 
what similar  view  in  Meyer.)  It  does  not 
follow  from  this  anticipative  expression  that 
the  wicked  are  now  within  his  kingdom  re- 
garded as  an  organization  apart  from  the 
world.  Observe  that  the  problem  of  inter- 
pretation here  is  to  reconcile  the  phrase  '  they 
shall  gather  out  of  his  kingdom '  with  the 
clear  statement  of  v.  38,  '  the  field  is  the 
world.'  If  we  understand  'his  kingdom'  in 
this  case  to  mean  what  is  called  "  the  visible 
church"  throughout  its  history,  then  we  must 
either  understand  'the  world'  in  some  strained, 
unnatural  sense,'  or  we  must  utterly  confound 
the  visible  church  with  the  world  ;  and  upon 
any  such  interpretation  the  inevitable  result 
will  be  that  the  passage  prohibits  exclusion 
from  a  church,  which  as  we  have  seen,  is  else- 
where distinctly  enjoined.  In  some  waj', 
then,  the  phrase  'gather  out  of  his  kingdom 


(reign,  dominion,  etc.)'  must  be  interpreted 
as  not  meaning  "the  visible  church,"  or  else 
we  bring  Scripture  into  apparently  hopeless 
conflict  with  itself.  It  might  be  enough  to 
say  that  in  one  sense  all  the  world  is  under 
the  Messiah's  dominion,  but  not  in  the  sense 
that  all  men  are  really  his  subjects.  With 
'gather  out  of  his  kingdom  '  compare  in  the 
kindred  parable  (▼  «),  "the  angels  shall 
come  forth,  and  sever  the  wicked  from 
among  the  righteous.'  In  the  present 
'age,'  or  state  of  thing?,  the  subjects  of 
Christ's  kingdom  or  reign  are  mingled  in  all 
social  and  other  relations  with  the  wicked. 
To  separate  them  now,  and  destroy  the 
wicked — as  the  Jews  might  naturally  expect 
of  Messiah — to  make  now  the  Messianic  dis- 
crimination (3: 10-12)-,  would  be  to  break  up  the 
whole  framework  of  society.  But  let  no  one 
imagine  that  this  mingling  will  always  con- 
tinue; the  time  is  approaching  when  the 
wicked  will  be  gathered  out  from  among 
Messiah's  subjects.  They  were  never  one — 
were  always,  in  fact,  as  distinct  as  wheat  and 
tares;  but  they  were  closely  united  in  the 
world,  their  roots  intertwined,  and  they  are 
to  be  completely  separated  only  when  human 
society  as  a  whole  is  broken  up.  This  is  all 
meant  not  as  a  reason  why  we' should  refrain 
from  putting  a  wicked  man  out  of  a  church, 
but  as  a  reason  why  God  refrains  from  put- 
ting him  out  of  the  world.  We  repeat  that  if 
the  parable  did  refer  to  the  presence  of  un- 
renewed persons  in  a  church,  then  it  would 
clearly  forbid  any  exclusion  from  a  church — 
a  difficulty,  upon  that  view,  which  has  never 
been  satisfactorily  explained.  It  is  idle  to  say 
that  the  parable  only  forbids  very  rigid  dis- 
cipline. By  confining  our  view  to  the  natural 
and  obvious  meaning  of  the  parable,  we  free 
ourselves  from  all  those  confused  and  con- 
flicting notions  on  the  supposed  relation  of  its 
teachings  to  church  discipline,  which  have 
almost  buried,  beneath  a  mass  of  unprofitable 
discussion,  this  beautiful  and  affecting  parable 
of  our  Lord. 
All  things  that  offend,  that  cause  sttint' 


1  As   when    Aagustine  (see  above)   says  the  world 
means  the  church ;  or  when  Calvin  says  the  world  is 


used  by  synecdoche,  the  whole  for  a  part,  the  world 
thus  denoting  the  church. 


r 


Ch.  .XIII.] 


MATTHEW. 


303 


42  And  shall  cast  them  Into  a  furnace  of  fire;  there 
shall  be  wailing  and  gnashing  of  teeth. 

43  Then  shall  the  righteous  shine  forth  as  the  sun  in 
the  kingdom  of  their  Father.  Who  hath  ears  to  bear, 
let  him  hear. 


42  all  things  that  cause  stumbling,  and  them  that  do 
iniquity,  and  shall  cast  them  into  the  furnace  of 
fire:    there  shall  be  the  weeping  and  gnashing  of 

43  teeth.  Then  shall  the  righteous  shine  forth  as  the 
sun  in  the  kingdom  of  their  Father.  He  that  hath 
ears,  let  him  hear. 


bling,  see  on  5:  29.     The  idea  here  may  be, 
all  those  who  cause  men  to  sin  in  general,  or 
specifically,  all  those  who  cause  men  to  doubt 
and  question  the  reality  of   Christ's   reign, 
from  his  allowing  such  persons  to  live  on  in  the 
world.   And  them  which  do  iniquity  (conip. 
7 :  23),  this  plainer  and  more  general  expression 
being  added  to  the  llgurative  and  more  ex* 
plicit    one    preceding  —  all    the    stumbling- 
blocks,  and  in  general,  those  that  do  iniquity. 
The  phraseology  was  perhaps  suggested    by 
Zeph.   1 :  3.     Into  a  {the)  furnace  of  fire, 
comp.  3:  11;  Rev.  20:.  15;  Jer.  29:  22;  Dan. 
3:6;  and  see  on  6:  22.     A  modern  traveler 
speaks  of  furnaces  for  punishment  in  Persia. 
'The  furnace,'   the  definite  place  of  future 
punishment.     There  shall  be  the  weeping 
aud  gnashing   of  teeth  (comp.  on  8:  12), 
departs  from   the  image    of  consuming  the 
tares,  to  introduce  another  thought  of  horror, 
and   heighten  the  terrible  picture.     The  use 
of  various    images    for   future    punishment 
should  prevent  a  crude  literalism,  and  falls  in 
with  the  important  teaching  that  there  will  be 
degrees  of  punishment.   (Luken:«.)     But  the 
images  must  be   understood  as  representing 
something  real.     Reuss,  with  his  rationalistic 
freedom,  justly  remarks  that  the  furnace  and 
the  gnashing  of  teeth  stand  in  the  same  posi- 
tion   as  the  shining   glory  of  the   righteous 
(V.  «) — both  must  be  accepted  as  facts  [as  rep- 
resenting realities],  or  else  both  alike  referred 
to  the  mere  j)opular  beliefs  of  the  time  ;  one 
cannot  accept  the  Bible  descriptions  of  heaven 
as  representing  realities,  and  reject  those  of 
liell. — No  spiritual  meaning  is  to  be  derived  | 
from  'gather  up  first'  in  v.  30,  as  if  showing  | 
that  the  righteous  are  to  witness  the  destruc-  i 
tion  of  the  wicked.     Our  Lord  does  not  intro-  ; 
duce  the   word  'first'  into  v.  41,  and  in  tlie  I 
similar  allusion  of  v.  48  the  order  is  revier-^ed, 
simply   following,    in  each  case,  the  obvious 
propriety  of  the  figure.     In  like  manner  some  i 
expositors  gravely  discuss  the  spiritual  mean-  j 
ing  of  binding  in  bundles,  when  the  author 
of  the  parable  has  entirely  omitted  it  from  his 
exposition.     Shine  forth    as    the    sun,    in 
purity  and  glory;  comp.  Dan.  12:  3,  "shall  i 


shine  as  the  brightness  of  the  firmament  .  .  . 
as  the  stars  for  ever  and  ever."  The  right" 
eous  are  opposed  to  'those  that  do  iniquity,' 
in  V.  41.  At  present,  they  are  often  obscure 
and  unnoticed  amid  the  great  mass  of  man- 
kind, imperfectl3'  appreciated  and  little  hon- 
ored by  the  world  at  large;  but  then,  com- 
pletely distinct  and  forever  separate  from  the 
wicked,  they  shall  shine  forth  as  the  sun. 
In  the  kingdom  of  their  Father,  the  con- 
summate and  eternal  state  of  the  Messianic 
kingdom  or  reign  (see  on  3:  2),  when  Christ 
"shall  deliver  up  the  kingdom  to  God,  even 
the  Father  .  .  .  that  God  may  be  all  in  all." 
(icor.  15:24, 28,  E.V.)  Hc  that  hath  ears  to 
hear,  let  him  hear,  calling sulemn  attention, 
see  on  11 :  15. — We  learn  here  that  good  and 
bad  will  both  be  found  intermingled  in  the 
world  until  the  consummation  of  the  present 
age,  at  the  second  coming  of  Christ;  which 
seems  quite  contrary  to  the  notion  of  a  pre- 
vious millenium  duringwhich  all  men  without 
exception  will  be  faultless  Christians.  Comp. 
Luke  18:  8. 

HOMILETICAL  AND  PRACTICAL. 

V.  31  f  The  slow  progress  of  Christianity. 
1)  Slow  because  not  a  case  of  manufacture, 
but  of  growth.  2)  Slow  because  in  an  un- 
friendly soil  and  clime,  an  exotic.  3)  Slow 
tlirough  the  fault  of  those  who  ought  to  tend 
it  more  carefully.  4)  Slow,  but  sure. — V.  33. 
The  gradual  diffusion  of  Christianity.  1) 
Through  different  spheres  of  life,  spiritual, 
moral,  social,  political.  2)  Through  succes- 
sive ages  of  history.  8)  Through  various 
quarters  of  the  earth.  4)  Destined  at  last  to 
be  universal,  in  every  sense.— V.  34.  Jkrome: 
"Even  to-day,  the  multitudes  hear  in  parables; 
the  disciples  ask  the  Saviour  at  home." 

V.  37-43.  The  righteous  and  the  wicked. 
1)  Dwelling  in  the  same  world.  2)  Rooted 
together  in  political,  social,  and  family  life, 
(v.  ta.)  3)  Blessed  with  the  same  outward 
mercies,  (v.  26.)  4)  Sometimes  confounded  by 
superficial  observers,  but  easily  di-stingui.shed 
through  their  fruit,  (v.  26.)  5)  Sure  to  be  sepa- 
rated in  the  great  coming  day,    a)   without 


304 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XIII. 


44  Again,  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  trea- 
sure hia  in  a  field ;  tne  which  when  a  man  hath  found 
he  hideth,  and  for  joy  thereof  goeth  and  selleth  all  that 
he  hath,  and  bujreth  that  field. 


44  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  treasure 
hidden  in  the  field  ;  which  a  man  found,  and  hid  ; 
and  >  in  his  joy  he  goeth  and  selleth  all  tnat  be  hath, 
and  buyeth  that  field. 


1  Or, /or /Of  thertof. 


chance  of  error,  b)  without  possibility  of  re- 
union, c)  so  that  the  one  class  shall  burn  in 
unquenchable  fire,  and  the  other  shall  shine 
in  unsullied  purity  and  undimmed  glory  for- 
ever.— V.  38.  The  sons  of  the  kingdom. 
Abnot:  "For  their  sakes  the  world  is  pre- 
served now,  and  for  their  sakes  it  will  be  de- 
stroyed when  the  set  time  is  come.  The  darnel 
is  permitted  to  grow  in  its  season,  and  in 
harvest  is  cast  into  the  fire — both  for  the  sake 
of  the  wheat.  Because  Christ  loves  his  own, 
he  permits  the  wicked  to  run  their  course  in 
time;  but  because  Christ  loves  his  own,  he 
will  separate  the  wicked  from  the  good  at  last." 
—V.  39.  The  enemy.  Arnot  :  "  Evil  does  not 
belong  originally  to  the  constitution  of  man, 
nor  has  God  his  Maker  introduced  it.  Our 
case  is  sad,  indeed;  for  we  learn  that  an  enemy 
whom  we  cannot  overcome  is  ever  lying  in 
wait,  seeking  how  he  may  devour  us.  But 
what  would  our  case  have  been,  if  evil,  in- 
stead of  being  injected  by  an  enemy  from 
without,  had  been  of  the  essence  of  the  creature 
or  the  act  of  the  Creator?" 

Thomas:  "The  mixture  of  the  good  and 
bad  in  this  world  is  of  service.  (1)  It  is  of 
service  to  the  bad ;  it  keeps  them  in  a  position 
of  improvement.  (2)  It  is  of  service  to  the 
good ;  holy  character  is  strengthened  and 
perfected  by  contact  with  palpable  evil." 
Parker:  "Let  us  remit  our  case  to  the 
harvest.  Do  not  be  answering  the  fool  and 
the  enemy  now,  and  thus  wasting  opportuni- 
ties which  ought  to  be  usefully  employed  in 
endeavoring  to  do  good,  but  wait  till  the  har- 
vest. Then  shall  all  qualities  be  tested,  then 
shall  every  man  have  his  proper  place  and 
standing  before  God." 

44-53.  The  13id  Treasure,  the  Pearl, 
THE  Net. 

These  three  remaining  parables  of  the  group 
are  found  in  Matthew  only. 

I.  44.  The  Parable  of  the  Hid  Trea- 
sure. The  word  again  with  which  Com. 
Ver.  begins  is  wanting  here  in  many  of  the 
earliest  documents,  and  was  doubtless  added 
from  V.  45,  47,  where  the  reading  does  not 
vary.     This  leaves  it  uncertain  whether  the 


three  following  parables  were  spoken  on  the 
same  occasion  as  the  Sower  and  the  Tares. 
They  may  have  been  given  at  some  other  time 
and  place,  and  recorded  here  by  way  of  topical 
grouping,  as  is  done  with  the  miracles  in  ch. 
8  and  9.  But  the  ])resumption  in  favor  of  the 
Evangelist's  order  is  strengthened  by  the 
language  of  v.  61  and  v.  63,  and  by  the  fact 
that  the  Tares  and  the  Net  form  a  pair  like 
the  other  pairs  of  this  chapter. 

The  kingdom  of  heaven,  the  Messianic 
reign,  see  on  3:  2.  l8like,soin  v.  45and  v.  47. 
Some,  beginning  with  Origen,  have  insisted 
on  the  fact  that  in  these  three  cases  the  word 
parable  is  not  used,  as  it  is  in  v.  3,  24,  31,  33, 
and  that  these  are  similitudes  but  not  parables. 
But  certainly  a  parable  is  one  kind  of  simili- 
tude; and  the  phrase  'is  like'  is  employed  in 
stating  the  parable  in  v.  24,  31,  33.  See  also 
18:  23;  20  :  1,  where  unquestionable  parables 
are  not  called  by  that  name,  and  are  intro- 
duced by  this  same  phrase.  And  the  point 
seems  to  be  settled  by  v.  63,  'had  finished 
these  parables.'  Treasure  hid  in  a  {the) 
field,  i.  e.,  the  cultivated  land,  the  open 
country  as  opposed  to  the  city.  Palestine 
had  passed  through  many  revolutions,  and 
had  always  been  exposed  to  raids  from  wan- 
dering tribes  around,  and  in  many  districts  to 
plunder  from  robbers  at  home.  Accordingly 
it  was  common,  as  is  the  case  in  all  unsettled 
countries,  for  one  who  apprehended  robbery 
or  thievery  (25: 25),  or  who  was  setting  oflP  to  a 
distant  country,  to  bury  his  money,  jewelry, 
plate,  and  the  like,  in  the  earth.  If  the  owner 
was  killed  in  battle,  or  died  in  the  far  countr3', 
no  one  might  know  where  his  treasures  were 
hid;  and  it  became  the  usage  that  hidden 
valuables  for  which  no  owner  appeared  should 
belong  to  the  owner  of  the  land.  The  search 
for  such  treasures  is  alluded  to  in  Job.  3:  21; 
Prov.  2:  4,  and  often  in  Greek  and  Roman 
writers,  and  is  common  now  in  Palestine. 
Thomson^  ii.,  p.  640:  "  There  are  manj'  per- 
sons digging  for  hid  treasure  all  over  the 
country,  and  not  a  few  spend  their  last  far- 
thing in  efforts."  We  are  told  that  in  the  East 
men  of  wealth  have  been  known  to  divide  their 


Cn.  XIII.] 


MATTHEW. 


305 


45  Again,  the  kingdoin  of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  met-  I  45 
chantman,  seeking  goodly  pearls:  | 


Again,  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  man 


estate  into  three  parts,  one  invested  in  trade, 
a  second  part  in  jewels  easily  kept  about  the 
person,  and  the  remainder  buried  in  the  earth 
— a  sad  condition  of  aflPairs  for  the  prosperity 
of  a  nation.  An  instance  of  hiding  treasure 
occurred  during  the  War  of  Secession  in  a 
South  Carolina  village,  where  the  writer  lived. 
A  shoemaker,  upon  the  approach  of  hostile 
troops,  hid  five  hundred  dollars  in  gold,  and 
told  his  wife  and  a  friend  that  he  had  done  so, 
but  without  revealing  the  place,  supposed  to 
have  been  in  some  adjoining  forest.  In  a  few 
days  he  died  after  a  brief  illness,  and  his 
widow  was  quite  unable  to  recover  the  money, 
which  years  hence  some  man  may  find  "hidden 
in  the  field"  where  he  is  at  work.  Found, 
hideth,  or  and  hid,  i.  e.,  hid  it  again.  For 
joy,  literally //-om  his  joy,  or  less  probably 
'  from  joy  thereof,'  (margin  K.  V.).  Goeth, 
the  word  explained  on  4:  10,  which  perhaps 
here  implies  eager  and  hasty  going.  Notice 
the  vivid  change  to  the  historical  present — 
'found  and  hid  ....  goes  oflT and  sells  .  .  .  . 
buys'  It  is  sometimes  said  that  this  man's 
course  was  dishonest,  as  he  ought  to  have  re- 
vealed his  discovery  to  the  owner;  if  the  case 
be  so  understood,  we  must  remember  that  an 
illustration  may  hold  good  as  to  the  thing 
illustrated  even  when  the  literal  act  is  im- 
moral, as  in  the  case  of  the  unrighteous 
steward.  (Lukeie.)  ireiss.-  "Jesus  is  not  teach- 
ing how  men  ought  to  act  in  such  a  case,  but 
is  narrating  a  case  out  of  ordinary  life,"  as  an 
illustration.  But  is  there  really  any  propriety 
in  calling  the  man  dishonest?  If  he  paid  wliat 
the  land  was  worth  on  other  accounts,  had  ho 
not  a  perfect  right  to  get  the  benefit  himself 
of  his  good  fortune,  or  his  skill,  in  discovcr- 


seek  any  special  spiritual  meaning  in  the  re- 
hiding,  or  in  the  field,  as  that  it  means  "the 
church,"  or  the  Scriptures  (Origen),  orChrist, 
because  of  Col.  2:  3.  To  run  through  the 
Bible  with  a  concordance,  and  wherever  there 
is  mention  of  a  treasure  or  a  field  connect  it 
with  this  illustration,  is  a  process  fatal  to 
sound  interpretation  and  unworthy  of  sober 
sense. 

II.  45  f.  Parable  of  the  Pearl  ov 
Great  Price.  The  general  meaning  of  this 
parable  is  evidently  the  same  with  that  of  the 
preceding.  It  is  very  natural  for  any  teacher 
to  give  two  illustrations  of  the  same  truth, 
and  was  especially  so  for  a  Jewish  teacher, 
since  the  more  elevated  Hebrew  style  tends 
always  to  parallelisms.  A  merchantman. 
The  Greek  word  denotes  not  a  mere  shop- 
keeper, but  one  who  travels  to  procure  what 
he  sells.  Goodly  pearls,  or  'fine,'  'beauti- 
ful.' He  does  not  want  ordinary  pearls,  but 
such  as  are  fine;  so  when  he  finds  an  ex- 
tremely fine  one,  he  will  appreciate  and  de- 
sire it.  One  framing  such  an  illustration  now 
would  doubtless  speak  of  diamonds,  but  in 
ancient  times  those  wore  very  rare,  and  no 
merchant  would  have  made  it  his  business  to 
deal  in  them.  One  pearl  of  great  price. 
Pliny  tells  us  (Bruce),  that  Cleopatra's  two 
famous  pearls  were  valued  each  at  about  four 
hundred  thousand  dollars  of  our  money,  and 
the  purchasing  power  of  money  was  then  ten 
or  fifteen  times  as  great  as  now.  It  was  like 
finding  a  diamond  worth  millions.  Sold  all 
that  he  had,  not  simply  all  his  pearls,  but 
all  his  possessions,  as  the  Greek  shows,  and 
even  tho  English  in  v.  44.  Of  course  he  re- 
garded the  pearl  as  worth  much  more  than  he 


ing  the  treasure?  The  transaction  of  the  gave;  it  was  making  a  good  investment, 
parable  was  entirely  in  accordance  with  Jew-  'Sold'  is  literally  'has  sold,'  which  gives 
ish  law,  though  the  apparently  similar  case  |  vividness — you  see  the  thing  going  on,  as  in 


quoted  by  Wet.,  Meyer,  and  many  others 
from  the  Talmud,  proves  a  failure  when  the 
connection  is  known.    (Edersheim.) 

The  general  idea  which  the  parable  illus- 
trates seems  to  be  this.  If  a  man  fully  dis- 
covers and  appreciates  the  advantage  of 
Christ's  service,  he  will  be  so  anxious  to  make 
those  blessings  his  own  as  to  sacrifice  any  and 
everything  that  may  be  necessary  for  that  pur- 
pose.    (Comp.  on  v.  45  f.)    It  seems   idle  to 


'takoth.'  (Rev.  5:7,  B«v.  ver.)  So  this  answcrs  in 
some  measure  to  the  historical  present  of  v. 
44.  The  Mishna  has  a  story  of  a  man  who 
gave  his  whole  fortune  for  a  pearl. 

In  like  manner,  to  be  a  subject  of  Jlessiah's 
reign  is  so  precious  a  privilege,  that  a  man 
might  willingly  sacrifice  everything  else  to 
obtain  it;  whatever  pleasures,  honors,  posses- 
sions, or  attainments  it  is  necessary  to  give  up 
he  might  willingly  abandon — whatever  efforts 


U 


m 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XIII. 


46  Who,  when  he  had  found  one  pearl  of  great  price,  I 
■went  and  sold  all  that  he  had,  and  bought  it. 

47  i^gain,  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  net, 
that  was  cast  into  the  sea,  and  gathered  of  every  kind  : 


46  that  is  a  merchant  seeking  goodly  pearls:  and 
having  found  one  pearl  of  great  price,  he  went  and 
sold  all  that  he  had,  and  bought  it. 

47  Again,  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  ai  net, 
that  was  cast  into  the  sea,  and  gathered  of  every 


1  Or,  drag-net. 


are  requisite  he  might  make — in  order  to 
secure  that  which  is  worth  so  much.  The 
Jews  thought  the  Messianic  blessings  would 
come  as  a  mere  gift  of  God,  without  sacrifice 
or  seeking;  and  Jesus  corrects  their  error. 
Yet  he  does  not  mcnin,  any  more  than  in  what 
he  said  to  the  rich  young  man  (i9:2i),  that  all 
his  followers  must  actually  abandon  every 
earthly  possession  or  pursuit;  nay,  piety  ma.y 
even  contribute  to  the  attainment  of  whatever 
else  is  best  worth  having  in  life.  (6:33;  i  Tim. 
4:8.)  But  he  means  that  they  should  be  will- 
ing to  do  so;  and  that  his  true  followers  ac- 
tually will,  whenever  in  his  Providence  it  is 
marked  out  as  their  duty  to  him.  Comp. 
Moses  (Heb. u: M IT.),  and  Paul.     (PMI. S: 7 f.) 

There  is  a  certain  difference  between  this 
parable  and  the  preceding,  in  that  this  im- 
plies a  previous  seeking.  The  gospel  pre- 
sents itself  to  one  man  while  otherwise  occu- 
pied (so  with  several  of  the  disciples,  we  know) 
and  attracts  his  attention  by  its  manifest  value ; 
another,  while  seeking  spiritual  wisdom,  or 
the  highest  good  of  life  (Psa.  4:6f.),  perceives 
the  gospel  to  be  the  true  wisdom,  the  supreme 
good.  (Phil.  3: 8.)  The  man  who  finds  a  treasure 
he  had  not  sought  has  the  joy  of  surprise ;  he 
who  has  searched  and  striven,  the  joy  of  suc- 
cess. Observe  also  (Bruce)  that  the  treasure 
represents  piety  as  practically  useful,  the 
pearl  as  beautiful  and  beautifying. — Alas! 
how  many  fail  to  appreciate  the  value  of  this 
pearl,  even  when  it  is  held  up  before  their 
eyes;  they  cannot  think  it  so  valuable;  they 
will  not  carefully  examine,  or  they  apply 
false  tests.  And  how  many,  even  when 
avowedly  searching  for  religious  truth  and 
comfort,  will  buy,  even  at  great  cost,  some 
imitation-pearl,  that  is  really  worthless. 

III.  47-50.  Parable  of  thk  Net.  This 
is  to  the  same  general  eflTect  as  that  of  the 
Tares.  (13:24,37.)  Why  it  was  separated  from 
its  companion,  while  the  other  pairs  stand  to- 
gether, we  cannot  tell,  unless  it  was  for  the 
purpose  of  bringing  in  again,  at  the  close  of 
the  series,  the  solemn  allusion  to  the  final 
judgment.  Weiss  thinks  the  again  shows  it 
to  be  the  second  of  a  pair,  as  in  v.  45 ;  but  the 


comparison  of  'another  parable'  in  v.  24,  31, 
33,  will  refute  this  notion,  leaving  us  to  un- 
derstand that  we  have  in  v.  45  and  v.  47  the 
second  and  third  of  a  group.  A  net,  sagene, 
a  drag-net  or  seine  (modern  English  form  of 
the  Greek  word),  drawn  up  on  the  beach.  In 
4:  18  ff. ;  Luke  5:  4  ff.,  the  words  do  not  de- 
termine the  kind  of  net,  but  the  circumstances 
show  that  it  was  there  a  dip-net,  let  down  into 
deep  water,  and  drawn  up  into  the  boat. 
Gathered  of  every  kind,  not  probably 
species  and  thus  symbolizing  the  difterent 
races  of  mankind  (Theophyl.,  Meyer),  but 
every  kind  as  to  value,  both  the  useful  and 
the  useless.  The  bad,  literally  the  putrid 
or  spoilt,  strictly  denoting  those  which  were 
dead  before  they  were  caught,  and  thus  unfit 
for  use;  but  probably  designed  also  to  include 
those  which  were  worthless  on  any  account. 
See  the  same  word  in  7  :  17 ;  12 :  33. 

The  application  here  is  in  almost  exactly  the 
same  words  (v.  wr.)  as  in  v.  40-42.  It  is  con- 
fined to  the  one  point  that  at  '  the  end  of  the 
world'  or  'consummation  of  the  age,'  a  sepa- 
ration will  be  made  between  good  and  bad, 
with  the  terrible  destruction  (punishment)  of 
the  bad  ;  and  it  is  implied  that  such  a  separa- 
tion will  not  be  made  until  then.  This  is 
clearly  the  lesson  of  the  parable,  and  our 
Lord's  interpretation  suggests  no  other.  If 
we  attempt,  on  our  own  authority,  not  on  his, 
to  make  religious  application  of  preceding 
points  of  the  parable,  we  must  be  cautious, 
and  must  assuredly  avoid  deriving  from  its 
supposed  analogies  any  idea  in  conflict  with 
the  plain  and  unfigurative  teaching  of  other 
passages  of  Scripture.  (Comp.  on  13:  3.) 
Now  if  we  say,  as  many  do,  that  the  net 
represents  "the  visible  church,"  then  it  is  im- 
plied that  good  and  bad  must  remain  together 
in  the  church,  without  possibility  of  separa- 
ting or  distinguishing  them  in  any  single  case, 
till  the  Second  Coming  of  Christ.  The  par- 
able of  the  Tares,  upon  a  siinilar  interpreta- 
tion, would  make  church  discipline  wrong, 
because  injurious;  that  of  the  Net  would 
make  it  entirely  impossible.  But  church  dis- 
cipline is  enjoined  in  Scripture,  as  all  Chris- 


Ch.  XIII.] 


MATTHEW. 


307 


48  Which,  when  it  was  full,  they  drew  to  shore,  and 
sat  down,  and  gathered  the  good  into  vessels,  but  cast 
the  bad  away. 

49  So  shall  it  be  at  the  end  of  the  world :  the  angels  shall 
come  forth,  and  sever  the  wicked  from  among  the  just, 

50  And  shall  cast  them  into  ihe  furnace  of  tire:  there 
shall  be  wailing  and  gnashing  of  teeth. 

51  Jesus  saiih  unto  them.  Have  ye  understood  all 
these  things?    They  say  unto  him,  Yea,  Lord. 


48  kind:  which,  when  it  was  filled,  they  drew  up  on 
the  beach;  and  they  sat  down,  and  gathered  the 

49  good  into  vessels,  but  the  bad  they  cast  away.  So 
shall  it  be  in  'the  end  of  the  world  :"the  angels  shall 
come  forth,  and  sever  the  wicked  from  among  the 

50  righteous,  and  shall  cast  them  into  the  furnace  of 
fire:  there  shall  be  the  weeping  and  gnashing  of 
teeth. 

51  Have  ye  understood  all  these  things?    They  say 


1  Or,  the  conBummation  of  the  age. 


tians  recognize ;  shall  we  accept  an  interpret- 
ation of  merely  human  origin,  upon  which 
the  parable  squarely  contradicts  these  injunc- 
tions? And  see  what  incongruities  the  inter- 
pretation will  involve  (Arnot).  (1)  The 
angels  must  be  entirely  distinct  from  those 
who  manage  "  the  church  "  ;  but  the  persons 
separating  the  good  and  bad  fishes  are  not  dis- 
tinct from  those  who  draw  the  net.  (2)  Au- 
gustine, and  numerous  modern  advocates  of 
an  Established  Church,  urge  upon  Non- 
conformists that  it  is  wrong  to  quit  the 
church  because  of  there  being  some  bad  fish 
in  the  net;  while  the  fishes,  good  or  bad,  re- 
main in  the  net  only  because  they  cannot 
break  out.     And  so  as  to  other  points. 

"But  is  it  not  expressly  said,"  one  might 
insist,  "that  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  a 
net;    and  as  the  net  gathers  of  every  kind, 
must  not  this    mean .  that    the   kingdom   of 
heaven  will  contain  within  its  limits,  at  least 
its  apparent  and  recognized  limits,  both  good 
andbhd?"    Answer,    (a)  The  word  rendered 
'  kingdom '   means  also  what  we  express  by 
'reign'  (see  on  13:37ff. );  in  this  sense  the 
idea  would  here  be  not  of  a  definite  organiza- 
tion of   persons,  but   of   a  general   state    of 
things,  of  what  happens  under  the  reign  of 
Messiah;  and  this  sense  ought  to  be  here  pre- 
ferred because  it  relieves  us  of  the  hopele.«s 
difficulties  involved  in  the  other  view,     (b) 
The  opening  verbal  comparison  of  the  several 
parables  is  not  uniform  and  essential  to  the 
meaning,  but  incidental  and  var^'ing.     In  v. 
45  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  a  man  seek- 
ing pearls,  but  in  v.  44  it  is  compared,  not  to 
the  finder,  but  to  the  thing  found.     In  v.  24  it 
is  like  the  owner  of  the  field,  i.  e.,  the  Mos-  j 
siah  (».  37) ;  but  in  v.  47  it  is  compared  not  to  [ 
the  owner  of  the   not,  but  to  the  net.     So  in  I 
22:  2,  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  likened  to  the 
king  who  gave  a  marriage  feast   for  his  son,  ' 
but  in  25:  1  it  is  likened,  not  to  the  bridegroom, 
but  to  the  virgins  who  desired  to  attend  the 
feast.     These  and  other  examples  show  that  \ 
our  Lord  does  not  in  each  case  carefully  as-  I 


sert  a  special  relation  between  the  Messianic 
reign  and  this  or  that  particular  object  in  the 
parable,  but  means  to  say  that  something  is 
true  of  the  Messianic  reign  which  resembles 
the  case  of  the  parable  ;  and  instead  of  speak- 
ing in  vague  terms  of  general  comparison  (as 
in  25:  14),  he  often  sets  out  by  saying  that 
"the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like"  some  lead- 
ing person  or  object  of  the  story,  or  some 
feature  that  readily  presents  itself  at  the  be- 
ginning. (Comp.  on  11:  16.)  In  this  par- 
able, then,  we  are  not  at  liberty  to  lay  any 
stress  upon  the  comparison  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  to  the  net  itself.  The  comparison  is 
to  the  whole  story;  and  its  particular  point  is 
given  by  our  Lord  himself  in  v.  49  f. 

One  might  incline  to  suppose  a  reference 
here  to  the  unspiritual  crowds  who  were  fol- 
lowing Jesus,  many  reckoning  themselves  his 
disciples,  though  they  were  not ;  and  then  an 
application  might  be  proposed  to  similar 
hangers  on  at  the  present  day.  But  fatal  to 
this  is  the  fact  that  Jesus  did  take  pains,  not 
long  after  the  parable  was  spoken,  to  make 
such  persons  see  the  spirituality  of  true  dis- 
cipleship,  so  that  they  ceased  following  him. 

(John  6:  66.) 

Nay,  the  meaning  is  simply  that  Messiah 
will  not  at  once  separate  and  destroy  those 
persons  who  refuse  to  become  his  subjects,  but 
will  suflTer  them  to  live  on  in  the  world  during 
the  gradual  developmentof  his  reign,  until  his 
Second  Coming,  and  then  the  separation  and 
punishment  will  take  place.  The  phrases  of 
V.  49  f  have  been  explained  in  the  kindred 
passage,  v.  40-42.  The  '  furnace  of  fire'  is  an 
image  not  suggested  i>y  this  parable,  but  by 
burning  the  tares. 

Some  have  found  a  m.ysticnl  signification  in 
the  fact  that  this  group  contains  srren  para- 
bles (the  mystical  number),  which  they  com- 
pare with  the  seven  letters  of  Rev.  ch.  2  and  3, 
and  supposed  to  represent  seven  epochs  in  the 
history  of  Christianity.  Apart  from  other 
grounds  of  objection  to  this  fancy  (comp. 
Goebel),  it  should  bo  enough  here  to  remember 


308 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XIII. 


52  Then  said  he  unto  them,  Therefore  every  scribe 
ichich  U  instructed  unto  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  is  lilie 
unto  a  man  that  is  a  householder,  which  bringeth  forth 
out  of  his  treasure  things  new  and  old. 

53  And  it  came  to  pass,  that  wlien  Jesus  had  finished 
these  parables,  he  departed  thence. 


52  unto  him,  Yea.  And  he  said  unto  them,  Therefore 
every  scribe  who  hath  been  made  a  disciple  to  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  uuto  a  man  that  is  a 
householder,  who  bringeth  forth  out  of  his  treasure 
things  new  and  old. 

53  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Jesus  bad  finished 


that  Mark  (4:26ff.)  gives  an  eighth  parable 
spoken  on  the  same  occasion,  and  that  these 
eight  fall  into  four  pairs. 

IV.  51-53.  Conclusion  op  the  Dis- 
course. Found  in  Matthew  only.  Jesus 
saith  unto  them  is  a  spurious  addition,  and 
so  is  liord,  after  yea.  The  simple  yea  or 
yes  without  addition  was  not  itnpolite.  (":  25; 
Acts22:2:.)  Have  ye  understood — or  did  you 
understatid — all  these  things?  The  emphasis 
is  not  so  much  on  'all'  as  on  these 
things '  (so  in  v.  34).  They  had  not  under- 
stood the  parables  of  the  Sower  and  the  Tares 
without  explanation ;  but  guided  by  his  in- 
terpretation of  those  two,  they  saw  the  mean- 
ing of  the  subsequent  parables,  though  it  is 
probable  they  often  saw  but  dimly  at  first. 
Morison:  "  Not  that  we  are  to  suppose  they 
understood  the  things  to  their  summits  and 
tbeir  depths.  Who  even  yet  has  thus  ex- 
hausted or  comprehended  them?  But  tbey 
saw  light  streaming  through  them.  It  was 
light  from  heaven;  it  would  increase." 
Therefore,  on  this  account,  a  strong  expres- 
sion. (Alford  wrong,  following  Euthym.) 
Since  you  have  understood  these  new  views 
of  the  Messianic  reign,  it  follows  that  you, 
and  every  Scribe  who  like  you  has  become  a 
disciple  to  that  reign,  will  have  good  store  of 
truths  to  teach,  of  new  things  as  well  as  old. 
If  the  disciples  had  not  understood,  it  could 
not  have  been  at  that  time  said  that  such  a 
store  of  varied  instruction  would  be  possessed 
by  them  and  other  teachers  under  the  New 
Dispensation.  Scribe,  see  on  2:4.  That 
is  instructed,  or,  has  been  discipied,  see  on 
28 :  19.  "We  greatly  need  a  verb  to  disciple 
for  both  passages,  and  for  27 :  57 ;  Acts  14 :  21, 
as  we  need  a  verb  to  ^epherd  in  2:6;  John 
21 :  16,  etc.  Discipled  unto  the  kingdom 
of  heaven,  would  be  according  to  the  correct 
Greek  text.  The  Scribes  held  themselves  as 
the  disciples  of  Moses  (23:2;  john9:28);  the 
Christian  Scribe  (23:s4)  has  become  a  disciple 
to  the  Messianic  Dispensation,  which  takes 
him  as  a  pupil,  and  teaches  him  its  lessons.  If 
the  Messianic  reign  had  turned  out  only  what 
the  Jews  expected,  its  Scribes  would  not  have 


been  able  to  produce  any  new  truths  about  it. 
The  Greek  might  mean,  though  less  naturally, 
'discipled  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven,'  for  its 
benefit  or  service  ;  the  expression  seemed  ob- 
scure, and  so  was  altered  in  some  documents 
to  'in  the  kingdom,'  and  in  many  to  'unto 
the  kingdom,'  meaning  in  order  to,  or  in  re- 
spect to  (as  in  Com.  Ver.).  Householder,  as 
in  13:  27;  10:25.  Treasure,  '  treasury,'  or 
here  rather  store-house,  the  term  not  being 
confined  to  a  place  of  deposit  for  valuables 
(comp.  on  12 :  35).  Bringeth  forth  is  liter- 
ally throws  out,  'flings  out,'  as  explained  in 
9:  38,  the  word  appearing  always  to  imply 
vigorous  if  not  violent  action.  A  man  with 
ample  stores  flings  out  garments  or  articles  of 
food  in  profusion,  some  recently  acquired, 
others  long  on  hand,  each  class  having  its 
peculiar  value.  A  good  housekeeper  would 
make  frequent  additions  to  his  stores,  while 
carefully  preserving  the  old.  The  Jewish 
Scribes  gloried  in  teaching  only  old  tilings, 
but  the  Christian  Scribe  learned  such  new 
lessons  as  these  parables  have  just  been  giv- 
ing, and  so  could  fling  out  things  new  and 
old.  He  would  now  have  (Meyer)  the  ful- 
fillment of  many  old  prophecies,  the  explana- 
tion and  new  extension  (5:i7)  of  many  pre- 
cepts, the  more  correct  understanding  of  the 
old  Messianic  hope.  The  expression  naturally 
suggests  to  us  the  Old  and  the  New  Testaments, 
but  that  can  hardly  be  regarded  as  here  meant 
by  our  Lord.  Perhaps  he  did  also  mean  that 
the  Christian  Scribe  must  imitate  his  example 
in  employing  new  methods  of  teaching  (as 
parables,  etc.)  He  here  plainly  shows  that  he 
did  not  design  for  the  disciples  to  keep  to 
themselves  what  had  for  the  present  been 
taught  to  them  alone.      (Comp.  13:  10-13.) 

53.  This  closes  the  account  of  this  series  of 
parables.  (Comp.  11  :  1.)  The  chapter  ought 
to  have  ended  here,  thus  possessing  a  beauti- 
ful unity.  The  remaining  verses  have  noth- 
ing to  do  with  the  group  of  parables,  either  in 
time,  place,  or  topic.  The  other  group  of 
parables  given  by  Matthew  will  be  found 
near  the  close  of  our  Lord's  public  ministry, 
in  chapters  18,  20,  21,  22,  and  25. 


I 


Ch.  XIII.] 


MATTHEW. 


30^ 


HOMILETICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

V.  44.  The  hid  treasure.  1)  Piety  is  a 
treasure.  2)  One  should  determine  to  make 
it  truly  and  thoroughly  his  own.  3)  He 
should  be  ready  to  pay  the  cost  of  procuring 
it,  however  great.  4)  Well  may  he  rejoice  at 
the  first  view  of  it,  and  still  more  in  its  secured 
possession. — V.  45  f.     The  pearl  of  great  price. 

1)  Piety  is  the  most  precious  of  all  possessions, 
the  summuyn  bo?ium,  or  supreme  good  of  life. 

2)  To  obtain  piety,  we  ought  willingly  to 
make  all  necessary  sacrifices  and  exertions. 

3)  Piety  is  worth  far  more  than  it  costs. 
Chrys  :  "  And  much  as  he  that  has  the  pearl 
knows  indeed  himself  that  ho  is  rich,  but  others 
often  know  not  that  he  is  holding  it  in  his  hand 
(for  there  is  no  corporeal  bulk) ;  just  so  also 
with  the  gospel :  they  that  have  hold  of  it 
know  that  they  are  rich,  but  the  unbelievers, 
not  knowing  of  this  treasure,  are  in  ignorance 
also  of  our  wealth." 

V.  61  f.  Henry:  "It  is  good  for  us,  when 
we  have  read  or  heard  the  word,  to  examine 
ourselves,  or  to  be  examined,  whether  we  have 
understood  it  or  not." — The  Gospel  Scribe. 
1)  He  is  a  disciple  to  the  Messianic  reign,  (a) 
learning  its  lessons,  (b)  obeying  its  laws.  2) 
He  brings  forth  things  new  and  old.  (a)  From 
Old  Test,  and  New  Test,  (b)  From  former 
teachers  and  from  his  own  thinking,  (c)  In 
old  methods  and  in  new  methods.  Origex  : 
"The  converse  must  hold,  whoever  does  not 
bring  forth  from  his  treasury'  new  things  and 
old,  is  not  a  scribe  discipled  to  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.  Therefore  we  must  diligently  study 
notonly  the  Gospels,  Epistles,  and  Apocalypse, 
but  also  the  law  and  the  prophets."  Chrys  : 
"  Let  us  then  hear,  as  many  of  us  as  neglect 
the  reading  of  the  Scriptures,  to  what  harm 
we  are  subjecting  ourselves,  to  what  poverty. 
For  where  are  we  to  apply  ourselves  to  the 
real  practice  of  virtue,  who  do  not  so  much  as 
know  the  very  laws  according  to  which  our 
practice  should  be  guided?' 

54-58.— Jesus  Visits  His  Own  Country. 

This  visit  of  our  Lord  to  his  own  country  is 
also  given  in  Mark  6:  1-6.  It  must  have  been 
a  different,  though,  in  some  respects,  similar 
visit  to  Nazareth  that  is  recorded  in  Luke  4: 
16-31,  and  occurred  at  the  very  beginning  of 
his  ministry  in  Galilee  (Luke  4:  31,  coincid- 
ing in  time  with  Matt.  4:  13).  Tlie  visit 
described  by  Matt,  and  Luke  appears  to  have 


been  about  a  year  later.  Many  recent  commen- 
tators argue,  or  take  for  granted,  that  the  two 
events  were  really  one,  and  then  dispute  as  to 
which  occupies  the  more  correct  chronological 
position.  But  the  strong  probability  that  both 
Mark  and  Luke  have  followed  the  chronolog- 
ical order,  as  they  so  commonly  do  (at  least 
in  the  early  part  of  Luke),  is  here  further 
strengthened  by  the  great  difference  of  cir- 
cumstances in  the  two  cases.  In  Luke,  the 
synagogue  address  so  angers  the  congregation 
that  they  rise  up  and  attempt  to  kill  him  ;  for 
this  there  seems  to  be  no  room  in  Matthew 
and  Mark.  In  Luke,  Jesus  is  expected  to 
work  miracles,  and  openly  declares  that  he 
will  not;  in  the  other  case  he  works  a  few 
miracles,  and  wonders  at  the  unbelief  which 
prevents  his  doing  more.  It  was  natural  that 
Jesus  should  give  the  acquaintances  of  his 
early  life  a  second  chance  to  hear,  and  when 
they  did  not  believe,  he  might  very  naturally 
repeat  the  saying  which  was  so  readily  sug- 
gested, and  so  strikingly  appropriate  (v.  57 ; 
Luke  4:  24).  It  is  thus  easier  to  account  for 
the  similarity  of  the  two  narratives,  if  dis- 
tinct, than  for  their  differences,  if  referring  to 
the  same  event.  But  some  critics  always  take 
for  granted  that  two  similar  events  or  dis- 
courses must  have  been  really  the  same.  A 
little  experience  as  missionary  preachers  in 
city  and  country,  especially  if  as  field-preach- 
ers or  street-preachers,  or  in  general,  as 
"evangelists,"  would  have  taught  them  how 
natural  it  is  to  give  many  similar  points  of 
instruction  at  different  times  and  places. 
(Comp.  at  the  beginning  of  ch.  5,  and  on  15: 
38.)  It  is  impossible  to  say  wiih  certainty 
whether  we  have  here  two  events  or  one;  but 
the  probability  seems  strongly  in  favor  of  the 
former  view.  It  is  supported  by  Me3'er, 
Ewald,  Wiescler,  and  many  others. 

Matthew  does  not  hero  mention,  though  his 
expressions  do  not  exclude,  various  occurrences 
which  Mark's  order  shows  to  have  come  be- 
tween the  series  of  parables  and  this  visit, 
viz.,  the  pa.ssage  of  the  lake  and  healing  of 
two  demoniacs,  the  feast  given  by  Matthew, 
the  raising  of  Jairus'  daughter,  etc.  These 
Matt.,  according  to  his  topical  method  of 
grouping  (in  ch.  5-13),  has  introduced  earlier. 
(8:  18  to  9:  34;  see  on  8:  18  and  on  13:  1.) 
Some  skeptical  expf)sitor8  insist  that  his  ex- 
pressions do  exclude  any  intervening  events. 


310 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XIII. 


54  And  when  he  was  oouie  into  his  own  country,  he 
taught  theiu  in  their  synagogue,  insomuch  that  thej' 
were  astonishu<l,  and  said,  Wlionce  hath  this  man  this 
wisdom,  and  these  migluy  works? 

55  Is  not  this  the  carpenter's  son?  is  not  liis  mother 
called  Mary  ?  and  his  brethren,  James,  and  Joses,  and 
Simon,  and  Judas? 


54  these  parables,  he  departed  thence.  And  coming 
into  his  own  country  lie  taught  tliem  in  their  syna- 
gogue, insomuch  th"at  they  were  astonished,  and 
said.  Whence  hath  tliis  man  this  wisdom,  and  these 

55  1  mighty  works  ?  Is  not  tliis  the  carpenter's  son  ? 
is  not  bis  mother  called  Mary  7  and  bis  brethren, 


1  Gr.  powers. 


They  read  it  as  one  sentence:  "He  departed 
thence,  and  coming  into  his  own  country, 
taught,"  etc.  The  Greek  might  mean  this, 
but  even  so,  must  we  necessarily  understand 
that  he  went  off  the  same  day,  stopped 
nowhere  on  the  route,  and  neither  said  nor 
did  anything  from  the  close  of  the  parables 
beside  the  lake  till  he  reached  the  synagogue 
at  Nazareth?  It  will  surely  be  agreed  that 
one  day  may  have  intervened,  if  no  more; 
and  it  so  happens  that  one  day  with  the  pre- 
ceding night  would  suffice  for  all  the  events 
mentioned  by  Mark  as  occurring  in  the  mean- 
time. It  is  wearisome  to  follow  out  such 
elaborate  attempts  to  make  much  of  "  dis- 
crepancies." 

In  Matthew  this  rejection  at  Nazareth  com- 
pletes the  account  of  opposition  encountered 
by  Jesus  (ch.  12  and  13) ;  and  the  parabolic  teach- 
ing which  was  occasioned  by  this  opposition 
is  preceded  by  the  interference  of  his  kindred 
(i2:46ff.),  and  followed  by  the  rejection  at  his 
early  home. 

54.  His  own  country  must  here  mean  the 
district  of  Nazareth,  and  not  Galilee  in  gen- 
eral. (John  4 :  43-45.)  He  was  already  in  Galilee 
when  he  gave  the  parables.  He  is  here  in  a 
particular  city  or  village,  having  one  definite 
synagogue.  The  people  know  his  brothers  by 
name,  and  declare  that  his  sisters  are  all  living 
among  them.  As  to  Nazareth,  see  on  2:  23; 
as  to  the  synagogues,  see  on  4:  23.  Mark  (6:2) 
says  that  this  teaching  was  on  the  Sabbath, 
which  would  not  be  certain  from  Matthew's 
account,  since  they  met  in  the  synagogue 
also  on  Monday  and  Thursday.  And  these 
mighty  works,  or  'miracles,'  the  word  being 
dunamis,  see  on  12:  88.  Few  or  none  of  these 
were  wrought  at  Nazareth  (v. 58),  but  they  had 
heard  of  them,  and  doubtless  some  Nazarenes 
had  witnessed  them  at  other  points.  Notice 
that  with  all  their  unbelief  and  hostility  they 
did  not  question  the  reality  of  his  miracles. 
(Comp.  on  12:  24.) 

55  f.  Is  not  this  the  carpenter's  son? 
Jesus   was  of  course  considered  among  the 


Nazarenes  to  be  the  son  of  Joseph,  "and  that 
impression  was  wisely  permitted,  because  the 
idea  of  the  heavenly  origin  of  Jesus  could  be 
of  use  only  to  believers."  (Olshausen.)  The 
word  rendered  'carpenter'  means  in  general 
artificer,  but  usually  denotes  a  worker  in 
wood.  Mark  (6: 3)  has  it,  '  Is  not  this  the  car- 
penter?' showing  that  Jesus  had  himself 
wrought  at  his  reputed  fatlier's  trade.  Justin 
Martyr,  who  was  reared  in  Samaria,  affirms 
in  his  dialogue  with  Trypho  the  Jew  (ch.  ss), 
written  about  a.  d.  160,  that  Jesus  was  a 
maker  of  plows  and  yokes — a  tradition  which 
may  well  enough  be  true.  In  laboring  as  a 
mechanic  we  must  not  fail  to  see  that  he  set 
us  an  example.  Belonging  to  a  poor  family 
he  ate  not  the  bread  of  idleness,  but  with  all 
the  great  work  that  lay  before  him,  and  al- 
ready must  have  begun  to  press  upon  head 
and  heart,  he  devoted  himself  to  honest  toil. 
It  was  the  wise  custom  of  the  Jews  that  even 
when  wealthy  their  sons  must  bo  taught  some 
trade ;  as  Paul  learned  tent-making,  and  lived 
to  find  it  extremely  useful.  No  doubt  the 
Saviour  worked  diligently,  a  model  to  me- 
chanics of  never  slighting  work,  and  of  always 
meeting  engagements.  And  no  doubt  he 
cherished  all  the  day  long  so  devout  a  spirit 
as  to  make  these  homely  toils  a  part  of  the 
life  of  piety. 

And  his  brethren  ....  and  his  sisters. 
It  seems  impossible  to  determine  with  cer- 
tainty whether  we  are  to  understand  brothers 
in  the  strict  sense,  or  half-brothers,  or  more 
loosely,  near  kinsmen.  Each  of  these  views 
has  been  earnestly  supported  from  an  early 
time.  (See  particularly  good  discussions  of  the 
whole  subject  in  Bishop  Lightfoot  on  Gala- 
tians,  Smith's  "Diet.  Bible."  Amer.  Ed.,  Art. 
"Brothers  of  the  Lord,"  Schaff  in  Lange  on 
Matt.,  and  in  "Church  History"  2d  ed., 
Andrew's  "Life  of  Christ.'" )  The  three  theo- 
ries are  well  described  bj'  Schaff  as  the 
brother-theory,  held  by  many  Protestants, 
the  half -brother-theory  prevailing  in  the  Greek 
Church,  and  the  cousin-theory,  prevailing  in 


Ch.  XIIL] 


MATTHEW. 


311 


the  Church  of  Kome.  1.  The  most  obvious  view 
is  that  the  '  brothers '  were  such  in  the  or- 
dinary sense,  sons  of  Joseph  and  Mary.  In 
favor  of  this  we  have  the  natural  though  not 
necessary  meaning  of  three  independent  ex- 
pressions, (a)  The  word  'brother'  naturally 
means  this,  and  ought  to  be  so  taken  in  any 
case  unless  the  contrary  can  be  there  shown. 
It  is  used  not  once,  but  many  times.  And  ob- 
serve that  here  we  have  also  'sisters.'  More- 
over, it  is  not  here  J esas'  followei^s  who  speak 
of  his  brothers  and  his  sisters,  but  the  unbe- 
lieving and  hostile  Nazarenes,  who  are  not 
likely'  to  have  employed  the  term  in  any  non- 
natural  or  unusual  sense.  In  their  mouths 
'his  brothers'  and  'all  his  sisters'  cannot 
have  meant  less  than  children  of  Joseph, 
if  not  of  Joseph  and  Mary.  They  could 
easily  be  mistaken  in  calling  Joseph  his 
father,  because  here  had  been  a  supernatural 
fact  of  which  they  were  not  informed;  but 
how  could  they  be  mistaken  as  to  his  brothers 
and  sisters?  (b)  The  phrase  'knew  her  not 
until'  (I- K),  while  not  necessarily  meaning 
tliat  after  the  birth  of  her  son  they  lived  to- 
gether in  the  ordinary  relations  of  husband 
and  wife,  naturally  means  that,  and  it  is 
highly  unnatural  to  understand  it  otherwise, 
(c)  So  with  'her  first-born  son.'  (Luke2:7.) 
The  special  laws  as  to  a  first-born  son  might 
possibly  lead  to  the  use  of  this  expression, 
though  no  other  children  followed.  But  this 
would  have  been  less  natural  for  one  who 
wrote  long  afterwards,  as  Luke  did.  Here 
then  are  three  independent  statements,  each 
of  which  atfords  a  clear  and  strong  probability, 
and  the  combination  of  the  three  affords  a 
very  high,  in  fact  an  overwhelming  proba- 
bility*. And  how  strange  it  would  look  for 
each  of  the  four  Evangelists,  and  Paul  (Johu  7: 
sir.;  Qui.  I:  i»),  to  usc  language  so  naturally  and 
inevitably  suggesting  that  Mary  bore  other 
children,  if  this  was  untrue,  and  a  very  objec- 
tionable idea. 

The  objections  to  this  view  are  (1)  sentiment. 
This  pervades  the  Romanist  and  Greek  Chris- 
tian world,  and  extends  to  many  Protestants. 
But  it  is  a  sentiment  without  Scriptural  sup- 
port, and  out  of  harmony  with  the  general 
tone  of  Scripture  in  regard  to  marriage. 
That  Jesus  should  be  born  of  a  virgin  had  an 
obvious  propriety  in  showing  tliat  his  birtli 
was  supernatural,  and   helping  to  put  him 


outside  the  line  of  transmitted  depravity  and 
guilt;  but  nothing  in  regard  to  him  or  his 
work  would  be  affected  by  his  mother's  after- 
wards bearing  children  to  her  husband.  (2) 
This  view  would  make  James  his  brother  an 
'apostle'  witliout  being  one  of  the  Twelve, 
see  Gal.  1 :  19,  and  com  p.  Acts  9:  '27.  But  the 
phrase  in  Gal.  1 :  19  does  not  certainly  mean 
that  James  was  an  apostle  (see  margin,  Rev. 
Ver.),  nor  does  the  plural  in  Acts.  And  sup- 
posing that  to  be  meant,  we  must  observe  that 
'apostle'  in  the  New  Test,  is  applied  to  others 
than  the  Twelve;  clearly  so  in  Acts  14:  14, 
"the  apostles,  Barnabas  and  Paul,"  perhaps 
also  in  1  Cor.  9:  5  f.  ;  Rom.  16:  7;  1  Thess. 
2:  6;  and  the  "false  apostles"  of  2  Cor.  11:  13; 
Rev.  2:  2,  would  have  been  simply  ridiculed 
if  only  the  Twelve  had  ever  been  called  by 
that  name.  (Comp.  Lightfoot  on  Gal.)  (3) 
It  would  seem  strange  that  Jesus  on  the  cross 
should  commit  his  motller  to  a  friend,  when 
she  had  sons.  But  this  would  hold  against 
the  other  theories  also,  and  even  more  strongly 
against  the  cousin-theory,  for  then  two  of  her 
nephews  were  among  the  Twelve. 

2.  The  half-brother-theory  supposes  them 
to  be  sons  and  daughters  of  Joseph  by  a 
former  marriage.  This  leaves  room  for  the 
sentiment  as  to  Mary's  perpetual  virginity, 
and  the  last  objection  to  the  former  view 
affects  this  in  a  less  degree.  It  might  also 
help  to  account  for  the  fact  that '  the  brothers' 
were  inclined  to  assume  authority  over  Jesus 
(12:46;  John  7 :  it-io; ;  though  cven  youugcr  brothers 
are  readj-  enough  for  this  in  the  case  of  one 
whom  they  regard  as  a  religious  enthusiast. 
(Mark3:2i.) — The  objcctioHS  to  this  theory  are 
(1)  It  is  a  mere  supposition.  (2)  In  this  case, 
not  Jesus,  but  the  eldest  son  of  Joseph,  would 
have  been   legal  heir  to  the  throne  of  David. 

(3)  The  brothers  and  sisters  were,  on  this  view, 
really'  no  kin  to  Jesus.  Still  even  Mary  could 
say  to  him,  "thy  father  and  I"  (Luke j: 48),  and 
Luke  could  speak  of  his   parents.     (i.uke2:4i.) 

(4)  We  must  thus  understand  'first-born  son' 
in  an  improbable  sense  (see  above). 

3.  The  cousin-theory  makes  them  the  sons 
and  daughters  of  Mary's  sister  Mary.  That 
the  term  brother  was  sometimes  used  in  this 
loose  sense  may  be  seen  from  Gen.  13:  8; 
14:  16;  29:  12;  31  :  23;  Job  19:  13,  and  espe- 
cially Job.  42:  11,  whore  sisters  as  well  as 
brothers  arc  mentioned,  and  apparently  mean- 


812 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XIII. 


56  And  his  sisters,  are  they  not  all  with  us  ?  Whence 
then  hath  this  manM  tliese  things? 

67  And  they  were  otTended  in  nini.  But  Jesus  said 
unto  them,  A  prophet  is  not  without  honour,  save  in 
his  own  country,  aud  in  his  own  bouse. 


56  James,  and  Joseph,  and  Simon,  and  Judas?  And 
his  sisters,  are  they  not  all  with  us?    Whence  then 

57  hath  this  man  all  these  things?  And  they  were 
1  offended  in  him.  But  Jesus  said  unto  them,  A 
prophet  is  not  without  honour,  save  in  his  own 


1  Or,  caused  (o  atumble. 


ing  relatives  iu  general.  And  such  a  use  of 
the  terms  is  still  found  among  Oriental  nations. 
This  theory  supposes  that  Clopas  (John  i9: 2oj  was 
the  same  as  Alpheus;  it  makes  James  the 
Lord's  brother  the  same  as  James  the  son  of 
Alpheus,  and  thus  one  of  the  Twelve,  and 
'Judas  of  James'  (whether  brother  or  son), 
another  of  the  Twelve.  This  also  leaves 
room  for  the  sentiment  involved,  and  accounts 
for  Gal.  1 :  19  (see  above).  Objections.  (1) 
Six  monthsbefore  the  crucifixion  "his brothers 
did  not  believe  on  him"  (John 7 -.5),  when  ac- 
cording to  this  theory  two  of  the  four  brothers 
had  long  been  among  the  Twelve.  (2)  Any 
natural  etymology  of  Clopas  would  be  very 
different  from  Chalphai,  Alpheus.  (3)  There 
would  thus  be  two  sisters  of  the  same  name. 
The  notion  of  some  that  one  was  called 
Mariam,  and  the  other  Maria,  is  quite  set 
aside  by  the  actual  readings  of  the  ancient 
documents.  (4)  It  would  be  strange  that 
these  young  men,  even  those  who  were  not 
believers  iu  Jesus,  should  be  mentioned  so 
often  with  his  mother  when  their  own  mother 
was  alive.  (5)  And  why  should  he  entrust 
his  mother  to  John,  when  among  his  twelve 
disciples  were  two  of  her  nephews  and  familiar 
associates?  Upon  the  "brother-theory"  we 
may  readily  suppose  that  his  brothers  were 
Btillatthetimeof  the  crucifixion  not  believers, 
as  had  been  the  case  six  months  before  (John  7:5); 
and  when  in  Acts  1 :  14  "the  brothers"  appear 
with  Mary  among  the  disciples,  we  may  sup- 
pose that  the  risen  Lord'sappearance  to  James 
(1  Cor.  15:7),  ended  all  doubts  with  him  and  the 
other  brothers.  These  suppositions  seem  not 
unnatural,  and  they  account  for  our  Lord's 
committing  his  mother  to  John,  when  her 
sons  were  not  yet  in  sympathy  with  him. 

The  question  can  never  be  settled  ;  but  the 
probabilities  are  very  decidedly  in  favor  of 
the  first  view,  that  these  were  sons  and  daugh- 
ters of  Joseph  and  Mary.  Thus  the  great  and 
unspeakably  important  institution  of  mar- 
riage is  duly  honored,  and  Jesus,  the  first- 
born son  of  Mary,  is  in  no  sense  dishonored. 

Whence  then  hath  this  man  all  these 
things?    The    astonishment    of  the    Naza- 


renes  was  well-founded.  (Comp.  also  John 
7  :  15.)  And  if  Jesus  is  thought  of  as  a  mere 
man,  their  question  remains  to  this  day  unan- 
swered and  unanswerable.  In  the  little  coun- 
try of  Palestine,  in  its  least  refined  district,  in 
a  petty  and  secluded  town,  whose  inhabitants 
were  violent  and  in  bad  repute  among  their 
neighbors  (see  on  2:  28),  arose  a  young  me- 
chanic, whose  teachings,  though  ended  by  an 
early  death,  surpassed  all  the  wisdom  of  India 
and  the  Chaldeans,  of  Egj-pt  and  Greece; 
and  who,  in  the  few  years  of  his  career  as  a 
teacher,  founded  "an  empire  of  love,"  which 
has  spread  wider  than  any  empire  of  earth, 
and  seems  destined  to  last  and  to  grow  in  all 
coming  time.  Whence  then  had  this  man  all 
these  things?  There  is  but  one  answer.  He 
was  a  teacher  sent  from  God ;  he  was,  then, 
according  to  his  own  express  declaration, 
God's  Only-begotten  Son  ;  yea,  he  was  all  that 
Thomas  called  him — for  he  himself  commend- 
ed the  saying — "  my  Lord  and  my  God."  See 
Young's  "Christ  of  History"  and  Schaff's 
"Person  of  Christ." 

57.  Offended  in  him,  or,  caused  to  stumble, 
as  in  11 :  6,  and  see  on  5:  29.  They  found  in  him 
o6s^(7c/es  to  believing.  They  stumbled  at  his 
humble  origin,  and  lack  of  training  in  the 
Rabbinical  schools,  and  in  their  blind  un- 
belief they  would  not  listen  to  his  wisdom  nor 
heed  his  miracles,  but  rejected  him  without 
further  inquiry  or  reflection.  As  he  had  had 
no  chance  to  become  so  wise,  they  concluded 
that  his  wisdom  was  not  real.  They  ought  to 
have  seen  that  it  was  real,  and  thence  con- 
cluded that  it  was  divine.  A  prophet  is  not 
without  honor,  etc.  It  was  natural  that  the 
same  objection  should  be  made  by  the  people 
as  on  his  former  visit,  and  that  he  should 
quote  the  same  proverb  in  reply.  (Luke 4: 22, 2*.) 
The  Gospel  of  John  (*■  «)  applies  this  saying 
of  our  Lord  to  a  diflTerent  occasion,  probably 
as  explaining  whj'  he  went  back  to  his  own 
country  of  Galilee,  where  his  labors  would 
not  be  likely  to  produce  so  much  undesirable 
excitement  as  they  had  begun  to  do  in  Judea 
and  Samaria.  In  any  ordinary  matters,  a  man 
will    be    more    kindly    received    among    his 


Ch.  XIV.] 


MATTHEW. 


313 


r 


58  And  he  did  not  many  mighty  works  there  because  I  58  country,  and  in  his  own  house.    And  he  did  not 
of  their  unbelief.  |       many  i  mighty  works  there  because  of  their  unbelief. 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

1      At  that  season  Herod  the  tetrarch  heard  the  report 


T  that  time  Herod  the  tetrarch  heard  of  the  fame  of  | 

L    Jesus,  I 


1  Qt,  powers. 


kindred  and  early  friends  than  elsewhere  ;  but 
not  when  he  appears  as  greatly  their  superior, 
and  professes,  or  is  popularly  reported,  to 
possess  extraordinary  powers.  They  think  of 
him  as  he  used  to  be,  and  are  slow  to  believe 
that  he  has  become  so  superior  to  themselves. 
Somewhat  similar  is  the  difficulty  parents 
often  have  in  believing  that  their  children  are 
grown  and  can  do  mature  work — they  keep 
remembering  them  as  children.  Observe  that 
our  Lord  does  not  here  formally  state  a  uni- 
versal proposition,  having  no  exception ;  he 
merely  adopts  a  popular  saying,  which  gener- 
ally holds  true.  In  his  own  house.  Mark 
adds  (6:  4)  'among  his  own  kin.'  Comp.  above 
on  12 :  46.  We  know  from  John  7 :  5,  that 
*  his  brethren '  did  not  yet  believe  on  him. 

58.  The  people  did  not  attempt  any  vio- 
lence, as  on  his  former  visit  (Lukei:  28r.),  but 
still  persisted  in  their  unbelief,  so  that  Jesus 
'wondered  because  of  their  unbelief  (Mark 
6:  6),  as  he  had  formerly  wondered  at  the  cen- 
turion's faith  (see  on  8 :  10).  Mighty  works, 
or  miracles,  as  in  v.  64,  see  on  12:  38.  Not 
many.  The  few  miracles  which  he  did  work 
there  consisted  (Markers)  in  healing  a  few  sick 
persons.  Because  of  their  unbelief.-  As 
a  general  thing,  he  did  not  work  miracles  in 
behalf  of  those  who  put  no  faith  in  him.  Re- 
ligious benefit  to  the  people,  which  was  always 
his  ultimate  object,  was  impossible  where  they 
did  not  believe.  When  Mark  says,  '  he  could 
there  do  no  miracle,'  we  understand,  not  that 
his  power  to  work  miracles  was  dependent  on 
men's  faith  (for  he  sometimes  healed  without 
their  faith  or  knowledge,  ib-.m-,  Luke22:5i).  but 
that  he  could  not  do  it  in  consistency  with  his 
design,  without  violating  the  plan  of  his 
labors.  (Comp.  on  9:  28. )  As  to  miracles  of 
healing,  we  need  not  at  all  suppose  that  he 
refused  to  heal  any  who  came  to  him  ;  the  un- 
belief which  prevented  him  from  working  the 
miracles  prevented  the  people  from  seeking 
them. 

HOMILETICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 
V.  54-58.   A  prophet  in  his  own  country.    1) 
Jesus  strives  to  benefit  the  obscure  and  un- 


promising community  among  whom  he  had 
grown  up.  (a)  A  second  visit,  comp.  Luke 
4  .  16-30.  (b)  Wise  teaching,  (c)  Some  mir- 
acles of  healing  (comp.  Mark  6:  5),  notwith- 
standing the  general  unbelief.  2)  They  ad- 
mire his  wise  teaching,  and  rightly  think  it 
unaccountable  in  an  obscure  mechanic.  3) 
They  do  not  ask  whether  God  has  given  this 
wisdom,  whether  it  is  Messianic  teaching 
(comp.  Luke  4:  18-21),  but  stumble  at  his 
known  lack  of  Rabbinical  training  and 
worldly  position,  and  reject  him.  4)  Jesus 
wonders  at  their  unbelief,  can  do  little  for 
them  by  word  or  deed  (comp.  Mark),  and 
turns  sadly  away — never  again,  so  far  as  we 
know,  to  revisit  the  companions  of  his  youth. 
— V.  54.  "Whence  hath  this  man  this  wis- 
dom?" 1)  Not  from  Nazareth,  or  Galilee. 
2)  Not  from  the  Rabbis  at  Jerusalem.  3)  Not 
from  the  adjoining  countries  of  Asia,  Africa, 
or  Europe.  4)  Not  from  unaided  human  re- 
flection. 5)  But  from  God.  —  "  His  sisters,  are 
they  not  all  with  us?"  1)  How  little  we 
know  of  many  persons  and  things  closely  re- 
lated to  Jesus.  2)  Shall  we  suppose  that  his 
sisters  shared  the  unbelief  of  his  brothers 
(John  7:5)?  3)  How  may  we  become  dearer  to 
Jesus  than  his  sisters?  (12: so.) — V.  58.  "Be- 
cause of  their  unbelief."  1)  Unbelief  caused 
the  fall  of  man.  2)  Unbelief  restricted  the 
benevolent  work  of  the  Son  of  God.  3)  Un- 
belief led  most  of  the  Jews  to  reject  him  (John 
1:  11;  .i:i8f.)  4)  Unbelief  caused  him  almost 
intolerable  grief.  (n:i7)  5)  Oh,  that  instead  of 
wonderful  unbelief  (Mark6:6),  we  may  all  have 
wonderful  faith.    (M«it. s:  10.) 


Ch.  14:  1-12.  Jesus  is  Supposed  to  be 
John  the  Baptist  Risen  from  the  Dead. 
Account  of  John's  Death. 

Thus  far,  Matthew's  narrative  of  our  Lord's 
ministrj' in  Galilee,  commencing  with  4:  12, 
has  to  a  great  extent  disregarded  the  order  of 
time,  and  followed  an  arrangement  according 
to  topics,  better  suited  to  his  objoot  of  proving 
to  the  Jews  that  Jesus  is  the  Messiah,  and  ex- 
plaining the  true    nature  of   the   Messianic 


314 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XIV. 


reign.  (Comp.  on  4:  12;  8:  1;  9:  35;  11:  2; 
12:  1.)  From  this  point  onward,  he  follows 
the  order  of  time,  with  a  few  slight  variations 
in  ch.  21  and  26,  made  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
venience in  the  grouping. 

I.  1  f.  Herod  Supposes  Jesus  to  be  John 
THE  Baptist  Risen  from  the  Dead.  Comp. 
Mark  6 :  14-16 ;  Luke  9 :  7-9. 

At  that  time  (season),  indefinite  as  in  12: 
1,  see  on  11 :  25.  Herod  the  tetrarch  (a  term 
explained  on  2:  19),  was  the  son  of  Herod  the 
Great  (see  on  2:  1),  and  one  of  the  three 
among  whom  he  divided  his  dominions.  The 
Tetrarch's  mother  was  a  Samaritan  ;  he  was 
distinguished  from  the  numerous  other  Herods 
by  the  name  Antipas,  a  contraction  of  An- 
tipater.  He  and  his  brother  Archelaus  (2:2.') 
had  spent  their  youth  at  Rome.  His'tetrarchy 
included  Galilee  (see  on  4:  12)  and  Perea  (see 
on  19:  1),  the  region  east  of  the  Jordan,  from 
the  Sea  of  Galilee  to  the  northern  part  of  the 
Dead  Sea.  As  Tetrarch  of  Galilee,  he  had 
been  the  civil  ruler  of  Jesus  almost  from  the 
first,  and  John's  baptizing  in  Perea  (John  i: 28) 
put  him  also  in  Herod's  power.  He  had  now 
been  ruling  about  thirty-two  years.  His  first 
wife  was  the  daughter  of  Aretas  (2  cor.  11 :  sa), 
king  of  the  Nabathaean  Arabs,  whose  capital 
was  the  famous  Petra,  and  whose  dominions 
adjoined  Perea  on  the  south,  the  fortress  of 
Machserus  being  on  the  border.  (See  on  v.  3.) 
After  many  years  Herod  made  proposals  of 
marriage  to  his  niece  Herodias,  sister  to  Herod 
Agrippa  I.  (the  Herod  of  Acts  12),  and  wife 
of  his  own  half-brother,  Herod  Philip.  Her 
husband  was  not  the  Tetrarch  Philip  (see  on 
2:  20),  who  married  her  daughter  (see  on 
v.  6),  but  was  another  son  of  Herod  the  Great, 
left  by  him  in  a  private  station,  and  by  Jose- 
phus  called  simply  Herod.  ("Ant."  17,  1,  2; 
18,  5,  1  and  4.)  The  simple  and  natural  sup- 
position that  his  name  was  Herod  Philip  re- 
moves all  conflict  here  between  Josephus  and 
the  Gospels.  Herodias  was  a  woman  of  tower- 
ing ambition,  and  readilj'  accepted,  if  indeed 
.she  had  not  manoeuvred  to  secure,  the  pro- 
posals of  Antipas  to  give  her  a  royal  station, 
agreeing  that  she  would  divorce  her  husband 
(comp.  Mark  10;  12),  while  he  must  divorce 
his  Arab  wife.  Although  accustomed  to  in- 
cestuous marriages  in  this  Herod  family,  the 
people  must  have  been  greatly  outraged  at 
the  Tetrarch's    taking   the  wife  of   his  still 


living  brother,  to  whom  she  had  borne  a 
child.  Hence  the  eftbrt  he  appears  to  have 
made  to  get  the  famous  John  the  Baptist  to 
endorse  the  marriage,  which  would  have  had 
a  powerful  efi'ect  on  the  popular  mind. 
The  injured  daughter  of  Aretas  escaped 
to  her  father;  and  some  years  later, 
disputes  having  arisen  about  boundaries, 
he  was  led  by  the  double  motive  of  revenge 
and  interest  to  make  war  upon  Herod.  The 
latter' s  army  was  defeated  and  destroyed, 
and  he  was  saved  from  ruin  by  the  interfer- 
ence of  the  Romans.  Josephus  ("Ant."  is,  5, 2) 
states  that  some  of  the  Jews  thought  the  de- 
struction of  the  army  a  judgment  from  God  for 
Herod's  treatment  of  John  the  Baptist,  whom 
he  proceeds  to  eulogize,  (as  quoted  above  on  3 : 
2),  and  says  that  Herod  put  him  to  death  from 
fear  that  his  great  influence  might  lead  to  a 
rebellion.  This  account  in  Josephus  becomes 
more  intelligible  through  the  facts  given  in 
the  Gospels.  Herod  Antipas  was  not  naturally 
a  cruel  man, but  self-indulgent  and  unscrupu- 
lous. There  were  many  other  wicked  deeds  for 
which  John  felt  bound  to  reprove  him(Li*e3:i9), 
besides  the  shameful  marriage.  Like  most 
weak  rulers  he  attempted  to  use  cunning, 
and  Jesus  afterwards  called  him  a  "fox." 
(Lukei3:3if. )— The  three  Herods  called  by  that 
name  in  the  New  Test,  may  be  readily  dis- 
tinguished by  remembering  tliat  "  Herod  the 
Great  murdered  the  infants,  Herod  Antipas 
behejuled  .Tohn  the  Baptist,  and  Herod 
Agrippa  killed  James  and  imprisoned  Peter." 
But  we  know  from  Josephus  that  many  others 
of  the  family  bore  the  name  of  the  great 
founder.  Thus  each  of  the  Philips  mentioned 
above  was  named  Herod  Philip,  and  the 
Agrippa  before  whom  Paul  spoke  was  called 
Herod  Agrippa,  like  his  father  who  slew 
James. 

Heard  of  the  fame  of  (R.V.  report  con- 
cerning) Jesus,  comp.  on 4: 24.  Herod  usually 
resided  during  his  latter  years  at  Tiberias,  a 
town  on  the  S.  AV.  shore  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee, 
from  which  it  was  sometimes  called  Lake  Ti- 
berias (see  on  4:  12,  18).  "We  have  no  account 
of  our  Lord's  ever  visiting  this  town,  and  per- 
haps he  stayed  away  to  avoid  exciting  the  hos- 
tility of  Herod,  who  might  be  jealous  of  one 
beginning  to  be  popularly  regarded  as  King  of 
the  Jews.  But  his  teachings  and  miracles  had 
spread  the  report  of  him  far  and  wide,  till  it 


Ch.  XIV.] 


MATTHEW. 


315 


2  And  said  unto  his  servants,  This  is  John  the  Baptist ; 
he  is  risen  from  the  dead  ;  and  therefore  mighty  works 
"do  shew  forth  themselves  in  him. 

3  For  Herod  had  laid  hold  on  John,  and  bound  him, 
and  put  him  in  prison  for  Uerodias'  sake,  his  brother 
Philip's  wife. 


2  concerning  Jesus,  and  said  unto  his  servants,  This 
is  John  the  Baptist ;  he  is  risen  from  the  dead ;  and 

3  therefore  do  these  powers  work  in  him.  For  Herod 
had  laid  hold  on  John,  and  bound  him,  and  put  him 
in   prison  for  the  sake  of   Herodias,  his  brother 


;  Or,  are  wrought  by  hi, 


penetrated  even  the  precincts  of  the  court. 
The  recent  mission  of  the  Twelve  («b.  lo)  had 
probably  contributed  to  this,  for  both  in  Mark 
(6:  u)  and  Luke  (s;?)  the  statement  follows 
immediately  upon  the  account  of  that  mission, 
which  would  naturally  make  a  great  stir  all 
over  the  country.  Herod  paid  little  attention 
to  religious  movements  among  his  subjects, 
or  he  would  have  heard  of  Jesus  earlier;  for 
it  had  now  been  certainly  one  and  a  half,  and 
probably  two  and  a  half  years  (see  on  VI:  1) 
since  our  Lord's  baptism,  and  for  a  year  or 
more  he  had  been  actively  at  work  in  Galilee, 
teaching  and  working  a  great  number  of  mir- 
acles. But  it  was  in  accordance  with  the  lux- 
urious and  rather  slothful  character  of  the 
Tetrarch,  that  he  should  be  thus  ignorant.  It 
may  be  (Edersh.),  that  as  Tiberias  had  been 
recently  built  (Jos.  "Ant."  18,  2,  3),  he  was 
still  spending  much  of  his  time  at  other  places, 
which  would  partly  account  for  his  ignorance; 
yet  Galilee  was  at  any  rate  the  most  import- 
ant part  of  his  dominions. 

2.  And  said  unto  his  servants.  The 
word  is  pais  (see  on  8:  6),  literally'  boxj  and 
thence  'servant,'  and  often  applied  to  the 
officers  of  an  Oriental  court  (G«n.40:20;  i  sam.  i6: 
17;  1  Mace.  1:6,8),  just  as  the  term  doiUos  is  in 
18 :  23,  and  elsewhere.  We  know  from  Luke 
8:  3,  that  "Joanna  the  wife  of  Chuza, 
Herod's  steward"  had,  apparently  some  time 
before  this,  accompanied  Jesus  in  his  journej'- 
ings,  and  ministered  to  him  and  his  followers 
from  her  property.  It  would  seem  more 
likely  that  "  Mannen  (Menahem)  the  foster- 
brother  of  Herod  the  Tetrarch"  (acm  i3:  i),  be- 
came ft  Christian  at  a  later  period.  This  is 
John  the  Baptist,  see  on  3:  1.  He  is  risen 
from  the  dead,  with  emphasis  on  'he' 
(comp.  on  1 :  21),  implying  that  this  remark- 
able person  of  whom  they  heard  was  not  any- 
one else  than  just  he,  come  to  life  again.  Here 
is  a  display  of  philosophizing,  and  a  touch 
of  guilty  conscience.  'From  the  dead,  i.  e., 
from  among  the  dead.  From  Mark  8:  15, 
compared  with  Matt.  16:  6,  many  have  in- 
ferred (even  Plumptre)  that  Herod  was  a  Sad- 
ducee,  but  without  sufficient  ground.     It  is 


not  likely  that  he  intelligently  and  heartily 
adopted  the  religious  views  of  eitlier  party, 
but  the  opinions  of  the  Pharisees  as  to  the  res- 
urrection (see  on  3 :  7)  would  form  a  natural 
basis  in  his  mind  for  the  notion  here  expressed. 
This  notion  did  not  originate  with  Herod,  but 
was  one  of  the  conflicting  opinions  which  he 
heard  of  as  expressed  among  the  people. 
(Luke 9: 7.)  Somc  Jcws  believed  in  a  species  of 
metempsychosis,  the  soul  of  a  righteous  dead 
man  entering  a  new  body  born  for  the  pur- 
pose (Josephus  "War,"  2,  8,  14).  But  in  re- 
gard to  Elijah,  Jeremiah,  and  the  famous 
propliets  in  general,  it  was  believed  that  one 
of  them  might  simply  come  to  life  again,  the 
same  in  soul  and  body.  (Lukes:  a,  i9.)  Herod 
at    first  questioned  this   theory  about   Jesua 

(Luke9:9j,  but    ftftcrwards    adopted    it    (v.   2;  Mark 

6:  14),  and  insisted  on  it  as  the  only  correct 
view.  (Mark  6: 16.)  He  may  possibly  have  con- 
cluded (Lutter.)  that  the  people  would  cherish 
less  malice  against  him  for  killing  the  prophet 
now  that  he  was  restored  to  them.  At  a 
later  period  we  find  this  notion  still 
maintained  by  some  of  the  people.  (i6:u.) 
Herod's  desire  to  see  Jesus  (Luke9:9),  was 
perhaps  partly  that  he  might  settle  this  ques- 
tion, but  partly  arose  from  mere  curiosity  to 
see  him  work  a  miracle;  certainly  the  latter 
was  his  feeling  a  year  later.  (Lnke23:8-ii.)  And 
therefore,  viz.,  because  he  has  risen  from 
the  dead,  and  may  well  thus  have  supernat- 
ural powers,  which  he  did  not  before  pos.sess. 
(John  10: 41.)  Mighty  works,  etc.,  or,  the  pow- 
ers work  in  him.  Perhaps  the  phrase  '  mirac- 
ulous powers'  would  best  expre.ss  the  sense, 
the  term  being  riMMamis  (see  on  12:  -^8),  which 
frequently  means  miracles,  regarded  as  works 
of  power,  but  here  denotes  the  powers  exer- 
ci.«ed  and  manifested  in  the  miraculous  deeds. 
Shew  forth — loork,  exert  themselves,  operate, 
produce  their  efl'ect.  In  him,  as  the  seat  of 
their  residence  and  exorcise. 
"II.  3-12.  Imprisonmknt  axd  Death  of 
.loHN  THE  Baptist.  Mark  fi:  l()-20;  Luke  3: 
19  f  ;  Matthew  and  Mark  here  stop  to  tell 
about  Herod's  putting  John  to  death  ;  and  as 
introductory  to  that,  they  tell  of  his  imprison- 


316 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XIV. 


ment,  which  occurred  probably  more  than  a 
year  earlier  (see  on  4 :  12).  Luke  closes  the 
parallel  passage  (»:7-9)  without  describing  the 
death  of  John ;  but  in  ending  his  account  of 
John's  early  preaching,  he  had  already  men- 
tioned in  advance  that  Herod  cast  John  into 
prison.  (Lukes:  19 f.)  Tliis  return  to  a  subject  in 
one  case,  and  anticipation  of  it  in  another,  are 
both  conformed  to  the  fitness  of  things  in  his- 
torical narrative,  which  requires  that  the 
events  to  be  narrated  shall  not  always  be 
strung  along  in  the  order  of  their  actual 
occurrence,  but  grouped  according  to  natural 
principles,  or  else  the  story  will  not  be  inter- 
esting and  impressive.  Mark  here  gives,  as 
is  characteristic  of  his  Gospel,  more  minute 
and  vivid  details  than  the  other  Evangelists. 
Herod  had  laid  hold  on  John,  literally, 
laid  hold,  the  writer  just  stating  the  occur- 
rence historically,  and  leaving  the  reader  to 
see  for  himself  the  obvious  fact  that  this  was 
antecedent  to  what  he  has  just  before  nar- 
rated. ^ 

Bound  him  and  pnt  him  in  prison.  The 
place  of  his  imprisonment  and  death,  as  we 
learn  from  Josephus  ("  Ant.,"  18,  5,  2),  was 
Mach^rus,  about  seven  miles  from  the  Dead 
Sea,  on  the  N.  E.  side.  Some  writers  wish  to 
set  aside  the  express  statement  of  Josephus, 
and  locate  the  narrative  at  some  other  point; 
but  their  arguments  are  of  very  little  strength. 
Machserus  was  first  fortified  by  one  of  the 
Maccabaean  princes,  about  100  b.  c,  and 
having  been  destroyed  by  the  Roman  conquer- 
ors, was  rebuilt  and  very  strongly  fortified  by 
Herod  the  Great.  The  sole  ancient  descrip- 
tion of  the  place  (Jos.  "  "War,"  7,  6)  has  re- 
cently been  strikingly  confirmed  by  the  only 
full  modern  description  (Tristram,  "Land  of 
Moab,"  A.  D.,  1873).  It  lies  on  mountains 
far  loftier  than  those  around  Jerusalem. 
There  are  ruins  of  a  city,  covering  more  than 
a  square  mile.  Beyond  a  valley  rises  a  long 
flat  ridge,  more  than  a  mile  long  and  quite 
diflScult  of  access,  all  of  which  was  made  a 
strong  fortress.  From  this  ridge  rises  a 
high,    conical    hill,    the   top    of   which    is 


one  hundred  yards  in  diameter,  and  which 
was  fortified  as  an  impregnable  citadel. 
In  this  citadel,  besides  a  very  deep  well, 
and  a  very  large  and  deep  cemented  cistern, 
are  now  found  "two  dungeons,  one  of  them 
deep  and  its  sides  scarcely  broken  in,"  which 
have  "small  holes  still  visible  in  the  masonry, 
where  staples  of  wood  and  iron  had  once 
been  fixed.  One  of  these  must  surely  have 
been  the  prison-house  of  John  the  Baptist." 
[Tristram.)  On  this  high  ridge  Herod  the 
Great  built  an  extensive  and  beautiful  palace. 
The  vicinity  of  the  fortress  and  city  was  re- 
markable for  mineral  fountains,  bitter  and 
sweet,  hot  and  cold,  whose  mingled  waters 
formed  baths,  good  for  various  diseases,  especi- 
ally for  strengthening  the  nerves.  The  most 
celebrated  of  these  were  in  the  valley  just 
north  of  Machaerus,  called  the  Callirrhoe 
('fair-flow'),  to  which  Herod  the  Great  was 
carried  not  long  before  his  death.  There 
were  also  neighboring  mines  of  sulphur  and 
alum.  Altogether,  Machaerus  was  a  delight- 
ful summer  residence  for  the  rulers,  as  well 
as  a  strong  fortress  on  the  boundary  between 
Perea  and  Arabia.  It  had  for  a  short  time 
been  subject  to  King  Aretas  (Jos.,  "Ant.," 
18,  6,  1  in  the  Greek),  but  was  now  again  held 
by  Herod,  who  when  visiting  Perea  would 
naturally  be  attracted  bj'  the  mountain  palace 
and  the  luxurious  baths.  "VVe  may  suppose 
that  on  some  former  visit  he  summoned  John, 
who  did  much  of  his  preaching  on  the  eastern 
bank  of  the  Jordan,  to  come  to  Machserus 
and  give  an  opinion  about  his  marriage,  and 
there  left  him  in  prison.  In  that  remote  and 
hopeless  imprisonment,  in  one  of  those  deep 
and  dark  dungeons  which  were  so  cold  in 
winter  and  so  hot  in  summer,  the  great  Bap- 
tizer  languished  (see  on  11 :  2)  for  probably 
more  than  a  year,  until  the  court  came  again. 
He  was  allowed  occasional  visits  from  his  fol- 
lowers, who  brought  him  news  of  what  was 
going  on  in  the  land — among  other  things  of 
the  works  of  Jesus  (n :  2) — and  who  finally  bore 
his  headless  body  to  the  tomb. 
For  Herodias'  sake,  his  brother  Phil- 


1  This  is  a  very  common  use  of  the  Greek   aorist'  inar  of  foreign  languages  is  to  make  a  half  conjectural 


tense.    In  English  it  may  be  more  natural  and  per- 
spicuous to  use  the  pluperfect,  but  it  is  grammatically  a 
very  misleading  practice  to  say  that  the  aorist  is  used 
for  the  pluperfect.    (Comp.  Buttm.,  p.  200.)    One  of  the  I  idiom  which  is  our  substantial  equivalent, 
commonest  and  gravest  errors  in  studying  the  gramr  ' 


translation,  and  then  reason  back  from  our  own  lan- 
guage to  the  meaning  of  the  original;  or  to  explain 
some  idiom  of  the  original  by  the  formally  diflTerent 


Ch.  XIV.] 


MATTHEW. 


317 


4  For  John  said  unto  him,  It  is  not  lawful  for  thee  to 
have  her. 

5  And  when  he  would  have  put  him  to  death,  he  feared 
the  multitude,  because  they  counted  him  as  a  prophet. 

6  But  when  Herod's  birthday  was  kept,  the  (laughter 
of  Herodias  danced  a  before  them,  and  pleased  Herod. 


4  Philip  s  wife.    For  John  said  unto  him.  It  is  not 

5  lawful  for  thee  to  have  her.    And  when  he  would 
have  put  him  to  death,  he  feared  the  multitude,  be- 

6  cause  tbey  counted  him  as  a  prophet.    But  when 
Herod's  birthday  came,  the  daughter  of  Herodias 


a  6r.  in  (Ae  midst. 


ip's  wife,  see  on    v.   1.     For  John    said 

unto  him.  The  Greek  verb  is  in  the  imper- 
fect tense,  and  this  is  carefully  reproduced  by 
the  Old  Latin  and  the  Vulgate,  the  Mem- 
phitic,  and  the  Peshito.  Mark  also  (6:  is)  has 
the  same  tense.  It  can  hardly  be  here  taken 
as  the  mere  descriptive  imperfect,  but  seems 
to  mean  that  John  said  it  repeatedly,  as  may 
also  be  hinted  by  the  tense  of 'being  reproved' 
in  Luke  3:  19.  "We  are  not  informed  how 
John  came  to  give  Herod  his  judgment,  but 
it  is  likely  that  the  Tetrarch  sent  for  John, 
hoping  that  he  would  be  over-awed  when 
standing  in  his  presence,  and  so  would  feel 
bound  to  speak  favorably  of  the  marriage — 
which  would  have  a  salutary  effect  in  allaying 
the  popular  discontent.  But  John  stood 
before  him,  apparently  several  times,  "in  the 
spirit  and  power  of  Elijah"  before  Ahab 
(comp.  on  3:  4).  Indeed,  Herod  and  Herodias 
strikingly  resemble  Ahab  and  Jezebel.  In 
his  early  preaching  John  had  been  equally 
bold,  rebuking  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees 
(3:7),  as  fearlessly  as  the  masses.  And  now  he 
reproves  Herod,  not  merely  for  the  marriage, 
but  for  all  his  other  acts  of  wrong-doing. 
(Luke  8: 19.)  Every  great  reformer  sometimes 
finds  it  necessary  to  be  very  bold  and  out- 
spoken. So  Luther  at  the  Diet  of  "Worms, 
and  Knox  before  Mary  Stuart;  and  he  who 
was  "meek  and  lowly"  to  the  toiling  and 
burdened,  was  stern  and  severe  towards  the 
hypocritical  Scribes  and  Pharisees  even  when 
he  knew  they  were  plotting  to  kill  him,  and 
would  eventually  succeed.  It  is  not  lawful, 
strictly  it  is  not  permissible ;  thou  art  not  at 
liberty,  viz.,  because  the  law  of  Moses  forbade 
such  a  marriage.  (Lev.  i8:i6;  20:21.)  The  law 
required  the  marriage  of  a  deceased  and  child- 
less brother's  wife,  but  here  the  brother  was 
still  living  and  had  a  daughter.  The  ground 
of  condemnation  stated  (comp.  Mark  6:  18), 
is  not  that  she  was  his  niece,  though  that  too 
was  forbidden  by  the  law  (as  implied  in  Lev. 
18:  12  f.),  but  his  brother's  wife.  Nominally, 
she  had  divorced  her  former  husband;  but 
while  the  Jewish  usages  of  that  time  allowed 


a  man  to  divorce  his  wife  for  almost  any  cause 
(see  on  19:  3),  for  a  woman  to  divorce  her 
husband  UTientioned  only  in  Mark  10:  12) 
was  a  Koman  custom,  which  they  held  in 
great  abhorrence.  Jos.  says  ('•Ant."i8. 5, 4)  that 
"being  minded  to  confound  her  country's 
institutions,"  she  made  this  marriage. 

5.  He  feared  the  multitude  (or  crowd), 
because  they  counted  him  as  a  prophet 
(comp.  21 :  26,  46).  'Counted,'  held,  regarded, 
is  in  the  imperfect  tense,  giving  their  habitual 
way  of  regarding  him.  'Prophet,'  see  on 
7 :  22.  Observe  that  it  was  the  '  crowd,'  what 
we  call  "the  masses,"  that  held  this  opinion; 
the  Jewish  religious  rulers  were  quite  too 
jealous  to  tolerate  such  an  idea  (21:25-27,32). 
Mark  says  (6: 19)  literally  that  "Herodias  had 
a  grudge  against  him  and  wanted  to  kill  him; 
and  she  could  not;  for  Herod  feared  John, 
knowing  him  to  be  a  righteous  and  holy  man, 
and  kept  him  safe.  And  upon  hearing  him 
he  would  be  much  perplexed,  and  would  hear 
him  gladly."  All  the  verbs  are  here  in  the 
imperfect  tense,  describing  actions  continued 
or  repeated  from  time  to  time.  The  apparent 
conflict  between  this  statement  and  that  of 
Matthew  may  be  explained  in  various  ways. 
We  may  suppose  that  Herod  was  angry  at 
first,  when  John  condemned  his  marriage, 
and  censured  all  his  wickedness  and  wanted 
to  kill  him,  but  fearing  the  masses,  impris- 
oned him  instead;  afterwards,  talking  with 
John,  and  his  wrath  having  cooled,  ho  came 
to  feel  as  Mark  describes,  and  so  continued 
during  his  imprisonment.  Or  it  may  be  that 
while  generally  favorable  to  John,  and  dis- 
po.«ed  to  "keep  him  safe"  from  the  wrath  of 
Herodias,  he  sometimes  felt  inclined  to  yield 
to  her  solicitations,  but  was  then  restrained  by 
fear  of  the  crowd.  It  seems  plain  that  Hero- 
dias was  watching  for  a  chance  to  compass 
John's  destruction,  from  the  expression  of 
Mark  («; "),  "and  when  a  convenient  day  was 
come." 

6  f.  But  when  Herod's  birthday  was 
kept,  or  came.  The  correct  Greek  toxt  (as  in 
Tisch.  and  "W  H.)  has  a  very  peculiar  con- 


318 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XIV. 


struction,  but  without  difference  in  the  sub- 
stantial meaning.'  The  term  'birthday'  was 
also  sometimes  applied  to  the  anniversary  of 
a  king's  accession  (Edersh.),  but  Wieseler's 
extended  argument  for  so  understanding  it 
here  is  quite  inconclusive.  It  is  easy  to  suppose 
that  when  Herod's  birthday  approached  he 
was  sojourning  at  Machaerus,  accompanied 
by  leading  military  and  civil  officials  of  his 
dominions.  (Mark6;ii.)  The  daughter  of 
HerodiaS)  viz.,  of  her  former  marriage  (see 
on  v.  1),  was  named  Salome  (Jos.  "Ant."  J8, 
5,  4);  and  also  apparently  sometimes  called 
Herodias,  as  required  by  the  reading  of  the 
earliest  and  best  manuscripts  in  Mark  6:  22, 'his 
daughter  Herodias'  (W  H.  and  margin  Rev. 
Ver. ),  and  supported  by  Origen's  expression 
here,  "  the  dance  of  Herodias."  It  is  very  easy 
to  believe  that  besides  the  name  Salome,  which 
was  common  in  the  family  (borne  by  Herod 
the  Great's  sister),  she  maj'  have  also  been 
called  by  her  mothers  name,  even  as 
so  many  men  of  the  family  were  called 
Herod.  This  girl  subsequently  married  her 
uncle,  Philip  the  Tetrarch  (Jos.,  "Ant.,"  18, 
6;  comp.  on.  v.  1  and  on  2:  20),  but  the  mar- 
riage did  not  last  long,  as  Philip  died  "in  the 
twentieth  year  of  the  reign  of'Tiberias"  (Jos. 
"Ant,"  18,  4,  6),  say  a.  d.  38  or  34.  Keim 
has,  for  the  sake  of  his  theories,  revived  the 
old  notion  that  the  crucifixion  occurred  in 
A.  D.  34,  and  the  death  of  John  only  a  few 
months  earlier;  but  Meyer  remarks  that  the 
girl's  dancing  is  quite  appropriate  for  a.  d. 
29,  but  not  for  A.  D.  34,  when  she  had  been 
for  some  time  married,  perhaps  was  a  widow. 
Danced  before  them,  or  in  the  midst;  i.  e., 
of  the  banqueting-hall,  or  of  the  company, 
and  so  in  full  view  of  all ;  it  is  a  phrase  fre- 
quently used  in  Greek  to  denote  publicity. 
We  cannot  readily  determine  just  how  far 
this  act  was  indecorous  on  her  part.  In  all 
Eastern  countries,  women  being  kept  in  great 
seclusion,  it  has  always  been  considered  ex- 
tremely improper  for  a  female  to  dance  in 
public.     It  is  very  common  to  hire  dancing- 


women  to  exhibit  at  entertainments  (c.  g., 
the  Hindoo  nautch-girls),  but  the  business  is 
highly  disreputable,  and  it  is  commonly  taken 
for  granted  that  they  are  women  of  bad  char- 
acter. True,  Jewish  women  lived  in  less 
seclusion  than  in  other  Eastern  nations,  and 
there  are  instances  of  their  taking  part  by 
songs  and  dancing  in  public  rejoicings  (c.  g., 
1  Sam.  18:  6);  but  this  was  considered  a  re- 
ligious act  (comp.  Exod.  15:  20;  2  Sam.  6: 
21),  and  quite  a  different  thing  from  taking 
the  place  of  dancing-girls  at  a  feast.  The 
Romans,  too,  had  their  dancing-girls  at  en- 
tertainments, but  regarded  it  as  a  disreputable 
calling.  A  Latin  inscription  says,  "It  was 
disgraceful  both  to  dance,  and  for  a  virgin  to 
come  into  the  banqueting-hall  to  men  who 
had  drank  freely."  Cornelius  Nepos:  "We 
know  that  according  to  our  manners,  dancing 
is  even  put  among  vices."  Cicero :  "Hardly 
any  man  dances  when  sober  (unless  per- 
chance he  is  crazy),  whether  it  be  in  soli- 
tude or  at  a  moderate  and  decorous  feast"; 
and  he  mentions  a  Greek  father  who  was 
amazed  at  the  proposition  of  a  drunken  guest 
that  he  should  send  for  his  daughter  to  come 
in.  On  the  whole,  one  must  reach  the  con- 
clusion that  if  a  respectable  Jewish  maiden 
came  in  to  dance  at  a  feast,  it  would  be  very 
surprising  to  the  guests,  and  could  hardly  fail 
to  be  regarded  as  very  unbecoming.  It  was 
therefore  a  bold  step  which  Herodias  took,  in 
sending  her  daughter  to  dance  before  Herod 
and  his  grandees.  Would  they  be  shocked 
by  the  immodest  exposure  of  a  princess,  or 
would  they  be  fascinated  bj^  the  novel  spec- 
tacle of  a  high-born  and  charming  girl  going 
through  the  voluptuous  movements  of  an  Ori- 
ental dance?  The  experiment  succeeded.  She 
pleased  Herod,  and  all  the  company.  (Mark 
6:22.)  No  doubt  rapturous  expressions  of  ad- 
miration burst  from  the  lips  of  the  half- 
drunken  revelers.  It  is  common  for  dancing- 
girls  to  receive  presents,  proportioned  to  the 
admiration  thdr  performance  has  excited; 
and  Salome    might  naturally  expect  to  re- 


'The  construction  is  unusual  but  not  unexampled 
(Jelf.  ^699).  The  locative  case  gives  the  time  of  the 
principal  action,  danced  'on  Herod's  birthday,  when 
it  occurred.'  (Comp.  the  locative  in  Mark  6:  21.)  This 
need  not  be  called  a  case  absolute,  though  it  corresponds 
to  the  Latin"  ablative  (locative)  absolute;"  and  the 
Greek  "  genitive  absolute"  is  itself  also  not  really  abso- 


lute, not  cut  loose  from  the  rest  of  the  construction,  but 
gives  some  event  or  situation  to  which  the  principal 
action  is  specifically  referred,  for  the  indication  of  its 
circumstances.  It  was  very  natural  that  the  unusual 
locative  expression  should  be  here  changed  to  the 
familiar  genitive  construction,  as  we  find  it  in  many 
MSS.  and  the  common  Greek  text. 


Ch.  XIV.] 


MATTHEW. 


319 


7  Whereupon  he  promised  with  an  oath  to  give  her 
whatsoever  she  would  ask. 

8  And  she,  being  before  instructed  of  her  mother, 
Baid,  Give  me  here  John  Baptist's  head  in  a  charger. 

9  And  the  king  was  sorry,  nevertheless  for  the  oath's 
sake,  and  them  which  sat  with  him  at  meat,  he  com- 
manded il  to  be  given  her. 


7  danced  in  the  midst,  and  pleased  Herod.    Where- 
upon he  promised  with  an  oath  to  give  her  whatso- 

8  ever  she  should  ask.    And  she,  being  put  forward 
by  her  mother,  saith.  Give  me  here  in  a  charger  the 

9  head  of  John  the  Baptist.     And  the  king  was  grieved ; 
but  for  the  sake  of  his  oaths,  and  of  them  that  sat 


ceive  some  present  on  the  Tetrarch's  birth- 
day. Accordingly,  Herod,  anxious  to  ex- 
press his  gratification,  and  also  to  play  the 
magnificent  before  this  grand  assembly, 
promised  with  an  oath  to  give  her  what- 
soever she  would  ask.  He  even  aflfected, 
petty  ruler  as  he  was,  and  not  properly  a  king 
at  all,  to  imitate  the  grandiloquence  of  the 
great  Persian  monarchs  (Esther5:3, 6;  7:2),  and, 
.with  drunken  dignity,  swore  to  give  her  what 
she  asked,  "unto  the  half  of  my  kingdom." 

(Mark  6:  23.) 

8.  And  she,   being    before    instrncted 

(Kev.  Ver.,  put  forward)  by  her  mother,  or 

'urged  on,'  'instigated.'  Our  early  English 
versions,  following  the  Vulgate,  mistrans- 
lated into  'being  before  instructed,'  and  thus 
created  an  apparent  conflict  with  Mark,  who 
says  (6:24)  that  she  went  out  and  inquired  Vf 
her  mother  what  she  should  ask.  It  is  pa- 
thetic to  think  how  many  Bible  students  have 
puzzled  over  this  manufactured  difficulty.' 
We  can  imagine  the  satisfaction  with  which 
Herodias  heard  how  well  her  bold  scheme  had 
succeeded,  and  seized  the  opportunity  for 
wreaking  her  vengeance.  The  girl  sympa- 
thized, and  made  the  shocking  proposal  '  with 
haste'  (Mark 6: 25),  Or  morc  exactly  '  with  zeal,' 
eagerly.  Give  me  here.  Mark  adds 'forth- 
with.' Probably  Salome  and  her  mother 
feared  that  Herod  would  change  his  mind  if 
they  waited  till  he  was  sober.  In  a  charger, 
more  exactly,  upon  a  dish,  or  'platter'  (so 
translated  in-Luke  11 :  39),  and  signifying  a 
bowl  or  di.sh,  usually  made  of  wood,  but  ujion 
Herod's  table,  probably  of  costlier  material*. 
The  Latin  versions  here  have  discus,  from 
which  we  borrow  disk  and  dish.  Wye.  and 
Rheims  have  'dish,'  Tyn.,  Cran.,  and  Gen., 


'platter';  King  James  introduced  'charger,' 
which  was  formerly  used  in  English  for  a 
large  dish.  It  is  much  better  to  use  the 
homely  word,  whicii  at  once  shows  the  idea  to 
be  that  a  dish  should  be  taken  from  the  table. 
John  Baptist's  head.  This  designation  of 
John  was  evidently  familiar  to  all,  for  it  was 
used  by  Salome  and  by  Herod,  by  our  Lord, 
and  the  Evangelists  generally,  and  by  Jo- 
sephus  (see  on  3:  1). 

9-11.  The  king.  It  was  quite  common  to 
call  a  tetrarch  king,  as  a  matter  of  compli- 
ment (see  on  2:  20) ;  we  find  this  often  in  Jo- 
sephus,  as  well  as  in  the  New  Test.  Indeed 
the  Greek  term  was  often  applied  with  great 
latitude  to  any  sovereign  ruler,  from  the  Ro- 
man imperator  (iTim.2:2;  ipet.  2:  n)  down  to 
pettj'  sovereigns  like  Herod.  Was  sorry,  or, 
grieved.  The  thing  would  be  wrong,  and  also 
unpopular,  (v. 5.)  But  his  wife  ruled  him,  as 
on  many  other  occasions.  There  is  no  good 
ground  for  the  suspicion  of  some  writers  that 
Herod  himself  planned  all  this  thing,  in  order 
to  have  an  excuse  before  the  people  for  slaying 
John.  The  idea  conflicts  with  the  language 
of  Matthew  and  of  Mark  (6: 20),  and  a  drunken 
promise  to  a  dancer  would  have  seemed  to  the 
people  a  very  poor  excuse  for  killing  a  pro- 
phet. For  the  oath's  sake — Rev.  Ver.,  his 
oaths,  while  above  in  v.  7  it  was  'with  an 
oath.'  Mark  also  (6:26)  has  here  the  plural. 
We  may  conclude  that  Herod  had  several 
times  repeated  his  tipsy  promise  to  the  girl, 
with  various  oaths.  And  them  which  sat 
with  him  at  meat,  more  exactly,  reclined 
v)ith  hi/in,  the  usual  posture  at  table  (see  on  8 : 
11).  He  was  superstitious  about  his  oaths,  as 
many  very  wicked  men  are,  and  was  ashamed 
not  to  keep  the  promise  he  had  so  frequently 


'The rendering '6^/ore  Instructed' is  notoiilyunneces-  I 
sary,  but  quite  without  warrant.  The  verb  jirohihnzn 
can  mean  instruct  at  all  only  by  taking /jro  in  the  .sense 
of  forward,  onward,  to  carry  forward,  to  lead  on  ;  and 
SI  it  has  to  be  taken  in  all  the  known  uses  of  the  verb. 
TIddell  and  Scott  give  'to  teach  beforehand'  as  the 
meaning  in  Dent.  6:  7,  but  the  proper  meaning  there 
as  shown  by  the  connection  of  the  Sept.  and  Hebrew,  is 
simply  teach.    There  is  no  authority  at  all  in  (Jreek 


usage,  for  the  sense  'instruct  beforehand,'  and  the 
etymology  forbids  it.  The  natural  meaning  of  urge 
forward,  Induce  to  a  certain  course  (Grimm,  Meyer. 
Weiss,  etc.),  is  established  by  examples  from  I'lato  and 
Xenophon.  The  Memphitic  and  I'eshito  here  render 
■  instructe<l,' '  taught.'  Most  copies  of  the  Old  Latin 
and  the  Vulgate,  have  prannoniUt ;  but  several  copies 
(.Sdtatier,  Biaiichiui)  have  simply  moiiifa,  or  ilocla. 


320 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XIV. 


10  And  he  sent,  and  beheaded  John  in  the  prison. 

11  And  his  head  was  brought  in  a  charger,  and  given 
to  the  daiusel :  and  she  brought  it  to  her  mother. 

12  And  his  disciples  came,  and  took  up  the  body,  and 
buried  it,  and  went  and  told  Jesus. 


10  at  meat  with  him,  he  commanded  it  to  be  given  ; 

11  and  he  sent,  and  beheaded  Joliu  in  tlie  prison.  And 
liis  liead  was  brought  in  a  charger,  and  given  to  the 

12  damsel ;  and  she  brought  it  to  her  motlier.  And  his 
disciples  came,  and  took  up  the  corpse,  and  buried 
him ;  and  ihey  went  and  told  Jesus. 


made,  and  so  solemnly  confirmed  before  the 
assembled  dignitaries.  But  a  grossly  wicked 
promise  is  better  broken  than  kept,  especially 
when  no  one  will  really  lose  thereby.  As  to 
the  general  subject  of  oaths,  see  on  5 :  33-37. 

The  girl  waited  for  her  reward,  and  the 
king  sent  'immediately.'  (Mark6:«)  Some 
argue  that  this  term,  with  'here'  in  v.  8,  and 
'  straightway  '  in  Murk  6 :  25,  cannot  be  taken 
literally,  because  the  spectacle  would  have 
spoiled  all  festive  enjoyment;  hut  they  have 
forgotten  how  Herodias'  ancestor,  Alexander 
Jannaeus,  while  holding  a  feast  with  his  con- 
cubines, commanded  eight  hundred  rebels  to 
be  crucified  in  full  view,  and  their  wives  and 
children  to  be  slain  before  their  eyes.  (Jos. 
"Ant,"  13,  14,  2.)  A  great  feast  usually  be- 
gan about  the  close  of  the  day,  and  so  it  was 
probably  late  at  night  when  the  executioner 
came  and  awoke  John  and  hurriedly  be- 
headed him.  After  his  weary  imprisonment 
of  more  than  a  year,  the  Baptizer  was  now 
suddenly  cut  off.  But  his  work  was  ended; 
he  had  come  as  the  herald  of  the  Mes.sianic 
reign,  and  that  reign  was  now  being  estab- 
lished; the  answer  of  .Tesus  to  his  message 
(11 : 2  ir.)  had  doubtless  cleared  his  perplexities 
and  removed  lingeringdnubts ;  there  was  noth- 
ing more  to  live  for,  and  to  die  was  gain. 
Nor  is  it  anything  very  dreadful  to  die  sud- 
denly, if  one  has  lived  the  life  of  faith.  This 
murder  of  the  greatest  among  the  prophets  in 
his  dungeon  was  in  itself  hardly  so  shocking 
a  sight,  as  the  scene  yonder  in  the  banqueting 
hall.  There  stood  the  maiden,  her  cheek  still 
flushed  with  her  recent  exertion,  while  the 
guests  sought  to  drown  their  painful  emotions 
in  wine,  and  the  executioner  hastened  on  his 
cruel  errand.  When  the  dish  was  brought, 
with  the  bleeding  head  upon  it,  no  doubt  she 
took  it  daintily  in  her  hands,  lest  a  drop  of 
blood  should  stain  her  gala  dress,  and  tripped 
away  to  her  mother,  as  if  bearing  her  some 
choice  dish  of  food  from  the  king's  table.  It 
was  not  uncommon  to  bring  the  head  of  one 
who  had  been  slain  to  the  person  who  ordered 
it,  as  a  sure  proof  that  the  command  had  been 
obeyed.      When    the   head    of    Cicero    was 


brought  to  Fulvia,  the  wife  of  Antony,  she 
spat  upon  it,  and  drawing  out  the  tongue  that 
had  so  eloquently  opposed  and  condemned 
Antony,  she  pierced  it  with  her  hair-pin, 
with  bitter  gibes.  Jerome  refers  to  this  inci- 
dent, and  says  that  Herodias  did  likewise  with 
the  head  of  John.  We  know  not  his  author- 
ity for  the  assertion,  but  the  darling  desire  of 
the  Herod  family  seems  to  have  been  to  ape 
the  worst  follies  and  cruelties  of  the  Roman 
nobility. 

Antipas  and  his  family  are  not  mentioned 
again  by  Matthew,  but  he  appears  in  Luke 
13 :  31  f.  and  23  :  7-12.  Some  ten  years  later, 
when  Herodias'  scapegrace  brother  Agrippa 
(the  Herod  of  Acts  12)  had,  through  the  friend- 
ship of  the  Emperor  Caligula,  been  appointed 
king  over  the  former  tetrarchy  of  Philip,  this 
ambitious  woman  was  consumed  with  en  vj',  and 
gave  her  husband  no  rest  until,  in  spite  of  his 
love  of  ease  and  his  caution,  he  went  with  her 
to  Rome,  to  see  if  he  could  not  also  be  formally 
declared  king.  But  Agrippa  sent  letters  to 
the  Emperor,  accusing  Antipas  of  treasonable 
correspondence  with  the  Parthians,  upon 
which  he  was  deposed  from  office  and  ban- 
ished to  Gaul  or  Spain  (Jos.  "Ant.,"  18,  7,  2; 
"War,"  2,  9,  6),  whence  he  never  returned. 
The  Emperor  offered  Herodias  her  freedom 
and  her  private  property  for  her  brother's  sake, 
but  she  declared  that  she  loved  her  husband 
too  well  to  forsake  him  in  his  misfortunes ; 
whereupon  she  was  banished  with  him.  One 
fancies  it  was  not  that  she  loved  her  husband 
more,  but  her  brother  less ;  and  it  may  have 
been  a  trick  to  excite  the  young  Emperor's 
sympathies. 

12.  There  were  still  men  who  regarded 
themselves  as  distinctively  John's  disciples. 
iSeeon9:  14.)  But  even  those  who  adhered 
to  him  most  tenaciously  knew  well  how  con- 
stantly he  had  pointed  them  to  Jesus;  and  the 
report  of  the  two  sent  by  John  on  a  mission  of 
inquiry  (n:  2)  must  have  made  its  impression 
on  them.  We  may  therefore  suppose  that 
most  of  them  now  attached  themselves  to 
Jesus.  Some,  however,  continued  to  regard 
John  as  the  Messiah.     Thirty  years  after  thi<s 


Ch.  XIV.] 


MATTHEW. 


821 


we  meet  persons  at  Ephesus,  "  knowing  only 
the  baptism  of  John."  (Acts  is :  25;  19 : 3.)  In  the 
second  century  we  find  a  petty  Gnostic  sect 
who  held  John  to  be  the  Messiah.  The  Greek 
word  translated  corpse  (Rev.  Ver. )  was  not 
very  often  used,  and  was  altered  by  many 
copyists  into  the  somewhat  similar  word 
meaning  body  (Com.  Ver. ),  (likewise  in  Mark 
15 :  46) ;  and  so  buried  him  was  altered  into 
buried  it.     (Comp.  on  24:  28.) 

Thus  ended  the  career  of  John  the  Baptizer. 
(See  on  3:  1 ;  11 :  2,  11 ;  17 :  12  f.  ;  21 :  26-32.) 
The  traits  which  all  remark  as  conspicuous  in 
his  character  are  self-denial,  courage,  and 
humility.  For  many  years  he  lived  a  life  of 
great  hardship  and  loneliness,  that  he  might 
be  better  fitted  for  his  work  as  a  reformer. 
As  to  his  courage  in  speaking  the  truth,  see 
on  V.  4.  His  humility,  in  constantly  turning 
away  attention  from  himself  to  another 
(John  1:29, 86),  and  his  rejoicing  to  see  that  other 
"increase,"  while  he  himself  decreased  (John 
»:»o),  was  so  genuine  and  thorough  that  it 
seems  to  us  a  matterof  course  in  his  character. 
Belfrage  (in  Kitto) :  "In  the  splendor  of 
Christ's  grace  and  truth  John  was  happy  to  be 
darkened,  and  in  such  fame  he  was  content  to 
be  forgotten.  Had  his  honors  been  ten  thou- 
sand times  brighter  than  they  were,  he  would 
have  laid  them  all  at  Christ's  feet.  John  in 
his  ministry  was  not  like  the  evening  star 
— sinking  into  the  darkness  of  night,  but  like 
the  morning  star — lost  to  our  view  in  the 
brightness  of  the  day."  In  one  sense  (see  on 
11:  11),  John  was  really  the  first  Christian 
martyr— an  honor  usually  assigned  to  Stephen. 

HOMILKTICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

V.  1  f.  Herod  the  Tetrarch's  first  knowl- 
edge of  Jesus.  1)  How  ignorant  is  many  a 
ruler  of  the  great  moral  and  religious  move- 
ments going  on  among  his  subjects.  2)  How 
quickly  a  man's  guilty  conscience  will  sup- 
pose any  startling  event  to  be  connected  with 
his  own  wrong  doing.  3)  How  surely  will 
superstition  misinterpret  the  supernatural. 
4)  How  strongly  does  one  crime  tempt  to  the 
commission  of  another. — V.  6.  Hall:  "A 
meet  daughter  for  such  a  mother.  It  is  not  so 
frequently  seen  that  the  child  follows  the 
good  qualities  of  the  parent ;  it  is  seldom  seen 
that  it  follows  not  the  evil.  What  with  tra- 
duction, what  with  education,  it  were  strange 


if  we  should  miss  any  of  our  parent's  misdis- 
positions." — V.  8. — Herodias'  fearful  revenge. 
1)  As  often,  the  offence  had  consisted  simply 
in  telling  the  truth,  v.  4.  2)  Delay  had  made 
the  desire  of  revenge  grow  fierce,  v.  6; 
Mark  6:  19  f.  3)  The  longing  for  revenge 
caused  a  recognized  violation  of  decency,  v.  6. 

4)  The  demand  for  revenge  was  made  with  cir- 
cumstances of  inhuman  cruelty,  v.  8;  Mark 
6:  26.  5)  The  result  was  universal  publicity 
as  to  the  original  crime,  widespread  popular 
reproach,  and  an  uneasy  conscience,  v.  2. 

V.  9.  The  downward  progress  of  wrong- 
doing. 1)  Yielding  to  lust  and  ambition, 
Herod  forms  an  unlawful  marriage.  2)  Un- 
easy through  popular  complaint,  he  tries  to 
make  a  prophet  speak  falsely.  3)  Angered  by 
the  prophet's  refusal,  he  imprisons,  and  wishes 
he  could  dare  to  kill  him.  4)  Won  by  the 
prophet's  wisdom,  he  cannot  preserve  him 
from  the  wiles  of  his   wife,   Mark  6:    19  f. 

5)  Wild  with  drunken  revelry,  he  makes  a 
foolish  promise.  6)  Shocked  and  grieved  at 
the  consequent  demand,  he  yet  has  not  cour- 
age to  refuse.  Plumptre:  "Like  most 
weak  men,  Herod  feared  to  be  thought  weak." 

7)  Dreading  reproach  from  the  guests,  he 
exposes  himself  to  their  utter  contempt;  for 
they  perfectly  understand  the  cause  of  the 
demand  and   the  shame  of  his  compliar.ce. 

8)  Getting  rid  of  the  prophet,  he  falls  a  prey 
to  superstitious  fears  of  the  prophet's  rising 
again,  v.  2.  Hall:  "The  misgrounded  sor- 
row of  worldly  hearts  doth  not  withhold  them 
from  their  intended  sins.  It  is  enough  to  vex, 
not  enough  to  restrain  them.  Herod  was 
sorry,  but  he  sends  the  executioner  for  John's 
head.  .  .  .  Asmany  a  one  doth  good  only  to  be 
seen  of  men,  so  many  a  one  doth  evil  only  to 
satisfy  the  humor  and  opinion  of  others." — 
V.  10.  A  remarkable  death.  1)  Sudden  and 
shocking.  2)  A  relief  from  weary  and  hope- 
less confinement.  3)  An  occasion  of  everlast- 
ing disgrace  to  those  who  inflicted  it.  4)  To 
the  suflferer,  an  introduction  into  eternal  peace 
and  joy.— V.  6-12.  Death  of  .John  the  Bap- 
tist. 1)  An  immodest  performance  chartning 
a  drunken  company,  v.  G.  2)  A  tipsy  man 
indulging  in  magnificent  promises,  v.  7; 
Mark  G:  23.  3)  A  malignant  woman  seizing 
an  opportunity  fi>r  revenge,  v.  8.  4)  A  fool- 
ish pride  of  consistency  leads  a  man  reluct- 
antly   to    do  a    grossly   wicked   deed,    v.    9. 


322 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XIV. 


13  When  Jesus  heard  of  U,  he  departed  thence  by- 
shin  into  a  desert  place  apart:  and  when  the  people 
had  heard  thereof,  they  followed  hiui.on  foot  out  of  the 
cities. 


13  Now  when  Jesus  heard  it.  he  withdrew  from 
thence  iu  a  boat,  to  a  desert  place  apart :  and  when 
the  multitudes  heard  thereqf,  they  followed  himi  ou 


1  Or,  6y  land. 


5)  After  weary  waiting,  a  sudden  death,  v.  10  f. 
— V.  12.  Hknby:  "When  anything  ails 
us  at  any  time,  it  is  our  duty  and  privilege  to 
make  Christ  acquainted  with  it.  .  .  .  John 
had  long  since  directed  his  disciples  to  Christ, 
and  turned  them  over  to  him,  but  they  could 
not  leave  their  old  master  while  he  lived  ; 
therefore  he  is  removed  that  they  may  go  to 
Jesus.  It  is  better  to  be  drawn  to  Christ  by 
want  and  loss  than  not  to  come  to  him  at 
all." 

13-36.  Jksits  Feeds  the  Five  Thou- 
sand, AND  Walks  upon  the  Water. 

We  have  here  three  closely  related  events: 
feeding  the  multitude,  walking  on  the  water, 
healing  the  sick  in  the  Plain  of  Gennesaret. 

1.  13-21.  In  a  Desert  Place  He  Feeds 
THE  Multitude.  Recorded  also  in  Mark  6: 
32-44;  Luke  9:  10-17;  John  6:  1-14.  This  is 
the  first  time  in  the  course  of  Matthew's  Gos- 
pel that  John  has  appeared  as  parallel.  The 
earlier  chapters  of  John,  as  indeed  the  greater 
part  of  his  Gospel,  treat  of  events  and  dis- 
courses which  the  other  Evangelists  have  not 
described.  In  the  present  case,  John  wishes 
to  record  the  great  dis(!ourse  on  the  bread  of 
life  (John6: M-i),  and  he  therefore  describes  the 
miracle  which  occasioned  it.  When  Jesus 
beard  of  it,  he  departed,  as  in  2:  22.  What 
he  heard  maj'  have  been  either  the  death  of 
John  (t.iz),  or  the  fact  that  Herod  considered 
him  to  be  John  risen  from  the  dead.  (v.  i  f.)  It 
rnay  even  be  that  he  heard  both  reports  at 
the  same  time.  At  any  rate,  the  cruel  mur- 
der of  John  showed  what  Herod  was  capable 
of,  and  made  it  obviously  prudent  for  Jesus 
to  withdraw  from  his  dominions,  especially 
now,  when  the  mission  of  the  Twelve  had 
spread  throughout  Galilee  the  expectation 
that  the  reign  of  Messiah  was  about  to  com- 
mence, which  the  people  generally  would  un- 
derstand to  mean  an  eartlily  kingdom,  es- 
tablished by  a  great  conqueror  who  would 
trample  down  the  Herodian  dynasty,  the 
Romans  and  all.  Com  p.  our  Lord's  escape  in 
infancy  from  the  murderous  jealousy  of 
Herod's  father,  excited  by  a  single  inquiry 
after  one  born  king  of  the  Jews.    («:  i  b.)    By 


crossing  to  tho  northeast  of  the  lake,  Jesus 
would  reach  a  very  retired  and  thinly  settled 
region,  belonging  to  the  tetrarchy  of  Philip, 
who  was  a  comparatively  good  ruler  (see  on 
2:  20),  and  to  whose  dominions  he  retired 
several  times  afterwards.  (i5:-29;  i6:i3.)  On  a 
former  occasion  (12:15)  we  have  seen  Jesus 
withdrawing  from  the  persecution  of  the 
Pharisees,  as  he  will  again  do  in  15:  21.  On 
the  evening  of  this  day  (v. 22)  we  shall  find 
him  abandoning  his  chosen  place  of  retire- 
ment, to  check  the  fanaticism  of  the  masses. 
In  fact,  our  Lord  now  enters  upon  a  series  of 
withdrawals,  to  avoid  Herod,  or  the  Pharisees, 
or  his  fanatical  followers.  In  the  present  case 
there  was  a  still  further  reason  (Mark  6: 30  r.;  i.uke 
9;  10),  viz.,  to  seek  a  place  of  rest  for  the  twelve 
apostles,  who  had  just  returned  from  their 
novel,  laborious,  and  very  exciting  mission 
throughout  Galilee.  It  must  have  been 
highly  exciting  to  the  apostles  to  find  that 
they  could  work  miracles,  and  to  proclaim 
with  enthusiasm  the  near  approach  of  the 
Messianic  reign.  (io:7f.)  After  such  a  strain 
for  several  weeks  or  months,  they  sorely 
needed  rest  for  body  and  mind;  and  our 
Lord  has  here  set  us  the  example  of  paying 
regard  to  the  conditions  of  health  and  vigor, 
in  proposing  an  excursion  into  the  country 
for  rest.  (M..rk6:3i.)  We  believe  it  has  never 
been  noticed  that  the  season  of  these  suc- 
cessive withdrawals  was  late  spring  and  sum- 
mer (from  the  Passover  to  near  the  Feast  of 
Tabernacles) ;  and  that  from  the  hot  shores  of 
the  lake,  far  lower  than  the  surface  of  the 
Mediterranean,  he  retired  in  each  case  to  a 
mountain  region — across  the  lake,  to  Tyre, 
to  Decapolis,  to  Cesarea  Philippi.  His  plan 
for  escaping  notice  and  obtaining  rest  was  on 
this  first  occasion  defeated,  as  heretofore  in 
John  4:  6  ff.,  and  hereafter  in  Mark  7:  24  f. 

13.  By  ship.  Rev.  Ver.  in  a  boat,  comp.  on 
4:  21.  Intoadesert  place,  a  thinly  inhabited 
region  (see  on  3:  1),  without  large  towns,  but 
containing  villages,  (v.  is.)  Luke  (»;  10)  shows 
that  the  region  visited  pertained  to  a  city  called 
Bethsaida,  which  must  be  distinct  from  the 
Bethsaida  of  11 :  21  (see  note  there),  for  the 


Ch.  XIV.] 


MATTHEW. 


323 


14  And  Jesus  went  forth,  and  saw  a  great  multitude, 
and  was  moved  with  compassion  toward  them,  and  he 
healed  their  sick. 

15  And  when  it  was  evening,  his  disciples  came  to 
hiiu,  saying.  This  is  a  desert  place,  and  the  time  is 
now  past ;  send  the  multitude  away,  that  they  may  go 
into  the  villages,  and  buy  themselves  victuals. 


14  foot  from  the  cities.  And  he  came  forth  and  saw  a 
great  multitude,  and  he  had  compassion  on  them, 

15  and  healed  their  sick.  And  when  even  was  come, 
thedisciples.cauie  to  him,  saying.  The  place  is  desert, 
and  the  time  is  already  past;  send  the  multitudes 
away,  that  they  may  go  into  the  villages,  and  buy 


disciples  recrossed  the  same  evening  to  Betb- 
saida  in  the  hind  of  Gennesaret  near  Caper- 
naum.     (Mark  6:  45,  53;  John  6:  17,  24.)      BetilSaldaon 

the  eastern  side  of  tiie  Jordan,  a  mile  or  more 
above  its  mouth,  was  rebuilt  and  adorned  by 
Philip  the  Tetrarch  (jns.  ".tnt.,"i8, 2,  i),  under 
the  new  name  of  Julias,  in  honor  of  Julia, 
daughter  of  Augustus;  and  there  Philip  was 
afterwards  buried.  From  the  mouth  of  the 
Jordan  a  plain  extends  along  the  eastern  .shore 
of  the  lake  for  some  three  and  a  half  miles, 
gradually  narrowing  as  the  lake  curves  to- 
wards the  mountain.  This  plain,  while  not 
equal  to  that  of  Gennesaret  on  the  other  side, 
is  mainly  fertile,  and  was  under  careful  culti- 
vation; but  at  its  southern  end  the  mountain 
comes  so  near  the  lake  as  to  make  a  very  re- 
tired locality;  and  on  the  lower  part  of  the 
mountain  sides  are  beautiful  grassy  slopes, 
which  answer  to  all  the  conditions  of  the  nar- 
rative before  us.  The  people  (Rev.  Ver. 
multitudes)  ...  followed  him  on  foot. 
Jesus  obviously  set  out  by  boat  from  Caper- 
naum, or  .eome  place  in  its  vicinity.  The 
excited  crowds  of  people,  seeing  that  the  boat 
was  going  eastward,  across  the  northern  part 
of  the  lake,  hurried  along  the  shore,  and 
passing  around  the  upper  end  of  the  lake, 
reached  the  same  locality  which  the  boat  was 
seeking.  Nay,  so  eagerly  did  they  run  that 
at  least  some  of  them  "outwent"  Jesus  and 
his  disciples  (Mark6:.')3),  who  doubtless  rowed 
slowly,  as  their  object  was  rest,  and  who  pos- 
sibly had  some  distance  to  go  after  they  landed. 
Out  of  the  cities.  From  is  the  exact  trans- 
lation ;  yet  as  they  had  obviously  been  in  the 
cities,  all  the  versions  from  Tyn.  to  K.  James 
render  'out  of,'  precisely  as  in  3:  16.  These 
cities  would  include  Capernaum,  with  perhaps 
Chorazin  and  the  western  Bethsaida,  and  of 
course  the  eastern  Bethsaida,  with  probably' 
others  unknown  to  us.  The  crowd  was  very 
likelj'  augmented  by  persons  from  farther 
north  on  their  way  to  the  Passover  (John  6: 4), 
who  could  be  easily  excited  by  talk  about  the 
Messianic  reign.  The  Jordan  has  a  ford  abotit 
two  miles  above  its  mouth  ;  there  may  have 
been  a  bridge,  though  we  have  no  knowledge 


of  it:  and  there  would  certainly  be  many 
boats,  belonging  to  the  important  city  of 
Bethsaida  Julias,  which  could  cross  the  nar- 
row river  again  and  again  in  a  short  time. 

14.  And  Jesus  Avent  (or,  came)  forth. 
The  word  'Jesus'  was  introduced  into  many 
copies  because  this  was  the  beginning  of  a 
church  "Lesson."  (See  on  13:  30.)  'Came 
forth  '  naturally  means  out  of  the  boat.  Hort, 
Introduction,  ^  138,  thinks  that  this  would 
cause  'followed'  in  Matthew  and  Luke  to 
contradict  'outwent  them  '  in  Mark.  But  it 
is  easy  to  understand  that  the  crowd  set  out 
from  Capernaum  after  the  boat  started,  and 
thus  were  following,  and  yet  that  some  of  them 
reached  the  other  side  before  the  boat  arrived. 
Of  course  'came  forth'  might  mean  from 
some  nook  in  the  mountain,  but  there  is  noth- 
ing to  suggest  that  idea  except  the  supposed 
contradiction.  John  says  (6:3,  r.  v.),  that  he 
'  went  up  into  the  mountain,'  viz.,  the  moun- 
tain range  which  skirts  the  eastern  side  of  the 
lake.  Climbing  leisurely  the  mountain-side, 
and  at  length  sitting  down  with  his  disciples 
for  rest,  he  found  the  crowd  about  him  con- 
tinually increasing.  Though  they  were  dis- 
turbing his  retirement  and  repose,  he  did  not 
repulse  or  turn  away  from  them,  but  '  received 
them.'  (Luke 9: 11.)  Moved  with  compassioH 
toward  them,  (comp.  on  9:  36),  i.  e.,  the 
people  in  general,  though  with  special  refer- 
ence to  their  sick.  This  last  word,  meaning 
literally,  'without  strength,'  is  not  found 
elsewhere  in  Matthew  (though  several  times 
in  Mark),  but  is  substantially  equivalent  to 
that  used  in  10:  8  and  in  '25  :  36-44.  We  learn 
from  Mark  («:s4)  that  he  also  began  to  teach 
them  many  things,  and  from  Luke(9:ii)  that 
he  taught  concerning  the  Jlessianic  reign. 

15-18.  And  when  it  was  evening.  The 
Jews  wore  accustomed  to  distinguish  bcitween 
the  first  eveningand  the  second  evening.  Just 
what  the  distinction  was,  has  not  been  cer- 
tainly determined  ^Edersh.)  ;  it  is  commonly 
supposed  that  the  first  was  from  about  3  p.  M. 
to  sunset,  the  second  from  sunset  on  into  the 
night.  In  v.  23  the  second  evening  is  meant ; 
but  here  iu  v.  15  it  is  the  first  evening;  comp. 


324 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XIV. 


16  But  Jesus  said  unto  them,  They  need  not  depart ;  1 16  themselves  food.    But  Jesus  said  unto  them,  They 


give  ye  them  to  eat. 

17  And  they  say  unto  him,  We  have  here  but  five 
loaves,  and  two  fishes. 

18  He  said.  Bring  them  hither  to  me. 

19  And  he  commanded  the  multitude  to  sit  down  on 
the  grass,  and  took  the  tive  loaves,  and  the  two  fishes, 
and  looking  up  to  heaven,  he  blessed,  and  brake,  and 
gave  the  loaves  to  hu  disciples,  and  the  disciples  to  the 
multitude. 


have  no  need  to  go  away ;  give  ye  them  to  eat. 

17  And  they  say  unto  him.  We  have   here  but  five 

18  loaves,  and  two  fishes.    And  he  said.  Bring  them 

19  hither  to  me.  And  he  commanded  the  multitudes 
to  isit  down  on  the  grass;  and  he  took  the  five 
loaves,  and  the  two  fishes,  and  looking  up  to  heaven, 
he  blessed,  and  brake  and  gave  the  loaves  to  the 


1  Gr.  recline. 


Luke  9  :  12,  "  and  the  day  began  to  decline  " 
(Bible  Union  Ver).  The  disciples  were 
here  simply  the  Twelve.  (Luke9:i2.)  This  is  a 
desert  place,  see  on  v.  13.     The   time  is 

now  past.  The  Greek  expression  is  peculiar, 
and  may  mean  either  'the  time'  as  in  Wye. 
and  King  James,  or  'the  day'  as  in  Tyn. 
For  the  origin  and  uses  of  the  Greek  word, 
see  Lid.  and  Scott  and  Grimm.  Some  have 
rendered,  '  The  hour  (for  taking  food)  is  past,' 
but  this  can  hardly  be  correct.  May  go  into 
the  villages,  small,  unwalled  towns  (see  on 
9:  35),  such  as  might  well  exist  in  the  neigh- 
boring plain,  and  on  the  lower  slopes  of  the 
mountain.  Mark  adds  'fields'  or  'farms'; 
and  Luke  includes  the  idea  of  finding  lodging 
as  well  as  food.  They  did  spend  the  night  in 
that  region.  Give  ye  them  to  eat,  with 
emphasis  on  'ye,'  as  the  Greek  shows.  Mark 
(6:37)  adds  that  the  disciples  asked  if  they 
must  go  away  and  buy  the  value  of  two  hun 
dred  denarii  in  loaves.  This  would  be  about 
thirty  dollars,  and  with  a  purchasing  power 
at  least  ten  times  as  great  as  now.  It  is  not 
in-tended  to  intimate  that  the  disciples  had  so 
much  money,  the  value  of  two  hundred  days' 
labor  (20: 2),  but  rather  the  contrary.  Mark 
and  Luke  add  other  details,  not  in  conflict 
with  Matthew.  But  John  (6:  5-9)  appears  at 
first  sight  to  represent  the  matter  quite  differ- 
ently. There,  Jesus  himself  introduces  the 
subject  of  feeding  the  people,  speaking  of  it 
to  Philip.  He  seems  to  have  made  this  sug- 
gestion to  Philip  at  an  earlier  period,  when 
the  crowd  first  became  very  large  (John  6:  5), 
and  left  it  to  work  upon  his  mind,  in  order  to 
'prove  him'  (comp.  on  4:  1),  viz.,  as  to 
whether  he  would  have  such  faith  in  the  mi- 
raculous powers  of  Jesus  as  to  think  of  his 
feeding  this  vast  crowd  by  a  miracle.  Philip 
had  no  such  thought,  and  said  that  two  hun- 
dred denaries'  worth  of  loaves  would  not  suf- 
fice; but  Andrew,  who  was  standing  by, 
spoke  of  the  boy  with  his  five  barley  loaves 
and  two  fishes.  (John6:9.)     Later  in  the  after- 


noon, we  may  suppose,  the  Twelve  came  to 
Jesus,  as  narrated  by  Matthew,  Mark,  and 
Luke.  Having  heard  of  the  conversation 
with  Philip,  they  naturally  mention  (Mark  6:  37) 
the  same  large  and  round  sum  that  he  had 
spoken  of;  and  the  lad's  supply  of  food  some 
of  the  Twelve  had  by  this  time  purchased  or 
engaged.  In  this  or  some  similar  way,  the 
apparent  discrepancies  may  be  reconciled. 
The  loaves  were  probably  round,  flat  cakes, 
not  large  (Lake  11 :  5),  but  resembling  what  in 
many  parts  of  this  country  are  called  "hoe- 
cakes."  Fish  formed  an  important  part  of 
the  food  of  the  people  living  around  the  lake. 
John  (6:  9,13)  seems  to  take  pains  to  say  that 
the  loaves  were  of  barley,  cheap  and  coarse 
bread.  Jesus  made  no  sumptuous  feast  with 
delicacies,  but  gave  them  homely  and  whole- 
some food. 

19-21.  And  he  commanded  the  multi- 
tudes to  sit  down,  or,  recline,  the  usual  pos- 
ture in  eating,  see  on  8:  11.  The  other  Evan- 
gelists show  that  he  gave  this  command 
through  the  disciples;  what  he  did  through 
them  he  did  himself  (comp.  on  8  :  5).  It  was 
a  pleasant  season  of  the  year,  just  before  the 
Passover  (John 6: 4),  which  was  nearly  the  same 
time  as  our  Easter.  On  the  grass.  John 
(6:10)  says  there  was  much  grass  in  the  place, 
and  Mark  (6:39),  that  it  was  green.  Mark 
also  says  that  he  bade  them  recline  '  by  com- 
panies'  or  banqueting  parties, — "and  they  re- 
clined garden-beds,  garden-beds,  by  hundreds 
and  by  fifties."  Five  thousand  men,  reclin- 
ing in  this  orderly  arrangement  along  the 
green  slope  of  the  mountain,  must  have 
spread  over  an  extensive  space,  probably  sev- 
eral acres,  and  as  the  afternoon  sun  shone  on 
their  bright-hued  Oriental  garments,  they 
looked  like  beds  in  a  flower-garden.  And 
yonder  at  one  end  of  the  area,  with  eyes  up- 
lifted toward  heaven,  stands  the  Wonder- 
worker, who  is  about  to  feed  this  vast  crowd 
with  the  five  loaves  and  two  fishes  now  held 
in  his  hands.      Nor  was   this    arrangement 


Cn.  XIV.] 


MATTHEW. 


325 


20  And  they  did  all  eat,  and  were  filled;  and  they 
took  up  of  the  fragments  that  remained  twelve  baskets 
full. 

21  And  they  that  had  eaten  were  about  five  thousand 
men,  beside  women  and  children. 


20  disciples,  and  the  disciples  to  the  multitudes.  And 
they  did  all  eat,  and  were  filled :  and  they  took  up 
that  which  remained  over  of  the  broken  pieces, 

21  twelve  baskets  full.  And  they  that  did  eat  were 
about  five  thousand  men,  beside  women  and  children. 


merely  beautiful,  but  also  useful.  It  rendered 
the  miracle  manifest,  since  all  could  see  that 
their  supply  came  from  Jesus,  and  that  he 
had  only  the  five  loaves  and  two  fishes.  It 
prevented  selfish  crowding;  for  so  the  feeble, 
including  the  women  and  children,  had  an 
equal  chance  to  be  supplied,  and  the  apostles 
could  move  about  among  the  people  in  an 
orderly  manner,  and  furnish  all  alike.  The 
number  of  persons  present  could  thus  be 
easily  ascertained.  To  count  out  the  groups 
of  fifty  and  a  hundred,  and  arrange  them  in 
this  orderly  fashion,  must  have  required  a 
considerable  time,  yet  Jesus  thought  the  mat- 
ter of  suflicient  importance  to  wait  till  it  could 
be  done.  He  blessed,  may  mean  either 
blessed  God,  or  blessed  the  loaves  and  fishes, 
as  in  Luke  9:  16.  John(6:u;  says  'gave 
thanks,'  Rev.  Ver.  The  same  variety  of 
phrase  occurs  in  the  parallel  miracle  to  this 
(15:36),  and  in  the  accounts  of  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per (see  on  26 :  26).  This  blessing  or  thanks- 
giving seems  to  have  corresponded  with  the 
grace  before  eating,  which  was  customary 
among  the  Jews  as  it  is  among  us.  And  were 
filled,  comp.  on  5:6.  All  got  "as  much  as 
they  would,"  or  trisAcd.  {John6:ii.)  As  to  the 
mode  in  which  the  food  was  multiplied,  we 
can  form  no  conception ;  and  it  is  idle 
to  speculate  concerning  a  matter  so  dis- 
tinctly supernatural.  Observe  how  Veadily 
our  Lord  returns  from  the  supernatural 
to  the  natural.  The  fragments,  etc.,  or  as 
in  Rev.  Ver.,  What  remained  over  of 
the  broken  pieces.  The  last  Greek  term 
is  formed  upon  'broke'  in  v.  19,  and  de- 
notes not  crumbs  made  by  eaters,  but  a  sur- 
plus of  the  pieces  into  which  Jesus  and  the 
disciples  had  broken  the  food.  The  same  ex- 
pression recurs  in  15:  37  The  five  loaves  and 
two  fishes  had  yielded  not  only  enough,  but 
much  to  spare.  Twelve  baskets  full.  The 
Greek  word  is  kophinos,  borrowed  in  Latin 
cophinus,  and  in  English  as  coffin  ;  Wye.  here 
renders  '  cofyns.'  It  was  probably  an  oblong 
basket  of  moderate  size.  A  quite  different 
Greek  word  is  used  in  15:37;  and  the  distinc- 
tion is  maintained  in  16:  9,  10.  AVe  learn 
from  the  satirical  allusions  in  Juvenal  (III. 


14)  that  the  Jews  of  that  age  in  Italy  were  in 
the  habit  of  carrying  a  basket  in  traveling, 
probably  in  order  to  keep  a  supply  of  such 
food  as  they  could  eat  without  ceremonial  de- 
filement; accordingly  we  are  not  surprised  to 
find  baskets  here,  even  when  the  owners  had 
neglected  to  put  food  in  them.  Perhaps  each 
of  the  Twelve  took  a  basket  and  filled  it, 
which  would  account  for  the  number  of  bas- 
kets mentioned.  This  command  to  save  the 
surplus,  'that  nothing  be  lost'  (Joim6:i2),  was 
suited  to  teach  economy.  It  must  be  manifest 
that  we  have  no  right  to  waste  anything,  how- 
ever ample  our  resources,  when  we  see  him 
who  is  the  Lord  of  all,  just  after  multiplj'ing 
a  little  food  into  a  vast  quantity,  now  carefully 
saving  the  surplus  pieces  of  coarse  barley 
bread  and  fish.  Thus  also  the  disciples  had 
constantly  before  them,  for  some  days  at 
least,  a  memento  of  the  extraordinary  mir- 
acle they  had  witnessed.  Lacking  in  spiritual 
susceptibility,  and  living  amid  a  succession  of 
miracles,  they  needed  such  a  reminder.  (See 
Mark  6:  52;  Matt.  16:9.)  Beside  women 
and  children.  The  number  of  these  was 
probably  small  in  proportion  to  the  men,  for 
otherwise  Mark,  Luke,  and  John  would  hardly 
have  omitted  to  mention  them.  In  John  (6:io) 
there  is  possibly  an  allusion  to  them:  "Make 
the  people  recline  ....  sothe  men  reclined.'* 
The  former  term  is  the  general  one,  which 
might  include  women  and  children.  Perhaps 
only  the  men  were  counted  out  in  groups,  the 
women  and  children  being  apart  to  them- 
selves. (See  Blunt,  "Undesigned  Coinci- 
dences," in  Bib.  Comm.) 

Origen,  followed  by  Jerome  and  many 
Fathers,  runs  wild  in  allegorizing  the  bread, 
the  walking  on  the  sea,  etc.  Thus  Jerome 
says  the  lad  with  five  loaves  and  two  fishes 
means  Moses  with  his  five  books  and  two  tables 
of  the  law  ;  and  Origen,  that  the  reclining  by 
hundreds  denotes  consecration  to  the  Divine 
Unity  (the  hundred  being  a  .sacred  number), 
and  reclining  by  fifties  denotes  remission  of 
sin,  through  a  mystical  allusion  to  the  Jubilee 
and  the  Pentecost.  Such  dreadful  stuff  from 
surpassingly  gifted  men  ought  to  be  a  warning 
as  to  the  perils  of  allegorizing.    Some  eminent 


326 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XIV. 


22  And  straightway  Jesus  constrained  his  disciples 
to  get  into  a  ship,  and  to  go  before  him  unto  the  other 
side,  while  ho  sent  the  multitudes  away. 

23  And  when  he  hud  sent  the  multitudes  away,  he 
went  up  into  a  mountain  apart  to  pray  :  and  when  the 
evening  was  come,  he  was  there  alone. 


22  And  straightway  he  constrained  the  disciples  to 
enter  into  the  boat,  and  to  go  before  him  unto  the 
other  side,  till  he  should  send  the  multitudes  away. 

23  And  alter  he  had  sent  the  multitudes  away,  he 
went  up  into  the  mountain  apart  to  pray  :  and  "when 


recent  rationalists  make  equally  ludicrous 
attempts  to  explain  away  this  miracle  and  that 
of  walking  on  the  waves.  If  these  lifelike 
narratives,  given  in  such  vivid  detail  by  all 
four  OJ-ospels,  could  be  considered  to  represent 
mere  legends,  then  the  Gospels  would  be  no- 
where worthy  of  confidence. 

This  great  miracle  of  feeding  the  multitude 
could  not  fail  to  make  a  profound  impression  ; 
and  the  people  who  witnessed  it  took  it  as 
showing  beyond  question  that  "this  is  of  a 
truth  the  prophet  that  cometh  into  the  world" 
(john6:i*,  Rev.  ver.),  i.  e.,  probably  the  prophet 
predicted  by  Moses,  (oeut.  is:  is,  is;  Joim  7 :  21, 25 ; 
7:40;  Acte3:22;  7:37.)  The  Jcws  did  not  all  iden- 
tify 'the  prophet'  with  Messiah;  but  the 
persons  here  concerned  evidently  did,  for 
tkey  were  on  the  point  of  coining  and  seizing 
Jesus  to  make  him  a  king.  (Johu6:i5.)  It  was 
probably  their  design  to  carry  him  with  them 
to  Jerusalem  to  the  approaching  Passover, 
and  there  proclaim  him  the  anointed  king, 
whether  he  consented  or  not.  Perhaps  they 
were  all  the  more  disposed  at  this  time  to  rise 
against  Herod  and  the  Romans,  from  indigna- 
tion at  the  recent  outrageous  murder  of  John 
the  Baptist.     (Jos-  '•  Ant.,-  is,  5, 2.) 

II.  22-33.  Jesus  "Walks  Upok  the 
"Water.  Found  also  in  Mark  6:  45-52; 
John  6:  16-21.  Luke  here  begins  to  shorten 
his  narrative,  continuing  to  do  so  up  to  9:  50. 
Jesus,  or  he,  constrained.  Here  again,  as 
in  v.  14,  the  word  Jesus  was  interpolated  by 
copyists,  because  a  "Lesson"  began  at  this 
point.  '  Constrained '  is  more  exactly  ren- 
dered 'compelled,'  as  in  Wye,  Gen.  There 
was  no  use  in  staying  there  any  longer.  The 
hope  of  rest  was  gone,  and  the  fame  of  this 
great  miracle  would  only  increase  the  popular 
excitement,  and  augment  the  danger  of  arous- 
ing the  jealousy  of  his  enemies.  So  Jesus 
determines  to  return  to  the  west  side  of  the 
lake,  where  we  shall  find  him  the  next  day  busy 
healing  the  sick  (v.  34),  and  teaching  in  the  syna- 
gogue.   (John  6: 24, 59.)  Shortly  after  he  will  with- 


draw in  a  different  direction,  to  the  borders  of 
Phenicia  (i5: 21) ;  comp.  above  on  v.  13.  For  the 
present  he  wishes  to  be  alone;  so  he  proceeds 
to  break  up  the  vast  gathering,  and  begins  by 
separating  the  disciples  from  the  people  and 
himself.  They  were  naturally  slow  to  leave 
the  scene  of  so  astonishing  a  miracle.  It  is 
also  likely  that  they  sympathized  not  a  little 
with  the  popular  disposition  to  coerce  Jesus 
into  assuming  the  crown  and  sceptre  of  Mes- 
siah. (JoUn6:iD.)  Possibly,  too,  they  saw  indi- 
cations of  the  coming  adverse  wind,  and 
dreaded  such  a  storm  as  that  of  8:  23.  What- 
ever was  the  cause  of  their  reluctance,  Jesus 
'compelled  them,'  of  course  by  earnestly  en- 
joining it.  Unto  the  other  side.  Mark 
(6:45)  adds  'to  Bethsaida,'  and  John  (6:17, Rev. 
ver.)  saj's  they  '  were  going  over  the  sea  unto 
Capernaum ' ;  see  above  on  v.  13.  It  would 
seem  strange  to  be  compelled  to  leave  the 
sacred  spot,  the  interested  crowds,  the  Master 
himself.  So  we,  too,  must  often  do  what  the 
Lord  in  his  providence  and  his  word  clearly 
requires,  even  when  it  seems  to  us  a  strange 
and  painful  course.  While  he  sent,  etc.  ; 
Rev.  Ver.,  more  accurately,  till  he  should 
dismiss  the  multitudes.^  This  he  proba- 
bly did  by  going  about  among  them,  saying 
that  he  should  do  nothing  more  that  day,  and 
requesting  them  to  disperse.  They  noticed, 
however,  that  he  did  not  go  with  the  dis- 
ciples, and  having  now  no  occasion  for 
anxiety  about  food,  they  spent  the  night  in 
that  vicinity.  (John6:22.)  He  went  up  into 
a  (the)  mountain,  on  the  east  of  the  lake. 

(john6:3;  aeeabovenn  V.  14.)      We  may    SUppoSC  that 

he  had  come  down  towards  the  shore  to  see  the 
disciples  off,  and  now  '  departed  again '  (John 
6: 15)  to  the  mountain,  and  went  up  into  a  higher 
and  more  secluded  portion.  Here  in  the 
mountain  solitude  and  mild  spring  air  he  con- 
tinued the  greater  part  of  the  night  (v.  25)  in 
prayer.  Jesus  not  only  prayed  regularly  and 
frequently  (Marki:  35;  LuneS:  16;  u :  i),  but  whcn 
any  special  exigency  in  his  life  ".rose  he  spent 


1  'Till  he  should  dismiss'  is  the  necessary  rendering  j  dismissed,'  Tyn.  and  followers,  would  represent  heos  and 
of  heos  and  the  subjuncUoe.    So  Bheims.    "  While  he  I  the  indicative. 


Ch.  XIV.] 


MATTHEW. 


327 


24  But  the  ship  was  now  in  the  midst  of  the  sea, 
tossed  with  waves:  for  the  wind  was  contrary. 

25  And  in  tlie  fourth  watch  of  the  night  Jesus  went 
unto  them,  walking  on  the  sea. 


24  even  was  come,  he  was  there  alone.    But  the  boat 
iwas  now  in  the  uiidst  of  the  sea,  distressed  by  the 

25  waves;   for  the  wind  was  contrary.     And  in   the 
fourth  watch  of  the  night  he  came  unto  them,  walli- 


1  Some  aucieut  authorities  remd,  via*  many  furlongt  distant  from  the  land. 


much  time  in  special  prayer;  e.  g.,  when  he 
was  about  to  select  the  twelve  apostles  (Luke 
3:  n),  and  in  the  agony  of  Gethseniane.  The 
occasion  for  protracted  prayer  in  the  present 
instance  appears  to  have  been  that  the  strong 
popular  desire  to  make  him  a  king,  together 
with  the  jealousy  of  Herod  and  of  the  Phari- 
sees, increased  the  difficulty  of  his  position, 
and  made  liim  deeply  feel  the  need  of  his 
Fathers  direction  and  support.  Through  this 
fanatical  crowd,  Satan  was  again  offering  him 
worldly  dominion  upon  condition  of  pursuing 
a  worldly  policy.  («:8f.)  His  earnest  teaching 
throughout  the  day  as  to  the  Messianic  reign 
(Luke  9 :  u ),  had  not  corrected  the  popular  misap- 
prehensions; he  could  not  bring  the  people  to 
his  views,  could  not  conform  to  their  views; 
and  if  he  refused,  they  would  sooner  or  later 
turn  against  him,  and  encourage  the  rulers  to 
destroy  him. 

24  f.  It  seems  likely  from  the  use  of  'even- 
ing'    in     V.    23     (Mark  6: 47;  John  6:  16),     and     from 

other  expressions  of  John,  that  already  in 
the  early  part  of  the  night  the  disciples  had 
gone  out  into  the  midst  of  the  lake,  and  there 
continued  to  be  harassed  by  the  fierce  op- 
posing wind  until  towards  morning.  The 
ship  (boat)  was  now  in  the  midst  of  the 


sea,  John  (6:i»)  says  they  had  gone  'about 
five  and  twenty  or  thirty  furlongs,'  from 
three  to  three  and  a  half  miles  (the  stadion 
being  less  than  our  furlong),  when  they 
saw  Jesus  walking,  etc.*  From  the  prob- 
able place  of  feeding  the  five  thousand 
across  to  Capernaum  (Tel  Hum),  is  about 
four  and  a  half  miles.  The  attempt  of  some 
critics  to  make  out  an  error  here,  by  insisting 
that  'the  midst '  must  mean  the  mathematical 
middle,  is  simply  puerile.  Tossed,  literally, 
tortured,  as  in  8:  6,  29.  While  the  Com.  Ver. 
has  here  '  tossed,'  and  in  Mark  6  :  48  '  toiling,' 
it  translates  the  same  word  '  tormented '  in  8: 
6,  29.  For  the  wind  was  contrary.  John 
adds  that  it  was  a  'great  wind.'  It  might 
seem  that  this  statement  shows  they  had  sails, 
contrary  to  what  has  been  said  on  4:  21 ;  but 
Mark  says  they  were  '  toiling'  (or  distressed) 
in  rowing,  for  the  wind  was  contrary,'  etc.'' 
Jesus  saw  them  thus  harassed  (Mark6:4«),  but 
for  a  long  time  did  not  go  to  them.  When 
they  were  in  the  former  storm  (8:24),  he  was 
with  them,  and  they  only  needed  to  awake 
him;  but  now  he  had  compelled  them  to 
start,  and  had  remained  ashore.  Thus  their 
faith  was  more  severely  tried,  and  thereby  in 
the  end  increased.     In  the  fourth  watch  of 


1  B,  several  cursives,  and  the  Old  Syriac,  Peshito,  and 
Jerusalem  Syriac,  the  Armenian,  and  some  other  ver- 
sions read  '  the  boat  was  many  furlongs  distant  from 
the  land '  (so  W  H.  and  margin  Rev.  Ver.).  The  ques- 
tion is  whether  Matt,  was  here  assimilated  by  copyists 
to  John  (see  al>ove)  or  to  Mark  6:  47, '  the  boat  was  in 
the  mi(Lst  of  the  sea.'  It  is  not  easy  to  decide  this  ques- 
tion, and  it  makes  no  substantial  difference,  since  both 
expressions  occur  in  the  other  Gospels.  The  Mephitic 
version  was  certainly  conformed  to  John,  for  it  reads 
'  about  twenty-five  furlongs.' 

*0n  March  27,  1871,  the  writer  and  a  friend  went  in 
a  boat  from  Tubariyeh  (Tiberias)  to  the  probable  place 
of  feeding  the  fivj  th  >usand.     The  day  was  hot,  and 
the  lM>atmen  reluctant  to  cross.    When  within  a  mile 
or  two  of  the  shore  they  ceased  rowing  and  listened,  | 
and  the  leader  said,  "  Bad,  sir,  bad."    Faint  in  the  dis- 
tance, on  the  we8t«rn  side,  we  heard  the  sound  of  wind, 
rushing  down  the  ravines.    The  boatmen  then  liegan  i 
to  row  with  all  their  might,  but  before  we  reached  land 
the  lake  was  much  rufllo<l.     We  went  some  half  a  mile  i 
ap  the  nearer  sl'pes,  finding  beautiful  grassy  spots,  one  I 


in  particular,  well-suited  to  be  the  sceneof  the  miracle, 
and  when  we  returned  found  the  lake  perfectly  furious. 
From  noon  till  nearly  sunset  this  continued;  even 
when  the  wind  ceased,  the  billows  subsided  very  slowly. 
At  la.st  the  boat  was  pushed  out  from  its  liarlmr  in  a 
little  crooked  stream,  and  being  borne  through  the  surf 
on  the  shoulders  of  the  men,  we  entered  it  and  at- 
tempted to  cross  the  lake.  But  the  waves  were  still  so 
fierce  that  we  could  make  no  headway  airainst  them. 
So  the  boatmen  turned  and  kept  near  the  shore  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Jordan.  Bursting  through  a  wall  of 
water  caused  by  the  lake-waves  opposing  the  current, 
we  remained  in  the  river  some  time;  and  then  creeping 
around  the  western  shore,  with  the  waves  still  trouble- 
some, we  reached  Tubariyeh  towards  midnight.  It  was 
the  same  season  of  the  year,  a  ffw  days  l)efore  Kiister, 
and  the  same  western  wind  was 'contrary '  ;  but  for- 
tunately for  us  it  blew  itself  out  in  the  daytime,  while 
we  were  ashore.  Our  rude  boat,  with  its  unskillful 
boatmen,  could  not  possibly  have  lived  if  we  had  met 
the  storm  in  the  midst  of  the  lake. 


328 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XIV. 


26  And  when  the  disciples  saw  him  w  alking  on  the 
sea,  they  were  troubled,  saying.  It  is  a  spirit;  and  they 
cried  out  for  lear. 

27  But  straightway  Jesus  spake  unto  them,  saying, 
Be  of  good  cheer ;  it  is  I ;  be  not  afraid. 

28  And  Peter  answered  him,  and  said.  Lord,  if  it  be 
thou,  bid  me  come  unto  thee  on  the  water. 

29  And  he  said.  Come.  And  when  Peter  was  come 
down  out  of  the  ship,  he  walked  on  the  \yater,  to  go  to 
Jesus. 

30  But  when  he  saw  the  wind  boisterous,  he  was 
afraid  ;  and  beginning  to  sink,  he  cried,  saying.  Lord, 
save  me. 

31  And  immediately  Jesus  stretched  forth  his  hand, 
and  caught  him,  and  said  unto  him,  O  thou  of  little 
faith,  wherefore  didst  thou  doubt? 


26  ing  upon  the  sea.     And  when  the  disciples  saw  him 
walking  on  the  sea,  they  were  troubled,  saying.  It  is 

27  an  apparition;  and  they  cried  out  for  fear.    But 
straightway  Jesus  spake  unto  them,  saying,  Be  of 

28  good  cheer;  it  is  I:  be  not  afraid.    And  Peter  an- 
swered him  and  said,  Lord,  if  it  be  thou,  bid  me  come 

29  unto  thee  upon  the  waters.     And  he  said,  Come. 
And  Peter  went  down  from  the  boat,  and  walked 

30  upon  the  waters,  i  to  come  to  Jesus.    But  when  he 
saw  the  wind,^  he  was  afraid;   and  beginning  to 

31  sinkj  he  cried  out,  saying,  Lord,  save  me.    And  im- 
mediately Jesus  stretched  forth  his  hand,  and  took 


1  Some  ancieai  auiliorities  read,  and  came.    3  Miiny  anolent  authorities  add,  ttrong. 


the  night.  The  ancient  Hebrews  divided  the 
night,  probably  the  period  from  sunset  to  sun- 
rise, into  three  watches  (Judg.  7  :  19;  Lam.  2: 19;  Kx.  u  : 

M;  isam.  11:  11.)  The  Greeks  appear  to  have 
had  the  same  division.  But  after  Pompey's 
conquest,  B.  c.  63,  the  Jews  gradually  adopted 
the  Roman  fashion  of  four  watches  (comp. 
Mark  13 :  35,  and  see  Wieseler, "  Synopsis,"  p. 
371).  At  this  season  of  the  year,  soon  after 
the  vernal  equinox  (Johu6:4),  the  'fourth 
watch'  would  be  from  about  three  to  six 
o'clock.  We  have  no  means  of  determining 
more  exactly  the  time  of  Jesus'  coining. 
Jesus  went  (literally,  he  came)  unto  them. 
The  name 'Jesus'  was  added  by  some  copy- 
ists, to  make  the  statement  plainer.  In  like 
manner  the  common  Greek  text  has  'came' 
changed  to  'went  away.'  Mark  adds,  'and 
he  would  have  passed  by  them.'  Literally, 
wished  to  pass.  This  might  perhaps  be  un- 
derstood in  a  weakened  sense,  as  nearly  equiv- 
alent to  the  phrase,  'would  have  passed'  ;  bu" 
it  more  probably  means  that  judging  from  hi.s- 
actions  he  wished  to  pass.  Comp.  Luke  24 :  28. 
26  f.  When  the  disciples  saw  him. 
They  all  saw  him  (Mark6:50);  and  near  the  boat 
(John  6: 19.)  It  is  a  Spirit,  an  apparition  is  the 
exact  rendering.  In  Luke  24:  37,  40,  'spirit' 
represents  the  Greek  word  commonly  so  trans- 
lated. The  disciples  believed  in  apparitions, 
as  did  all  the  Jews  (except  the  Sadducees  , 
and  as  all  nations  seem  naturally  disposed  to 
do.  The  opinions  of  the  Twelve  at  that  time 
have  no  authority  for  us,  since  they  had  many 


erroneous  notions  from  which  only  the  subse- 
quent inspiration  of  the  Comforter  delivered 
them.  Be  of  good  cheer,  Tyn.  and  follow- 
ers, is  more  exactly  'courage,'  as  in  9:  2,  22; 
weak  faith  made  them  cowardly,  see  on  8:  26. 
Jesus  spoke  straightway,  in  his  kind  desire 
to  free  them  at  once  from  their  fear.  It  is  I. 
They  would  recognize  his  voice. 

28-31.  This  incident  is  recorded  by  Mat- 
thew only.  Lord,  11'  it  be  (is)  thou.  The 
form  of  expression  implies  that  he  takes  for 
granted  it  is  the  Lord.  Instead  of  '  Lord '  we 
might  translate  'Master,'  (Tyn.,  Cran.),  see 
on  8 :  19.  Seeing  Jesus  thus  walking  on  the 
water,  Peter  immediately  felt  the  desire  nat- 
ural to  bold  spirits  to  do  anything  which  they 
see  others  do  ;  and  under  a  sudden  impulse  of 
confidence  in  Jesus — mingled,  no  doubt,  with 
his  usual  self-confidence — he  proposed  and 
undertook  to  walk  upon  the  water  himself. 
We  must  remember  that  the  Twelve,  on  their 
recent  mission,  had  been  empowered  to  work 
miracles..(ift:  «•)  Perhapsalso  he  was  prompted 
by  the  desire  to  get  near  his  loved  teacher  as 
soon  as  possible,  as  in  John  21 :  7.  Jesus  con- 
sented to  his  coming.  Peter  would  thus  learn 
a  needed  lesson  in  the  only  way  in  which  such 
confident  spirits  will  learn,  viz.,  from  experi- 
ence. Walked  on  the  water,  literally, 
waters,  the  plural  being  an  imitation  of  the 
Hebrew  word  for  water,  which  is  used  only  in 
tlie  plural;  so  in  v.  28;  Mark  9:  22;  John 
3:  23.  To  go  to  Jesus.  The  marginal  read- 
ing of  Rev.  Ver.,   'and  came   to  Jesus,'*  is 


1 '  And  came '  is  the  reading  of  B,  C,  Old  Syriac,  Ar- 
menian, Chrysostom.  It  is  the  more  difficult  reading, 
easily  changed  by  copyists  into  the  other,  and  yet  not 
impossible,  seeing  that  he  did  really  come  to  Jesus,  and 
was  within  arm's  length  when  he  began  to  sink.  In  v. 
30  'strong'  is  not  found  in  «>  B  (first  hand),  33,  Mem- 


phitic.  The  addition  of  this  word  would  be  very  nat- 
urally suggested,  and  yet  if  it  had  been  originally 
present  we  can  see  no  reason  why  any  copyist  should 
have  wished  its  omission.  Therefore  we  may  decide 
that  it  did  not  belong  to  the  original  text. 


Ch.  XIV.] 


MATTHEW. 


329 


32  And  when  they  were  come  into  the  ship,  the  wind 
ceased. 

33  Then  they  that  were  in  the  ship  came  and  wor- 
shipped him,  saying,  Of  a  truth  thou  art  the  Son  of 
God. 

34  And  when  they  were  gone  over,  they  came  into 
the  laud  of  Gennesaret. 


32  hold  of  him,  and  saith  unto  him,  Othou  of  little  faith, 
wherefore  uidst  thou  doubt?    And  when  tliey  were 

33  gone  up  into  the  boat,  the  wind  ceased.  And  they 
that  were  in  the  boat  worshipped  him,  saying.  Of 
a  truth  thou  art  the  Son  of  God. 

34  And  when  they  had  crossed  over,  they  came  to  the 


very  likely  correct;  it  would  make  the  lesson 
more  striking,  to  Peter  and  to  us,  for  thus  his 
faith  failed  when  his  task  was  almost  finished. 
When  he  saw  the  wind.  Boisterous,  or 
strong,  is  an  unwarranted  addition.  O  thou 
of  little  faith,  see  on  6:  30  and  8:  26.  He 
does  not  say  'of  no  faith.'  And  he  does  not 
rebuke  Peter's  self-confident  presumption,  but 
his  weakness  of  faith,  just  as  in  8:  10,  he  com- 
mends the  centurion's  faith  rather  than  his 
humility;  see  also  15:  28.  Of  course  faith 
wotild  have  no  natural  power  to  keep  him 
from  sinking,  as  it  would  in  swimming,  be- 
cause he  was  performing  a  supernatural  act ; 
God  chose  to  put  honor  upon  faith  by  enabling 
him  to  do  this,  so  long  as  he  did  not  doubt. 
Peter  must  have  felt  a  wholesome  shame  and 
confusion  at  the  result  of  his  bold  attempt,  but 
the  other  disciples  had  no  time  to  notice  it,  nor 
he  himself  to  be  greatly  pained,  because  all 
were  engrossed  with  admiration  for  the  won- 
der-worl<ing  power  of  Jesus. 

32  f.  And  when  they  were  come  into 
the  ship.  Gone  up,  represents  the  correct 
Greek  text,  and  not  simply  'come  into.' 
John  says  («:  21)  'They  were  willing  therefore 
to  receive  him  into  the  ship,'  or  boat.  At  first 
they  had  feared  him  as  an  apparition  ;  but 
the  well-known  voice,  and  the  words  and 
deeds  of  love,  overcame  all  their  fear.  The 
wind  ceased,  and  the- boat  which  had  been 
far  out  on  the  lake,  was  immediately  at  the 
land.  (JohiiB:  21.)  These  things  naturally  made 
a  great  impression  on  their  minds.  They 
that  were  in  the  ship  {boat)  is  a  general 
expression,  and  might  include  not  merely 
the  Twelve,  but  other  persons  who  aided  in 
managing  the  boat ;  as  in  8:  27.  Came  and 
worshipped  him."  It  is  difficult  to  deter- 
mine whether  their  worship  or  prostration 
(comp.  on  2:  2),  was  simfjy  reverence  to  a 
man.  or  real  worship  as  to  the  Deity.  And  so 
as  to  the  phrase  thou  art  the  Son  of  God, 
which  hert  occurs  for  the  first  time  in  Matthew.  ' 


It  seems  clear  that  by  this  designation  the 
Jews,  including  the  disciples,  meant  the  Mes- 
siah. (16: 16;  26:«;  27:  40,43,51;  John  1 :  49  ;  6:69.)     But 

they  appear  to  have  had  very  vague  ideas  as 
to  the  purport  of  the  expression.  The  High 
Priest  spoke  of  Messiah  as  the  Son  of  God 
{•26: 63),  while  they  by  no  means  regarded  Mes- 
siah as  divine.  The  Jews  called  Jesus  a  blas- 
phemer for  speaking  of  himself  as  the  Son  of 
God  (John  10:33;  19:7),  but  they  Called  many 
things  blasphemy'  in  which  there  was  no  as- 
sumption of  divinity.  (C<>mp,  on  9:  3.)  This 
saying  of  the  disciples  shows  a  decided  ad- 
vance on  that  of  8:  27,  but  we  must  not  press 
it  into  meaning  all  that  we  should  mean  by 
the  same  expression.  Mari<  (6:  52)  censures 
their  astonishment  at  Ihis  miracle,  for  which 
the  miracle  of  the  loaves  would  have  prepared 
them  if  their  minds  had  not  been  stupid  and 
dull.  This  language  of  Mark  does  not  neces- 
sarily forbid  the  supposition  that  they  were 
now  convinced  Jesus  was  divine;  but  it  best 
falls  in  with  the  idea  that  they  were  at  a  lower 
standpoint. 

We  have  thus  had,  v.  13-33,  another  inter- 
esting account  (comp.  on  13:  1)  of  a  whole 
day  in  our  Saviour's  busy  life.  See  "A  Day 
in  the  Life  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,"  in  Way- 
land's  "University  Sermons." 

III.  34-36.  After  Fkeding  the  Five 
Thousand,  Jestjs  Rkvisits  the  Plain  of 
Gennesabet.  Found  also,  with  further 
details,  in  Mark  6:  63-56.  When  they  were 
gone  over,  the  same  word  as  in  9:  1.  They 
came  into  the  land,  etc.  The  general 
statement  is  first  made,  'they  came  into  (or 
upon)  the  land,'  came  to  shore,  and  this  is 
followed  by  the  more  particular  statement 
'untoGennesaret.'  The  relation  between  the 
two  clauses  not  being  understood  by  some 
copyists  or  early  students,  it  was  easily 
changed  into  'they  came  unto  the  land  of 
Gennesaret,'  as  in  the  common  Greek  text  and 
the  Com.  Version.     Gennesaret  was  the  name 


1  The  prefixed  term  "  came  "  or '  coming '  of  the  com-  1  than  ita  omiuion ;  so  it  is  not  probably  a  part  of  the 
mon  Greelt  text  is  wanting  in  some  of  theearllest  docu-    text, 
ments,  and  we  can  more  readily  explain  its  iosertion  ' 


330 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XIV. 


36  And  when  the  men  of  that  place  had  knowledge 
of  him,  they  sent  out  into  all  that  country  round  about, 
and  brought  unto  him  all  that  were  diseased; 

36  Ami  Desougbt  him  that  they  might  only  touch  the 
hem  of  his  garment :  and  as  many  as  touched  were 
made  pertectly  whole. 


35  land,  unto  Gennesaret.  And  when  the  men  of  that 
place  knew  him,  they  sent  into  all  that  region  round 
about,  and  brought   unto  him  all  that  were  sick; 

36  and  they  besougut  him  that  they  might  only  touch 
the  border  of  his  garment:  and  as  many  as  touched 
were  made  whole. 


ofapliiin  lying  on  the  northwest  side  of  the 
lake,  about  three  and  a  half  miles  long,  and  at 
some  points  over  two  miles  wide.  It  is  glow- 
ingly described  by  Josephus  ("  w»r,"  s,  lo,  s)  as  of 
unrivaled  beauty,  fertility,  and  variety  of  pro- 
ducts ;  and  modern  travelers  find  his  statements 
justified,  if  we  make  allowance  for  the  present 
wretched  cultivation  and  paucity  of  inhab- 
itants. Stanley:  " No  less  than  four  springs 
pour  forth  their  almost  full  grown  rivers 
through  the  plain ;  the  richness  of  the  soil 
displays  itself  in  magnificent  wheat  fields; 
whilst  along  the  shore  rises  a  thick  jungle  of 
thorn  and  oleander,  abounding  in  birds  of 
brilliant  colors  and  various  forms."  The  soil 
is  a  dark  loam,  very  rich  ;  and  by  irrigation 
will  produce  three  crops  a  year.  We  know  of 
no  large  city  in  this  plain.  Capernaum  was 
pretty  certainly  at  Tel  Hum,  further  north 
(see  on  4  :  13) ;  and  Chorazin  was  probably  at 
Keraseh,  up  in  the  hills  (see  on  11:  21). 
Whether  the  considerable  ruins  in  the  northern 
angle  of  the  plain  represent  the  western  Beth- 
saida,  so  often  mentioned  with  Capernaum 
and  Chorazin,  we  cannot  determine.  At  the 
southern  angle  of  the  plain  are  a  few  huts 
called  Mejdel,  doubtless  the  ancient  Magdala, 
the  home  of  Mary  Magdalene.  From  this 
remarkable  plain  the  Sea  or  Lake  of  Galilee 
was  sometimes  called  Lake  of  Gennesaret. 
(Lake5:i.)  Had  knowledge  of  (t.  e.,  knev)) 
him,  or  recognized  him.  Mark  adds 
'straightway;'  they  might  well  recognize 
him  at  once,  for  he  had  labored  much  in  that 
vicinity.  All  that  country  round  about, 
as  in  3:  5.  All  that  were  diseased,  or  ill, 
the  same  phrase  as  in  4:  24.  That  they 
might  touch,  a  non-final  use  of  the  Greek 
conjunction,  see  on  5:  29.  The  hem  (or  bor- 
der) of  his  garment,  see  on  9:  20  f.  The 
healing  there  recorded  took  place  at  Caper- 
naum not  long  before,  and  probably  encour- 
aged the  persons  here  mentioned.  Were 
made  perfectly  whole,  literally,  were 
thoroughly  saved  (healed\  a  compound  of  the 
verb  used  in  9:  21.  Mark  (6:54ff.)  gives  fur- 
tlier  details,  showing  Jesus  as  entering  intn 
cities,  villages,  and  country  places,  and  every- 


where healing  the  sick,  which  probably  occu- 
pied several  days.  Weiss  thinks  it  incredible 
that  there  were  now  so  many  sick  to  be  healed 
in  the  region  of  Jesus'  common  residence. 
But  he  had  been  absent  some  time,  on  the 
journey  about  Galilee  (n ;  i),  and  the  season 
of  malarial  fevers  had  come.  For  previous 
instances  of  a  general  statement  concerning 
numerous  miracles  of  healing,  see  4 :  23  f . ; 
8:  16;  9:  35. 

On  the  morning  after  the  five  thousand  were 
fed,  they  came  across  in  borrowed  boats  to 
Capernaum,  and  crowded  into  the  synagogue, 
where  Jesus  was  teaching.  To  this  idle  and 
gaping  crowd,  delighted  at  getting  plenty  to 
eat  without  working,  he  addressed  the  great 
discourse  of  John  6:  26-59. 

HOMILKTICAL  AND  PRACTICAL. 

V.  13  f.  Jesus  here  an  example.  1)  In  pru- 
dently withdrawing  from  danger.  2)  In  seek- 
ing bodily  and  mental  rest  for  himself  and 
his  disciples,  comp.  Mark  6:  31.  3)  In  re- 
linquishing needed  rest  in  order  to  do  men 
good,  V.  14,  comp.  John  4:  6  flf.—V.  14-21. 
Feeding  the  multitude.  1)  A  lesson  in  com- 
passion, v.  14  f.  2)  A  lesson  in  obedience,  v. 
16-18.  3)  A  lesson  in  order,  v.  19.  4)  A  . 
lesson  in  economy,  v.  20.  5)  A  lesson  as  to 
the  harmony  of  the  natural  and  the  super- 
natural, v.  20  f.— V.  19.  Hall:  "What  an 
honor  was  this  to  thy  servants,  that  as  thou 
wert  Mediator  betwixt  thy  Father  and  men, 
so  thou  wouldst  have  them,  in  some  beneficial 
occasion,  mediate  betwixt  men  and  thee." — 
V.  23.  Occasional  seasons  of  retirement  for 
long-continued  prayer,  whether  to  a  private 
apartment,  or  to  the  solitude  of  nature,  are 
much  needed  in  this  hurried  age.  There  is 
something  very  impressive  in  the  still  deptlis 
of  a  forest,  or  the  recesses  of  a  mountain,  as  a 
scene  of  solitary  prayer  "The  groves  were 
God's  first  temples"  ;  and  the  noblest  houses 
of  worship  cannot  so  powerfully  appeal  to  our 
feelings  of  devotion.  Chrys.  :  "The  wilder- 
ness is  the  mother  of  quiet;  it  is  a  calm  and  a 
harbor,  delivering  us  from  all  turmoils." 

V.  24.  Hknrt:  "  Though  troubles  and  diflS- 


Ch.  XV.] 


MATTHEW. 


331 


CHAPTER    XV. 


niHEN  came  to  Jesus  scribes  and  Pharisees,  whicli  |    1      Then  there  come  to  Jesus  from  Jenfealem  Phari- 


were  of  Jerusalem,  saying, 


culties  may  disturb  us  in  our  duty,  they  must 
not  drive  us  from  it;   but  througii  the  midst 
of  them   we   must    press    forward." — V.   25. 
"Man's  extremity  is  God's  opportunity." — 
V.  26.     Hexky:   "Most  of  our  danger  from 
outward   troubles    arises    from    the  occasion 
they  give  for  inward  troubles." — V.   24-27. 
Danger  and  deliverance.    1)  Perilous  struggles 
long-continued  make  us  deeply  feel  our  need 
of  help.     2)  Approaching  deliverance  some- 
times  wears  an  alarming  aspect,   v.   26.     3) 
Divine    encouragement    is   given    "straight- 
way," just  as  soon  as  it  is  really  best  for  us, 
V.  27.     4)  In  life's  worst  trials,  to  recognize 
the  Saviour's  voice  brings  courage  and  hope. 
5)  Storm  and  struggle  make  us  enjoy  more 
the  calm  that  follows,  and  appreciate  more 
highly  the  Lord  who  delivers  us  (v.  32  f.). — 
V.  28-31.     Walking  the  waves.     1)   The  in- 
stinct of  imitation.     2)  Self-appointed  tests  of 
divine  presence  and  power.   3)  Self-confidence 
often   curiously  blended   with   confidence  in 
the  Lord.     4)   There  is  frequently  strength 
enough  to  complete  a  task,  and  then  collapse 
at  the  close,  v.  29,  margin  of  Rev.  Ver.     5) 
Happy  the  man  whose  conscious  helplessness 
leads  him  to  cry  for  divine  help.    6.)  Many  an 
experience  makes  us  take  shame  to  ourselves, 
and  give  glory  to  God. — V.  27.    Hall  :  "  Let 
heaven  be  but  as  one  scroll,  and   let   it  be 
written  all  over  with  titles,  they  cannot  ex-  j 
press  more  than  'It  is  I.'  " — V.  28.     Henry: 
"The  boldest  spirits  must  wait  for  a  call  to 
hazardous  enterprises,  and  we  must  not  rashly  I 
and  presumptuously  thrust    ourselves    upon 
them."— V.  30.     Henry:   "  Looking  at  diffi- 
culties with  an  eye  of  sense,  more  than  at  pre- 
cepts and  promises  with  an  eye  of  faith,  is  at 
the  bottom  of  all  our  individual  fears,  both  as 

to  public  and  personal  concerns When 

faith  is  weak,  prayer  should  be  strong." — V. 
8L  Henry:  "Our  doubts  and  fears  would 
soon  vanish  before  a  strict  inquiry  into  the 
cause  of  them.'' — V.  35.  Henry:  "Those 
that  have  got  the  knowledge  of  Christ  them- 
selves should  do  all  they  can  to  bring  others 
acquainted  with  him  too.  We  can  no  better 
testify  our  love  for  our  country  than  by  pro- 


moting and  propagating  in  it  the  knowle  Ige 
of  Christ." 

15:  1-20. — Jesus  Disregari^ing  Tra- 
dition. This  is  found  also  in  Mark  7:  1-3. 
When  the  great  miracle  of  feeding  the  five 
thousand  was  wrought,  the  Passover  was  near 
(see  on  14:  19)  ;  which,  accordingto  the  view 
commonly  held  (see  on  12:  1),  was  the  third 
Passover  of  our  Lord's  public  ministry,  and 
one  year  before  its  close.  To  this  last  year 
belong  half  the  chapters  and  considerably 
more  than  half  the  pages  of  Matthew's  Gospel 
and  a  still  larger  proportion  of  the  Gospels  of 
Mark,  Luke,  and  John.  Jesus  failed  to  go  to 
this  Passover  because  the  people  in  Judea 
were  seeking  to  kill  him  (as  mentioned  after- 
wards, John  7:  1),  but  continued  his  labors 
in  Galilee,  as  described  in  general  terms  in 
14 :  35  f  The  particular  incident  here  re- 
corded would  seem  to  have  occurred  some 
little  time  after  the  Passover,  as  it  would 
not  be  natural  for  Pharisees  to  leave  Jeru- 
salem shortly  before  the  feast.  The  scene  of 
this  occurrence  was  somewhere  in  Galilee, 
apparently  in  the  Plain  of  Gennesaret  (i4:34-s6), 
and  probably  at  Capernaum,  his  usual  place 
of  abode.  The  fault-finding  inquiry  by  the 
Pharisees  and  Scribes  (v  if.)  is  severely  re- 
torted upon  them  (v-s-s),  and  then  answered 
by  a  most  important  general  principle,  to 
which  the  special  attention  of  all  present  is 
called  (».  lof.),  and  of  which  the  disCiples  af- 
terwards   seek    an    explanation    in    private. 

(v.  12-20.) 

1.  Then  (see  on  3  :  13)  does  not  necessarily 
mean  at  the  time  just  before  mentioned 
(14:  si-.'w),  but  is  naturally  so  taken,  unless 
thfre  be  proof  to  the  contrary,  which  is  not 
here  the  case.  Scribes  und  Pharisees,  the 
common  order,  was  easily  inserted  by  copyists 
in  place  of  Phnrisees  and  Scribes,  the  correct 
text.  Came  from.  JerttHnlem.  was,  in  like 
manner,  changed  to  which  were  of  Jcrn- 
salenif  by  inserting  an  apparently  needed 
article.  Jerusalem  was  the  seat  of  the  great 
schools,  as  well  as  of  the  temple  worship,  and 
the    most   eminent    men    were    congregated 


332 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XV. 


2  Why  do  thy  disciples  transgress  the  tradition  of  the 
elders?  i'ur  they  wusu  not  their  hands  when  they  eat 
bread. 


2  sees  and  scribes,  saying,  Why  do  thy  disciples  trans- 
gress the  tradition  of  the  elders?  for  they  wash  not 


there ;  these  persons  were  therefore  regarded 
in  Galilee  with  special  reverence.  Their  ob- 
ject in  coming  may  have  been  par,;ly  to  satisfy 
curiosity  about  Jesus,  excited  by  accounts 
given  at  he  Passover,  and  partly  to  prevent 
him  from  gaining  too  much  influence  in 
Galilee.  It  is  not  unlikely  that  they  were 
sent  as  a  deputation  to  observe  Jesus,  as  after- 
wards in  Luke  11 :  54,  and  still  later  in  Matt. 
22:  15;  comp.  12:  24  (Marks:  22),  and  the  depu- 
tation sent  to  John  the  Baptist.  (John  i:  19,24.) 
As  to  the  Pharisees,  see  on  3 :  7 ;  and  as  to  the 
Scribes,  on  2 :  3.  They  begin  by  censuring, 
not  Jesus  himself,  but  the  disciples.  (Comp. 
on  9:  14.)  On  probably  a  later  occasion 
Jesus  himself   excited  the  same  complaint. 

(Lake  II:  38.) 

2.  The  tradition    of  the    elders.    The 

word  rendered  'tradition'  signifies  that  which 
is  passed  along,  or  given  from  one  to  another. 
It  is  sometimes  applied  by  Paul  to  teachings 
handed  over  by  him  to  the  churches  for  their 

observance.        (2Thes8.2:  15;  3:  8;  1  Cor.  11 :  2.)        But 

here  and  in  Gal.  1 :  14;  Col.  2:  8,  it  denotes 
things  handed  down  from  generation  to  gen- 
eration, which  is  what  we  mean  by  the  similar 
Latin  word  tradition.  It  is  a  favorite  evasion 
of  Roman  Catholic  controversialists  to  con- 
found these  two  senses  of  the  term.  The 
word  '  elders '  here  means  not  officials,  but 
the  men  of  former  times.  (Heb.  u :  2,  aod  comp.  Matt. 
5:  21.)  The  immense  mass  of  traditions  which 
the  later  Jews  so  reverenced,  were  held  by 
them  to  consist  partly  of  oral  laws  given  by 
Moses  in  addition  to  the  written  law — which 
they  supposed  to  be  referred  to  in  Deut.  4: 
14;  partly  of  decisions  made  from  time  to 
time  by  the  judges  (Deat.  k:  9ir.),  and  which 
became  precedent  and  authority ;  and  partly 
of  the  explanations  and  opinions  of  eminent 
teachers,  given  individually  or  sometimes  by 
the  vote  of  assemblies.  These  oral  traditions 
continued  to  accumulate  after  the  time  of 
Christ  till  they  were  written  down  in  the 
Mi-shna  and  its  commentaries.  (See  on  3:  7.) 
They  were  highly  esteemed  by  all  of  the 
nation,  except  the  Sadducees.  Indeed  some 
reckoned  them  more  important  than  the  writ- 


ten law.  The  Talmud  of  Jerusalem  says, 
"The  words  of  the  Scribes  are  more  lovely 
than  the  words  of  the  law  ;  for  the  words  of 
the  law  are  weighty  and  light,  but  the  words 
of  the  Scribes  are  all  weighty."  And  the 
Talmud  somewhere  declares  that  it  is  a  greater 
crime  to  "transgress  the  words  of  the  school 
of  Hillel"  than  the  law.  So  again:  "My 
son,  attend  to  the  words  of  the  scribes,  more 
than  to  the  words  of  the  law."  In  this  as  in 
so  many  respects  Judaism  has  colored  the 
Christianity  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  which 
teaches  the  observance  of  numerous  traditions 
professedly  coming  from  early  times,  and 
some  of  them  from  the  apostles,  though  these 
often  directly  violate  the  spirit,  and  even  the 
letter,  of  Scripture.  Among  Protestants  also 
there  is  sometimes  greater  solicitude  for  the 
observance  of  custom  than  of  Scripture;  and 
more  emphasis  laid  on  "the  rule  of  the 
church"  than  on  the  law  of  God.  They 
Avash  not  their  hands.  It  is  worth  while  to 
distinguish  .several  Greek  words  which  our 
English  Versions  render  'wash.'  (1)  Nipto, 
used  only  of  washing  some  part  of  the  body, 
as  the  face,  hands,  feet;  found  in  6:  17;  15:  2 
(Mark  7: 3);  27:  24  (compound)  ;  John  9:  7,  15; 
13:  6.  14;  1  Tim.  5:  10.  (2)  Brecho,  to  wet, 
moisten,  sprinkle,  and  hence  aommonly  to 
rain;  found  .in  Luke  7:  38,  44.  (S)  Pluno, 
used  especially  of  washing  clothes  and  the 
like;  found  in  Luke  5:2;  Rev.  7:  14.  (4) 
Louo,  to  bathe,  or  wash  the  whole  body ; 
found  in  John  13:  10,  "he  that  is  bathed 
(louo),  needeth  not  save  to  wash  (nipto)  his 
feet;"  also  in  Acts  9:  37;  16:  33;  22:  16 
(compound);  1  Cor.  6:  11  (compound);  Heb. 
10:  22;  2  Pet.  2:  22;  Rev.  1:  5,  and  a  noun 
derived  from  it  in  Eph.  5  :  26 ;  Tit.  3 :  5.  (5) 
Baptizo,  to  immerse,  dip  (see  on  3:  6),  is  ren- 
dered wash  in  Mark  7:4;  Luke  11:  38,  and  a 
noun  derived  from  it  in  Mark  7:  4;  Heb. 
9:  10,  in  all  which  places  the  idea  is  that  of 
immersion.  Mark,  who  wrote  especially  for 
Gentile  readers,  here  paused  (7:3f.)  to  give 
details  about  the  scrupulous  and  elaborate 
purifications  of  the  singular  Jewish  people.^ 
This  ceremonial  hand-washing  before  eat- 


'  The  law  required  frequent  and   sometimes   very  1  some  cases  washing  beds,  saddles,  and  vessels  of  every 
thorough  purifications,  as  bathing  the  person,  and  in  I  kind   except   earthenware,  which   mast   be   broken. 


Ch  XV.] 


MATTHEW. 


333 


3  But  he  answered  and  said  unto  them,  Why  do  ye 
also  transgress  the  commandment  ot  God  by  your  tra- 
dition ? 

4  For  God  commanded,  saying,  Honour  tby  father 
and  mother:  and.  He  that  curseth  father  or  mother, 
let  him  die  the  death. 

5  But  ye  say.  Whosoever  shall  say  to  his  father  or  his 
mother.  It  it  &  gift,  by  whatsoever  thou  mightest  be 
profited  by  me ; 


3  their  hands  when  they  eat  bread.  And  he  answered 
and  said  unto  them,  VVliy  do  ye  also  transgress  the 
commandment  of  G<)d  because  of  your  tradition  7 

4  For  God  said.  Honour  thy  father  and  thy  mother: 
and.  He  that  speaketb  evil  of  father  or  mother,  let 

5  him  'die  the  death.  But  ye  say.  Whosoever  shall 
say  to  his  father  or  his  mother.  That  wherewith 
thou  mightest  have  been  profitea  by  me  is  giveu  to 


1  Or,  turtly  dit. 


ing,  the  Kabbis  tried  to  support  by  Lev.  15 : 
11.  It  very  naturally  arose,  along  with  the 
similar  washing  after  the  meal,  from  the  fact 
that  the  ancients  habitually  ate  with  their 
fingers.  At  a  later  period  a  third  washing 
was  practised  by  some  persons,  in  the  course 
of  the  meal.  The  Mishna  (Berachoth  8,  1) 
mentions  a  difference  between  Hillel  and 
Shammai  as  to  whether  one  must  wash  the 
hands  before  or  after  filling  the  glasses.  The 
Talmud  shows  that  hand-washing  was  reck- 
oned a  matter  of  high  importance.  Some 
Rabbis  declare  the  neglect  of  it  to  be  as  bad 
as  licentiousness  or  other  gross  crimes.  One 
said,  "It  is  better  to  go  four  miles  to  water 
than  to  incur  guilt  by  neglecting  hand-wash- 
ing "  ;  and  a  story  is  told  of  the  famous  Rabbi 
Akiba  that  when  imprisoned,  and  having  his 
allowance  of  water  reduced,  he  took  what  lit- 
tle there  was  to  wash  his  hands  before  eating, 
instead  of  drinking  it,  saying  that  he  had 
rather  die  than  transgress  the  institutions  of 
his  ancestors. 

3-6.  Before  proceeding  to  the  great  princi- 
ple (v.  u)  involved  in  his  justification  of  the 
disciples  for  neglect  of  the  hand-washing,  our 
Lord  retorts  upon  the  Pharisees  and  Scribes 
their  charge  of  "transgression."  (Comp.  the 
ad  homincm  argument  in  12:  27.)     Why  do 


ye  also  transgress,  and  that  not  a  mere  tra- 
dition of  men,  but  the  commandment  of 
God   by  {because  of)  your  tradition  ?     '  By 

your  tradition  '  does  not  correctly  render  the 
Greek.  They  had  said  'the  tradition  of  the 
elders,'  but  he  says  simply  your  tradition ;  no 
matter  what  was  its  origin,  they  were  now 
making  it  the  occasion  of  transgressing  the 
law  of  God.  This  charge  he  proves  by  an 
example,  not  connected  with  hand-washing 
or  other  purifications,  but  drawn  from  a  most 
sacred  duty,  as  acknowledged  by  mankind, 
and  enjoined  in  a  peculiarly  solemn  command 
(Eph. 6:2)  of  God's  law.  Our  Lord  himself  de- 
clared (10:37;  LukeU:*)  that  his  Service  is  above 
filial  duty  ;  but  (Plumptre)  he  claimed  super- 
natural authority,  wliich  the  Scribes  did  not 
claim.  For  God  said,  the  true  reading,  was 
easily  changed  by  copyists  into  for  God  com- 
manded, saying,  because  'the  command- 
ment' had  just  been  mentioned.  The  first 
clause  is  quoted  from  Ex.  20:  12,  the  second 
from  Ex.  21 :  17,  both  taken  from  the  Sept., 
and  correctly  translating  the  Hebrew,  The 
second  was  introduced  to  show  that  this  com- 
mand which  they  practically  annulled  was 
one  of  the  highest  importance,  since  the  pen- 
alty of  its  violalion,  among  the  Hebrews,  was 
to  be  death  without  fail.     Comp.  very  strong 


(Ler.  Ob.  IS.)  In  general,  the  Hebrew  terms  do  not  show 
how  this  washing  of  vessels,  etc.,  was  to  be  performed, 
but  in  Lev.  ll:  32  they  must  be  "put  into  water"; 
comp.  "divers  baptisms  (immersions),"  Heb.  9 :  10.  The 
scrupulous  later  Jews  often  adopted  this  most  thorough 
purification  even  when  not  required  by  the  law  (see 
Judith  12:  7;  Ecclus.  31:  30,  and  numerous  directions 
in  the  Talmud).  With  this  agrees  Mark's  statement 
that  when  they  come  "  from  the  market  place,  except 
they  immerse,  they  eat  not,"  which  may  mean  immerse 
their  hands  for  thorough  washing,  as  distinguished 
from  the  simpler  mode  of  washing  hands  carefully 
described  in  the  Talmud,  but  more  probably  means 
immerse  themselves.  So  in  Mishna  Cbagiga,  2,  5,  two 
recent  Jewish  authorities  differ  as  to  whether  "dip- 
ping" means  washing  the  hands  by  dipping  them 
(WQn*che,  and  so  Edersh.),  or  taking  a  bath  (Schwab, 


tr.  of  Talm.  Jems.).  Those  who  cannot  believe  that 
under  such  circumstances  they  would  immerse  the 
whole  person  might  read  Herodotus  11.,  47,  who  says 
that  if  any  Egyptian  "  touches  a  swine  in  passing  with 
his  clothes,  he  goes  to  the  river  and  dips  himself  ihnpto) 
from  it."  Some  early  Christian  students  or  copyists, 
not  understanding  this  Jewish  scrupulosity,  changed 
hnpHson/ai,  '  immerse  themselves,'  into  rantisontni, 
"sprinkle  themselves;"  for  though  found  in  N  B,  nine 
cursives,  and  the  late  Father  Euthyni.,  this  is  obviously 
a  correction  to  avoid  a  difficulty,  as  is  also  the  omission 
of  'couches'  at  the  end  of  Mark  7:  4  by  X  B  L  A.  tbreo 
cursives,  Memph.  How  can  any  one  account  for  the 
iriserlion  of  'couches,'  and  the  change  of  '  sprinkle'  to 
'immerse'? — The  question  here  is  not  of  traditional 
usage  or  the  mere  mo<1e  of  performing  a  ceremony,  but 
of  the  principle  of  strict  obedieuce  to  a  divine  command. 


334 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XV. 


6  And  honour  not  his  fiuhor  or  his  mother,  he  shall  j    6  God;  be  shall  not  honour  his  father.i    And  ye  have 
he  free.    Thus  have  ye  made  the  cotumaiidment  of  God  made  void  the  *  word  of  Uod  because  of  your  tier 

of  uone  effect  by  your  tradition.  I 

1  Soma  uuclent  nutboritlea  add,  or  kU  mother,    'i  Soma  anolent  aatborities  read,  late. 


language  on  the  subject  in  Deut.  27:  16; 
Prov.   20:   20;    30:   17.     He  that  curseth; 

speaketk  evil  of,  or  'reviles,'  is  the  exact 
rendering;  'curses'  would  be  a  different 
Greek  word.  The  Hebrew  means  primarily 
'belittle,'  'iniike  light  of,'  and  derivatively 
'curse.'  So  the  command  is  very  broad. 
Let  him  die  the  death,  or  better,  let  him 
surely  die  (margin  Rev.  Ver.),  the  form  of 
expression  being  much  used  in  the  Old  Test., 
and  oftencr  denoting  the  certainty  than  the 
severity  of  the  punishment.  The  connection 
here  shows  that  we  must  honor  parents  not 
merely  in  our  feelings  but  b^'  our  acts;  see 
similar  uses  of  "honor"  in  Prov.  3:  9;  1  Tim. 
6:  3.  And  the  Jews  recognized  this  duty. 
Ecclus.  3:  8,  "Honor  thy  father  and  mother 
both  in  word  and  deed  "  ;  Tdlm.  Jerus. :  "A 
son  is  bound  to  nourish  his  father,  yea,  to  beg 
for  him."  The  case  here  supposed  is  of  a  needy 
parent,  requiring  help  from  the  son,  which  he 
refuses  on  grounds  justified  by  tradition.  But 
ye  say,  'ye'  being  expressed  in  the  original, 
and  thus  strongly  emphatic.  It  is  a  bad  posi- 
tion for  men  to  occupy,  when  what  they  say 
is  directly  opposed  to  what  Ood  says.  By 
whatsoever  (or  that  ii^herewith)  thou  mightest 
be  {have  been)  profited  by  me,  is  a  general 
expression,  covering  all  sorts  of  cases,  and  is 
often  found  in  the  Talmud  (Lf.,  Edersh.)  in 
connection  with  this  same  subject.  Is  a  gift, 
or  perhaps  'let  it  be  a  gift.'  the  Greek  having 
no  copula.  'A  gift'  evidently  means  a  gift 
to  God,  and  Mark  (7:n)  presents  the  Heb. 
word  Corban,  which  the  Talmud  shows  they 
were  accustomed  to  employ  in  such  cases,  de- 
noting an  offering,  anything  dedicated  to  God, 
or  donated  for  the  use  of  the  temple.  The 
Peshito  has  the  same  word  in  Matt.,  and  it  is 
used  in  Matt.  27:  6  to  denote  the  'treasury,' 
the  aggregate  of  all  such  offerings.  If  a  man's 
father  or  mother  wanted  any  article  from  him 
— it  might  be  food  or  clothing,  or  what  not — 
he  could  just  say,  Corban,  it  is  a  gift,  a  thing 
consecrated  to  God  (comp.  Lev.  27  :  9,  16),  and 
he  was  then,  according  to  the  traditional 
rules,  not  only  at  liberty  to  withhold  it  from 
his  parent,  but  solemnly  bound  to  do  so.  The 
Mishna  ("Vows,"  9,  1)  tells  of  a  former  dif- 


cussion  as  to  whether  a  vow  could  be  set  aside 
through  regard  for  parents,  and  all  but  one 
Rabbi  declared  in  the  negative.  The  Jews 
reached  this  conclusion  by  arguing  that  vows, 
as  they  had  respect  to  God,  were  more  import- 
ant than  things  pertaining  to  men  ;  and  hence 
that  devoting  a  thing  to  God  was  sufficient  to 
set  aside  the  highest  obligation,  even  that  to 
one's  parents.  Here  was  a  correct  principle, 
greatly  abused  in  the  application.  We  learn 
from  the  Talmud,  which  has  copious  direc- 
tions on  this  subject,  that  a  man  was  not 
bound,  after  saying  Corban,  actually  to  dedi- 
cate the  article  in  the  temple,  but  might  keep 
it  indefinitely  for  his  own  use,  or  might  give 
it  to  some,  other  person,  only  not  to  the  one 
had  in  mind  when  he  made  the  vow.  Corban 
inight  therefore  be  said  just  for  the  nonce,  as 
an  excuse  for  withholding;  and  with  people 
as  'money-loving'  as  the  Pharisees  (Lukeie:  h), 
the  license  thus  offered  would  often  be  shame- 
fully abused.  Even  more;  it  appears  from 
the  Talmud  that  a  man  might  not  merely  say 
Corban  with  reference  to  any  particular  ob- 
ject, but  might  say  it  once  for  all,  as  applying 
to  everything  which  he  possessed,  and  that 
one  word  spoken  in  passion  or  greed,  would 
make  it  impossible  that  he  should  ever  do 
anything  for  the  person  in  question,  though  it 
were  his  parent.  We  are  told  of  a  son  in 
Bethhoron  who  had  taken  such  a  vow  against 
his  father,  and  afterwards  wishing  to  supply 
the  father's  need,  donated  his  own  house  and 
dinner  to  a  friend  on  condition  that  his  father 
should  share  the  dinner;  but  the  friend  im- 
mediately declared  the  house  and  meal  sacred 
to  heaven,  and  so  the  scheme  failed.  Mishna 
("Vows,"  5,6).  The  Talmud  mentions  vari- 
ous ingenious  expedients  for  evading  Corban 
and  other  vows,  when  one  afterwards  changed 
his  mind.  Several  Fathers  state  that  a  Jewish 
creditor  could  constrain  an  ugly  debtor  by 
saying  "  what  you  owe  me  is  Corban,"  and  so 
it  had  to  be  paid,  as  a  debt  to  God.  From  all 
this  we  see  how  monstrous  were  the  practices 
to  which  our  Lord  was  referring.  It  is  lam- 
entable to  think  that  they  have  been  rivaled 
by  teachings  of  modern  Jesuits. 
There  is  some  difficulty  as  to  the  Greek  text 


Ch. 

XV.] 

MATTHEW. 

335 

7   I'e 
saying 

hypocrites, 

well  did 

Esaias 

prophesy  of  you, 

7  ditioii.    Ye  hypocrites, 
you,  saying, 

well  did  Isaiah 

prophesy  of 

and  the  meaning  in  the  latter  part  of  v.  5  and 
V.  6.  The  best  supported  text  most  naturally 
yields  the  meaning  given  by  Rev.  Ver,,  (see 
Moulton  in  Winer,  p.  750) ;  viz.,  you,  accord- 
ing to  your  tradition,  virtually  say  that  when 
he  has  once  for  all  made  this  vow  he  is  not  to 
honor  his  father.i  The  'not'  is  a  strong 
doubled  negative.  If  'and'  be  retained,  then 
something  must  be  silently  supplied.  But  it 
cannot  be  as  in  Com.  Ver.,  because  'honor' 
is  certainly  future.  It  must  be  somehow  so: 
'whoever  says  to  his  father  or  his  mother, 
that  wherewith  thou  mightest  have  been 
profited  by  me  is  given  to  God,'  is  not  bound 
by  the  law,  but  must  observe  his  vow  in 
preference  (comp.  Mark  7:  12);  what  follows 
giving  the  consequence,  'and  (thus)  he  will 
not  honor  his  father,'  as  the  law  requires  him 
to  do.  The  general  thought  is  the  same  upon 
both  interpretations.  Have  ye  made  void 
God's  authoritative  word,  and  not  merely 
transgressed  it  (v.  3). — A  practice  somewhat 
similar  to  this  Corban  vow  of  the  Jews 
formerly  existed  in  the  Sandwich  Islands. 
Birnes :  "The  chiefs  and  priests  had  the 
power  of  devoting  anything  to  the  service  of 
the  gods  by  saying  that  it  was  tabu,  i.  e.,  con- 
secrated to  the  service  of  religion;  and  no 
matter  who  had  been  the  owner,  it  could  then 
be  appropriated  to  no  other  use."  From  this 
Polynesian  usage  comes  our  word  taboo,  to 
forbid  all  intercourse  with  a  certain  person  or 
use  of  a  certain  thing. 
7-9.     Hypocrites,  see   on    6:    2.      They 


made  great  pretence  of  devotion  to  God,  and 
insisted  strenuously  on  the  externals  of  his 
service,  while  at  heart  they  did  not  love  him, 
and  were  even  ready  to  set  aside  his  express 
commands  for  tlie  sake  of  their  traditions. 
The  persons  particularly  addressed  were  from 
Jerusalem  (▼•!),  and  an  early  Rabbi  is  related 
to  have  said  that  "  there  are  ten  parts  of 
hypocrisy  in  the  world,  nine  at  Jerusalem, 
and  one  in  the  whole  world."  This  seems 
to  be  the  first  instance  of  our  Lord's  openly 
denouncing  the  Pharisees,  as  we  shall  often 
find  him  doing  hereafter.  The  strong  de- 
nunciations of  Luke,  ch.  11  and  12,  are  much 
better  placed  at  a  later  period,  according  to  the 
harmonisticarraiigementof  Wieseler,followed 
by  Tischendorf's  "Synopsis"  and  Clark's 
"Harm."  (Comp.  on  12:  22.)  Well,  i.  e., 
finely,  aptly,  with  admirable  appropriateness, 
(comp.  13  :  14.)  Yet  our  Lord  does  not  simply 
say  that  he  finds  the  words  of  Isaiah  to  his  con- 
temporaries exactly  applicable  to  these  per- 
sons, and  himself  makes  the  application,  but 
he  says.  Well  did  Esaias  (/sfliff/i)  prophesy 
concerning  you.  Isaiah  spoke  directly  to 
the  men  of  his  own  time,  but  his  words  were  also 
designed  by  the  Spirit  of  inspiration  to  refer  to 
the  contemporaries  of  Messiah.  For  'Isaiah,' 
instead  of  the  changed  Greek  form  Esaias, 
see  on  1 :  2.  The  citation  is  from  Isa.  29  :  18. 
The  words  in  common  Greek  text,  draweth 
nigh  unto  me  with  their  month,  and  are 
not  genuine  here,  but  were  added  from  the 
Sept.*      Matt,   quotes  from    the  Sept.   as  he 


1 '  And  '  is  omitted  by  ^t  B,  C,  D,  some  other  manu- 
scripts, and  several  versions.  The  ground  for  hesita- 
tion Is  that '  and  '  is  the  difficult  reading.  But  the  verb 
'honor'  should  cleaYly  be  future  tense,  as  given  by 
nearly  the  same  authorities,  and  not  subjunctive,  as  in 
the  common  (Jrcek  text.  The  future  indicative  after 
OH  me  is  unclassical,  though  not  uncommon  in  later 
Greek,  and  would  thus  be  readily  changed  by  copyists 
into  the  regular  classical  subjunctive,  as  In  many  other 
places.  (Omip.  26:  3.5,  and  see  Buttin,  p.  21.3.)  In  this 
way 'honor'  came  into  the  same  form  as  'say,'  and 
then  it  might  easily  occur  to  a  copyist  th.tt  these  ought 
to  be  connected  by  'and,'  'whosoever  shall  say  .  .  .  . 
and  shall  not  honor.'  Thus  the  text  oi  the  oldest 
authorities  accounts  for  the  other  readings.  'Or  his 
mother'  Cf-  ")  is  omitted  by  K  B,  I),  and  Old  Syriac.  The 
a<ldition  of  this  clause  would  be  instantly  suggested  by 
the  foregoing  phrases  (V.  4  f.),  while  we  cannot  imagine 


any  reason  for  its  omission  if  originally  present.  In 
like  manner  '  the  word  '  reatl  by  B,  D,  and  a  correcter 
of  X,  and  by  many  early  versions  and  some  Fathers 
would  easily  be  changed  to  '  the  commandment,'  to  suit 
V.  3,  and  this  may  have  been  changed  to  'the  law,'  read 
by  several  documents  (mnrgin  Rev.  Ver.),  Ijecause  the 
second  saying  in  v.  4  Is  not  a  part  of  the  Decalogue. 

^They  are  wanting  in  nearly  all  the  early  versions, 
in  the  earliest  (Jreek  manuscripts,  and  in  many  Patris- 
tic citations.  To  enlarge  a  qtiotiitiou  liy  bringing  in 
something  more  from  the  .Sept.  was  a  very  common 
Hud  natural  mo<le  of  altering  the  copies.  The  clause 
cannot  have  been  omitted  In  .Matt,  by  way  of  assimila- 
tion to  Mark,  for  that  wnuld  have  led  rather  to  its 
insertion  in  .Mark,  according  toihe  nnstoin  of  the  copy- 
ists. Some  M.'^S.  of  the  Sept.  omit  tliis  clause,  perhapa 
by  way  of  accommodation  to  the  Gospels. 


336 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XV. 


8  This  people  draweth  nigh  unto  me  with  their 
mouth,  and  bunoureth  me  with  their  lips;  but  their 
heart  is  far  troiu  ue. 

9  But  in  vain  thev  do  worship  me,  teaching  for  doc- 
trines the  commandments  of  men. 

10  And  he  called  the  multitude,  and  said  unto  tbem, 
Hear,  and  understand : 


8  This  people  honoureth  me  with  their  lips  ; 
But  their  heart  is  far  from  me. 

9  But  in  vain  do  they  worship  me, 

Teaching  a.i  their  doctrines  the  precepts  of  men. 
10  And  he  called  to  him  the  multitude,  and  said  unto 


oftenest  does,  and  here  in  v.  9  departs  consid- 
erably from  the  Heb.,  which  reads,  "and 
their  fear  towards  me  is  the  ('ommandment  of 
men,  (a  thing)  taught,"  i.  e.,  their  piety  is 
merely  a  lesson  they  have  learned  from  men, 
and  not  a  thing  learned  from  and  conformed 
to  the  word  of  God.  For  this  the  Sept.  has, 
"but  in  vain  do  they  worship  me,  teaching 
precepts  of  men  and  teachings.' (As  to  the  dif- 
ference between  Heb.  and  Sept.,corap.  Toy.) 
Matt,  and  Mark  (i:  7)  have  slightly  modified 
the  Sept.  into  'teaching  teachings  (which  are) 
precepts  of  men.'  This  not  only  improves  the 
phraseology  of  the  Sept.,  but  brings  out  the 
prophet's  thought  mere  clearly  than  would  be 
done  by  a  literal  translation  of  the  Heb.,  for 
Isaiah  means  to  distinguish  between  a  worship 
of  God  that  is  taught  by  men,  and  that  which 
is  according  to  the  teaching  of  God's  word. 
As  to  quoting  Sept.  ii. stead  of  Heb.,  see 
on  3:3;  and  as  to  verbal  changes  to  bring 
out  the  sense  more  plainly,  comp.  on  2:  6. 
For  the  different  words  rendered  '  teaching,' 
see  on  7:  28.  Instead  of  commandments, 
Eev.  Ver.  here  uses  'precepts'  (as  in  Tyn., 
Cran.,  Gen.),because  the  Greek  word  is  some- 
what different  from  that  of  v.  3,  though  sub- 
stantially equivalent.  In  vain,  i.  e.,  it  is  not 
acceptable  to  God,  nor  profitable  for  them- 
selves. So  at  the  present  day  many  persons 
claim  a  divine  authority  for  ideas  and  prac- 
tices which  are  simply  of  human  origin 
(comp.  on  V.  2).  We  are  not  only  under  no 
obligation  to  conform  to  these,  but  it  is  our 
duty  to  oppose  them  wherever  they  tend  to 
the  violation  or  neglect  of  God's  command- 
ments. It  must  also  be  remembered  that  our 
common  human  nature  is  very  prone  to  be 
intent  upon  the  forms  of  religion  and  neglect 
its  spirit ;  to  honor  God  with  the  lips,  while 
the  heart  is  far  from  him. 

10  f.  When  he  retorted  their  question  upon 
themselves  (v.  s),  it  was  not  for  the  purpose  of 
avoiding  an  answer,  and  he  now  publiclj'  pro- 
claims a  principle  which  goes  to  the  heart  of 
the  matter.  Called  (unto  him)  the  multi- 
tnde,  or  crowd,  the  mass  of  the  people,  as  dis- 


tinguished from  the  Pharisees  and  Scribes, 
who  had  pressed  up  around  him.  He  wished 
all  to  hear  what  he  was  about  to  say  ;  and  in 
fact  the  crowd  were  more  likely  to  receive  it 
than  the  others,  being  less  prejudiced  and 
sophisticated.  Hear,  and  understand.  It 
was  something  important,  and  demanded  at- 
tentive consideration.  The  disci  pies  presently 
called  it  a  '  parable  '  (t.  is),  yet  he  was  not  now 
employing  obscure  expressions  as  a  judgment 
(i:i:  13),  but  with  great  desire  that  all  (Mark;:  u) 
should  understand.  And  they  must  not 
merely  hear,  but  understand  ;  for  he  will  not 
recite  decisions  and  opinions  of  the  ancients, 
as  the  Scribes  did,  but  will  speak  by  his  own 
authority  (7:29),  directly  to  the  understanding 
and  conscience  of  the  people.  Defileth  a 
(the)  man,  i.  e.,  the  man  concerned  in  any 
particular  case.  So  in  the  second  clause,  and 
in  V.  18,  20.  Tyn.,  Cran.,  and  Gen.  give  the 
article  in  v.  11  and  18,  but  not  in  v.  20;  King 
James  gives  it  only  in  v.  18.  The  word  ren- 
dered 'defileth'  is  literally,  makes  com.mon. 
Some  kinds  of  food  were  specially  set  apart, 
as  alone  proper  for  God's  chosen  people,  and 
were  thus  in  a  certain  sense  sacred,  all  other 
things  being  'common'  (Actsio:i4);  for  an 
Israelite  to  partake  of  these  forbidden  things 
would  destroy  his  exclusiveness,  make  him 
common.  Hence  'to  make  common'  came 
to  mean  to  defile,  pollute.  This  saying  of 
Jesus  was  to  the  Jews  in  the  highest  degree 
surprising,  paradoxical,  revolutionary  (comp. 
12:  8).  They  saw  at  once  that  it  applied  not 
merely  to  hand  washing,  but  to  the  whole 
matter  of  clean  and  unclean  food,  and  this 
seemed. to  them  one  of  the  most  vital  parts  of 
the  law.  So  they  knew  not  what  to  make  ol 
the  saying,  "  Not  what  goes  into  the  mouth 
defiles  the  man,  but  what  comes  out  of  it." 
The  Pharisees  stumbled  at  such  a  saying, 
could  not  admit  the  divine  mission  of  one  who 
uttered  it  (v.  12),  and  even  the  disciples  failed 
to  understand  it.  (v.  isf.)  Ceremonially,  vari- 
ous things  did  defile  by  entering  the  mouth; 
but  this  was  only  designed  to  represent  the 
idea  of  moral  pollution,  while  the  great  mass 


Ch.  XV.] 


MATTHEW. 


337 


11  Not  that  which  goeth  into  the  mouth  deflleth  a 
luan ;  but  that  which  cometh  out  of  the  mouth,  this 
detileth  a  man. 

12  Then  came  his  disciples,  and  said  unto  him, 
Knowesr  thou  that  the  Pharisees  were  otfended,  after 
they  heard  this  saying? 

13  But  he  auswered  and  said,  Every  plant,  which  my 
heavenly  Father  hath  not  planted,  shall  be  rooted  up. 

14  Let  them  alone:  they  be  blind  leaders  of  the 
blind.  And  if  the  blind  lead  the  blind,  both  shall  fall 
into  the  ditch. 


11  them.  Hear,  and  understand:  Not  that  which  en- 
tereth  into  the  mouth  defileth  the  man ;  but  that 
which   proceedeth   out  of  the  mouth,  this  defileth 

12  the  man.  Then  came  the  disciples,  and  said  unto 
him,  Knowest  thou  that  the  Pharisees  were  'ott'euded, 

13  when  they  heard  this  saying?  But  he  answered 
and  said,  Everv  Splant  which  my  heavenly  Father 
planted   not,  shall  be  rooted  up.     Let  theiu  alone ; 

14  they  are  blind  guides.    And  if  the  blind  guide  the 


1  Gr.  eau$«d  to  ttumbte. . .  .'i  Gr.  platUing. 


of  the  Jews,  however  scrupulous  about  the 
representative  purity,  were  careless  of  the  in- 
ward purity.  Our  Lord  therefore,  by  this 
saying  directs  attention  to  the  internal  and 
real  impurity.  Here,  as  with  reference  to  the 
Sabbath  (12: 1  ff-),  and  to  so  many  points  in  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount,  he  is  leading  the  peo- 
ple to  deeper  and  more  spiritual  views  of  the 
morality  which  the  law  designed  to  teach, 
and  thus  not  abrogating  or  correcting,  but 
'completing'  the  law.  (5:n.)  His  teachings 
did  prepare  the  way  for  laying  aside  the  cere- 
monies of  the  law,  but  this  only  by  develop- 
ing it  into  something  higher.  Accordingly, 
he  does  not  abrogate  the  Mosaic  directions 
about  unclean  food,  but  lays  down  a  general 
principle  applying  to  the  point  in  hand  (▼•  20), 
and  really  covering  the  whole  matter,  though 
not  now  further  applied.  Many  things  taught 
in  principle  by  Jesus,  were  to  be  fully  devel- 
oped by  his  inspired  followers,  as  men  should 
become  prepared  to  understand  them.  Comp. 
1  Cor.  10:31;  Rom.  14:  14ff. ;  1  Tim.  4:4;  Tit. 
1:  15.  Besides  educating  the  Israelites  to  the 
appreciation  of  moral  purity,  the  law  about 
clean  and  unclean  food  was  also  designed  to 


obstacle  to  their  believing  reception  of  Jesus' 
teachings  (as  in  11:  6).  When  they  heard 
this  {the)  saying,  not  that  of  v.  3-9  (Fritz, 
and  others),  but  the  great  .«aying  of  v.  11,  ad- 
dressed to  the  crowd,  but  heard  by  the  Phari- 
sees also  (Mey.,  Bleek,  Weiss,  and  others). 
The  Pharisees  doubtless  declared  the  saying 
to  be  in  direct  opposition  to  the  law  about 
clean  and  unclean ^bod.  The  disciples  them- 
selves looked  upon  it  as  extremely  obscure 
and  strange  (v.  15  ,  and  sympathized  not  a  lit- 
tle with  the  prejudices  involved.  Our  Lord's 
reply  is  to  the  effect  that  it  matters  not  what 
such  men  think,  whose  authority  is  merely 
human,  and  who  are  as  blind  as  the  multitude 
they  lead.  Every  plant,  etc.  Every  doc- 
trine which  did  not  come  from  God,  which  is 
of  merely  human  origin  (v.  9),  will  lose  its  in- 
fluence and  cease  to  be  believed.  My  heav> 
enly  Father,  see  on  6 :  9.  Let  them  alone, 
i.  e..  do  not  trouble  yourselves  about  them,  as 
to  what  they  teach,  or  whether  they  approve 
my  teaching.  The  Great  Teacher  did  not  ex- 
pect, and  did  not  try,  to  please  all  his  hearers. 
Such  as  were  blinded  by  prejudice,  hardened 
in    unbelief,    or  willful  in    their    opposition, 


keep  the  chosen  people  separate  from  other  could  only  be  let  alone.  They  be  {are)  blind 
nations,  and  so  Poter  was  taught  to  set  it  aside  leaders,  guide.i  (oldest  Greek  MSS.  and  some 
when  the  time  came  for  preaching  freelj  I  versions)  was  easily  enlarged  by  adding  of 
among  the  Gentiles.  (Aot9io:9fr.)  |  the  blind   from   the   immediately  following 

12-14.  This  is  found  in  Matthew  only.  It  expressi<m.  'Guides'  fRlieims)  is  a  more 
appears  that  the  conversation  occurred  after  I  exact  translation  than 'leaders' (Wye,  T^'n., 
Jesus  and  his  immediate  followers  had  retired  '  and  followers).  If  the  blind  lead  {guidf) 
from  the  crowd  into  a  house.  (Mnrk7:i7.)  There  .  the  blind.  Both  Greek  words  are  singular 
had  thus  been  a  little  interval  since  the sayinsr  I  and  indefinite,  'if  a  blind  man  guide  a  blind 
of  V,  11  was  uttered,  and  the  disciples  had  }  man,'  but  the  definite  form  make*  a  smoother 
heard  how  the  Pharisees  were  talking  about  |  English  expression.  It  seems  likely  frona 
it.  They  felt  that  the  opinions  of  these  dis-  i  Rom.  2:  19,  that  guide  of  the  blind  wasacom- 
tinguished  men  from  Jerusalem  (v.  1)  were  I  mon  designation  of  the  Rabbis.  Both  shall 
very  important.  Knowest  thou.  It  seemed  {will)  fall  into  the  ditch  (a  pit),  the  same 
likely  that  he  did  not,  or  he  would  be  hasten-  |  word  as  in  1*2:  11,  and  denoting  (Liddell  and 
ing  to  explain  and  thus  recover  the  symi>athy  !  Scott;  a  pit  dug  in  the  field  to  hold  water,  as 
of  such  important  hearers.  Were  offended  was  very  common.  The  word  is  rendered 
(see  on  5:  29),   made  to  stumble,  finding  an  :  'pit'  by  Tyn.,  Cran.,  Gen.,  and  Com.  Ver.,  in 

W 


338 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XV. 


15  Then  answered  Peter  and  said  uuto  him,  Declare 
unto  us  this  parable. 

16  And  Jesus  said,  Are  ye  also  yet  without  under- 
Btaudiug  ? 

17  Do  not  ye  yet  understand,  that  whatsoever  enter- 
eth  in  at  the  mouth  goeth  into  the  belly,  and  is  cast 
out  into  the  draught? 

18  But  those  things  which  proceed  out  of  the  month 
come  lorth  from  the  heart ;  and  they  defile  the  man. 

19  For  out  ol  the  heart  proceed  evil  thoughts,  mur- 
ders, adulteries,  fornications,  thefts,  false  witness,  blas- 
phemies ; 


blind,  both  shall  fall  into  a  pit.  And  Peter  an- 
swered and  said  unto  him,  Declare  unto  us  the 
parable.  And  he  said,  Are  ye  also  even  yet  without 
understanding?  Perceive  ye  not,  that  whatsoever 
goeth  into  the  mouth  passeth  into  the  belly,  and  is 
cast  out  into  the  draught?    But  the  things  which 

Eroceed  out  of  the  mouth   come  forth  out  of  the 
eart;  and  they  defile  the  man.     For  out  of  the 
heart  come  forth  evil  thoughts,  murders,  adulteries. 


12:  11,  but  here  thej' all  adopted  'ditch,'  prob- 
ably from  supposing  the  image  to  be  that  of 
the  ditch  beside  a  road.  But  the  word  does 
not  mean  ditch,  and  the  image  is  that  of  blind 
persons  walking  in  the  open  field,  and  falling 
into  a  pit — a  much  more  serious  calamity. 
This  saying  has  the  air  of  a  proverb,  such  as 
our  Lord  repeatedly  employed  (see  on  7:  5), 
and  it  had  already'  been  used  by  him  in  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount.  (Luke 6:39.)  Various 
similar  sayings  are  found  in  classical  writers. 
(Wet.) 

15.  Then  answered  Peter,  not  a  specific 
reply  to  what  Jesus  had  just  said,  but  in  a 
general  sense  a  response,  keeping  up  the  con- 
versation. (See  on  11:  25.)  Peter's  expres- 
sion, declare  unto  us,  shows  by  the  plural 
that  he  speaks  for  all,  and  Jesus  in  reply  says 
'ye.'  (Comp.  Mark  7:  17.)  Peter  is  there- 
fore spokesman  for  the  Twelve,  as  he  so  often 
is.  (See  on  16:  18.)  This  (the)  parable; 
here  copyists  readily  changed  'the'  into  'this.' 
The  word  here  denotes  an  obscure  expres- 
sion. (See  on  13:  13.)  The  reference  is  not 
to  the  figurative  saying  of  v.  14',  called  in 
Luke  6:  39  a  parable,  but  to  v.  11,  already 
spoken  of  in  v.  12  as  'the  saying.'  This  is 
plain  from  our  Lord's  reply,  and  confirmed  by 
the  connection  in  Mark  7:  15-17,  who  has  not 
given  the  intermediate  matter  of  Matthew  v. 
13  f.,  and  with  whom  'the  parable'  must 
necessarily  refer  to  the  great  saying. 

16-20.  And  Jesus  (strictly  he)  said,  the 
copyists  inserting  'Jesus,'  as  in  14:  14  and 
often.  Are  ye  also,  as  well  as  the  masses 
and  the  Pharisees.  Yet.  The  Greek  has  a 
strong  word,  not  elsewhere  used  in  the  New 
Test.,  but  which  in  later  Greek  has  even  yet  as 
a  well-established  meaning;  'even  yet,'  after 
allthe  instruction  you  have  received,  comp.  16: 
9;Heb.  5:  12.  He  had  not  given  any  instruction 
that  we  know  of  on  this  particular  subject, 
but  his  teachings  in  ch.  5  and  ch.  13,  and  his 
general  influence,   ought  to  have    prepared 


them  to  take  spiritual  views  of  things.  In  v. 
17,  do  ye  not  yet  understand  {or perceive), 
was  strengthened  by  copyists  by  introducing 
'yet,'  because  of  the  expression  in  v.  16,  and 
perhaps  with  a  reminiscense  of  16:  9.  '  Per- 
ceive' (Tyn.,  Gen.)  is  here  better  than  'under- 
stand' (Wye,  Cran.,  Kheims,  Com.  Ver.), 
in  order  to  distinguish  from  the  diflTerent 
Greek  word  used  in  v.  10  and  16.  The  Jews 
had  come  very  largely  to  confound  ceremo- 
nial with  moral  defilement.  To  correct  this 
confusion  of  ideas,  our  Lord  points  out  that 
articles  of  food  cannot  really  pollute,  because 
they  pass  through  the  body  and  out  of  it,  and 
do  not  'enter  the  heart'  (Mark 7: 19),  cannot 
affect  the  spiritual  nature;  but  the  sinful 
things  which  are  uttered  through  the  mouth, 
and  proceed  from  the  heart,  constitute  a  real 
pollution.  Comp.  on  v.  11.  Into  the  belly. 
The  Greek  signifies  the  whole  hollow,  or  in- 
ternal cavity  of  the  body,  including  stomach 
and  other  viscera;  and  the  English  word 
formerly  had  a  similar  latitude  of  meaning. 
Into  the  draught  (2  Kings  10:27),  sink,  or  privy 
(Kheims),  literally,  place  for  sitting  apart. 
Mark  adds  (7: 19)  that  by  this  saying  Jesus 
cleansed  all  articles  of  food,  i.  e.,  declared  them 
to  be  clean.  (Acts  lo:  15.)  With  v.  18  comp.  on 
12:  34  f.  In  v.  19  our  Lord  does  not  confine 
himself  absolutely  to  such  things  as  are  spoken, 
in  order  to  keep  up  the  contrasted  imago,  but 
passes  to  the  more  general  notion  of  whatever 
comes  forth  from  the  heart,  has  its  origin  from 
within  us.  There  is,  therefore,  no  occasion 
for  inquiring,  as  some  do,  how  speech  has  to 
do  with  all  the  forms  of  sin  here  mentioned. 
Mark  (t:  18-2.S)  does  not  mention  the  mouth,  but 
only  the  more  general  idea  of  entering  and 
coming  forth  from  the  man,  the  heart.  We 
have  seen  on  6:  21  and  elsewhere,  that  the 
heart  was  conceived  of  by  the  Hebrews,  and 
is  spoken  of  by  the  Bible,  as  the  seat  of  thought 
and  volition  as  well  as  of  emotion.  After  the 
general  phrase  evil  thoughts,  our  Lord  speci- 


Ch.  XV.] 


MATTHEW. 


339 


20  These  are  the  things  which  defile  a  man:  but  to  i  20  fornications,  thefts,   false  witness,  railings:   these 
eat  with  unwashen  hands  deiiieth  not  a  man.  are  the  things  which  defile  the  man  :  but  to  eat  with 

I       unwashen  hands  defileth  not  the  man. 


fies  violations  of  the  sixtii,  seventh,  eighth,  and 
ninth  Commandments  in  order.  Mark  adds 
some  other  sins  not  mentioned  by  Matt.  The 
plural  forms  which  Matt,  has  throughout 
(even  'false  witnessings ')  remind  us  of  the 
nun.erous  instances  and  different  varieties  of 
these  several  sins.  Blasphemies  (see  on 
9:  3);  a  literal  translation  of  the  Greek  is  in 
Kev.  Ver.  'railings.'  In  English  we  confine  it 
to  railing  against  God.  Philo  Judaeus  para- 
phrasing Plato,  says  that  through  the  mouth 
"mortal  things  go  in,  but  incorruptible  things 
come  out.  For  by  it  enter  food  and  drink,  the 
corruptible  body's  corruptible  nourishment; 
but  through  the  mouth  words  come  forth,  the 
immortal  soul's  immortal  laws,  through  which 
the  natural  life  is  governed.'  '20.  This  first  sums 
up  the  previous  discussion,  and  then  connects 
it  all  with  the  starting  point  in  v.  1.  Our 
Lord  has  now  not  only  denounced  the  Phari- 
sees as  hypocrites  (»•  7),  but  boldly  antagonized 
their  cardinal  tenet  of  the  authority  of  tradi- 
tion. The  conflict  must  inevitably  wax  fierce, 
and  he  soon  begins  to  withdraw  from  their 
virulent  opposition,  and  the  fanaticism  of  his 
friends. 

HOMILBTICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

V.  3-6.  Two  oppositions,  1)  Human  tra- 
dition versus  divine  commandment,  (a) 
Men  are  prone  to  make  old  religious  usage  an 
authority.  It  can  claim  respect,  but  not 
obedience,  (b)  Men  often  come  to  take 
more  interest  in  long-established  usage  than 
in  the  express  teaching  of  revelation — this 
through  personal  a.^sociations  and  through 
controversial  heat,  (c)  Men  sometimes  prac- 
tically alter  a  divine  commandment  to  make 
it  harmonize  with  established  custom  ;  the 
Saviour  represents  this  as  a  grave  sin.  (v.  6.) 
2)  Ceremonial  services  versus  moral  duties, 
(a)  Human  nature  naturally  tends  to  be  more 
interested  in  the  external  than  in  the  moral 
and  spiritual.  Comp.  23 :  23  ff.  (b)  To 
neglect  a  high  moral  duty  for  the  sake  of  a 
mere  religious  usage,  is  to  disgrace  our  re- 
ligion.— V.  4.  Honoring  parents.  1)  Honor 
them  in  your  thoughts.  2)  Honor  them  in 
your  speech,  v.  4.  (latter  part).  3)  Honor  them 
in  your  actions,   v.  5f.— Bknokl:    "Young 


people,  notice."  Henry:  "That which  men 
say,  even  great  men,  and  learned  men,  and 
men  in  authority,  must  be  examined  by  that 
which  God  saith."— V.  7-9.  Hypocrisy.  In 
the  days  of  Isaiah,  and  of  Jesus,  and  in  our 
days.  1)  Two  forms  of  hypocrisy,  (a)  Re- 
ligious talk  without  religious  character,  (v.  8.) 
(b)  Human  precepts  put  in  place  of  divine 
commands,  (v.  9.)  2)  The  successes  of  hy- 
pocrisy, (a)  It  may  deceive  men — other 
persons — even  the  hypocrite  himself,  (b) 
It  never  deceives  God — it  is  "in  vain,"  (v.  9). 
—V.  10  f.  Preaching  to  the  people.  1)  The 
common  people  are  often  more  ready  to  re- 
ceive new  religious  ideas  than  the  teaching 
class,  V.  10;  comp.  v.  12  ff.  2)  The  greatest 
of  religious  teachers  had  to  ask  special  atten- 
tion when  giving  strange  and  unpalatable  in- 
struction, V.  10.  3)  Even  he  was  imperfectly 
understood  by  some  (»•'«),  and  found  fault 
with  by  others,  (v.  12.)  4)  Yet  the  common 
people  heard  him  gladly  (Mark  12: 37),  and  all 
that  the  Father  gave  him  came  unto  him. 
(John 6: 37.)  Henry :  "Not  only  scholars,  but 
even  the  multitude,  the  ordinary  people, 
must  apply   their  minds  to   understand  the 

words  of  Christ There  is  need  of  a 

great  intention  of  mind  and  clearness  of  un- 
derstanding, to  free  men  from  those  corrupt 
principles  and  practices  which  they  have  been 
bred  up  in  and  long  accustomed  to;  for  in 
that  case  the  understanding  is  commonly 
bribed  and  biased  by  prejudice." —  V.  11. 
Many  sayings  of  Jesus  that  were  revolu- 
tionary at  the  time  are  now  Christian  com- 
monplaces— this  fact  is  a  ground  for  rejoicing. 
— V.  11.  Pollution.  1)  Ceremonial  defile- 
ment was  but  an  object  lesson,  a  symbol  of 
polluted  character;  and  so  ceremonial  purity 
of  moral  purity.  2)  Evil  thoughts  and  do- 
sires  arise  from  a  polluted  nature,  and  their 
expression  in  speech  or  action  pollutes  the 
whole  being,  v.  18  f.  8)  Evil  environment 
endangers  character,  but  pure  character  can 
conquer  the  worst  environment. — V.  12-14. 
Blind  guides.  1)  Long-established  religious 
teachers  may  meet  new  truth  with  blind 
prejudice,  v.  12.  2)  Highly  popular  re- 
ligious teachings  may  hnve  no  divine  ap- 
proval or  support,  v.  13.    3)  Greatly  honored 


340 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XV. 


21  Then  Jesus  went  theuce,  and  departed  into  the 
coasts  of  Tyre  and  Sidou. 

■si.  And,  behold,  a  woman  of  Canaan  came  out  of  the 
same  coasts,  and  cried  unto  him,  saying.  Have  mercy 
ou  me,  O  Lord,  thou  Son  of  David;  my  daughter  is 
grievously  vexed  with  a  devil. 


21  And  Jesus  went  out  theuce,  and  withdrew  into 

22  the  parts  of  Tyre  and  Sidon.  And,  behold,  a  Ca- 
naauitish  woman  came  out  from  those  borders,  and 
cried,  saying.  Have  mercy  on  me,  O  Lord,  thou  sou 
of  David ;  my  daughter  is  grievously  vexed  with  a 


religious  instructors  may  be  but  the  blind 
guiding  the  blind,  v.  14.  4)-  Plausible  ob- 
jections from  distinguished  sources  must 
sometimes  be  quite  disregarded,  v.  13. 
Chbys.  :  "It  is  a  great  evil  merely  to  be 
blind,  but  for  a  man  to  be  in  such  a  case  and 
have  none  to  lead  him,  nay,  to  occupy  the 
place  of  a  guide,  is  a  double  and  triple 
ground  of  censure.  For  if  it  be  a  danger- 
ous thing  for  the  blind  man  not  to  have  a 
guide,  much  more  so  that  he  should  even  de- 
sire to  be  guide  to  another." — V.  16.  Igno- 
rance of  Christian  truth  is  blameworthy,  1) 
in  any  one  who  has  opportunity  to  know, 
2)  especially  in  a  Christian,  3)  most  of  all 
in  one  who  has  long  been  a  Christian,  and 
has  had  superior  advantages  for  learning. — 
— V.  20.  Origeij:  "It  is  not  eating  with  un- 
washed hands,  but,  if  one  may  use  so  bold  an 
expression,  it  is  eating  witli  an  unwashed 
heart,  that  defiles  a  man."  Chrys.  :  "Even 
in  the  church  we  see  such  a  custom  prevail- 
ing amongst  the  generality,  and  men  giving 
diligence  to  come  in  clean  garments,  and  to 
have  their  hands  washed  ;  but  how  to  present 
a  clean  soul  to  God,  they  make  no  account." 

21-38.  Jesus  Withdraws  to  Phoenicia. 

The  storj'  of  the  Syro-Phoenician  woman 
is  found  also  in  Mark  7:  24-30,  in  the  same 
connection  as  here.  Luke  hastens  through 
this  part  of  the  history,  omitting  various 
things,  and  stating  others  very  briefly. 

The  jealousy  of  Herod  (":  if.),  the  hostility 

of  the  Pharisees  (l2:U;lo:l,  12;al3o4:  12;  John4:l-3), 

and  the  fanatical  notions  of  the  masses 
{john6:i5),  still  Tcquired  that  Jesus  should 
withdraw  from  Galilee,  as  heretofore  in 
14:  IB.  Thence,  probably  from  Capernaum. 
He  now  set  out  in  a  different  direction, 
towards  the  northwest,  into  Phoenicia,  thus 
getting  beyond  the  jurisdiction  of  Herod,  as 
in  14:  13,  and  hereafter  in  v.  29,  and  16:  5. 
Departed,  withdrew,  same  word  as  in  2:  12, 
22;  4:  12;  12:  15;  14:  18.  Into  the  coasts 
(Rev.  Ver.  parts)  of  Tyre  and  Sidon,  i.  e., 
the  parts  of  the  country,  the  region,  belong- 
ing to  those  cities;  so  the  same  word  in  2 :  22  ; 
16:13;  Mark  8:  10;  Acts  2:  10;  19:  1;  20:2. 


'Coasts,'  i.  e.,  borders  (see  on  2:  16),  is  here 
an  utterly  erroneous  translation  of  Wye, 
Tyn.,  and  followers,  due  to  the  generally  re- 
ceived notion  that  our  Lord  never  went 
beyond  the  bounds  of  Palestine ;  the  word 
'parts'  never  means  'borders.'  Still,  the  term 
looks  indefinite,  and  Mark  7 :  24  says  '  borders,' 
as  Matthew  also  does  in  v.  22 ;  so  it  might 
seem  not  certain  that  Jesus  went  farther  than 
to  the  boundaries  of  Phoenicia.  But  while 
'borders'  often  denotes  the  territory  inclosed 
thereby,  'parts'  cannot  mean  simply  the 
boundary.  And  the  question  is  settled  by 
Mark  7:  31  (correct  text),  'And  again  he 
went  out  from  the  borders  of  Tyre,  and  came 
through  Sidon  to  the  Sea  of  Galilee.'  (See 
below  on  v.  29.)  It  is  then  certain  that  our 
Lord  went  into  the  heathen  country  of  Phoe- 
nicia, the  nearest  part  of  which  was  about 
thirty  miles  from  Capernaum.  This  does  not 
conflict  with  the  fact  that  his  mission  was  ex- 
clusively to  the  Jews  (v.  24),  for  he  did  not  go 
there  to  exercise  his  ministry  (Mark  7: 24),  and  as 
soon  as  he  had  been  induced  to  work  a  miracle 
which  would  attract  attention  and  gather 
crowds,  he  went  away  again.  He  entered  into 
a  house  (Mark),  and  wished  to  stay  there  in 
seclusion,  just  as  Elijah  had  done  in  the  house 
of  a  widow  at  Zarephath,  or  Sarepta,  in  the 
same  country  of  Phoenicia.  (iKings  n:9ff.;  Luke 
4: 26.)  He  probably  also  desired  bodily  and 
mental  rest  for  the  disciples  and  himself,  as  on 
the  first  withdrawal  not  long  before.  (Mark  7:  si.) 
As  to  Tyre  and  Sidon,  see  on  11:  21.  The 
two  cities  together  denote  the  countrj-  of 
Phoenicia.  He  was  probablj'  at  first  in  the 
southern  part  belonging  to  Tyre,  and  after- 
wards went  northward  through  the  Sidon  dis- 
trict. (Mark7:  •■ii.)  We  learn  from  Mark  3:8; 
Luke  6:  17,  that  multitudes  from  the  region  of 
Tyre  and  Sidon  had  attended  on  our  Lord's 
ministry  at  an  early  period.  It  was  a  refresh- 
ing change  for  him  and  his  disciples,  in  the 
hot  weather  of  April  or  May,  to  leave  the 
deep  basin  of  the  lake,  so  far  below  the  level 
of  the  Mediterranean,  and  visit  the  mountain 
region  of  Phoenicia.  (Comp.  on  14:  13.) 
22  f.  And    behold,  calling    attention  to 


Ch.  XV.] 


MATTHEW. 


341 


23  But  he  answered  her  not  a  word.    And  his  disci-  I  23  demon.    But  he  answered  her  not  a  word.    And  his 
pies  caiue  and  besought  hiiu,  saying,  Send  her  away;  disciples  came  and  besought  hiui,  saying,  Send  her 

for  she  crieth  after  us.  | 


what  follows  as  remarkable.  A  woman  of 
Canaan.  In  the  earliest  times  the  people  of 
Phoenicia  aie  spoken  of  as  Canaanites  (Judg. 
i:»f.),  i.  e.,  as  belonging  to  the  great  tribe 
which  occupied  all  the  low  lands,  and  which  af- 
terwards gave  its  name  of  Canaan  to  the  whole 
land.  It  is  probable  that  the  Jews  continued 
to  apply  this  name  to  all  the  inhabitants  of 
Phoenicia,  though  many  of  the  later  inhab- 
itants may  have  been  of  different  origin.  To 
Matthew's  Jewish  readers  this  word  would 
show  that  she  was  a  Gentile.  Mark,  having 
Gentile  readers  mainly  in  view,  says  (7:26) 
that  she  was  a  Greek,  i.  e.,  a  Gtntile,  and  also 
that  she  was  a  Syroplioenician  by  race,  a  term 
probably  used  by  way  of  distinction  from  the 
Libyphoenicians  or  Carthaginians.  Came 
out  of  the  same  coasts,  i.  e,,  that  region  or 
territory,  as  in  2:  16;  4:  13;  8:  34.  This 
means  that  she  came,  not  from  Galilee,  but 
from  the  country  of  Tyre,  to  the  place  where 
Jesus  was.  Many  writers,  even  Weiss  and 
Edersh.,  understand  that  she  came  out  of 
Phoenicia  into  Galilee,  which  they  suppose 
Jesus  had  not  yet  left;  but  this  arises  from 
the  persistence  of  the  old  notion  that  he  did 
not  really  enter  Phoenicia.  Edersh.  imagines 
that  Jesus  kept  the  Passover  here,  conse- 
quently in  a  Jewish  house ;  but  his  chrono- 
logical scheme  is  at  this  and  some  other 
points  quite  forced.  Cried  unto  him,  say- 
ing, the  correct  text  omits 'unto  him.'  The 
word  denotes  loud  crying.  Crieth  after 
us,  V.  23,  i.  e.,  behind  us,  implies  that  she 
was  following  them  along  as  they  walked.  It 
is  easy  to  suppose  that  while  staying  at  the 
house  (Mark  7:  24),  Jesus  and  his  disciples 
were  one  day  taking  a  walk,  and  that  she  hav- 
ing heard  about  him  (Mark7:2o),  followed  be- 
hind and  cried  aloud  as  they  went  on.  Tisch. 
reads  in  Mark  'came  in,'  but  it  is  evidently 
an  "Alexandrian"  alteration  by  some  early 
critics  who  thought  the  scene  of  the  interview 
was  the  house,  not  having  duly  considered 
Matthew.  Have  mercy  on  me,  the  word 
including  also  the  idea  of  pity,  which  is  here 
the  prominent  idea  (see  on  9  :  27).  She  makes 
her  child's  case  her  own.  Lord,  see  on  8:2. 
It  is  not  clear  whether  this  was  an  expression 
of  high  respect,  or  possibly  of  worship.     She 


I  believed  him  to  be  the  Messiah,  as  shown  by 
her  calling  him  Son  of  David.  (Comp.  on 
I  9:  27.)  Though  a  heathen,  and  living  in  a 
heathen  country,  she  was  yet  near  the  land  of 
Israel,  familiar  with  the  true  religion,  and 
like  the  woman  of  Zarephath,  a  worshiper 
of  the  true  God.  Perhaps  she  may  have  pre- 
vit)usly  gone,  among  the  many  from  Tyre  and 
Sidon  (Mark 3:  8,,  and  attended  the  ministry  of 
Jesus  in  Galilee.  My  daughter  is  grievously 
vexed  with  a  devil.  'Badly  demonized' 
would  be  a  literal  rendering,  though  the  Com. 
Ver.  gives  a  more  familiar  English  expression. 
'Devil,'  however,  should  be  'demon,'  see  on 
8 :  31 :  as  to  demoniacal  possessions,  see  on 
8:  28.  Mark  (7 :  26,  Rev.  ver)  uscs  a  diminutivo 
term,  meaning  'little  daughter,'  which  shows 
that  she  was  a  child. 

23  f.  Here  is  a  strong  contrast;  she  cries 
aloud,  he  is  absolutely  silent.  His  reason  for 
not  answering  appears  below.  The  effect  was 
to  develop,  strengthen,  and  manifest  her  faith 
(comp.  on  9:  28>.  It  is  often  so  now;  if  with 
hearty  confidence  in  the  Lord's  wisdom  and 
mercy  we  continue  to  ask,  we  shall  at  last  re- 
ceive whatever  he  sees  best  for  us,  and  besides 
may  be  improved  in  piety  by  the  delay.  The 
hearer  of  prayer  is  not  less  designing  our 
good  when  he  withholds  or  defers  than  when 
he"he!irs  while  we  are  yet  speaking."  His 
disciples,  probably  the  Twelve,  did  not  un- 
derstand the  wisdom  and  love  of  this  appar- 
ent neglect.  They  were  probably  half 
touched  and  half  annoyed  by  her  loud  and 
persistent  cries,  and  perhaps  also  were  uneasy 
lest  she  should  draw  attention  to  them,  when 
they  were  wishing  to  remain  in  perfect  retire- 
ment. So  the\'  came,  lit.,  co7n(!  near  to  Jesus 
and  begged  him  to  send  her  nwny,  because 
she  crieth  after  us.  Some  have  thought 
they  wished  him  simply  to  order  her  off,  as 
troublesome  and  likely  to  attract  to  them  the 
attention  of  others.  But  they  had  never  seen 
him  dismiss  a  suppliant  in  any  other  way  than 
by  doing  what  was  asked;  and  that  they  de- 
sired him  to  grant  her  request  is  made  plain  by 
his  answer,  which  is  a  reason  why  he  should  not 
grant  it.  Observe  that  this  was  an  answer  to 
the  disciples,  and  not  addressed  to  the  woman. 
It  is  not  clear  that  she  heard  it ;  for  the  state- 


342 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XV 


24  But  he  answered  and  said,  I  am  not  sent  but  unto 
the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel. 

25  Then  came  she  and  worshipped  him,  saying.  Lord, 
kelp  me. 

26  But  he  answered  and  said.  It  is  not  meet  to  take 
the  children's  bread,  and  to  cast  it  to  dogs. 


24  away ;  for  she  crieth  after  us.    But  he  answered  and 
said,  I  was  not  sent  but  unto  the  lost  sheep  of  the 

25  house  of  Israel.    But  she  cauie  and  worshipped  him, 

26  saying.  Lord,  help  me.    And  he  answered  and  said. 
It  is  not  meet  to  take  the  children's  i  bread  and  cast 


1  Or,  loaf. 


ment  in  v.  25,  'came  and  worshipped  him,' 
implies  that  she  had  been  following  at  some 
little  distance,  as  does  also  the  loud  crying  of 
V.  22  f.  I  am  (or  was)  not  sent  (Rheims), 
like  'I  came'  in  5:  17,  referring  indefinitely 
to  the  time  when  the  Father  sent  him  forth 
to  his  mission  in  the  world;  he  had  no  com- 
mission to  go  to  any  others,  even  as  he  had 
given  the  disciples  none.  (io:6.).  Jesus  here 
and  elsewhere  speaks  of  himself  as  subordi- 
nate to  the  Father,  with  reference  to  his 
official  position  and  work  as  the  God-man, 
the  Mediator  (comp.  on  11 :  27)  ;  this  does  not 
conflict  with  the  idea  that  as  the  Eternal  Son 
he  is  very  God,  and  equal  with  the  Father. 

(John  1:1;  Rom.  9:5.)  Bnt{or  CXCept)  UntO  the  lOSt 

sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel,  see  on  10:  6. 

He  doubtless  healed  Gentile  sick  when  brought 
to  him  in  the  land  of  Israel  (4 :  24  f  ;  15 :  30  f. ; 
certainly  in  8:  5  ff.);  but  now  he  had  gone 
into  a  Gentile  country,  and  must  avoid  enter- 
ing upon  a  general  ministry  there.  His  min- 
istry in  Israel  prepared  the  way  for  a  blessing 
to  the  Gentiles.  (Eom.  i5:8-io.)  When  his  work 
was  finished,  then  the  apostles  would  be  his 
"witnesses,  both  in  Jerusalem,  and  in  all 
Judea  and  Samaria,  and  unto  the  uttermost 
parts  of  the  earth."  (Actsi:8.)  It  would  have 
conflicted  with  the  nature  and  design  of 
Christ's  mission,  had  he  anticipated  this 
work  of  the  apostles,  though  he  alluded  to 
it  as  a  part  of  his  own  work.  (John  lo:  le.)  The 
Jewish  mind  required  slow  preparation  fas 
the  history  in  Acts  plainly  shows)  for  the 
idea  that  Gentiles  were  to  share  freely  the 
benefits  of  the  Messianic  reign  ;  and  the  Jews 
would  have  been  irritated  and  utterly  repelled 
(Lutteroth),  if  their  Messiah  had  at  once 
begun  a  great  work  among  the  Gentiles. 
Jesus  was  induced  to  make  an  exception  to 
the  rule  by  this  woman's  great  faith  and 
humble  importunity,  as  the  prophets  had 
sometimes  done.  (Luke  4: 25-27.)  There  is  no  ob- 
jection to  supposing  him  overcome  by  im- 


portunity. But,  in  fact,  this  was  hardly  an 
exception,  for  her  great  faith  brought  her  in 
some  sense  within  the  limits  of  his  mission. 
(Gal.  3: 7.)  Noticc  that  v.  23  f.  is  found  in  Matt, 
only,  who  wrote  especially  for  Jews,  and  de- 
sired to  show  that  Jesus  was  the  Messiah. 
Mark's  Gentile  readers  would  not  at  first 
have  understood  such  a  saying  as  v.  24,  and 
would  have  been  repelled  by  it. 

25-27.  The  woman  herself  now  comes. 
Worshipped  him,  bowing  before  him,  prob- 
ably prostrating  herself,  but  not  probably  as 
to  a  Deity  (comp.  on  2 :  2  ;  8:2).  The  Greek 
imperfect  tense  (correct'  text)  not  only  states 
that  she  did  this,  but  describes  her  as  so  doing. 
Jesus  puts  before  her  the  same  idea  he  had 
just  stated  to  the  disciples,  that  the  Messianic 
benefits  were  designed  for  the  Jews,  and  pur- 
posely employs  harsh  expressions  which  will 
develop  her  faith  and  humility.  He  had  pro- 
duced a  similar  effect  in  the  centurion  by  an 
opposite  course.  (»■  7.)  The  Jews  looked  upon 
themselves  as  God's  'children';  and  spoke 
contemptuously  of  the  Gentiles  as  'dogs,'  un- 
clean and  vile.  (Comp.  on  7:  6.)  The  Gentiles 
around  were  accustomed  to  this,  and  therefore 
the  expression  here  was  not  altogether  so 
offensive  and  painful  as  it  would  seem  to  us. 
So  the  Mohammedans  call  Christians  infidel 
dogs.  It  is  not  meet,  or  good,  proper 
(knlon),  pleasing  to  the  sense  of  propriety, 
W3'C.,  Eheims,  Tyn.,  Gen.,  say  'good'; 
Cran.  gave  'mete.'  The  woman's  reply  not 
only  shows  a  high  degree  of  faith  and  humil- 
ity, but  also  does  credit  to  her  shrewdness  and 
prompt  intelligence — perhaps  stimulated  bj' 
maternal  affection  and  solicitude — for  she 
gives  the  harshly  expressed  refusal  an  admir- 
able turn  in  her  favor.  Truth  (or  yes)  Lord, 
yet  (for)  the  dogs  eat  of  the  crumbs.  She 
does  not  present  an  idea  opposed  to  what  he  had 
said,  as  the  incorrect  rendering  of  Com.  Yer., 
'  yet,'i  would  indicate,  but  a  confirmation  of  it. 
Yes,  Lord,  it  is  notpropertotakethechildren's 


1  Wye,  Cran.,  Gen.,  have  '  for,'  Rheims  exactly  '  for  ,  Peshito  omit  the  '  for,'  apparently  because  the  meaning 
,  .  .  also.'  Tyn.  gave  '  nevertheless,'  and  so  Com.  Ver.  was  not  perceived.  In  Mark  7  :  28  it  is  alsb  omitted  by 
'  yet.'    All  but  Rheims  overlook  the  '  also.'  B.  and  I  several  other  MSS,  and  versions,  probably  for  the  same 


Ch.  XV.] 


MATTHEW. 


343 


27  And  she  said,  Truth,  Lord :  yet  the  dogs  eat  of  the 
crumbs  which  fall  from  their  masters'  table. 

28  Then  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  her,  O  woman, 
great  it  thy  faith:  be  it  unto  thee  even  as  thou  wilt. 
And  her  daughter  was  made  whole  from  that  very  hour. 


27  it  to  the  dogs.  But  she  said,  Yea,  Lord :  for  even 
the  dogs  eat  of  the  crumbs  which  fall  from  their 

28  masters'  table.  Then  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto 
her,  O  woman,  great  is  thy  faith:  be  it  done  unto 
thee  even  as  tliou  wilt.  And  her  daughter  was 
healed  from  that  hour. 


bread  and  throw  it  to  the  dogs, /or  the  dogs  too 
eat  of  the  crumbs  that  fall  from  their  master's 
table;  they  also  have  their  lowly  place,  'under 
the  table'  (Mark),  and  the'r  lowly  portion. 
The  Jewish  people,  she  is  aware,  have  a 
special  mission  in  the  world,  and  special  priv- 
ileges ;  and  of  these  they  need  not  be  deprived 
by  her  request,  for  a  despised  Gentile  also  may 
have  an  humble  share  of  Messianic  blessing. 
He  is  not  now  healing  any  in  Israel,  and  the 
chosen  people  will  lose  no  Messianic  good  by 
this  one  act  of  pity  for  her.  (Comp.  Maid., 
Weiss.)  Luther:  "Was  not  that  a  master 
stroke  ?  She  snares  Christ  in  his  own  words." 
In  Mark,  what  our  Lord  had  said  to  her  is 
introduced  by  the  words,  "  Let  the  children 
first  be  filled  ; '  implying  that  afterwards  the 
dogs  might  get  something.  This  furnished 
all  the  more  natural  occasion  for  the  turn 
she  gave  to  her  reply.  The  Greek  term  in  v. 
26  f.  and  Mark  7 :  27  f.  is  a  diminutive,  and 
leads  us  to  think  of  smaller  dogs,  allowed 
to  run  freely  about  the  house  and  under  the 
table.  The  diminutive  must  have  been  inten- 
tionallj-  used  here,  for  it  is  found  nowhere 
else  in  the  Greek  Bible,  while  the  common 
word  occurs  five  times  in  New  Test.,  and 
thirty-three  times  in  Sept.  Everywhere  in 
the  Bible  dogs  are  spoken  of  as  objects  of  dis- 
like. In  Tobit5:  16,  a  dog  is  a  companion, 
a  thing  very  rarely  the  case  in  the  East. 
where  dogs  run  wild.  It  is  hardly  proper  to 
suppose  that  'little  dogs'  is  here  a  term  of 
afi'ection  ;  and  Weiss'  notion  of  lap-dogs,  the 
children's  pets,  is  a  strange  anachronism. — 
This  heroine  of  faith  is  an  example  to  all 
persons  who  are  spiritually  seeking  Christ. 
Some  after  awhile  grow  despondent,  and  even 
fretful,  as  if  badly  treated,  in  that  they  do  not 
succeed  as  others  do.  Let  them  learn  from 
her  humble  perseverance. 

28.  O  woman,  more  expressive  than 
simply  'woman.'  Great  is  thy  faith.  The 
world  is  ever  admiring  and  lauding  greatness, 
but  it  is  great  intellect  or  imagination,  great 


ambition  or  force  of  character,  beauty  or 
amiability,  great  learning  or  discoveries,  pos- 
sessions or  conquests  ;  here  is  the  noblest  praise 
for  the  truest  greatness.  The  centurion's  faith 
likewise  excited  the  wonder  of  Jesus  (see 
on  8:  10),  and  he  too  was  a  heathen.  Beit  unto 
thee,  or  let  it  come  to  pass  for  thee;  the  same 
phrase  as  in  8 :  13  and  6 :  10.  The  expression 
in  Mark  7 :  29  may  have  immediately  followed 
that  given  in  Matt.  As  thou  wilt.  Trench: 
"He  who  at  first  seemed  as  though  he  would 
have  denied  her  the  smallest  boon,  now  opens 
to  her  the  full  treasure-house  of  his  grace, 
and  bids  her  to  help  herself,  to  carry  away 
what  she  will.  He  had  shown  to  her  for 
awhile,  like  Joseph  to  his  brethren,  the  as- 
pect of  severity ;  but,  like  Joseph,  he  could 
not  maintain  it  long — or  rather  he  would  not 
maintain  it  an  instant  longer  than  was  need- 
ful, and  after  that  word  of  hers,  that  mighty 
word  of  an  undoubting  faith,  it  was  needful  no 
more."  Our  Lord  does  not  speak  of  her 
humility,  though  so  remarkable,  for  that  was 
a  result  of  her  faith.  Perhaps  the  earliest  off- 
spring of  unbelief  is  pride  (iTim.  s:6),  while 
faith  at  once  gives  birth  to  humility  ;  and  ia 
both  cases,  the  progeny  reinforces  the  parent. 
So,  too,  her  faith  had  led  to  perseverance— a 
perseverance  which  may  be  compared  with 
that  of  Jacob,  in  wrestling  with  the  same 
Eternal  Word  (oen.  32:24),  who  was  now  per- 
manently incarnate  as  Jesus.  From  that 
very  hour,  comp.  8:  13;  9:  22.— The  so-called 
Clementine  homilies  (end  of  second  century), 
in  telling  this  story,  call  the  woman  Justa, 
and  her  daughter  Bernice,  which  names  may 
have  been  either  invented  or  traditional. 

HOMILETICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

V.  21.  Jesus  withdrawing,  li  From  what? 
(a)  From  the  jealousy  of  Herod,  (b)  From 
the  machinations  of  the  Jewish  rulers,  (c) 
From  the  fanatical  designs  of  some  who 
counted  themselves  his  followers.  2)  In  what 
spirit?    Personal  prudence.     Patient  forbear- 


reason.    Why  should  It  have  been  Inserted  if  not  orlgi-  1  The  Greek  word  means  in  English  either  '  also'  (too), 
nally  present  in  either  Gospel  7   How  then  should  VV  H.  1  or  '  even,'  according  to  the  connection, 
bracket'for'iu  Matt.7   Yet  it  may  be  spurious  In  Mark.  ' 


344 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XV. 


[  Jesus  departed  from  tbencej  and  came  nigh 
sea  uf  Galilee  ;  and  went  up  inio  a  mountain, 


29  And 
unto  the  sea 
and  sat  down  there. 

3U  And  great  multitudes  came  unto  him,  having  with 
them  l/iose  that  were  lame,  blind,  dumb,  maimed,  and 
many  others,  and  cast  them  down  at  Jesus'  feet;  and 
he  healed  them : 


29  And  Jesus  departed  thence,  and  came  nigh  unto 
the  sea  of  Galilee ;  and  he  went  up  into  the  moun- 

30  tain,  and  sat  there.  And  there  came  unto  him 
great  multitudes,  having  with  them  the  lame,  blind, 
dumb,  maimed,  and  many  others,  and  they  cast 


ance.  3)  Still  everywhere  doing  good,  14:  14; 
15:  2&-30;  17:  18.  4)  At  last,  when  his  hour 
is  coine,  he  will  withdraw  no  longer,  John  12: 
23. — V.  22-28.  The  Canaanitish  woman,  1; 
Believes  in  the  Jewish  Messiah,  v.  22.  2) 
Humbly  submits  to  be  harshly  spoken  to  by 
hin),  V.  26.  3)  Shrewdly  converts  refusal 
into  a  new  plea,  v.  27.  4)  Gains  her  cause, 
and  wins  the  highest  possible  commendation. 
V.  28.— V.  28.  Great  faith.  1)  Seen  in  a 
heathen;  compare  centurion.  (8:io.)  2)  At- 
tended by  great  humility  (comp.  Luke  18: 
13),  and  producing  great  perseverance.  (Comp. 
Luke  18 :  7).  3)  Recognized  and  rewarded  by 
him  who  knows  the  heart.  John  2:  24  f. — V.  22. 
A  mother  making  her  child's  case  her  own. 
— V.  23.  Disciples  seeming  kinder  than  their 
Lord.  Henry:  "There  may  be  love  in 
Christ's  heart  while  there  are  frowns  in  his 
face." — V.  24.  Hall:  "We  need  no  other 
rule  of  life  than  the  intention  of  our  several 
stations ;  and  if  he  that  was  God  would  take 
no  further  scope  to  himself  than  the  limits  of 
his  commission,  how  much  doth  it  concern  us 
frail  men  to  keep  within  compass." — V.  25. 
Chrys.  :  "She  was  the  more  instant.  But  it 
is  not  so  with  us;  rather,  when  we  fail  to  ob- 
tain, we  desist;  whereas  it  ought  to  make  us 
the  more  urgent."  Theophyl.  :  "Consider 
that  even  if  holy  men  pray  for  us,  as  the  apos- 
tles did  for  her,  yet  we  ourselves,  praying  for 
ourselves,  accomplish  more." — V.  27.  Ma- 
ternal shrewdness  turning  the  Saviour's  argu- 
ment against  him.  Henry:  "Unbelief  is 
apt  to  draw  disnial  conclusions  even  from 
comfortable  premises  (Judg.  in:22f.);  but  faith 
can  find  encouragement  even  in  that  which 
is  discouraging,  and  get  nearer  to  God  by 
taking  hold  on  that  hand  which  is  stretched 
out  to  push  it  away." — V.  23-28.  Jesus  glad 
to  be  overcome,  by  intercession,  by  personal 
entreaty,  by  argument. 

15:  29  to  16:  4. — Jesus  Feeds  the  Four 
Thousand,  Southeast  of  the  Lake,  and 
Returns  to  Galilee. 

This  is  found  also  in  Mark  7 :  31  to  8 :  13. 
And  Jesus  departed  from  thence.  We 
have  no    means   of   knowing    how  long  he 


stayed  in  the  country  of  Tyre;  certainly  not 
very  long,  for  all  the  journeys  of  ch.  15  to  18 
occupied  less  tiian  six  months.  (See  on  15:  1, 
and  on  19:  1.)  Mark  (7:3i)  says,  in  the  cor- 
rect text,  that,  'he  went  out  from  the  borders 
of  Tyre,  and  came  through  Sidon  unto  tiie  Sea 
of  Galilee,  through  the  midst  of  the  borders 
of  Decapolis.'  This  sliows  that  in  leaving  the 
territory  of  Tyre  he  went  northwards  through 
the  territory  of  Sidon,  or  through  the  city 
itself,  the  expression  being  in  this  case  am- 
biguous. We  have  no  information  concern- 
ing the  rest  of  his  sojourn  in  Phoenicia.  Next, 
he  must  have  passed  eastward  across  the 
Jordan,  and  then  southward,  until,  going 
through  the  district  of  the  Ten  Cities,  Decapo- 
lis (see  on  4:  25',  he  came  to  the  shores  of  the 
lake,  somewhere  on  its  southeastern  border. 
(For  description  of  tlie  Lake  of  Galilee,  see 
on  4  :  18. )  This  region  also  was  out  of  Herod's 
jurisdiction,  like  those  to  which  he  had  previ- 
ously withdrawn,  (i*:  i3;  is:  21.)  The  desire  to 
keep  out  of  Herod's  territory  at  that  time  may 
have  caused  him  to  take  the  circuit  just  de- 
scribed, instead  of  going  direct  from  Tyre 
through  Galilee  and  crossing  the  lake.  He 
ap|)oars  not  to  have  stopped  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Ccsarea  Philippi,  probably  through 
desire  to  revisit  the  environs  of  the  lake;  but 
soon  the  malignant  attack  of  the  Pharisees 
and  Sadducees  will  make  him  go  away  again. 
(16: 4.)  He  was  now  in  the  vicinity  of  Gadara 
(one  of  the  Ten  Cities),  the  same  region  in 
which  he  had  healed  the  two  demoniacs,  and 
suffered  the  legion  of  evil  spirits  to  destroy  the 
swine,  (s-.isfr.)  This  time  his  ministry  pro- 
duces a  greater  impression,  perhaps  throu<;h 
the  testimony  of  the  restored  demoniac.  (Luke 
8: 39.)  Persons  from  Decapolis  had  followed 
him  long  before.  (4:25.)  And  ivent  up  into 
a  (the)  mountain,  the  mountain  range 
running  along  east  of  the  lake.  (Comp.  John 
6:  3.)  The  mountain  of  Matt.  5:  1  was  on 
the  western  side  of  the  lake.  The  more  north- 
ern part  of  this  easterly  range  was  the  place 
of  feeding  the  Five  Thousand  (see  on  14:  13", 
and  now  a  similar  miracle  is  wrought  on  its 
more  southern  part.     And  sat  down  there. 


Ch.  XV.] 


MATTHEW. 


345 


31  Insomuch  that  the  multitude  wondered,  when 
they  saw  the  dumb  to  speak,  the  maimed  to  be  whole, 
the  lame  to  walk,  and  the  blind  to  see:  and  they  glori- 
fied the  God  of  Israel. 

32  Then  Jesus  called  his  disciples  unto  him,  and  said, 
I  have  compassion  on  the  multitude,  because  they  con- 
tinue with  me  now  three  days,  and  have  nothing  to 
eat :  and  I  will  not  send  them  away  fasting,  lest  they 
faint  in  the  way. 

3:}  And  his  disciples  say  unto  him.  Whence  should 
we  have  so  much  bread  in  the  wilderness,  as  to  till  so 
great  a  multitude? 

34  And  Jesus  saith  unto  them,  How  many  loaves 
have  ye?    And  they  said, Seven,  and  a  few  little  fishes. 

35  And  he  commanded  the  multitude  to  sit  down  on 
the  ground. 


31  them  down  at  his  feet:  and  he  healed  them:  inso- 
much that  the  multitude  wondered,  when  they  saw 
the  dumb  speaking,  the  maimed  whole,  and  the  lame 
walking,  and  the  blind  seeing:  and  ihey  glorified 
the  God  of  Israel. 

32  And  Jesus  called  unto  him  his  disciples,  and  said, 
I  have  compassion  on  the  multitude,  because  they 
continue  wiih  me  now  three  days  and  have  nothing 
to  eat:  and   I   would  not  send   them  away  fasting, 

33  lest  haply  they  faint  in  the  way.  And  the  discii)les 
say  unto  him,  Wheni'e  should  we  have  so  manv 
loaves  in  a  desert  place,  as  to  fill  so  great  a  multi- 

34  titude  ?  And  Jesus  saith  unto  them.  How  many 
loaves  have  ye?    And  they  said.  Seven,  and  a  few 

35  small  fishes.  And  he  commanded  the  multitude  to 
sit  down  on  the  ground ;  and  he  took  the  seven 


the  usual  posture  of  a  teacher.     (See  on  5: 
1.) 

30  f.  Here,  seated  on  a  point  in  the  moun- 
tain range,  probably  in  view  of  the  lalte,  he 
wrought  many  miracles  of  healing,  and  iigain 
fed  the  multitudes.  In  this  case  a  large  pro- 
portion of  those  present  must  have  been  Gen- 
tiles, as  the  Ten  Cities  were  more  a  Gentile 
than  a  Jewish  district.  He  must  have  spent 
at  least  several  days  in  this  region,  since  it  re- 
quired some  time  for  his  presence  to  become 
generally  known,  and  the  Four  Thousand  had 
been  'three  days'  (v.  at)  in  close  attendance  on 
his  ministry.  Great  multitudes,  literally, 
many  crowds,  as  in  so  many  other  passages. 
We  have  here  another  general  account  of 
numerous  miracles.  (Comp.  4:  '23;  8:  16;  9: 
8o;  12:  15  f )  One  of  thoso  wrought  at  this 
time  and  place  was  the  healing  of  a  deaf  and 
dumb  man,  described  by  Mark  alone.  (7:32-37.) 
The  order  of  the  words  lame,  blind,  etc. 
(v. 30),  varies  greatly  in  different  dncutnents, 
Itaving  doubtless  been  affected  by  v.  31 ;  but 
this  is  a  matter  of  no  consequence.  The  word 
rendered  maimed  signifies  crooked,  bent, 
contracted  ;  it  is  sometimes  applied  to  cases  of 
mutilation,  the  loss  of  some  part  of  the  body 
(18: 8),  which  is  the  meaning  of  our  word 
maimed,  but  is  not  often  so  used,  and  probably 
the  be.st  English  word  here  would  be  'crip- 
pled.' Malchu.s'  ear  {-m:  ji)  is  the  only  recorded 
instance  <>f  our  Lord's  miraculously  restor- 
ing a  missing  part  of  the  body.  And  mnnv 
others.  The  kinds  of  diseases  were  so  nu- 
merous that  they  could  not  all  he  named.  Mat- 
thew appears  to  have  selected  those  associated 
with  predictions  of  Messiah.     (See  on  11 :  5.) 


Cast  them  down  at  his  feet,  implies  not 
carelessness,  but  hurry  and  bustle  amid  the 
crowd  of  applicants.  'His  feet'  was  easily 
changed  by  copyists  into  '  the  feet  of  Jesus.' 
(Comp.  on  14:  14. )i  The  dumb  to  speak; 
speaking,  etc..  is  the  literal  translation.  (So 
Wye.)  And  they  glorified  the  God  of 
Israel.  In  9  :  8  it  is  simply  '  and  they  glori- 
fied God.'  But  it  was  natural  to  mention  that 
these  heathen  people  glorified  '  the  God  of 
Israel.' 

32-38.  Comp.  on  thesimilar  feeding  of  the 
Five  Thousand,  14:  15-21.  I  have  compas- 
sion, as  in  9:  36.  Three  days.  They  had 
no  doubt  brought  some  food  with  them,  which 
was  now  exhausted.  They  showed  great  zeal 
to  see  and  hear  and  be  healed,  remaining  so 
long  in  the  thinly  inhabited  region,  sleeping 
on  the  ground  two  nights  in  the  open  air, 
living  on  the  food  brought  with  them,  and 
slow  to  leave  when  it  was  gone.  And  I  will 
not  (or  am  not  willing  to)  send  them  away 
fasting.  ('I  would  not.'  Rev.  Ver.,  is  hardly 
an  improvement  upon  '  I  will  not ' :  it  removes 
a  possible  ambiguity,  but  seems  to  suggest  a 
condition.)  Some  of  them  were  from  a  dis- 
tance. iMark8:3.)  His  (the)  disciplcs  (v. ss), 
'  his  '  being  easily  added  from  v.  33.  So  much 
bread,  literally,  so  many  loaves,  for  the  Greek 
is  plural.  In  the  wilderness,  or  o  desert 
place,  a  wild  country  with  few  inhabitants, 
see  on  14:  13  and  3:  1.  Only  a  region  con- 
taining large  towns  could  at  short  notice  fur- 
nish food  for  such  a  multitude,  and  this  wild 
country  was  a  good  many  miles  from  the 
nearest  cities  of  D  'capolis.  A  few  little 
fishes.    The  diminutive  form  emphasizes  the 


1  'The  multitude'  (v.  si)  is  changed  In  most  dcKsu-  I  Ifesfly  altered  reading  Is  given  by  B,  which  also  omits 
ment«  into  'the  multitudes,'  evidently  because  the  par-  '  for'  In  v.  27  and  '  now  '  In  v.  .32 — three  unquestionable 
ticiple  rendered  '  when  they  saw  '  is  plural  (following  a  errors  in  close  connection.  In  like  manner  the  correct 
singular  "noun  of  multitude"),  and  because  'great  reading  Is, '  themultltude  '  In  r.-'l5,  but '  the  nuiltitudes' 
multitudes '  have  been  mentioned  in  v.  30.     This  man-  >  in  v.  36,  and  much  confusion  arose  in  the  copies. 


346 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XV. 


36  And  lie  took  the  seven  loaves  and  the  fishes,  and 
gave  thanks,  and  brake  Iheni,  and  gave  to  his  disciples, 
and  the  disciples  to  the  multitude. 

H'  And  they  did  all  eat,  and  were  filled:  and  they 
took  up  of  the  broken  meat  that  was  left  seven  baskets 
full. 

38  And  they  that  did  eat  were  four  thousand  men, 
beside  women  and  children. 


30  loavesand  tlie  fishes;  and  he  gave  thanks  and  brake, 
and  gave  to  the  disciples,  and  the  disciples  to  the 

37  multitudes.    And  they  did  all  eat,  and  were  filled: 
and  they  took  up  that  which  remained  over  of  the 

38  broken  pieces,  seven  baskets  full.    And  they  that 
did  eat  were  four  thousand  men,  beside  women  and 


fact  that  the  supply  was  meagre  ;  in  v.  86  it  is 
the  common  word  for  'fi.shes.'  Here  again 
the  people  are  commanded  to  recline  on  the 
ground,  and  probably  in  companies  and  rows 
as  before  (Murk  6:  39  f.),  though  nothing  is  here 
said  of  it.  Seven  baskets  full.  In  this  case 
the  number  of  baskets  corresponds  to  the 
number  of  loaves;  in  the  previous  case  (u:.io) 
to  the  number  of  apostles.  Euthym  :  "Show- 
ing ti'.at  it  is  easy  for  him  to  do  as  he  wishes." 
In  Mark  8 :  19  f.  our  Lord  seems  to  treat  it  as 
a  matter  of  importance  tliat  such  a  quantity  of 
broken  pieces  remained  in  each  case.  Beside 
women  and  children,  mentioned  by  Matt. 
only,  as  before  in  14 :  21. 

This  miracle  is  recorded  both  by  Matthew 
and  Mark,  and  the  former  miraculous  feeding 
by  all  four  of  the  Evangelists.  And  shortly 
after  (is:  9),  we  find  it  recorded  both  by  Matt. 
and  Mark  that  our  Lord  referred  to  the  two 
miracles  as  separately  teaching  the  same  les- 
son. This  conclusively  shows  that  strikingly 
similar  events  did  occur  in  our  Lord's  history, 
a  thing  to  be  remembered  with  reference  to 
the  two  visits  to  Nazareth,  the  two  instances 
of  cleansing  the  temple,  the  two  women  who 
anointed  Jesus,  the  parable  of  the  pounds  and 
that  of  the  talents,  etc,  where  it  happens  that 
the  two  events  or  discourses  are  recorded  onlj' 
by  different  Evangelists;  and  some  expositors 
jump  to  the  conclusion  that  they  are  nothing 
but  varying  and  conflicting  accounts  of  the 
same  matter.  If  the  feeding  of  five  thousand 
with  five  loaves  had  been  recorded  only  by 
one  Gospel,  and  that,  of  seven  thousand  with 
four  loaves  only  by  one  or  two  others,  it  would 
have  been  most  confidently  asserted  that  these 
were  the  same  miracle.  Let  us  neither  be 
nervous  harmonizers,  nor  eager  to  assume 
that  harmonizing  is  impossible.  It  is  worth 
observing  how  natural  in  these  two  miracles 
are  the  points  of  agreement,  and  how  striking 
are  some  of  the  differences.  It  was  natural 
that  the  situation  should  in  both  cases  be  the 
wild  country,  where  suflScient  food  could  not 
be  obtained  from  ordinary  sources;  that  the 
kind  of  food  multiplied  should  be  that  which 


was  common  on  the  shores  of  the  lake;  that 
.Jesus  should  '  bless  '  or  '  give  thanks '  before 
breaking  the  bread,  according  to  custom,  and 
should  distribute  the  food  by  the  help  of  the 
disciples,  a  matter  of  obvious  convenience  and 
propriety.  On  the  other  hand,  the  precise 
locality  in  the  wild  country  is  different  in  the 
two  cases;  there  is  now,  in  the  parched  sum- 
mer, no  mention  of  reclining  on  the  grass,  as 
Matthew,  Mark,  and  .John,  all  mention  in  the 
former  case,  when  it  was  spring  ;  the  supply  of 
food  is  here  greater  than  before,  while  the 
number  of  persons  is  smaller;  the  people  here 
have  remained  three  days  ;  in  the  other  case 
only  one  day.  There  is  also  a  slight,  but  quite, 
remarkable  difference  as  to  the  word  rendered 
'basket.'  This  is  kophinos  in  all  four  Gos- 
pels in  the  first  miracle,  and  spuris  (or  sphu7-is) 
in  both  Gospels  here;  and  in  the  subsequent 
mention  of  these  miracles  (i6:9f. ;  Marks:  19  r.)  it  is 
again  in  both  Gospels  kophinos  with  reference 
to  the  first,  and  spuris  with  reference  to, 
the  second  miracle.  We  do  not  know  tlie; 
precise  difference  between  the  two  words,  but 
the  careful  observance  of  the  distinction 
throughout,  strikingly  shows  how  entirely 
distinct  the  two  miracles  were.  Origen  and 
Chrys.  suppose  that  the  spuris  was  somewhat 
large,  and  this  seems  confirmed  by  its  use  in 
lowering  Paul  from  the  wall  of  Damascus 
(Acts 9: 25),  while  the  kophinos  appears  to  have 
been  a  small  provision  basket,  such  as  a  Jew 
on  a  journey  commonly  carried  with  him 
(see  on  14:  20).  The  disciples  may  have  now 
had  these  large  baskets  because  they  had  been 
making  a  long  journey. 

The  strange  thing  about  this  second  miracle 
is  the  fact  that  the  apostles  do  not  recur  (v.  33) 
to  the  former  miraculous  feeding,  which 
took  place  but  a  short  time  before.  Many 
critics  have  thought  this  utterly  inexplicable, 
and  on  this  ground  have  denied  the  reality  of 
the  second  miracle,  though  explicitly  and 
repeatedly  affirmed.  But  let  us  remember. 
Our  Lord  had  sternly  rebuked  the  crowd  who 
shared  in  the  previous  feeding  for  following 
him  the  next  day  with  the  hope  of  being  fed 


Ch  XVL] 


MATTHEW. 


347 


39  And  he  sent  away  the  multitude,  and  took  ship,    39  children.    And  he  sent  away  the  multitudes,  and 
and  came  into  the  coasts  of  Magdala.  I       eutered  into  the  boat,  and  came  into  the  borders  of 

I       Magadan. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


THE  Pharisees  also  with  the  Sadducees  came,  and 
temptiug  desired  him  that  he  would  shew  them  a 
sign  from  heaven. 


1      And  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  came,  and  try- 
ing him  asl^ed  him  to  show  them  a  sign  Irum  heaven. 


again  (JohD8:26),  and  had  been  much  displeased 
at  the  popular  determination  produced  by 
that  miracle  to  make  him  a  king.  Nay,  he 
had  hurried  the  disciples  themselves  unwill- 
ingly away,  partly,  it  is  probable,  because 
they  sympathized  with  this  popular  design. 
(See  on  14 :  22. )  In  this  state  of  things  the  dis- 
ciples might  naturally  doubt  whether  he 
would  repeat  a  miracle  which  had  been  for- 
merly attended  by  such  undesirable  results, 
and  might  at  any  rate  feel  great  delicacy 
about  suggesting  the  idea  that  he  should  do 
80.  (Comp.  Mark  9:  32,  "were  afraid  to  ask 
him.")  But  as  soon  as  he  intimates  such  an 
intention,  by  asking  how  many  loaves  they 
have,  they  express  no  surprise  nor  doubt,  but 
go  on  to  carry  out  the  details. 

And  he  sent  away  the  multitudes,  see 
on  14 :  22  f.  And  took  ship,  literally,  entered 
into  the  boat,  see  on  4:  21.  The  boat  which 
they  were  accustomed  to  use  may  have  been 
brought  from  Capernaum,  while  they  were 
staying  here  on  the  S.  E.  side.  Into  the 
coasts  of  Magdala,  or  borders  of  Magadan.^ 
This  is  unquestionably  the  correct  reading, 
which  was  early  changed  to  Magdala,  a  fa- 
miliar name,  easily  connecting  itself  with 
Mary  Magdalene.  The  position  of  Magadan 
is  unknown,  as  is  that  of  Dalmanutha. 
(M»rk8:io.)    They  appear  to  have  been  on  the 


western  side  of  the  lake,  being  reached  by 
boat  from  the  other  side,  and  especially 
because  from  them  the  party  crossed  to  the 
northeastern  side.  (i6:5iMark8:  i».) 

Ch.  16  :  1.  That  which  follows  occurred  at 
Magadan,  somewhere  on  the  western  side  of 
the  lake.  The  Pharisees  also,  with  the 
Sadducees.  Here,  as  in  3:  7,  there  is  but  one 
article  (literally,  the  Pharisees  and  Saddu- 
cees), presenting  tlie  Sadducees  as  accompany- 
ing the  Pharisees,  and  perhaps  as  of  less  im- 
portance ;  so  also  in  16 :  6,  11  f.  The  Saddu- 
cees appear  only  three  times  in  the  Gospel 
history;  (1)  witnessing  the  baptism  of  John, 
3:7,  (2)  tempting  Jesus  here,  (8)  tempting 
him,  not  at  the  same  time  with  the  Pharisees, 
but  separately,  in  22:  23.  (Maikw:  is;  Luke20:a7.; 
They  are  also  spoken  of  by  Jesus  in  16:  6, 11  f., 
and  are  mentioned  nowhere  else  in  the  Gospels. 
Only  a  few  weeks  before,  and  not  more  than 
a  few  miles  away,  Jesus  had  severely  censured 
the  Pharisees  as  hypocrites  and  violators  of 
God's  word  (i5:6, 7)  and  had  spoken  of  them 
as  blind  guides  of  the  people,  unworthy  of 
notice.  Yet  the  dissembled  hostility  here  in- 
dicated was  not  first  awakened  by  that  censure, 
for  they  had  already  accused  him  of  being  in 
league  with  Beelzebub.  (12:24.)  Some  critics 
think    it    incredible    that  Sadducees   should 


1  Magadan  is  read  by  {<  B,  D,  Old  Syriac,  and  Jerus. 
Syriac,  Old  Latin  (majority  of  copies),  and  Vulgate,  and 
by  Jerome  and  .\ugustine.  The  reason  for  changing  to 
Magdala  is  obvious,  while  we  can  imiigine  no  reascm 
for  a  change  in  the  opposite  direction  to  an  unknown 
name.  So  Herod.  II.  159  (comp.  Rawlinsou,  "  Great 
Empires,"  III.  48  n.)  changes  Megiddo  into  Magdolon, 
a  natural  Greek  form  of  Magdala.  As  meaning '  t«wer,' 
this  word  would  very  readily  become  the  name  of  a 
town  (Exod.  U;  2;  Josh.  15:  37:  l»:  »s),  comp.  Magdala,  the 
present  capital  of  Abyssinia.  There  is  now  a  place 
called  Mejdel  (containing  a  few  huts),  on  the  western 
shore  of  the  I^ke  of  Gal.,  which  was  probably  the  home 
of  Mary.  The  Heb.  Migdol,  Aram.  Magdala,  Arab. 
Megdel  (g,  soft),  are  exactly  characteristic  forms  for  the 
three  languages.  Magdalan,  found  In  C,  Memph.,  etc., 
seems  to  have  Iwen  an  intermetllate  "Alexandrian" 
alteration  of  Magadan,  and  Magdala  the  "  Syrian " 


alteration.  In  !Mark  (1; :  10)  Dalmanutha  is  in  a  good 
many  documents  changed  to  Magadan,  and  in  a  few 
to  Magdala.  Ca.«pari  would  identify  Magadan  and 
Dalmanutha  with  a  Wady  and  town  far  down  the 
Jordan  valley.  But  in  l)oth  Gospels  the  party  came  by 
boat  to  those  places,  and  presently  go  from  them  by 
boat  "  to  the  other  side"  (northeastern  side) ;  how  can 
these  exjjressions  suit  places  some  twelve  to  twenty 
miles  south  of  the  lake?  Canon  Cook  argues  ("Bib. 
Conim.,"  followe<l  by  Mersh.)  that  Dalmanutha  was 
not  in  Gal.,  because  the  Phar.  came  forth  (M«rk«;  11)  to 
seek  a  sign,  viz.,  out  of  their  district  ((iai.)  into  another 
district.  But  it  more  naturally  means,  out  of  their 
town  or  dist.  to  meet  him  as  he  approaohiKi,  comp.  25: 
1;  2r,:55;  Luke8:.V);  15:  28;  John  18:  4.  Nothing  is 
known  about  the  statement  of  F;us.  and  .lerome 
("Onom.",  with  express  reference  to  this  passage)  that 
"  there  Is  now  the  di.strict  of  Magedaue  near  Gerasa." 


348 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XVI. 


2  He  answered  and  said  unto  tbeiu,  When  it  is  even- 
ing, ye  say,  It  vitl  be  lair  weather :  for  the  sky  is  red. 

3  And  in  the  morning,  Jl  vill  be  foul  weather  to  day: 
for  the  sky  is  red  and  lowering.  O  ye  hypocrites,  ye 
can  discern  the  face  of  the  sky ;  but  can  ye  not  discern 
the  signs  of  the  times? 

4  A  wicked  and  adulterous  generation  seeketh  after 
a  sign  ;  and  there  shall  no  sign  be  given  unto  it,  but 
the  sign  of  the  prophet  Jonas.  And  he  left  them,  and 
departed. 


2  But  he  answered  and  said  unto  them,  i  When  it  is 
evening,  ye  say.  It  will  be  fair  weather:    for  the 

3  heaven  is  red.  And  in  the  morning.  It  will  be  foul 
weather  to-day  :  for  the  heaven  is  red  and  lowering. 
Ye  know  how  to  discern   the  face  of  the  heaven  ; 

4  but  ye  cannot  discern  the  signs  of  the  times.  An 
evil  and  adulterous  generation  seeketh  after  a  sign  ; 
and  there  shall  no  sign  be  given  unto  it,  but  the 
sign  of  Jonah.    And  he  left  them,  and  departed. 


I  Tbe  following  words,  to  the  end  of  ver.  3,  are  omitted  bj  a 


!  of  ttie  most  ancient  and  otber  important  authorities. 


have  come  with  Phainsees.  But  they  were 
temporarily  united  by  common  hostility  to 
Jesus.  Comp.  Herod  and  Pilate,  Luke  23: 
12,  and  Psalm  2:  2.  Tempting  (Ameri- 
can Revisers  would  render  'trying  him'), 
testing  him  (comp.  on  4:  1,  7),  with  the  hope 
that  he  will  not  stand  the  test,  will  not  be  able 
to  show  the  sign;  comp.  19:  3;  22:  18,  35.  The 
Scribes  and  Pharisees  had  asked  a  sign  from 
him  in  12:  38,  and  were  refused.  Now  the 
Pharisees  and  Sadduce  s  make  a  similar  de- 
mand specifically  for  a  'sign  from  heaven  '  (so 
also  Mark  8:  11),  and  get  (v.  <)  exactly  the 
same  refusal  as  before.  (i2:  ss.)  They  might 
be  thinking  of  such  signs  as  when  Moses  gave 
bread  from  heaven  (PsaimTS:  Mif. :  John  6:  so f.) 
Joshua  made  the  sun  and  moon  stand  still, 
Samuel  brought  thunder  and  rain  in  time  of 
harvest,  Elijah  repeatedly  called  down  fii-e 
from  heaven,  and  at  Isaiah's  word  the  shadow 
went  back  on  the  dial;  comp.  Joel  2:  30ff. 
Origen  conjectures  that  they  regarded  signs 
on  earth  as  wrought  in  Beelzebul.  (12:  "•) 
Probably  some  Jews  really  expected  celestial 
signs  of  Messiah's  approach;  but  the  present 
request  was  made  from  bad  motives.  Jesus 
promised  "great  signs  from  heaven"  in  con- 
nection with  his  second  coming  (2*:2»f.;   Luke  21 : 

II.  25;  comp.  Rev.  15:  i),  and  predicted  that  the  false 
Christs  would  show  great  signs.  (2*:  24.) 

2  f.  This  passage  (except  the  opening  words, 
He  answered  and  said  unto  them),  is 
quite  certainly  not  a  part  of   Matt.     It    is 


wanting  in  a  number  of  the  earliest  docu- 
ments (MSS.,  versions  and  Fathers)  ;*  no  reason 
can  be  imagined  for  its  omission,  and  it  may 
readilj'  have  come  from  Luke  12:  54-56,  where 
the  closing  and  principal  expression  is  sub- 
stantially the  same,  and  the  difference  consists 
simply  in  using  other  signs  of  the  weather. 
As  the  passage  is  retained  by  Rev.  Ver.,  we 
mention  that  Wet.  cites  from  Greek  and  Ro- 
man writers,  these  and  various  other  signs 
of  the  weather;  and  that  these  signs  hold  good 
in  England  and  in  our  country,  being  ex- 
pressed by  the  saying,  "Red  sky  at  night  is 
the  shepherd's  delight;  Red  sky  in  the  morn- 
ing is  the  shepherd's  warning,"  which  prob- 
ably came  to  us  from  England.  Tlie  signs  of 
tli,e  times  {sensons)  would  be  the  various  indi- 
cations then  observable  that  the  Messianic 
epoch  was  at  hand,  indications  in  the  civil  and 
religious  ctmdition  of  Israel,  the  fulfillment 
of  Messianic  prophecies,  and  the  miracles 
wrought  by  Jesus  and  his  followers.  The 
other  terms  of  the  passage  as  inserted  in  Matt, 
call  for  no  explanation.  Even  of  the  docu- 
ments containing  the  passage,  several  of  the 
best  omit  hypocrites  (v.  3),  evidently  drawn 
from  Luke  12 :  56. 

4.  This  repeats  his  former  reply  to  a  similar 
demand,  12:  38-40,  and  so  on  probably  a  later 
occasion,  Luke  11 :  29  f  Some  critics  cannot 
believe  that  Jesus  would  several  times  repeat 
the  same  thing;  but  see  Int.  to  ch.  5.  Of  the 
prophet  Jonas,  or,  Jonah.     To  Jonah  was 


'  Wanting  in  K  B,  V,  X,  r,  and  a  dozen  cursives,  in  Old 
Syriac,  Memph.  (a  codex),  and  Armenian.  Origen,  the 
great  critic,  in  his  commentary  on  Matt.,  begins  the 
reply  of  .Tesus  with  our  v.  4,  making  no  allusion  to  any 
such  passage  as  that  in  question.  Jerome  says,  "  This 
is  not  found  in  the  majority  of  copies."  Nobody, 
orthodox  or  heretic,  could  have  had  any  objection  to 
the  passage.  We  cannot  well  suppose  it  omitted  by 
assimilation  to  Mark  (Meyer),  for  the  copyists  usually 
assimilated  by  inserting.  Mori.son  fancies  it  omitted 
by  some  copyist  who  did  not  find  thes^  signs  of  weather 
holding  good  in  his  locality ;  but  this  essentially  im- 


probable notion  will  not' account  for  its  absence  in  so 
many  documents  from  different  parts  of  the  world. 
There  is  no  difficulty  in  supposing  it  to  have  come  from 
Luke  (where  all  documents  have  the  corresponding  pas- 
sage), when  we  observe  that  the  main  statement  is  the 
same,  and  only  the  particular  signs  of  the  weather  have 
been  altered  by  the  memory  of  the  student  who  first 
placed  it  on  the  margin  of  Matt.,  whence  it  would  creep 
into  the  text.  It  is  therefore  quite  unnecessary  to  sup- 
pose (Hort)  a  separate  saying  of  Jesus  preserved  by  trar 
dition. 


Ch.  XVI.] 


MATTHEW. 


349 


5  And  when  his  disciples  were  come  to  the  other 
side,  they  had  forgotten  to  take  bread. 

6  Tbeu  Jesus  said  unto  them,  Take  heed  and  beware 
of  the  leaven  of  the  Pharisees  and  of  the  Sadducees. 


5  And  the  disciples  came  to  the  other  side,  and  for- 

6  got  to  take  •  bread.    And  Jesus  said   unto  them, 
Take  heed  and  beware  of  the  leaven  of  the  Phari- 


easily  added  '  the  prophet '  (common  Greek 
text)  from  12:  39.  Mark  (s:  12)  records  only 
the  general  refusal  to  give  a  sign,  without 
mentioning  the  exception,  the  sign  of  Jonah, 
and  states  that  in  replying  he  "  sighed  deeply 
in  his  spirit."  Jesus  is  beginning  to  find  it 
hard  to  endure  such  perverse  and  malignant 
opposition  (comp.  17  :  17).  Left  them  and 
departed  (corap.  21:  17).  Bengel :  "Just 
severity."  One  of  our  Lord's  reasons  for  pre- 
viously withdrawing  from  Galilee  had  been 
the  hostility  of  the  Pharisees  (see  on  15:  21). 
So  now  again  he  withdraws  to  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Cesarea  Philippi,  the  region  farthest 
removed  from  Jerusalem  and  its  hypocritical 
and  malignant  parties  (15  1).  It  is  not  likely 
that  he  remained  at  Magadan  longer  than  a 
day  or  two. 

HOMILETICAL  AND  PRACTICAL. 

V.  29-31.  New  fields  and  new  labors ;  comp. 
Acts  10:  38. —V.  32.  Rtle:  "It  is  a  curious  and 
striking  fact  that  of  all  the  feelings  expressed 
by  our  Lord  upon  earth,  there  is  none  so  often 
mentioned  as  compassion.  His  joy,  his  sor- 
row, his  thankfulness,  his  anger,  his  wonder, 
his  zeal,  are  all  occasionally  recorded.  But 
none  of  these  feelings  are  so  frequently  men- 
tioned as  compassion."  Hbnry:  "Our  Lord 
Jesus  keeps  an  account  how  long  his  followers 
continue  their  attendance  on  him,  and  takes 
notice  of  the  diflSculty  they  sustain  in  it. 
(Her. 2:  2.)" — V.  33.  Henry :  "Forgetting 
former  experience  leaves  us  under  present 
doubts." — Ch.  16:1.  Orioen:  "Often  now  also 
we  see  persons  who  hold  the  most  discordant 
opinions  in  philosophy  or  other  matters,  seem- 
ing to  harmonize  that  they  may  mock  at  and 
war  against  Jesus  Christ  in  his  disciples." — V. 
1,  4.  Signs.  1)  Even  our  Lord's  early  signs 
convinced  Nicodemus  and  his  friends.  (joHo*:?.) 

2)  The  many  signs  of  the  next  two  years  did 
not  satisfy  malignant  opposers  (»i),  and  were 
even  a.scribed  by  them  to  Beelzebul.   {n-.t*.) 

3)  Captious  demands  for  special  signs  he  al- 
ways refused.  (»•♦;  comp.  Loke4:K.)  4)  Even  the 
8ign  of  Jonah  (»•*),  when  it  came  in  his  resur- 
rection, while  a  conclusive  proof,  was  rejected 


by  many.  (•« :  15 ;  aoh  k  :  w.)  5)  Even  years  af- 
terwards the  Jews  demanded  fresh  signs,  but 
the  '  called '  found  Christ  crucified  the  power 

of  God.   (1  Cor.  1 :  22  ff.) 

16:  5-20.  Jesus  Withdraws  to  thb 
Neighborhood  of  Cesarea  Philippi. 
Peter's  Great  Confession. 

This  is  found  iilso  in  Mark  8:  13-30,  and 
the  latter  part  in  Luke  9:  18-21.  Luke  has 
passed  over  everything  since  the  feeding  of 
the  five  thousand,  and  here  also  is  very  brief. 
This  is  the  last  and  most  important  of  our 
Lord's  four  withdrawals  from  Galilee  during 
the  last  six  months  of  his  ministry  in  that 
region  (comp.  14:  13;  15:  21,  29),  and  will 
continue  to  17:  20. 

I.  5-12.  Conversation  on  the  Way. 
To  the  other  side,  of  the  lake,  as  in  8:  18-28; 
14:  22,  always  meaning  the  eastern  side. 
Mark  presently  mentions  (8:22)  that  they 
came  to  Bethsaida  (viz.,  Julias},  and  after- 
wards went  to  Cesarea  Philippi.  So  the  first 
point  reached  ])y  boat  was  on  the  northeast- 
ern side  of  the  lake.  Forgottea;  rather /or- 
got  (Wye,  Rheims),  is  the  literal  translation, 
natural  here  in  English  and  still  more  so  in 
Greek.  It  probably  means  that  they  forgot 
in  preparing  the  boat,  and  on  reaching  the 
other  side  became  aware  of  the  forgetting;  or 
it  may  mean  that  upon  landing  they  forgot  to 
supply  themselves  for  the  journey.  To  take 
bread — or  loaves — except  a  single  one  (M»ri<  , 
which  amounted  to  nothing.  The  seven  great 
baskets  of  fragments  from  the  miracle  were 
probably  given  to  the  multitude  for  future 
use,  or  to  the  poor  of  Magadan.  After  dis- 
covering their  negligence  and  destitution,  the 
disciples  felt  an  annoyance  which  led  them  to 
asingular  blunder.  Jesus  meantime  was  think- 
ingof  the  Pharisees  and  Sadduoecs,  from  whose 
obduracy  and  malignity  he  had  just  witii- 
drawn.  (i«:<)  These  great  politico-re' ig  ions  par- 
ties'see  on  3:  7)  hiul  immense  influence.  The 
disciples  had  been  reared  to  respect  them,  and 
8'>  Jesus  takes  occasion  to  give  a  warn  ingagai  list 
their  teachings  and  influence.  The  leaven 
of  the  Pharisees  and  of  the  Sadducces, 
Mark  has  {»■■  li)  'the  leaven  of  the  Phar.,  and 


350 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XVI. 


7  And  they  reasoned  among  themselves,  saying,  //  is 
because  we  have  taken  no  bread. 

8  Which  when  Jesus  perceived,  he  said  unto  them,  O 
ye  of  little  faith,  why  reason  ye  among  yourselves, 
because  ye  have  brought  no  bread  ? 

9  Do  ye  not  yet  understand,  neither  remember  the 
five  loaves  of  the  five  thousand,  and  how  many  bas- 
kets ye  took  up  ? 


7  sees  and    Sadducees.     And  they  reasoned  among 

8  themselves,  saying,  i  We  took  no  *  bread.  And  Jesus 
perceiving  it  said,  O  ye  of  little  faith,  why  reason 
ye  among  yourselves,  because  ye  have  no  *  bread  ? 

9  Do  ye  not  yet  perceive,  neither  remember  the  five 
loaves  of  the  five  thousand,  and  how  many  <  baskets 


1  Or,  Ic  Is  becatue  W6  took  no  bread.. . .2  Or.  loavea. . . .S  Basket  Id  ver.  9  and  10  represents  different  Greek  word«. 


the  leaven  of  Herod.'  Some  have  "inferred" 
that  Herod  Antipas  was  a  Sadducee,  notwith- 
standing in  14:  2  he  expressed  belief  that 
John  the  Baptist  was  risen  from  the  dead. 
But  Mark  has  also  omitted  the  Sadducees  in 
8 :  11,  as  to  asking  a  sign  from  heaven,  and  in- 
deed mentions  them  only  in  12:  18.  This  fact 
will  account  for  his  omitting  them  here.  We 
thus  understand  that  besides  the  Phar.  and 
Sadd.  Jesus  spoke  also  of  Herod,  whose  jeal- 
ousy (i*:2)  had  been  one  cause  of  his  repeat- 
edly withdrawing  from  Galilee,  even  as  now 
again  he  is  going  to  the  dominions  of  the 
tetrarch  Philip.  Mark's  expression  indicates 
the  leaven  of  Herod  as  distinct  from  that  of 
the  Phar.  Matthew  by  not  repeating  '  leaven,' 
and  by  having  only  one  article  (see  on  16:  1), 
suggests  something  common  to  the  Phar.  and 
Sadd.,  not  necessarily  some  common  tenet  or 
specific  teaching,  but  a  common  hurtful  ten- 
dency. It  is  therefore  idle  to  say  that  Jesus 
is  here  represented  as  confounding  the  rival 
parties.  Nor  is  this  passage  in  conflict  with 
23 :  3,  for  much  of  what  the  Scribes  and  Phar. 
taught  was  correct,  and  proper  to  be  observed. 
Leaven  was  regarded  in  the  law  as  symboli- 
cally impure  (Exod.Mms;  Levit.2;n),  and  hence 
the  figure  in  1  Cor.  5:  6  f.  and  here;  see  also 
Luke  12 :  1,  where  it  is  used  in  a  different 
connection,  and  probably  on  a  later  occasion. 
The  disciples  were  in  no  mood  for  figurative 
and  spiritual  meanings  of  words  (comp.  John 
4:  10  ff. ;  6:  26).  They  took  it  all  literally, 
supposing  that  the  Master  had  observed  their 
lack  of  bread,  and  was  cautioning  them  not  to 
purchase  any  loaves  made  with  the  kind  of 
leaven  used  by  the  Phar.  and  Sadd.  This 
seems  to  the  modern  mind  a  strange  and  al- 
most impossible  notion  ;  but  it  was  just  such  a 
matter  as  the  Rabbis  made  much  of  The  Tal- 
mud contains  discussions  as  to  whether  it  was 
right  to  use  Gentile  leaven.  (Lightf.)*    So  the 


disciples  reproach  themselves.  Because  we 
have  taken  no  bread  {loaves),  is  an  abrupt 
phrase  natural  to  persons  disconcerted.  The 
word  rendered  in  Com.  Ver.  (and  Rev.  Ver. 
mnrgin)  'because'  is  very  often  the  mere 
'that'  after  a  verb  of  saying,  which  in  Eng- 
lish is  not  used  when  the  exact  words  are 
quoted.  It  is  best  so  to  understand  here 
(Rev. Ver. )  but  the  marginal  rendering  is 
quite  possible,  and  is  preferred  by  Meyer. 

8-12.  The  Master  rebukes  them  for  suppos- 
ing that  he  was  concerning  himself  about 
kindsof  food.  A  few  weeks  or  months  before, 
he  had  said  (is;  i),  "Not  that  which  entereth 
into  the  mouth  defileth  the  man  "  ;  how  then 
could  he  be  laying  stress  on  a  particular  kind 
of  leaven?  And  the  repeated  miracles  of 
feeding  vast  multitudes  from  a  very  little  food, 
and  leaving  a  large  surplus,  ought  certainly 
to  have  showed  them  that  the  mere  lack  of 
bread  would  cause  him  no  concern.  Onl^'  be- 
cause they  were  of  little  faith  (6:30;  8:26;  u:3i) 
did  they  imagine  surh  a  thing.  Mark  gives 
still  sharper  expressions.  Notice  the  connec- 
tion here  between  faith  and  spiritual  percep- 
tion, (v.  sr.)  "With  stronger  faith  in  him  they 
would  have  been  lifted  above  temporal  anx- 
iety, and  in  better  condition  to  understand  his 
spiritual  instructions.  Ye  have  (v.  s)  was  easily 
changed  into  'ye  took'  (rendered  by  Com. 
Ver.  'ye  have  brought'),  to  make  it  like  v.  7. 
Not  yet,  comp.  15:  16;  and  Mark  6:  52. 
Understand — (or  perceive),  v.  9-11  (Tyn., 
Gen.,)  as  in  15:  17;  in  v.  8  it  represents  an- 
other word,  which  is  awkward,  but  in  this 
case  cannot  well  be  helped,  for  the  literal 
'knowing'  or  'having  known '  would  be  mis- 
understood. In  V.  11  the  text  in  Rev.  Ver., 
which  is  that  of  the  earliest  documents, 
seemed  abrupt,  and  was  variously  changed, 
finally,  into  the  form  given  in  Com.  Ver.  In 
the  true  text,  after  rebuking  them  for  failing 


iKeim  coolly  sets  aside  the  story,  saying,  "This  gross  I  arrogant  and  superficial  criticism  could  not  have  oc- 
and  altogether  inconceivable  misunderstanding  could  !  curred,  in  the  case  of  an  able,  learned,  and  earnest 
Bot  have  occurred."    One  might  have  thought  that  such  '  man. 


Ch.  XVL] 


MATTHEW. 


351 


10  Neither  the  seven  loaves  of  the  four  thousand, 
and  how  many  baskets  ye  took  up  ? 

U  How  is  it  that  ye  do  not  understand  that  I  spake 
it  not  to  you  concerning  bread,  that  ye  sbuiild  beware 
of  the  leaven  of  the  Pharisees  and  of  the  Sadducees? 

12  Then  understood  they  how  that  he  bade  t/iem  not 
beware  of  the  leaven  of  bread,  but  of  the  doctrine  of 
the  Pharisees  and  of  the  Sadducces. 

13  When  Jesus  came  into  the  coasts  of  Cesarea  Phil- 
ippi,  he  asked  his  disciples,  saying,  Whom  do  men  say 
that  1,  the  Son  of  man,  am? 


10  ye  took  up?    Neither  the  seven  loaves  of  the  four 

11  thousand,  and  how  many  ^baskets  ye  took  up?  How 
is  it  that  ye  do  not  perceive  that  I  spake  not  to  you 
concerning   ^bread?     But  beware  of  the  leaven  of 

12  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees.  Then  understood 
they  how  that  he  bade  them  not  beware  of  the  leaven 
of  *  bread,  but  of  the  teaching  ol  the  Pharisees  and 
Sadducees. 

13  Now  when  Jesus  cime  into  the  parts  of  Ceesarea 
Philippi  he  asked  his  disciples,  saying.  Who  do  men 


1  Batketi  in  ver.  9  and  10  represeata  diSereut  Greek  words 2  Qr.  (oatiu. 


to  perceive,  he  repeats  the  counsel,  in  order 
that  they  might  now  look  at  it  and  under- 
stand ;  and  so  they  did.  Understood  (t.  12), 
as  in  15:  10, 16.  Doctrine — literally  teaching 
— see  on  7 :  28  and  8:  19,  not  simply  their 
dogmas,  as  '  doctrine  '  would  now  suggest,  but 
the  whole  spirit  and  tendency  of  their  teach- 
ing. The  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  taught 
ideas  concerning  religious  truth  and  duty  in 
general,  and  in  particular  concerning  the 
Messianic  reign,  which  to  the  apostles  would 
be  misleading  and  corrupting.  Herod  repre- 
sented a  certain  type  of  politico-religious 
opinion,  accepted  by  the  Herodians,  which 
would  also  be  quite  misleading  for  proclaimers 
of  the  spiritual  Messianic  reign.  This  warn- 
ing, while  suggested  by  the  recent  demand  of 
the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  (IB:  i),  was  a  prep- 
aration for  the  great  approaching  instruc- 
tion concerning  Messiah's  true  mission. 

After  crossing  the  lake  Jesus  came  to  Beth- 
saida  (see  on  14  :  13),  and  there  healed  a  blind 
man;  a  very  interesting  case,  recorded  by 
Mark  alone.    (»■  ii-s.) 

II.  13-20.  Peter's  Great  Confession, 
AND  Our  Lord's  Signal  Response.  Here 
Luke  comes  in  (»;  is),  though  both  he  and 
Mark  are  brief,  and  fail  to  give  the  response. 
The  narrative  in  Matt,  and  Mark  goes  right 
on,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  question  the  con- 
tinuity of  events.  Into  the  coasts  (parts.) 
Wyclif  here  hud  'partis,'  but  Tyn.  introduced 
the  erroneous  'coasts,'  see  on  15:  21.  Mark 
(8:27)  has  the  more  definite  expression  'the 
villages  of  Cesarea  Philippi'  ;  he  was  tarry- 
ing in  the  suburban  villages.  Cesarea 
Philippi  was  at  the  nothern  end  of  Palestine, 
being  near  Dan  ("from  Dan  to  Beer- 
sheba").  It  lay  beside  the  eastern  and 
least  copious  of  the  two  chief  springs  of 
the  Jordan  ;  at  the  other  spring,  two  and  a 
half  miles  west  was  Dan  ;  below  the  junction 
of  their  streams  there  comes  in  an^ither,  not 
mentioned    by  Josephus,   which   has  flowed 


many  miles  from  far  up  the  slope  of  Hermon, 
and  is  really  the  remotest  source  of  the  river. 
The  town  was  in  an  elevated  plain,  one  thou- 
sand one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  Mediterranean,  and  near  the  foot  of 
Mount  Hermon,  which  rises  seven  or  eight 
thousand  feet  higher  still.  A  mile  east  (Mc- 
Garvey),  stands  "  a  precipitous  rock,  at  least 
a  thousand  feet  above  the  town,"  crowned  by 
a  singularly  strong  fortress,  dating  from  before 
the  time  of  Christ,  and  in  its  present  dimen- 
«ions  from  the  Saracens  and  the  Crusaders. 
Stanley  and  others  imagine  that  our  Lord  was 
led  by  this  to  use  the  phrase,  "On  this  rock  I 
will  build  my  church."  The  plain  or  terrace 
on  which  the  city  stood  is  very  beautiful. 
Porter:  "It  is  covered  with  oaks  and  olive- 
trees,  having  green  glades  and  clumps  of  haw- 
thorn and  myrtle."  Many  travelers  speak  of 
encamping  under  noble  shade  trees  just  north 
ofthetown.  Tri.s^ram  (in  Edersh.) :  "Every- 
where there  is  a  wild  medley  of  cascades,  mul- 
berry-trees, fig-trees,  dashing  torrents,  fes- 
toons of  vines,  bubbling  fountains,  reeds,  and 
ruins,  and  the  mingled  music  of  birds  and 
waters."  The  field?  between  and  around  the 
sources  of  the  Jordan  are  very  fertile,  pro- 
ducing breadstuflTs  and  rice;  and  (Keim)  "in 
summer  the  whole  district  is  a  sea  of  flowers, 
whence  the  bees  gather  a  rich  harvest."  Jo- 
sephus ("Ant.,"  15,  10,  3)  calls  the  fountain 
Panion,  showing  that  the  Greeks  here  wor- 
shiped Pan,  whose  worship  was  often  asso- 
ciated with  caves  and  grottos;  and  there  are 
Greek  inscriptions  on  the  face  of  the  cliff  to 
the  same  eflfect.  Probably  the  Phoenicians 
had  here  worshiped  one  of  the  forms  of  Baal, 
for  Robinson  arzucs  that  here  was  the  town 
of"  Baal-gad,  in  the  valley  of  Lebanon,  under 
Mount  Hermon."  (.io«h.  n  :i7.)  Herod  the 
Great  built,  near  the  fountain,  a  temple  of 
white  marble,  in  honor  of  Augustus.  Philip, 
the  totrarch  (see  on  2:  '20  and  11:0),  enlarged 
the  town  and  called  it  Cesarea,  in  honor  of 


352 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XVI. 


14  And  they  said,  Some  say  that  thou  art  John  the  I  14  say  'that  the  Son  of  man  is?  And  they  said,  Some 
Baptist;  some,  £lias ;  and  others,  Jeremias,  or  one  of  saj/,  John  the  Baptist;  some,  Elijah;  *and  others, 
the  prophets.  I 


1  Hanj  ancient  auttaoricies  retA,  that  I  the  Son  o/ man  am.    See  Mark  viil.  27  ;  Luke  ix.  18, 


Tiberias.  To  distinguish  it  from  the  great  sea- 
port it  was  called  Ces.  Philippi,  "Philip's 
Cesarea."  Some  coins  give  it  as  Ces.  Paneas, 
a  name  derived  from  Pan,  and  this  survives 
in  the  modern  Banias.' — Our  Lord  must  in 
his  youth  have  often  gazed  at  Hermon  from 
the  lofty  hill  west  of  Nazareth  (see  on  2 :  23), 
and  so  during  his  ministry  must  have  looked 
at  the  snow-clad  line  of  Lebanon  from  the 
Lake  of  Galilee. 2  It  was  doubtless  a  great 
pleasure  to  him  and  the  disciples  in  midsum- 
mer to  leave  the  hot  shores  of  the  lake,  far 
below  the  level  of  the  Mediterranean,  and 
visit  this  cool  and  delightful  mountainous  re- 
gion. There  was  also  the  advantage  of  being 
in  the  dominions  of  Philip  (as  in  14:18; 
15:  29),  who  was  a  comparatively  just  ruler, 
and  had  no  such  occasion  for  suspicious  jeal- 
ousy of  Jesus  as  Herod  Antipas.  (u:  i  a.)  The3' 
must  have  remained  here  some  weeks  or  even 
months,  as  the  series  of  withdrawals  (i*;  is;  is: 
21,  iS;  16:  13)  occupied  nearly  six  months.  But 
the  matters  recorded  in  connection  with  this 
sojourn  are  near  together  in  time  ;  for  16  :  21- 
28  seems  to  occur  on  the  same  day  as  Peter's 
confession,  and  17:  1-20  about  a  week  after- 
wards. From  16 :  13  it  is  natural  to  suppose 
that  all  this  took  place  shortly  after  he  reached 
that  region,  and  the  rest  of  the  time  remains 
a  blank. 

The  inhabitants  of  Cesarea  Philippi  and 
vicinity  were  largely  heathen,  and  while 
sometimes  attended  by  crowds  (M.irk8:.i4),  and 
ready  to  heal  (i7:i*),  our  Lord  occupied  him- 
self mainly  with  the  private  instruction  of  the 
twelve  disciples  as  to  his  approaching  ex- 
traordinary experiences  (i6:2i)  and  the  true 
nature  of  the  Messianic  work.  His  own  con- 
templation of  his  approaching  rejection  and 
death  was  accompanied  by  prayer.  (Luke  9:  is.) 
In  order  to  prepare  the  minds  of  the  disciples 


for  these  new  views  of  the  Messianic  mission, 
he  draws  from  them  the  confession  that  he  is 
the  Messiah,  which  Peter  makes  as  spokes- 
man, (t.  13-15.)  This  occurred  'on  the  road' 
(Mark  8: 27),  probably  from  one  village  to  an- 
other; he  had  withdrawn  a  little,  and  was 
alone  with  his  disciples  (Luke 9: is);  afterwards 
he  would  naturally  return  to  the  road,  and 
here  came  in  contact  with  a  great  number  of 
other  persons.  (Mark8:34.)  In  drawing  out  the 
confession,  he  skillfully  begins  with  an  in- 
quiry as  to  popular  opinion  concerning  him, 
and  then  advances  to  ask  their  own  opinion. 
The  former  was  important  as  to  any  hope  of  im- 
mediate general  usefulness;  thelatter  far  more 
important  as  to  the  whole  future  of  the  Mes- 
sianic movement.  Whom  {ivho)  do  men  say. 
'Whom'  (all  the  early  English  versions)  is  a 
sort  of  attraction  of  the  relative  into  the  case 
that  would  be  required  by  the  nearest  word, 
'  say.'  This  use  of  the  relative  is  also  found  in 
Shakespeare,  but  abandoned  in  modern  Eng- 
lish. That  I,  the  Son  of  man,  am?  This 
should  read  '  the  Son  of  7nan  is.'  The  change 
arose  from  assimilation  to  Mark  and  Luke. 
The  phrase  'the  Son  of  man'  (see  on  8:  20,  and 
comp.  John  12:  23)  really  implied  that  he 
was  the  Messiah,  but  did  not  distinctly  affirm 
it.  He  had  already  declared  that  the  Son  of 
man  was  Lord  of  the  Sabbath  (12:8),  that  he 
had  authority  on  earth  to  forgive  sins  (9  =  6), 
that  he  shall  send  forth  his  angels  for  the  final 
harvest.  (w:«.)  He  had  also  (Lutteroth) 
often  spoken  of  God  as  his  Father.     (John  3: 

13-18;  5:  25-27;  Matt.  7:  21  ;  10:  32  ;  11 :  27;  15  :  IS.) 

14.  Popular  opinion  varied.  John  the 
Baptist,  see  on  3  :  1.  This  would  suppose 
John  to  have  risen  from  the  dead,  as  Herod 
Antipas  thought,  (i*:  2-)  Elias,  instead  of  the 
Hebrew  form  Elijah,  see  on  1 :  2.  The  Jews 
very  generally  expected  Elijah  to  come  to 


iln  modern  Arabic  the  sounds  of  b  andp  are  both 
represented  by  b  (the  Arabic  p  having  always  the  sound 
of  our  ph  or  /),  and  are  often  hard  to  diatinfrnisli. 
Thus  Bashaw  and  Pasha  are  two  European  attempts  to 
represent  the  same  word,  and  Kal>uliis  is  the  Arabic  for 
Neapolia,  English  Naples. 

«  One  afternoon  in  March,  1871,  we  .stood  before  our 
tent  near  Tubariyeh  (Tiberias),  and  watched  a  black 


cloud  as  it  came  rolling  up  the  Jordan  valley  and  over 
the  southern  end  of  the  lake,  till  it  hung  above  us  like 
a  mighty  pall.  Looking  northward  we  saw  a  wonder- 
ful play  of  jagged  lightnings  about  the  upper  end  of 
the  lake,  and  then  far  in  the  north  there  gleamed  out 
upon  us  the  long  line  of  Lebanon,  with  its  snows  inde- 
scribably brillinnt  in  the  evening  sun.  It  was  one  of 
the  sights  of  a  lifetime. 


Cn.  XVI.] 


MATTHEW. 


353 


15  He  saith  unto  them,  But  whom  say  ye  that  I  am?  I  15  Jeremiah,  or  one  of  the  prophets.    Ho  saith  unto 

16  And  Simon  Peter  answered  and  said,  Thou  art  I  16  them,  But  who  say  ye  that  1  am?    And  Siuion  Peter 
the  Christ,  the  ^on  of  the  living  God.  |       answered  and  said,  Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of 


life  again  (see  on  11 :  14),  many  supposing  he 
would  be  a  forerunner  of  Messiah.  (Mai.  4:5f.) 
— And  those  who  held  that  Jesus  was  Elijah, 
probably  thought  that  he  was  a  forerunner  of 
Messiah.  Andothers,Jeremias  {Jeremiah). 
'Others'  is  here  a  different  Greek  word  from 
the  foregoing,  and  denotes  (conip.  Gal.  1 :  6) an- 
other class  or  kind  of  persons,  i.  e.,  persons  who 
turned  away  from  the  popular  expectation  of 
Elijah.     Jeremiah  was  in  the  time  of  our  Lord 
greatly  venerated  among  the  Jews.   They  had 
a  legend  that  he  appeared  in  a  vision  to  Judas 
Maccabeus  and  encouraged   him   (2Macc.  lo-.;, 
«»ff);    also  that    when  the    temple  was   de- 
stroyed, Jeremiah  hid  the  tabernacle,  the  ark, 
and  the  altar  of  incense  in  a  cave  of  Mount  Pis- 
gah,  and  promised  that  they  should  one  day 
be  restored  (s  Maco.  ? :  *  ff.) ;  and  a  very  late  Jew- 
ish writer  says,  that  Jeremiah  would  himself 
appear  to  restore  these  sacred  objects.     Some 
Eabbinical  writers  hold  Jeremiah  to  be  the 
prophet  promised  by  Moses   (Deut.  18:  15). 
We  now  think  of  Isaiah  as  the  great  prophet, 
because  he  is  so  often  quoted  in  the  New  Test, 
as  predicting  the   Messiah ;  but  the  Jews  in 
the  time  of  Christ  reckoned  Elijah  and  Jere- 
miah as  foremost.     Or  one  of  the  prophets. 
There  was  great  confusion  of  opinion  as  to  the 
circumstances   of   Messiah's  approach,   some 
thinking  there  would  be  a  series  of  forerun- 
ners (see  on  11 :  3).    The  last  class  here  men- 
tioned were  disposed  to  be  non-committal  as 
to  identifying  Jesus  with  any  particular  an- 
cient prophet,  but  thought  he  must  be  some 
one  of  them.     To  many  minds,  now  that  be- 
lief in   a  resurrection  had  become  vivid,  the 
idea  of  some  former  revered  prophet  re-ap- 
pearing was  more  natural  and  credible  than 
that  of  a  new  prophet;    yet  some  counted 
John  the   Baptist  a  prophet  (u:5;ii:9),  and 
others  already  thought  Jesus  a  new  and  groat 
prophet  (Luke?:  16;  John 6: u),  as  many  did  at  a 
later  period.  (John  7: «;  Matt.  21 :  48.)     But  no  class 
of  the  people  at  this  time  regarded  him  as  be- 
ing the  Messiah.      How  could  they,  when  in 
their  view  Messiah  was  to  be  a  splendid  con- 
queror and  king? 

15  f.  But  whom  (Rev.  Ver.,  who)  say  ye 
that  I  am?  Observe  'ye,'  plural,  and  by 
position  in  the  Greek  exceedingly  emphatic— 


in  contrast  with  the  discordant  popular  opin- 
ions. The  question  is  addressed  to  all,  and 
Peter  answers  as  their  spokesman,  just  as  he 
does   in    many  other    cases.     (John  e •.  67-70 ;  Matt. 

15:  15  f.;  19:  25-28;  Luke  12:  41;  Mark  11  :  20-22;  Matt.  26:  40; 

Aot8  2:37f.;5:29,  etc.)     Chvys. :  "  Pctcr,  the  cvcr 
fervent,   the  leader  of   the  Apostolic    choir 
(Coryphaeus)."   His  impulsive  nature,  which 
sometimes  brought  him  into  trouble  (u:  29;  26: 51) 
helped  to  tit  Peter  for  this  post  of  spokesman, 
and  a  better  qualification  was  his  strong  faith 
and  ardent  love  for  the  Master.     The  fact  that 
the  others  remained  silent  and  left  him  to 
speak  does  not  show  that  none  of  them  fully 
shared  his  sentiments;  comp.  19:  28;  26:  40; 
etc.     Thou  art  the  Christ,  as  in  v.  20.     The 
early  Eng.  versions,  including  the  first  and 
several  succeeding  editions  of  K.  James,  gave 
'Christ'  without  the  article;  it  is  not  ascer- 
tained when  the  article  was  introduced  into 
the  Com.  Ver.     It  has  also  the  article  in  the 
parallel  passage,  Mark  8 :  29.     For  the  mean- 
ing of  the  word  '  Christ'  see  on  1 :  1.     "We  feel 
the  force  of  it  better  in  this  and  many  pas- 
sages of  the  Gospels,  by  using  the  Hebrew 
word  Messiah  (see  on  2:  4).     'Thou'  is  ex- 
pressed in  the  Greek,  and  therefore  emphatic. 
The  Son  of  the  living  God  is  a  very  solemn 
expression.     The  gods  of  the  heathen  were 
lifeless;  Jehovah  the  God  of  Israel,  the  one 
true  God,   was  living.     So   Paul   at   Li'stra 
(Acts  14: 15 R. v.):    "that  ye  should  should  turn 
from  these  rain  things  unto  the  living  God.'' 
Mark    (8:29)    records  simply   'thou   art   the 
Christ   {Messiah)' ;   Luke  (9:20)   'the  Christ 
{Messiah)  of  God.' — The  earliest  disciples  of 
Jesu.s,  including  Simon  Peter,  at  once  con- 
cluded that  he  was  the  Messiah.    (John  1:41,49.) 
But  he  proceeded  to  act  so  differently  from 
what   they  had    been    reared    to    expect  of 
Messiah,  that  thej'  would  naturally  become 
greatly    perplexed    about    his    Messiahship, 
even  a3  Jolin  felt  in  his  prison  (see  on  11 :  3). 
Again  and  again,  however,  some  work  or  word 
would  persuade  them  afresh.     Thus  in  7:  '22 
he  declares,   "Many  will  say  to  me  in  that 
Any,  Lord,  Lord,"  etc.     In  11:  5f  he  refers 
the  messengers  of  John    to    his    Mes.sianic 
miracles    and    preaching   to   the    poor.      In 
14:   33  the  persons   in   the  boat  say,   "of  a 


354 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XVI. 


17  And  Jesus  anrwered  and  said  unto  him,  Blessed 
art  thou,  Simon  Bar-joua :  for  flesh  and  blood  hath  not 
revealed  U  unto  thee,  but  my  Father  which  is  in 
heaven. 


17  the  living  God.  And  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto 
him,  Blessed  art  thou,  .Simon  Bar-Jonah  :  lor  fiesh 
and  blood  hath  not  revealed  it  uuto  thee,  but  my 


truth  tliou  art  the  Son  of  God."  In  John  6; 
69,  R.  v.,  Peter  says  (as  spokesman):  "We 
have  believed  and  know  that  thou  art  the 
Holy  One  of  God."  (This  last  the  copyists 
changed  into  "thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of 
the  living  God,"  by  assimilation  to  our  pas- 
sage of  Matthew.)  Now,  two  or  three  years 
hiter  than  their  first  early  persuasion,  they 
have  become  established  in  the  conviction, 
though  so  in  conflict  with  their  life-long  con- 
ceptions, that  their  Master  is  the  Messiah. 
We  thus  see  that  there  is  no  contradiction, 
such  as  many  critics  have  alleged,  between 
the  statements  of  Matt.,  Mark.,  and  Luke  at 
this  point,  and  that  of  John  1  :  41.  Nor  do 
we  read  that  he  had  ever  distinctly  told  the 
disciples  that  he  was  the  Messiah,  though  he 
had  said  so  to  the  woman  of  Samaria.  (John  4: 
M,  29.)  A  few  months  later,  the  noble  Martha, 
who  receives  scant  justice  in  many  pulpits, 
made  the  same  confession  for  which  Peter  is 
here  so  commended.  (John  n :  27.)  We  under- 
stand the  importance  of  this  confession  when 
we  hear  a  Jew  of  the  present  time  announce 
his  new-found  conviction  that  Jesus  of  Naz- 
areth is  the  Messiah. — Does  this  confession 
of  Peter  represent  the  Saviour  as  divine  ? 
Not  necessarily,  if  it  stood  alone  without  any 
later  revelation.  (Comp.  on  14:  33.)  But  sub- 
sequent apostolic  teaching,  guided  by  the 
Holy  Spirit,  employs  kindred  phrases  to  set 
ftirth  his  divinity,  which  may  therefore  be 
regarded  as  implicitly  contained  in  the  lan- 
guage here  used. 

17.  This  response,  v.  17-19,  is  given  by  Matt. 
only.  Our  Lord  seems  to  speak  joyfully. 
Here  at  last  the  disciples  have  reached  the 
strong  conviction,  the  clear  faith,  necessary  to 
prepare  them  for  comprehending  and  estab- 
lishing his  spiritual  Messianic  reign.  Blessed, 
more  exactly  Aff^/jy,  see  on  5:  3,  and  comp. 
11  :  6;  13  :  16.     God  has  greatly  favored  him, 


in  bringing  him  to  this  perception  and  convic- 
tion, and  so  he  is  a  happy  man.  Why  does 
Jesus  say  this  to  Simon  Peter  alone,  and  not 
to  all  those  whose  opinion  he  had  asked,  and 
for  whom  Peter  had  spoken  ?  Partly,  no 
doubt,  because  he  wishes  to  refer  in  what 
follows  to  the  meaning  of  the  name  Peter, 
and  partly  because  Peter  is  to  have  a  certain 
leadership  in  the  founding  of  the  king- 
dom, and  so  what  is  about  to  be  said 
will  apply  especially,  though  by  no  means  ex- 
clusively, to  Iiim.  Simon  Bar-jona.  The 
Hebrew  Ben  (Benjamin,  Benhadad,  etc.),  and 
the  Aramaic  Bar,  signifies  'son'  ;  e.  g.,  Bar- 
Jesus,  Barabbas  (27:16),  Bartholomew  (io:»),» 
Bartimens,  Barnabas,  etc.  Comp.  John-son, 
Robin-son,  etc.,  and  kindred  terms  in  many 
languages.  The  word  Bar-jonah  (Bar-ionain 
Com.  Ver.  is  the  Greek  form)  does  not  occur 
elsewhere  in  the  New  Testament;  in  John  1 : 
42;  21: 15,  we  find(R.V.)  'Simon,  son  of  John,' 
and  there  is  reason  tosupposethatJona  in  Matt, 
is  a  contraction  of  Joana,  which  would  be  a 
genitive  case,  meaning  'of  John,''  so  that  Bar- 
iona  means  not  son  of  Jonah,  butson  of  John. 
Flesh  and  blood,  viz.,  humanity,  on  its 
feeble  corporeal  side,  as  distinguished  from  the 
incorporeal  or  spiritual  side,  which  is  relatively 
strong  (Bleek).  The  phrase  is  found  first  in 
Ecclus.  14:  18;  17:31;  it  occurs  repeatedly  in 

New    Test.      (Oal.  1:16;  Eph.6:12;   Heb.  2:  14,  etc.),  and 

is  very  common  in  the  Talmud.  The  Old 
Test,  makesasimilar  use  of 'flesh.'  (Gen.  6:3,  etc.) 
Hevealed.  No  one  around  had  the  fixed 
conviction  that  Jesus  was  the  Messiah  ;  Peter 
and  the  disciples  for  whom  he  spoke  had  not 
derived  that  conviction  from  any  human 
teaching,  nor  from  their  own  unaided  reflec- 
tion. My  Father  which  is  in  heaven,  see 
on  6:  9.  None  but  the  Father  knows  the 
Son.  (11:27.)  To  lift  them  out  of  all  the  per- 
plexed conceptions  due  to  their  education  and 


'In  Luke  3  :  27  Joanan  (Heb.  Jochanan,  John)  is  in  i  would  be  son  of  John.  In  John  1 :  42;  21  :  15,  the  true 
various  documents  written  Jonan,  and  in  3:30Jonam  text  has  Joanou,  the  Attic  genitive,  which  was  early 
or  .Tonan  is  in  some  documents  Joanan.  So  in  the  Sept.  changed  by  some  copyists  to  Jona  through  assimilation 
Jodnan  frequently  appears  as  Jonan.  Therefore  it  is  !  to  Matt.  Bishop  Lightfoot  (on  Kev.,  p.  137)  gives  a 
quite  possible  that  In  Matt.  Jona  is  only  a  contraction  i  quotation  showing  that  the  "Gospel  of  the  Hebrews" 
of  Joana,  which  would  be  genitive  of  Joanas,  a  Doric  !  explained  Bar-iona  as  a  Jewish  name,  meaning  son  of 
form  of  Joannes  or  Joanes,  and  Doric  forms  of  proper  John, 
names  are  common  in  the  New  Test. ;  thus  Bar-jona  I 


Ch.  XVI.] 


MATTHEW. 


355 


18  And  I  say  also  unto  thee,  That  thou  art  Peter,  1 18  Father  who  is  in  heaven.  And  I  also  say  unto  thee, 
and  upon  this  rock  1  will  build  luy  church;  and  the  that  thou  art  i  Peter,  and  upon  this  2  rock  I  will 
gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it.  I       build  my  church  ;  and  the  gates  of  Hades  shall  not 

1  Gr.  Petro:    2  Gr.  Petra. 


environment,  and  fix  them  in  the  conviction 
that  one  without  sceptre  or  army  or  even 
home,  is  the  Messiah,  required  revelation  from 
tlje  Father  (comp.  John  6:  44). 

18  f.  Here  are  four  main  points  to  be  con- 
sidered, (1)  the  rock,  '2)  the  church,  f3)  the 
gates  of  Hades,  (4)  the  keys  of  the  kingdom, 
and  the  power  to  bind  and  loose.  And  I  say 
also  unto  thee,  as  thou  hast  just  said  some- 
thing to  me  which  is  so  important.  "Weiss 
and  others  understand,  "as  the  Father  has 
given  thee  this  great  revelation,  I  also  give 
thee  a  great  distinction."  But  thus  to  con- 
"trast  his  gifts  with  the  Father's  would  be  quite 
foreign  to  the  tone  of  our  Lord's  discourses; 
and  the  emphatic  position  of  'unto  thee'  (in 
the  Gr.)  forbids  such  a  view.  That  thou  art 
Peter,  'thou'  being  expressed  in  the  Greek, 
and  therefore  emphatic.  This  is  not  for  the 
first  time  giving  him  the  name,  as  some  de- 
structive critics  hold  in  order  to  make  out  a 
contradiction  between  Matthew  and  John,  but 
naturally  implies  that  he  has  it  already.  (io:2.) 
He  who  long  before  gave  the  surname  (John 
i:«)  now  refers  to  it  as  significant.  Chrys  : 
"See  throughout  all,  his  own  authority;  I 
say  unto  thee,  I  will  build  the  church,  I  will 
give  the  keys." 

A.  Upon  this  rock.  As  Peter  means  rock, 
the  natural  interpretation  is  that  'upon  this 
'  rock'  means  upon  thee.  No  other  explana- 
tion would  probably  at  the  present  day  be  at- 
tempted, but  for  the  fact  that  the  obvious 
meaning  has  been  abused  by  Papists  to  the 
support  of  their  theory.  But  we  must  not 
allow  the  abuse  of  a  truth  to  turn  us  away 
from  its  use ;  nor  must  the  convenience  of  re- 
ligious controversy  determine  our  interpreta- 
tion of  Scripture  teaching.  The  other  inter- 
pretations which  have  been  proposed  are,  that 
the  rock  is  Peter's  confession  (or  his  faith), 
and  that  the  rock  is  Christ. 

Now  apart  from  the  Romish  perversion,  cer- 
tain other  objections  are  made  to  the  natural 
interpretation.  Some  hold  that  such  a  play 
upon  words,  "thou  art  Rock,  and  on  this 
rock,"  is  unworthy  of  our  Lord.  But  there  is 
a  play  upon  words,  understand  as  you  may. 
It  is  an  even  more  far-fetched  and  harsh  play 


upon  words  if  we  understand  the  rock  to  be 
Christ;  and  a  very  feeble  and  almost  un- 
meaning play  upon  words  if  the  rock  is  Peter's 
confession.  Nor  is  there  any  real  objection 
to  supposing  paronomasia.  Such  expressions 
are  very  common  in  Old  Test.  {e.  g.,  Gen.  17: 
5;  32:  28),  and  in  New  Test,  especially  in 
Paul.  See  Winer,  §68,  and  Bp.  Lightfoot  on 
Revision  (in  Schafi",  on  Rev.,  p.  XV.  ff.). 

The  fact  that  '  rock'  elsewhere  in  Scripture 
is  often  applied  to  God  and  never  to  man 
(Wordsw.,  Alex.),  maybe  offset  by  the  fact 
that  our  Lord  himself  gave  this  man  the  name 
rock  (John  1:42),  and  here  takes  pains  to  call 
him  by  that  name,  which  he  does  nowhere 
else  save  in  Luke  22:  34;  and  perhaps  even 
the  exception  is  significant,  for  he  was  then 
predicting  the  shameful  fall  so  unworthy  of 
one  whom  he  had  named  rock.  Late  Jewish 
writings  (Wun.)  speak  of  Abraham  as  the 
rock,  or  of  the  patriarchs  as  the  rocks,  on 
which  God  laid  the  foundation  of  the  world. 

Many  insist  on  the  distinction  between  the 
two  Greek  words,  thou  art  Petros,  and  on  this 
petra,  holding  that  if  the  rock  had  meant  Pe- 
ter, either  petros  or  petra  would  have  been 
used  both  times,  and  that  -petros  signifies  a 
separate  stone  or  a  fragment  broken  off,  while 
petra  is  the  massive  rock.  But  this  distinc- 
tion is  almost  entirely  confined  to  poetry,  the 
common  prose  word  instead  of  TJC^ros  being 
lithos ;  nor  is  the  distinction  uniformly  ob- 
served (see  Lid.  and  Scott).  It  is  worthy  of 
notice,  too,  that  Jesus  himself  is  called  lithos 
in  1  Pet.  2:  6  ff.  Again  \f  petros  had  been 
used  both  times  in  the  Greek,  it  would  have 
meant,  "thou  art  Peter,  and  on  this  Peter," 
without  distinctly  showing  the  play  upon 
words;  and  it  would  not  have  been 
natural  for  Matthew  to  write,  '  thou 
art  petra'  (feminine),  when  he  has 
been  constantly  writing  the  apo^^tle's  name 
Simon  Petros  (masculine).  But  the  main 
an>^wcr  here  is  that  our  Lord  undoubtedly 
spoke  Aramaic,  which  has  no  known  means 
of  making  such  a  distinction.  The  Peshito 
(Western  Aramaic)  renders,  "  Thou  art  fcipho, 
and  on  this  kipho."  The  Eastern  Aramaic, 
spoken   in   Palestine  in   the  time  of  Christ, 


356 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XVI. 


must  necessarily  have  said  in  like  manner, 
"Thou  art  ktpha,  and  on  this  kepha.^' 
(Conip.  Buxtorf.)  Beza  called  attention  to 
the  fact  that  it  is  so  likewise  in  French: 
"Thou  art  Pierre,  and  on  this  pierre"  ;  and 
Nicholson  suggests  that  we  could  say,  "Thou 
art  Piers  (old  English  for  Peter),  and  on 
this  pier."  Lightf.  supposes  (followed  by 
"Wordsw.)  that  "he  pronounced  it  Cephas 
after  the  Greek  manner"  because  he  "could 
not  have  been  understood  if  in  both  places  he 
had  retained  the  same  word."  How,  then, 
has  the  Pe^^hito  been  understood  ?  Edersh. 
finds  the  word^ petros  and  petra  borrowed  in 
the  late  Rabbinical  language,  and  thinks  that 
Jesus,  while  speaking  Aramaic,  may  have 
borrowed  those  Greek  words  here.  But  this 
is  grossly  improbable,  and  the  suggestion 
looks  like  a  desperate  expedient;  nor  has  he 
shown  that  the  late  Rabbis  themselves  make 
the  supposed  distinction  between  the  two 
words. 

Let  it  be  observed  that  Jesus  could  not  here 
mean  himself  by  the  rock,  consistently  with 
the  image,  because  he  is  the  builder.  To  say, 
"I  will  build,  ....  I  am  the  rock  on  which 
I  will  build,"  would  be  a  very  confused  image. 
The  suggestion  of  some  expositors  that  in  say- 
ing 'thou  art  Peter,  and  on  this  rock'  he 
pointed  at  himself,  involves  an  artificiality 
which  to  some  minds  is  repulsive.  The  at- 
tempts to  show  that  the  demonstrative,  'on 
this  rock,'  could  not  refer  to  the  speaker,  or 
could  not  refer  to  the  person  addressed,  are 
alike  futile. 

But  the  great  objection  on  the  part  of  many 
to  the  natural  interpretation  is  the  apparent 
concession  to  Popery.  Let  us  see  how  this 
matter  stands. 

The  early  Fathers,  who  are  for  us  only  very 
useful  aids  in  interpretation,  are  for  the 
Roman  Catholic  an  authority,  only  second  to 
that  of  Scripture.  For  him,  though  not  for 
us,  it  is  a  grave  difficulty  that  some  of  the 
most  distinguished  Fathers  interpret  the  rock 
otherwise.     Chrys.    expressly    says    on    our 


passage,  "On  this  rock;  that  is,  on  the  faith  of 
his  confession."  He  often  elsewhere  gives  the 
same  interpretation  and  never  any  other. 
Once  he  remarks,  "He  did  not  say  upon  Peter, 
for  it  was  not  upon  man,  but  upon  his  faith." 
Maldonatus  would  have  trouble  in  applying 
to  this  expression  his  "reverent"  interpreta- 
tion that  those  Fathers  who  say  the  church 
was  built  on  the  faith  and  confession  of  Peter 
really  meant  on  Peter,  because  of  his  faith 
and  confession.  Chrysostoni's  explanation  is 
also  given  by  his  contemporaries  Gregory  of 
Nyssa  and  Isidore  of  Pelusium,  and  the  Latin 
Father  Hilary,  and  by  the  later  Greek  Fathers 
Theodoret,  Theophanes,  Theophylact,  John 
of  Damascus.  Probably  these  Fathers  were 
all  aware  of  a  tendency  to  pervert  the  more 
natural  interpretation  which  made  Peter  the 
rock  (that  of  Origen,  Cyprian,  Basil,  Gregory 
Naz.,  Ambrose,  .Jerome,  Cyril  Alex.,  etc.), 
into  a  support  for  the  growing  claims  of  the 
Roman  Bishop,  Augustine  in  his  "Retracta- 
tions" (I.  21)  says  that  in  an  early  work  against 
the  Donatists  he  stated  that  the  church  was 
founded  on  Peter  as  on  a  rock ;  but  that  very 
often  since  he  has  interpreted  the  language  as 
meaning  that  the  rock  was  Christ;  and  that 
Simon  confessing  him  as  all  the  church  does 
was  therefore  called  Peter.  He  adds  that  the 
reader  may  choose  which  of  these  opinions  is 
more  probable.^  We  repeat  that  Chrys., 
Augustine,  and  the  rest,  &renoia,h\G  authorities 
for  the  Roman  Catholic,  and  grievously  in  the 
way  of  his  building  on  the  natural  interpreta- 
tion of  the  passage. 

But  grant  that  the  rock  is  Peter,  and  con- 
sider what  the  Roman  Catholic  will  then  have 
to  show  in  order  to  establish  the  claims  of  the 
Papacy. 

1.  He  must  show  that  Peter  alone  was  to  be 
the  founder  of  Christianity.  Of  this  there  is 
no  evidence  but  the  obviously  figurative  ex- 
pression before  us.  Against  it  (a)  we  find 
various  express  declarations,  especially  Ephes. 
2 :  20,  "  Built  upon  the  foundation  of  the  apos- 
tles and  prophets,"  etc.     (b)    The  history  in 


1  Some  other  Fathers  were  uncertain,  and  have  inter- 
preted the  passage  differently  in  different  writings; 
but  most  of  the  examples  of  this  cited  by  Suicer  (The- 
saurus Eccles.)  are  misunderstood  by  him,  and  some  of 
them  mistranslated.  Stier  states  that  "  Lannoy, 
Doctor  of  the  Sorbonne,  out  of  seventy-seven  sayings 
of  the  most  famous  Church  Fathers  and  Church  writers, 


had  found  only  seventeen  which  explain  Peter  himself 
as  the  rock,  forty-four  on  the  contrary  understand  the 
failh,  and  sixteen  Christ  himself."  But  such  numerical 
statements  can  be  but  little  relied  on,  unless  one  could 
have  the  citations  and  know  something  of  their 
sources. 


Ch.  XVI.] 


MATTHEW. 


857 


Acts  and  the  Epistles  is  also  opposed  to  this 
notion  ;  especially  in  Acts  ch.  15,  where  Peter 
does  not  at  all  act  separately  or  appear  to  be 
supreme  (though  he  is  a  leader),  and  it  is 
really  James  that  suggests  the  measure  adopt- 
ed by  the  brethren  ;  also  in  Gal.  ch.  2,  where 
Peter  is  one  of  the  three  pillars,  James  being 
named  first,  and  where  Peter  is  publicly  re- 
buked by  Paul  for  acting  contrary  to  his  own 
convictions.  Think  t>f  a  Romish  bishop  re- 
buking the  Pope  to  his  face  "before  all."  (c) 
The  promise  as  to  binding  and  loosing  here 
made  to  Peter,  is  made  in  18:  18  as  to  the  ac- 
tion of  all  the  apostles  or  any  church.  A 
partly  similar  promise  is  made  in  John  20: 
22  f.  to  the  ten  apostles  and  others  (as  shown 
by  the  comparison  of  Luke),  (d)  This  saying 
is  omitted  by  Mark  and  Luke,  though  they 
give  what  precedes  and  what  follows  it.  Now 
according  to  the  Romanist  view  they  have 
omitted  the  very  heart  of  the  passage,  and 
well-nigh  the  most  important  thing  Jesus  ever 
said.  Thus  //.  J.  Coleridge:  "This  confes- 
sion of  St.  Peter,  and  the  magnificent  bless- 
ing which  it  drew  from  our  Lord,  may  be  said 
to  be  the  very  central  point  of  our  Lord's 
ministry.  All  before  it  leads  up  to  it,  and  all 
that  follows  it  in  some  sense  takes  its  color 
from  it."  And  yet  Mark  and  Luke  have  both 
come  right  up  to  this  transcendently  import- 
ant saying,  and  then  passed  it  by,  giving  the 
words  which  in  Matthew  immediately  follow. 
The  argument  from  silence  mu.st  always  be 
carefully  used,  but  this  is  certainly  a  very 
strong  case. 

2.  He  must  show  that  Peter  not  only  was 
the  sole  founder  of  Christianity,  but  that  he 
was  vicegerent  of  God  and  the  sovereign  of  all 
Christians.  No  Scripture  testifies  this  at  all, 
unless  the  present  passage  does;  and  the  whole 
tone  of  the  New  Testament  is  against  it.  Nor 
do  the  Fathers  who  understand  the  rock  to  be 
Peter  indicate  the  notion  of  his  having  any 
such  position  or  power  as  the  modern  Pope. 

3.  He  must  show  that  this  supposed  au- 
thority of  Peter's  was  transmissible,  of  which 
there  is  no  particle  of  evidence  in  the  New 
Test. ;  and  it  is  strangely  inconsistent  with  the 
very  image  of  a  corner-stone,  or  foundation 
rock,  to  suppose  it  frequently  removed  and  a 
new  one  substituted. 

4.  He  must  show  that  Peter  lived  and  died 
at  Rome,  which  is  probably  true  but  not  cer- 


tain ;  and  that  he  was,  rather  than  Paul,  the 
head  of  the  church  at  Rome,  of  which  there 
is  no  evidence  at  all,  and  Irenseus  and  Euse- 
bius  agree  in  making  Linus  first  bishop  of  that 
church. 

5.  He  must  show  that  Peter's  supposed 
transmissible  authority  was  a<;tually  trans- 
mitted to  the  leading  official  of  the  church  at 
Rome.  Of  this  there  is  no  evidence  but  com- 
paratively late  tradition.  And  against  it  is 
the  general  history  of  the  earliest  churches,  in 
which  the  church  at  Rome  (e.  g.,  in  Clement's 
Ep.  to  the  Corinthians)  does  indeed  appear  as 
influential  (a  natural  thing  from  its  being  in 
the  imperial  city),  but  there  is  not  the  slightest 
indication  that  it  was  supreme,  or  had  any 
sovereignty,  recognized  or  claimed.  And 
why  should  a  special  office  or  authority  be 
transmitted  to  a  church  official  at  Rome  rather 
than  at  Antioch  or  Jerusalem?  Notice  too 
(Gloag,  "Exege.  Studies"),  that  on  the  Papal 
theory  the  great  apostle  John  was,  after  the 
death  of  Peter,  completely  subject  to  the 
bishop  of  Rome. 

The  Protestant  reluctance  to  admit  that  the  . 
rock  means  Peter  really  plaj's  into  the  hands  ' 
of  the  Romish  controversialists.  It  favors  the 
impression  tliat  conceding  that  point  would 
be  conceding  all  that  the  Romanist  claims, 
when,  as  we  have  seen,  the  hopeless  burden  of 
his  argument  comes  afterwards.  Now  to  take  ^ 
Peter  as  the  rock  is  certainly  the  most  natural 
and  obvious  meaning.  And  to  make  this  the 
life  or  death  issue  is  to  give  the  Romanist  a 
serious  polemical  advantage.  In  general,  it  is 
a  great  principle  in  Biblical  interpretation  to 
take  the  most  obvious  meaning  of  any  phrase, 
unless  it  would  thus  yield  a  sense  hopelessly 
in  conflict  with  the  unambiguous  teaching  of 
other  passages. 

To  understand  that  Peter  is  here  the  rock  is 
not  forbidden  by  the  fact  that  otherjmages^  _- 
are  drawn  from  the  same  source.  In  1  Cor. 
?>:  10  ft",  Paul  speaks  of  himself  as  master- 
builder  (architect),  and  other  teachers  also  as 
builders,  Christ  being  the  only  foundation. 
In  Eph.  2:  19  fT.  he  makes  the  apostles  and 
pr<)i)hets  the  foundation,  with  Christ  as  corner- 
stone. So  in  Rev.  21 :  14  the  names  of  the 
twelve  apostles  are  engraved  on  the  twelve 
foundations  of  the  city  walls,  which  makes 
the  apostles  in  one  sense  the  entire  foundation. 
Inl  Peter  2:  iff.  all  Christiansare  living  stones 


358 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XVI. 


builtupintoaspiritual  bouse,  with  Christ  as  the 
chief  corner  stone.  In  the  present  passage 
Christ  is  the  builder,  and  the  apostles  are  the 
foundation,  as  represented  by  Peter,  who 
epoke  for  the  rest,  and  had  a  recognized  leader- 
ship among  them.  There  are  many  other  cases 
of  an  image  variously  applied.  In  v.  19,  Peter 
is  promised  the  keys,  while  in  Rev.  1:  18;  3: 
7,  Jesus  has  the  keys.  So  in  5  :  14,  Christians 
are  the  light  of  the  world,  while  in  John  9:  5 
Christ  is  the  light  of  the  world.— That  Peter 
was  a  leader  among  the  apostles,  is  seen 
already  from  his  standing  at  the  head  in  each 
of  the  four  lists.  (See  on  10  :  2.)  He  appears 
as  markedly  prominent  in  Acts  1  :  15  ff.  ;  2  : 
14  ff.  ;  2  :  37  f.  ;  3  :  1  ff.  (with  John)  ;  3  :  11  f. ; 
4  :  8  ff.  ;  4  :  19  (with  John) ;  5 :  8,  15,  29 ;  8  : 
14  (with  John).  Observe  especially  the  desig- 
nation of  Peter  to  receive  a  special  revelation 
and  take  special  action  concerning  the  Gen- 
tiles, Acts  10  :  9  ff. ;  11  :  17  ;  15  :  7  ;  also  the 
prominence  of  Peter  and  James  in  the  decision 
of  the  conference  at  Jerusalem  (acwio:  7ff.), 
where  Paul  says  that  James,  Cephas,  and 
John  were  reputed  to  be  pillars  (Gai. 2:9),  an 
architectural  image  somewhat  akin  to  that 
which  here  makes  the  apostles  the  foundation. 
Notice  in  particular  that  Peter  was  leader  in 
converting  many  Jews  on  the  great  Day  of 
Pentecost,  and  was  also  the  first  instrument 
in  the  conversion  of  Gentiles  who  had  not 
become  Jews.  In  all  this  there  is  nothing  at 
all  to  show  that  his  leadership  amounted  to 
supremacy,  but  in  fact,  much  to  the  contrary. 
He  appears  everywhere  as  primus  inter  pares, 
the  first  among  equals.  The  disciples  after 
this  time  dispute  who  shall  be  greatest.  (i8:i: 
Lake22:24.)  In  SO  doing  they  certainly  did 
not  understand  that  Peter  was  greatest,  nor 
did  Jesus  intimate  that  in  replying.  "We 
find  also  (Gloag)  that  Peter,  instead  of  send- 
ing the  other  apostles  is  sent  by  them  (AotsS:  u\ 
and  is  called  to  account  by  the  apostles  and 
brethren.  (acuH:  i-is.)  If  then  it  be  supposed 
that  our  Lord's  language  applies  to  Peter  in 
Bome  peculiar  sense  not  true  of  the  other 
apostles,  still  it  cannot  possibly  mean  that 
he  is  thereby  made  sovereign  over  the  rest. 
Jesus  here  means  that  the  apostles  are 
the  foundation  on  which  he  will  build  his 
church,  and  Peter  is  mentioned  in  par- 
ticular because  of  his  significant  name, 
appropriate     character,    spokesmanship    on 


this  occasion,  and  recognized  leadership  in 
general.  That  the  rock  here  means  Peter  is 
held  among  Protestant  expositors  by  Bengel, 
Doddridge,  Macknight,  Fritzsche,  Bleek, 
Meyer,  De  Wette,  Alford,  Stier,  Keim, 
Grimm,  Weiss,  Geikie,  Farrar,  Mansel, 
Gloag. 

B.  I  will  build.  The  image  is  that  of  a 
house,  as  seen  also  in  'gates'  and  'keys.'  To 
build  an  assembly  was  at;ombination  of  images 
easy  to  the  Jewish  mind,  because  the  congre- 
gation of  Israel  was  often  also  called  the 
house  of  Israel.  The  word  church  is  used 
also  in  18:  17,  but  nowhere  else  in  the  Gos- 
pels, and  the  discussions  connected  with  it 
belong  chiefly  to  the  Acts  and  Epistles.  The 
Greek  word  ekklesia  signified  primarily  the 
assembly  of  citizens  in  a  self-governed  State, 
being  derived  from  ekkaleo,  to  call  out ; 
i.  e.,  out  from  their  homes  or  places  of  busi- 
ness, to  summon,  as  we  speak  of  calling 
out  the  militia.  The  popular  notion  that 
it  meant  to  call  out  in  the  sense  of  separation 
from  others,  is  a  mistake.  In  a  secondary 
sense  ekklesia  denoted  any  popular  assembly 
(Acts  19: 39.)  Thls  Greek  term  seems  to  have 
been  applied  directly  to  an  actual  congregation 
or  assembly  of  Christians,  what  we  now  call 
a  local  church,  as  in  18:  17,  and  usually  in  the 
Acts  and  Epistles,  sometimes  to  an  (appar- 
ently) inforniiil,  unorganized  meeting,     (Rom. 

16:5;   Col.  4:  15;   Philem.  2.)       But  in  the  SeptUagint  It 

is  often  used  to  translate  the  Hebrew  qahnl 
(for  example,  Deut.  18:6;  23:  Iff.,;  Judg.  21: 
8 ;  Psa.  22 :  22,  etc. ),  which  is  also  derived  from 
a  root  meaning  to  call,  to  convoke,  and  so 
signifies  a  convocation,  a  congregation,  assem- 
bly. This  and  another  Hebrew  word  of 
equivalent  meaning  are  used  in  all  parts  of 
the  Old  Test,  to  denote  the  congregation  of 
Israel  (comp.  Acts  7:  38;  Heb.  2:  12).  In  the 
New  Test,  the  S2nritual  Israel,  never  actually 
assembled,  is  sometimes  conceived  of  as  an 
ideal  congregation  or  assembly,  and  this  is  de- 
noted by  the  word  ekklesia.  So  in  Eph.  1 :  22, 
and  often  throughout  that  Epistle,  in  Col.  1: 
18,  24;  Heb.  12:  23,  etc.  This  seems  to  be  the 
meaning  here.  All  real  Christians  are  con- 
ceived of  as  an  ideal  congregation  or  assem- 
bly, and  this  is  here  described  as  a  house  or  v 
temple,  built  upon  Peter  (and  the  other  apos- 
tles), as  in  Eph.  2:  19-22,  it  is  a  temple  "built 
upon  the  foundation  of  the  apostles  and  pro- 


Ch.  XVL] 


MATTHEW. 


359 


I 


phets."  There  is  a  third  use  of  the  term  ekkle- 
aia,  widely  diffused  throughout  Christendom, 
in  which  it  is  made  to  denote  the  aggregate  of  all 
formally  professing  Christians,  or  all  outward 
organizations  of  Christians,  or  else  some  one 
outward  organization  which  is  alone  recog- 
nized by  the  persons  using  the  term  as  being 
really  "the  church."  This  aggregate  of  pro- 
fessed Christians  is  in  modem  parlance  called 
"the  visible  church,"  as  distinguished  from 
"the  in%'isible  church,"  which  denotes  as 
above,  the  ideal  assembly  of  real  Christians. 
But  the  word  is  not  used  in  the  New  Test,  to 
denote  a  congregation,  actual  or  imaginary, 
of  all  professed  Christians,  unless  it  be  in  Acts 
9:  31  (correct  text),  and  in  1  Tim.  3:  15.  In 
the  former  the  word  probably  denotes  the 
original  church  at  Jerusalem,  whose  members 
were  by  the  persecution  widely  scattered 
throughout  Judea  and  Galilee  and  Samaria, 
and  held  meetings  wherever  they  were,  but 
still  belonged  to  the  one  original  organization. 
When  Paul  wrote  to  the  Galatians,  nearly 
twenty  years  later,  these  separate  meetings 
had  been  organized  into  distinct  churches; 
and  so  he  speaks  (oai.  i :  22),  in  reference  to  that 
same  period,  of  "the  churches  of  Judea  which 
were  in  Christ."  In  1  Tim.  3:  15,  "the 
church"  is  naturally  the  particular  local 
church  with  which  one  is  connected.  If 
these  two  passages  be  not  relied  on  for  the 
purpose,  there  is  no  New  Test,  authority  for 
the  sense  of  "the  visible  church,"  and  there- 
fore the  word  ought  not  to  be  so  understood 
here.  As  to  the  English  word  'church,'  see 
on  18:  17. 

C.  The    gates  of  hell,  or    Hades.      The 
word  Hades  (see  on  11 :  23),  denotes  the  invis- 
ible world,  the  abode  of  the  departed.     The 
Hebrew  word  Sheol  has  substantially  the  same 
meaning.     Such  was  also  the  original  sense  of 
the  English  word  hell,  the  hidden  or  unseen 
place  f Anglo  Saxon  helan,  'to  hide,'  Skeat), 
which  was  therefore  in  early  English  a  correct 
translation  of  Hades  and  Sheol.     But  it  has 
gradually  come  to   denote    exclusively    the, 
place  of  torment,   as  so  many  other  words 
have  become  restricted  to  the  bad  sense,  and  | 
is  now  only  a  translation  of  Gehenna  fsee  on  j 
5:  22),  while  Hades  has  to  be  borrowed   in 
Rev.    Ver.    of   New  Test       In   Com.    Ver.  , 
of    Old   Test.,    Sheol    was    translated    eithor 
'hell,'  'the  grave,'  or  'the    pit.'      In    Kev.  1 


Ver.  the  Hebrew  Sheol  has  been  often 
borrowed,  and  this  ought  assuredly  to  have 
been  done  in  all  cases,  as  urged  by  the 
American  Revisers.  Neither  Hades  nor 
Sheol  ever  denotes  distinctively  the  place  of 
torment.  Farrar  claims  for  this  sense  Luke 
16:  23;  2  Pet.  2:4;  Matthew  11 :  23.  But  in 
Luke  16:  23  the  place  of  torment  is  in  Hades, 
and  so  is  Abraham's  abode — separated  by  an 
impassable  gulf,  but  within  sight  and  hearing. 
So  the  rich  man  in  torment  was  in  Hades,  but 
the  gates  of  Hades  (whether  meaning  entrance 
or  power)  cannot  be  distinctively  the  gates  of 
the  place  of  torment,  the  abode  of  Satan.  In 
2  Pet.  2:  4  the  term  Hades  is  not  used,  but  a 
verb  derived  from  the  Greek  word  Tartarus, 
which  was  in  Greek  usage  exclusively  a  place 
of  torment;  and  this  word  occurs  nowhere 
else  in  the  Greek  Bible.  In  Matt.  11 :  23 
(see  note)  the  arrogantly  aspiring  city,  which 
dreams  of  reaching  heaven,  is  to  be  brought 
down  to  Sheol  or  Hades,  conceived  of  as  far 
underground,  i.  e.,  to  utter  destruction;  and 
the  idea  of  future  torment  does  not  even  enter 
into  the  connection.  There  is  nowhere  any 
warrant  for  understanding  Hades  as  denoting 
distinctively  the  place  of  torment,  the  abode 
of  Satan ;  it  is  the  abode  of  the  departed,  and 
through  its  gates  pass  all  who  die.  To  argue 
that  Abraham  and  Lazarus  must  have  been 
in  heaven,  and  therefore  wholly  separated 
from  Hades,  is  beside  the  mark ;  for  the  con- 
ception of  heaven  as  the  abode  of  the  blessed 
is  entirely  distinct  from  that  of  Hades,  and 
the  two  cannot  be  combined  into  one  local 
image. 

The  '  g:ites  of  Sheol '  (Hades)  are  spoken 
of  in  Isaiah  38:  10;  Wisdom  16:  13;  3  Mace. 
5*  51;  Psalms  of  Solomon  16:  2;  Gospel  of 
Nicodemus  21 ;  and  in  this  passage;  the  'bars 
of  Sheol'  in  Job  17  :  16;  the  '  gates  of  Death  ' 
in  Job  38:  17;  Ps.  9:14(13);  107:  18,  and  the 
'  keys  of  death  and  of  Hades'  in  Rev.  1 :  18. 
So  in  "Iliad"  IX.,  31'2,  Achilles  says,  "For 
hateful  to  me,  like  the  gates  of  Hades,  is  the 
man  who  hides  one  thing  in  his  breast  and 
says  another."  In  "Iliad"  VI.,  546,  Tlopole- 
mos:  "  But  subdued  by  me  you  will  traverse 
the  gates  of  Hades."  In  "Odyssey"  XL, 
277,  "  But  she  went  to  the  abode  of  tlie  strong 
gate-keeper.  Hades"  (the  deity  presiding  over 
that  region).  In  ^«chylus,  "  Agam."  1*291, 
Clytemnestra  addresses  the  gates  of  Hades, 


360 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XVI. 


and  prays  that  she  may  have  a  speedy  and 
easy  death.  In  Euripides,  "Hecuba"  1, 
Hecuba  says,  "I  come,  leaving  the  hiding- 
place  of  the  dead  and  the  gates  of  darkness, 
where  Hades  dwells  apart  from  the  gods."  It 
will  be  seen  that  in  all  the  i)assages  from 
Hebrew  writings,  and  most  of  those  from 
Greek  writings,  the  gates  of  Hades  are  passed 
through  by  the  dying.  In  the  passage  from 
Euripides  a  person  is  conceived  as  coming 
back  through  the  gates  of  Hades,  and  there 
are  some  otiier  passages  of  Greek  authors  to 
tlie  same  effect.  It  would  be  possible,  though 
not  most  natural,  so  to  understand  Rev.  1:  18. 
Prevail  against,  or  'overcome,'  literally, 
be  strong  against,  'be  too  stnmg  for'  The 
Greek  word  is  found  also  in  Luke  23:  23,  and 
is  an  intensive  compound  of  that  used  in  Acts 
19:  16.  It  might  in  the  Greek  grammatically 
refer  to  the  rock  or  to  the  church;  the  con- 
nection shows  plainly  that  the  latter  is  meant, 
but  there  is  no  substantial  difference.  Some 
able  commentators  understand  "shall  not 
surpass  it  in  strength,"  without  the  notion  of 
conflict ;  but  this  is  contrary  to  the  etymology 
and  use  of  the  verb,  and  seen)S  strained. 
Because  'gates'  has  in  Greek  no  article, 
"Weiss  takes  it  to  mean  '  Hades-gates,'  i.  e., 
gates  of  that  class  or  kind  shall  not  surpass  it 
in  strength.  But  the  indefinite  word  gates  is 
made  definite  by  appending  Hades,  this  being 
a  definite  and  single  locality — a  use  of  the  ap- 
pended genitive  tltat  is  quite  common  in 
the  New  Test.  (Winer,  125  [155J,  Buttman, 
88,  118.1 

'  The  gates  of  Hades  shall  not  prevail  against 
it'  may  now  be  seen  to  have  three  possible 
senses,  (a)  It  most  naturally  means,  accord- 
to  the  Hebrew  uses,  that  the  gates  of  Hades 
shall  not  swallow  up  the  church.  All  earthly 
things  go  down  through  those  dread  gates, 
but  Christ's  church,  for  which  he  gave  him- 
self, will  never  cease  to  exist;  there  will 
always  be  Christians  in  the  world.  This  was 
a  bold  prediction  for  a  homeless  teacher,  with 
a  handful  of  followers  (comp.  28:  18-20).  (b) 
Or,  taking  the  occasional  Greek,  but  not  He- 
brew use,  together  with  the  possible  meaning 
of  Rev.  1 :  18,  we  shall   have  the  sense,  the 


gates  of  Hades  shall  not  prevent  my  people 
from  rising  again  (Meyer. )  (c)  '  Gates '  may  be 
taken,  though  it  is  an  unusual  sense,  as  a  sym- 
bol of  power,  because  strong  gates  completed 
the  fortifications  of  a  city  (oeu.  22:  17;  Psa.  127:5), 
or  because  judges  often  sat,  kings  administered 
justice,  and  garrisons  gathered,  in  the  gates. 
Comp.  "the  Sublime  Porte,"  and  the  Eu- 
ropean use  of  "Court,"  as  connected  with  the 
court-yard  of  a  palace.  Then  the  expression 
would  mean,  the  power  of  Hades  shall  not 
be  too  strong  for  my  church,  a  sense  loosely 
equivalent  to  (a. )  Yet  this  is  harsh ;  for  while 
'  gates '  might  well  represent  defensive  power, 
it  is  hardly  congruous  to  take  them  as  repre- 
senting aggressive  power.  As  to  the  wide- 
spread notion  that  it  means  the  power  of 
Satan,  there  is  no  authority  whatever  for  so 
understanding  'the  gates  of  Hades.'  Satan 
rules  over  one  part  of  Hades;  but  how  can 
he  control,  or  be  represented  by,  the  gates  of 
Hades,  through  which  the  blessed  pass  in 
dying,  as  well  as  the  wicked?  This  notion 
has  been  diffused  through  Christendom  from 
two  causes.  The  conception  of  heaven  as  the 
abode  of  the  blest  rapidly  supplanted  the  idea 
of  the  blest  as  dwelling  in  Hades,  and  Hades 
came  to  be  thought  of  only  in  the  bad  sense. 
Accordingly  the  Latin  term  infernus  (in- 
ferni,  inferna,  inferi),  which  originally  meant 
substantially  the  same  as  Hades,  gradually 
became  restricted  in  Christian  usage  to  the 
place  of  torment  (Italian  inferno,  French, 
enfer,  English  adjective,  infernal),  just  as  has 
happened  with  the  English  word  hell.  Thus  in 
the  Yn\g.portne  inferorinn  'inferi  \,  like '  gates 
j  of  hell'  in  modern  English,  readily  came  to 
t  suggest  the  power  of  Satan.  The  other  cause 
I  is  that  this  notion  suited  the  conception  of 
[Christ's  'church'  as  a  visible  organization, 
[  which  the  power  of  Satan  vainly  strives  to 
i  overthrow,  (d)  Ewald  thinks  of  the  gates 
of  Hades  as  opening  to  let  monsters  issue  from 
them  (BeT.9: 1  ir.),  and  these  monsters  shall  not 
overcome  the  church ;  but  this  is  far-fetched 
and  highly  unnatural. 

The  passage  then  seems  to  mean  either,  my 
church  .«hall  not  be  swallowed  up  in  the  gates 
of  Hades  (or  pos.sibly  shall  not  be  overcome 


iThis  matter  of  the  appended  genitive,  upon  which  [  noun  that  the  complex  idea  becomes  definite,  then  the 
Winer  and  Butt,  make  many  distinctions,  may  be  re-  '  speaker  or  writer  may,  if  he  chooses,  omit  the  article 
duced  to  a  single  statement.  Where  the  noun  appended  with  the  first  noun,  and  yet  expect  the  phrase  to  be 
in  the  genitive  is  in  its  nature  so  related  to  the  other  |  understood  as  definite. 


Ch.  XVI.] 


MATTHEW. 


S61 


19  And  I  will  give  unto  thee  the  keys  of  the  king^ 
dom  of  heaven :  and  whatsoever  thou  sbalt  bind  on 
earth  shall  be  bound  in  heaven  ;  and  whatsoever  thou 
Shalt  loose  on  earth  shall  be  loosed  in  heaven. 


19  prevail  against  it.  I  will  give  unto  thee  the  keys  of 
the  kingdom  of  heaven:  and  whatsoever  thou  shalt 
bind  on  earth  shall  be  bound  in  heaven  :  and  what- 
Boover  thou  shalt  loose  on  earth  shall  be  loosed  in 


by  its  power),  shall  not  cease  to  exist — there 
shall  always  be  Christians  in  the  world;  or, 
my  people  shall  rise  again.  The  former  is 
much  the  more  probable  meaning,  because 
it  follows  the  general  Hebrew  usage.  Then 
the  question  will  turn  simply  on  the  word 
church  (see  above),  whether  it  means  an  out- 
ward organization  of  professed  Christians  (or 
the  aggregate  of  many  such  organizations), 
or  means  an  ideal  assembly  of  all  true  Chris- 
tians. 

D.  I  will  give  unto  thee  the  keys  of  the 
kingdom  of  heaven.  That  copyists  should 
prefix  and  was  very  natural.  At  first  sight  it 
seetns  to  be  required,  though  upon  closer  ex- 
amination the  statement  is  seen  to  be  more 
expressive  without  it,  as  a  parallel  to  'I  will 
build.'  The  image  here  changes,  in  part. 
There  is  still  a  house,  but  he  who  was  before 
the  foundation  of  the  house  now  receives  the 
keys.  Alexander:  "The  abrupt  transition 
may  be  urged  as  an  objection  to  the  supposi- 
tion that  the  rock  of  v.  18  is  Peter.  It  is  cer- 
tainly no  natural  association  of  ideas  thiU  the 
keys  of  the  building  should  be  given  to  the 
rock<m  which  it  rests.  Yet  it  is  quite  as  in- 
congruous for  the  rock  to  give  the  keys  as  to 
receive  them."  He  who  had  the  keys  of  a 
city  or  palace  determined  whether  any  given 
person  should  enter  or  be  shut  out.  (Eev.9:  i  r ; 
20: 1-3.)  Tills  would  suggest  a  general  authority 
and  control,  varying  in  extent  according  to 
tlie  nature  of  the  case.  There  seems  to  be  al- 
lusion here  to  the  high  steward  of  the  palace 
of  David,  Isa.  22:  15,  22;  and  in  Rev.  1:  18; 
3:  7,  a  similar  but  spiritual  function  isa.scribed 
to  Jesus  himself.  The  Talmud  makes  like  use 
of  the  phrase.  Coinp.  also  in  Luke  11 :  52, 
"Ye  took  away  the  key  of  knowledge;  ye 
entered  not  in  yourselves,  and  them  that  were 
entering  in  ye  hindered."  In  our  passage, 
however  tlie  rock  may  be  understood,  all 
must  agree  that  our  Lord  gives  the  keys  to 
Peter,  i.  e.,  the  power  of  admitting  (e.  g., 
Acts  11:  17),  or  denying  admission  (e.  .7., 
Acts  8:  21),  into  the  Messianic  kingdom.  Yet 
it  is  not  given  to  him  in  any  exclusive  sense, 
for  the  closely  connected  power  of  binding 
and  loosing  was  not  long  after  given  to  any 


church  (18: 18),  and  the  included  power  of  for- 
giving sins  was  given  to  the  ten  apostles  and 
others.  (John 20: 23.)  As  to  the  'kingdom  of 
heaven,'  see  on  3 :  2.  There  seems  to  be  no  refer- 
ence here  or  anywhere  in  tlieuseof  this  term  to 
an  outward  organization  of  Messiah's  subjects. 
His  reign  is  a  spiritual  reign,  and  admission 
into  his  kingdom  isa  spiritual  admission.  Peter 
and  the  other  apostles  would  admit  or  deny  ad- 
mission, as  they  would  forgive  sins  or  retain 
them,  by  teaching  the  spiritual  conditions  of 
admission  or  forgiveness,  and  by  their  in- 
spired power  of  discerning  and  declaring  a 
man's  spiritual  condition  (e.  g..  Acts  5:3;  8: 
21;  13:  10).— The  legend  of  Peter  sitting  at 
the  gate  with  the  keys  assumes  that  the  king- 
dom of  heaven  here  denotes  heaven  as  the 
abode  of  the  blest.  It  corresponds  to,  and 
perhaps  grew  out  of,  a  Talmudic  legend  that 
Abraham  sits  at  the  door  of  Gelienna,  and 
will  let  no  circumcised  person  go  down. 

Bind  and  loose,  in  the  Talmud  and  other 
Rabbinical  writings  (Lightf.,  Wet.,  Wiin., 
Edersh.),  signify  to  interpret  and  apply  the 
law  and  traditions  on  any  subject  with  strict- 
ness or  with  laxity,  and  hence  in  general  to 
forbid  or  allow.  The  strict  school  of  Sham- 
mai  is  represented  as  binding  many  things 
which  the  school  of  Hillel  loosed.  Comp.  on 
19;  3.  In  Rabbinical  phrase  it  would  be  said 
that  in  Acts  15:  10  Peter  advocated  loosing 
what  the  Judaizers  wished  to  bind.  Diod.  Sic. 
tells  (I.  27)  of  an  image  of  Isis  with  the  in- 
scription, "I,  Isis,  am  the  queen  of  all  the 
land,  and  whatever  I  shall  bind  no  one 
can  loose."  These  uses  seem  to  leave  no 
doubt  as  to  the  meaning  of  the  terms  here. 
Our  Lord  declares  that  whatever  Peter  should 
forbid  or  allow,  should  declare  to  be  wrong  or 
right,  would  be  sanctioned  by  divine  au- 
thority, approved  in  heaven.  As  Peter  was 
the  spokesman  of  all  the  apostles,  we  should 
naturally  understand  that  the  same  would  be 
true  of  all  the  inspired  teachings  (comp.  John 
1<):  13)  ;  they  would  have  Heaven's  approval. 
And  this  included  forgiving  or  retaining  sins 
(John 20:2.1),  whlcli  was  promised  to  the  apostles 
and  others  present.  (Comp.  Luke.)  Similar 
in  that  case  is  the  expression  '  loosed  us  from 


362 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XVI. 


20  Then  charged  he  his  disciples  that  they  should 
tell  no  man  thut  he  was  Jesus  the  Christ. 

21  From  that  time  forth  began  Jesus  to  shew  unto  his 
disciples,  how  that  he  must  go  unto  Jerusalem,  and 
sutler  many  things  of  the  elders  and  chief  priests  and 
scribes,  and  be  kiilel,  and  be  raised  again  the  third  day. 


20  hea\-en.  Then  charged  he  the  disciples  that  they 
should  tell  no  man  that  he  was  the  Christ. 

21  From  that  time  began  i  Jesus  to  shew  unto  his 
disciples,  how  that  he  must  go  unto  Jerusalem,  and 
sulfer  many  things  of  the  elders  and  chief  priests 
and  scribes,  and  t>e  killed,  and  the  third  day  be 


1  Some  BQCleut  auiborlties  read.  Jeiui  Ckritt. 


our  sins,'  Kev.  1:  6  (correct  text),  and  the 
same  phrase  in  Isa.  40:  2  (Sept.);  Ecclus. 
28:  2.  In  18:  18  exactly  the  same  promise  as 
to  binding  and  loosing  is  made  to  all  the  per- 
sons addressed  ('ye'),  meaning  either  the 
apostles  in  general,  or  more  probably  the  ac- 
tion of  any  church.  From  the  abuse  of  16: 
19;  18:  18;  and  John  20:  23,  arose  the  Romish 
doctrine  of  priestly  absolution,  which  some 
Protestant  persuasions  retain  in  a  modified 
form.  Ministers  may  teach  the  conditions  of 
forgiveness,  but  they  have  no  inspired  power 
of  discerning  a  person's  spiritual  condition, 
and  their  declarations  of  absolution  are  of  no 
value  beyond  stating  the  conditions. 

20.  Then  charged  he  his  {the)  disciples. 
'His'  was  added  by  copyists,  as  in  v.  5.  The 
plural  shows  that  they  shared  the  conviction 
which  Peter  as  their  spokesman  had  expressed. 
That  he  was  Jesus  the  Christ.  'Jesus' 
was  inserted  by  copyists.  Until  their  own 
views  of  his  Messianic  work  were  greatly  cor 
rected,  as  the  Master  at  once  began  to  do 
(16: ii),  any  statement  by  them  that  he  was 
Messiah  would  have  done  harm  rather  than 
good.  It  would  have  brought  him  prema- 
turely into  open  antagonism  to  the  Jewish 
rulers,  and  might  have  awakened  the  fanati- 
cism of  the  masses,  who  would  take  it  for 
granted  that  the  Messiah  must  collect  an 
army  for  conquering,  and  this  would  have 
excited  the  jealousy  of  the  tetrarchs  and  the 
Roman  government.  (Comp.  on  14:  22  and 
8:  4.)  After  he  had  suffered  and  died 
(i,uke9:2i  f. ),  they  could  tell  everybody  that  he 
was  the  Messiah,  and  could  then  give  correct 
ideas  of  the  Messianic  work. 

HOMILETICAL   AND    PRACTICAL. 

V.  6.  False  ideas  in  religion.  1)  False  ideas 
are  often  advocated  by  worthy  and  even  dis- 
tinguished people.  2)  False  ideas  are  apt  to 
'  diffuse  themselves  through  the  whole  mass  of 
one's  religious  thinking.  3)  False  ideas  will 
inevitably  affect  religious  character  and  life. 
4)  Therefore  we  must  beware  of  adopting  the 
religious  errors  of  eminent  and    admirable 


persons. — The  leaven  of  error  in  high  places 
of  position  and  culture.  1)  The  leaven  of  the 
Pharisees  represents  for  us  ritualism,  formal- 
ism, hypocrisy.  2)  The  leaven  of  the  Sad- 
duces  represents  skepticism,  "rationalism," 
"liberalism."  3)  The  leaven  of  the  Herodians, 
secularism  and  the  subordination  of  religion 
to  politics. — V.  9.  Henry  :  "  We  are  there- 
fore perplexed  with  present  cares  and  dis- 
trusts, because  we  do  not  duly  remember  our 
former  experiences  of  divine  power  and  good- 
ness." 

V.  13-17.  Opinions  about  Jesus.  1)  What 
men  think  of  Jesus  is  a  matter  of  great  im- 
portance for  their  own  good,  and  therefore 
of  great  concern  to  him,  v.  13.  2)  Men  are 
often  very  ingenious  in  devising  other  theories 
in  order  to  avoid  a  view  of  Jesus  which 
offends  their  prejudices,  v.  14.  3)  Those 
who  wish  to  know  the  truth  about  Jesus  must 
be  ready  to  break,  if  necessary,  with  popular 
opinion,  v.  15.  4)  The  only  true  view  of 
Jesus  regards  him  as  the  Divine  Redeemer, 
v.  16.  5)  Thoroughly  correct  views  of  Jesus 
are  drawn  only  from  revelation,  v.  17. 
Henry  :  "  It  is  possible  for  men  to  have  good 
thoughts  of  Christ  and  yet  not  right  ones,  a 
high  opinion  of  him  and  yet  not  high  enough." 
— V.  17.  Origen:  "If  we  say  as  Peter  did, 
"Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living 
God,"  not  flesh  and  blood  having  revealed  it  to 
us,  but  light  having  shone  in  our  heart  from 
the  Father  in  heaven,  then  we  also  become  such 
as  Peter  was,  happy  like  him  and  for  the  same 
reason." — V.  18.  Christ  building  his  church. 
1)  The  spiritual  church  of  Christ  includes  all 
real  Christians.  2)  Christ  himself  builds  his 
church,  using  his  apostles  as  foundation,  and 
all  who  believe  on  him  through  their  word 
(John  17: 20)  as  materials.  3)  Christ  guarantees 
that  his  spiritual  church  shall  never  cease  to 
exist — there  will  always  be  true  Christians  on 
earth. 

16 :  21-28.  Jksxjs  Begins  to  Foretell 
HIS  Death. 

This  is  also  found  in  Mark  8:  31  to  9:  1; 
Luke  9 :  22-27.     It  is  closely  connected  with 


Ch.  XVI.] 


MATTHEW. 


363 


22  Then  Peter  took  him,  and  began  to  rebuke  hiiu, 
Baying,  Be  it  far  from  thee,  Lord:  this  shall  not  be 
unto  thee. 


22  raised  up.    And  Peter  took  him,  and  began  to  re- 
buke him,  saying,  i  Be  it  far  from  thee.  Lord :  this 


1  Or,  God  have  mtrcj/  on  thet. 


Peter's  great  confession,  and  from  the  connec- 
tion in  Luke  (9:2ir.)  may  have  been  spoken 
immediately  after.  The  place  is  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Cesarea  Philippi.    (i6:  is.) 

21.  From  that  time  forth  began.  Being 
now  fullj'  convinced  that  he  was  the  Messiah, 
the  disciples  must  be  restrained  from  endeavor- 
ing to  carry  out  their  erroneous  notions  of  the 
Messianic  reign,  and  could  be  taught  more 
correct  ideas  without  destroying  their  faith. 
But  the  instruction  here  begun  had  to  be  con- 
tinued from  time  to  time,  (k:  9, 22f ;  20 :  isr.;  26: 
2, 12, 31  f. ;  corap.  John  12 :  23  flf.)  Filled  with  the  popu- 
lar Jewish  conceptions,  it  required  frequent 
repetition  to  make  real  to  their  minds  the 
amazing  thought  that  the  Messiah  was  to  be 
put  to  death.  Indeed,  they  were  unprepared 
after  all;  their  hopes  were  crushed  by  his 
death,  and  they  forgot  his  promise  of  rising 
again.  This  point,  at  which  he  begins  dis- 
tinctly to  foretell  his  death,  constituted  a  new 
epoch  (Meyer)  in  our  Lord's  ministry,  like 
that  of  4:  17,  where  the  same  expression  is 
used,  '  from  that  time  began.'  This  important 
epoch  is  considerably  more  than  six  months, 
probably  eight  or  nine  months,  before  the  cru- 
cifixion. It  must  not  for  a  moment  be  sup- 
posed that  Jesus  only  now  began  himself  to 
foresee  his  sufferings  and  death.  (See  John 
2:  19;  3:  14;  Matt.  9:  15;  10:  38;  12:  40. 
Jesus,  should,  as  in  the  margin  of  Rev.  Ver., 
be  'Jesus  Christ.'  This  phrase  occurs  no- 
where else  in  the  Gospels  except  in  the  be- 
ginning of  Matt.  (1:1,18)  and  Mark  (i:  i),  and 
in  John  17:  3.  It  is  here  very  appropri- 
ate in  opening  a  new  section  of  the  Gospel, 
and  when  the  disciples  have  just  formally 
recognized  Jesus  as  the  Christ.'  The  designa- 
tion 'the  Christ'  has  been  already  applied  by 
Matt,  to  Je.us  in  11 :  2;  16:  20.  How  that, 
obsolete;  we  say 'that.'  He  must,  as  neces- 
sary to  carry  out  his  mission  and  accomplish 

his    work      (26:M;  Luke24:26;  JohnS:  U.)       Go    UUtO 

Jerusalem.  This  is  mentioned  here  by 
Matthew  alone  ;  comp.  at  the  transfiguration, 
Luke  9  :  81.     Jesus  is  now  at  the  greatest  dis- 


tance from  Jerusalem  that  was  possible  in 
Palestine.  At  Jerusalem  the  opposition  to 
him  was  most  bitter,  through  the  conservatism 
of  learning  and  of  office.  (John  ii:  48.)  Those 
who  had  assailed  him  most  fiercely  in  Galilee 
came  from  Jerusalem.  (Mark  3 :  22 ;  mbu.  is  :  1.)  He 
stayed  away  from  the  last  preceding  Passover 
because  the  Jews  at  Jerusalem  sought  to  kill 
him.  (john7:i.)  From  this  time  OH  the  thought 
of  going  to  Jerusalem  and  facing  all  that 
awaits  him,  is  prominent  in  his  mind.  What 
is  to  befall  him  cannot  happen  elsewhere, 
Luke  13:  22;  comp.  also  Matt.  20:  18,  and 
the  parables  in  Mark  and  Luke.  And  suffer 
many  things.  So  also  Mark  and  Luke. 
This  general  expression  was  natural  in  the 
distance;  but  shortly  before  the  crucifixion 
he  made  more  specific  statements,  20:  19; 
Mark  10:34.  Of  the  elders  and  chief 
priests  and  scribes,  the  three  classes  which 
constituted  the  Sanhedrin,  see  on  26 :  59.  One 
article  for  the  three  nouns  indicates  their  close 
connection.  Mark  and  Luke  add,  'be  re- 
jected by  the  elders,'  etc.  And  be  killed. 
The  Jews  expected  the  Messiah  to  conquer 
and  reign  ;  there  is  no  intimation  in  their  in- 
terbiblioal  or  later  writings  of  any  other  per- 
suasion, for  2  (4)  Esdras  7  :  28  f.  is  evidently 
a  Christian  interpolation,  and,  indeed,  the 
original  work  is  probably  post-Christian. 
The  third  day,  so  Luke;  Mark's 'after  three 
days'  is  equivalent,  see  on  27  :  62.  This  pre- 
diction of  rising  the  third  day  had  been  ob- 
sourelj'  given  to  his  enemies,  John  2:  19; 
Matt.  12  :  40,  and  is  now  distinctly  given  to 
the  disciples,  and  repeated  on  two  subsequent 
occasions,  17  :  23  (also  Mark) ;  20:  19.  (Also 
Murk  and  Luke.)  He  also  predicts  his  resur- 
rection without  mentioning  the  three  days  in 
17:  9  (with  Mark);  26:  32,  (with  Mark.) 
Mark  (8:32j  adds,  'And  he  spake  the  saying 
openly,'  as  opposed  to  the  previous  obscure 
expressions.  The  disciples  evidently  could 
not  take  in  the  idea  that  he  was  to  rise  again. 
They  believed  in  a  resurrection  at  the  last 
day   (Joboii  :24),but  that  could  not  be  meant 


1 'Christ' is  added  in  the  first  hand  of  X  and  of  B,  and  1  for  its  omission  by  copyists,  while  lis  appropriateness 
in  Mempbitic.    The  rarity  of  the  title  readily  accounts  |  here  appears  only  to  the  thoughtful  student. 


364 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XVI. 


23  But  he  turned,  and  said  unto  Peter,  Get  thee  be-  I  23  shall  never  be  unto  thee.  But  he  turned,  and  said 
hind  me,  !?atan:  thou  art  an  oflence  unto  me:  for  unto  Peter,  tiet  thee  behind  me,  Satan:  thou  art  a 
thou  savourest  not  the  thiugs  that  be  of  Uod,  but  those  stumblingblock  unto  me:  for  thou  miudest  not  the 
that  be  of  men.  I 


here,  for  how  then  should  he  do  the  work  of 
Messiah  ?  They  hud  seen  persons  raised  from 
the  dead,  as  the  daughter  of  Jairus  and  the 
son  of  the  widow  of  Nain  ;  but  this  was  done 
by  Jesus,  and  who  was  to  raise  him?  The 
only  way  in  which  they  could  conceive  of  a 
person's  coming  to  life  again  was  that  some 
miracle-worker  should  bring  him  to  life. 
They  understood  clearly  the  statement  of 
Jesus  that  he  was  to  die;  the  horror  of  that 
thought  would  increase  their  confusion  of 
mind,  and  so  they  did  not  see  what  his  resur- 
rection could  mean  (comp.  on  17:  9),  prob- 
ably thinking  it  must  be  figurative,  and 
thus  of  little  personal  interest  to  them  in 
connection  with  the  thought  of  his  death. 
This  state  of  things  appears  sufficiently  to 
account  for  their  failing  to  remember  these 
predictions  when  his  death  and  resurrection 
occurred. 

32  f.  Peter  was  probably  elated  by  the 
commendation  and  promises  of  16:  17-19, 
and  his  native  ardor  and  self-confidence 
thereby  encouraged  into  an  attempt  to  direct 
the  Master's  conduct.  Took  him,  literally, 
took  him  to  himself;  so  also  Mark.  He  drew 
Jesus  aside  (Chrys. ),  to  make  a  personal  and 
private  remonstrance.  Comp.  at  a  later 
period,  John  11 :  8.  Began,  seems  to  be  here 
merely  a  descriptive  touch  fsee  on  11 :  20),  not 
meaning  (as  in  v.  21)  that  he  afterwards  did 
the  same  on  other  occasions,  but  faaking  us 
see  him  as  he  begins  this  utterance.  Rebuke 
implies  distinctly  that  Jesus  is  in  the  wrong. 
Peter  did  not  appreciate  the  '  must '  in  v.  21,  as 
denoting  a  necessity  of  the  case.  He  believed 
Jesus  to  be  the  Messiah,  and  according  to  all 
his  ideas  it  was  out  of  the  question  that  the  Mes- 
siah should  suffer  and  be  killed  at  Jerusalem. 
Be  it  far  from  thee,  or  literally,  (as  Rev. 
Ver.,  margin),  '(God)  have  mercy  on  thee.' 
The  course  contemplated  seems  so  perilous  or 
so  wrong  as  to  excite  a  prayer  that  God  will 
be  merciful  and  prevent  it.  Notice  that  the 
divine  name  is  omitted    (comp.  on  5:    34), 


Such  an  expression  if  lightly  made  would  be 
profane,  but  might  be  properly  used  on  ade- 
quate occasion.  It  is  not  found  elsewhere  in 
New  Test.,  but  several  times  in  Sept.;  in  1 
Chron.  11:  19,  David  says  (Sept.),  "God  be 
merciful  to  mel  that  I  should  do  this,"  Heb. 
"a  profane  thing  to  me  from  my  God," 
equivalent  to  Eng.  "God  forbid."  Comp. 
also  1  Mace.  2:  21.  Tyndale  and  Cran.  ren- 
der '  favor  thyself; '  Gen.,  '  look  to  thyself; ' 
Com.  Ver.,  margin,  'pity  thyself,'  supposing 
(Jerome)  the  Greek  to  mean,  '  (Be)  merciful 
to  thyself; '  but  the  Heb.  and  Sept.  seem  to 
forbid  this  view.  The  Rabbis  have  (Edersh.) 
an  equivalent  phrase,  'mercy  to  thee.' 
Comp.  also  Paul's  favorite  expression,  me 
genoito,  'may  it  not  be,'  rendered  'far  be  it,' 
'  God  forbid.'  This  shall  not  be  unto  thee, 
'  not '  being  the  doubled  and  very  strong  neg- 
ative,'as  in  5:  18;  10:  42;  15:  5;  18:  3;  26: 
29,  35,  and  often.  'Never'  in  Rev.  Ver.,  is 
not  an  exact  translation,  for  it  introduces  an 
additional  idea,  as  does  'in  no  wise,'  v.  28; 
John  6:  37;  the  Greek  being  simply  a  strong 
negation.  So  Jelf.  748,  obs.  4.  Peter  is  sure 
that  this  ought  not  to  be,  and  is  persuaded  that 
Jesus  will  follow  his  advice,  and  so  it  certainly 
will  not  be.  But  he  turned  and  said,  might 
mean  turned  sharply  upon  him  (Alex.),  or 
turned  away  from  him  (Mey.,  Weiss)  ;  Mark, 
'turning  and  seeing  his  disciples,'  decides 
for  the  latter.  As  Peter  had  rebuked  him, 
so  he  now  severely  rebukes  Peter  (Mark  8 :  33), 
calling  him  'Satan,'  and  using  the  same 
phrase  of  repulsion  and  abhorrence  that  he 
used  to  Satan  himself  in  4  :  10.  The  ardt-nt 
disciple  was  placing  the  tempter's  part,  in 
fact  repeating  Satan's  temptation,  in  trying 
to  restrain  the  Son  of  God  (comp.  16  :  16  with 
4  :  3,  6)  from  going  forward  in  his  appropriate 
and  appointed  ))ath.  So  a  few  months  earlier 
(john6:70f.),  OUT  Lord  had  called  Judas  Iscariot 
a  'devil'  (diaholos),  i.  e.,  a  Satan.  (See  on 
4  :  1.)  To  translate  Satan  by  'adversary'  as 
the  meaning  here  (Maid.),  is  forbidden  by  the 


1  When  the  two  negatives  were  united,  ou  me,  it  was 
natural  that  the  following  verb  should  be  in  the  sub- 
junctive, agreeing  with  the  negative  nearest  to  it.  Tn 
later  (including  Biblical)  Greek,  the  subjunctive,  which 


by  its  doubtful  affirmation  suggests  futurity,  is  often 
replaced  by  the  future  indicative  ;  thus  hina  and  ou  vie 
both  frequently  have  this  construction  in  New  Test. ; 
and  ean  several  times.    Cump.  15 :  5 ;  18 :  19 ;  26 :  35. 


Ch.  XVI.] 


MATTHEW. 


365 


24  Then  said  Jesus  unto  his  disciples,  If  any  man  I  24  things  of  God,  but  the  things  of  men.  Then  said 
will  couie  after  me,  let  Lim  deny  himself,  and  take  up  Jesus  unto  his  disciples,  If  any  man  would  cunie 
his  cross,  and  follow  me.  |       after  me,  let  him  deny  himself,  and  take  up  bis 


fact  that  in  New  Teat,  it  is  always  a  proper 
name. — Alas!  the  rock,  Cephas,  has  become 
a  stone  of  stumbling ;  he  who  had  just  made 
the  divinely-taught  confession  (16:  17),  is  now 
Satan,  tempting  him  whom  he  had  confessed. 
Thou  art  an  offence  (a  stumbling  block) 
unto  me  (see  on  -5:  29),  meaning  either  an 
obstacle  to  going  forward  in  duty  (Mey., 
Alex.),  or  more  probably,  a  snare,  a  tempta- 
tion to  do  wrong.  (Keim.)  Thou  savour- 
est  (mindest)  represents  a  very  expressive 
Greek  word  used  often  by  Paul,  but  nowhere 
else  in  New  Test,  save  'here  and  Acts  28  :  22, 
for  which  we  lack  an  exact  equivalent,  (a) 
Its  leading  use  is  most  nearly  expressed  by 
'think'  and  'mind.'  Thus  in  1  Cor.  13  :  11, 
'  I  thought  as  a  child  '  ;  Acts  28  :  22,  '  to  hear 
of  thee  what  thou  thinkest,'  what  is  thy  type 
of  religious  thought;  Romans  12:  16,  and 
Phil.  2  :  2,  'be  of  the  same  mind,'  think  the 
same  thing,  (or  the  one  thing.)  In  all  such 
cases  it  suggests  one's  characteristic  way  of 
thinking,  (b)  In  other  uses  it  means  to  direct 
the  mind  towards,  or  set  the  mind  on,  some 
object.  Thus  in  Col.  3:2,  R.  V.,  'Set  your 
mind  on  the  things  above';  Rom.  8:  5-7, 
'  They  that  are  after  the  flesh  mind  the  things 
of  the  flesh,'  etc.  In  our  passage,  (and  Mark 
8  :  33),  it  may  signify  as  in  (b),  thou  dost  not 
direct  thy  mind  towards  the  affairs  (plans, 
interests,  etc.)  of  God,  but  those  of  men,  (so 
Phil.  3:9);  or  better,  as  in  (a),  thou  dost  not 
think  God's  thoughts,  but  men's;  thou  hast 
not  God's  way  of  thinking,  but  that  of  men. 
Comp.  Isa.  55:  8,  "For  my  thoughts  are  not 
your  thoughts,"  etc.  According  to  God's 
purposes  and  predictions  it  was  necessary 
that  the  Son  of  God  should  suffer  and  die 
before  entering  into  his  glory,  Luke  24:  26; 
1  Peter  1:  11.  'Savourest,'  in  the  common 
and  early  Eng.  versions,  was  always  a  defect- 
ive translation,  derived  from  the  Vulgate 
aapitis,  French  snvourer  and  savoir  (Eng. 
savour),  meaning  think  or  know. 

24.  Then  would  not  make  us  sure  that  it 
followed  immediately  (comp.  on  8:  13),  but 
Mark  leaves  no  doubt:  'And  he  called  unto 
him  the  multitude  with  his  disciple-*,  and  said 
unto  them,'  etc.  This  also  shows  that  the 
notable  saying  which  follows  was  addressed, 


not  to  the  disciples  only,  but  to  a  great  throng; 
so  Luke  9:  2-3,  R.  V.,  'he  said  unto  all.'  He 
has  come  away  from  the  place  at  which  he 
had  been  praying  alone  (Luke9:i8),  and  now  a 
crowd  is  near;  but  as  to  persons  or  locality  we 
have  no  information.  If  any  man.  Not 
only  is  Jesus  himself  determined  to  go  for- 
ward in  a  path  which  leads  to  suffering  and 
death,  undeterred  by  Peter's  remonstrance, 
and  not  only  must  his  twelve  disciples  be  will- 
ing to  follow  in  such  a  path,  but  this  holds 
true  of  any  and  every  one  who  wishes  to  be 
his  follower  at  all.  Will  (or  tvishes  to)  come 
after  me.  'Will  come'  is  ambiguous,  and 
at  the  present  day  almost  certain  to  be  mis- 
understood ;  '  would  come '  gives  a  slight  color 
not  present  in  the  original  (comp.  on  15:  32). 
As  he  designs  to  go  forward  like  a  man  bear- 
ing his  cross  to  the  place  of  crucifixion,  so 
any  one  who  wishes  to  come  along  behind  him 
must  do  likewise.  There  is  here  no  substan- 
tial difference  between  'come  after'  and  'fol- 
low.' The  familiar  use  of  the  phrases  deny 
himself  and  'take  up  his  cross,'  the  frequent 
application  of  them  to  petty  actions  and  suf- 
ferings, has  gradually  enfeebled  their  mean- 
ing in  our  conception,  and  it  requires  an  effort 
to  return  to  their  original  force.  The  phrases 
(a)  to  deny  a  statement,  and  (b)  to  deny  a 
request  (both  classical),  have  an  obvious 
meaning ;  (c)  to  deny  a  person  (a  sense  found 
only  in  New  Test.),  is  to  deny  that  we  have 
the  relations  to  him  which  others  are  suppos- 
ing, or  which  circumstances  might  seem  to  in- 
dicate (10:33;  26:3*),  or  else  to  deny  that  one  is 
what  he  claims  to  be,  and  hence  to  reject  him 
(ActaS:  14;  7:35) ;  and  there  are  various  other 
shades  of  meaning.  In  some  of  these  uses 
the  Greek  has  the  simple  verb,  as  here  in 
Luke ;  others  have  it  compounded  with  » 
preposition,  as  here  in  Matthew  and  Mark, 
giving  a  slightly  increased  force,  (d)  To  deny 
an  object  or  practice  is  to  refuse,  reject,  or  re- 
nounce it ;  as  '  denying  impiety  and  worldly 

desires.'     (TU.  2:12,  Ber.Ver.,  comp.2Tlni.3:5  )       (e)    To 

deny  himself,  a  phrase  not  found  in  classical 
Greek,  but  characteristic  of  Christianity, 
might  seem  to  connect  itself  in  meaning 
with  (b);  as  a  man  denies  a  beggar,  so 
he  denies  himself,    i.  e.,  refuses  to  grant  his 


366 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XVI. 


25  For  whosoever  will  save  his  life  shall  lose  it :  and 
whosoever  will  lose  his  lil'e  fur  luy  sulce  shall  tiud  it. 


25  cross,  and   follow  nie.     For  whosoever  would  save 
hia  life  shall  lose  it:  and  whosoever  shall  lose  his 


own  requests  (Chrys.,  Mey.)  This  is  the 
sense,  but  much  weakened,  in  which  the 
expression  is  now  widely  used.  But  does 
it  not,  as  here  used  by  our  Lord,  rather  con- 
nect itself  with  (c),  meaning  that  a  man  re- 
nounces himself?  As  the  Jews  denied  the 
Messiah  (aowS:!*),  so  iiis  follower  denies  self, 
will  not  have  self  for  his  ruler  or  his  aim.  He 
determines  not  to  live  according  to  his  own  in- 
clinations, but  to  do  and  bear  whatever  may 
be  necessarj'  in  the  course  he  has  undertaken. 
He  must  resolve  to  live  not  for  pleasure,  but 
usefulness  ;  not  for  inclination,  but  duty  ;  not 
for  self,  but  for  God.  (Com p.  Rom.  14  :  7-9; 
15  :  iJ  f.)  Tyndale,  Cran.,  Gen.,  translate 
'forsake  himself.'  And  take  up  his  cross. 
The  Jews  had  long  been  familiar  with  the 
punishment  of  crucifixion,  which  was  used  in 
Egypt  and  all  Western  Asia,  and  from  an 
early  time  in  Italy.  More  than  a  hundred 
years  before  our  Lord's  ministry.  King  Al- 
exander Janneus  crucified  eight  hundred 
rebels  at  Jerusalem,  while  he  was  feasting  in 
public  (Jos.  "  Ant.,"  13,  u,  2),  and  even  under  Anti- 
ochus  Epiphanes,  many  Jews  were  crucified. 
(ij,5, 4.)  For  a  revolt  which  followed  the  death 
of  Herod  the  Great,  the  proconsul  Varus 
crucified  two  thousand  Jews.  And  yet  a 
Jewish  Rabbi  of  to-day  has  said  that  the  say- 
ing here  ascribed  to  Jesus  is  an  anachronism, 
for  the  disciples  could  not  have  understood  an 
allusion  to  cross-bearing  till  after  his  crucifix- 
ion. It  was  common  to  make  the  condemned 
person  carry  to  the  place  of  execution  the  cross 
on  which  he  was  to  suflTer  (comp.  on  27  :  32) ; 
and  so  the  disciples  would  readily  understand 
the  Master's  allusion.  He  was  going  forward, 
like  one  marching  to  crucifixion,  appointed 
to  suflTering  and  death ;  and  any  one  who 
wished  to  come  after  him  must  prepare  him- 
self for  the  same  experience.  The  disciples 
and  the  multitude  would  not  necessarily  infer 


from  this  that  he  was  to  be  crucified.  It  was 
not  till  a  few  days  before  its  occurrence  that 
he  foretold  the  precise  mode  of  his  death, 
(so:  19.)  They  would  understand  that  he  was 
^tAre  a  person  going  to  be  crucified,  and  they  also 
must  be  ready  for  suflTering  and  death.  Chrys: 
"He  saith  also  how  far  one  ought  to  renounce 
oneself,  that  is,  unto  death,  and  that  a  re- 
proachful death."  Jerome:  "And  follow 
their  teacher  morientium  animo."  Jesus 
used  the  same  impressive  image  on  two  other 

occasions.  (lO:  SS  :  Luke  14:  iT ;  In  Mark  10:  21,  Itis  spnrlous.) 

It  was  plain  enough  at  the  time,  and 
after  he  was  himself  actually  crucified  it 
became  all  the  more  vivid  and  solemn, 
as  was  the  case  with  many  other  parts  of 
his  teachings.  Luke  9:  23  adds  'daily.' 
Every  day  must  his  follower  consent  and 
determine  afresh  to  go  forward  through 
suflTering  and  even  unto  death.  Clirys  :  "  Bear 
about  this  death  continually,  and  day  by  day 
be  ready  for  slaughter."  Follow,  comp.  on 
4:  19.  There  they  were  to  follow  with  an 
especial  view  to  instruction  ;  here  the\'  must 
follow  in  a  path  of  suflTering,  follow  even  to 
dying;  comp.  John  12:  2.3-26.  'Follow'  is 
also  used  in  Com.  Ver.  for  another  word, 
which    Rev.   Ver.    more  exactly  renders  by 

'  imitate,'  ('  Thess,  l  :6;  2:  14;  2  Thess.  3  :  7,  9  ;  1  Cor,  4  :  16  ; 
11:1;  Epli.5:  1;  Heb.6:12;  13:  7;  3  Johnll),  thuS  bring- 
ing out  more  distinctly  the  great  duty  of  imi- 
tating Christ. 

25.  Notice  the  repeated  for  (v.  25, 26, 27),  each 
sentence  supplying  that  which  precedes  with  a 
proof  or  a  motive.  In  v.  25  our  Lord  passes 
from  bodily  to  spiritual  life,  from  temporal  to 
eternal  life.  There  is  a  similar  transition  in 
'leave  the  dead  to  bury  their  own  dead,'  8: 
22;  comp.  John  4:  10;  6:27,  He  also  passes 
in  V.  25  f.,  from  the  vital  principle  of  the  body 
to  the  immortal  principle.  The  English  word 
'soul'^  was  formerly  used  for  both  of  these, 


1  In  Greek  and  Latin,  in  Heb.  and  in  Eng.  there  are 
two  sets  of  words,  older  and  more  recent,  both  derived 
from  roots  signifying  to  breathe ;  (a)  piyche,  anima 
(animtM),  nephesh,  soul,  (b)  pneuma,  spiritus,  ruach, 
ghost.  The  latter  set  are  derived  from  roots  still  used 
In  the  same  language,  for  even  to  ghost  corresponds 
piist.  The  former  set  are  from  roots  no  longer  ur,ed  in 
the  language  in  question  to  denote  breath  or  wind,  and 
some  oi  them  found  at  all  only  in  kindred  languages. 


Thus  psyche  corresponds  to  psucho, '  to  cool,"  by  blowing 
the  breath,  etc,  Anima  (animux)  corresponds  to  Greek 
anemos,  'wind,'  Sanskrit  on,  'to  breathe,'  Latin  nn-helo, 
'togaisp,'  breathe  with  difficulty.  Nephesh  answers  to 
Arabic  naphasa, '  to  breathe.'  Soul,  AngIo-.Saxon  sawul, 
sawljSaul,  Gothic  saiwala,  is  evidently  from  a  root  sav 
or  sva,  corresponding  (Toy)  to  Sanskrit  root  su,  and 
probably  to  Sanskrit  snka,  wind.  Is  is  thus  plain  that 
the  first  set  of  terms  are  older.    These  were  long  used 


Ch.  XVL] 


MATTHEW. 


367 


26  For  what  is  a  man  profited,  if  he  shall  gain  the 
■whole  world,  and  lose  his  own  soul?  or  what  shall  a 
man  give  iu  exchange  for  his  soul  ? 

27  For  the  Son  of  luan  shall  come  in  the  glory  of  his 
Father  with  his  angels ;  and  then  he  shall  reward 
eyery  man  according  to  his  works. 


26  life  for  my  sake  shall  find  it.  For  what  shall  a 
man  be  profited,  if  he  shall  gain  the  whole  world, 
and  forfeit  his  life?  or  what  shall  a  man  give  in  ex- 

27  change  for  his  life  ?  For  the  Son  of  man  shall  coiue 
in  the  glory  of  his  Father  with  his  angels;  and 
then  shall  he  render  unto  every  man  according  to 


and  so  in  our  earlier  translations  of  Scripture, 
but  is  in  other  English  usage  now  confined  to 
the  immortal  principle.  Thus  any  possible 
translation  of  the  present  passage  into  current 
English  is  necessarily  defective.  The  Com. 
Ver  ,  by  changing  to  'soul '  in  v.  26,  conceals 
the  close  verbal  connection  between  the  two 
sentences.  The  Kev.  Ver.,  by  retaining  the 
same  word  '  life '  in  both,  makes  it  less  plain 
to  the  modern  reader  that  the  reference  in  the 
second  sentence  is  to  the  spiritual  and  eternal 
life.  Yet  the  latter  translation  is  certainly 
best,  for  it  only  requires  the  reader  to  observe 
a  transition  which  the  Greek  actually  makes. 
So  in  10:  39;  Luke  17 :  33  (comp.  Luke  14: 
26) ;  John  12:  25;  and  a  kindred  idea  in  Acts 
14:  22;  2  Tim.  3:  12.  Will  save,  or  wi,ihes 
to  save,  as  in  v.  24.  Whosoever  wishes  to 
save  his  bodily,  temporal  life  shall  lose  his 
spiritual,  eternal  life.  For  my  sake.  Mark, 
'  for  my  sake  and  the  gospel's.' 

26.  What  shall  a  man  be  profited,  read  by 
the  earliest  documents,  was  easily  changed  by 
copyists  into  what  is  a  man  profited,  by 
assimilation  to  Luke;  in  Mark  also  the  docu- 
ments vary  much  between  present  and  future. 
Either  point  of  view  is  obviously  possible. 
And  lose  (Rev.  Ver.,  forfeit).  The  Greek 
verb  is  derived  from  the  noun  rendered  'loss' 
as  opposed  to  'gain  '  in  Phil.  3:  7,  and  is  itself 
used  in  Phil.  8:  8,  'I  have  suffered  the  loss  of 
all  things.'  It  frequently  denotes  a  fine  or 
forfeit  (Lidd.  and  Scott),  and  so  Geneva  here, 
'  be  condemned  to  pay  his  soul '  ;  but  the 
image  here  is  more  probably  that  of  profit  and 
loss  in  business  operations,  where  one  subtracts 
the  total  loss  from  the  total  gain  to  see  what 
))roflt  he  has  made.  The  difficulty  of  trans- 
lating the  word  in  this  sense  as  distinguished 
from  the  other  word  'lose'  just  before,  may 


have  partly  influenced  the  Revisers  into  pre- 
ferring the  other  sense.  Luke  9 :  25  gives 
both  terms,  'and  lose  or  forfeit  his  own  self.' 
And  notice  that  Luke  has  '  himself  instead  of 
'his  life';  for  a  man  to  lose  his  life,  in  the 
highest  sense  of  that  term,  is  to  lose  himself. 
Observe  that  the  thought  here  is  not  directly 
of  what  we  call  the  loss  or  perdition  of  a  soul. 
The  gain  and  loss  in  the  great  business  trans- 
action are  compared,  and  the  man's  own  life 
in  the  spiritual  and  eternal  sense  is  the  loss; 
what  then  will  be  the  profit?  In  earthly 
business,  however,  one  may  sometimes  prosper 
afterwards  and  purchase  back  the  property  he 
has  lost;  but  what  shall  a  man  give  in  ex« 
change  for  his  soul  (lifet,  so  as  to  purchase 
it  back?  Bengel:  "The  world  does  not  suf- 
fice." The  noun  antallar/ma  denotes  that 
which  by  exchange  takes  the  place  of  some- 
thing else,  whether  as  substitute  (eco1us6:15; 
26:  u),  or  as  a  ransom  (is». «:  8) ;  here  it  is  more 
generally  a  purchasing  equivalent. 

27.  We  see  that  this  great  balancing  of  ac- 
counts is  not  a  mere  figure  of  speech,  but  will 
actually  occur.  The  Son  of  man,  see  on  8: 
20.  This  constantly  suggests  that  he  is  the 
Messiah  (comp.  on  16:  13),  and  indicates  that 
he  is  to  be  the  final  judge,  as  in  7 :  22,  and 
hereafter  in  25  :  31,  34.  Shall  come,  not  the 
mere  future  tense,  but  a  strong  expression 
like  'is  going  to  come,'  'is  about  to  come,' 
and  in  the  Greek  made  emphatic  by  its  posi- 
tion at  the  head  of  the  sentence ;  he  is  coming, 
and  there  is  no  mi.stake  about  it.  This  is  be- 
lieved to  be  the  first  distinct  intimation  of  his 
second  coming.  In  the  glory  of  his  Fa- 
ther. In  the  same  glory  amid  which  his  Fa- 
ther dwells.  Comp.  26:  64.  This  glory  he 
had  with  his  Father  before  the  world  was 
(John  17: 5) ;  he  had  voluntarily  left  it  to  come 


when  no  clear  distinction  was  mjide  between  the  vital 
principle  of  the  body  and  the  Immortal  principle.  At 
a  later  period,  when  this  distinction  grew  clearer,  the 
second  set  of  terms  were  introduced,  and  applied 
almost  exclusively  (not  Psa.  104:  29;  Eccl.  3:  21)  to  the 
spiritual,  immortal  principle,  while  the  older  terms, 
tho\igh  now  chiefly  restricted  to  the  vital  principle  of 
the  body,  continued  to  be  often  used  in  the  other  sense 
also,  and  were  necessary  when  the  two  senses  were  to 


;  be  united,  or  there  was  a  quick  transition  from  the  one 
to  the  other.  Thus  there  is  not  an  absolute  distinction 
between  the  two  sets  of  words  In  Scripture  use,  a  "Bib- 
lical trichotomy,"  but  only  a  generally  observed  prac- 
tical distinction.  It  should  be  carefully  noticed  that 
'soul '  very  often  In  Old  Test,  and  sometimes  in  New 
Test,  denotes  only  the  vital  principle  of  tlie  Ixxly. 
Whether  il  means  (he  other,  or  means  both  together,  is 
a  question  for  consideration  in  every  case. 


368 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XVL 


28  Verily  I  sav  uuto  you,  There  be  some  standing 
here,  which  shall  not  taste  of  death,  till  they  see  the 
Son  of  uiaa  coming  in  his  kingdom. 


28  his  1  deeds.  Verily  I  say  uuto  you.  There  are  some 
of  them  that  stand  here,  who  shall  In  no  wise  taste 
of  death,  till  they  see  the  Son  of  man  coming  in  his 
kingdom. 


1  Gr.  doing. 


on  his  present  lowly  mission  (Phii.»:6ir.),  but 
he  would  return  to  share  it  again,  and  in  that 
glory  he  would  hereafter  come.  With  his 
angels  (is:  «;  2*:  si;  25:  si).  Luke  (9:26)  has 
an  expression  which  implies  that  their  encom- 
passing glory  will  enhance  his  glory.  As  to 
the  angels,  see  on  18:  10.  According  to  his 
deeds,  or,  more  exactly,  action,  practice, 
course  of  life.  (Ooi.  s:  9  has  the  >ame  w..rd.)  The  ex- 
pressions seem  to  be  suggested  by  Psa.  62: 
12;  Prov.  24:  12,  quoted  in  Rom.  2:  6; 
comp.  Rev.  22:  12,  and  as  to  the  thought,  2 
Cor.  5 :  10.  The  fact  of  this  coming  retribu- 
tion shows  the  importance  of  saving  the  soul ; 
but  there  is  special  reference  to  the  thought 
of  reward  for  doing  and  suffering  in  his  ser- 
vice (v.  24  f.).  Mark  8 :  38  and  Luke  9 ;  26, 
give  the  additional  point  that  when  he  comes 
he  will  be  ashamed  of  every  one  that  has  been 
ashamed  of  him.  Matthew  has  before  re- 
corded this  thought  as  uttered  on  a  different 
occasion  (10 :  ss),  and  so  he  omits  it  here. 

28.  His  coming  is  not  only  certain,  but  near. 
Verily  I  say  unto  you,  as  in  5:  18,  intro- 
ducing a  very  important  utterance.  His 
coming  will  occur  before  some  of  those  present 
will  die.  There  be,  old  English  where  we 
now  say  'there  are.'  Some  {of  those)  stand- 
ing here,  who  were  not  only  the  Twelve,  but  a 
crowd.  (Mark  8: 34.)  It  is  implied  that  not 
many  of  them  would  live  to  witness  what  is 
meant;  and  this  shows  that  it  was  not  any 
event  very  near  at  hand.  Shall  not,  the 
strong  double  negative,  as  in  16:  22.  Taste 
of  death.  The  image  is  that  of  a  bitter  cup 
(20:22;  26:39),  which  all  men  must  sooner  or 
later  taste  of,  and  is  very  common  in  Jewish 
writings.  Comp.  Heb.  2:  9;  in  John  8:  51  f. 
it  is  made  the  equivalent  of  '  see  death  '  (comp. 
Luke  2:  26).  Till  they  see,  naturally,  though 
not  necessarily  (comp.  on  1:  25),  implies  that 
after  the  coming  in  question  they  will  taste  of 
death;  and  is  so  far  an  argument  against 
understanding  our  'LordC 9, final  coming  to  be 
meant.  The  Son  of  man  coming  in  his 
kingdom,  or  kingship,  royalty — coming  as 
king  (see  on  3:  2).  So  in  the  robber's  prayer 
(r,uiie23:42),  and  comp.  as  to  the  thought,  Luke 


21 :  81.  In  Mark  9:1;  Luke  9 :  27,  only  the 
coming  of  the  kingdom  is  mentioned ;  but 
that  implies  the  coming  of  the  Messianic  King, 
which  Matt,  expresses.  How  could  Jesus  say 
that  he  would  come  as  Messianic  King  in  the 
lifetime  of  some  then  present?  Certain 
rationalizing  expositors  at  once  say  that  Jesus 
expected  his  final  coming  to  judgment  to  take 
place  within  that  period.  The  language  would 
readily  bear  that  sense,  especially  in  such  close 
connection  with  v.  27;  can  it  fairly  have  any 
other  sense?  Since  the  Fathers  of  the  third 
century  a  good  many  have  referred  it  simply 
to  the  Transfiguration,  in  which  Jesus  ap- 
peared as  the  glorious  king.  But  (a)  this  is  a 
very  unnatural  and  enfeebled  sense  of  '  com- 
ing in  his  kingdom  ; '  (b)  it  occurred  wiohin  a 
week,  during  the  lifetime  not  simply  of '  some,' 
but  of  probablj'  all  those  present ;  and  these  ob- 
jectionsare  fatal  tothatview.  Many  others  con- 
tent themselves  with  understanding  a  general 
reference  to  the  establishment  of  the  spiritual 
reign  of  Messiah ;  some  say  on  the  Day  of 
Pentecost  (Act.s2),  though  that  occurred  within 
less  than  a  year  and  so  conflicts  with  '  some ; ' 
others  say  throughout  the  following  genera- 
tion or  the  century.  The  most  reasonable 
explanation,  especially  when  we  comp.  ch. 
24,  is  to  understand  a  reference  to  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem,  forty  years  afterwards. 
This  providentially  lifted  the  Messianic  reign 
to  a  new  stage.  It  put  an  end  to  the  sacrifices 
and  the  whole  temple  ritual,  and  thus  tiiught 
the  Jewish  Christians  that  these  need  be  no 
longer  observed,  and  to  a  great  extent  stopped 
the  mouths  of  the  Judaizers  who  gave  Paul 
so  much  trouble.  The  withdrawal  of  the 
Christians  from  Jerusalem  before  its  destruc- 
tion occasioned  an  alienation  between  them 
and  the  Jewish  people  at  large.  In  general, 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  made  Christi- 
anity stand  out  as  no  longer  even  in  appear- 
ance a  mere  phase  or  mode  of  Judaism,  but 
an  independent  and  universal  religion. 
(Comp.  Bp.  Lightfoot  on  Galatians,  p.  3(X)ff.) 
The  sudden  transition  from  the  final  coming 
for  judgment  (▼.  27)  to  this  nearer  coming  at 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  is  repeatedly 


Ch.  XVIL] 


MATTHEW. 


369 


CHAPTER    XVII. 
ND  after  six  days  Jesus  taketh  Peter,  James,  and  |    1      And  after  six  days  Jesus  talceth  with  him  Peter| 


John  bis  brother,  and  bringeth  tbem  up  into  a 
high  mountaiu  apart. 


and  James,  and  John  bis  brother,  and  bringeth 


paralleled  in  ch.  24;  and  the  very  phrase  of  j  abundant    proof   deny  the   mystery    of  the 
V.  28  by  24:  34,   "This  generation  shall  not    cross?" 


pass  away,  till  all  these  things  be  accom- 
plished." Plumptre :  "That  such  words 
should  have  been  recorded  and  published  by 
the  Evangelists  is  a  proof  either  that  they 
accepted  that  interpretation,  if  they  wrote 
after  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  or  if  we 
assume  that  they  were  led  by  them  to  look  for 
the  '  end  of  all  things'  as  near  at  hand,  that 
they  wrote  before  the  generation  of  them  who 
stood  by  had  passed  away ;  and  so  the  very 
difficulty  that  has  perplexed  men  becomes  a 
proof  of  the  early  date  of  the  three  Gospels 
that  contain  the  record."* 

HOMILKTICAL   AND  PRACTICAL. 

V.  22  f.  The  imperfectly  instructed  be- 
liever. 1)  Prejudice  often  prevents  his  un- 
derstanding the  plain  teachings  of  revelation. 
2)  Conceit  often  leads  him  to  set  his  own  judg- 
ment above  God's  teaching.  (Comp.  1  Cor. 
4:  6.)  3)  Presumptuous  ignorance  often 
makes  him  hinder  the  cause  he  tries  to  help. 
4)  Strength  of  will  and  warmth  of  heart  often 
render  his  ignorance  more  harmful.  5)  There- 
fore his  honest  opinions  and  well-meant  ad- 
vice must  sometimes  be  utterly  rejected  by 
others.  6)  Further  instruction  and  experi- 
ence may  make  him  a  pillar  in  the  church. 
(Gal. 2:9.) — V.  23.  BAXTER  (in  Morison) : 
"Good  men  ofttimes  do  the  devil's  work, 
though  they  know  it  not." — There  has  alwaj's 
been  a  tendency,  and  especially  in  our  day,  to 
decide  questions  of  religious  truth  and  duty 
from  the  human  rather  than  the  divine  point 
of  view.  The  Bible  is  judged  exclusively 
from  its  conformity  to  human  reason  and  its 
adaptation  to  human  want«.  Well-meaning 
persons  try  to  build  up  churches,  or  to  fur- 
ther public  morality,  by  following  the  dic- 
tates of  worldly  policy.  But  to  think  Gods 
thoughts,  to  look  at  things  so  far  as  we  may 
from  his  standpoint,  is  in  religion  the  only 
wi.sdom  and  safety. — Chrys.  :  "If  the  chief 
apostle,  even  before  he  had  learnt  all  dis- 
tinctly, was  called  Satan  for  feeling  this, 
what  excuse    can   they  have,    who   after  so 

1  We  here  sadly  take  leave  of  Addison  Alexander, 
the  foremost  of  American  commentators,  whose  work 


V.  24f.  Following  Christ.  1)  Method,  (a) 
In  self-renunciation,  (b)  In  cross-bearing. 
2)  Motives,  (a)  The  loss  in  following  him  is 
but  temporal,  the  gain  is  spiritual  and  eternal, 
(b)  The  loss  in  refusing  to  follow  him  is 
remediless  forever,  (c)  The  love  of  Christ 
("for  my  sake")  gives  patience  in  loss,  and 
adds  brightness  to  gain.  Chrys.:  "If  any 
man  will.  I  force  not,  I  compel  not,  but  each 
one  I  make  lord  of  his  own  choice.  .  .  .  But 
he  that  leaves  the  hearer  to  choose  attracts 
him  more.  For  soothing  is  a  mightier  thing 
than  force."  Hknry:  "  "We  must  deny  our- 
selves absolutely ;  we  must  not  admire  our 
own  shadow,  nor  gratify  our  own  humor; 
we  must  not  lean  to  our  own  understanding, 
nor  seek  our  own  things,  nor  be  our  own 
end."— V.  25.  Chrys.:  "On  that  side  salva- 
tion and  destruction,  and  on  this  side  salva- 
tion and  destruction,  but  how  greatly  the  one 
differs  from  the  other." — Comp.  on  10:  38  f. 

V.  26.  Earth's  greatest  business  transac- 
tion. 1)  The  greatest  possible  earthly  gain, 
accompanied  by  the  greatest  possible  earthly 
loss.  2)  The  loss  is  utterly  past  remedy,  and 
will  soon  render  the  gain  utterly  useless.  3) 
In  this  line  of  business  we  are  all  engaged, 
and  ought  to  consult  our  true  profit.  (Comp. 
5:  29  f. ) — Queen  Elizabeth,  when  dying,  said, 
"Millions  of  money  for  an  inch  of  time." 
She  had  the  money,  but  could  not  make  the 
exchange. — V.  27.  Christ  came  in  lowliness, 
despised  and  rejected  (i«a.  58),  in  the  form  of 
a  servant  (Phii  2:7),  to  live  among  men  and 
die  to  atone  for  them  ;  he  will  come  again  in 
glory,  and  take  his  people  to  behold  his 
glory  (John  17: 24),  and  to  share  it.  (pwi.  s:2i.) 
Benokl:  "The  doctrine  of  the  person  of 
Christ  (16:  i«)  is  immediately  followed  by  the 
doctrine  of  the  cross  {''•^*),  and  this  by  the 
doctrine  of  glory."  (▼•"O 


Ch.   17:1-13. — The   TRANSFiatrRATioN, 

This  is  described  also  in   Mark  9:    2-13; 

Luke  9 :  28-;36.     The  scene  of  the  Transligu- 


was  interrupted  at  this  point  by  death.    His  previous 
commentaries  were  ou  Isaiah,  Psalms,  Mark,  Acts. 


370 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XYIL 


2  And  was  transfigured  before  them :  and  his  face  ] 
did  shiae  as  the  sun,  and  his  raiment  was  white  as  the 
light.  I 


2  them  up  into  a  high  mountain  apart:  and  he  was 
transtigured  before  them :  and  his  face  did  shine  as 
the  sun,  and  his  garments  became  white  as  the 


ration  is  popularly  supposed  to  have  been 
Mount  Tabor,  in  Lower  Galilee.  This  opin- 
ion is  expressed  in  the  fourth  century,  and 
Origen  cites  from  the  "  Gospel  according  to 
the  Hebrews"  a  passage  which  probably  re- 
lates to  the  Transfiguration,  and  would  show 
that  some  held  this  view  in  the  second  cen- 
tury. Yet  the  tradition  is  almost  certainly 
incorrect.  The  conversation  (i6: 21-28)  which 
preceded  the  Transfiguration  by  six  days  was 
very  closely  connected  (see  on  v.  21)  with  Pe- 
ter's great  confession,  and  this  occurred  in 
the  district  of  Cesarea  Philippi.  It  is  of  course 
possible  that  in  these  six  days  Jesus  should 
have  come  back  to  Galilee  and  gone  south  to 
Mount  Tabor,  but  we  know  that  he  was  at 
this  period  keeping  away  from  Galilee  for 
many  important  reasons  (comp.  on  16:  5). 
Moreover,  we  find  in  Mark  that  from  the 
place  of  the  Transfiguration  they  went  forth 
and  passed  through  Galilee  as  privately  as 
possible  to  Capernaum  (Mark  9: 14,30, 33),  and 
thence  went  towards  Jerusalem.  All  this 
leaves  the  hj'pothesis  of  a  hasty  journey  to 
Tabor  and  back  violently  improbable.  Be- 
sides", Kobinson  has  shown  that  there  was  a 
fortified  city  on  Mount  Tabor  at  that  time, 
which  must  have  rendered  its  narrow  and 
rounded  summit  anything  else  than  a  place 
of  seclusion.  In  view  of  these  facts  nearly 
all  recent  writers  agree  that  the  Transfigura- 
tion must  have  occurred  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Cesarea  Philippi. 

1.  Into  a  high  monntain,  might  be  any  one 
of  the  numerous  spurs  of  the  Hermon  range 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  city.  We  can  hardly 
suppose  one  of  the  three  highest  peaks  of 
Hermon  to  be  meant,  because  to  climb  any 
one  of  them  on  foot  and  return  is  a  fatiguing 
journey  of  ten  or  twelve  hours  (McGarvey, 
Thomson).  And  it  would  be  too  cold  to  spend 
a  night  there  without  shelter.  Conder  found 
it  very  cold  in  a  tent.  After  six  days.  So 
also  Mark.  Luke  says  'about  eight  days,'  i.  c, 
about  a  week,  which  was  often  called  eight 
daj's,  counting  both  the  first  and  the  last  (see 
on  12:  40),  just  as  in  the  French  and  German 
languages  a  week  is  frequently  called  "eight 
days,"  and  a  fortnight  "fifteen  days."     If 


Matthew  and  Mark  say  'six  days'  and  Luke 
'about  a  week,'  there  is  certainly  no  conflict. 
It  is  not  well  to  suppose  (Chrys.,  Jerome)  that 
Matthew  and  Mark  give  only  the  intervening 
days,  while  Luke  adds  the  first  and  last,  for 
this  is  supposing  them  to  reckon  in  a  way 
quite  unnatural  for  Heb.  or  Greek  usage,  and 
such  artificial  harmonistic  hj'potheses  are  to 
be  deprecated.  The  real  point  to  be  observed 
is  that  all  three  Evangelists  declare  the  Trans- 
figuration to  have  occurred  onl3'^  a  few  days 
after  the  prediction  that  Jesus  must  suflTer  and 
be  killed.  Jesus  taketh  with  him,  as  in 
2:  13;  4:5;  12:  45.  Peter,  James,  and 
John,  alone  were  also  admitted  to  see  the 
raising  of  Jairus'  daughter  (Mark 5:. 17),  and  to 
be  near  the  Master  in  Gethsemanfe.  (26:37.) 
They  belonged  to  the  first  group  of  four 
among  the  Twelve  (see  on  10:  2),  and  were 
evidently  received  to  a  peculiar  intimacy. 
The  conviction  wrought  in  their  minds  by 
what  they  witnessed  would  impart  itself  to 
all,  through  their  tone  and  general  influence. 
Apart.  Such  an  unearthly,  almost  heavenly 
scene  must  have  no  unsympathizing  specta- 
tors. Luke  says  (9:28,  Rev.  ver.)  that  he  'went 
up  into  the  mountain  to  pray'  (comp.  above 
on  14:  23),  and  that  the  wonderful  change  of 
appearance  took  place  as  he  was  praying.  We 
have  several  times  found  mention  of  special 
seasons  of  prayer  at  great  crises  of  our  Lord's 

history.     (Luke3:21;  Mark  1 :  .ts;  Luke  6  :  12  ;  Matt.  14:  23.) 

As  the  three  disciples  were  oppressed  with 
sleep  during  the  scene  (Luke),  and  his  return 
to  the  other  disciples  was  'on  the  next  day' 
(Luke9:37),  it  sctmis  clear  that  the  Transfigura- 
tion occurred  at  night.  The  shining  of  our 
Lord's  face  and  garments,  and  the  bright 
cloud,  would  thus  be  more  manifest,  and  the 
whole  scene  more  striking. 

2,  And  Avas  transfigured,  literally,  his 
form  was  changed,  menmnghov/ever,  so  far  as 
we  can  see,  merely  a  change  in  his  appearance. 
Before  them,  within  their  full  view,  so  that 
they  could  bear  witness.  His  face  did  shine 
as  the  sun,  comp.  as  partially  similar,  Exod. 
34:29;  Acts  6:  15.  And  his  raiment,  or, 
garments,  was — or,  becatne — white   as   the 


Ch.  XVII.] 


MATTHEW. 


371 


3  And,  behold,  there  appeared  unto  them  Moses  and 
Elias  talking  with  him. 

4  Then  answered  Peter,  and  said  unto  Jesus,  Lord,  it 
is  good  for  us  to  be  here :  if  thou  wilt,  let  us  make  here 
three  tabernacles;  one  for  thee,  and  one  for  Moses, 
and  one  for  Elias. 


3  light.    And  behold,  there  appeared  unto  them  Moses 

4  and  Elijah  talking  with  him.  And  Peter  answered, 
and  said  unto  Jesus,  Lord,  it  is  good  for  us  to  be 
here:  if  thou  wilt,  I  will  make  here  three  i taber- 
nacles ;  one  for  thee,  and  one  for  Moses,  aud  one  for 


light;!  Mark,  Rev.  Ver.,  'glittering,  exceed- 
ingly white,'  Luke,  'white  and  dazzling,' 
(comp.  Matt.  28:  3).  All  this  was  a  tempo- 
rary and  partial  anticipation  of  the  glory  that 

awaited    him     (Johnl2:23;   17:5;  PMI.  3:2l);     COmp. 

his  appearance  to  one  of  these  three  disciples 

in  PatmOS.     (Eev.l:13-16.) 

3  f.  There  are  here  (Godet)  three  distinct 
points:  the  personal  glorification  of  Jesus 
(v.  2),  the  appearance  and  conversation  of 
Moses  and  Elijah  (▼•  a '•),  the  theophany  and 
divine  voice  (v.  5).  Moses,  and  Elias, 
(Elijah),  recognized  at  once  (v.  *),  and  doubt- 
less by  intuition,  as  a  part  of  the  supernatural 
scene.  Any  question  as  to  whether  Moses  ap- 
peared in  a  resurrection  body  lies  beyond  our 
knowledge  and  is  idle.  "The  law  and  the 
prophets  were  until  John  ;  from  that  time  the 
kingdom  of  God  is  preached."  (Lnkei6:i6.) 
Thus  the  Messianic  reign  is  distinguished 
from  the  dispensation  of  the  law  and  the 
prophets,  though  not  intended  to  abrogate 
them.  (5:17.)  Accordingly  we  find  the  found- 
er of  the  law,  and  the  great  reforming  pro- 
phet, coming  to  attend  on  the  Messianic 
King;  and  as  they  disappear,  a  heavenly 
voice  calls  on  men  to  hear  him.  The  Rabbis 
frequently  speak  of  Moses  and  Elijah  to- 
gether; and  a  writer  of  several  centuries  after 
Christ  says  they  were  to  come  together  in  the 
days  of  the  Messiah.  Talking  with  him. 
Luke  says  (»;  3i),  "spake  of  his  decease  which 
he  should  accomplish  at  Jerusalem,"  the  an- 
nouncement of  which,  a  few  days  before,  had 
so  startled  and  pained  the  disciples.  Plumptre  : 
"  It  is  significant  that  the  word  for  '  decease  ' 
(exodos)  re-appears  in  this  sense  once  only  in 
the  New  Test.,  and  then  in  close  connection 
with  a  reference  to  the  Transfiguration. 
(2  Peter  I:  IS.)"  It  is  Hot  clear  whether  the  dis- 
ciples heard  this  conversation  ;  at  any  rate  it 
was  partly  designed  for  the  Saviours  own 
benefit,  that  he  might  be  supported  in  view  of 


the  suflTerings  and  death  to  which  his  mind 
was  now  especially  turning.  (Luke  12:  so.)  Then 
answered  Peter,  not  an  answer  to  something 
said  to  him,  but  a  response  to  the  suggestions 
of  the  situation,  an  utterance  called  forth  by 
the  impression  made  on  his  mind.  (Comp.  on 
11:  25.)  Lord.  Mark  has  Rabbi,  and  Luke 
epistates,  '  master,'  see  on  8:  19.  It  is  good 
for  us  to  be  here.  Full  of  strange,  bewil- 
dered, but  delightful  feelings,  Peter  wanted  to 
stay  there  permanently,  and  not  have  the 
Master  go  to  Jerusalem  for  the  predicted 
sufferings  and  death.  Keim  fancies  that  Peter 
wished  to  summon  the  other  disciples  and  the 
people  from  every  direction  to  witness  this 
opening  manifestation  of  the  Messianic  glory 
— which  is  pure  hypothesis,  but  not  impos- 
sible. Meyer  and  Weiss  imagine  that  Peter 
means,  "It  is  a  good  thing  that  we  are  here," 
so  as  to  take  the  necessary  steps.  The  Greek 
will  bear  this  sense,  but  the  tone  of  the  narra- 
tive will  not. — It  was  indeed  good  to  be  there, 
but  they  could  not  stay.  Down  again  must 
Jesus  and  his  disciples  go,  amid  human  sor- 
row and  sin  (n:io),  down  to  witness  distress- 
ing unbelief  (n:  n),  and  presently  to  set  out  on 
the  journey  towards  Jerusalem  and  the  cross. 
As  Moses  and  Elijah  were  parting  from  Jesus 
(Luke),  Peter  proposed  to  detain  them  by 
making  three  tabernacles,  or  'booths,' 
shelters  formed  of  branches  of  trees,  such  as  tiio 
people  were  accustomed  to  make  for  the  Feast 
of  Tabernacles  at  Jerusalem.  In  these  their 
glorious  Lord  and  his  heavenly  visitors  might 
abide  in  comfort;  as  for  the  disciples  them- 
selves, they  could  remain  without  shelter, 
being  accustomed  to  the  open  air  in  hot 
weather,  even  at  night.  This  was  a  strange 
proposal  with  reference  to  beings  come  from 
the  other  world,  and  Mark  adds,  '  for  he  knew 
not  what  to  answer ;  for  they  were  (or  became) 
sorely  afraid.'  /  loill  make,  is  read  by  the 
earliest  manuscripts,  and  was  easily  changed 


1  The  "  Western  "  typo  of  text  added  a  comparison  to 
mow  in  Mark  9:  3,  and  substituted  it  for  'light'  in 
Matt.  It  was  doubtless  derived  from  28:  3;  Panit'l 
7 :  9.    This  addition  In  Mark  was  adopted  in  the  "Syr- 


ian "  text,  and  came  down  to  our  common  Greek  text, 
and  Com.  Ver.  Being  found  spuriotis,  it  cannot  he  used, 
as  by  Stanley,  in  considering  the  question  of  locality. 


372 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XVII. 


5  While  he  yet  spake,  behold,  a  bright  cloud  over- 
shadowed iheni :  and  behold  a  voice  out  of  the  cloud, 
which  said,  This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  1  am  well 
phased :  hoar  ye  him. 

6  And  wheu'the  disciples  heard  U,  they  fell  on  their 
face,  and  were  sore  afraid. 

7  And  Jesus  came  and  touched  them,  and  said.  Arise, 
and  be  not  afraid. 

8  And  when  they  had  lifted  up  their  eyes,  they  saw 
no  man,  save  Jesus  onlv. 

9  And  as  they  came  down  from  the  mountain,  Jesus 
charged  them,  saying.  Tell  the  vision  to  no  man,  until 
the  Sou  of  man  be  risen  again  from  the  dead. 


5  Elijah.  While  he  was  yet  speaking,  behold,  a  bright 
cloud  overshadowed  them :  and  behold,  a  voice  out 
of  the  cloud,  saying.  This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in 

6  whom  I  am  well  pleased  ;  hear  ye  him.  And  when 
the  disciples  heard  it,  they  fell  on  their  face,  and 

7  were  sore  afraid.  And  Jesus  came  and  touched 
them  and  said.  Arise,  and  be  not  afraid.    And  lift- 

8  iug  up  their  eyes,  they  saw  no  one,  save  Jesus  only, 

9  And  as  they  were  coming  down  from  the  moun- 
tain, Jesus  commanded  them,  saying,  Tell  the  vision 
to  no  man,  until  the  Son  of  man  l>e  risen  from  the 


by  copyists  to  let  us  make,  through  assimi- 
lation to  Mark  and  Luke.  It  accords  with 
Peter's  ardent  and  self-reliant  character 
(i6:«),  that  he  should  propose  to  make  them 
himself. 

5.  A  bright  clond.  Clouds  are  usually 
dark,  but  this  was  a  cloud  full  of  light  (same 
word  as  in  6:  22),  which  in  the  night  must 
have  been  a  sublime  spectacle.  Comp.  in  Old 
Test,  theophanies,  Exod.  33:  9;  1  Kings  8: 
10.  The  three  disciples  seem  to  have  been 
outside  of  the  luminous  cloud;  Luke,  in  the 
correct  Greek  text,  leaves  this  uncertain,  as 
Matt,  does;  but  a  voice  out  of  the  cloud 
suggests  that  those  who  heard  it  were  with- 
out. Matthew  repeats  behold  three  times  in 
quick  succession  (v-3.  &),  the  events  being  each 
very  remarkable.  On  two  other  occasions  a 
supernatural  voice  bore  testimony  to  Jesus. 
(S:n;  jotmi2:28.)  The  words  here  spoken  are 
the  same  as  at  the  baptism  (see  on  3:  17),  ex- 
cept the  addition  here  (in  all  three  Gospels)  of 
hear  ye  him,  a  solemn  call  to  listen  to  his 
teachings  and  submit  to  his  authority.  The 
phrase,  'in  whom  I  am  well  pleased,'  is  not 
here  given  by  Mark  and  Luke,  and  instead 
of  '  beloved '  the  correct  Greek  text  of  Luke 
(9:35)  is  'chosen.'  Of  course  the  words  cannot 
have  been  spoken  in  all  these  forms;  an  un- 
questionable proof,  if  it  were  needed,  that  the 
Evangelists  do  not  always  undertake  to  give 
the  exact  words.  (Comp.  on  3:  17.)  The  words 
'hear  ye  him'  probably  refer  to  Deut.  18:  15, 
"aprophet.  .  .  .  like  unto  me;  unto  him  ye 
shall  hearken."  It  may  be  that  Peter  re- 
called them  when  he  quoted  that  passage  in 
addressing  the  Jews.  (Aotss:23.) 

6-8.  This  solemn  voice  increased  the  awe 
and  terror  with  which  the  disciples  were 
overwhelmed.  They  fell  on  their  face 
(comp.  Deut.  5:  25  f . ;  Heb.  12:  19),  and 
were  sore  afraid,  that  fear  which  the  super- 
natural so  readily  excites.  (Comp.  on  14:  26.) 
This  fear  is  mentioned  by  Mark  as  explaining 


Peter's  mental  confusion  and  strange  proposi- 
tion ;  by  Luke,  as  felt  when  they  saw  Jesus 
with  Moses  and  Elijah,  entering  the  cloud; 
by  Matt.,  as  felt  when  they  heard  the  voice 
out  of  the  cloud.  "We  readily  understand 
that  it  was  felt  throughout,  and  might  be 
emphasized  at  various  points  with  equal  pro- 
priety. And  Jesus  came  and  touched 
them,  as  the  angel  touched  Daniel.  (Dan.  s:  iS; 
10:  IS.)  One  can  almost  see  the  kindly  Saviour 
stooping  to  touch  each  of  the  prostrate  forms, 
so  as  to  arouse  them  to  attention,  and  saying, 
Arise,  and  be  not  afraid.  They  looked  up 
(Mark,  'suddenly')  —  the  luminous  cloud 
was  gone,  and  with  it  the  bright  forms  of 
Moses  and  Elijah — they  saw  no  man  (or  no 
one)  save  Jesus  only.  This  means  simply 
that  the  others  were  gone  and  Jesus  was 
alone;  the  wonderful  scene  was  ended.  It 
is  quite  unwarrantable  to  "accommodate" 
the  words  as  a  text  in  the  way  sometimes 
adopted — trust  Jesus  only,  obey  Jesus  only, 
take  Jesus  only  as  prophet,  priest,  and  king 
— all  correct  in  themselves,  but  by  no  means 
here  taught. 

9.  As  they  came  (were coming)  down  from 
the  mountain,  more  exactly,  out  of  the 
mountain.  People  who  live  near  a  mountain 
constantly  say,  "he  is  gone  up  in  the  moun- 
tain," "when  he  comes  down  out  of  the 
mountain"  ;  he  is  not  in  the  earth  composing 
the  mountain,  but  is  in  the  mountain  as  a  lo- 
cality. The  evidence  is  overwhelmingly  in 
favor  of  ek,  'out  of,'  in  Matt.,  and  probably 
so  in  Mark  9:9;  it  was  changed  by  copyists 
to  apo,  'from,'  by  way  of  assimilation  to  Luke 
(9:ST),  just  as  it  was  changed  in  Mark  1 :  10  by 
assimilation  to  Matt.  3:  16  (see  note).  This 
descent  in  the  summer  morning  must  have 
been  accompanied  by  delightful  reflections  on 
what  they  had  witnessed.  Here  was  new  and 
wondrous  confirmation  of  their  faith  that  Je- 
sus was  the  Messiah.  They  would  naturally 
wish  to  speak  of  it  to  the  other  disciples  and 


Ch.  XVII.] 


MATTHEW. 


373 


10  And  his  disciples  asked  him,  saying,  Why  then  I  10  dead.    And  his  disciples  asked  hiiu,  saying,  Why 
gay  the  scribes  that  Elias  luusl  first  come/  |        then  say  the  scribes  that  Elijah  must  first  come? 

11  And  Jesus  answered  and  said  uuto  them,  Elias     11  And  he  answered  and  said,  Elijah  indeed  cometh, 
truly  shall  first  come,  and  restore  all  things.  | 


all  the  people ;  and  were  doubtless  surprised 
and  disappointed  when  Jesus  not  only  said  to 
them,  but  charged  them,  Tell  the  vision, 
or  sight  (acwt:  si),  the  word  meaning  simply 
something  seen,  to  no  man,  more  exactly, 
to  no  one,  until  the  Son  of  man,  the  Mes- 
siah (see  on  8:  20),  be  risen  from  the  dead. 
He  is  repeating  what  he  had  said  a  week  be- 
fore (16:21),  that  he  must  die  and  rise  again. 
But  they  do  not  understand.  Mark  says 
(9: 10),  'They  kept  the  saying,  questioning  one 
with  another  what  the  rising  from  the  dead 
should  mean.'  They  were  familiar  with  the 
idea  of  a  general  resurrection,  but  could  not 
see  how  the  Messiah  was  to  be  killed  and 
come  to  life  again  (see  on  16:  21).  They 
doubtless  supposed  it  must  mean  something 
figurative,  and  never  thought  of  understand- 
ing it  literally.  The  other  disciples  would 
naturally  feel  a  similar  difficulty  concerning 
the  prediction  as  made  before  and  repeated 
afterwards  (n:  23; 20:  is);  but  some  of  them 
mentioned  that  such  a  prediction  had  been 
made,  and  when  the  rulers  heard  of  it,  they 
thought  only  of  a  pretended  literal  resurrec- 
tion,   which    they    endeavored   to    prevent. 

(2T:6»f.) 

In  considering  the  design  of  the  Transfig- 
uration, we  may  be  aided  by  this  fact  that  it 
was  not  to  be  made  known  till  after  the  resur- 
rection of  Jesus,  and  by  the  question  which 
the  disciples  proceeded  to  ask  (».  10),  showing 
a  deep  conviction  that  he  was  the  Messiah. 
The  wonderful  scene  was  suited  to  fix  this 
belief  so  firmly  in  the  minds  of  these  three 
leading  disciples  that  it  would  not  be  shaken 
by  the  repeated  prediction,  nor  utterly  de- 
stroyed by  the  heart-rending  reality,  of  his 
ignominious  death.  Henceforth,  no  disap- 
pointment of  their  cherished  Messianic  expec- 
tations, no  humiliation  instead  of  honor,  and 
death  instead  of  triumph,  could  ever  make 
them  doubt  that  he  whom  they  had  seen  in  such 
a  form  of  glory,  and  receiving  such  testimony, 
was  indeed  the  Messiah.  Even  when  Peter 
80  mournfully  fell,  he  did  not  utterly  lose  this 
conviction,  even  as  Jesus  said  the  night  be- 
fore, '  I  made  supplication  for  thee,  that  thy 
faith  fall  not.'  (i-uke22:  S2,  b.v.)  This  uncon- 
querable conviction  on  the  part  of  the  three 


foremost  disciples  would  keep  the  rest  also 
from  wavering,  though  they  could  not  be  told 
what  had  occurred.  When  their  lips  were 
unsealed,  we  may  be  sure  that  they  delighted 
to  tell  the  sublime  story,  even  as  Peter  speaks 
of  it  in  glowing  terms  in  his  last  Epistle 
(2Pet.  1:  leer.),  and  John  perhaps  alludes  to  it 
in  his  Gospel  (i:h).  As  to  the  effect  of  the 
Transfiguration  upon  Jesus  himself,  see  on  v. 
3.  But  why  could  it  not  be  told  until  after 
his  resurrection  ?  He  had  forbidden  the  dis- 
ciples to  tell  any  one  that  he  was  the  Messiah 
(16:20).  An  account  of  this  wonderful  scene, 
if  given  to  the  people  in  general,  with  their 
I  mistaken  conceptions  of  Messiah,  would  only 
I  have  excited  fanaticism  and  precipitated  the 
j  crisis.  When  his  resurrection  and  ascension 
had  put  an  end  to  the  thought  of  a  mere  tem- 
i  poral  kingdom,  and  the  minds  of  believers 
!  had  been  lifted  up  to  a  just  conception  of 
their  exalted  Lord,  then  the  story  could  be 
appreciated,  and  would  do  good  and  not  harm. 
10-13.  His  disciples,  viz.,  the  three. 
(Mark 9: 2.).  Why  then?  There  is  now  no 
doubt  that  he  is  the  Messiah.  Why  then, 
say  the  scribes  that  Elias  (Elijah)  must 
first  come?  The  thought  of  Elijah  had  been 
suggested  by  his  appearance  on  the  Mount. 
The  Scribes  were  accustomed  to  teach  that 
Elijah  in  proper  person  would  come  before 
the  Messiah,  and  prepare  the  way  for  him  by 
a  new  work  of  reformation — thus  interpreting 
literally  the  prediction  of  Mai.  4:  5  (comp. 
on  16  :  14).  Someof  the  Jews  held  that  Elijah 
would  anoint  the  Messiah.  But  here  is  Mes- 
siah present  beyond  question,  and  no  such 
preparatory  ministry  of  Elijah  has  occurred. 
They  ask  him  therefore  to  explain  why  the 
Scribes  say  that  Elijah  must  come  before  the 
Messiah  ;  and  this  he  proceeded  to  do.  Meyer 
and  others  suppose,  with  far  les  probability, 
thatthedisciples  took  thisappe:irance  of  Elijah 
on  the  mount  to  be  the  predicted  coming,  and 
were  only  perplexed  that  Elijah  had  not  come 
fij'nt,  but  after  the  Messiah  had  appeared. 
And  Jesus  (he)  answered  and  said.  The 
words  'Jesus  '  and  '  to  them  '  are  not  part  of 
the  correct  text ;  nor  is  'first '  in  v.  11,  though 
genuine  in  v.  10.  Elias  (Elijah)  truly  shall 
come.     'Indeed,'  or  'truly,'  expresses  con- 


374 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XVII. 


12  But  I  say  unto  you,  That  Elias  is  come  already, 
and  thev  knew  him  not,  but  have  done  unto  him  what- 
soever tliey  listed.  Likewise  shall  also  the  Sou  of  man 
sutfer  of  them. 

13  Then  the  disciples  understood  that  he  spake  unto 
them  of  John  the  Baptist. 


12  and  shall  restore  all  things:  but  I  say  unto  yon,  that 
Elijah  is  come  already,  and  they  knew  him  not,  but 
did  unto  him  whatsoever  they  listed.    Even  so  shall 

13  the  Son  ol  man  also  sutfer  of  them.  Then  under- 
stood the  disciples  taat  he  spake  unto  them  of  John 
the  Baptist. 


trust  with  something  to  follow,  as  in  9  :  37. 
That  Elijah  coiiieth  is  the  divine  arrange- 
ment, and  the  prediction  of  Scripture.  (For 
such  uses  of  tiie  present  tense,  see  Winer, 
p.  265  [332].)  Aud  restore  all  things. 
Malachi  predicted  (*:6)  of  Elijah,  "he  shall 
turn  the  heart  of  the  fathers  to  the  children," 
etc.,  viz.,  as  a  preparation  for  the  great  day 
of  the  Lord.  This  '  shall  turn  '  is  translated 
in  the  Sept.  'shall  restore,'  and  hence  doubt- 
less (Bengel,  Fritz.)  the  word  here  and  in 
Mark  (»;  w). Elijah  will  effect  a  preparatory  ref- 
ormation, comp.  Luke  1:  17,  'to  make  ready 
for  the  Lord  a  people  prepared.'  Our  Lord 
means  to  say  that  so  the  prediction  stands. 
The  future  tense  does  not  appear  to  mean,  as 
Chrys.  and  others  have  imagined,  that  there 
was  to  be  some  other  coming  of  Elijah  still 
future  when  our  Lord  was  speaking.  Elias 
(Elijah)  is  come  already,  comp.  11  :  14. 
Whatsoever  they  listed,  or  wished,  the  old 
English  listed  being  a  modified  form  of  lusted, 
i.  e.,  desired.  'They'  is  here  impersonal ;  a 
very  common  use  in  Heb.  of  the  third  person 
plural,  like  the  Eng.  'they  say.'  The  refer- 
ence is  to  the  way  John  had  been  treated  by 
the  people  in  general,  and  by  Herod  in  par- 
ticular. John  was  not  Elijah  come  to  life  in 
his  own  proper  person,  but  he  was  Elijah  in 
"spirit  and  power,"  (Luke  i :  it),  in  character 
and  reforming  influence,  (comp.  on  3  :  1). 
Some  of  the  rabbinical  writers  represent  that 
Elijah  will  bring  back  the  ark,  the  pot  of 
manna,  etc. ;  Jesus  regards  him  as  coming  to 
effect  a  moral  renovation  or  restoration.  In 
Acts  3  :  21,  Peter  points  forward  to  a  future 
"restoration  of  all  things  "  in  connection  with 
the  second  coming  of  the  Messiah.  Likewise 
shall  also  the  Son  of  man  suffer  of  them, 
viz.,  at  the  hands  of  the  people,  not  necessa- 
rily the  same  persons  who  had  maltreated 
John,  but  the  same  generation.  He  here 
recalls  to  the  three  the  prediction  of  a  week 
before,  which  Peter  had  found  it  so  hard  to 
bear. 

HOMILETICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

V.   1-8.  The  Transfiguration.     1)  The  glo- 


rious appearance.  2)  The  holy  visitants.  3) 
The  Father's  voice.  4)  The  effect  upon  the 
disciples.  5)  The  lessons  for  us  ;  (a)  as  to  the 
Saviour's  glory,  (b)  his  authority,  (c)  our  ser- 
viceofhini. — V.  3.  Hall:  "  A  strange  oppor- 
tunity! in  his  highest  exaltation  to  speak  of 
his  sufferings;  when  his  head  shone  with 
glory,  to  tell  him  how  it  must  bleed  with 
thorns;  when  his  face  shone  like  the  sun,  to 
tell  him  it  must  be  spit  upon;  when  his  gar- 
ments glistened  with  that  celestial  brightness, 
to  tell  him  they  must  be  stripped  and  divided ; 
when  he  was  seen  between  two  saints,  to  tell 
him  how  he  must  be  seen  between  two  male- 
factors."— V.  4.  Henry  :  "  We  are  out  in  our 
aim,  if  we  look  for  a  heaven  here  upon  earth. 
It  is  not  for  strangers  and  pilgrims  to  talk  of 
building.  Whatever  tabernacles  we  propose 
to  make  to  ourselves  in  this  world,  we  must 
always  remember  to  ask  Christ's  leave." — V. 
5.  Hear  him.  1)  As  completer  of  the  law. 
(5:  17.)  2)  As  last  and  greatest  of  God's 
messengers.  (Heb.  1 :  1  f.)  3)  As  the  suffer- 
ing Saviour.  (16:  21.)  4)  As  destined  to  be 
the  final  Judge.  (16:  27.)— V.  6.  Henry: 
"Through  the  infirmitj*  of  the  flesh,  we  often 
frighten  ourselves  with  that  wherewith  we 
should  encourage  ourselves." — V.  8.  Chrys.  : 
"  If  we  will,  we  also  shall  behold  Christ,  not 
as  they  then  on  the  mount,  but  in  far  greater 
brightness.  For  then,  to  spare  his  disciples,  he 
discovered  so  much  only  of  his  brightness  as 
they  were  able  to  bear;  hereafter  he  shall 
come  in  the  very  glory  of  the  Father,  not  with 
Moses  and  Elijah  only,  but  with  the  infinite 
host  of  the  angels,  not  having  a  cloud  over  his 
head,  but  even  heaven  itself  being  folded  up 
so  that  all  men  shall  see  him  sitting,  and  he 
will  make  answers  to  them  by  himself,  'Come 
3'e blessed  of  my  Father,'  'Depart  from  me,  j'e 
cursed.'  " 

V.  9.  Tell  the  vision  to  no  one.  1)  It  is  a 
difiicult  and  important  duty  sometimes  to  keep 
silence  when  we  burn  to  speak.  2)  Some  points 
of  religious  truth  are  best  withheld  from  persons 
not  prepared  to  understand.  3)  Delay  in  tell- 
ing sometimes  prepares  us  to  tell  more  intelli- 
gently and  impressively. 


Ch.  XVII.] 


MATTHEW. 


375 


14  And  when  they  were  come  to  the  multitude,  there 
came  to  him  a  certain  man,  kneeling  down  to  him,  and 
saying, 

15  Lord,  have  mercy  on  my  son ;  for  he  is  lunatic, 
and  sore  vexed :  for  ofttimes  he  falieth  into  the  fire, 
and  oft  into  the  water. 

16  And  I  brought  him  to  thy  disciples,  and  they 
could  not  cure  him. 

17  Then  Jesus  answered  and  said,  O  faithless  and 
perverse  generation,  how  long  shall  I  be  with  you  ? 
how  long  shall  I  suffer  you?  bring  him  hither  to  me. 


14  And  when  they  were  come  to  the  multitude,  there 
came  to  him  a  man,  kneeling  to  him,  aud  saying, 

15  Lord,  have  mercy  on  my  son  :  for  he  is  epileptic, 
aud  suffereth  grievously  :    for  oft-times   he  falieth 

16  iuto  the  fire,  and  ofl-tlmes  into  the  water.  Aud  I 
brought  him  to  thy  disciples,  aud   they  could  uot 

17  cure  him.  And  Jesus  answered  aud  said,  O  faithless 
and  perverse  generation,  how  long  shall  I  be  with 
you?  how  long  shall  I  bear  with  you?  bring  him 


14-20  (21).  Jesus  Heals  the  Epilep- 
tic BoT. 

Mark  here  gives  (9:  u-m)  man3'  vivid  details 
not  found  in  Matthew  or  Luke  (9:  :"-«). 

14-16.  And  when  they,  viz.,  Jesus,  with 
Peter  and  James  and  John  (":i.9),  were 
come  to  the  multitude.  The  place  was 
near  the  foot  of  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration 
(Luke  9: 37),  and  SO  pretty  certainly  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Cesarea  Philippi.  (See  on  17:  1.) 
The  great  picture  by  Raffaelle,  seizing  upon 
the  close  connection  between  the  Transfigura- 
tion and  this  scene,  has  taken  the  artistic 
license  of  representing  them  as  contempo- 
raneous, the  Master  in  glory  on  the  Mount,  the 
nine  disciples  vainly  attempting  to  heal  the 
demoniac  boy  at  its  foot.  'The  multitude' 
were  surrounding  the  nine  disciples  (Mark), 
and  'were  greatly  amazed,'  probably  at  the 
sudden  appearance  of  Jesus  after  a  night's 
unexplained  absence,  and  after  this  failure  of 
his  followers..  Some  think  there  was  still  a 
light  in  his  countenance,  as  when  Moses  de- 
scended with  dazzling  face.  But  this  would 
have  excited  a  curiosity  which  he  and  the 
three  could  not  gratify.  (i7-9.)  Mark  adds 
that  the  multitude  ran  to  him  and  saluted 
him ;  they  were  perhaps  curious  to  know 
where  he  had  been,  and  were  doubtless  eager 
to  see  whether  he  could  heal  when  the  disciples 
had  failed.  It  was  probably  in  regard  to  this 
point  that  'Scribes'  were  'questioning  with 
them.'  The  fame  of  Jesus'  numerous  heal- 
ings in  Galilee  had  long  ago  spread  far  and 
wide.  («:24f.)  A  man,  kneeling  to  him,  in  | 
humility  and  reverence,  not  in  worship. 
Lord,  see  on  8:  2.  It  is  not  clear  what 
amount  of  reverence  the  word  here  exjjrc'sses. 
On  my  son,  an  only  son  (Luke9:38;,  and  still  a 

boy.    (t.  18;  llHrk9:24;  Luke<>-42.)   LuuatiC,  Or  6^91- 

leptic,  as  in  4:  24;  the  word  does  not  occur 
elsewhere  in  New  Test.  The  symptoms  de- 
scribed, and  more  fully  and  vividly  in  Mark 
(9:  i»>-«)),  are  those  of  epilepsy  ;  and  the  boy  had 
been  so  affected  from  childhood  (Mark).    The 


epilepsy  was  in  this  case  connected  (v-is)  with 
possession  by  a  demon  (see  on  8:  28),  which 
might  either  have  caused  the  bodily  ailment, 
or  taken  occasion  therefrom.  In  Mark  (9:  n) 
it  is  called  'a  dumb  spirit,'  indicating  that  the 
demoniacal  possession  had  caused  the  ch  ild  to  be 
dumb.  I  brought  him  to  thy  disciples,  the 
nine  who  had  been  left  behind,  and  they  could 
not  cure  him.  Mark  and  Luke,  '  cast  it  out.' 
They  had  doubtless  repeatedly  cast  out  demons 
during  their  mission  in  Galilee  the  previous 
winter  or  spring  (lo:  i-s),  and  they  might  have 
done  so  now  but  for  weakness  of  faith,  (v.  m.) 
17  f.  O  faithless  [^unbelieving)  and  per- 
verse generation.  The  terms  are  borrowed 
from  Deut.  32:  5,  20;  comp.  Phil.  2:  15.  They 
were  notunbelievingthrough  lack  of  evidence, 
but  through  perverse  neglect  or  rejection  of 
the  evidence.  The  Greek  word  means  thor- 
oughly twisted,  crooked,  etc.,  and  so  does  the 
Latin  perversus.  (Comp.  Eng.  wrong  from 
wring.)  Tyn.,  Gran.,  Gen.,  here  render 
'crooked.'  The  term  'generation'  seems  to 
be  used  generally,  not  meaning  specifically 
the  disciples  or  the  Scribes,  etc.,  as  various 
writers  have  supposed.  The  father,  the  nine 
disciples,  the  crowd,  the  Scribes  (Mark  9:  u), 
would  all  in  varying  degrees  and  ways  sug- 
gest that  the  current  generation  was  unbeliev- 
ing and  perverse.  So  Zwingli,  Bengel,  Ewald, 
Trench  (see  Morison).  'Unbelieving'  does 
not  necessarily  mean  that  no  one  in  the 
generation  believed  at  all  ;  the  disciples  had 
'little  faith'  (v.2o\  the  father  believed  and 
did  not  believe.  This  prevalence  of  perverse 
unbelief  made  it  painful  to  live  amid  such  a 
generation,  and  to  suffer,  or  ftear  with.  them. 
He  had  shown  keen  distress  at  unbelief  heforo, 
Mark  8:  12  (see  above  on  16:  4);  Mark  3:  6 
(S(!e  above  on  12:  13).  Our  Lord's  sensitive- 
ness of  feeling  appears  in  many  ways,  but 
only  here  is  rocord(!(l  as  taking  the  form  of 
momentary  impatience  at  dwelling  amid  such 
an  environment;  it  must  have  been  all  the 
more  distressing  from  the  contrast  with  the 


376 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XVII. 


18  And  Jesus  rebuked  the  devil ;  and  he  departed  out 
of  him  :  and  the  child  was  cured  from  that  very  hour. 

19  Then  came  the  disciples  to  Jesus  apart,  and  said, 
Why  could  not  we  cast  him  out? 

20  And  Jesus  said  unto  tbeni.  Because  of  your  unbe- 
lief: for  verily  1  say  unto  you,  If  ye  have  faith  as  a 
grain  of  mustard  seetl,  ve  shall  say  unto  this  mountain, 
Remove  hence  to  yonder  place ;  and  it  shall  remove : 
and  nothing  shall  "be  impossible  unto  you. 

21  llowbcit  this  kind  goeth  not  out  but  by  prayer 
and  lasting. 


18  hither  to  me.  And  Jesus  rebuked  him;  and  the 
demon  went  out  from  him :  and  the  boy  was  cured 
from  that  hour.    Then  came  the  disciples  to  Jesus 

20  apart,  and  said.  Why  could  not  we  cast  it  out  ?  And 
he  saith  unto  them.  Because  of  your  little  faith:  for 
verily  I  say  unto  you.  If  ye  have  faith  as  a  grain  of 
mustard  seed,  ye  shall  say  unto  this  mountain,  Re- 
move hence  to  yonder  place ;  and  it  shall  remove ; 
and  nothing  shall  be  impossible  unto  you.> 


1  Many  auUioriUes,  aome  auoient,  tusert  ver.  21,  But  this  kind  gotth  not  out  save  bg  prayer  and  fatting.    See  Mark  ix.  29. 


scene  of  the  Transfiguration,  a  few  hours 
before.  How  long?  literallj^  vntiL  when? 
as  if  expecting  a  time  of  release.  Yet  he  did 
bear  with  that  generation  foryet  many  monthfi 
(see  on  19  :  1),  and  did  on  this  occasion,  amid 
all  the  disheartening  and  intolerable  unbelief, 
promptly  recognize  and  bless  a  faith  that  was 
confessedly  weak.  This  confession  was  made 
by  the  father  in  a  touching  dialogue  recorded 
by  Mark.  (9:  was.)  Bring  him  hither  to  me. 
Even  the  disciples  have  been  weak  in  faith, 
and  what  they  ought  to  have  done  must  be 
done  by  him.  And  Jesus  rebuked  the 
devil,  literally,  him,  the  demoniac,  which  of 
course  means  that  he  rebuked  'the  unclean 
spirit'  (Mark  and  LukeJ ;  the  rebuke  doubt- 
less related  to  his  unlawful  and  malignant 
possession.  The  apparent  confusion  of  per- 
sons in  speaking  to  the  child  and  the  demon 
is  natural  on  the  assumption  of  a  real  demon- 
iacal possession,  and  repeatedly  occurs  in  the 
Gospels.  Tyn.  and  his  followers  transposed 
'the  devil'  into  the  first  clause.  The  devil 
should  be  the  demon,  see  on  8 :  31.  Departed 
out  of  him,  ek  and  npo  being  united,  comp. 
<m  3:  16.  The  dispossession  caused  the  child 
frightful  suflfering,  and  presently  he  lay  as  if 
dead  till  Jesus  raised  him  up  (Mark).  The 
child  ;  boy  is  the  exact  translation,  and  more 
definite  than  '  child.'  Was  cured  from  that 
very  hour,  at  once  and  permanently,  as  in 
15:  28;  9:  22.  Luke  adds  (9:«,  R.  v.),  "And 
they  were  all  aston  ished  at  the  majesty  of  God. ' ' 
19,  20  (21).  The  disciples,  viz..  the 
nine  who  had  tried  and  failed.  Apart,  Mark 
(9:28),  'when   he  was  come  into  the  house,' 


apparently  that  in  which  he  and  they  had 
been  sojourning.  Why  could  not  we  cast 
him  (ii)  out?  'we'  being  expressed  in  the 
Greek,  and  thus  emphatic ;  he  had  authorized 
them  to  cast  out  demons  (io:i-8),  and  we  can- 
not doubt  they  had  done  so.  (Comp.  the 
Seventy,  Luke  10:  17).  Because  of  your 
unbelief, cor.  text,  little faith,^  comp.  'ye  of 
little  faith'  in  6 :  80;  8  :  26  ;  14  :  31;  16:  8. 
To  this  corresponds  the  answer  given  in  Mark. 
'This  kind  can  come  out  by  nothing  save  by 
prayer,'  viz.,  as  increasing  their  faith  and 
spiritual  power.  For  gives  a  proof  of  the 
preceding  statement.  Your  failure  must 
have  been  on  account  of  your  weakness  of 
faith, /or  a  very  minute  faith  can  work  a  very 
great  miracle.  As  a  grain  of  mustard 
seed,  often  used  for  anything  very  small  (see 
on  13:31);  their  faith  must  therefore  have 
been  extremely  minute,  being  less  than  this. 
Unto  this  mountain.  He  probably  pointed 
to  the  mountain  on  which  he  had  the  night 
before  been  transfigured ;  so  in  21 :  21  it  is  the 
Mount  of  Olives.  This  faith  that  could  re- 
move mountains  (comp.  Luke  17  :  6  ;  Matt. 
21  :  *21  f  ;  Mark  11  :  23;  1  Cor.  13  :  2)  was 
proper  and  possible  only  in  those  to  whom  it 
was  granted  to  work  miracles.  For  us  to 
attempt  such  a  thing  is  folly.  And  nothing 
shall  be  impossible  unto  you  is  of  course 
an  exaggerated  expression,  such  as  all  men 
use,  and  all  understand,  and  answers  to  what 
he  had  just  before  said  to  the  father  (Mark9:2s\ 
"  All  things  are  possible  to  him  that  be- 
lieveth  ; '"  comp.  also  Phil.  4  :  13. 
21.    This  verse  is  spurious,*  having  been 


1  This  is  the  reading  of  X  B,  the  cursives  13, 124,  346, 
which  are  known  to  have  been  derived  from  one  old 
uncial,  and  several  other  important  cursives,  the  Old 
Syriac,  Memphitic  and  Sahidic,  Armenian,  .Ethiopic, 
and  it  is  quoted  in  Origen,  Chrys.,  Hilary.  The  word 
olif/opistian  is  not  found  in  the  classics  nor  elsewhere  in 
Biblicai  Greek,  but  sometimes  employed  by  Greek 
Fathers.  It  waseasily  changed  by  copyists  into  '  unbe- 
lief {apislian),  a  familiar  term,  implied  in  v.  17,  and 


seeming  at  first  more  in  accordance  with  what  follows. 
Yet  in  fact  Jesus  has  never  accused  the  disciples  of 
having  no  faith,  but  repeatedly  of  having  little  faith 
(pligopUtoi).  This  fact  is  not  likely  to  have  occurred 
to  ci  ipyists,  while  the  other  considerations  are  obvious. 
9  It  is  wanting  in  X  (first  hand)  B,  two  copies  of  the 
Old  Latin,  the  Old  and  .Jerusalem  Syriac,  Sahidic,  and 
a  copy  of  Memphitic,  and  .S^thiopie.  The  insertion  by 
copyists  from  another  Gospel  is  natural  and  very  com- 


Ch.  XVIL] 


MATTHEW. 


377 


22  And  while  they  abode  in  Galilee,  Jesus  said  unto 
them,  The  Son  of  man  shall  be  betrayed  into  the  bauds 
of  men : 


22      And  while  they  i  abode  in  Galilee,  Jesus  said  unto 
them,  The  Son  of  man  shall  be  delivered  up  into 


I  Some  ancient  autboritiea  read,  vtere  gathering  themselvea  togtther. 


added  by  copyists  from  Mark  9  :  29.  Already, 
before  this  was  done,  the  passage  had  been  en- 
larged in  Mark  by  adding  'and  fasting,'  due 
to  the  asceticism  among  the  early  Cliristians. 
A  similar  addition  of  '  fasting'  was  made  by 
copyists  in  Acts  10:  30;  1  Cor.  7:  5,  and  so 
came  into  the  common  text.  The  word  fast- 
ing is  genuine  in  Luke  2:  37;  Acts  13:  2  f . ; 
14:  23.  For  our  Lord's  instruction  as  to  fast- 
ing, see  on  9:  15;  6:  18. 

The  events  of  16 :  13  to  17 :  20  occurred  within 
R  short  time,  apparently  little  more  than  a 
week,  and  soon  after  Jesus  reached  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Cesarea  Philippi.  He  appears  to 
have  stayed  in  that  region,  so  far  as  our  in- 
formation enables  us  to  judge,  several  weeks, 
perhaps  two  or  three  months  (comp.  on  16: 
13),  but  there  is  no  record  of  further  sayings 
or  doings. 

HOMILETICAL   AND  PRACTICAL. 

V.  14  f.  A  father's  remarkable  experience. 
1)  The  distressing  calamity.  2)  The  dis- 
heartening failure.  3)  The  struggling  faith. 
(MBrk9:2i-24.)  4)  The  great  blessing. — V.  14. 
Henry:  "Sense  of  misery  will  bring  people 

to  their  knees Parents   are    doubly 

concerned  to  pray  for  their  children,  not 
only  those  that  are  weak  and  cannot,  but  much 
more  that  are  wicked  and  will  not,  pray  for 
themselves."— V.  17.  The  Saviour  grieving 
at  unbelief.  1)  He  felt  an  unbelieving  at- 
mosphere to  be  utterly  uncongenial.  2)  He 
saw  clearly  the  perverseness  and  general  sin- 
fulness of  unbelief.  3)  He  considered  what 
blessings  men  were  missing  through  unbelief. 
4)  He  observed  how  attempts  at  usefulness 
were  marred  by  unbelief.  6)  He  was  pained 
by  unbelief  in  him  as  a  personal  unkindness 


and  injustice.  6)  Ho  perceived  that  unbelief 
is  obstinate  and  hard  to  conquer. — V.  19. 
Henry:  "Ministers,  who  are  to  deal  for 
Christ  in  public,  have  need  to  keep  up  a  pri- 
vate communion  with  him,  that  they  may 
bewail  the  follies  and  infirmities  of  their  pub- 
lic performances,  and  inquire  into  the  cause 
of  them."— V.  20.  Little  faith.  1)  It  re- 
stricts usefulness.  2)  It  hinders  spiritual  per- 
ception. (16:8.)  3)  It  makes  men  timid  amid 
perils.  (8:26.)  4)  It  leaves  them  consumed 
with  temporal  anxieties.     (6:3o.) 

22-27.  Returning  to  Galilee,  Jesxts 
AGAIN  Foretells  his  Death.  He  Pays 
THE  Temple  Tax. 

Here  are  two  matters. 

I.  22  f.  He  again  Foretells  his  Death 
AND  Resurrection.  Found  also  in  Mark  9: 
80-32;  Luke  9:  43-45.  Mark  tells  how  they 
left  the  place  of  healing  the  demoniac  boy, 
near  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration,  and 
passed  through  Galilee.  And  while  they 
abode,  etc., — were  gathering  themselves  to- 
gether in  Oa.lilee  (Rev.Ver.,  margin),  is  in  all 
probability  thetrue  text.'  It  implies  that  they 
returned  by  different  mutes  to  a  fixed  point  in 
Galilee.  Upon  reflection,  this  is  seen  to  agree 
exactly  with  Mark's  statement  tliat  Jesus 
'wished  no  one  to  know'  (comp.  above  on 
16:  5)  of  the  journey  through  Galilee,  for  a 
natural  expedient  to  this  end  would  be  the 
separation  of  the  Twelve  into  several  parties, 
taking  diflTerent  routes.  We  then  understand 
that  at  the  rendezvous,  as  they  were  assem- 
bling, Jesus  made  the  statement  that  follows. 
Mark's  'for'  (»:5i)  perhaps  indicates  (Alford) 
that  he  wished  to  pass  on  unnoticed,  because 
he  was  engaged  in  i>rivately  teaching  his  dis- 
ciples about  his  approaching  death.     Or  it 


mon,  while  we  cannot  imagine  any  reason  for  the 
omission  of  the  pa.ssage  if  originally  |)re8cnt  in  Matt., 
since  no  class  of  Christians  in  theoarly  centuries  would 
have  objected  to  it.  The  manuscripts  and  versions 
which  contain  it  have  much  verbal  variation,  a  com- 
mon thing  In  such  borrowed  passa^ies.  In  Mark  the 
sentence  is  found  in  all  documents,  but  the  words  'and 
fasting'  are  there  omitted  by  K  (first  hand),  B,  one 
copy  of  Old  Latin,  and  apparently  by  Clem.  (W  II.) 
This  evidence  miKbt  seem  slender,  but  there  is  no  con- 
ceivable reason  for  the  omission  of  the  words  by  copy- 


ists or  students,  while  their  insertion  is  explained  by 
the  asceticism  prevalent  among  the  early  Christiana, 
ami  is  paralleled  in  the  common  te.\t  of  Acts  10:  30; 
1  Cor.  7  :  .").    So  the  case  is  clear. 

1  II  is  the  reading  of  X  B,  and  the  cursive  1 ;  several 
early  versions  show  confusion  and  uncertainty  in  their 
rendering.  'Abode'  Th\iresettta  ajwstrephomerion,  and 
'were  gathering  themselves  together'  h  sustrephmnenon. 
The  latter  would  strike  copyists  as  strange,  and  be 
easily  change<l  into  what  seemed  more  simple.  The 
case  is  not  certain,  but  highly  probable. 


378 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XVIL 


23  And  they  shall  kill  him,  and  the  third  day  lie 
shall  be  raised  again.    And  they  were  exceeding  sorry. 

24  And  when  they  were  come  to  Capernaum,  thev 
that  received  <■  tribute  money  came  to  Peter,  and  said, 
Doth  not  yuur  master  pay  tribute  ? 


23  the  hands  of  men  ;  and  they  shall  kill  him,  and  the 
third  day  he  shall  be  raised  up.  And  they  were  ex- 
ceeding sorry. 

24  And  when  they  were  come  to  Capernaum,  they 
that  received  the  i  halt-shekel  came  to  Peter,  and 


a  Called  in  the  original  didrachma,  being  lu  value  fifteen  pence.    See  Ex.  30 :  12,  and  38 ;  26. ...  1  Gr.  didraehma. 


may  mean  that  he  wished  to  avoid  the  fanati- 
cal multitude,  who,  at  his  last  recorded  visit 
to  Capernaum,  wanted  to  make  him  a  king 
after  their  own  notion.  (John 6:  is.)  The  Son 
of  man,  see  on  8:  20.  Shall  be  (or  is  goitig 
to  be, )  the  same  construction  as  in  16 :  27.  Be- 
trayed, or  delivered  up,  into.  So  Com.  Ver. 
rightlj'  in  Mark  and  Luke,  though  rendering 
'betrayed'  in  Matt.  (comp.  on  10:  4);  and 
we  shall  find  similar  inconsistency  throughout 
in  transiatingthe  term.  The  words  which  really 
mean  'betray'  and  'traitor'  occur  only  in 
Luke  6:  10;  Acts  7:  52.  Into  the  hands  of 
men.  In  20:  19  it  becomes  more  definite, 
'unto  the  Gentiles'  ;  26:  45,  'into  the  hands 
of  sinners.'  The  idea  of  losing  liberty  and 
being  rudely  handled  by  other  men,  is  always 
in  itself  painful.  This  being  delivered  into 
the  hands  of  men  is  the  new  idea  here  added  ; 
the  rest  is  repeated  from  16:  21.  (See  note.) 
And  they  were  exceeding  sorry,  or  exceed- 
ingly grieved.  Mark  and  Luke  state  that  they 
did  not  understand  the  saying  (comp.  on  17: 
9),  and  feared  to  ask  him  about  it — probably 
with  that  feeling  which  often  restrains  per- 
sons from  seeking  more  precise  information 
that  would  probably  but  increase  their  dis- 
tress. The  three  who  had  witnessed  the  trans- 
figuration must  have  been  better  able  to  bear 
this  renewed  and  painful  announcement;  but 
they  could  not.  tell  the  others  what  they  had 
seen  and  heard. 

II.  24-27.  Paying  the  Temple  Con- 
tribution. Found  in  Matt,  only,  except 
the  statement  in  Mark  (9:33),  that  'they  came 
to  Capernaum.'  This  seems  to  have  been  our 
Lord's  final  visit  to  Capernaum,  which  had  so 
long  been  his  abo^e  (see  on  4:  13),  and  was 
probably  short.  (Comp.  on  18:  1.)  He  had 
just  come  from  the  neighborhood  of  Cesarea 
Philippi.  (See  on  v.  22.)  They  that  re- 
ceived the  tribute  money  (half  shekel). 
The  Greek  didrnchmon,  cr  double  drachm, 
was  a  silver  coin  equal  to  two  Attic  drachms, 
and  in  the  times  of  the  New  Test,  and 
Josephus  was  nearlj'  equal  to  a  half  shekel, 
or  something  over  thirty  cents.  'Tribute 
money,'  Cranmer  and  K.  James,  is  too  indefi- 


nite; 'poll  money,'  Tyn.,  Gen.,  fails  to  sug- 
gest that  it  was  a  specific  poll-tax  for  the 
temple.  It  is  better  in  such  cases  to  use  the 
definite  term  of  the  original,  and  let  this  be- 
come matter  of  explanation.  But  as  the  Greek 
didrachm  or  double  drachm  is  unfamiliar,  it 
is  convenient  to  use  the  half  shekel,  the 
Hebrew  shekel  being  familiar  to  us  from 
Old  Test.  Moses  directed  (Exod.  so:  u  ir.)  that 
whenever  the  people  were  numbered,  every 
male  over  twenty  years  old  should  give  a  half 
shekel,  rich  and  poor  alike,  for  the  support  of 
the  tabernacle.  Upon  this  Josiah  based  his 
demand  for  a  special  contribution  to  repair 
the  temple.  (2  ciir.  24:  e.)  After  the  return  from 
the  captivity,  Nehemiah  and  his  followers 
"made  ordinances" — not  as  being  required 
by  the  law  of  Moses,  but  as  a  voluntary 
agreement — to  pay  every  year  the  third  \)ixvio? 
a  shekel  (they  were  poor  then),  in  order  to  pro- 
vide sacrifices,  etc.,  for  the  temple.  (Neh.  io:a2f.) 
In  the  Mishna,  as  here  in  Matt.,  we  meet  with 
!i  well  known  contribution  of  a  half  shekel. 
The  Rabbis  had  kept  Nehemiah's  plan  of 
making  it  annual,  but  had  returned  to  the 
sum  which  the  law  of  Moses  required  for  the 
occasional  gift,  and  doubtless  held  that  they 
were  but  carrying  out  the  law.  The  Mishna 
hiis  a  separate  tresitise  on  this  subject.  Priests, 
women,  children,  and  slaves,  were  exempt, 
but  might  give  if  they  wished.  The  Jews  in 
Palestine  were  expected  (Edersh.)  to  give 
before  the  time  of  the  Passover;  those  in 
foreign  countries  were  allowed  till  Pentecost 
or  even  Tabernacles,  and  there  was  a  special 
chest  in  the  temple  for  contributions  due 
the  previous  year.  Commissioners  were 
sent  through  Palestine  to  collect  —  'they 
that  received  the  half  shekel,'  distinct  from 
the  publicans  who  collected  the  government 
tax;  in  foreign  countries  the  money  was  de- 
posited by  the  leading  Jews  in  some  fortified 
citj-  till  it  could  be  escorted  to  Jerusalem. 
(Jos. "  Ant. ,"18, 9,1.)  Cicero  states  that  gold  was, 
every  year,  in  the  name  of  the  Jews,  exported 
from  Italy  and  all  the  provinces  to  Jerusalem, 
and  commends  Flaccus  for  prohibiting  this 
exportation   from   Asia,   i.   e.,  the  region  of 


Ch.  XVII.] 


MATTHEW. 


379 


25  He  saith,  Yes.  And  when  he  was  coiue  into  the 
house,  Jesus  prevented  him,  saying.  What  thinkest 
thou,  Simon  ?  of  whom  do  the  kings  of  the  earth  take 
custom  or  tribute  ?  of  their  own  cliildren,  or  of  stran- 
gers? 

26  Peter  saith  unto  him.  Of  strangers.  Jesus  saith 
unto  him,  Then  are  the  children  free. 


said.  Doth  not  your  i  master  pay  the  ^  half-shekel? 

25  He  saith.  Yea.  And  when  he  came  into  the  house, 
Jesus  spake  first  to  him,  saying,  What  thinkest 
thou,  Simon  ?  the  kings  of  the  earth,  from  whom  do 
they  receive  toll  or   tribute?  from   their  sons,  or 

26  from  slrangera?  And  when  he  said.  From  stran- 
gers, Jesus  said  unto  him,  Therefore  the  sous  are 


1  Or,  teacher..,.  2  Gr.  didrachma. 


which  Ephesus  was  the  chief  city.  (Cicero, 
"forFlaccus,"  28.)  Josephussays  (••  Ant.,"3.8,'i) 
that  the  gift  in  Exod.  30:  11  was  from  men 
between  twenty  and  fifty  years  old,  which 
statement  makes  it  likely  that  the  age  was 
thus  limited  in  his  times,  which  were  those  of 
the  New  Testament.  After  Titus  destroyed 
Jerusalem,  Vespasian  decreed  that  the  Jews 
everywhere  "should  bring  two  drachms  every 
year  for  the  temple  of  Jupiter  Capitulinus,  as 
before  they  were  wont  to  pay  for  the  temple 
at  Jerusalem."  (jos.  "War,"7,  e,  6.) — Quite  dis- 
tinct from  this  yearly  half  shekel,  which  was 
required  by  custom,  if  not  by  the  law,  were 
the  voluntary  contributions  made  at  the  tem- 
ple, which  varied  indefinitely  in  amount. 
(Mark  12:41  ff.)  Entirely  distinct  also  was  the 
tax  (■«:  1")  to  the  Koman  government  in  Judea 
and  Samaria,  which  two  districts  formed  at 
the  time  of  our  Lord's  ministry  a  Koman 
province. 

It  is  not  at  all  clear  with  what  design  the 
collectors  asked  the  question,  but  most  likely 
in  a  reproachful  tone,  as  if  he  was  slighting  a 
duty  recognized  by  all  devout  Jews.  Doth 
not  your  master — that  is  teacher  (didaskalos, 
see  on  8  :  19)  pay  the  half-shekel,  as  every- 
body else  does?  The  regular  time  for  paying 
was  in  the  spring,  while  it  was  now  near  the 
beginning  of  autumn.  Jesus  and  his  followers 
had  been  long  absent  from  Capernaum,  and 
the  collectors  now  seized  their  opportunity, 
perhaps  wishing  to  send  up  all  that  was  be- 
hind to  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles. 

25  f.  Peter's  ready  answer,  Yes, most  natu- 
rally suggests  that  Jesus  had  paid  in  previous 
years,  and  so  there  was  no  doubt  that  he  would 
pay  now.  The  fact  that  Matt,  records  this  in- 
cident without  any  explanation  as  to  the  nature 
and  design  of  the  contribution,  is  one  of  the 
many  proofs  that  he  wrote  especially  for  Jewish 
readers,  to  whom  the  matter  would  be  famil- 
iar. Into  the  honse,  })robably  the  house  ot 
Peter,  which  Jesus  usually  appears  to  have 
made  his  place  of  abode  at  Capernaum,  (comp. 


on  4  :  13  ;  8  :  14).  Jesus  prevented,  that  is, 
spake  first  to,  him,  saying.  The  Greek 
means  to  get  before,  anticipate,  (comp.  on 
12  :  28),  and  would  be  exactly  translated  now 
by  'anticipated  him,  saying.'  Tyn.  and  Gen. 
gave  'spake  first  to  him.'  The  Liixt'in  prevent 
(originally  'to  come  before')  was  introduced 
by  Cran.  and  Rheinis,  and  at  that  time  was  a 
good  translation  ;  but  it  has  now  lost  that 
meaning  in  Eng.,  and  acquired  a  diflerent 
sense,  which  makes  it  very  misleading,  (e.  g., 
Ps.  119 :  147  f.  ;  1  Thess.  4  :  15.)  To  avoid  the 
word  'anticipate,'  which  is  not  used  in  K. 
James,  the  Eev.  Ver.  has  returned  to  'spake 
first  to  him,'  a  rather  inadequate  rendering. 
Jesus  knew  what  had  occurred  without  ncted- 
ing  to  be  told.  (Comp.  John  1  :  48).  Custom 
(rather  toll),  or  tribute.  The  first  Greek 
word  denotes  taxes  or  tribute  in  general,  the 
second  is  the  Latin  word  census,  which, 
from  meaning  a  registration  for  the  purpose 
of  taxation,  might  naturally  in  the  provinces 
be  applied  to  the  poll-tax  ;  its  sense  here 
and  in  '22:  17.  Of  their  own  children 
{sons),  or  of  strangers?  The  latter  term 
means  those  of  other  blood,  of  other  than 
the  royal  family.  Then  are  the  children 
(so?is)  free,  i.  e.,  exempt.  And  so  the  Son  of 
God,  as  Peter  had  recognized  Jesus  to  be 
(16: 16),  ought  to  be  exempted  from  paying  tax 
to  the  temple  for  the  support  of  divine  worship. 
He  uses  the  plural,  'sons,'  because  he  is  stat- 
ing the  inference  from  his  previous  argument 
in  a  general  form  ;  but  the  application  is  obvi- 
ously designed  to  be  to  himself.  The  Roman- 
ists in  Europe  have  absurdly  applied  this  to 
the  clergy,  as  showing  that  they  ought  to  be 
exempted  from  taxation,  at  any  rate  when  it 
is  for  religious  purposes.  When  our  Lord 
adds,  'lest  we  cause  them  to  stumble,'  the 
plural  refers  not  to  any  notion  that  Peter  was 
exempt,  but  to  the  fact  that  Peter  as  well  as 
himself  had  not  paid  ;  and  he  proceeds  to  di- 
rect how  Peter  may  pay  both  for  the  Master 
and  himself. 


380 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XVIII. 


27  Notwitlistandinjr,  lest  we  should  offend  them,  go 
thou  to  the  sea,  and  cast  a  hook,  and  take  up  the  fish 
that  first  coiueth  up;  and  when  thou  hast  opened  his 
luouth,  thou  Shalt  hnd"  a  piece  of  money  :  that  take, 
and  give  unto  them  for  me  and  thee. 


27  tree.  But,  lest  we  cause  them  to  stumble,  go  thou 
to  the  sea,  and  cast  a  book,  and  take  up  the  fish 
that  first  Cometh  up ;  and  when  thou  hast  opened 
his  mouth,  thou  shalt  find  a  i  shekel:  that  take,  and 
give  unto  them  for  me  and  thee. 


CHAPTEE  XVIII. 


LT  the  same  time  came  the  disciples  unto  Jesus,  say- 
ing, Vhno  is  the  greatest  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven? 


1      In  that  hour  came  the  disciples  unto  Jesus,  say- 
ing, Who  then  is  2  greatest  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven? 


•  Or,  a  Uater.    It  is  half  an  ounce  or  silver,  in  value  2s.  6d.  after  5s.  the.ounce 1  Or.  ttater 2  Gr.  greater. 


27.  Lest  we  should  offend  thein«  ur  better, 
cause  them  to  stumble,  give  them  an  occasion 
for  objecting  to  my  claims,  and  refusing  to  re- 
ceive me.  (See  on  5:  29.)  They  would  have 
said  that  he  did  not  keep  the  law,  did  not  per- 
form a  recognized  duty  of  every  Israelite,  and 
so  he  certainly  could  not  be  the  Messiah.  Go 
thou  to  the  sea.  The  preposition  is  that 
usually  rendered  'into.'  In  a  case  like  this  it 
signifies  into  the  locality  represented  in  a  gen- 
eral way  by  the  sea,  which  would  include  its 
shores.  We  are  not  at  liberty  to  understand 
it  here  in  a  stricter  sense,  such  as  would  be 
expressed  in  English  by  'into  the  sea,'  because 
that  would  be  manifestly  inappropriate  to  the 
action  which  Peter  was  to  perform,  viz., 
catching  a  fish  with  a  hook.  (So  in  John  11 : 
38;  20:  1.)  Wherever  it  would  not  be  dis- 
tinctly and  decidedly  unsuitable  to  the  action 
in  question,  the  natural  and  common  sense  of 
'into'  must  be  retained.  (Comp.  on  3:  16.) 
The  sea  was  of  course  the  Lake  of  Galilee,  on 
which  Capernaum  WHS  situated.  («:  is.)  Thou 
shalt  find  a  piece  of  money,  (a  shekel, 
Greek  stater,)  an  attic  silver  coin,  equal 
to  four  drachms,  or  two  half- shekels. 
For  me  and  thee,  is  strictly,  '  instead  of 
me  and  thee,'  the  notion  being  of  a 
substitution,  which  was  the  original  and 
proper  meaning?  of  this  contribution  (see 
Exod.  30:  11-16).  Jesus  never  wrought  a 
miracle  for  his  personal  benefit.  If  he  had 
procured  the  monej'  for  this  purpose  in  an 
ordinary  way,  it  might  have  obscured  the 
fact  of  his  extraordinary  position  as  the  Mes- 
siah. Matthew  probably  recorded  this  inci- 
dent to  show  his  Jewish  readers  on  the  one 
hand  that  Jesus  felt  himself  entitled  to  the  re- 
spect due  to  the  Messiah,  and  on  the  other,  that 
he  was  very  careful  to  keep  the  law  in  all  re- 
spects?, so  that  no  Jew  had  a  right  to  stumble 
at  him.  Our  Lord's  disposition  to  forego  a 
privilege  to  which  he  was  justly  entitled, 
rather  than  that  men  should  have  an  excuse 
for  misapprehending  him,  was  imitated  by 


Paul  (icor.9),  and  stands  before  us  all  as  a 
part  of  the  example  of  Christ.  A  hook. 
Fish-hooks. are  mentioned  elsewhere  in  the 
Bible  only  in  Isa.  19:  8;  Amos  4:2;  Hab.  1: 
15;  Job  41 :  1,  etc.,  and  are  not  now  used  in 
the  Lake  of  Galilee.  Peter  had  previously 
had  experience  of  a  miracle  in  catching  fishes. 
(Luke 5: iff.)  Commentators  compare  here  the 
story  of  the  ring  of  Polycrates  (Herod  III., 
39-42). 

HOMILETICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

V.  24-27.  Jesus  giving  for  the  support  of 
the  temple.  1)  He  takes  pains  to  avoid  being 
misunderstood;  (a)  speaking  so  as  to  prevent 
Peter  from  misunderstanding  him  ;  (b)  acting 
so  as  to  prevent  the  Jews.  2)  While  avowing 
himself  the  Son  of  God,  he  performs  every 
duty  of  a  good  man  (comp.  3  :  15),  including 
that  of  taking  part  in  religious  contributions. 
He  relinquishes  an  avowed  claim  to  exemp- 
tion, lest  his  course  should  injure  others. 
Comp.  1  Cor.  8  :  13 ;  9:  12,  22. 

^  

Ch.  1-14,  The  Subjects  of  the  Mes- 
sianic Keign  must  be  Childlike. 

We  are  approaching  the  close  of  our  Lord's 
ministry  in  Galilee.  (i9:i.)  Convinced  that 
their  Master  is  the  Messiah  (i6:i6),  the  disci- 
ples begin  to  dispute  which  of  them  shall  have 
the  highest  office  in  the  Messianic  kingdom, 
which  they  conceive  of  as  secular  rather  than 
spiritual.  They  bring  him  this  question,  and 
he  says  at  once  that  only  by  being  childlike 
can  they  have  any  place  at  all  in  the  Mes- 
sianic kingdom  ;  it  follows  that  the  childlike 
ought  to  be  received  for  Christ's  sake,  and 
that  any  one  incurs  great  guilt  who  causes 
them  to  sin  (▼•s-s);  and  they  must  not  be 
despised,  for  the  Saviour  and  the  Father  are 
specially  concerned  for  their  sals'ation,  v. 
10-14.     Comp.  Mark  9:  33-50;  Luke  9:  46-50. 

I.  1-4.  The  Subjects  of  the  Messianic 
Reign  MUST  BE  Childlike.  At  the  same 
time,  or  in  that  hour,  is  best  taken  strictly 


Ch.  XVIII.] 


MATTHEW. 


381 


2  And  Jesus  called  a  little  child  unto  him,  and  set 
him  in  the  midst  of  theiu. 


2  And  he  called  to  him  a  little  child,  and  set  him  in 

3  the  midst  of  them,  and  said,  Verily  I  say  unto  you. 


(10:19;  26:45),  but  may  mean  more  generally,  at 
that  precise  period.  The  time  must  be  when 
Jesus  was  in  the  house  at  Capernaum  (n:25; 
Mark  9:  S3),  and  perhaps  while  Peter  was  gone 
to  find  the  shekel.  Came  the  disciples 
unto  Jesus,  saying.  Luke,  in  his  very 
brief  account,  speaks  only  of  Jesus  as  seeing 
the  reasoning  of  their  heart.  Mark  says  they 
had  'disputed  one  with  another  in  the  way,' 
apparently  on  the  road  from  Cesarea  Philippi 
to  Capernaum  (comp.  on  17 :  22),  and  that 
when  Jesus  asked  them  about  it  they  were 
silent.  2^ot  knowing  all  the  circumstances, 
we  need  not  be  nervously  anxious  to  har- 
monize these  accounts  ;  but  it  is  not  diflScult 
to  suppose  that  they  came  intending  to  ask 
liim  the  question,  but  hesitated  ;  that  perceiv- 
ing their  thought  (Luke)  he  inquired,  and 
they  were  at  first  silent  (Mark),  but  at  length 
spoke  (Matt.).  Who,  literally,  who  then,  who 
in  the  state  of  things  present  to  their  minds, 
implies  some  previous  occurrence  or  conver- 
sation which  led  to  the  inquiry,  and  this  may 
be  the  conversation  to  which  Mark  refers. 
Is  greatest  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  i.  e., 
the  Messianic  kingdom  (see  on  3 :  2).  They 
were  thinking  of  it  as  a  temporal  kingdom,  in 
which  there  would  of  course  be  higher  and 
lower  ofiicials.  'Greatest' is  literally  'greater,' 
i.  e.,  greater  than  all  others,  comp.  on  11 :  11 ; 
13:  32,  and  see  Buttm.  p.  84.  Luke  (9:46)  says 
that  the  point  in  their  thoughts  was  '  which  of 
them  should  be  greatest'  ;  but  they  asked  the 
question  in  a  more  general  form.  Notice 
that  the  dispute  closely  follows  a  prediction 
that  he  would  die  (Mark  and  Luke),  as  in 
similar  cases  afterwards.  (20 :  20 ;  Luke  22: 24.) 
Convinced  that  he  was  the  Messiah  (w:!*), 
and  not  understanding  how  be  could  liter- 
ally rise  again  (see  on  17:  9),  their  minds 
fastened  exclusively  upon  the  idea  that 
somehow  or  other  he  was  about  to  set  up 
a  Messianic  kingdom.  (i6:28.)  And  though 
he  had  recently  declared  it  impossible  to 
follow  him  save  in  self-renunciation  (16:24), 
they    were    intent    on    self-aggrandizement. 


The  statement  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount 
(5 ;  19)  concerned  a  greatness  which  many  might 
attain ;  here  the  question  is,  who  shall  have 
the  single  highest  place.  Our  Lord  had 
treated  Peter,  James,  and  John  with 'marked 
distinction,  in  permitting  them  alone  to  wit- 
ness the  Transfiguration.  (i7:i)  Forbidden 
to  tell  any  one  what  they  had  seen  (i':9), 
they  would  naturally  say  so  to  the  other  dis- 
ciples when  asked  where  they  and  the  Master 
had  been.  Besides,  Peter  was  some  time  be- 
fore addressed  in  the  presence  of  the  others  in 
a  manner  which  gave  him  special  promi- 
nence. (i6:i7ff.)  And  just  now  Jesus  has  di- 
rected that  Peter's  temple-contribution  shall 
be  paid  along  with  his  own  through  a  special 
miracle,  taking  no  notice  of  the  others.  About 
six  months  later,  we  shall  find  James  and 
John,  with  their  mother  as  spokesman,  ac- 
tually requesting  that  they  may  have  the  two 
highest  places  in  the  kingdom  (20:20),  and  the 
other  ten  greatly  displeased  about  it.  And 
the  dispute  will  be  renewed  even  on  the  night 
before  the  crucifixion.  As  to  the  probable 
grounds  for  individual  claims  of  pre-emi- 
nence, see  on  19:  30.  From  all  this  it  appears 
that  we  here  reach  a  turning-point,  the  dis- 
ciples beginning  a  contention  which  will  be 
renewed  unto  the  end. 

2-4.  A  little  child.  The  house  was 
probably  that  of  Peter  (17:25),  and  so 
the  child  may  have  been  Peter's  child. 
Called  unto  him,  shows  a  child  able  to 
walk;  it  could  sit  by  his  side  (Luke),  yet 
was  small  enough  to  be  naturally  taken  in 
his  arms  (Mark),  and  so  young  as  to  be  ap- 
propriately a  pattern,  to  afl^ord  an  object-les- 
son. It  cannot  therefore  have  been  personally 
a  believer  (v.  6).  A  late  tradition  makes  this 
child  Ignatius,  martyred  about  a.  d.  115,  but 
it  is  without  nuthority,  and  evidently  arose 
from  a  fanciful  misinterpretation  of  certain 
phrases  in  his  letters.  Verily  I  say  unto 
you,  indicating  something  very  important, 
see  on  5:  18.  Except  ye  be  converted,  or 
turn,^  viz.,  from  your  present  sinful  ambi- 


'  The  simple  Greek  verb  slrepfio  is  everywhere  else 
io  New  Test.,  correctly  translated  by  Com.  Ver.  'turn.' 
Thecorapound  epUtrepho  it  renders  'convert'  In  13: 
15  (with  Mark  4 :  12  ;  John  12 :  40 ;  Acts  28  :  27) ;  Luke 
22:  32;  Acts  3:  19;  James."):  19  f.  All  the  preceding 
English  versions  bad  given  'convert' in  Luke,  John, 


James,  Acts  28 :  27;  In  the  other  passages,  Tyn.  and 
one  or  two  of  his  followers  gave  the  Anglo-Saxon 
'turn.'  (Comp.  on  13:  15  and  3:  2.)  'Turn  '  is  in  the 
Greek  a  passive  form,  but  used  in  the  "middle"  sense, 
equivalent  to  the  English  active  intransitive;  so  it  is 
properly  translated  'turn,'  and  not '  be  turned.' 


S82 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XVIII. 


3  And  said,  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  Except  ye  be  con- 
verted, and  lH;couie'as  little  children,  ye  shall  not  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

4  Whosoever  therefore  shall  humble  himself  as  this 
little  child,  the  same  is  greatest  in  the  kingdom  of 
heaven. 

5  And  whoso  shall  receive  one  such  little  child  in 
my  name  receiveth  me. 


Except  ye  turn,  and  become  as  little  children,  ye 
shall  in  no  wise  enter  into  the  kinjjdom  of  heaven? 

4  Whosoever  therefore  shall  luiiuble  himself  as  this 
little  child,  the  same  is  the  i  greatest  in  the  kingdom 

5  of  heaven.    And  whoso  shall  receive  one  such  little 


I  Or,  greattf. 


tion  and  jealousy.  The  Latin  term  '  convert,' 
'be  converted,'  formerly  expressed  this  mean- 
ing exactly,  but  it  has  come  to  have  an  ex- 
clusively technical  sense  in  our  religious 
usage,  which  makes  it  quite  misleading  in 
this  and  some  other  passages.  Persona  long 
ago  "converted"  maj'  often  need  to  turn 
from  some  wrong  practice  or  disposition. 
And  become  as  little  children.  Like 
other  illustrations,  this  must  not  be  rigor- 
ously pressed.  Little  children  are  by  no 
means  faultless,  and  they  sometimes  plainly 
show  envy  and  jealousy.  But  we  naturally 
regard  a  little  child  as  a  pattern  (i.  c,  com- 
pared with  adults)  of  tender  affections,  con- 
fiding trust,  humility,  docility,  simplicity, 
readiness  to  believe  and  obey.  Chrys.  : 
"  Both  from  envy  the  little  child  is  pure,  and 
from  vainglory,  and  from  longing  for  the 
first  place;  and  he  is  possessed  of  the  greatest 
of  virtues,  simplicity,  and  whatever  is  artless 
and  lowly.  .  .  .  And  the  child  which  he 
set  in  the  midst  I  suppose  to  have  been  a  very 
young  child  indeed,  free  from  all  these  pas- 
sions." Origen  suggests  a  child's  readiness  to 
cease  from  grief,  fear,  anger,  and  its  disregard 
of  social  distinctions  among  its  playmates. 
Theophyl. :  "  We  must  be  children  in  humil- 
ity of  mind,  not  in  childishness  of  thought; 
in  being  without  evil,  not  in  being  without 
sense."  Ye  shall  not,  .Mmply  the  .«trong 
doubled  negative  (see  on  16:  22),  enter  into 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  (comp.  on  5 :  20). 
While  they  are  disputing  which  is  to  have 
the  highest  official  position  in  the  kingdom, 
let  them  see  to  it  that  they  get  into  the  king- 
dom at  all.  This  interpretation  of  the  object- 
lesson  is  omitted  here  by  Mark  and  Luke, 
who  however  give  the  same  thought  as  spoken 
on  a  later  occasion  (Markio:  is:  LuueiB:  it), 
where  Matt,  omits  it  (is:  u).  Nothing  is 
more  natural  than  that  so  weighty  a  sentence 
should  have  been  uttered  on  both  occasions. 
Men  had  long  been  pressing  vehemently  into 
the  kingdom  (ii:i2).  Were  the  apostles  at 
this  moment  still  entirely  out  of  it,  still  un- 


renewed (John  3:.'»),  essentially  destitute  of  sav- 
ing faith  ?  The3'  would  decide  this  question 
by  turning  from  their  worldly  ambition  and 
jealousy,  and  becoming  childlike.  Judas,  for 
example,  did  not  do  so  (Joim  12:  4-6),  for  he  was 
not  a  child  of  God,  but  a  'devil.'  (John6:70f.) 
Whosoever  therefore.  Since  in  general, 
they  must  resemble  little  children  in  order  to 
enter  the  kingdom,  it  follows  that  whosoever 
shall  humble  himself  as  this  little  child 
is  humble,  will  be  the  greatest  in  the  king- 
dom. Humility  is  thus  presented  as  the 
principal  thing  in  a  child  to  be  imitated  by 
Messiah's  subjects,  and  in  that  the  disciples 
had  just  shown  themselves  particularly  lack- 
ing. Observe  that  the  question  was  particu- 
lar, 'who';  the  answer  is  general,  'whoso- 
ever.' 'Shall  humble'  is  the  same  root  as 
'lowly'  in  11:  29;  comp.  23 :  12.  'As  this 
little  child'  humbles  himself,  would  be  gram- 
matically possible,  but  is  forbidden  by  the 
connection.  The  same  is  {the)  greatest, 
with  the  article,  because  a  definite  person 
(comp.  V.  1). 

IL  5-9.    Thbsk     lowly    Subjects    of 
Messiah   should   be   Kindly  Keceived, 

AND  SHOULD  NOT  BE  LeD  INTO  SiN.   This 

is  a  kindred  truth,  suggested  by  the  use  of  the 
little  child  as  an  object  lesson.  In  my  name, 
literally,  tipon  my  name  (as  in  24:  5 ;  Acts  2: 
38),  Christ's  name  being  the  ground  of  the 
reception — receiving  not  on  the  ground  of 
distinction,  wealth,  personal  agreeableness, 
etc.,  but  on  the  ground  of  Christ's  name. 
(Comp.  on  *28:  19.)  One  such  little  child. 
So  Mark,  'one  of  such  little  children.'  These 
expressions  do  not  refer  to  the  literal  child 
but  to  the  childlike  believer.  (Comp.  v.  6.) 
Chrys.:  "By  a  little  child  here,  he  mean; 
the  men  that  are  thus  simple  and  lowl^-,  and 
abject  and  contemptible  in  the  judgment  of 
the  common  sort."  If  we  bear  in  mind  the 
frequent  association  in  Scripture  language  of 
lowly  spirit  and  lowly  lot  (5:3),  it  will  seem 
likely  that  this  latter  idea  enters  here,  as  it 
certainly  does  in  v.   10.     The   reference  in 


Ch.  XVIIL] 


MATTHEW. 


383 


6  But  wboso  shall  offend  one  of  these  little  ones 
■which  believe  iu  me,  it  were  better  for  him  that  a  mill- 
stone were  banged  about  bis  neck,  and  that  be  were 
drowned  in  the  depth  of  the  sea. 


6  child  in  my  name  receiveth  me:  but  wboso  shall 
cause  one  of  these  little  ones  that  believe  on  me  to 
stumble,  it  is  profitable  for  him  that  'a  great  mill- 
stone should  be  banged  about  bis  ueck,  and  that  he 


1  Qr.  a  fniU'8ton9  tumtd  hy  an  < 


Matthew  and  Mark  then,  is  plainly  to  the 
lowly  believer.  But  Luke  says  (9:48,  r.  v.), 
'  whosoever  shall  receive  this  little  child  in 
my  name.'  Luke's  account  is  very  brief, 
omitting  the  sayings  of  our  v.  3  and  v.  4. 
The  idea  had  become  familiar  to  all  Christian 
minds  that  Jesus  used  a  little  child  for  an 
object-lesson,  and  so  it  is  likely  that  Luke 
meant  '  this  little  child  '  representatively,  the 
lowly  believer  who  is  like  this  child.  Ooster- 
zee  (Lange):  "It  is  self-evident  that  the  ex- 
pression is  applicable,  not  to  the  child  in  itself, 
but  to  the  child  as  a  type  of  childlike  minds." 
The  usual  interpretation  is  to  this  effect.  If, 
however,  we  understand  receiving  this  little 
child  itself,  the  idea  will  still  be  to  receive  it, 
not  for  its  own  sake,  but  'in  my  name,'  and 
thus  as  the  Saviour's  pattern  (Weiss)  of  what 
his  disciples  ought  to  be,  and  that  involves  an 
honest  desire  to  be  what  the  pattern  proposes. 
The  disciples  were  in  a  jealous  mood,  not  dis- 
posed to  be  lowly  themselves,  nor  to  treat  the 
lowly  with  kindness.  Jesus  teaches  that  his 
followers,  though  they  possess  no  earthly 
grandeur,  no  place  of  power  and  pride,  should 
be  received  in  his  name;  that  to  receive  the 
lowliest  Christian  in  character  and  condition 
— yea,  to  receive  a  little  child  as  his  appointed 
pattern  of  such  lowly  character — would  be 
receiving  Christ  himself ;  and  Mark  and  Luke 
add,  '  whosoever  shall  receive  me  receiveth 
him  that  sent  me.'  (Comp.  on  10:  40  f.;  25: 
40.)  Receiving  here  seems  to  denote,  not 
merely  hospitality,  but  companionship,  friend- 
ship, etc.  Those  who  are  not  personally  or 
socially  attractive  may  be  heartily  received 
as  Christ's  representatives.  Observe  'one,'  to 
receive  even  a  single  such  person  is  to  receive 
Christ. 

6  f.  At  this  point,  as  recorded  by  Mark 
(»:38)  and  Luke  (9:49),  John  interrupted  our 
Lord.     The   idea  of   receiving  in  his  name 


suggested  a  recent  occasion  on  which  John 
and  other  disciples,  perhaps  while  coming  in 
a  separate  party  from  Cesarea  Philippi  (see 
on  17  :  22),  had  seen  a  man  casting  out  demons 
in  the  name  of  Jesus  and  had  forbidden  him, 
because  he  did  not  join  them  in  following 
Jesus  about.  The  Master's  beautiful  and 
instructive  reply  (with  which  comp.  above 
on  12:  30),  is  so  managed  as  to  come  natu- 
rally back  to  the  subject  he  had  just  touched 
upon  before  the  interruption  (comp.  Mark 
9:  41  with  42).  Perhaps  Matthew's  reason 
for  omitting  the  incident  was  his  anx- 
iety to  preserve  the  continuity  of  the  dis- 
course, v.  6  being  closely  connected  with  v. 
5.  In  V.  6  the  thought  was  of  receiving  one 
such  little  child;  here  it  is  that  oi  causing 
such  a  one  to  sin ;  afterwards  the  discourse 
passes  by  natural  association  of  ideas  to  va- 
rious persons  and  things  that  cause  men  to  sin 
(v.  7-9),  finally  returning  (v.  loir.)  to  another 
thought  concerning  childlike  believers.  One 
of  these  little  ones  which  believe  in  me 
(see  also  in  Mark  9  :  42),  shows  that  the  refer- 
ence is  certainly  not  to  unconscious  infants, 
but  to  childlike  believers;  this  would  .seem 
to  settle  the  question  as  to  v.  5  and  v.  10. 
Comparatively  young  children  are  sometimes 
believers,  but  infants  cannot  be  (comp.  Beza). 
Offend — or,  cause  to  stumble,  or  to  sin,  see  on 
5:  29.  It  were  better  (or  is  profitable)  for 
him,  vi7..,  in  comparison  with  the  fate  that 
awaits  him.  So  on  a  later  occasion.  (i-ukei7:2.) 
A  mill-stone.t  The  ordinary  mill-stone, 
turned  by  hand  (n:*\)^  was  comparatively 
small ;  here  it  is  fRev.  Ver.,  margin)  '  a  mill- 
stone turned  by  an  ass,'  which  would  be  quite 
large,  and  this  makes  the  expression  very 
strong.  Equally  strong  are  the  phrases 
drowned,  sunk,  to  the  very  bottom,  and  in 
the  depth  of  the  sea,  far  from  the  shore, 
where  the  sea  is  deep.    Drowning  was  a  pun- 


>  Maloi  onihos,  'an  ass  mlIl-«tone'  was  by  a  few  docn-  I  and  the  subjunctive,  '  that  ....  should  be  l)anc!ed,' 
ments  here,  and  by  many  in  Mark,  changed  to  lUhos  i  see  on  5:  29.  Meyer's  attempt  to  make  hina  here  ex- 
muUkos,'a.  mill-stone,'  through  assimilation  to  Luke  1  press  purpo!>e,onlyshowsthe  impossibility  of  maintain- 
17:2,  where  also  m.iny  documents  changed  to  mu/o?  ins  the  ground  that  in  the  NewTest.  it  always  has  that 
onikof,  like  Matthew  and  Mark.  Such  examples  show  sense. 
tbe  habits  of  copyists.— For  the  Doufloal  use  of  Mim 


384 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XVIII. 


7  Woe  unto  the  world  because  of  oflences!  for  it 
must  needs  be  that  otfences  couie ;  but  woe  to  that  luan 
by  whom  the  otl'ence  couieth  ! 

8  Wherefore  if  tliy  hand  or  thy  foot  offend  thee,  cut 
them  off,  and  cast  <A<fHi  from  thee:  it  is  better  for  thee 
to  enter  into  lite  halt  or  maimed,  rather  than  having 
two  hands  or  two  feet  to  be  cast  into  everlasting  fire. 

9  And  if  thine  eye  offend  thee,  pluclc  it  out,  and  cast 
it  from  thee:  it  is  belter  for  thee  to  enter  into  life  with 
one  eye,  rather  than  having  two  eyes  to  be  cast  into 
bell  fire. 

10  Take  heed  that  ye  despise  not  one  of  these  little 
ones :  for  I  say  unto  you.  That  in  heaven  their  angels 
do  always  behold  the  face  of  my  Father  which  is  in 
heaven. 


7  should  be  sunk  in  the  depth  of  the  sea.  Woe  unto 
the  world  because  of  occasions  of  stumbling!  for  it 
must  needs  be  that  the  occasions  come;  but  woe  to 

8  that  man  through  whom  the  occasion  comcth  !  And 
if  thy  hand  or  thy  foot  causeth  thee  to  stumble,  cut 
it  off,  and  cast  it  from  thee:  it  is  good  for  thee  to 
enter  into  life  maimed  or  halt,  rather  than  having 
two  hands  or  two  feet  to  be  cast  into  the  eternal  fire. 

9  And  if  thine  eye  causeth  thee  to  stumble,  pUick  it 
out,  and  cast  it  from  thee  :  it  is  good  for  thee  to 
enter  into  life  with  one  eye,  rather  than  having  two 

10  eyes  to  be  cast  into  the  i  hell  of  fire.  See  that  ye 
despise  not  one  of  these  little  ones;  for  I  say  unto 


1  Or.  Oehenna  o/Jhre. 


ishment  common  among  the  Greeks  and  Ro- 
mans, the  Syrians  and  Phoenicians,  and  had 
been  once  practiced,  that  we  know  of,  in  the 
Lake  of  Galilee,  in  the  early  part  of  Herod's 
reign.  (Jos. "Ant.,"  14,15,10.)  Wicked  men  often 
think  it  great  sport  to  induce  a  Christian  to 
sin,  especially  one  who  seems  very  meek  and 
gentle.  If  they  can  make  him  violently  an- 
gry, or  lead  him  into  excessive  levity,  to  say 
nothing  of  gross  vices,  they  are  prodigiously 
amused  and  gratified.  Such  persons  ought  to 
remember  these  solemn  and  awful  words  of 
the  compassionate  Saviour.  Woe  uuto  the 
world  because  of  offence!*,  of  occasions  of 
stumbling  (see  on  5  :  29) ;  comp.  26:  24  ;  Luke 
17:1.  Theophyl. :  "In  his  philanthropy  he 
laments  over  the  world,  as  destined  to  be 
damaged  by  the  stumbling-blocks.  But  why 
not  rather  help  ?  We  answer,  that  lamenting 
is  a  sort  of  help.  For  often  tliose  whom  our 
exhortation  did  not  profit,  come  to  their  senses 
when  we  lament  over  them."  For  it  must 
needs  be.  Stumbling-blocks  are  a  neces- 
sary part  of  a  state  of  probation  and  correct- 
ive discipline,  and  God  will  not  prevent  their 
coming.  Beza:  "There  is  a  di.stinction  be- 
tween necessity  and  compulsion."  Comp.  1 
Cor.  11:19.  Chrys  :  "As  though  a  physician 
Bhould  say,  it  must  needs  be  that  this  disease 
should  come  on,  but  it  is  not  a  necessary  con- 
sequence that  he  who  gives  heed  should  be  of 
course  destroyed  by  the  disease." 

8  f.  Having   shown   the  guilt  of  causing 
lowly  Christians  to  stumble,   he  adverts  to  i 
cases  in  which  we  become  stumbling-blocks 
to  ourselves.     Observe  the  pointed  address  in 


the  second  person  singular,  thy,  etc. ;  comp. 
V.  15  ff.,  and  see  on  6  :  2.  For  v.  8  f.  see  on  5 : 
29  f.,  which  is  substantially  the  same.  Cut  it 
off,  is  the  correct  Greek  text,  easily  changed 
to  cut  them  off.  Mark  9:  48-60  adds  some 
kindred  solemn  thoughts. 

III.  10-14.  These  Lowly  Christians 
Must  not  be  Despised.  The  idea  of  child- 
like or  lowly  character  is  here  connected  bj-  a 
natural  suggestion  with  that  of  lowly  station, 
humble  circumstances.  The  same  association 
of  ideas  is  seen  in  5:  Sand  11 :  5,  and  probably 
above  in  v.  5.  Little  ones  here  denote,  not 
little  children,  but  childlike  believers,  as  in 
v.  3,  6  ;  so  the  Fathers,  so  Calvin  and  Beza, 
and  nearly  all  modern  commentators.i  Men 
are  very  apt  to  despise  Christians  on  the 
ground  that  they  include  so  large  a  propor- 
tion of  persons  in  humble  life,  poor,  and  often 
ignorant(i  Cor.  1:26  a.)-  and  their  very  humility^ 
though  one  of  the  loveliest  of  all  human  dis- 
positions, is  regarded  b^'  many  proud,  ungodly 
people  as  nothing  but  mean  spiritedness.  To 
prevent  despising  a  single  one  of  these  little 
ones,  lowly  in  character  and  lot,  our  Lord 
calls  special  attention  to  the  reason  which  fol- 
lows. 

I  say  nnto  yon,  see  on  5  :  18.  However 
humble  in  the  estimation  of  wordly  men, 
believers  have  angels  as  their  attendants,  sent 
forth  to  serve  God  for  their  benefit  iHeb.i  :u), 
and  these  angels  of  theirs  enjoy  in  heaven  the 
highest  dignity  and  consideration,  like  per- 
sons admitted  to  the  very  presence  of  a  mon- 
arch, and  allowed,  not  once,  but  continually, 
to  behold  his  face.     The  seclusion  in   which 


I 
I 


1  Luther  refers  here  to  infant  baptism,  and  holds  that  I 
this  child  of  r.  2  is  said  to  "  believe  "  (v.  6)  because  it 
his  been  circumcised  and  received  into  the  number  of 
the  elect.    "And  so  through  baptism  children  became 
believers.    How  else  could  the  children  of  Turks  and  I 


Jews  be  distinguished  from  those  of  Christians  ?  "  Does 
not  this  involve  the  notion  that  infants  dying  unbap- 
tlzed  are  lost  ?  To  find  the  very  apostle  of  justification 
by  faith  saying  that  a  little  child  becomes  a  believer  by 
being  baptized,  is  humiliating  aud  disheartening. 


Cn.  XVIIL] 


MATTHEW. 


385 


U  For  the  Son  of  man  is  come  to  save  that  which  I       you,  that  in  heaven  their  angels  do  always  behold 
was  lost.  I 


Oriental  monarchs  live  made  this  image  very 
expressive;  see  1  Kings  10:8;  2  Kings 
25:  19;  Esth.  1:  14;  Tob.  12:  15;  Luke  1 :  19, 
and  comp.  above  on  5  :  8.  Surely  they  who 
have  as  their  attendants  these  high  and  hon- 
ored ministers  of  the  court  of  heaven,  are  not 
to  be  despised,  whatever  may  be  their  earthly 
condition. 

There  is  in  this  no  sufficient  warrant  for  the 
popular  notion  of  "guardian  angels,"  one 
angel  especially  assigned  to  each  individual; 
it  is  simply  said  of  believers  as  a  class  that 
there  are  angels  which  are  their  angels ;  but 
there  is  nothing  here  or  elsewhere  to  show 
that  one  angel  has  special  charge  of  one 
believer.  Daniel  and  Zechariah  speak  of  the 
angel  of  a  particular  country,  as  the  angel  of 
Persia,  the  angel  of  Greece  ;  we  know  noth- 
ing beyond  the  fact  thus  revealed,  nothing 
as  to  the  nature  or  extent  of  the  protection 
or  influence  implied.  But  the  Jews  were  not 
satisfied  with  this  idea  of  national  influence  or 
guardianship,  and  advanced  to  the  notion  of 
a  guardian  angel  for  each  individual,  as  in  the 
beautiful  .story  of  Tobit,  and  in  the  Kabbin- 
ical  writings.  Comp.  the  Greek  fancy  of  a 
guiding  and  protecting  daimon,  as  spoken  of 
by  Socrates,  and  especially  by  Epictetus  (I. 
14).  The  disciples  who  were  praying  for 
Peter  during  his  imprisonment,  when  the  girl 
insisted  that  he  was  at  the  gate,  sprang  to  the 
conclusion  that  he  had  just  been  put  to  death 
and  this  was  "his  angel"  (Act5i2:i5),  accord- 
ing to  a  notion  that  a  man's  guardian  angel 
was  apt  to  appear  to  friends  just  after  his 
death,  with  his  form  and  voice.  But  the 
views  of  these  disciples  were  erroneous  on 
many  subjects,  and  are  not  an  authority  for 
us  unless  sanctioned  by  inspiration.  It  can- 
not be  positively  asserted  that  the  idea  of 
guardian  angels  is  an  error,  but  there  is 
no  Scripture  which  proves  it  true,  and 
passages  which  merely  might  be  understood 
that  way  do  not  suffice  for  the  basis  of  n  doc- 
trine. On  the  other  hand  it  would  appear 
that  not  sufficient  importance  is  popularly  at- 
tached to  the  agency  of  angels  with  reference 
to  Christians  in  general.  They  are  repre- 
sented as  God's  messengers  (both  the  Hebrew 
nnd  Greek  words  signifying  messenger),  and 
his  agents  in  both  ordinary  and  extraordinary 


matters  with  reference  to  the  bodies  and  the 
souls  of  men.  Their  agency  is  represented  us  both 
concurring  with,  and  controlling,  the  action 
of  physical  causes.  They  minister  to  God  es- 
pecially for  the  benefit  of  them  that  shall 
inherit  salvation  (Heb.  1:  14,  where  'min- 
ister for  them  '  really  meant  this,  but  is  popu- 
larly misunderstood  as  meaning  minister  to 
them).  They  protect  the  human  servant  of 
God  when  in  danger  and  difficulty,  (ps*-  9i  :  ii ; 
Matt.  4:  6.)  They  are  prcseut  during  our  worship, 
and  we  are  enjoined  to  preserve  decorum 
through  respect  for  them,  (i  cor.  n :  lo.)  In  the 
judgment  they  will  be  agents  in  separating 
the  righteous  from  the  wicked,  (is:  «;  24:  .ti.) 
They  can  doubtless  reach  and  aflPect  our 
minds  in  the  same  way  as  is  done  by  Satan 
and  his  subordinates,  all  of  whom  appear  to  be 
merely  fallen  angels ;  but  like  human  teachers, 
they  can  infiuence  the  mind  to  spiritual  good 
only  by  the  help  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  while  our 
fallen  nature  offers  itself  readily  to  the  in- 
fluence of  the  fallen  angels.  While  avoid- 
ing all  mere  sentimental  fancies  about  the 
angels,  and  everything  that  approaches  to 
worshiping  them  (cm.  2:  is;  Rev.  22:  sr.)  we  may 
well  feel  for  them  a  personal  gratitude  and 
aflTection,  as  fellow-servants  of  God  and  ex- 
alted friends  to  ourselves.  The  common 
notion  that  human  beings  may  become  angels 
after  death,  is  utterly  unscriptural.  The  re- 
deemed in  glory  will  "judge  angels,"  in- 
volving superiority  over  them.  (iCor.6:».) 
The  once  pof)ular  Sunday-school  song,  "I 
want  to  be  an  angel,"  is  quite  misleading.  It 
may  be  added  that  the  word  '  angel '  or 
'messenger'  has  some  other  applications  in 
Scripture,  as  to  prophets  (H»g.  i:  i3;  Mai.s:  i),  to 
priests  (Mai.  2:7),  and  to  the  commissioner  of 
God  put  in   charge  of  a  particular  church. 

(Her.  1  :  20;  2:  1,  et«.) 

(II)  12-14.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  v. 
11  is  spurious  here,  being  omitted  by  the  ear- 
liest Greek  manuscripts  and  several  eari3'  ver- 
sions and  Fathers,  and  manifestly  borrowed 
by  copyists  from  Luke  19:  10,  where  all  docu- 
ments contain  it.  In  such  a  case  there  is 
nothing  lost  to  Scripture  as  a  whole.  Our 
Lord  here  gives  a  further  reason  why  no  one 
should  despise  his  believing  little  ones, 
(v.  10, 14.)    One  of  ihcm  may  seem  to  men  as 


386 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XVIII. 


and  one  of  theiu  bo  gone  astray,  doth  he  not  leave  the 
ninety  and  nine,  and  goeth  into  the  mountains,  and 
seeketh  that  which  is  gone  astray  7 


12  the  face  of  my  Father  who  is  in  heaven,  i  How 
think  ye?  if  any  man  have  a  hundred  sheep,  and 
one  of  them  begone  astray,  doth  he  not  leave  the 
ninety  and  nine,  and  go  unto  the  mountains,  and 


1  Or.  Mauy  BUtboritlea,  some  aooieiit,  insert  ver.  11.    For  the  Son  of  man  eame  to  lave  that  which  was  lost.    See  Luke  xix.  10. 


unimportant  as  a  single  sheep  gone  astray 
from  a  large  flock;  but  the  kindly  shepherd 
goes  after  the  wandering  sheep,  and  God  will 
take  pains  to  save  the  lowliest  believer.  The 
same  parabolic  illustration  was  employed  on 
a  later  occasion.  (Lukeio;4.)  How  think  ye, 
or,  what  do  you  think  ?  He  appeals  to  their 
own  sense  of  propriety  and  judgment  of  prob- 
ability, comp.  1  Cor.  11 :  13.  And  goeth  in- 
to the  mountains.  The  Greek  of  the  com- 
mon text  is  ambiguous,  and  might  mean 
'doth  he  not  leave  the  ninety  and  nine  upon 
the  mountains  and  go  and  seek' ;  and  more 
probably  correct  is  the  readingof  several  early 
documents  'will  he  not  leave  the  ninety  and 
nine  upon  the  mountains,'  etc.  Of  course  the 
substantial  sense  is  the  same.  Between  the 
readings  your  Father  and  'my  Father' 
(Rev.  Ver.  margin),  it  is  difficult  to  decide, 
as  the  latter,  though  strongly  attested,  may 
have  come  from  v.  10 ;  the  difference  in  mean- 
ing would  be  slight.  That  in  v.  14  represents 
a  peculiar  Greek  construction,  explained  on 
5:  29.  Observe  '  ojie  of  these  little  ones,'  as 
in  V.  12,  10,  6,  5.  The  application  of  the  par- 
able in  V.  14  would  be  inexplicable  if  'little 
ones'  meant  infants  as  distinguished  from 
adults;  and  would  be  obscure  if  that  phrase 
meant  simply  believers  regarded  as  humble  in 
character  like  little  children  (v-sf.),  for  such 
believers  in  no  sense  correspond  to  the  stray- 
ing sheep.  But  when  there  has  been  intro- 
duced the  associated  idea  of  lowly  condition 
(see  on  v.  10),  with  the  ignorance  and  gross- 
ness  which  so  often  attach  to  the  lowest  classes 
of  men  and  cause  them  to  seem  of  little  ac- 
count, not  worth  caring  for,  then  the  applica- 
tion becomes  plain. 

HOMILETICAL  AND   PRACTICAL. 

V.  1.  The  disciples  contending  who  shall  be 
greatest.  1)  This  shows  that  they  were  like 
ua,  and  so  that  we  may  become  like  them. 
2)  It  was  an  evil  hard  to  cure  in  them,  and  it 
will  not  easily  be  cured  in  us.  3)  The  Saviour 
took  great  pains  to  correct  it  in  them  ;  let  us 
learn  from  the  lessons  he  taught  them,  v.  2-4; 
Luke  18:.14;  Matt.  20:  24-28;  Luke  22:  24- 


27;  John  21:  15.— V.  2-4.  Our  Lord's  object- 
lessons.  (Comp.  the  old  prophets  and  Acts 
21:  11.)  1)  The  scourge  of  cords,  John  2:  15, 
comp.  Matt.  21 :  12.  2)  The  little  child,  v.  2, 
comp.  19:  13,  15.  3)  The  barren  fig-tree,  21: 
18  f.  4)  "Washing  the  disciples'  feet,  John  13: 
3  ff.  5)  Baptism.  6)  The  bread  and  wine.— 
Christians  must  be  childlike.  1)  Not  in  mind 
and  speech,  1  Cor.  14:  20;  13:  11.  2)  In 
humility  and  freedom  from  jealousy,  comp. 
1  Cor.  14:  20.  3)  In  teachableness  and  sub- 
mission to  divine  authority,  comp.  Eph.  6:  1. 
ViNET  (inLutter.):  "While  in  the  world  the 
teacher  says  to  the  child,  behave  like  a  man, 
Jesus  Christ  says  to  the  man,  behave  like  a 
child."  Henky  :  "Humility  is  a  lesson  so 
hardly  learned  that  we  have  need  by  all  ways 
and  means  to  be  taught  it.  When  we  look 
upon  a  little  child,  we  should  be  put  in  mind 
of  the  use  Christ  made  of  a  child." — V.  4. 
Our  Lord's  lessons  in  humility.  1)  Precepts, 
20:26f. ;  23:  12.  2)  Illustrations,  Luke  14: 
7-11;  18:  9-14.  3)  Object-lessons,  v.  2-4;  John 
13:3ff.  4)  His  own  character  and  example, 
11:  29;  Phil.  2:  8.  Chkys.  :  "Where  envy 
is  and  love  of  glory,  there  even  sincere  friend- 
ship has  no  strength.  For  as  those  of  the  same 
craft  cannot  love  one  another  with  a  perfect 
and  genuine  love,  so  is  it  with  rivals  in  honor 
also,  and  with  them  that  long  for  the  same 
worldly  objects." 

V.  6.  Leading  Christians  to  sin.  1)  Why 
wicked  men  do  this.  For  amusement,  through 
contempt  (v.  10),  to  quiet  their  own  con- 
sciences, to  promote  their  own  sinful  aims.  2) 
How  wicked  men  do  this.  By  intentional 
example,  by  pretended  friendship,  by  argu- 
ment, by  flattery,  by  ridicule,  by  sudden 
temptation  of  the  senses,  etc.  3)  W^herein 
lies  the  guilt  of  doing  this,  (a)  It  shows  de- 
light in  sin,  and  makes  one  a  willing  helper 
of  Satan.  (b)  It  shows  hatred  of  holiness, 
and  open  hostility  to  God.  (c)  It  is  doing 
the  greatest  possible  unkindness  and  injustice 
to  a  fellow-creature,  (d)  It  reacts  upon  one's 
own  soul  to  produce  a  yet  more  aggravated 
wickedness.  Thus  may  we  partiall}'  see  the 
ground  for   the    Saviour's    awful    warning. 


Ch.  XVIII.] 


MATTHEW. 


387 


13  And  if  so  be  that  he  find  it,  verily  I  say  unto  you, 
lie  rejoiceth  more  of  that  sheep,  than  of  the  ninety  and 
nine  which  went  not  astray. 

14  Even  so  it  is  not  the  will  of  your  Father  which  is 
in  heaven,  that  one  of  these  little  ones  should  perish. 

15  Moreover  if  thy  brother  shall  trespass  against 
thee,  go  and  tell  hiiu  his  fault  between  thee  and  biiu 
alone :  if  he  shall  hear  thee,  thou  bast  gained  thy 
brother. 


13  seek  that  which  goeth  astray  ?  And  if  so  be  that 
he  find  it,  verily  I  say  unto  you,  he  rejoiceth  over 
it  more  than  over  the  ninety  and  nine  which  have 

14  not  gone  astray.  Even  so  it  is  not  i  the  will  of  2your 
Father  who  is  in  heaven,  that  one  of  these  little 
ones  should  perish. 

15  And  if  thy  brother  sin  'against  thee,  go,  shew 
him  his  fault  between  thee  and  him  alone:  }f  he 


I  Gr.  a  thing  udUed  before  your  Father 2  Some  anoleat  aathorities  read,  my. . .  .3  Some  ancient  authorities  omit,  againtt  thee. 


Comp.  25:  45. — V.  10.  Despising  Christians. 
1)  Why  Christians  are  often  despised.  Many 
of  them  are  ignorant;  most  are  poor;  tiiey 
eschew  fashionable  vices;  they  will  not  de- 
fend their  honor  by  brute  force;  their  seri- 
ousness can  be  easily  ridiculed  ;  their  humil- 
ity can  be  regarded  as  mean  spiritedness ; 
their  goodness  can  be  represented  as  hypoc- 
risy ;  their  faults  attract  attention  by  contrast 
with  general  good  conduct;  they  often  incur 
reproach  through  unwise  action  when  their 
intentions  are  good  (Col.  4:5).  2)  Why  Chris- 
tians ought  not  to  be  despised.  They  are  at 
least  trying  to  do  what  all  ought  to  be  doing ; 
many  of  them  are  without  reproach  and 
above  suspicion,  and  some  are  the  excellent 
of  the  earth  ;  they  render  great  service  to  so- 
ciety (5:  i«r.)  ;  all  real  Christians  are  children 
of  God,  who  sends  angels  from  his  own  pres- 
ence to  care  for  them ;  they  will  finally  be- 
come free  from  all  fault,  and  glorious  forever 
(v.  14).  Chrys.  :  "See  by  how  many  things 
he  is  urging  the  care  of  our  mean  brethren. 
Say  not  then,  such  a  one  is  a  blacksmith,  a 
shoemaker,  a  ploughman,  a  fool — and  so  de- 
spise him." 

18: 13-35.  How  TO  Dkal  WITH  A  Brother 
WHO  HAS  Wronged  us. 

This  is  found  here  in  Matthew  only,  though 
some  of  the  expressions  are  paralleled  on  other 
occasions  in  Luke.  The  disciples  having 
shown  jealousy  and  selfish  ambition  (i8:i),  our 
Lord  urged  upon  them  humility  and  mutual 
kindness,  and  pointed  out  the  great  wicked- 
ness of  causing  the  humblest  Christian  to  sin. 
(v.  M4.)  He  now  proceeds  to  give  directions 
as  to  what  course  one  is  to  pursue  towards  a 
fellow-Christian  who  has  sinned.  This  is 
divided  into  two  parts,  (1)  efforts  to  win  back 
such  a  brother,  v.  15-20;    (2)  readiness  to  for- 


give great   and   often    repeated  offences,  v. 
21-36. 

L  15-20.  Efforts  to  Win  Back  a 
Brother  who  has  Sinned.  If  thy 
brother  shall  trespass,  or  sin.  The  ad- 
dition in  the  common  text  against  thee, 
is  wanting  in  several  of  the  earlier  docu- 
ments,' and  was  doubtless  brought  in  by 
copyists  from  v.  21,  just  as  in  Luke  17:  3,  it 
was  inserted  from  the  next  verse.  In  this 
general  form  the  directions  of  the  passage 
apply  to  all  attempts  to  win  back  a  brother 
from  sin.  (Comp.  James  5:  19  f. ;  Lev.  19: 
17.)  To  act  quietly,  and  if  possible  privately, 
is  hardly  less  important  in  other  cases  than 
when  the  sin  was  against  ourselves.  Still,  the 
following  context  suggests  personal  offences, 
and  that  is  still  more  plainly  the  case  in  Luke 
17  :  3  f.  The  word  'sin'  was  by  Tyn.  and  fol- 
lowers translated  'trespass,'  probably  because 
that  word  is  used  in  6:  14;  and  they  translate 
it  likewise  in  Luke  17:  3  f.  Notice  ^thy 
brother,'  the  following  precepts  being  for  in- 
dividual action  (v.  is-u),  after  which  he  returns 
to  the  plural.  (Comp.  on  6:  2.)  In  5:  23  the 
injurer  is  addressed;  here  it  is  the  injured. 
'Brother'  might  mean  any  man  (see  on  5: 
22),  but  here  means  a  brother  Christian,  as 
shown  by  the  reforence  to  the  church  in  v. 
17.  Go  and  tell  (show)  him  his  fault. 
'And'  after  'go,'  is  omitted  by  the  correct 
text.  The  word  means  go  right  along,  as  in 
4:  10;  5:  24;  13:  44,  etc.  'Show  him  his 
fault'  is,  more  strictly,  convict  him  of  his 
fault,  as  in  John  8:  46;  16:8;  James  2:  9.  To 
convince  a  man  that  he  has  erred,  especially 
that  he  has  wronged  the  person  addressing  him, 
is  a  difficult  and  delicate  task.  Some  wise 
counsels  were  given  in  Ecclus.  19  :  13-17.  A 
famous  Rabbi  of  later  times  said  (Wiiii.),  "  I 


'Wanting  In  K  B,  three  cursiven.  Thebaic,  Origen,  j  conceive  of  a  reason  for  their  omission  If  originally 
Cyril,  Basil.  Internal  considerations  seem  to  settle  the  present.  So  we  must  regard  them  as  a  spurious  ad- 
question.  The  words  were  e.isily  introduced  from  v.  I  dition.  In  Luke  17:  3  the  documents  which  omit  are 
21,  and  agree  well  with  the  connection.    We  cannot  [  much  more  numerous. 


388 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XVIII. 


16  But  if  he  will  not  hear  thee,  then  take  with  thee, 
one  or  two  more,  tliiit  in  the  mouth  of  two  or  three 
witnesses  everv  word  luay  be  established. 

17  And  if  he  shall  ueglecl  to  hear  them,  tell  it  unto 
the  church :  but  if  he  neglect  to  hear  the  church,  let 
kiiu  be  unto  thee  as  a  bealhen  man  and  a  publican. 


16  hear  thee,  thou  hast  gained  thy  brother.  But  if  he 
hear  thee  not,  take  with  thee  one  or  two  more,  that 
at  the  mouth  of  two  witnesses  or  three  every  word 

17  may  be  established.  And  if  he  refuse  to  hear  them, 
tell  it  unto  the  i  church  :  and  if  he  refuse  to  hear 
the  I  church  also,  let  him  be  unto  thee  as  the  Gen- 


1  Or,  congregation. 


wonder  whether  there  is  any  one  in  these 
times  that  accepts  reproof  "  (corap.  above  on 
7:4).  Another  replied,  "I  wonder  whether 
any  one  nowadays  iinows  how  to  give  admo- 
nition." Between  thee  and  him  alone. 
Thus  the  injurer  would  be  more  likely  to 
acknowledge  his  fault  than  if  approached  in 
company,  so  as  to  arouse  his  pride ;  and  thus 
the  difficulty  if  settled  need  never  be  known 
at  all.  Thou  hast  gained  thy  brother,i 
might  mean  only  gained  him  for  thyself,  but 
probably  means  also  (Ewald,  IVLeyer,  Weiss) 
gained  him  for  God  and  salvation.  ( i  cor.  9 -.  19-22 -, 
iPeterS:!.).  In,  or  flif,  the  mouth  of  two  or 
three  witnesses.  It  would  seem  to  us  more 
natural  to  say  'two  or  three  witnesses,'  but 
'two  witnesses  or  three,'  is  the  Greek  order, 
and  so  in  2  Cor.  13  :  1,  both  corresponding  to 
Deut.  17  :  6;  19:  15.  Comp.  John  8:17; 
Heb.  10 :  28.  There  is  nothing  to  forbid  the 
'one  or  two  more'  from  also  helping  to  con- 
vince him.  But  with  these  as  witnesses  he 
cannot  afterwards  deny,  or  profess  to  have 
forgotten,  what  he  had  conceded.  And  if 
the  matter  has  at  last  to  come  before  the 
church,  these  witnesses  can  declare  what 
passed  in  the  private  interview. 

17.  Only  as  a  third  step,  when  the  two 
more  private  efforts  have  failed,  must  he  tell 
it  unto  the  church.  As  to  the  general  uses 
of  the  word  ekklesia,  rendered  'church,'  ^see 
on  16:  28.  In  the  present  passage  it  cannot 
mean  the  Jewish  synagogue  (Calvin,   Beza, 


Fritz.);  for  it  is  impossible  that  v.  18-20 
should  have  been  spoken  with  reference 
to  a  Jewish  synagogue.  It  must  here 
mean  one  of  two  things.  (1)  It  may  be 
the  body  of  Christ's  disciples  existing  at 
the  time  he  speaks,  including  the  apostles, 
(v.  18.)  It  seems  to  be  intimated  by  this  pas- 
sage;  together  with  16:  18,  that  as  the  end  of 
his  ministry  approached,  Jesus  began  to  re- 
gard and  speak  of  his  followers  as  a  sort  of 
community  or  association,  a  thing  which 
would  in  itself  appear  not  unnatural.  The 
twelve  apostles  seem  to  have  been  grouped  in 
companies  of  four  (see  on  10:  2).  Yet  we  can 
hardly  suppose  that  they  alone  constituted  the 
ekklesia  here  spoken  of,  since  there  is  no  clear 
analogy  for  applying  the  term  to  them,  and 
since  v.  19  f.  refers,  by  common  consent,  to 
any  gathering  of  believers,  and  not  simply  to 
a  gathering  of  apostles.  Upon  this  view, 
then,  the  word  must  denote  a  general  com- 
munity, including  the  apostles.  The  exact 
constitution  of  this  supposed  community  can- 
not be  determined.  Some  would  liken  it 
more  to  the  Jewish  synagogues,  others  to  the 
churches  described  in  Paul's  Epistles;  neither 
side  can  prove  its  point.  (2)  The  word 
'church'  may  be  used  by  anticipation  for 
one  of  the  churches  founded  by  the  apostles. 
It  might  be  taken  for  granted  from  the  general 
analogy  of  the  synagogues,  that  there  would 
be  some  sort  of  assembly  or  congregation  to 
which  the  person  addressed  in  these  instruc- 


1  Wunsche,  in  his  great  desire  to  find  Rabbinical  paral- 
lels to  the  sayings  of  Jesus,quotes  here  from  Pirqe  Aboth, 
"  He  that  has  won  many  for  good,  through  him  no  sin 
is  done."  But  the  Heb.  word  hamezakkeh,  means  simply 
'he  that  makes  pure,'  without  any  notion  of  winning 
or  gaining;  the  similarity  is  greatly  increased  by  the 
translation.  There-  are  other  instances  of  the  same 
sort  in  his  useful  collection. 

*The  English  word  church  comes  from  the  Greek 
kuriakon, '  the  Lord's  (house),'  so  used  to  some  extent 
by  the  early  Greek  Christians  (Skeat).  The  Teutonic 
tribes,  when  converted  to  Christianity,  adopted  this 
Greek  word  for  the  house  of  worship,  and  it  is  found 
now  in  the  German  kirche,  the  Scottish  kirk,  Anglo- 
Saxon  cyrice,  ciriee,  circe,  from  which  comes  the  Eng- 


lish church.  The  use  of  the  word  was  gradually  extend- 
ed to  the  assembly  meeting  at  the  church,  an  exten- 
sion similar,  though  in  the  opposite  direction,  to  that 
which  has  taken  place  in  the  words  synagogue,  parish, 
school,  etc.  (See  on  4:  23).  Those  who  wish  to  avoid 
the  confusion  which  arises  from  applying  the  same 
word  to  the  building  and  the  assembly,  would  be  keep- 
ing nearer  to  the  history,  at  least,  if  they  applied  the 
term  church  only  to  the  building.  The  Greek  Chris- 
tians themselves  are  not  known  to  have  ever  used 
kuriakon  for  the  assembly,  and  in  modern  Greek  ek- 
klesia is  the  only  word  in  both  senses.  From  this 
through  the  Latin  form  ecclesia,  came  the  French 
eglise,  our  word  ecclesiastical,  etc. 


Ch.  XVIII.] 


MATTHEW. 


389 


18  Verily  I  say  unto  you.  Whatsoever  ye  shall  bind 
on  earth  shall  be  bound  in  heaven;  and  whatsoever  ye 
shall  loose  on  earth  shall  be  loosed  in  heaven. 

19  Again  I  say  unto  you,  That  if  two  of  you  shall 
agree  on  earth  as  touching  any  thing  that  they  shall 
ask,  it  shall  be  done  for  them  of  my  Father  which  is 
in  heaven. 


18  tile  and  the  publican.  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  What 
things  soever  ye  shall  bind  on  earth  shall  be  bound 
in  heaven  :  and  what  things  soever  ye  shall  loose 

19  on  earth  shall  be  loosed  in  heaven.  Again  I  say 
unto  you,  that  if  two  ol  you  shall  agree  on  earth  a8 
touching  anything  that  they  shall  ask,  it  shall  be 


tions  would  belong.  Perhaps  the  two  ideas 
might  be  combined;  'the  church'  might 
mean  at  the  moment  the  existing  loosely  or 
ganized  community  of  Christ's  followers, 
then  after  the  Day  of  Pentecost  the  one  organ- 
ized assembly  at  Jerusalem,  and  still  later  the 
local  assembly  with  which  the  persons  in  ques- 
tion should  be  connected  ;  e.  g.,  '  the  church  at 
Corinth,'  1  Cor.  5:  12.  This  question  is  of  no 
great  importance  for  the  interpretation  of  the 
passage  before  us,  whatever  interest  it  may 
possess  in  general  ecclesiastical  theory.  Tyn- 
dale,  Cran.,  and  Gen.,  correctly  translated 
the  word  by  '  congregation '  ;  Wye.  and 
Rheims  gave  '  church  ; '  and  this  was  one  of 
"the  old  ecclesiastical  words"  which,  by  di- 
rection of  King  James,  his  Revisers  retained. 
The  Rev.  Ver.  of  1881  has  placed  '  congrega- 
tion' here  in  the  margin,  probably  through 
recognition  of  the  fact  that  the  meaning  of  the 
original  is  in  this  case  somewhat  undefined; 
for  the  word  congregation  has  become  gradu- 
ally modified  in  meaning  by  usage,  and  can 
no  longer  be  in  general  employed  as  the  equiva- 
lent of  church.  Let  him  be  unto  thee,  etc. 
The  Rev.  Ver.  properly  translates,  as  the 
Gentile  and  the  publican,  one  with  whom  you 
have  no  communion  or  association,  Rom. 
16:  17;  2  Thess.  3:  14  (comp.  on  5:  46  f.). 
This  does  not  distinctly  teach  what  we  call 
excommunication,  but  contains  the  germs  of 
that  which  Paul  afterwards  clearly  taught. 

(iCor.  5:.t-5-) 

18.  Whatsoever  ye  shall  bind  on  earth. 

He  is  directly  addressing  the  disciples  alone 
(18:1),  probably  onl3' the  Twelve;  but  he  has 
just  mentioned  the  action  of  a  church,  and  so 
the  reference  here  seems  to  be  not  to  apostolic 
action,  but  to  church  action  (Bleek,  Keim). 
Whatever  Christ's  people,  assembled  in  their 
organized  congregation  or  church,  may  de- 
cide, is  ratified  in  heaven,  i.e.,  by  God — 
unless,  t)f  course,  the  decision  be  in  itself 
wrong.  The  point  is  that  the  church  has 
God's  authority  to  decide.  The  reference 
here  is  especially  to  the  settlement  of  a  diffi- 
culty between  brethren,  but  the  statement  is 


a  general  one.  The  power  some  time  before 
given  to  Peter  (is^is),  is  now  clearly  given  to 
others ;  the  only  question  being  whether  it  is 
to  the  apostles  or  to  a  church. 

19  f.  This  is  closely'  connected  with  the  pre- 
ceding. Tiie  church  expresses  the  view,  not  of 
an  individual,  but  a  number  of  Christians 
con(;urring  in  an  opiniun,  and  so  is  morelikely 
to  have  the  divine  approval.  He  now  adds 
that  any  petition  in  which  two  Christians 
unite,  will  be  granted  by  God.  Agree.  The 
Greek  word  sumphoneo  is  used  primarily  of 
musical  instruments  that  make  the  same 
sound,  then  of  harmony,  symphony,  where 
the  sounds  agree,  though  not  identical,  then  of 
agreement  in  general.  Origen  on  this  passage 
revels  in  the  fancy  of  symphony  in  prayer. 
But  it  is  doubtful  whether  more  is  here  in- 
tended than  the  general  idea  of  agreeing. 
On  earth,  as  in  v.  18.  You  pray  "on  earth," 
the  "Father  who  is  in  heaven"  answers.  As 
touching,  or  simply  'about,'  'concerning.' 
Anything  that  they  shall  ask,  not  simply 
any  decision  that  a  church  shall  make  (v.  is), 
but  any  petition  which  even  two  shall  agree 
in  offering.  It  shall  be  done,  or  '  shall  come 
to  pass,'  'take  place,'  see  on  6:  10.  My  Fa- 
ther which  is  in  heaven,  as  in  18:  10;  he 
gives  his  assurance  concerning  his  Father  (see 
on  6:  9).  This  promise  is  of  course  under- 
stood as  limited,  comp.  on  7 :  7.  The  words 
'in  my  name'  are  naturally  reflected  back 
from  V.  20  upon  the  foregoing  promise  by  the 
connecting  'for,'  so  that  vve  have  here  an  im- 
plied anticipation  of  .John  16:  28.  Men  are 
more  influenced  by  the  united  request  of  many 
persons  than  by  the  request  of  one  ;  and  this 
holds  of  requests  to  God.  It  applies  also  not 
merely  to  a  large  assembly,  but  to  even  two 
or  three,  when  gathered  in  the  Saviour's 
name,  and  agreeing  in  their  petition.  In  my 
name  is  here  in  Greek  a  difitrent  construction 
from  18:  5,  but  without  substantial  diflTerence 
of  meaning  (see  on  28:  19).  They  are  assem- 
bled with  reference  to  Christ,  and  not  to  some 
other  person  or  object — assembled  according 
to  his  teaching,  in  reliance  on  him   as  their 


390 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XVIII. 


20  For  where  two  or  three  are  gathered  together  in 
my  name,  there  am  I  iu  the  midst  of  them. 

21  Then  came  Peter  to  him,  and  said.  Lord,  how  oft 
shall  my  brother  sin  against  me,  and  I  forgive  him  ? 
till  seven  times  ? 

22  Jesus  suiih  unto  him,  I  say  not  unto  thee.  Until 
seven  times:  but,  Uutil  seventy  times  seven. 

23  Therefore  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven  likened  unto 
a  certain  king,  which  would  take  account  of  his  ser- 
vants. 


20  done  for  them  of  my  Father  who  is  in  heaven.  For 
where  two  or  three  are  gathered  together  in  my 
name,  there  am  I  in  the  midst  of  them. 

21  Then  came  Peter,  and  said  to  him.  Lord,  how  oft 
shall  my  brother  sin  against  me,  and  I  forgive  him? 

22  until  seven  times?  Jesus  saith  unto  him,  I  say  not 
unto  thee.  Until  seven  times;  but,  until  'seventy 

23  times  seven.  Therefore  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
likened  unto  a  certain  king,  who  would  make  a  reck- 


1  Or,  teventy  timet  and  «even. 


Saviour,  with  deisire  to  please  him  and  to  ad- 
vance his  cause.  The  pronoun  I  is  not  ex- 
pressed in  the  Greek,  and  so  is  not  emphatic, 
though  commonly  so  uttered  in  English.' 
The  point  is  not  that  /  am  there,  but  that  I 
am  there,  in  the  midst  of  them.  Theophyl. : 
"Tliere,  not  far  away  to  be  sent  after  and 
waited  for,  but  there."  Our  Lord  here  dis- 
tinctly points  forward  to  a  time  when  he  will 
"be  corporeally  absent  but  spiritually  present. 
So  in  some  of  the  instructions  in  chap.  10,  in 
the  farewell  discourse  of  John  ch.  14-17,  and 
in  the  parting  words  of  Matthew  28:  20. 
Notice  that  the  language  is  perfectly  general. 
It  is  no  longer  'two  of  you,'  but  in  general 
'two  or  three  '  ;  it  is  not  'there  I  shall  be,'  but 
'there  I  am,'  a  general  fact.  And  it  holds, 
not  merely  of  a  large  assembly,  but  of  the 
smallest  gathering  in  his  name.  He  is  there 
to  give  authority  to  their  action  as  a  church 
(t.  18),  by  making  it  his  action,  and  to  give 
efficiency  to  their  petitions  (vi9),  by  adopting 
them  as  his  own.  It  shall  be  done  for  them 
of  my  Father,  for  I  am  there.  The  Mishna 
(Aboth)  has  a  similar  expression:  "Where 
two  sit  and  occupy  themselves  with  the  law, 
the  Shekinah  is  between  them.  Mai.  3:  16." 

II.  21o33.  Readiness  to  Forgive  a 
Brother  Who  has  Wronged  us.  Comp. 
on  6:  12,  14.  Jesus  had  just  been  speaking  of 
the  proper  way  to  act  when  a  brother  "sins," 
with  special  reference  to  personal  offences, 
(v.  15.)  This  suggests  to  Peter  a  practical  in- 
quiry, which  he  approaches  the  Master  to 
make.  Then  (v.  -a)  is  therefore  clearly  to  be 
understood  strictly.  (Comp.  on  3:  13.)  Jesus 
replies  i"-^),  and  then  goes  on  to  enforce  the 
duty  of  forgiveness  by  a  parable,   (v.  22-35.) 

Came,  or  approached,  stepped  forward 
from  the  group  of  disciples  and  came  close  to 
Jesus  and  asked  him.    Every  person  who  at- 


tempts to  exercise  a  forgiving  spirit  towards 
those  who  do  him  wrong,  will  sometimes  have 
occasion  to  feel  that  Peter" s  question  was  a 
practical  one.  We  bring  ourselves  up  from  a 
sense  of  duty,  to  the  point  of  forgiving;  be- 
hold! very  soon  the  same  man  commits  an 
equal  or  greater  wrong;  and  so,  perhaps, 
again  and  again.  How  long  are  we  bound  to 
let  this  go  on?  How  oft  shall  my  brother 
.sin  against  me,  and  I  forgive  him  ?  The 
former  clause  is  simply  the  basis  of  the  latter; 
so  in  the  much  discussed  pa.ssage,  Rom.  6:  17, 
and  so  perhaps  in  Luke  24:  18.  Tyndale, 
Cran.,  Gen.,  render,  '  how  oft  shall  I  forgive 
my  brother,  if  he  sin  against  me?'  This  ex- 
presses the  thought,  but  takes  unnecessarj' 
liberties  with  the  phrase.  Until  seven 
times?  He  probably  thought  this  a  very 
high  number.  Chrys. :  "Peter  supposed  he 
was  saying  something  great."  The  Talmud 
of  Babylon  says,  "  When  a  man  sins  against 
another,  they  forgive  him  once,  they  forgive 
him  a  second  time,  they  forgive  him  a  third 
time,  but  the  fourth  time  they  do  not  forgive 
him."  'Seven,'  among  its  many  uses,  was 
sometimes  a  round  number.  Lev.  26:  21; 
Deut.  28:  25;  Psa.  79:  12;  Prov.  24:  16,  etc. 
So  our  Lord,  when  speaking  of  this  subject 
on  a  subsequent  occasion,  says,  'Seven  times 
in  the  da3-.'  (Lnkei7:4.)  Seventy  times  seven 
is  the  natural  meaning  of  the  Greek  But  it 
may  mean  (Rev.  Ver.  margin)  'seventy-seven 
times,'  which  some  of  the  best  expositors  pre- 
fer (Origen,  Bengel,  Ewald,  Keim,  Mej-or', 
because  precisely  the  same  expression  is 
found  in  the  Sept.  translation  of  Gen.  4:  24, 
where  the  Hebrew  can  signifj'  nothing  else 
than  'seventy-seven  times.'  Comp.  Moulton 
in  Winer,  314,  n.  Either  way  it  is  a  general 
expression,  which  practically  removes  all 
limit  to  the  repetitions  of  forgiveness.  (Theo- 


'  The  pronoun  in  the  nominative  is  more  frequently  1  phasis,  but  its  absence  does  even  more  certainly  (if 
used  in  New  Test.  Greek  than  in  classical  Greek,  possible)  than  in  classical  Greek,  show  that  there  is  no 
Therefore  its  presence  does  not  so  certainly  show  em-  I  emphasis  (comp.  John  11 :21,  32). 


Ch.  XVIII.] 


MATTHEW. 


391 


24  And  when  he  had  begun  to  reckon,  one  was 
brought  unto  him,  which  owed  him  ten  thousand  « tal- 
ents. 

25  But  forasmuch  as  he  had  not  to  pay,  his  lord  com- 
manded him  to  be  sold,  and  bis  wife,  and  children,  and 
all  that  he  had,  and  payment  to  be  made. 

26  The  servant  therefore  fell  down,  and  '  worshipped 
him,  saying,  Lord,  have  patience  with  me,  and  I  will 
pay  thee  all. 

27  Then  the  lord  of  that  servant  was  moved  with 
compassion,  and  loosed  him,  and  forgave  him  the  debt. 


24  ouing  with  his  i  servants.  And  when  he  had  begun 
to  reckon,  one  was  brought  unto  him,  who  owed 

25  him  ten  thousand  ^talents.  But  forasmuch  as  he 
had  not  wherewith  to  pay,  his  lord  commanded  him 
to  be  sold,  and  his  wife,  and  children,  and  ail  that 

26  he  had,  and  payment  to  be  made.  The  i  servant 
therefore  lell  down  and  worshipped  him,  saying. 
Lord,  have  patience  with  me,  and  I  will  pay'thee 

27  all.  And  the  lord  of  that  '  servant,  being  moved 
with  compassion,  released  him,  and    forgave    him 


aAtalent  U7S0  ounce*  o/ («t>«r.  vhicb  after  Ore  stilllings  the  ounce  is  1871.  10s b.  Or.  besought  Aim I  Qr.  bondservajiU.. 

2  Tbis  talent  wus  probably  wurita  about  £U0. . .  .3  Gr.  bondservant. 


phyl.)  Of  course  all  this  rests  on  the  supposi- 
tion that  we  believe  the  man  sincerely  re- 
pents. (LukeiT:*.)  Otiierwise  we  are  not  bound 
to  forgive  even  once,  in  the  full  sense  of  restor- 
ing to  confidence  and  affection.  (See  on  6  :  14). 
23.  Therefore.  Since  the  Messiah  re- 
quires his  followers  to  forgive,  and  no  matter 
how  often  (v.  iir.),  therefore  the  Messianic 
reign  resembles  the  story  about  to  be  told ; 
under  that  reign  men  will  be  severely  dealt 
■with  if  they  refuse  to  forgive  (v.  ssi.  The 
kingdom  of  heaven,  see  on  3:  2.  Is  lik- 
ened)  or  has  been  likened,  see  on  13;  24. 
Unto  a  certain  king,  literally,  to 
a  man,  a  king.  The  action  of  the  Di- 
vine King  is  illustrated  by  that  of  a  hu- 
man king.  Would  take  account,  {wished 
to  7nake  a  reckoning).  This  and  'to  reckon  ' 
in  V.  24  are  kindred  expressions,  and  ought 
not  to  have  been  diflFerently  rendered.  Be- 
sides, 'take  account  of,'  is  misleading,  the 
idea  being  to  settle  accounts  with.  His  serv- 
ants, literally  slaves  (doulos),  see  on  8:  6. 
It  has  always  been  common  in  the  East 
to  call  the  court  officials  the  slaves  of  the 
king. — They  are  as  dependent  on  his  arbi- 
trary will  as  a  slave  on  his  master,  and  with 
the  servility  which  despoti.'sm  engenders,  they 
often  seem  even  to  delight  in  calling  them- 
selves by  that  name.  This  word  doulos  is 
similarly  used  in  23  :  2  ff.,  and  in  1  Kings  1 : 
47 ;  the  more  common  word  in  that  sense  is 
pais  (see  on  14:  2).  In  a  kindred  but  not 
degrading  spiritual  sense  Paul  delights  to  call 
himself  a  doulos  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  so 
James,  Peter,  Jude.  In  the  parable,  there- 
fore, the  king's  'servants'  are  the  great  offi- 
cers of  government,  who  received  his  reve- 
nues and  attended  to  their  disbursement.  It 
was  quite  possible  in  one  of  the  great  Oriental 
despotisms  for  a  treasurer,  or  the  satrap  of  a 
province,  to  embezzle  as  much  as  twelve  mil- 
lions of  dollars.      Our  Lord  purposely  sup- 


poses a  very  strong  case,  in  order  the  better 
to  illustrate  the  vast  disparity  between  what 
God  forgives  to  us,  and  what  we  are  called  to 
forgive  to  others. 

24-27.  Ten  thousand  talents.  Besides 
the  difference  between  a  talent  of  silver  and 
of  gold,  the  gold  talent  varied  greatly  in 
value  for  different  countries  and  periods. 
Archaeological  exactness  is  here  of  no  iiriport* 
ance.  According  to  margin  of  Rev.  Ver., 
the  ten  thousand  talents  would  amount  to  near 
twelve  million  dollars.  We  may  see  how  vast 
the  sum  is  by  comparisons.  Tlie  amount  pro- 
vided by  David  for  building  the  temple  was 
three  thousand  talents  of  gold,  and  seven 
thousand  of  silver,  and  the  princes  gave  over 
five  thousand  talents  of  gold  and  ten  thousand 
of  silver  (i  chrnn.29:4, 7),  and  the  amount  which 
Haman  offered  the  King  of  Persia,  for  the 
destruction  of  the  Jews,  was  ten  thousand 
talents  of  silver.  (Esther 3:9.)  It  is  not  neces- 
sary to  suppose  that  the  parable  narrates  a 
historical  fact,  but  such  things  did  htippen. 
(Comp.  on  13:  3.)  To  be  sold,  and  his 
wife  and  children,  and  all  that  he  had. 
It  is  still  common  in  Oriental  countries  to 
inflict  all  this  upon  a  man  of  the  highest 
station.  The  law  of  Moses  allowed  a  man 
himself  to  be  sold  for  theft  (Exod.  •2-2:3),  or  debt. 
(Lev.  25:39;  2King«4: 1.)  Wqrshippcd,  the  pros- 
tration before  a  monarch,  see  011  2:  11 ;  the 
Greek  has  here  the  imperfect  tense,  describing 
him  as  engaged  in  this  lowly  homage.  The 
man  only  asked  for  indulgence,  and  he  would 
pay.  Perhaps  he  really  hoped  to  do  so;  for 
men  who  go  into  vast  fraudulent  operations 
are  usually  of  very  sanguine  temperament. 
Loosed  (released)  him,  and  forgave  him 
the  debt.  '  Loo.sed'  (Com.  Ver.)  would  now 
imply  that  he  had  been  hound  or  imprisf)ned, 
a  thing  not  indicated  nor  prohahh;;  he  was 
'released'  frtun  arrest  and  from  obligation. 
'The  debt'  is  here  more  exactly  (Rev.  Ver., 


392 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XVIII. 


28  But  the  same  servant  went  out,  and  found  one  of 
his  fellow  servants,  which  »wed  hiiu  a  hundred  'pence: 
nud  he  laid  hands  on  hiiu,  and  took  him  by  the  throat, 
saying,  Pav  ino  that  thou  owesl. 

'i9  And  his  fellow  servant  fell  down  at  his  feet,  and 
besought  him,  saying.  Have  patience  with  me,  and  I 
will  pay  thee  all. ' 

3u  And  he  would  not:  but  went  and  cast  him  into 
prison,  till  he  should  pay  the  debt. 

31  So  when  his  fellow  servants  saw  what  was  done, 
they  were  very  sorry,  and  came  and  told  unto  their 
lord  all  that  was  done. 

32  Then  his  lord,  after  that  he  had  called  him,  said 
unto  him,  O  thou  wicked  servant,  I  forgave  thee  all 
that  debt,  because  thou  desiredst  me : 

33  Shouldest  not  thou  also  have  had  compassion  on 
tby  fellow  servant,  even  as  I  had  pity  on  thee? 

34  And  his  lord  was  wroth,  and  delivered  him  to  the 
tormentors,  till  he  should  pay  all  that  was  due  unto 
him. 

:i5  So  likewise  shall  my  heavenly  Father  do  also  unto 
you,  if  ye  from  your  hearts  forgive  not  every  one  his 
brother"  their  trespasses. 


28  the  I  debt.  But  that  «  servant,  went  out,  and  found 
one  of  his  fellow-servants,  who  owed  him  a  hun- 
dred'shillings:  and  he  laid  hold  on  him,  and  took 
him  by  the  throat,  saying,  Pay   what   thou  owest. 

29  So  his  fellow-servant  fell  down  and  besought  him, 
saying,  Have  patience  with  me,  and  I  will  pay  thee. 

30  And  he  would  not:    but  went  and  cast  him    into 

31  prison,  till  he  should  pay  that  which  was  due.  So 
when  his  fellow-servants  saw  what  was  done,  they 
were  exceeding  sorry,  and  came  and  told  unto  their 

32  lord  all  that  was  done.  Then  his  lord  called  him 
unto  him,  and  saith  unto  him.  Thou  wicked  2  serv- 
ant, I  forgave  thee  all  that  debt,  because  thou  be- 

33  soughtest  me:  shouldest  not  thou  also  have  had 
mercy  on  thy  fellow-servant,  even  as  I  had  mercy 

34  on  thee?  And  his  lord  was  wroth,  and  delivereil 
him  to  the  tormenters,  till  he  should  pay  all  that  was 

35  due.  So  shall  also  my  heavenly  Father  do  unto  you, 
if  ye  forgive  not  every  one  his  brother  from  your 
hearts. 


1  The  Soman  pennf  is  the  eighth  part  of  an  ounce,  which  after /Ive  ihillinge  the  ounce  U  tevenpence  halfpenny.  Ch.  20:  2.- 
loan. . .  .2  Gr.  bondservant. . .  .3  Tue  word  in  tbe  Greek  denated  a  coin  Horth  about  eigbt  peuce  halfpenny. 


margin)  'the  loan.'  In  his  compassionate 
mood  the  king  chooses  to  speak  of  it  as  a  loan, 
not  an  embezzlement ;  afterwards,  in  v.  32, 
it  is  literally  'debt.' 

28-30.  One  of  his  fellow-servants. 
One  of  the  other  court-officials;  from  the 
smallness  of  the  debt  we  should  think  of  him 
as  an  inferior  officer.  A  hundred  pence,  or 
shillings.  The  Roman  denarius,  the  word 
alwa^-s  used  where  our  English  versions  have 
'penny,'  varied  in  value  at  different  periods; 
if  we  take  the  estimate  in  margin  of  Rev.  Ver., 
'a  hundred  pence'  will  be  seventeen  dollars 
of  our  mone^-.  See,  then,  the  disparity  of  the 
two  debts— twelve  million  dollars,  seventeen 
dollars.  Or  we  could  get  the  effect  of  round 
numbers  by  sajing  ten  million  dollars  and 
ten  dollars.  This  pictures  the  difference  be- 
tween the  guilt  of  our  sins  against  God  and 
that  of  a  fellow-mans  sins  against  us.  Took 
him  by  the  throat,  or  more  literally,  icent 
to  choking  him.  Pay  that  thou  owest,  or 
pay,  if  thou  owest  anythiny ;  the  debt  is  small 
and  hardly  amounts  to  anything,  but  he  is  de- 
termined to  have  it.  The  Roman  law  allowed 
a  creditor  to  seize  his  debtor  and  drag  him  be- 
fore the  judge,  and  Roman  writers  repeatedly 
speak  of  a  mans  twisting  the  neck  of  his 
debt<»r  till  the  blood  flowed  from  mouth  and 
nostrils.  Fell  down  merely;  at  his  feet 
being  an  unwarranted  addition.  Besought 
and  would  not  (v.29f.)  are  in  Greek  in  the 
imperfect  tense,  implying  continued  entreaty 
and  refusal.  .411,  at  end  of  v.  23  in  Ci>m. 
Ver.,  was  an  addition  by  copyists  from  v.  26. 


The  similarity  of  the  plea  to  that  which  had 
just  availed  for  himself  failed  to  touch  the 
creditor's  heart. 

31-35.  His  fellow-servants,  other  court- 
officials,  high  and  low,  saw  Avhat  was  done, 
what  took  place.  (See  on  6:  10.)  Told  is  in 
the  Greek  a  very  strong  word,  signifying  that 
they  gave  a  clear  and  complete  account.  His 
lord,  etc. .  .  .  said,  O  thou  wicked  servant. 
Chrys. :  "  When  he  owed  ten  thousand  talen's 
he  did  not  call  him  wicked  nor  upbraid  him, 
but  had  compassion  on  him ;  but  when  re- 
garding his  fellow-servant  he  was  unforgiving, 
then  lie  says,  wicked  servant."  Shouldst 
not  thou  also  have  had  compassion 
{mercy)  ....  even  as  I  had  pity  (mercy) 
(v.  M),  the  same  Greek  word  in  both  cases,  and 
not  that  of  V.  27,  but  that  of  17:  15;  5:  7. 
Tormentors  (v. 34),  not  simply  'jailers,'  as 
Tyn.,  Cran.,  Gen,  but  strictly  'torturers'; 
he  was  to  be  not  now  sold  into  slavery  ('■■»), 
but  imprisoned,  and  from  time  to  time  tor- 
tured. This  fearful  punishment  suggests  the 
torments  of  Gehenna:  comp.  8:  29;  Luke  16, 
23,  28;  Rev.  14:  10  f. ;  20:  10.  So  .  .  .  unto 
you.  The  comparison  of  sins  to  debts  was  a 
familiar  idea  to  the  Jewish  mind.  (See  on 
6:  12.)  From  your  hearts  comes  in  at  the 
close  with  emphasis.  Their  trespasses  is  a 
useless  addition  by  copj'ists,  and  so  is  unto 
him,  end  of  v.  34.  Nobody  would  have  cared 
to  omit  either  phrase  if  originally  present, 
yet  both  are  wanting  in  a  number  of  the 
earliest  documents.  Forgive,  see  on  6:  12; 
'  hearts,'  see  on  6:  21. 


Ch.  XIX.] 


MATTHEW. 


393 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


AND  it  came  to  pass,  that  when  Jesus  had  finished 
these  sayings,  he  departed  from  Ualilee,  and  cauie 
into  the  coasts  uf  Judea  beyond  Jordan  ; 


1      And  it  came  to  pass  when  Jesus  had  finished  these 
words,  he  departed  from  Galilee,  and  came  into  the 


HOMILETICAL  AND   PRACTICAL. 

V.  15  ff.  How  to  (leal  with  a  brother  who 
has  wronged  you.  1)  Do  not  await  his 
coming,  but  go  right  away  to  him.  2)  Make 
loving,  wise,  and  repeated  efforts  to  gain  him, 
by  personal  interview,  by  the  help  of  otlier 
brethren,  by  the  help  of  the  clmrch.  3)  As 
soon  (Luke  17:8)  and  as  often  as  he  repents,  for- 
give him  (v.  21  f );  and  when  tempted  to  be 
unforgiving,  remember  how  much  is  forgiven 
you  (v.  3o). — V.  15.  Chrys.  :  "He  saith  not, 
'accuse,'  nor  'charge  him,'  nor  'demand  sat- 
isfaction,' but  'tell  him  of  his  fault.'  "  Aug.  : 
(in  Aq.):  "But  why  do  you  correct  your 
neighbor?  If  you  do  it  from  self-love,  you 
do  naught;  if  you  do  it  from  love  of  him,  you 
do  most  rightly."  Henry:  "We  should 
think  no  pains  too  much  to  take  for  the  re- 
covering of  a  sinner  to  repentance." — V.  16. 
Chrys.:  "The  physician,  in  like  manner, 
when  he  sees  the  malady  obstinate,  doth  not 
give  up  nor  grow  impatient,  but  then  makes 
the  more  preparation." — V.  19  f.  United 
Christian  prayer.  1)  The  prayer  of  many, 
even  of  two,  is  more  likely  to  be  for  right 
objects.  2)  The  sympathy  of  common  suppli- 
cation promotes  earnestness.  3j  The  Saviour 
himself  is  in  the  midst,  making  it  his  prayer 
to  his  Father.  Cyril  :  "  For  it  is  not  the 
number  of  those  coming  together,  but  it  is  the 
power  of  their  piety  that  will  be  effectual." 
Henry:  "If  there  be  no  liberty  and  oppor- 
tunity for  large  and  numerous  assemblies, 
then  it  is  the  will  of  God  that  two  or  three 
should  gather  together.  When  we  cannot  do 
what  we  would  in  religion,  we  must  do  as  we 
can,  and  God  will  accept  us." 

V.  '23-3-3.  God's  unforgiving  servant.  1) 
God  forgives  him  an  immense  debt.  2)  He 
refuses  to  forgive  his  fellow-servant  some 
comparatively  trifling  debt.  3)  God  will 
punish  him  with  terrible  severity.  All  turns 
upon  the  'if  of  v.  35;  a  true  servant  of  God 
will  take  warning  and  forgive.  —  V.  32. 
Chrys.:  "Let  us  hearken,  the  covetous,  for 
even  to  us  is  the  word  spoken.  Let  us 
lioarken  also,  the  merciless  and  the  cruel, 
for  not  to  others  are  we  cruel,  but  to  our- 


selves  Let  us    not   thrust    the  sword 

into  ourselves  by  being  revengeful." — V.  35. 
Forgiveness.  1)  Who  must  forgive?  'Every 
one.'  2)  Why  must  we  forgive?  (a)  Fit  in 
itself  that  thej'  who  wish  to  be  forgiven 
should  be  willing  to  forgive.  (b)  Clearly 
taught  that  they  who  do  not  forgive  are  not 
forgiven;  this  parable  and  6:  14;  James  2: 
13.  (c)  A  great  privilege  that  we  can  thus 
express  to  God  our  gratitude  for  his  forgive- 
ness, Col.  3:  13.  3)  How  must  we  forgive? 
'From  the  heart.'  —  Bruce:  "Obviously 
Jesus  has  no  sense  of  incongruity  between 
the  Fatherhood  of  God  and  the  strange  work 
of  stern  judgment  on  the  unmerciful.  Neither 
was  there  room  for  such  a  feeling.  Just  be- 
cause God  is  a  Father,  and  because  his  in- 
most spirit  is  love,  he  must  abhor  a  spirit  so 
utterly  alien  from  his  own.  It  is  only  what 
we  should  expect,  that  under  the  government 
of  a  gracious  God  the  spirit  of  mercilessness 
should  have  judgment  without  mercy." 


Ch,  19:  1-12.  Departure  from  Gali- 
lee.   Instructions  as  to  Divorck. 

The  greater  part  of  this  section  is  found  also 
in  Mark  10:  1-12.  Our  Lord  now  leaves 
Galilee,  and  comes  into  Perea.  Matthew 
and  Mark  make  no  mention  of  anything  in- 
tervening, and  a  little  later  both  bring  us  to 
the  triumphal  entry  and  the  linal  Passover. 
But  Luke,  after  completing  his  account,  par- 
allel to  Matthew  and  Mark,  of  the  ministry 
in  Galilee,  describes  Jesus  (9:5i-56)  us  going 
from  Galilee  not  into  Perea,  but  through  Sa- 
maria on  the  way  to  Jerusalem  With  this 
agrees  John's  account  (t:  2-10)  of  his  going  in 
secret  from  Galilee  to  Jerusalem  to  attend  the 
Feast  of  Tabernacles,  six  months  before  the 
final  Passover.  Then  Luke  goes  on  in  10:  1 
to  18:  14,  with  a  longaccount  of  the  Saviour's 
sayings  and  actions,  after  which  he  again  be- 
comes parallel  (is;  15)  with  Matt.  (i».ij)  and 
Mark  (lo:  is),  and  so  continues  to  the  end.  Wo 
have  heretofore  noticed  that  Luke  greatly 
condensed  his  narrative  of  the  series  of  with- 
drawals from  Galilee,  giving  to  it  only  0:  10- 
50,  while  Matt  gives  14:  13  to  18:  35,  and 


394 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XIX. 


Mark  gives  6:  30  to  9 :  50.  It  seems  plain  that 
Luke  thus  condensed  in  order  to  make  room 
for  tlie  mass  of  matter  in  reserve,  which  for 
the  most  |)art  is  peculiar  to  him.  Some  of 
tlie  miracles  and  discourses  he  goes  on  to  nar- 
rate closely'  resemble  several  which  Matthew 
and  Mark  gave  during  the  ministry  in  Gali- 
lee before  the  withdrawals,  and  which  Luke 
did  not  there  introduce ;  e.  g.,  the  blasphe- 
mous accusation  in  Luke  11 :  14-36  resembles 
Matt.  12:  22-45;  Mark  3:  19-30,  and  the  dis- 
course against  temporal  anxiety  in  Luke  12: 
22-31  resembles  Matt.  6:  25-34.  In  the  present 
state  of  harmonistic  inquiry,  we  must  choose 
between  two  theories.  (1)  Luke  in  10:  1  to 
18:  14,  must  be  supposed,  with  Robinson's 
Harmonj'  and  others,  to  give  a  loosely  ar- 
ranged mass  of  nuiterial,  mainly  falling  be- 
tween the  last  Feast  of  Tabernacles  and  the 
last  Passover,  but  partly  belonging  in  fact  to 
the  ministry  in  Galilee,  where  similar  matters 
were  given  by  Matthew  and  Mark.  This 
loose  arrangement  is  unlikely  in  itself,  par- 
ticularly in  the  case  of  one  whw  expressly  an- 
dertook  to  write  an  orderly  account.  (Lukei;3.)i 
(2)  Wieseler  has  pointed  out  ("Chron.  Syn.," 
followed  by  Tischendorfs  "Syn.  Evang.," 
Ellicotts  "Lectures  on  Life  of  Christ,"  G. 
W.  Clark's  "Harmonj'  of  the  Gospels")  that 
Luke  in  this  large  section  three  times  speaks 
of  Jesus  as  going  to  or  towards  .Jerusalem 
(9:M-M;  13 : ?2 ;  17 : u),  and  has  proposed  to  take 
the  first  of  these  three  as  parallel  to  our  Lord's 
going  up  for  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  (John-: 
*  It-),  the  second  to  the  journey  for  raising  Laz- 
arus (John  u:  17 f.),  the  third  as  beginning  the 
journey  to  the  final  Passover;  and  accord- 
ingly to  arrange  all  this  section  of  Luke,  as 
belonging  to  the  last  six  months  of  our  Lord's 
ministry,  and  as  located  in  Judea  and  Perea. 
It  thus  becomes  a  ministry  distinct  from  that 
in  Galilee  narrated  by  Matthew,  Mark,  and 
Luke,  and  the  similar  events  and  discourses 
are  to  be  regarded  as  not  identical  but  repeti- 
tions, such  as  it  is  unquestionable  that  Jesus 
often  made  (see  above,  beginning  of  ch.  5). 
This  view,  well  wrought  out  in  Clark's  Har- 
mony, is  followed  in  the  present  Com.  as  in- 
volving fewer  difficulties  than  any  other,  and 
indeed  as  quite  probablj-  correct.      At  any 


rate,  it  is  clear,  from  the  comparison  with 
Luke  and  John,  that  Matthew  and  Mark  pass 
over  nearly  all  the  last  six  months  of  our 
Lord's  ministry,  just  as  both  they  and  Luke 
passed  over  that  early  ministry  of  probably 
as  great  length  in  Judea  which  is  recorded  by 
John  (see  above  on  4:  12).  Matthew  and 
Mark  have  in  fact  confined  themselves  en- 
tirely to  the  ministry  in  Galilee  and  vicinity, 
except  the  final  Passover  and  a  few  incidents 
on  the  journey'  thereto. 

1  f.  Jesus  goes  from  Galilee  into  Perea,  and 
exercises  his  ministry.  Departed  is  not 
simply  'went  away,'  but  'removed,'  a  rare 
word  used  in  New  Test,  only  here  and  in  13: 
53.  It  must  not  be  here  pressed  to  prove  a 
permanent  removal,  for  in  13:  53  there  waa 
only  a  temporary  removal  across  the  lake. 
The  statement  that  he  departed  from  Galilee 
when  he  had  finished  these  sayings,  would 
most  naturally  mean  thsit  he  left  immediately 
upon  completing  the  discourse  of  ch.  18; 
comp.  the  same  phrase  in  7:  28;  11:  1;  13: 
53.  We  should  then  take  this  departure  as 
parallel  to  that  of  Luke  9:  51  ff.,  viz.,  to  at- 
tend the  Feast  of  Tab.,  and  the  gap  of  nearly 
six  months  would  have  to  fall  between  tiie 
two  adjacent  words  'departed'  and  'came.' 
Wieseler  holds  that  this  departure  was  parallel 
to  Luke  17 :  11,  where  Jesus  returns  from 
Judea  through  Samaria  and  a  portion  of 
Galilee,  and  probably  joins  the  pilgrims  on  the 
way  from  Galilee  through  Perea  to  Jerusalem. 
In  this  way  'departed'  is  followed  naturally 
by  'came,'  but  'when  he  had  finished  these 
sayings'  has  to  be  understood  loosely.  Mark's 
expression  (lo:  i)  agrees  best  with  Wieseler' s 
view.  However  much  was  to  be  omitted,  we 
could  not  expect  a  break  in  the  narrative;  see 
remarks  introductory  to  4:  12.  It  is  well  to 
observe  that  nothing  in  the  interpretation  of 
what  follows  will  depend  upon  this  nice  ques- 
tion of  chronology  and  harmony. 

Matthew's  account  of  the  ininistr3'  in  Galilee 
has  continued  since  4:  12.  That  ministry  ap- 
pears to  have  lasted,  if  we  take  the  feast  of 
.John  5:  1  to  be  a  passover,  nearly  two  years, 
the  last  six  months,  however,  being  nearly  all 
spent  in  the  series  of  withdrawals  to  adjoining 
districts,  (u;  w  u>i7: 20.)  Matthew  occupies  him- 


'  Andrews  has  a  copious  discussion  and  a  different  '  sclieme,  which  will  reward  examination.  A  full  dis- 
scheme,  on  the  same  general  principles  as  that  of  Rob-  I  cussion,  or  even  statement,  of  the  various  theories 
inson.      Farrar    also    (ch.  «)   gives   an    independent  |  would  here  be  out  of  place. 


Ch.  XIX.] 


MATTHEW. 


395 


2  And  great  multitudes  followed  him  ;  and  he  healed 
theui  there. 

3  The  Pharisees  also  came  unto  him,  tempting  him, 
and  saying  unto  him.  Is  it  lawful  for  a  mau  to  put  away 
his  wife  for  every  cause  ? 


2  borders  of  Judaea  beyond  Jordan  :  and  great  mul- 
titudes followed  him  ;  and  he  healed  them  there. 

3  And  there  came  uuto  him  >  Pharisees,  trying  him, 
and  saying,  Is  it  lawful /or  o  man  to  put  away  his 


1  Many  iiutlii>rities. 


i  ancient,  Insert  (A«. 


self  especially  with  teachings  concerning 
the  kingdom  of  heaven,  while  most  of  the 
parables  given  in  Luke  ch.  13  to  18  refer  only 
to  individual  piety,  and  would  thus  not  come 
into  Matthew's  plan. 

Into  the  coasts  of  Judea.  Borders  rather 
than  'coasts,'  see  on  2:  16;  16:  22.  Beyond 
Jordan.  The  Greek  construction  is  peculiar, 
hut  makes  'be^-ond  Jordan  '  state  the  route  by 
which  he  came  into  the  borders  of  Judea. 
Mark  (lO:  i.  correct  text)  has  '  iuto  the  borders  of 
Judea  and  beyond  Jordan.'  Copyists  and 
early  students  saw  that  this  differed  somewhat 
from  Matt.,  and  so  some  omitted  Mark's 
'and,'  others  changed  'and'  into 'tiirough ' 
(Com.  Ver.).  Mark's  expression  thus  gives  a 
twofold  designation  of  the  region  into  which 
he  came,  viz.,  the  borders  of  Judea,  and 
Perea.  Matt,  might  seem  to  locate  the  fol- 
lowing matters  in  Judea,  after  Jesus  had 
passed  through  Perea;  Mark  refers  them  in- 
definitely to  both  districts;  the  Harmony  (see 
20:  17,  29)  pretty  clearly  places  the  earlier 
portion,  certainly  19:  1-15,  in  Perea.  The 
region  'beyond  Jordan,'  i.  e.,  east  of  the  Jor- 
dan (see  on  4:  25),  from  its  mouth  to  near  the 
Lake  of  Galilee,  was  in  the  Roman  period 
often  called  'the  beyond  (district),'  'the 
Perea,'  the  Greek  word  for  beyond  being 
peran.  The  Galilean  Jews  preferred  to  go  to 
Jerusalem  by  way  of  Perea,  so  as  to  avoid  the 
unfriendly  Samaritans  (Luke9:5if.);  though 
the  direct  route  through  Samaria  was  some- 
times taken  (comp.  Josephus,  "Life,"  52). 
Perea  included  the  dominions  of  Sihon  and 
part  oftho.se  of  Og,  or  the  districts  later  called  ! 
Gilead  and  part  of  Bashan.  The  Romans 
separated  Decapolis  (see  on  4  :  25)  from  this  ' 
district,  and  accordingly  Josephus  ("War,"  j 
3,  3,  3)  says  that  Perea  extended  from  Mach-  | 
fflrus  to  Pellrt  (nearly  opposite  the  plain  of 
Esdraelon  and  Bethshean).  It  was  divided 
into  a  rougher  and  very  beautiful  northern 
portion,  and  a  southern  portion,  which  latter 
comprised  the  plain  immediately  east  of  the 
lower  Jordan,  and  the  high  table-land  beyond. 
So  far  as  we  can  judge,  our  Lord  here  appears 
in  Southern  Perea,  on  his  way  to  Jericho  and 


Jerusalem.  (20:29;  21:  i.)  Many  places  of  this 
region  are  of  great  interest  in  Old  Test,  studies, 
but  none  appear  distinctly  in  the  New  Test. 
save  Mac'hserus  (see  on  14:  3),  and  'Bethany 
beyond  Jordan,'  'the  place  where  John  was 
at  first  baptizing'  (Jouui:28f. ;  io:io),  and  this 
last  spot  cannot  be  determined  (comp.  on 
3:  13).  We  can  therefore  get  no  local  color- 
ing for  19 :  3  to  20 :  28.  Like  Galilee,  Perea 
had  so  few  Jews  in  the  time  of  Judas  Macca- 
baeus  that  he  transferred  them  all  to  Judea 
for  safe  keeping  (1  Mace.  5:23, 45) ;  but  during  the 
reign  of  Herod  the  Great  the  Jewish  popula- 
tion of  Perea  evidently  became  considerable, 
which  will  account  for  the  expressions  in  v.  2 
and  John  10:  40-42;  and  this  district  was  an 
important  part  of  the  tetrarch^'  of  Herod  An- 
tipas.  For  accounts  of  Perea,  see  especially 
Schultz  in  Herzog,  Art.  "Palastina,"  4); 
Robinson's  "Phj's.  Geog.";  Tristram's  "Land 
of  Moab"  ;  Merrill's  "East  of  the  Jordan"  ; 
but  all  are  quite  incomplete. 

Great  multitudes,  see  on  4:  25.  Here,  as 
so  often  in  Galilee,  vast  numbers  of  the  people 
throng  and  crowd  around  him.  It  is  prob- 
able (see  in  Clark's  "  Harmony ")  that  this 
was  subsequent  to  the  sojourn  beyond  Jordan 
mentioned  in  John  10:  41,42,  when  "many 
re-sorted  unto  him,"  and  "many  believed  on 
him  there."  It  is  not  necessary  to  suppose  a 
considerable  stay  in  that  region  at  this  time, 
in  order  to  account  for  the  collection  of  great 
crowds,  for  they  probably  consisted  in  part  of 
per.<ons  journeying  to  Jerusalem  for  the  Pass- 
over. And  he  healed  them  there,  as  ho 
had  often  done  in  Galilee.  'Them'  of  course 
means  not  all  of  the  crowds,  but  such  as 
needed  healing.  Mark  says  (io:0,  'and,  as 
he  was  wont,  he  taught  them  again.'  Thus 
the  Galilean  ministry  is  reproduced  in  Perea 
— crowds,  healing,  teaching.  And  here  is  an- 
other in.stance  of  a  general  statement,  which 
must  be  pondered  in  order  to  realize  the  ex- 
tent of  our  Lord's  work.  (Comp.  4:  213;  9: 
35;  14: 14;  16:  30.) 

3.  An  inquiry  as  to  divorce.  Distinguish 
the  original  question  of  some  Pharisees,  v.  3; 
the  answer,  v.  4-6;  an  objection  and  his  reply, 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XIX. 


V.  7-9 ;  a  doubting  remark  by  the  disciples 
and  his  reply,  v.  10-12.  Murk's  report  (io:i  ij) 
omits  the  last  portion,  and  gives  the  rest  with 
slight  differences  of  expression  and  order,  but 
to  the  same  general  effect  The  Pharisees. 
'The'  in  Com.  Ver.,  also  in  Mark  10;  1,  was 
an  addition  by  copyists,  because  '  the  Phari- 
sees '  are  generally  spoken  of  as  a  class.  In 
like  manner,  unto  him  after  saying,  and 
unto  them  in  v.  4  are  wanting  in  the  earliest 
and  best  documents,  and  were  very  easily 
added  by  copyists.  As  to  the  Pharisees,  see 
on  3 :  7.  Tempting  him,  as  in  16 :  1,  putting 
him  to  the  test,  (Amer.  Revisers  preferred 
'trying  him'),  and  hoping  he  would  say 
something  they  could  use  among  the  people 
to  his  prejudice,  by  representing  his  teaching 
either  as  intolerably  severe,  or  as  wanting  in 
fidelity  to  the  law  of  Moses.  Perhaps  they 
also  hoped  he  would  speak  of  divorce  in  a 
way  offensive  to  Herod  and  Herodias.  (See 
on  14:  3.)  The  place  was  not  very  far  from 
Machierus,  and  they  might  liave  remembered 
the  fate  of  the  prophet  John,  the  Baptizer. 
The  opposition  of  the  Pharisees  to  Jesus  ap- 
pearing in  12:  2,  14,  24,  38,  and  continued  in 
15:  1  and  16:  1,  is  here  renewed  towards  the 
end  of  his  ministry,  and  will  be  maintained 
until  the  end.  See  other  cases  of  testing  him 
with  hard  questions  in  22 :  17,  35.  Is  it  law- 
ful, or  permissible,  as  in  12:  10;  14:4.  For 
a  man  is  naturally  suggested,  and  so  was 
readily  supplied  by  some  earl^'  copjnsts,  espec- 
ially as  it  is  genuine  in  the  parallel  passage  of 
Mark  10:  4;  while  we  could  not  account  for 
its  omission  here  in  several  of  the  earliest  and 
best  documents,  if  originall}'  present.  To 
put  away  his  wife  was  understood  as  involv- 
ing the  right  to  take  another— the  Jews  knew 
nothing  of  a  mere  legalized  separation,  with- 
out right  of  re-marriage. — Upon  the  general 
subject  of  our  Lord's  teachings  as  to  divorce, 
see  on  5:  31  f.  These  Pharisees  in  Perea 
probably  did  not  know  of  that  former  teach- 
ing in  Galilee.  If  the  saying  in  Luke  16:  18 
was  distinct  from  this,  it  would  appear 
to  have  been  uttered  in  this  same  Perean 
district,  and  a  little  earlier  than  the  pres- 
ent occasion  (Clark's  "Harm.,"  Edersh.) 
The  reference  is  to  Deut.  24:  1,  "When 
a  man  taketh  a  wife,  and  marrieth  her,  then 
it  shall  be,  if  she  find  no  favor  in  his  eyes,  be- 
cause he  hath  found  some  unseemly  thing  in 


her,  that  he  shall  write  her  a  bill  of  divorce- 
ment," etc.  The  euphemistic  Heb.  phrase 
translated  'some  unseemly  thing,'  has  always 
been  obscure.  It  is  literally  (as  in  margin  of 
Com.  Ver.),  'some  matter  of  nakedness,'  and 
appears  to  mean  derivatively,  something  in- 
decent, shameful,  disgraceful,  hateful.  The 
Rabbis  disputed  much  as  to  its  exact  mean- 
ing and  limitations.  The  Mishna  has  a  whole 
treatise  on  divorce,  Gittin,  but  chiefly  occu- 
pied with  minute  directions  as  to  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  document  and  conditions  of  its 
validity.  The  last  paragraph  reads:  "The 
school  of  Shammai  says,  no  one  shall  put  away 
a  wife  unless  there  has  been  found  in  her 
something  disgraceful  (a  phrase  exactly  cor- 
responding to  that  of  Deut.  24: 1),  as  written, 
'because  he  hath  found  something  unseemly 
in  her';  the  school  of  Hillel  says,  even  if 
she  has  burnt  his  food,  as  written,  'because 
he  hath  found  something  unseemly  in  her'; 
Rabbi  Akiba  says,  even  if  he  find  another 
more  beautiful  than  she  is,  as  written,  'if  she 
find  no  favor  in  his  eyes.'  "  Maimonides  ex- 
plains (Note  in  Surenh.  Mishna)  that  the 
school  of  Sliammjii  rests  on  the  term  'un- 
seemly"; the  school  of  Hillel  on  the  term 
"something."  Rabbi  Akiba  took  the  phrase 
he  quotes  to  mean  in  respect  to  beauty. 
Alas!  with  what  perverse  ingenuity  men 
quibble  to  make  the  Bible  mean  what  suits 
their  wishes.  We  see  the  folly  of  this  prac- 
tice in  others,  but  are  all  in  great  danger  of 
doing  likewise.  Observe  that  in  the  Mishna 
the  school  of  Shammai  use  simply  the  general 
phrase,  something  disgraceful  or  unseemly, 
as  in  the  law.  A  late  Midrash  on  Numb.  5: 
30,  quoted  in  Wet.,  and  two  passages  in  the 
Talmud  mentioned  by  Edersh.,  state  that  the 
school  of  Shammai  recognized  no  ground  but 
unchastity.  It  is  worth  inquiry  whetlier  this 
was  anything  more  tlian  an  incorrect  inter- 
pretation afterwards  put  upon  the  language 
of  the  Mishna.  .losephus,  who  was  a  Phari- 
see, gives  ("Ant.,"  4,  8,  23)  a  paraphrase  of 
the  law  which  uses  essentially  the  same  phrase 
as  here:  "  If  one  wishes  to  be  divorced  from 
his  wife  for  any  causes  whatsoever  (and  many 
such  causes  might  happen  among  mankind), 
let  him  give  assurance  in  writing  that  he  will 
never  more  live  with  her,"  etc.  It  is  evident 
that  in  our  Lord's  eyes  the  expression  'some- 
thing unseemly  '  might  extend  to  other  faults 


I 


Ch.  XIX.] 


MATTHEW. 


397 


4  And  he  answered  and  said  unto  them,  Have  ye  not 
read,  that  be  which  made  them  at  the  beginning  made 
them  male  and  female. 

5  And  said,  For  this  cause  shall  a  man  leave  father 
and  mother,  and  shall  cleave  to  his  wife :  and  they  twain 
shall  be  one  flesh  ? 

6  Wherefore  they  are  no  more  twain,  but  one  flesh. 
What  therefore  God  hath  joined  together,  let  not  man 
put  asunder. 

7  They  say  unto  him.  Why  did  Moses  then  command 
to  give  a  writing  of  divorcement,  and  to  put  her 
away? 


4  wife  for  every  cause?  And  he  answered  and  said, 
Have  ye  not  read,  that  he  who  •  made  Ihem  froui 
the  beginning  made  them  male  and  female,  and  said. 

6  For  this  cause  shall  a  man  leave  his  lather  ana 
mother,  and  shall  cleave  to  his  wife ;  and  the  twaiu 

6  shall  become  one  flesh?  So  that  they  are  no  more 
twain,  hut  one  flesh.     What  therefore   God  hath 

7  joined  together,  let  not  man  put  asunder.  They 
say  unto  him,  Wbjc  then  did  Mosea  command  to  give 


1  Some  ancient  auiborltien  rrad,  ertated. 


besides  unchastity,  for  otherwise  there  would 
have  been  no  occasion  for  what  he  says  in  v. 
8.  The  Pharisees,  by  holding  up  before  him 
the  Hillel  view  in  its  most  extreme  form, 
probably  hoped  to  drive  him  to  take  the 
Shammai  view,  which  was  extremely  unpop- 
ular. He  did  not  side  with  either  party,  but 
(as  in  22:  21)  cut  into  the  heart  of  the  matter, 
reaching  a  fundamental  and  decisive  prin- 
ciple. 

4-6.  Keply  to  the  Pharisees.  Have  ye  not 
read,  comp.  on  12:  3.  The  Scribes  and  Phar- 
isees boasted  of  their  acquaintance  with  the 
law,  and  he  reproaches  them  with  ignorance 
of  it.  He  makes  first  a  reference  to  Gen.  1 : 
27,  and  then  a  quotation  from  Gen.  2:  24. 
That  he  which  made  them.  'Created' 
(Rev.  Ver.  margin)  is  probably  here  the  cor- 
rect reading,*  altered  into  'made'  to  agree 
with  Sept.,  with  the  word  here  immediately 
following,  and  with  Mark  10:  6;  but  there  is 
obviously  no  substantial  difference.  The 
words  male  and  female  have  in  the  Greek 
an  emphatic  position.  From  the  beginning, 
the  race  included  the  two  sexes,  and  these 
were  to  be  united  in  marriage.  And  said, 
viz.,  he  who  created  them  said,  the  words  of 
Adam  in  that  exalted  mood  being  taken  as 
expressing  the  will  of  the  Creator.  Leave 
father  and  mother.  Even  the  important 
filial  relation  will  give  way  to  one  higher  still. 
The  twain  is  given  by  the  Sept.,  and  several 
other  versions  of  Old  Test.,  and  only  ex- 
presses emphatically  what  the  Hcb.  implies. 
Shall  be  (or  become)  one  flesh.  The  union  of 
soul  is  expressed,  and  therefore  intensified, by 
a  bodily  union.  Comp.  Ecclus.  26;  26,  "If 
she  go  not  as  thou  wouldst  have  her,  cut  her 
oflT  from   thy  flesh,"  break  the  bodily  union; 


Eph.  5:  28  AT.,  "to  love  their  wives  as  their 
own  bodies."  In  v.  6  the  clos^ing  statement  is 
repeated  for  emphasis.  And  there  our  Lord 
draws  the  conclusion  that  the  two  thus  united 
into  one  ought  not  to  be  separated.  Joined 
together  is  literally  yoAerf  together  (so  also  in 
Mark),  an  image  frequently  employed  among 
the  Greeks  for  marriage.  (Comp.  2  Cor.  6 : 
14;  Lev.  19:  19.)  Tyn.,^  Cran.,  Gen.,  here 
render 'coupled.'  Let  not  man.  Theophyl.: 
"Showing  what  an  interval  there  is  between 
God  who  joined  together,  and  man  who  puts 
asunder."  Our  Lord  has  thus  laid  down  a 
broad  general  rule  that  the  bond  of  marriage 
ought  never  to  be  broken.  A  little  after  (v.  9) 
he  mentions,  as  if  incidentally,  an  exception 
to  this  rule,  about  which  there  was  no  differ- 
ence of  opinion  among  his  hearers,  and  which 
is  in  fact  only  apparently  an  exception,  be- 
cause in  that  case  the  essential  bond  has  been 
broken. 

7-9.  The  Pharisees  raise  an  objection,  very 
naturally  suggested,  and  our  Lord  replies. 
Moses  (in  Deut.  *24:  1)  had  certainly  allowed 
divorce,  and  they  held  that  he  had  commanded 
it ;  how  could  the  prophet  of  Nazareth  declare 
that  divorce  was  contrary  to  the  nature  and 
divine  design  of  marriage?  The  Talmud  of 
Jerusalem  even  rei)rcsents  it  as  a  peculiar 
privilege  of  Israel,  not  shared  by  the  Gen- 
tiles. A  writing  of  divorcement.  The  same 
phrase  is  rendered  bill  of  divnrcem,ent  \n  Com. 
Ver.  of  Mark  10:  4  and  Deut.  24:  1,  and 
there  ought  to  have  been  no  difference  in 
translation.  The  Greek  is  slightly  different 
above  in  5:  31.  Moses  ....  suflTered  you. 
Jesus  speaks  of  the  law  in  Deut.  as  coming 
from  Moses.  It  is  very  hard  to  reconcile  this 
with  the  fashionable  theories  as  to  a  late  dato 


1  It  is  found  in  B,  several  cursires  of  singular  excel- 
lence, Armenian,  OrlRen  (three  time?*),  and  several 
other  Fathers.  It  is  much  easier  to  suppose  a  cIiaoKe 
to  suit  the  Sept.,  the  following  word  here  and  Mark, 


than  an  opposite  change  to  suit  the  Heb.,  which  means 
'created,'  for  copyi.sts  and  students  of  the  text-forming 
period  seldom  knew  Hcb. 


398 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XIX. 


8  He  saith  unto  them,  Moses  because  of  the  hardness 
of  your  hearts  suffered  you  to  put  away  your  wives:  but 
from  the  beginning  it  was  not  so. 

9  And  1  say  uulo  you,  Whosoever  shall  put  away  his 
wife,  except  U  be  for  fornication,  and  shall  uiHrry  an- 
other, cowiuiteth  adultery:  and  whoso  uiarrieth  her 
which  is  put  away  doth  cuuimit  adultery. 


8  a  bill  of  divorcement,  and  to  put  her  away?  He 
salth  unto  them,  Moses  for  your  hardness  of  heart 
suffered  you  to  put  away  your  wives:  but  from  the 

9  beginning  it  hath  not  been  so.  And  1  say  unto  you, 
Whosoever  shall  put  away  his  wife,  'except  for 
fornication,  and  shall  marry  another,  conimitteth 


1  Some  anoieul  authorities  pead,  taving/or  the  cause  of  fornication,  maketh  her  an  adultereaa :  as  in  ch.  v.  32. 


of  Deuteronomy,  and  indeed  of  the  whole 
Pentateuch  ;  it  is  necessary  to  maintain  either 
that  Jesus  was  mistaken,  and  this  as  to  the 
word  of  God,  or  else  that  he  used  the  phrase- 
ology of  his  time  in  a  highly  misleading 
fashion.  Many  similar  expressions  of  his  are 
given  in  the  Gospels.  (Com.  on  22:  43.)  The 
Pharisees  had  said  that  Moses  commanded; 
our  Lord's  reply. puts  it,  'suffered.'  But  in 
Mark  10:  3  f.  he  says  'command,'  and  they 
answer  'suffer.'  We  learu  then  that  the  law 
did  not  require  the  wronged  husband  to  put 
away  his  unfaithful  vVife ;  he  might  forgive  her 
upon  repentance,  as  the  prophets  so  often  de- 
clared Jehovah  willing  to  do  with  his  unfaith- 
ful spouse,  Israel.  The  law  suffered  him  to 
put  away  his  wife,  and  commanded  him  in  so 
doing  to  give  the  formal  writing.  Because 
of  the  hardness  of  your  hearts.  The 
preposition  (^pros)  translated  'because,'  sig- 
nifies '  looking  to,'  'considering,'  'having  re- 
gard to.'  It  was  wise  not  to  attempt  too  much 
in  these  civil  regulations  for  such  a  people. 
Remember  that  the  Mosaic  regulations  as  to 
marriage  and  divorce  were  civil  enactments, 
thougli  resting  on  an  ethical  basi.«.  The  nation 
of  emancipated  slaves  whom  Moses  brought 
out  of  Egypt  had  no  doubt  fallen  into 
great  laxity  conc^erning  marriage,  as  slaves 
alwaj's  do,  and  he  was  wise  enough  to 
know  that  it  would  be  a  slow  and  diflBcult 
task  to  lift  them  up  to  a  high  standard  of 
morality  in  this  important  respect.  Yet  he 
placed  serious  restrictions  upon  the  existing 
facility  of  divorce  (see  on  6:  31  f.),  and  even 
in  this  matter  Jesus  was  only  "completing" 


the  law  by  going  further  in  the  same  direc- 
tion (comp.  on  5:  17).  'Hardness  of  heart' 
(Kom.  2:5;  Kooius.  16:  lo)  denotes  not  merely  lack  of 
proper  feeling,  as  we  use  the  phrase,  but  lack 
of  proper  jperceptions  and  will  (comp.  on 
6:  21).  The  Israelites  who  received  the  law 
were  not  qualified  for  elevated  ethical  percep- 
tions, dispositions,  or  conduct,  and  would 
fiercely  break  over  a  severe  enactment ;  and 
their  descendants  were  still  too  much  of  the 
same  character.  But  the  Messiah  proposes  to 
lift,  them  higher;  and  in  this  matter  to  return 
to  the  original  divine  design  of  marriage.  Our 
Lord  thus  recognizes  that  the  practical  direc- 
tion of  the  law  of  Moses  in  this  particular 
respect  fell  short  of  perfection.  But  we  must 
observe  that  he  does  it-,>t  declare  the  Old  Test, 
as  a  whole  to  be  imperfect  even  in  this  respect, 
but  simply  goes  back  to  its  earliest  teaching 
on  the  subject,  its  great  fundamental  princi- 
ples. Mai.  2:  14-16  speaks  of  divorces  as 
offensive  to  Jehovah ;  but  the  Rabbis  quib- 
bled, some  saying  that  this  only  forbade  a 
man's  putting  away  his  first  wife.  And  I 
say  unto  you,,  solemnly  calling  their  atten- 
tion (comp.  on  5:  18).  Mark  10:  10  shows 
that  this  was  said  'in  the  house' — we  know 
not  what  house — where  the  disciples  renewed 
the  conversation.  Matthew  joins  it  without 
break  to  the  foregoing,  and  it  was  really  a 
part  of  the  discourse  on  divorce.  Our  Lord 
gives  his  own  authoritative  statement  on  the 
subject,  applying  the  principle  of  v.  6,  and 
declares  that  divorce  is  not  only  not  allowable 
'for  every  cause'  ("-3),  but  not  allowable  at 
all— except  of  course  for  unchastity.*    See  the 


1  The  reading  of  margin  Rev.  Ver.  is  evidently  drawn 
from  5:  32.  The  first  part  'saving  .  .  .  fornication' 
Is  pretty  clearly  a  "Western  "  correction,  being  found 
In  the  characteristic  Western  documents  D,  Old  Latin, 
Old  Syriac,  but  found  also  in  B,  the  two  Egyptian 
versions,  Origen,  Basil.  W  H.  have  placed  it  in  their 
margin,  and  so  it  is  in  margin  of  Rev.  Ver.  But  is 
not  this  an  instance  of  a  "  Western  "  alteration  found 
in  B,  etc.,  like  27:  28?  The  next  clause, '  maketh  her 
an  adulteress,'  is  also  plainly  taken  from  5:  32.  It  is 
not  given  by  D,  etc.,  but  is  given  by  B,  with  C  (first 


hand),  N,  two  cursives,  and  one  or  two  mixed  Latin 
copies,  Meniphitic,  Origen,  Aug.  Here  again  B  and 
Memphitic  are  clearly  wrong,  though  not  in  tliisca.se 
"  Western."  The  last  clause  '  and  he  that  marrieth,' 
etc.,  is  doubtful,  it  would  be  easily  inserted  from  5 :  32, 
but  it  is  here  omitted  only  by  the  "Western  "  group 
wit  h  L  and  some  other  MSS.,  the  Egyptian  versions  and 
Origen,  most  of  which  are  clearly  wrong  just  above ; 
and  its  omission  might  have  originally  been  accidental, 
'  through  the  similar  ending  of  this  clause  to  the  fore- 
!  going.    The  confusion  arising  in  the  text  of  two  such 


Ch.  XIX.] 


MATTHEW. 


309 


10  His  disciples  say  unto  him,  If  the  case  of  the  man 
be  so  with  his  wife,  it  is  not  good  to  marry. 

11  But  he  said  unto  them,  All  tneii  cannot  receive 
this  saying,  save  they  to  whom  it  is  given. 


adultery:  land  he  that  marrieth  her  when  she  is 

10  put  away  cumniilteth  adultery.    The  disciples  say 
unto  him,  II  the  ca^e  of  the  man  is  so  with  liis  wile, 

11  it  is  not  expedient  to  marry.      But   he  said   unto 
them,  All  men  cannot  receive  this  saying,  but  they 


1  The  foUawing  worda,  to  the  <ud  of  the  rerae,  are  omitted  b;  aouie  ancient  autboritiea. 


leading  terms  explained  above  on  the  similar 
statement  of  5 :  32.  That  was  made  in  Galilee, 
and  we  are  now  in  Southern  Perea,  a  year  or 
two  later.  It  seems  strange  to  modern  readers 
that  the  highly  important  exception  our  Lord 
makes  is  so  slightly  mentioned,  both  here  (v.  9) 
and  in  5:  32,  and  that  in  Mark  and  Luke  (on 
a  somewhat  earlier  occasion,  16:  18)  it  is  not 
recorded  at  all.  The  explanation  is  that 
among  the  Jews  there  was  no  question  on  this 
point.  The  strictest  school  of  Rabbis,  that  of 
yhammai,  allowed  divorce  for  unchastity,  if 
not  for  other  disgraceful  acts.  So  this  matter 
did  not  need  to  be  dwelt  on,  hardly  needed  to 
be  mentioned,  as  it  would  be  taken  for  granted 
by  all  parties.  But  the  question  is  naturally 
asked,  how  could  there  be  divorce  for  conju- 
gal unfaithfulness,  when  the  law  punished 
that  offence  with  death?  It  is  evident  that 
the  law  was  not  regarded  as  compelling  the 
husband  to  bring  forth  his  adulterous  wife  for 
the  death  penalty.  Joseph  was  minded  to  put 
Mary  away  privately,  and  was  prevented  only 
by  learning  from  the  angel  that  her  condition 
involved  no  guilt.  (i:i»f.)  In  the  doubtless 
true  story,  though  not  belonging  to  Scripture, 
of  the  adulterous  woman  brought  before 
Jesus  (JohnSis-n),  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees 
are  represented  as  "tempting  him"  (just  as 
here)  with  the  question  whether  the  law  is  to 
be  enforced  in  her  case,  and  he  does  not  say 
that  it  must  be.  And  in  the  Talmud  it  is 
perfectly  plain  that  the  Jews  did  divorce  for 
adultery  instead  of  stoning,  and  no  one 
thought  of  condemning  it. 

In  Mark  10:  12  the  statement  is  expressly 
declared  to  hold  of  a  woman  also,  who  di- 
vorces   her    husband.      Evervwhere  in   Old 


common  for  Roman  women  to  divorce  their 
husbands  and  marry  again,  and  this  custom 
had  begun  to  affect  the  official  and  fashion- 
able circles  in  Palestine— as  wlien  Herodias 
divorced  her  husband,  Herod  Philip,  to  marry 
Herod  Antipas  (see  on  14:3).  This  makes 
it  natural  that  our  Lord  should  once  refer  to 
that  side  of  the  question,  and  that  Mark's 
Gospel  should  take  pains  to  report  the  saying, 
as  he  wrote  especially  for  Gentile,  and  per- 
haps especially  for  Roman  readers. 

10-12.  A  remark  by  the  disciples  and  the 
Master's  reply.  The  fact  that  this  was  'in 
the  house'  (Mark),  with  only  the  discifiles 
present,  accords  well  with  the  delicacy  of  the 
subject.  This  naive  remark  shows  that  even 
they  shared  largely  the  popular  views  and 
feelings  concerning  marriage  and  divorce,  and 
thought  that  as  an  indissoluble  union,  marriage 
was  to  be  avoided.  Similar  (Plumptre)  is 
the  view  of  Milton's  "  Doctrine  and  Disci- 
pline of  Divorce."  If  the  case  be  so,  and 
the  form  of  expression  implies  that  they 
accept  the  supposition  ns  true.  The  word 
rendered  'case'  is  rendered  'cause'  in  v.  3. 
It  seems  here  necessarily  to  mean  'case' 
or  'matter,'  and  this  sense  is  very  generally 
accepted,  though  it  has  not  been  established 
by  other  usage.  The  Latin  versions  have 
causa.  Meyer's  attempt  to  make  it  here 
mean  cause  is  not  successful.  It  is  not  good 
(or  expedient)  to  marry,  the  term  rendered 
'  it  is  profitable '  in  18 :  6  ;  5  :  29  f.  ;  see  also  in 
ICor.  6:  12;  10:28. 

Our  Lord's  reply  is  that  marriage  is  some- 
times not  expedient.  All  men  cannot  re- 
ceive this  saying,  viz.,  the  saying  that  it  \i 
not  expedient  to  marrj-.     What  they  have 


Test.,  and  everywhere  else  in  New  Test.,  said  is  true  in  some  cases,  and  for  a  special 
only  the  case  of  a  man  divorcing  his  wife  is  j  reason,  quite  different  from  the  one  intimated 
presented,  the  opposite  case  being  doubtless  a  ;  by  them.  To  understand  'this  saying'  as  his 
very  rare  occurrence  in  Oriental  life.  We  |  own  saying,  that  marriage  is  indissoluble, 
might  take  for  granted  that  the  same  princi-  \  would  make  the  Saviour  contradict  his  own 
j)les  would  apply  to  a  woman  divorcing  her  argument,  for  he  had  argued  from  the  divine 
husband,  and  this  saying  expressly  enjoins  purpose  in  the  creation  of  man.  'Receive' 
such   an   application.     It  had   become  quite  |  does  not  here  mean  to  ac(!ept  as  true,  but  the 

notable  parallel  paxsapes.  Is  natural.  It  is  not  likely  j  or  the  latter  would  have  been  Itself  likewise  altered 
tnat  the  reading  here  has  been  affected  by  Mark  10:  11,    irom  Matt,  in  some  copier 


400 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XIX. 


12  For  there  are  some  eunuchs,  which  were  so  born  |  12  to  whom  it  is  given.    For  there  are  eunuchs,  that 


from  their  mother's  womb :  aud  lliere  are  some  eunuchs, 
which  were  maile  eunuchs  of  men:  and  there  be  eunuchs 
which  have  made  themselves  eunuchs  for  the  Icing- 
doni  of  heaven's  salce.  lie  that  is  able  to  receive  it,  let 
him  receive  i7. 


were  so  born  from  their  mother's  womb:  aud  there 
are  eunuchs,  that  were  made  eunuchs  by  men  :  and 
there  are  eunuchs,  that  made  themselves  eunuchs 
for  tlie  kingdom  of  heaven's  sake,  lie  that  is  able 
to  receive  it,  let  him  receive  it. 


peculiar  Greek  word  signifies  to  have  space  in 
one's  nature  for  something — like  a  vessel 
holding  so  much,  comp.  John  21  :  25 — some- 
times in  the  sense  of  capacity  to  know  (Lid. 
and  Scott),  here  in  the  sense  of  capacity  to 
act  out.  '  Not  all  men  have  room  (capacity) 
for  this  saying.'  The  capacity  depends  on 
phj'siological  constitution  and  general  tem- 
perament, making  it  practicable  to  be  happy 
and  useful  without  marriage.  Some  men  are 
naturally  disqualified  for  marriage,  and  others 
have  been  disqualified  by  liuman  action. 
Some  voluntarily  abstain  from  marriage  for 
the  kingdom  of  heaven's  sake,  for  the 
sake  of  greater  usefulness  in  proclaiming  its 
truths  and  promoting  its  establishment.  Some 
Rabbinical  writers  also  use  the  phrase,"  made 
themselves  eunuchs,"  as  a  figure  for  volun- 
tary and  entire  sexual  abstinence.  The 
phrase  was,  and  would  still  be,  natural  enough 
in  Oriental  speech,  however  repulsive  to  us. 
It  would  probably  never  have  been  under- 
stood literally  by  any  one,  but  for  well- 
known  practices  among  some  heathen  de- 
votees in  Asia  Minor  and  elsewhere.  Origen 
took  it  literally  in  his  youth  and  acted  upon 
it,  but  interprets  it  altogether  spiritually  in 
his  commentary  on  this  passage. — The  Jew- 
ish feeling  regarded  marriage  as  universally 
desirable;  Jesus  says  that  for  some  persons  it 
is  best  to  abstain.  He  thus  distinctly  intimates 
that  celibacy  may  give  great  advantages  in 
promoting  Christianity,  as  the  Apostle  Paul 
afterwards  urged  in  1  Cor.  7.  Where  a 
man  feels  deeply  moved  to  engage  in  some 
form  of  religious  work,  with  tiie  prosecution 
of  which  marriage  would  greatly  interfere, 
then  it  is  well  if  he  can  be  willing  to  remain 
unmarried.  So  John  the  Baptist,  and  Paul. 
But  Paul  by  no  means  pressed  celibacy  upon 
all,  recognizing  natural  diflTerences  in  regard 
to  it,  and  full  liberty  of  personal  decision. 
And  so  the  Saviour  did,  even  repeating,  He 
that  is  able,  etc.  Observe  that  neither  Jesus 
nor  Paul  nor  Scripture  anywhere  favors  the 
ascetic  notion  that  marriage  is  impure,  or  es- 
sentially less  pure  than  celibacy;  on  the  con- 
trary, "  Let  marriage  be  had  in  honor  among 


all"  (Heb.  131  4,  Bev.  ver.),  and  it  vi&s,  falsc  teach- 
ers  of  the  worst  type  who  were  in  later  times 
"forbidding  to  marry."  (iTim.i:  i-3.)  The 
question  is  not  of  a  more  or  less  holy  state, 
but  of  greater  or  less  usefulness,  in  promoting 
the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Among  the  apostles 
to  whom  Jesus  said  this,  celibacy  was  not  the 
rule,  but  the  exception.  Simon  Peter  was 
married  (8: 14),  and  when  Paul  wrote  (icor. 9: 
off., E. v.),  "the  rest  of  the  apostles,"  and  "the 
brethren  of  the  Lord,"  carried  their  wives 
with  them  in  their  missionary  journeys.  Paul 
himself  remained  unmarried  for  the  sake  of 
giving  himself  without  hindrance  to  his  work. 
(1  Cor. 7:8a f.) — The  Romish  rule  of  universal 
celibacy  in  the  priesthood  occasioned  a  Prot- 
estant reaction  to  the  opposite  extreme. 
Protestant  public  opinion  almost  demands 
that  a  minister  shall  marry.  Yet  how  much 
missionary  work,  in  savage  or  sickly  coun- 
tries, or  in  home  fields  that  cannot  support  a 
family,  could  be  far  better  done  hy  unmarried 
men.  How  many  a  young  minister  cuts  short 
his  preparatory  studies,  or  prosecutes  them 
amid  great  interruption  and  hindrance,  or  is 
obliged  to  begin  pastoral  work  in  too  exacting 
a  field,  for  the  sake  of  an  unnecessarily  early 
marriage.  Every  one  must  decide  for  him- 
self; but  he  should  decide  in  view  of  life  as  a 
whole,  and  of  the  life  to  come. 

HOMILETICAL  AND   PRACTICAL. 

V.  3.  Tempting  Jesus.  1)  "With  hard  ques- 
tions, Luke  11:  16;  Matt.  16:  1;  19:  3;  22: 
18,  35.  2)  By  eftbrts  to  restrain  him  from 
going  forward  to  death,  16:  22  f.,  comp.  John 
12:  27  and  Matt.  26:  36fl=".  3}  By  suggesting 
positive  sin,  4:  1-11. 

V.  6.  God  and  man  as  to  marriage.  1) 
All  the  fundamental  relations  of  society  are 
based  on  human  nature  as  originally  created. 
2)  Marriage  was  designed  by  the  Creator  to 
be  a  complete  union  of  two  into  one,  and 
indissoluble;  the  one  sin  that  justifies  divorce 
does  so  because  it  has  essentially  broken  the 
union.  3)  Wherever  man  has  violated  Gods 
design,  by  separating  the  married  for  reasons 
which  do  not  break  the  essential  bond,  there 


Ch.  XIX.] 


MATTHEW. 


401 


13  Theu  were  there  brought  unto  hlui  little  children, 
that  he  should  put  his  bauds  ou  tbeui,  and  pray :  aud 
the  disciples  rebuked  them. 


13      Then  were  there  brought  unto  him  little  children, 
that  he  should  lay  his  hands  on  them,  aud  pray  :  and 


.  follow  great  and  ever  growing  evils.  In  such 
cases  re-marriage  may  seem  to  prevent  adul- 
tery, but  it  is  itself  adultery  (v.  9).  4)  It  is 
man's  highest  wisdom,  interest,  and  duty — 
best  for  the  parties  concerned  and  best  for 
society — to  follow  God's  law  of  marriage, 
strictly  and  faithfully. 

13-15.   Little  Childken  are  Brought 
TO  Jesus  for  his  Blessing. 

Found  also  in  Mark  10:  13-16;  Luke  18: 
15-17.  Luke  here  again  becomes  parallel  to 
Matthew  and  Mark,  and  continues  so  to  the 
end,  see  above  on  19:  1.  The  place  of  this 
occurrence  appears  to  have  been  Southern 
Perea,  in  some  house  (Maikio:  lo),  and  the  time 
a  few  days  before  the  triumphal  entry,  see  on 
19 :  1.  Then  is  naturally,  though  not  of  ne- 
cessity (see  on  3  :  13),^  understood  strictly,  as 
denoting  the  time  of  the  foregoing  conversa- 
tion upon  divorce.  Mark  has  simply  'and.' 
Were  there  brought.  Mark  has  'they 
brought,' impersonal,  like  "they say  ";  Luke, 
'they  brought  unto  him  their  babes  also,' 
which  shows  that  the  parents  brought  them. 
They  were  so  moved  by  his  teaching  and  heal- 
ing as  not  only  to  seek  a  personal  blessing, 
but  a  blessing  upon  their  babes  also.  Mark 
and  Luke  have  the  Greek  imperfect  tense,  de- 
aeribing  them  as  engaged  in  bringing.  And 
they  have  '  rebuked  '  in  the  same  tense ;  while 
the  parents  were  bringing  and  the  disciples 
were  rebuking,  Jesus  spoke.  Little  chil- 
dren, called  'babes'  in  Luke,  and  small 
enough  to  be  naturally  taken  in  one's  arms 
(Mark).  These  terms  forbid  our  understand- 
ing children  old  enough  to  exercise  faith.  Put 
his  hands  on  them,  and  pray.  The  Jews 
had  always  valued  the  "blessing"  of  afathcr, 
a  prophet,  a  great  rabbi,  or  other  venerable 
person.  The  Talmud  says  they  brought  their 
young  children  to  the  synagogue  for  this  pur- 
pose. "  After  the  father  of  the  child  had  laid 
his  hands  on  his  child's  head,  he  led  him  to 
the  elders,  one  by  one,  and  they  also  blessed 
him,  and  prayed  that  ho  might  grow  up 
famous  in  the  law,  faithful  in  marriage,  and 
abundant  in  good  works."  (Buxtorf,  in  Gei- 
kie. )  To  lay  hands  on  them,  or  (Mark  and 
Luke)  'touch  them,'  was  the  symbol  of  invok- 
ing a  blessing  upon  them,  and  seemed  to  es- 

A2 


tablish  a  personal  relation  between  the  good 
man  and  the  person  blessed.  See  Gen.  48 :  14; 
Numb.  27:  18;  Acts  6:  6;  13:  3;  comp. 
Matt.  9:  18,  20.  They  came  to  Jesus  as  a 
rabbi  or  a  prophet;  and  he  did  what  they  de- 
sired, took  thecliildren  in  his  arms  and  blessed 
them  (comp.  Mark  10:  16i.  And  the  disci- 
ples rebuked  them.  This  in  Matt,  might 
mean  rebuked  the  children  or  rebuked  those 
who  brought  them ;  in  Mark  and  Luke  it  is 
clearly  the  latter,  which  is  obviously  appro- 
priate. Jesus  had  just  been  speaking  of  a 
highly  important  practical  topic,  viz.,  the 
propriety  of  divorce,  and  the  expediency  of 
marriage.  The  disciples  had  renewed  the 
subject  after  leaving  the  Pharisees  (Mark  lo:  lo), 
and  the  Master  was  pursuing  it  in  private. 
Perhaps  (Wet.)  they  were  just  thinking  of 
other  questions  to  ask  on  the  subject.  They 
did  not  want  the  privacy  of  Messiah  the  King 
to  bf>  interrupted,  and  these  deeply  interesting 
instructions  stopped,  by  what  they  regarded 
as  the  mere  trivial  matter  of  bringing  babes 
for  the  teachers  blessing.  Comp.  20:  31;  2 
Kings  4 :  27.  Our  Lord  not  only  spoke  in 
opposition  to  their  rebuke,  but  (Mark)  'was 
moved  with  indignation,'  a  strong  word,  the 
same  as  in  '20:  24;  26:  8.  Why  was  he  so 
indignant?  He  warmly  loved  infant  chil- 
dren. All  good  men  ought  to  feel  a  tender 
affection  for  them,  and  it  seemed  that  the  dis- 
ciples were  in  this  respect  deficient.  This  very 
scene  has  so  taught  the  Christian  world  to 
love  infant  children  that  it  is  difficult  for  us  to 
realize  the  apparent  feelings  of  the  disciples. 
They  thought  the  infants  and  their  parents 
unworthy  of  the  Messiah's  notice;  and  ho  was 
indignant  at  such  a  conception  of  childhood 
and  of  him.  Moreover,  while  they  were  an- 
noyed at  the  interruption  of  valued  instruc- 
tion, they  were  forgetting  that  some  months 
before  (18: 1  ff)  he  had  expressly  used  a  little 
child  as  an  object-lesson  to  give  them  a  de- 
served rebuke  for  their  selfish  ambition  and 
jealous  strife.  This  was  one  of  the  lessons 
they  most  needed,  and  from  that  time  forth 
they  ought  never  to  have  looked  at  a  little 
<'hild  without  recalling  the  lesson  and  laying 
it  to  lioart  afresh.  But  no.  They  have  for- 
gotten the  lesson,  and  behold  little  children 


402 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XIX. 


14  But  Jesus  said,  Suffer  little  children,  and  forbid  I  14  the  disciples  rebuked  them.    But  Jesus  said,  Suffer 
them  not,  to  cume  unto  me :  for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  the  little  children,  and  forbid  them  not,  to  come 

ofheuveu.  I       unto  me:   lor  ito  such  belongeth  the  kingdom  of 

1  Or,  of  «ueik  i». 


without  being  reminded.  In  a  day  or  two 
they  will  again  manifest  (m:  2.1  it.)  the  ambition 
and  jealousy  he  had  used  that  illustration  to 
correot.  There  may  have  been  other  grounds 
for  the  blaster's  indignation,  and  some  of 
these  may  not  have  been  correctly  conceived. 
But  we  seem  to  perceive  (a)  a  misapprehension 
of  him,  for  he  tenderly  loved  little  children  ; 
(b)  a  defect  in  their  own  character,  in  that 
they  did  not  love  them  as  he  did ;  (c)  a  griev- 
ous forgetful n ess,  and  persistence  in  wrong 
dispositions  he  had  taken  such  pains  to  cor- 
rect; and  it  may  also  be  that  (d)  he  was  dis- 
pleased at  their  assuming  the  right  to  decide 
who  should  approach  him,  without  waiting  to 
know  his  wishes.  More  than  once  before  he 
has  sharply  reproved  them  for  not  under- 
standing or  not  remembering  his  instructions. 

(16:8-11,23:  Mark6:5.i;  Mall.  11:25;  7:21-23;  conip.  hereafter 
JO:  22;  John  U  :  9.) 

14.  The  repetition,  suffer  and  forbid  not, 

is  highly  emphatic.  It  was  vividly  remem- 
bered, for  Matthew,  Mark,  and  Luke  gave 
the  same  words,  with  a  slight  difference 
of  order.  '  Suffer '  is  aorist  tense,  express- 
ing the  simple  action  without  the  notion 
of  continuance;  'forbid'  is  present  tense, 
•do  not  be  forbidding',  or  'do  not  make  a 
practice  of  forbidding.'  The  distinction  ob- 
tains in  Matthew,  Mark,  and  Luke ;  and  the 
difference  was  felt,  for  the  manuscript  D  has 
in  Matthew  and  Luke  altered  'forbid'  to 
aorist.  To  come  unto  me  is  a  general  ex- 
pression, not  necessarily  denoting  either  un- 
aided locomotion  or  conscious  spiritual  ap- 
proach, both  of  which  are  here  forbidden  by 
the  terms  'babes'  and  'were  brought.'  The 
disciples  rebuked  the  parents  and  thus  re- 
pelled the  children  they  were  bringing;  but 
there  must  be  free  access  to  him.  What  fol- 
lows may  grammatically  be  a  reason  for  their 
coming,  or  a  reason  why  the  disciples  must  let 
them  come,  and  not  forbid  them.  The  latter 
seems  to  be  the  thought.  For  of  such  is  the 
kingdom  of  heaven.  Here,  as  commonly, 
Matthew  has  the  Jewish  phrase  'kingdom  of 
heaven,'  Mark  and  Luke,  'kingdom  of  God' 
(comp.  on  3:2);  otherwise  the  phrase  is  iden- 
tical in  all  three.     For  '  of  such  is,'  the  Amer. 


Revisers  give  'to  such  belongeth,'  comp.  5:  3, 
10;  Luke  6:  20;  James  2:  6.  (So  Meyer, 
Grimm,  Jelf.)  But  the  difference  is  not  im- 
portant. 'Such'  evidently  means  childlike 
persons,  as  he  had  previously  taught  in  18 :  3. 
The  only  question  is  whether  it  also  means 
children.  To  understand  it  in  both  senses  at 
the  same  time  is  very  difficult.  Morison 
argues  that  it  means  simply  and  exclusively 
children  such  as  these,  and  not  childlike 
adults  at  all.  There  is  plenty  of  warrant  in 
usage  for  so  understanding  the  word  'such  ' ; 
but  does  not  the  connection  here  in  Mark  and 
Luke  absolutely  require  the  sense  of  childlike 
persons?  They  both  add,  'whosoever  shall 
not  receive  the  kingdom  of  God  as  a  little 
child,  he  shall  in  no  wise  enter  therein.'  This 
is  exactly  what  Jesus  said  on  a  former  occa- 
sion (18:3),  when,  as  almost  all  commentators 
agree,  he  was  using  the  little  child  only  as  an 
illustration.  Morison's  position  is  therefore 
untenable  in  this  case.  'Such'  certainly 
means  childlike  persons,  and  apparently  does 
not  mean  children  at  all.  So  the  Memphitic, 
"for  persons  of  this  sort,  theirs  is  the  king- 
dom of  heaven."  And  the  Peshito  takes  great 
pains,  "for  those  who  are  like  them,  theirs  is 
the  kingdom  of  heaven."  All  the  Greek  com- 
mentators explain  it  as  meaning  the  childlike, 
none  of  them  mentioning  children  as  included, 
and  several  expressly  stating  the  contrary. 
Nor  does  any  Greek  commentator,  so  far  as 
we  can  find,  mention  infant  baptism  in  con- 
nection with  the  passage,  though  they  all 
practiced  that  rite  Origen  speaks  only  of  the 
childlike;  and  so  Cyril:  "The  new-born  child 
is  a  symbol  of  innocence;  for  the  babe  is  as  it 

were  a  new  creature Christ  does  not 

wish  us  to  be  without  intelligence  when  he 
sa^-s,  '  For  to  such  belongs  (or,  of  such  is)  the 
kingdom  of  heaven,'  but  to  be  infants  in  evil, 
and  in  intelligence  perfect  (full-grown)." 
Chrys. :  "  Teaching  them  (the  disciples)  to  he 
lowly,  and  to  trample  under  foot  worldly 
pride,  he  receives  them,  and  takes  them  in  his 
arms,  and  to  such  as  them  promises  the  king- 
dom ;  which  kind  of  thing  he  said  before 
also,"  i.  e.,  in  18:  3  f.  Theophyl. :  "He  did 
not  say  'these,'  but  'such,'  i.  e.,  the  simple, 


Ch.  XIX.] 


MATTHEW. 


403 


the  guileless,  the  innocent."  Euthym. :  "He 
did  not  say  'to  these  belongs  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,'  but  'to  such,'  those  who  imitate  the 
simplicity  of  these."  Anon,  takes  the  occa- 
sion to  exhort  parents  to  bring  their  children 
incessantly  to  the  priests,  that  thej'  may  put 
their  hands  on  them  and  pray  for  them.  Even 
the  great  Latin  commentator,  Jerome  (fol- 
lowed by  Bede),  tells  us:  "He  significantly 
said  'such,'  not  'these,'  in  order  to  show  that 
not  age  reigns,  but  character,  and  that  the 
reward  is  promised  to  those  who  should  have 
similar  innocence  and  simplicity."  But  Tertul- 
lian  and  Augustine  do  mention,  not  this  clause 
but  that  which  precedes,  in  connection  with  in- 
fant baptism.  Tertullian  (on  Baptism,  18)  ad- 
vises delay  of  baptism  till  there  has  been  pro- 
per instruction,  "delay  according  to  each  one's 
condition  and  disposition  and  even  age;  and 
especially  as  to  the  little  ones.  .  .  .  The  Lord 
does  indeed  say,  'Forbid  them  not  to  come 
unto  me.'  Let  them  come,  then,  while  they 
are  growing  up ;  let  them  come  while  they  are 
learning,  while  they  are  being  taught  whither 
to  come;  let  them  be  made  Christians  when 
they  have  become  able  to  know  Christ.  Why 
does  the  innocent  age  hasten  to  remission  of 
sins?"  He  here  shows,  as  throughout  the 
treatise,  that  baptism  is  regarded  by  him  and 
those  he  addresses,  as  securing  remission  and 
makingpersons  Christians.  So  Cyprian  ("  Ep. 
to  Fidus")  and  Origen  (on  Rom.  ch.  5  and 
Homily  14  on  Luke  ch.  2.)  give  as  the  reason 
for  infant  baptism  that  the  infants  may  re- 
ceive remission  of  original  sin,  that  the  defile- 
ment of  sin  may  be  washed  away  through 
water  and  the  Spirit,  etc.,  but  neither  of  them 
mentions  this  passage,  nor  does  Origen  men- 
tion infant  baptism  in  his  interpretation  of 
this  passage.  He  says  (on  Rom.),  "The  church 
received  it  as  a  tradition  from  the  apostles, 
to  give  baptism  to  little  ones  also."  Augustine 
("Serm.  174")  says:  "Noone  passes  from  the 
first  man  (Adam)  to  the  second  (Christ)  save 
through  the  sacrament  of  baptism.  In  little 
children  born  and  not  yet  baptized,  behold 
Adam  ;  in  little  children  born  and  baptized 
and  therefore  born  again,  behold  Christ.  .  .  . 
What  is  it  that  thou  sayest,  little  children 


have  no  sin  at  all,  not  even  original  sin? 
What  is  it  that  thou  sayest,  but  that  they 
should  not  approach  to  Jesus?  But  Jesus 
cries  out  to  thee,  '  SuflTer  the  little  ones  to  come 
to  me.' "  Aug.  very  frequently  gives  the 
same  reason  for  infant  baptism,  constantly 
and  vehemently  assailing  the  Pelagians  with 
the  argument  that  there  is  no  propriety  in 
infant  baptism  unless  infants  are  under  the 
guilt  of  original  sin,  but  we  have  found  no 
other  instance  in  which  he  associates  with  it 
this  passage.  Calvin  says  "both  children 
and  those  who  are  like  them."  Alexander 
(on  Mark)  :  "  More  satisfactory  is  Calvin's 
explanation  of  the  sentence  as  referring  both 
to  children  {,i.  e.,  to  believing  children)  and 
to  those  who  are  like  them  in  their  childlike 
qualities."  But  believing  children  are  in  the 
same  position  as  believing  adults;  so  this  is 
virtually  admitting  that  there  is  here  no  ref- 
erence to  infants  who  are  incapable  of  belief. 
Alexander  adds,  "The  application  of  this, 
passage  to  infant  baptism,  although  scornfully 
rejected  as  absurd  by  its  opponents,  is  entire- 
ly legitimate,  not  as  an  argument,  but  as  an 
illustration  of  the  spirit  of  the  Christian  sys- 
tem with  respect  to  children."  Bengel  says: 
"Grant  that  such  as  are  like  infants  are 
meant,  then  much  more  infants  themselves, 
who  are  such,  have  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  ' 
should  and  can  receive  it  by  coming  to 
Christ."  And  he  actually  thinks  it  helps  the 
matter  to  add:  "Many  of  those  who  were 
then  infants,  afterwards  when  grown  up  be- 
lieved on  Christ  Jesus."  Meyer  :  "  Not  little 
children,  but  men  of  a  childlike  disposition, 
18:  3  f  "  ;  and  to  the  same  effect  Fritz.,  Bloek, 
Luttcr.,  Keim,  Godet.  Oish.  :  "Of  that  ref- 
erence to  infant  baptism  which  it  is  so  com- 
mon to  seek  in  this  narrative,  there  is  clearly 
not  the  slightest  trace  to  be  found.  The  Sav- 
iour set<<  the  children  before  the  apostles  as 
symbols  of  spiritual  regeneration,  and  of  the 
simple  childlike  feeling  therein  imparted." 
Grikie :  "  Let  the  little  children  come  to  me, 
and  do  not  forbid  them,  for  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  is  given  only  to  such  as  have  a  child- 
like spirit  and  nature  like  theirs."' 
To  sum  up.     (a)  There  is  no  good   ground 


^  MaldoruUu* :  "The  Calvloists  \i.e..  Reformed]  have  I  clearest  testimony  by  which  the  church  hail  always 
no  other  testimony  l>y  which  to  prove  that  infants  ;  Ikjcii  led  to  iiapdzo  infantf, 'except  a  man  be  born  of 
ought  to  be  baptized,  than  that  Christ  says,  '  .Suffer  tiie  water  and  of  tlie  Spirit  he  cannot  enter  into  the  liinj?- 
little  ones  to  come  to  me.'      For  that  strongest  and  .  dom  of  God,' they  interpret  not  of  baptism   but  of 


404 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XIX. 


15  And  he  laid  hit  hands  on  thesi,  and  departed  I  15  heaven.    And  he  laid  his  hands  on  them,  and  de- 
thence.  |       parted  thence. 


for  understanding  'such'  as  meaning  child- 
ren themselves,  but  only  childlike  believers 
(as  in  18  :  3.)  No  question  is  here  made  that 
those  dying  in  infancy  are  saved.  They  are 
saved  through  the  atonement  of  Christ  and 
the  work  of  the  Spirit,  but  this  must  hold 
true  of  all  alike,  without  reference  to  any 
ceremony,  and  no  matter  whether  their 
parents  were  believers,  unbelievers,  or  heathen. 
The  Messianic  kingdom  is  always  spoken  of 
in  connection  with,  and  seems  naturally  to 
imply,  persons  capable  of  conscioussubmission 
to  Christ's  reign.  It  is  here  said  to  belong  to,  or 
consistof,  thechildlike,  and  faccordingto Mark 
and  Luke)no  others.  If 'such'  includes  infants, 
it  includes  all  infants,  not  only  those  dying  in 
infancy,  and  those  that  live  and  become  be- 
lievers, but  those  that  live  a  life  of  sin  and  are 
finally  lost;  in  what  sort  of  sense  does  the 
Messianic  kingdom  belong  to  (or  consistof) 
these?  (b)  If  it  were  supposed  that  'such' 
does  include  literal  children,  it  would  not  fol- 
low that  infants  ought  to  be  baptized.  There  is 
here  no  allusion  to  baptism,  and  no  one  imag- 
ines that  Jesus  caused  these  little  ones  to  be 
baptized.  We  know  that  at  one  period  Jesus 
was  baptizing  (through  his  disciples)  very 
many  persons  (John3:'22;  *-it.)^  but  no  one 
questions  that  they  were  baptized  as  penitent 
believers  in  the  Messianic  reign.  Infant  bap- 
tism seems  to  have  arisen  afterwards  from  the 
belief  that  baptism  was  necessary  to  salvation, 
being,  in  all  the  early  references  to  it,  asso- 
ciated with  that  belief,  and  only  as  an  after- 
thought was  ground  for  it  .sought  in  an  in- 
ference from  this  passage.     In  like  manner 


Zwingli,  in  his  controversies  with  the  Ana- 
baptists, introduced  the  argument  from  the 
Abrahamic  covenant.i 

15.  Laid  his  hands  on  them,  of  course 
with  the  accompanying  prayer  (▼•  i3)  that 
they  might  be  blessed.  Mark  adds  that  he 
'took  them  in  his  arms,'  apparently  from  the 
arms  of  those  who  brought  them,  'and  blessed 
them,  laying  his  hands  upon  them' ;  he  must 
then  have  been  seated — we  have  seen  that  he 
was  probably  in  a  house.  His  blessing  them 
means  that  he  prayed  (v.  is)  that  they  might 
be  blessed.  We  cannot  possibly  know  what 
results" followed  to  the  infants  from  this  bene- 
diction. He  prayed  that  his  crucifiers  might 
be  forgiven,  and  they  were — if  they  repented 
and  believed.  And  departed  thence.  Mark 
10:  17  may  perhaps  indicate  that  he  left  sooner 
than  was  expected.  Was  it  because  of  his 
indignation  at  the  disciples  ? 

HOMILETICAL  AND   PRACTICAL. 

V.  13-15.  Jesus  and  infant  children.  1) 
Jesus  tenderly  loves  infant  children  (comp. 
Mark  10:  16),  forhehasthe  same  feelings  now 
as  when  on  earth.  (Heb.  i3:8.)  2)  It  is  right 
for  parents  continually  to  seek  the  blessing  of 
Jesus  upon  their  infant  children.  3)  It  is  a 
great  mistake  and  a  groat  fault  to  take  no  in- 
terest in  infants;  they  who  do  so  are  quite 
unlike  Jesus,  and  forget  one  of  his  most  im- 
pressive lessons.  (Comp.  18:3.)  4)  All  fol- 
lowers of  Jesus  ought  to  be  childlike,  i.  e., 
teachable,  loving,  free  from  selfish  ambition 
and  jealousy,  etc.;  not  only  ought  to  be,  but 
absolutely  must  be  childlike.  (Mark  10:  15; 


teaching;  so  it  comes  to  pass  that  as  long  as  they  wish 
to  be  heretics  and  to  resist  the  Catholic  Church,  they 
disarm  themselves,  and  cannot  withstand  the  Anabap- 
tists [i.  e.,  rebaptizers],  who  deny  that  infants  ought  to 
be  baptized."  Reusx:  "This  word  of  .Tesus, '  Let  the 
children  come  to  me,'  is  wrongly  cited  l)y  those  who 
attempt  to  establish  the  baptism  of  infants  upon  texts 
of  the  New  Test.  It  can  be  used  to  that  effect  upon 
condition  of  forming  a  conception  of  baptism  itself 
different  from  that  of  John  the  Baptist,  Jesus,  and  the 
apostles,  who  demanded  beforehand  a  conscious  and 
thoughtful  taith."  Plumptre  :  "  The  words  and  the  act 
have  rightly  been  regarded,  as  in  the  Baptismal  OfHce 
of  the  Church  of  England,  as  the  true  warrant  for  in- 
fant baptism.  More  than  doubtful  passages  in  the  Acts 
and  Epistles ;  more  than  the  authority,  real  or  sup- 


posed, of  primitive  antiquity;  more  than  the  legal  fic- 
tion that  they  fulfil  the  condition  of  baptism  through 
their  .sponsors — they  justify  the  Church  of  Christ  at 
large  in  commending  infants,  as  such,  to  the  blessing 
of  their  Father.  The  blessing  and  the  prayer  of  Christ 
cannot  be  regarded  as  a  mere  sympathizing  compli- 
ance with  the  fond  wishes  of  the  parents,  and  if  infants 
were  capable  of  spiritual  blessings  then,  why,  it  may 
well  be  asked,  should  they  be  thought  incapable  now  ?  " 
So  "the  true  warrant  for  infant  baptism  "  is  found  in 
a  passage  which  very  many  of  the  ablest  ancient  and 
modern  writers  who  have  practiced  it  declare  to  have 
no  connection  with  the  subject. 

iDr.W.  H.Whitsitt,  Prof,  of  Ch.   Hist.,  Louisville, 
knows  of  no  earlier  use  of  this  argument. 


Ch.  XIX.] 


MATTHEW. 


405 


16  And,  behold,  one  came  and  said  unto  him,  Good 
Master,  what  good  thing  shall  I  do,  that  I  may  have 
eternal  life? 

17  And  he  said  unto  him.  Why  cnllest  thou  me  good  ? 
Ikere  is  none  good  but  one,  thai  w,  God :  but^if  thou  wilt 
enter  into  life,  keep  the  commandments. 


16  And  behold,  one  came  to  him  and  said,  i  *  Master, 
What  good  thing  shall  I  do,  that  I  may  have  eternal 

17  life?  And  he  said  unto  them,  3\Vhy  askest  thou 
me  concerning  that  which  is  good  ?  One  there  is 
who  is  good:  but  if  thou  wouldest  enter  into  Ufe, 


1  Or,  Teaeikw. . 


.2  Some  aucient  authorities  read.  Good  Matttr.    See  Mark  x.  17  ;  Luke  xvili.  18 2  Sume  auclent  authorities  read,  Why 

caUeit  thou  me  good  t    Hone  U  good  tavt  one.    See  Mark  x.  18 ;  Luke  xviii.  19. 


comp.  18  :  3  f.  ;  1  Cor.  14  :  20.)— This  passage 
can  hardly  be  used  in  addressing  Sunday- 
school  children  as  a  proof  that  Jesus  specially 
loves  them,  for  they  are  deeply  conscious  of 
sin,  and  ought  to  ask  from  Jesus  a  new  heart, 
forgiveness,  and  help  to  live  as  his  followers. 
The  lesson  here  is  for  adults,  and  the  passage 
is  often  so  misused  as  simply  to  promote  in 
children  a  most  hurtful  conceit,  to  the  effect 
that  they  are  greatly  better  than  grown 
people. 

16-22.  The  Rich  Young  Rulek. 

Found  also  in  Mark  10:  17-22;  Luke  18: 
18-23. 

Jesus  has  left  the  house  in  which  he  blessed 
the  babes  (▼.  u;  Markio:  lo),  and  is  going  forth 
into  the  road  (Markio:i7),  doubtless  on  the  way 
towards  Jerusalem  (20:17)  for  the  last  Pass- 
over. The  place  is  still  pretty  certainly  in 
South  ern  Perea.     ( 19 : 1 ;  20 :  29. ) 

16.  One  came.  'One'  may  be  taken 
loosely  (see  on  8:  19),  as  we  in  English  often 
use  it,  to  mean  some  one,  a  certain  one;  but 
is  perhaps  better  taken  strictly — not  now  a 
crowd  (19:2),  only  a  single  person,  but  a  very 
interesting  and  important  case.  Matthew 
tells  us  that  he  was  a  young  man  (v.  20-22), 
Luke  that  he  was  a  'ruler'  (i«:i8),  not  prob- 
ably meaning  one  of  the  Sanhedrin  (Johns:  1), 
but  a  ruler  of  the  local  synagogue  (Matt.  9:  is) ; 
all  three  state  that  he  was  very  wealthy.  The 
theory  of  Plumptre  that  this  was  Lazarus  of 
Bethany,  rests  entirely  upon  certain  resem- 
blances, as  wealth,  high  standing,  and  the 
fact  that  Jesus  is  said  to  have  loved  him,  and 
it  must  be  regarded  as  a  pleasant  homi- 
letical  fancy,  rather  than  even  a  probable 
historical  fact.  The  resurrection  of  Laza- 
rus was  almost  certainly  before  this  time. 
For  'came  to  him,'  Mark  sayB  vividly, 
Rev.   Ver.,    'ran    to   him,    and    kneeled    to 


him.'  Finding  that  Jesus  had  left  the  house, 
and  eager  not  to  miss  the  desired  instruction, 
he  runs  to  overtake  him,  and  then  kneels  in 
profound  reverence.  Good  Master,  i.  e., 
teacher  (didaskalos),  see  on  8:  19.  'Good'  is 
wanting  in  the  earliest  and  best  documents, 
and  was  manifestly  brought  in  by  copyists 
from  Mark  and  Luke.  The  same  early  docu- 
ments, with  many  others  of  great  importance, 
read  v.  17  as  in  Rev.  Ver.,  which,  especially 
as  the  meaning  is  not  obvious,  would  be 
readily  changed  to  agree  with  Mark  and 
Luke.^  What  good  thing  shall  I  do?  He 
has  done  many  good  things,  what  else?  (v. 20.) 
That  I  may  have  eternal  life,  comp.  on 
25:  46.  He  is  sincerely  and  deeply  desirous 
of  gaining  it,  as  lie  has  shown  by  his  conduct 
heretofore,  and  shows  now  by  his  eagerness  to 
learn  from  the  Galilean  teacher  who  is  pass- 
ing by.  Contrast  the  lawyer  of  Luke  10:  25, 
who  quibbled,  (v.  29.) 

17.  It  is  possible  (Aug.)  that  Jesus  used  first 
the  expression  in  Mark  and  Luke,  and  after- 
wards that  in  Matt.  (Rev.  Ver.)  But  the 
Evangelists  often  report  a  saying  in  different 
terms.  (See  on  3:  17.)  Both  forms  here  ex- 
press truth,  and  they  substantially  agree.  To 
call  him  'good'  (Mark  and  Luke),  was  a  sort 
of  flattery  to  one  approached  only  as  a  Rabbi, 
which  he  rebukes  as  improper;  only  God  is 
))erfectly  good — keep  that  word  for  him.  No 
religious  teacher  would  really  like  to  be  ac- 
costed as  "a  good  man."  So  here,  to  ask  a 
teacher  concerning  that  which  is  good,  what 
good  thing  shall  be  done,  must  not  be  with 
the  notion  that  any  mere  human  teacher  is  of 
himself  qualified  to  give  the  desired  instruc- 
tion. Only  God  is  perfectly  good;  and  les- 
sons of  goodness  are  not  lessons  of  mere  human 
ethical  .wisdom,  but  of  divine  instruction. 
This  is  a  surpassingly  important  truth.     Men 


1  The  other  readings  need  not  have  been  placed  in  the 
margin  of  Rev.  Ver.,  for  there  can  be  no  question 
that  they  are  wrong.  We  cannot  imagine  any  reanon 
for  changing  an  easy  reading  which  agreed  with  Mark 
and  Luke  into  an  obscure  one  which  strikingly  diflers,  ' 


while  the  change  into  assimilation  is  precisely  such  as 
we  constantly  find  in  MSS.  and  versions.  Origen-ex- 
pn-saly  p<jintsout  and  dwells  on  the  difference  between 
the  text  of  Matt,  and  that  of  Mark  and  Luke. 


406 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XIX. 


18  Hesaith  uuto  him,  Which?  Jesus  said,  Thou  shalt 
do  no  luunler.  Thou  shalt  not  counuit  adultery,  Thou 
ghalt  not  steal,  Thou  shalt  not  bear  false  witness. 

19  Honor  thy  lather  and  /Ay  mother :  and,  Thou  shalt 
love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself. 

20  The  young  man  saith  unto  him,  All  these  things 
have  I  kept  from  my  youth  up:  what  lack  I  yet? 

21  Jesus  said  unto  him.  If  thou  wilt  be  perlect,  go  and 
sell  that  thou  hast,  and  give  to  the  poor,  and  thou  shalt 
have  treasure  in  heaven :  and  come  and  follow  ue. 


18  keep  the  commandments.  He  saith  unto  him, 
Which  ?  And  Jesus  said,  Thou  shalt  not  kill.  Thou 
shalt  not  commit  adultery,  Thou  shalt  not  steal, 
Thou    shalt  not  bear  false  witness.  Honour   thy 

19  father  ai^d  thy  mother:  and.  Thou   shalt  love  thy 

20  neighbour  as  thyself.  The  young  man  saith  unto 
him.  All  these  things  have  I  observed:  what  lack  I 

21  yet?  Jesus  said  uuto  him.  If  thou  wouldest  be 
I)erfect,  go,  sell  that  tliou  hast,  and  give  to  the  poor, 
and  thou  shalt  have  treasure  in  heaven:  and  come, 


in  every  age  and  country  are  prone  to  think 
of  mere  human  instruction  in  morals  and 
religion,  and  to  forget  that  the  highest  relig- 
ious wisdom  must  come  from  him  who  alone 
is  perfect  wisdom  and  perfect  goodness.  But 
if  thou  wilt,  or  wishest  to  (comp.  on  15 :  32; 
16:  24),  enter  into  life  (comp  on  5:  20), 
keep  the  commandments.  Bengel:  "Those 
who  feel  secure  Jesus  refers  to  the  law ;  the 
ct)ntrite  he  consoles  with  the  gospel." 

18  f.  Which,  if  strictly  translated,  would 
be  what  sort  of,  what  kind  of  commandments, 
not  inquiring  as  to  particular  precepts,  but 
classes.  Yet  this  Greek  pronoun  is  used  some- 
what loosely  in  New  Test.,  and  may  here  mean 
simply  which.  In  Modern  Greek  it  has  that 
meaning  always.  The  ruler  may  have  ex- 
pected new  commandments,  or  a  special  selec- 
tion from  those  existing.  The  Eabbis  would 
have  prescribed  stricter  attention  to  tradi- 
tional observances.  Jesus  did  not  propose 
new  commandments,  but  a  new  spirit  and 
motive.  The  sixth,  seventh,  eiglith,  and  ninth 
commandments  are  given,  then  the  fifth,  and 
then  Matt,  alone  adds  the  general  precept 
(i-ev.  19:  IS)  which  sums  up  all  the  second  table 
of  the  law ;  comp.  on  22 :  39.  Luke  quotes 
the  same  five  commandments  as  Matt.;  Mark, 
likewise,  but  inserting  'do  not  defraud,' 
equivalent  to  the  tenth  commandment.  Thou 
shalt  do  no  murder  (Rev.  Ver.,  shalt  not 
kill).  So  also  Com.  Ver.  in  5:  21;  Mark 
10:  19;  Luke  18:  20;  and  Rom.  13:9.  The 
Old  Test.  Revisers,  on  the  contrary,  have 
changed  '  thou  shalt  not  kill '  into  'thou  shalt 
do  no  murder,'  Ex.  20:  13;  Deut.  5:  17.  The 
Heb.  and  Greek  verbs  are  frequently  used  for 
unlawful  killing,  murder,  but  not  uniformly. 

20.  All  these  things  has  the  emphasis 
here  (according  to  the  probable  text)  on  '  all '  ; 
in  Mark  and  Luke  it  is  on  'these  things.' 
Have  I  kept.    Rev.  Ver.  gives  observed.     So 


Tyn.  and  Gen.  here,  and  all  early  English 
versions  in  Mark  10:  20,  while  all  give  'kept' 
for  the  same  word  in  Luke  18:  21.  In  v.  17 
above,  'kept'  represents  a  different  word. 
From  my  youth  up  is  spurious  in  Matt.,  but 
genuine  in  Mark  and  Luke,  and  so  was 
really  said.i  The  speaker  was  still  a  'young 
man,'  but  it  is  quite  common  for  young  men 
to  look  back  to  their  youth,  viz.,  boyhood, 
and  as  a  very  remote  period.  He  must  have 
been  sincere  in  his  profession,  and  really 
blameless  in  outward  conformity  to  law,  for 
'Jesus  looking  upon  him  loved  him.'  (Mark.) 
What  lack  I  yet?  Mark  and  Luke  give  as 
the  beginning  of  the  Saviour's  reply,  'One 
thing  thou  lackest.'  So  the  question  here 
must  not  be  regarded  as  a  mere  self-righteous 
expression.  The  only  observance  he  had  ever 
thought  of  was  external  and  superficial ;  in  re- 
gard to  this,  he  had  been  very  careful  and  cor- 
rect. The  Talmud  repeatedly  mentions  persons 
as  having  kept  the  whole  law,  in  one  case  "my 
holy  ones,  who  have  l\ept  the  whole  law,  from 
Aleph  to  Tau,"  like  Alpha  to  Omega.  The 
Great  Teacher  does  not  stop  for  distinctions 
between  the  external  and  the  spiritual  which 
the  young  ruler  would  have  found  it  difficult 
to  appreciate,  but  cuts  through  all  his  self- 
delusion  and  self-complacency  by  an  extraor- 
dinary demand. 

21.  If  thou  wilt  be,  wishest  to  be,  as  in 
V.  17.  Perfect,  so  as  to  lack  nothing,  see  on 
5:  48.  Go,  go  along,  go  promptly,  as  in 
4:  10;  5:  24;  13:  44;  18:  15.  Sell  that 
thou  hast  (comp.  13:  46),  a  compre- 
hensive expression,  strengthened  in  Mark 
by  'whatsoever,'  in  Luke  by  'all.'  To  the 
poor.  Here  again  (see  on  5:  3;  11:  5)  the 
notion  of  'beggars'  is  quite  out  of  place;  the 
wisest  giving  is  not  always  to  beggars.  The 
Talmud  (Wet.)  speaks  of  a  rabbi  as  saying 
to    some    Gentiles    who    sought    instruction, 


1  It  was  easily  added  in  Matt,  by  copyists,  just  as  in 
Mark  some  documents  add  to  10 :  20,  'what  lack  I  yet,' 
(which  Mark  really  has  just  after  in  another  shape), 


and  to  10:  21,  'if  thou  wishest  to  be  perfect.'  Such 
patent  errors  show  the  habits  of  copyists,  and  help  us  to 
group  documents. 


Ch.  XIX.] 


MATTHEW. 


407 


22  But  when  the  young  man  heard  that  saying,  he  '  22  follow  me.    But  when  the  young  man  heard  the 
went  away  sorrowful :  for  he  had  great  possessions.  saying,  he  went  away  sorrowful :   for  he  was  one 

I       that  had  great  ])Ossessions. 


"Sell  all  that  you  have,  and  moreover  you 
ought  to  become  proselytes." — This  was  a 
special  test,  exactly  suited  to  the  j'oung  ruler, 
as  appears  from  his  sorrowful  failure  to  meet 
it.  The  principle  involved  is  supreme  devo- 
tion to  Christ.  The  test  of  this  is  different  for 
different  people.  Some  find  it  harder  to  re- 
nounce hopes  of  wordly  honor  and  fame  for 
Christ's  sake,  than  to  renounce  wealth;  and 
for  others  the  hard  trial  is  to  abandon  certain 
gratifications  of  the  various  appetites  or  of 
taste.  Abraham  left  his  native  country  at 
God's  command,  but  became  rich  and 
famous.  Moses  gave  up  the  distinction  and 
refined  pleasures  of  court  life,  and  tried 
patiently  to  rule  a  debased  and  intractable 
people.  Elisha  left  his  property  at  the  call  of 
God  through  Elijah.  Paul  abandoned  his 
ambitious  hope  of  being  a  great  rabbi.  All 
should  be  willingeven  to  die  for  Christ  (i6:24ir.), 
though  not  many  are  actually  required  to  do 
so.  The  Romanists  build  on  this  passage  their 
theory  that  for  all  persons  and  times  volun- 
tary and  absolute  poverty  is  a  chief  means  of 
securing  the  highest  spiritual  attainments. 
But  there  is  no  intimation  that  Jesus  requires 
this  of  all  his  followers.  He  said  nothing  of 
the  kind  to  any  but  the  Twelve,  and  a  few  who, 
like  them,  were  called  to  leave  home  and 
travel  about  the  country  with  him.  Treasure 
in  heaven,  see  on  6  :  20.  And  come,  fol- 
low me,  see  on  4:  19.  Many  documents  in 
Mark,  and  one  or  two  in  Matthew  add  '  tak- 
ing up  thy  cross,'  borrowed  from  Mark  8  :  34; 
Matt.  16 :  24. 

22.  He  went  away  sorrowful.  Mark 
prefixes  'his  countenance  fell,'  'he  looked 
gloomy,'  dark-faced  ;  comp.  a  similar  expres- 
sion in  Luke  24:  17  (correct  text'.  It  was  a 
painful  disappointment;  his  eager  longing 
and  hope  gave  way  to  gloom — he  could  not 
give  up  his  great  possessions.  Among  all  na- 
tions, but  especially  among  the  Jewish  higher 
classes,  the  idea  of  falling  from  great  wealth 
to  utter  poverty  would  be  extremely  painful. 
He  went  away,  and  appears  no  more  in  the 
history.  One  would  incline  to  the  hopeful 
persuasion  that  he  afterwards  became  a  true 
Christian,  since  Jesus  loved  him.  But  the 
story  ends  very  sadly.     And  its  lesson  applies 


very  closely  to  many  whose  '  possessions '  are 
by  no  means  'great.' 

HOMILETICAL   AND    PRACTICAL. 

V.  17-21.  We  need  no  new  commandments, 
but  a  new  motive,  supreme  devotion  to  Christ. 
So  in  Rom  8  :  1-17,  there  is  presented  the  same 
old  law,  but  a  new  revelation  of  forgiveness 
(v.  1),  a  new  moral  force  (v.  2),  a  new  motive 
(v.  15).— V.  16-22.  The  young  ruler.  1)  There 
may  be  much  religious  earnestness,  and  a 
lovable  sincerity,  without  true  Christian  piety. 
2)  To  become  a  thorough  Christian  requires 
no  new  precepts,  but  a  new  spirit.  3)  A  com- 
plete Christian  character  and  life  cannot  exist 
without  complete  submission  to  Christ.  4) 
The  tests  of  submission  to  Christ  will  be  very 
different  in  different  cases,  but  must  in  every 
case  be  squarely'  met.  5)  Turning  away  from 
Christ  with  regret  and  gloonij'  sadness,  is  yet 
turning  away. — V.  17  (latter  part).  If  thou 
wishest  to  enter  into  life.  1)  The  wish,  (a) 
None  enter  who  do  not  wish,  (b)  None  who 
wish  to  enter  need  fail.  2)  The  way.  (a)  The 
commandments  must  be  kept  not  only  out- 
wardly, but  inwardly,  spiritually,  (b)  This 
can  be  done  through  help  of  Christ  and  of  the 
other  Comforter,  (c)  That  help  is  received 
only  where  there  is  supreme  devotion  to 
Christ.— V.  20.  What  lack  I  yet?  1)  He 
might  seem  to  others  to  lack  nothing;  he  has 
wealth,  honor,  a  blameless  outward  life,  and 
a  deep  sincerity  and  earnestness.  2)  He  is 
conscious  of  lacking  something,  and  eager  to 
supply  the  lack.  3)  He  really  lacks  every- 
thing; for  he  has  only  kept  the  command- 
ments outwardly,  and  thus  altogether  imper- 
fectly. 4)  He  lacks  one  thing  (Mark  io:2i\ 
without  which  all  is  inadequate,  and  with 
which  all  will  work  toward  perfection  and 
eternal  life;  and  that  one  thing  is  supreme  de- 
votion to  Christ. — Y.  22.  He  went  away  sor- 
rowful. 1)  He  went  away  sorrowful.  2)  Ha 
went  nwny  sorrowful. 

Ch.  19:  23—20:  16.  Hard  for  tiik 
Rich  to  bk  Savkd.  Rkward  of  Sacri- 
fices FOR  Ciiri.st's  Hake. 

This  section,  except  the  parable,  is  found 
also  in  Mark  10:  23-31;  Luke  18:24-30.  In 
both  it  is  immediately  connected  as  here  with 


408 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XIX. 


23  Then  said  Jesiis  unto  his  disciples,  Verily  I  say 
unto  you,  That  a  rich  man  shall  hardly  enter  into  the 
kingtloni  of  heaven. 

24  And  again  I  say  unto  you,  It  is  easier  for  a  camel 
to  go  tliniugli  the  eye  of  a  needle,  than  for  a  rich  man 
to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God. 


23  And  Jesus  said  unto  his  disciples,  Verily  I  say 
unto  you,  It  is  hard  for  a  rich  man  to  enter  into  the 

24  kingdom  of  h&ven.    And  again  I  say  unto  you.  It 
is  easier  for  a  camel  to  go  through  a  needle's  eye, 


the  story  of  the  young  ruler.  Luke  tells  us, 
'And  Jesus  seeing  him  said'  ;  Mark,  'Jesus 
looked  round  about,  and  said.'  While  the 
young  man  walked  gloomily  away,  Jesus 
looked  at  him  and  at  his  disciples,  and  spoke 
to  them  the  great  lessons  which  follow.  The 
section  divides  itself  into  v.  23-26,  v.  27-30, 
and '20:  1-16. 

I.  23-26.  Hard  for  the  Kich  to  bk 
Saved.  Mark  10:  23-27;  Luke  18:  24-'27. 
Verily  I  say  unto  you,  calling  special  atten- 
tion, see  on  5:  18.  A  rich  man  shall  hardly 
enter.  It  is  hard  for  a  rich  man  (Rev.  Ver.), 
was  the  rendering  of  Tyndale  and  followers. 
The  Com.  Ver.  though  more  literal,  would 
now  suggest  improbability  rather  than  diffi- 
culty. The  Jews  inclined  to  think  it  much 
easier  for  a  rich  man  than  for  a  poor  man. 
The  former  had  in  his  very  prosperity  a  proof 
of  the  divine  favor ;  he  was  prima  facie  a 
good  man,  and  might  feel  very  hopeful  about 
entering  the  kingdom.  Our  Lord  had  not 
long  before  this  spoken  a  parable  (Lukei6;i9), 
in  which,  contrary  to  what  all  Jews  would 
have  expected,  the  beggar  Lazarus  went  to 
Abraham's  bosom,  and  the  rich  man  to  tor- 
ment. Much  earlier  (comp.  on  5:  3)  he  had 
shown  that  the  kingdom  of  heaven  belongs  to 
the  poor,  if  they  have  the  corresponding  pov- 
erty in  spirit.  Kingdom  of  heaven,  see  on 
3:  2.  He  was  far  from  meaning  that  all  poor 
men  will  be  saved,  and  all  rich  men  lost;  for 
Lazarus  was  carried  to  the  bosom  of  Abra- 
ham, who  in  life  was  very  rich,  as  were  also 
Isaac  and  Jacob  and  Joseph,  David  and  Solo- 
mon, Nicodemus  and  Joseph  of  Arimathea, 
and  apparently  the  family  of  Bethany.  On 
the  perils  of  riches,  comp.  13:  22;  1  Tim.  6: 
9  f.  The  expression  in  Com.  text  of  Mark 
10:  24,  for  them  that  trust  in  riches,'  must  be 
omitted.^  This  strong  statement  our  Lord 
now  repeats  (▼.  24),  in  a  hyperbolical  form 
such  as  he  so  often  employed  to  awaken  atten- 
tion and  compel  remembrance.  (See  on  5: 
39.)     It    is    easier   for   a    camel     to    go 


through  the  eye  of  a  needle.  So  also 
Mark  and  Luke.  The  camel  was  the  large.«t 
beast  familiar  to  the  Jews,  and  the  needle's 
eye  was  the  smallest  opening  in  any  familiar 
object.  So  the  expression  denotes  an  impo.<- 
sibility,  and  it  was  so  understood  by  the  dis- 
ciples, and  so  treated  by  Jesus  just  after,  (v.26.) 
A  little  later  (m:24),  our  Lord  will  again  use 
the  camel  as  the  largest  beast  in  another  hy- 
perbolical expression,  "who  strain  out  the 
gnat  and  swallow  the  camel."  In  the  Tal- 
mud, for  an  elephant  to  go  through  a  needle's 
eye  is  several  times  employed  as  an  expres- 
sion of  impossibility,  the  Jews  in  foreign 
countries  having  now  become  familiar  with 
an  animal  even  larger  than  the  camel.  Our 
Lord  may  have  bee'n  using  a  proverb  (comp. 
on  7:  3),  but  there  is  no  proof  that  such  a 
saying  was  current  in  his  time.  The  Koran 
(Sura  VII,  38)  borrows,  as  it  often  does,  tlie 
saying  of  Jesus:  "Those  who  say  our  signs 
are  lies  and  are  too  big  with  pride  for  them, 
for  these  the  doors  of  heaven  shall  not  be 
open,  and  they  shall  not  enter  into  Paradise 
until  a  camel  shall  pass  into  a  needle's  eye." 
The  notion  that  the  word  means  a  cable, 
found  in  C^'ril  on  Luke,  and  in  a  scholium 
ascribed  to  Origen  (Tisch.),  and  mentioned 
by  Tiieophyl.  and  Euthym.  as  held  by 
"some,"  was  merely  an  attempt  to  soften  the 
incongruity  of  the  image;  and  the  statement 
of  the  late  lexicographer  Suidas  and  a 
scholium  on  Aristophanes  that  kamelos  is  the 
animal,  kamilos  a  thick  cable,  probably  arose 
from  that  attempt.  (Liddell  and  Scott.)  The 
Memph.,  Latin,  and  Pesh.  versions  give 
camel.  Origen  understands  the  camel,  and 
takes  the  phrase  as  a  figure  for  the  impossible ; 
so  Chrys.  and  followers.  Jerome  explains 
likewise,  but  adds  that  as  Isaiah  declares 
(60:6)  that  the  camels  of  Midian  and  Ephah 
come  to  Jerusalem  with  gifts,  and  though 
curved  and  distorted  they  enter  the  gates  of 
Jerusalem,  so  the  rich  can  enter  the  narrow 
gate  by  laying  aside  their  burden  of  sins  and 


1  It  is  wanting  in  several  of  the  earliest  and  best  I  by  way  of  correspondence  to  the  next  verse,  while  we 
documents,  and  we  readily  account  for  its  insertion  as  I  can  see  no  reason  why  copyists  should  have  struck  it 
originally  a  marginal  explanation  of  a  difficulty,  and  j  out. 


Ch.  XIX.] 


MATTHEW. 


409 


25  Wheu  his  disciples  heard  t7,  they  were  exceedingly 
amazed,  saying,  Who  theu  can  be  saved? 

26  But  Jesus  beheld  them,  and  said  unto  them,  With 
men  this  is  impossible:  but  with  God  all  things  are 
possible. 

27  Then  answered  Peter  and  said  unto  him,  Behold, 
we  have  forsaken  all,  and  followed  thee ;  what  shall  we 
have  therefore  ? 

28  And  Jesua  said  unto  them,  Verily  I  say  unto  you, 
That  ye  which  have  followed  me,  in  the  regeneration 
when  the  Son  of  man  shall  sit  in  the  throne  ot  his  glory, 
ye  also  shall  sit  upon  twelve  thrones,  judging  the  twelve 
tribes  of  Israel. 


25  than  for  a  rich  man  to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
God.  And  when  the  disciples  heard  it.  they  were 
astonished  exceedingly,  saying,  Who  then  can  be 

26  saved?  And  Jesus  looking  upon  l/iem  said  to  them, 
With   men   this  is  impos.sible;   but  with    God  all 

27  things  are  possible.  Then  answered  Peter  and  said 
unto  him,  Lo,  we  have  left  all,  and  followed  thee; 

28  what  then  shall  we  have  ?  And  Jesus  said  unto 
them,  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  that  ye  who  have  fol- 
lowed me,  in  the  regeneration  when  the  Son  of  man 
shall  sit  on  the  throne  of  his  glory,  ye  also  shall  sit 
upon  twelve  thrones,  judging  the  twelve  tribes  of 


all  their  bodily  deformity — which  is  only  his 
loose  alle.i^orizing  upon  a  point  not  brought 
into  view  By  the  Saviour.  A  gloss  to  Anselm 
(a.  d.  1033-1109),  given  in  Aquinas,  saj-s  that 
"  at  Jerusalem  there  was  a  certain  gate  called 
the  Needle's  Eye,  through  which  a  camel  could 
not  pass,  save  on  its  bended  knees  and  after 
its  burden  had  been  taken  oft";  and  so  the 
rich,"  etc.  This  is  to  all  appearance  a  conjec- 
ture suggested  by  Jerome's  allegorizing  re- 
mark. Lord  Nugent  many  years  ago  (quoted 
in  Morison,  from  Kitto)  heard  at  Hebron  a 
narrow  entrance  for  foot-passengers,  by  the 
side  of  the  larger  gate,  ctilled  "the  eye  of  a 
needle."  Fish  (p.  16.5),  speaking  of  the  Jaffa 
gate  at  Jerusalem,  says:  "There  is  here  a 
small  gate  in  the  large  one,  bearing  the  name 
Needle's  Eye.  My  dragoman  informed  me  of 
tliis,  and  said  it  had  always  been  so  called.  I 
afterwards  inquired  of  a  Christian  Jew,  for 
tliirty  years  a  resident  in  Jerusalem,  who 
verified  the  statement,  and  farther  said  that 
any  little  gate  like  that,  in  a  large  one,  in 
both  Palestine  and  Egypt,  was  called  a 
needle's  eye  (a  fact  which  I  have  since  ascer- 
tained from  other  sources)."  So  far  as  this 
usage  really  exists,  it  probably  arose  from  the 
saying  in  the  New  Test.,  the  Talmud  and  the 
Koran,  together  with  Jerome's  allegorizing 
remark.  It  is  perfectly  evident  that  Jesus 
was  understood,  and  meant  to  be  understood, 
as  stating  an  impossibility';  and  as  to  the  in- 
congruity of  the  image,  it  is  no  greater  than 
that  of  23:  24,  and  employed  an  animal  as 
familiar  to  his  hearers  as  the  horse  is  to  us. 
25  f.  The  di,sciple8  were  exceedingly 
amazed,  for  this  was  contrary  to  all  the  no- 
tions in  which  they  were  reared.  Since 
everybody  believed  that  a  rich  man  was  .shown 
by  his  wealth  to  have  God's  favor,  and  could 
secure  further  favor  by  his  beneficence,  and 
since  Jesus  has  declared  that  it  is  practically 
impossible  for  a  rich  man  to  enter  the  Messi- 


anic kingdom,  they  very  naturally  asked, 
Who  then  can  be  saved?  with  emphasis  on 
'who'  and  'can.'  Their  idea  is  that  things 
being  as  the  Master  has  stated  (which  is  the 
meaning  of  the  particle  translated  'then'), 
nobody  can  be  saved.  And  to  this  he  assents. 
As  a  matter  of  human  power,  no  one  can  be 
saved  ;  but  with  God  all  things  are  possi- 
ble (comp.  Luke  1 :  37  ;  Job  42:  2;  Gen.  18: 
14),  and  the  divine  omnipotence  may  save 
even  a  rich  man. 
II.  27-30.  Jesus  Promises  Keward  to 

THOSE  THAT  HAVE  LEFT  ALL   FOR   HIS   SaKE. 

Mark  10:  28-31;  Luke  18:  '28-30.  Peter 
speaks  for  his  companions  as  well  as  himself 
(see  on  16:  16),  and  the  answer  is  addressed 
to  them  all,  'you'  (v. as).  Behold,  we,  the 
word  'we'  being  expressed  in  the  Greek,  and 
thus  emphatic;  so  also  in  Mark  and  Luke. 
Have  forsaken  all,  as  the  rich  young  ruler 
had  just  refused  to  do.  (i9: 22.)  And  followed 
thee,  comp.  on  4:  19  f.  Luke  18:  28  has  (cor- 
rect text)  'have  left  our  own,'  i.  e.,  prop- 
erty, while  the  young  ruler  would  not  leave 
his.  Some  had  left  their  calling  as  fishermen, 
Matthew  a  public  office,  James  and  John 
their  parents,  Peter  his  home  and  family. 
What  shall  we  have  therefore?  without 
any  special  emphasis  on  'we.'  This  clause 
is  not  given  by  Mark  or  Luke,  being  obvious- 
ly implied  in  Peter's  foregoing  statement. 
The  apostle's  inquiry  may  be  easily  stigma- 
tized as  self-complacent  or  inercenary.  But 
Jesus  evidently  did  not  so  regard  it.  They 
!iad  made  real  sacrifices,  and  were  following 
him  in  worldly  destitution  with  dismal 
worldly  prospects,  for  they  were  now  near 
Jerusalem,  where  he  would  be  rejected  and 
put  to  death.  (16:21.)  The  .situation  was  very 
serious.  Jesus  solemnly  promises  great  re- 
ward to  the  Twelve  (v.  28),  and  extends  it  to 
nil  who  have  left  anything  for  his  sake  (r.  2») ; 
and  then  guards  against  all  selfish  and  jealous 


410 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XIX. 


29  And  every  one   that   hath  forsaken  houses,  or  I  29  Israel.    And  every  one  that  hath  left  houses,  or 
brethren,  or  sisters,  or  father,  or  mother,  or   wile,  or  brethren,  or  sisters,  or  father,  or  iniother,  or  chil- 

childreu,  or  lauds,  for  luy  name's  sake,  shall  receive  a  1       dren,  or  lands,  for  my  name's  sake,  shall  receive  *a 

1  llui;  ancient  auihoritien  add,  vr  wife :  as  In  Luke  xviii.  '^9 i  Some  ancient  authoriiici  read,  mani/old. 


claims  of  superior  reward  in  v.  30,  illustrated 
by  the  parable  which  follows. 

28.  He  begins  with  a  solemn  assurance,  as 
in  V.  23,  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  see  on  5:  18. 
This  special  promise  to  the  Twelve  is  found 
only  in  Matt.,  to  whose  Jewish  readers  it 
would  be  of  special  interest.  In  the  re- 
generation. The  Greek  word  here  used 
ipalitigenesin)  is  found  nowhere  else  in  New 
Test,  save  Tit.  3:  5,  where  it  denotes  the 
spiritual  new  birth.  Here  it  has  a  very  dif- 
ferent sense.  Plutarch  uses  it  for  the  ap- 
pearance of  souls  in  new  bodies  (Pythago- 
rean doctrine  of  transmigration) ;  M.  Anto- 
ninus speaks,  according  to  a  Stoic  conception, 
of  "the  periodical  new-birth  of  the  universe," 
viz.,  in  spring;  Philo,  according  to  another 
Stoic  conception,  foretells  a  new-birth  of  the 
world  out  of  lire ;  Cicero  speaks  of  his  "  restora- 
tion to  dignities  and  honors"  as  "this  new- 
birth  of  ours"  ;  and  a  late  Platonist  says, 
"Recollection  is  a  new  birth  of  knowledge." 
These  uses  will  illustrate  our  passage,  which 
has  a  kindred  but  profounder  sense.  When 
the  Messianic  reign  is  fully  established,  there 
will  be  a  new-birth  of  all  things,  called  also  a 
"restoration  of  all  things"  (Acts3:2i,  Eev.  ver.), 
"new  heavens  and  a  new  earth,  wherein 
dwelleth  righteousness"  (2  Pet.  3;  13;  comp. 
Rev.  21 :  1,  5),  and  the  deliverance  of  the 
whole  creation  from  the  bondage  of  corru])tion 
at  the  revealing  of  the  sons  of  God  in  redeemed 
bodies.  (Kom.  8:18-23.)  The  Pesh.  here  trans- 
lates 'in  the  new  world,'  or  new  age,  period. 
(Comp.  on  12:  32.)  Understood  thus,  'in  the 
regeneration'^  is  manifestly  not  connected 
with  'ye  that  have  followed  me,'  for  it  de- 
notes not  the  beginning,  but  the  consumma- 
tion of  the  Messianic  reign,  when  the  Son 
of  man  (see  on  8:  20)  shall  sit  in  the 
throne  of  his  glory,  comp.  25:  31;  also  7: 
22;  16:  27.  All  this  high-wrought  imagery 
of  a  universal  restoration,  a  new  birth,  a 
new    universe,    must    of    course    be    inter- 


preted as  imagery,  and  must  not  be  so  un- 
derstood as  to  exclude  other  facts  of  the 
future  which  are  plainly  revealed,  as  in  25: 
46.  Ye  also  shall  sit  upon  twelve 
thrones,  is  of  course  an  image.  It  is  idle 
to  insist  upon  the  exact  number  twelve  (comp. 
Rev.  21:  12-14),  and  so  to  be  troubled  about 
the  fact  that  while  Matthias  took  the  place  of 
Judas,  Paul  made  thirteen  apostles.  Judging 
the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel  certainly  does 
not  mean  that  only  Jews  will  be  judged,  or 
that  one  apostle  will  judge  one  tribe.  The 
Oriental  king,  and  tlie  Roman  emperor,  was 
also  a  judge,  and  when  he  sat  on  his  throne  in 
public,  it  was  usually  for  the  purpose  of  hear- 
ing petitions  or  complaints  and  giving  judg- 
ment. Such  a  monarch  often  had  persons 
seated  near  him  (called  by  the  Romans  "as- 
sessors"), to  aid  him  in  judging;  comp.  Rev. 
4:  4;  "round  about  the  throne  were  four  and 
twenty  thrones."  To  this  position  of  dignity 
and  honor  will  the  Twelve  be  exalted  at  the 
consummation  of  the  Messianic  kingdom ; 
comp.  1  Cor.  6:  2,  "the  saints  shall  judge 
the  world."  Our  Lord  will  use  the  same 
image  again  on  the  night  before  the  cruci- 
fixion, Luke  22:  30. 

29.  Notonly  the  Twelve  are  to  be  rewarded, 
but  every  one  that  hath  forsaken  (left) 
anything  for  his  sake;  'every  one'  is  in  tho 
Greek  a  very  strong  expression ;  every  one 
whosoever.  The  enumeration  is  substantially 
the  same  in  Mark  and  Luke.  But  Luke, 
while  condensing  some  of  the  other  expres- 
sions, has  also  'or  wife,'  and  this,  as  so  often 
happened  in  parallel  passages,  crept  early  into 
many  copies  of  Matt,  and  Mark.  Being 
omitted  by  fewer  earlier  copies  of  Matt,  than 
of  Mark,  the  Rev.  Ver.  here  places  it  in  the 
margin.  Though  not  belonging  to  either 
Matt,  or  Mark,  we  know  from  Luke  that  the 
word  was  spoken.  The  list  of  objects  is  not 
intended  in  any  case  to  be  complete;  it  men- 
tions several  principal  things,  and  we  under- 


1  On  this  term  see  Trench,  Synonyms.  It  means  not 
exactly  a  neic  birth,  but  a  being  born  again,  another 
birth.  In  1  Pet.  1 :  3,  23  the  verb  anagennao  means  '  to 
beget  over  again,'  not  a  second  begetting  or  birth,  but 
going  back  and  repeating  the  first  process.    So  in  John 


3:  3,  'born  anew,'  over  again.  There  is  of  course  no 
substantial  difference  between  this  image  and  that  of 
Tit.  3:  5.  Other  terms  describe  the  same  spiritual 
process  as  a  'renewing,'     (2  Cor.  4:  I6;  Rom.  12;  2;  Coi.  3. 

iO;  Tit.  3:5;  Eph.  4 :  23.) 


Ch.  XIX.] 


MATTHEW. 


411 


hundredfold,  and  shall  inherit  everlasting  life. 

SO  But  many  that  are  first  shall  be  last ;  and  the  last 
thall  be  first. 


30  hundredfold,  and  shall  inherit  eternal  life.  But 
many  shall  be  last  t^at  are  first;  and  first  that  art 
last. 


stand  that  the  same  is  true  of  anything  else. 
Houses  may  have  been  mentioned  first 
because  some  of  the  Twelve,  as  Simon  Peter, 
had  left  homes;  lands  last,  because  real 
estate  among  the  Jews  was  specially  valuable 
property,  not  to  be  alienated,  comp.  Acts  4: 
34,  37.  The  most  exactly  similar  case  at  the 
present  time  is  seen  in  the  foreign  missionary, 
or  in  a  converted  heathen,  who  is  cast  out  by 
his  kindred,  and  finds  compensation  in  the 
Christian  affection  and  kind  offices  of  the 
other  converts,  and  in  the  joy  of  serving 
Christ,  and  hoping  for  eternal  life.  More  re- 
motely similar  is  the  case  of  a  worldly  young 
person  in  a  Christian  land,  who  becomes  con- 
verted, and  forsakes  worldly  pleasures  and 
companionships.  Shall  receive  a  hundred- 
fold. It  is  doubtful  whether  we  should  read 
this  as  in  Mark,  or  'manifold'  (Rev.  Ver., 
margin),  as  in  Luke.  The  question  is  of  no 
practical  importance.^  We  might  in  reading 
Matt,  think  only  of  rewards  after  death. 
Mark  10  :  30  says,  'a  hundredfold  now  in  this 
time.  .  .  .  and  in  the  world  to  come  eternal 
life' ;  and  such  a  distinction  seems  to  be  in- 
tended in  Matt.  also.  Jesus  speaks  of  earthly 
rewards  first,  but  does  not  mean  literally  sim- 
ilar things  to  those  left,  but  equivalent  things 
— blessings  temporal  or  spiritual,  that  will 
compensate  many  times  over  for  all  that  was 
abandoned.  The  expressions  cannot  possibly 
be  understood  literally,  because  that  would 
be  promising  in  Mark  a  hundred  mothers, 
and  comp.  Luke. 

30.  But  many  that  are  first  shall  be 
last, etc.  Thisenigmatical  saying  isgiven  also 
by  Mark  10:  31.  In  Matthew  our  Lord  pro- 
ceeds to  illustrate  it  by  a  parable,  at  the  close 
of  which  (io:  16)  he  repeats  the  saying.  In  the 
parable  an  employer  pays,  and  asserts  his 
right  to  pay,  the  same  wages  to  laborers  who 
began  later  in  the  day,  as  to  those  who  began 
early.  Then  Jesus  is  here  speaking  of  the  re- 
wards that  will  be  given  his  followers,  and 
declares  that  these  will  be  given  as  a  matterof 
sovereignty,  without  recognizing  any  cljiim 
to  precedence.     So  the  immediate  application 


of  the  saying  to  the  Twelve  is  probably  to  the 
order  in  which  they  became  disciples.  In 
their  disputes  as  to  which  should  have  the 
highest  place  in  the  kingdom  (comp.  on  18 :  1), 
now  shortly  to  be  renewed  (20 :  .io),  some  of  the 
disciples  might  naturally  urge  that  the  high- 
est places  siiould  be  given  to  those  who  first 
followed  the  Master.  So  far  as  we  know, 
these  were  John  and  Andrew,  next  Andrew's 
brother  Simon,  and  presently  Philip  and  Na- 
thanael.  (John  1 :  so-oi.)  Now  Simon  and  An- 
drew, John  and  his  brother  James,  were 
afterwards  together  called  to  leave  other  em- 
ployments and  follow  Jesus  (*:  i8-i2),  are  re- 
peatedly mentioned  together  as  being  in  his 
comt»any  fMarit  i:39;  i3;3),  and  constitute  the 
first  four  in  every  list  of  the  Twelve  (see  on 
10:  2).  Peter,  James,  and  John  were  alone 
with  Jesus  during  that  night  upon  the  moun- 
tain (17 :i),  of  which  they  would  give  the 
others  no  account  (i7:!»),  as  they  had  been  on 
a  former  interesting  occasion.  (Mark5:37.)  And 
presently  James  and  John  will  ask  through 
their  mother  (20:20)  for  the  two  highest  places. 
These  facts  make  it  not  at  all  unnatural  to 
suppose  that  the  order  of  time  entered  into 
their  disi)utes.  Our  Lord  then  means  that  he, 
or  the  Father  (20:23),  will  act  as  he  shall  think 
proper  (20:15)  in  respect  to  precedence,  and 
many  who  entered  his  service  late  will  receive 
greater  reward  than  others  who  entered 
earlier;  he  will  recognize  no  claim  on  any 
such  ground.  A  notable  instance  would  be 
the  Apostle  Paul.  But  while  immediately 
designed  to  check  disputes  as  to  this  ques- 
tion of  time,  the  principle  is  stated  gener- 
ally and  may  have  other  applications.  It 
is  presupposed  throughout,  as  already  in- 
volved in  19:  28  f,  that  Christ's  servants 
will  be  differently  rewarded  ;  we  learn  here 
that  this  reward  will  not  be  regulated  b}' 
the  mere  outward  conditions  of  the  time  spent 
in  his  service,  or  the  results  actually  attained, 
but  will  be  conferred  according  to  his  own 
judgment  and  sovereign  pleasure.  David,  who 
meant  to  build,  will  be  rewarded  as  truly,  imd 
it  may  be  as  richly,  as  Solomon  who  built ; 


'  It  has  considerable  sfilentlflc  interest.    The  reading    '  sevenfold '  In  Luke,  though  this  last  la  found  only  in 
Is  certainly  'a  hundredfold' in  Mark  (no  variation  at    the  "  Western  "  documenta. 
all),  probably 'manifold'  in  Matt.,  and  quite  possibly  | 


412 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XX. 


CHAPTER  XX. 


FOR  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  man  that  is 
a  housfliolder,  which  went  out  early  in  the  morn- 
ing to  hire  lalmurers  into  his  vineyard. 

2  And  when  he  had  agreed  with  the  labourers  for  a 
penny  a  day,  he  sent  theui  into  his  vineyard. 

3  And  he  went  out  about  the  third  hour,  and  saw 
others  standing  idle  in  the  marketplace, 

4  And  s;iid  unto  them :  Go  ye  also  into  the  vineyard, 
and  whatsoever  is  right  I  will  give  you.  And  they 
went  their  way. 

5  Again  he  went  out  about  the  sixth  and  ninth  hour, 
and  did  likewise. 

6  And  about  the  eleventh  hour  he  went  out,  and 
found  others  standing  idle,  and  saith  unto  them,  Why 
stand  ye  here  all  the  day  idle  ? 


1  For  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  man 
that  was  a  householder,  who  went  out  early  in  the 

2  morning  to  hire  labourers  into  his  vineyard.  And 
when  he  had  agreed  with  the  labourers  foraishil- 

3  Hug  a  day,  he  sent  them  into  his  vineyard.  And  he 
went  out  about  the  third  liour,  and  saw  others  stand- 

4  ing  in  the  marketplace  idle;  and  to  them  he  said, 
Go  ye  also  into  the  vineyard,  and  whatsoever  is  right 

5  I  will  give  you.  And  they  went  their  way.  Again  he 

6  went  out  about  the  sixth  and  the  ninth  hour,  and 
did  likewise.  And  about  the  eleventh  hour  he  went 
out,  and  found  others  standing ;  and  he  saith  unto 


1  See  margiiiiil  note  on  cb.  xriil.  28. 


James  who  was  early  slain,  as  truly  as  his 
brother  who  lived  so  long.  The  often  re- 
peated view  of  some  Fathers  that  the  refer- 
ence was  to  Jews  and  Gentiles,  is  quite  unten- 
able. The  equal  reward  of  some  who  die 
early  is  set  forth  by  a  somewhat  similar 
illustration  in  Talmud  Jerus.,  Berach.,  ch. 
II,  8  (Schwab),  designed  to  give  comfort  in 
regard  to  the  early  death  of  a  rabbi.  A  king 
hired  many  laborers,  and  seeing  one  who 
worked  remarkably  well,  took  him  apart  after 
two  hours  to  walk  with  hini  to  and  fro.  At 
even  he  paid  this  man  as  much  as  the  others, 
and  when  they  complained,  he  said,  'This 
man  has  done  more  in  two  hours  than  you  in 
a  whole  day.'  In  like  manner  the  young 
rabbi  knew  the  law  better  when  he  died  at 
the  age  of  twenty-eight  than  any  other 
would  have  known  it  if  he  had  lived  to  be  a 
hundred.  Thus  the  resemblance  to  our  Lord's 
illustration  is  only  partial,  and  the  point  of 
application  quite  different,  while  in  itself  very 
pleasing. 

III.  Ch.  20  :  1-16.  Parable  of  the 
Laborers  who  Received  the  Same  Re- 
ward. Found  in  Matt.  only.  It  is  designed 
to  illustrate  the  saying  of  19 :  30,  which  is 
repeated  at  the  close,  as  the  outcome  of  the 
illu-stration.  (20:i6.)  The  terms  of  the  para- 
ble itself  are  for  the  most  part  plain. 

1-6.  The  kingdom  of  heaven,  the  Mes- 
sianic reign  (see  on  3:  2)  is  like,  in  some 
respects  resembles,  the  following  story  (comp. 
on  13:  24.)  Unto  a  man,  that  is  a  house- 
holder. As  the  story  is  told  in  the  past  tense 
throughout,  the  Amer.  Revisers  very  natur- 
ally wish  to  insert  'that  was,'  rather  than 
'that  is,'  as  in  13:  22,  where  the  present  tense 
follows.     'Householder,"   or  housemaster,  is 


the  same  word  as  in  10 :  25  (see  note) ;  13 :  27, 
52,  and  below  in  21:  33;  24:  43.  He  owns 
a  house,  and  a  vineyard,  (v.  s.)  A  penny, 
denarius,  about  seventeen  cents,  see  on  18:  28. 
This  was  the  customary  wages  of  a  soldier  or 
a  laborer;  Plin.  XXXIII,  3;  Tac,  "Ann." 
I,  17;  Tob.  5:  14;  Talmud.  The  third 
hour.  The  Jews  divided  the  day,  from  sun- 
rise to  sunset,  into  twelve  parts.  At  the 
vernal  and  autumnal  equinox  these  would 
be  exactly  as  long  as  an  hour  with  us,  but  at 
other  seasons  would  be  longer  or  shorter.  The 
sixth  hour  would  always  be  noon,  the  third 
and  ninth  would  correspond  loosely  to  our 
9  A.  M.  and  3  p.  m.  ;  the  eleventh  hour  loosely 
to  an  hour  before  sunset.  In  the  market- 
place, or  public  square,  where  people  came 
together  for  business  or  conversation.  Go  ye 
also,  'ye'  being  expressed  in  the  Greek  and 
thus  emphatic.  Whatsoever  is  right,  no 
definite  bargain  as  with  the  first  set.  In  the 
supposed  actual  occurrence  this  might  result 
from  haste,  or  from  the  fact  that  they  would 
now  be  glad  to  find  employment  at  all,  and 
would  trust  the  employer's  justice  without  a 
definite  arrangement.  As  to  the  illustration, 
this  point  prepares  for  the  result,  and  the 
peculiar  application.  About  the  eleventh 
hour.  Here  'hour'  is  not  expres.sed  in  the 
correct  Greek  text,  but  naturally  suggested. 
Others  standing  idle.  The  word  'idle'  is 
here  wanting  in  very  many  of  the  earliest  and 
best  documents,  and  was  obviously  drawn  by 
copyists  from  v.  3  and  the  end  of  v.  6.  Why 
stand  ye  here  all  the  day  idle?  This  is 
often  used  homiletically  as  representing 
persons  who  are  slothful  in  neglecting  to 
work  in  Christ's  vineyard.  But  such  appli- 
cation is  unwarranted,  and  alien  to  the  tone  of 
the  parable.     The  reason  given  by  these  men 


Ch.  XX.] 


MATTHEW. 


413 


7  They  say  unto  him,  Because  no  man  hath  hired  us. 
He  saith  unto  them,  Go  ye  also  into  the  vineyard;  and 
whatsoever  is  right,  that  shall  ye  receive. 

8  So  when  even  was  come,  the  lord  of  the  vineyard 
saith  unto  his  steward,  Call  the  labourers,  and  give  them 
ttieir  hire,  beginning  from  the  last  unto  the  first. 

9  And  when  they  came  that  were  hired  about  the 
eleventh  hour,  they  received  every  man  a  penny. 

10  But  when  the  first  came,  they  supposed  tliat  they 
should  have  received  more  ;  and  they  liiiewise  received 
every  man  a  penny. 

11  And  when  they  had  received  it,  they  murmured 
against  the  goodman  of  the  house, 

12  Saying,  These  last  "have  wrought  hut  one  hour,  and 
thou  hast  made  them  equal  unto  us,  which  have  borne 
the  burden  and  heat  of  the  day. 

13  But  he  answered  one  of  them,  and  said.  Friend,  I 
do  thee  no  wrong :  didst  not  thou  agree  with  me  for  a 
penny  ? 

14  Take  that  thine  is,  and  go  thy  way :  I  will  give 
unto  this  last,  even  as  unto  thee. 

15  Is  it  not  lawful  for  me  to  do  what  I  will  with  mine 
own?    Is  thine  eye  evil,  because  I  am  good  ? 

16  So  the  last  shall  be  first,  and  the  first  last :  for 
many  be  called,  but  few  chosen. 


7  them.  Why  stand  ye  here  all  the  day  idle?  They 
say  unto  him.  Because  no  man  hath  hired  us.    Ue 

8  saith  unto  them.  Go  ye  also  into  the  vineyard.  And 
when  even  was  come,  the  lord  of  the  vineyard  saith 
unto  his  steward,  Call  the  labourers,  and  pay  theui 

9  their  hire,  l)eginning  from  the  last  untothefirst.  And 
when  they  came  that  were  hired  about  the  eleveuth 

10  hour,  they  received  every  man  a  i  shilling.  And 
when  the  first  came,  they  supposed  that  they  would 
receive  more;  and  they  likewise  received  every  man 

11  a  1  shilling.    And  when  they  received  it,  they  mui- 

12  mured  against  the  householder,  saying.  These  last 
have  spent  but  one  hour,  and  thou  hast  made  them 
equal  to  us,  who  have  borne  the  burden  of  the  day 

13  and  the  2  scorching  beat.  But  he  answered  and  said 
to  one  of  them,  Friend,  I  do  thee  no  wrong:  didst; 

14  not  thou  agree  with  me  for  a  i  shilling?  Take  up 
that  which  is  thine,  and  go  thy  way ;  it  is  my  will  lo 

15  give  unto  this  last,  even  as  unto  thee.  Is  it  not  law- 
ful for  me  to  do  what  I  will  with  mine  own?  or  is 

16  thine  eye  evil,  because  I  am  good?  So  the  last  shall 
be  first,  and  the  first  last. 


a  Or.  have  continued  one  hour  only ...  .\  See  marginal  noteou  cb.  xviii.  28.  ...2  Or,  hot  wind. 


is  treated  as  valid,  and  they  are  paid  for  a  full 
day's  work. 

7.  Go  ye  also,  'ye'  emphatic,  as  in  v. 4.' 
Ohviously  this  employer  of  labor  acts  very 
peculiarly.  (Comp.  Bruce.)  It  is  not  neces- 
sary to  seek  parallel  cases,  nor  wise  to  propose 
his  course  as  a  model  in  ordinary  business  (as 
Ruskin  does  in  "Unto  this  last,"  the  title 
being  drawn  from  v.  12.)  The  thing  is 
possible,  and  the  story  is  meant  as  an  illustra- 
tion of  God's  course,  who  is  other  and  higher 
than  man.    (isa.  55:  sr.) 

8-12.  His  steward,  same  word  in  Luke 
8:  3;  Gal.  4:  2,  is  natural  in  the  story  of  a 
Treat  employer;  wliat  good  is  done  by  saying 
that  the  steward  represents  Christ?  (Comp. 
on  13:  3.)  Beginning  from  the  last  was  a 
special  direction  given,  in  order  that  those 
hired  earlier  might  see  that  all  were  paid 
alike. 

11.  Murmured,  a  strong  word,  more  ex- 
actly, grumbled.  The  Greek  word,  the  Latin 
murmur,  and  the  English  grumble,  are  all  ono- 
matopoetic.  The  tense  is  imperfect,  describ- 
ing the  grumbling  as  in  progress. 

12.  Have  wrought  but  one  hoar.  Spent 
is  the  meaning,  rather  than  'wrought.'  The 
heat,  the  same  word  as  in  Luke  12  :  55;  James 
1 :  11.  The  Rev.  Ver.  renders  '  scorching  heat ' 
in  this  V.  and  Luke,  and  'scorching  wind'  in 
James,  and  puts  'hot  wind'  in  the  margin 
of  Matt,  and  Luke.  The  word  means  'burner,' 


and  is  applied  sometimes  to  burning  heat  in 
general,  but  more  frequently  in  Septuagint  to 
the  burning  east  wind.  (See  Grimm.)  The 
order  of  the  words,  '  the  burden  of  tlie  day  and 
the  scorching  heat,'  {kauson),  as  well  as  the 
more  frequent  use  in  that  sense,  renders  it 
likely  that  the  hot  wind  is  here  intended. 
Mere  heat  is  so  common  in  Palestine  tliat  it 
would  scarcely  be  worth  remark  ;  but  the  dry 
and  scorching  east  wind  is  something  terrib'e. 
Even  in  February  (1871)  this  dry  east  wind, 
having  come  across  the  desert  sands  and  lost 
all  its  moisture,  in  an  hour  so  parched  the 
mouth  and  nostrils  as  to  make  breathing  pain- 
ful and  speech  diflBcult.  The  position  of  the 
article  in  the  Greek  makes  it  impossible  to 
render,  'the  burden  and  heat  of  the  day'  (as 
in  T3'n.  and  followers.) 

13-16.  Friend,  or  'comrade,'  a  familiar 
and  kindly  term,  as  in  11:  16;  22:  12;  26:50. 
14.  Take,  take  up,  or  'take  awaj'.'  They 
had  received  the  pay,  but  perhaps  had  laiil  it 
down  again,  or  stood  holding  it  in  the  hnnd^ 
unwilling  to  go  off  with  it.  I  will  give. 
The  Rev.  Ver.,  It  is  my  will  to  give,  coii- 
veys  the  meaning  well.  The  Greek  is  ex- 
pressed in  English  by  'will  to'  or  'wish 
to'  (i5:.w J  i8:2«;  19: 17),  according  to  the  na- 
ture of  the  case;  comp.  v.  15;  1  Tim.  2:  4;  2 
Pet.  3:  9.  15.  Is  it  not  lawful,  per- 
mi.ssible.  (See  on  14:  4.)  To  do  what  1  will 
with  mine  own?    The  Saviour  here  illus- 


»  The  final  clause  In  the  common  Greek  text,  'and  j  account  for  it;,  insertion  from  v.  4,  and  cannot  account 
whatsoever  is  right  that  ye  shall  receive,'  is  wanting  ;  for  Its  omission  if  originally  present;  so  there  is  no 
In  the  earliest  and  best  documents.    We  can  easily  ,  doubt  that  It  Is  here  spurious. 


414 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XX. 


trates  his  sovereignty  in  the  whole  matter  of 
rewnrding  his  followers.  Or,  Is  thine  eye 
evil,  here  expresses  jeulousy  and  hate  (Mark 7: 
M;  Deui.  io:»;  Prov.  2S:22),  quite  different  from  the 
meaninj?  in  6:  23.  'Or'  is  in  the  correct 
Greek  text.  16.  The  latter  clause  of  this  verse 
in  the  common  Greek  text,  for  many  be 
{are)  called,  but  few  chosien,  is  wanting 
in  leading  early  documents,  and  evidently 
brought  in  from  22:  14,  where  there  is  no 
variation  in  the  reading.i  Our  Lord  here  re- 
peats the  saying  of  19 :  30,  which  he  introduced 
the  parable  to  illustrate.  It  is  very  natural 
that  it  should  be  repeated  in  a  general  form, 
without  the  restrictive  'many'  of  the  first 
statement.  Some  able  writers  (Meyer,  Weiss, 
others)  urge  that  the  parable  and  this  state- 
ment teach  that  in  the  consummated  Mes- 
sianic kingdom  all  will  have  an  equal  reward. 
But  this  is  inconsistent  with  the  first  state- 
ment, and  with  the  distinct  intimation  of  19: 
28  f.  that  there  will  be  difference  of  reward. 
The  general  thought  of  the  parable  is  that  the 
assignment  of  individual  rewards  will  be  a 
matter  of  divine  sovereignty,  precisely  as  in 
20 :  23,  comp.  Acts  1 :  7.  We  have  seen  on 
19:  30  that  this  had  a  special  application  for 
the  disciples,  but  as  a  general  principle  nia3' 
be  variously  applied.  It  is  very  true,  as  some 
commentators  urge,  and  it  may  be  properly 
recalled  here,  that  God  will  reward  men 
more  according  to  aim  and  spirit  than  to 
time  spent  or  results  achieved :  but  the 
Saviour  does  not  here  say  that,  or  distinctly 
imply  it. 

HOMILETICAL  AND   PRACTICAL. 

V.  23-26.  Salvation  of  the  rich.  1)  It  is 
hard,  v.  23.  (a)  Many  peculiar  sins  con- 
nected with  wealth,  in  procuring,  loving, 
using,  retaining  it.  (b)  Men  find  it  difBcult 
to  withdraw  the  heart  from  wealth  (6:21),  and 
give  it  in  supreme  devotion  to  Christ  (comp. 
V.  21  f.);  and  without  this  there  can  be  no 
salvation.  2)  It  is  not  only  hard,  but  im- 
possible, V.  24,  26 ;  yea,  it  is  impossible  for 
any  man  to  bo  saved,  through  human  wis- 
dom, power,  or  goodness. — V.  23.  Euthym.  : 
"If  the  rich  man  with  diflSculty,  the  covetous 
man  not  at  all ;  for  if  he  that  does  not  give  his 
own  possessions  is  condemned,  much  more  he 


that  also  grasps  the  possessions  of  others." — 
V.  25.  Who  then  can  be  saved?  Hexry: 
"Considering  the  many  difficulties  that  are  in 
the  way  of  salvation,  it  is  really  strange  that 
any  are  saved.  When  we  think  how  good 
God  is,  it  may  seem  a  wonder  that  so  few  are 
his;  but  when  we  think  how  bad  man  is,  it  is 
more  a  wonder  that  so  many  are,  and  Christ 
will  be  eternally  admired  in  them." — V.  27. 
Forsaking  all.  The  all  may  not  be  much, 
yet  it  is  much  to  forsake  all.  Chrys.  :  "The 
forsaking  was  done  for  the  sake  of  follow- 
ing, and  the  following  was  rendered  easier 
by  the  forsaking."— V.  27-30.  Forsaking  and 
receiving.  1)  Christ's  servant  must  actually 
forsake  many  things,  and  be  willing  to  for- 
sake all  things,  for  the  sake  of  him  and  his 
work.  2)  The  negative  forsaking  must  be 
accompanied  by  positive  following.  3)  He 
shall  receive  incomparably  more  than  he  has 
forsaken — both  in  time  and  in  eternity.  4) 
The  rewards  received  by  different  servants 
will  be  ver3'  different  in  degree,  v.  28.  5) 
But  Christ  himself  must  decide  what  each 
one's  reward  shall  be,  v.  30,  comp.  20:  1-16; 
we  must  make  no  claims  and  no  complaints. 
— V.  28.  They  who  follow  Jesus  in  this  svorld 
shall  reign  with  him  in  the  better  world. — V. 
29.  Cyril:  "He  does  not  say  that  they  shall 
have  many  fathers  or  mothers  in  place  of  one, 
or  many  fields  in  place  of  few,  but  that  all 
the  earthly  things  will  be  incomparably  ex- 
celled by  the  heavenly',  and  the  things  that 
are  .^aved  will  be  more  valuable  than  those 
that  are  lost."— Ch.  20:  1-16.  The  laborers  in 
God's  vineyard  and  their  reward.  1)  Unlike 
many  human  employers,  God  cares  as  much 
for  the  good  of  the  workers  as  for  the  amount 
of  work  done.  2)  God's  service  is  not  repose 
in  a  "Castle  of  Indolence,"  but  hard  work  in 
a  vineyard;  self-denial  and  toil  in  promoting 
our  own  piety  and  that  of  others.  3)  God  will 
reward  his  workers  richly — in  this  life  (19: 
29,  comp.  Mark  10:  80),  and  in  the  life  to 
come.  (v.  8;  ch.  19:  21,  28.)  4)  He  will  give 
to  none  less  than  he  had  promised  (v.  13),  but 
he  will  give  to  some  much  more  than  he  had 
promised;  he  will  give  as  a  sovereign  (v.  15), 
and  his  workers  must  recognize  that  he  does 
all  things  well.     (v.  16,  comp.  IG:  30.) 


1  It  is  wanting  in  X  B,  L,  Z,  36,  Thebaic,  Mempiiitic,  1  could  be  inserted,  and  can  see  no  sufficient  reason  for 
and  a  codex  of  the  ^thiopic.    We  see  at  once  how  it  I  its  omission  if  originally  present. 


Cn.  XX.] 


MATTHEW. 


415 


17  And  Jesus  going  up  to  Jerusalem  took  the  twelve 
di^iplea  apart  in  the  way,  and  said  unto  them, 

18  Behold,  we  go  up  to  Jerusalem  ;  and  the  Son  of 
man  s.iall  he  betrayed  unto  the  chief  priests  and  unto 
the  scribes,  and  tliey  shall  condemn  him  to  death, 

19  And  shall  deliver  him  to  the  Gentiles  tomocJc,  and 
to  scourge,  and  to  crucify  him :  and  the  third  day  he 
shall  rise  again. 


17  And  as  Jesus  was  going  up  to  Jerusalem,  he  took 
the  twelve  disciples  apart,  and  in  tlie  way  he  said 

18  unto  them,  Behold,  we  go  up  to  Jerusalem  ;  and  tlie 
Son  of  man  shall  be  delivered  unto  the  chief  priests 

19  and  scribes;  and  they  shall  condemn  him  to  death, 
and  shall  deliver  him  unto  the  Gentiles  to  mock,  ana 
to  scourge,  and  to  crucify :  and  the  third  day  he  shall 
be  raised  up. 


Ch.  20  :  17-28.  Jesus  again  Forbtells 
HIS  Death  and  Resurrection.  Ambi- 
tious Request  of  James  and  John. 

Found  also  in  Mark  10:  32-45;  and  (in  part) 
in  Luke  18:  31-34.  This  passage  seems  in 
Matt.,  Mark,  and  Luke  to  follow  immediately 
upon  the  foregoing  matters  (i9:3toi0:  le),  and 
to  precede  by  only  a  few  days  the  triumphal 
entry.  (2i:i)  The  phrase 'going  up,'  '  we  go 
up  to  Jerusalem,'  does  not  prove  that  they 
had  crossed  the  river,  and  were  now  ascend- 
ing from  its  valley,  as  in  Luke  19:  28.  Since 
Jerusalem  was  reached  by  ascent  both  from 
east  and  west,  it  became  customary  to  speak 
of  'going  up'  to  Jerusalem  from  all  parts  of 
the  country,  Luke  2:  42;  John  2:  13;  5:  1; 
11:55;  Acts  15:  2;  25:  1;  Gal.  1 :  17  f. ;  2:  1. 
It  is  after  this  that  Jesus  and  his  followers 
reach  Jericho,  20:  29;  Mark  10:  46.  The 
scene  is  somewhat  more  likely  to  have  been 
in  Perea,  than  between  the  river  and  Jericho, 
which  was  only  a  few  miles;  but  the  question 
cannot  be  determined,  and  does  not  affect  the 
exegesis. .  This  section  contains  two  parts,  v. 
17-19  and  v.  20-28. 

I.  17-19.  Jesus  A  Third  Time  Foretells 
HIS  Death  and  Resurrection,  comp.  Mark 
10:  32-34;  Luke  18:  31-34.  The  two  preced- 
ing recorded  occasions  were  just  before  and 
just  after  the  Transfiguration  (i6:2i;  17:22), 
and  at  least  six  months  earlier  than  tills.  We 
cannot  judge  whether  he  had  spoken  of  it 
distinctly  in  the  mean  time,  but  there  is  in 
Luke  12:  49  ff.,  an  indication  that  his  own 
mind  had  been  all  the  while  turning  towards 
what  awaited  him,  turning  with  a  feeling  of 
constraint  and  pressure,  but  not  of  grief  or 
discouragement.  Going  up  to  Jerasalem.i 
What  follows  was  said  in  the  way,  on  the 
road.  Mark  (io:S2)  tells  that  his  followers, 
here  meaning  more  than  the  Twelve,  were 
'amazed'  and  'afraid'  as  they  walked  after 
him  along  the  road,  probably  because  of  what 
he  had  said  about  the  difficulty  of  saving  the 


rich  (i9:28(r.),  and  about  the  Messianic  re- 
wards for  sacrifices  in  his  service  (i9: 28  ir.) ;  per- 
haps also  there  was  an  absorbed  and  fixed 
look  in  the  Master's  face  as  he  pressed  on  to 
his  terrible  baptism  of  suffering,  that  was 
new,  and  filled  them  with  wonder  and  alarm. 
Took  the  twelve  disciples  apart,  from 
the  throng  that  were  accompanying  liim  to 
tiie  Passover.  (20: 2»;  Lukeis:  se.)  Only  the 
Twelve  were  in  the  least  prepared  to  under- 
stand such  predictions  concerning  the  Mes- 
siah. Even  at  Jerusalem,  some  six  months 
earlier,  the  people  did  not  at  all  understand 
"Yet  a  little  while  am  I  with  you,  and  I  go 
unto  him  that  sent  me,"  John  7:  33-36,  Rev. 
Ver.  We  go  up  to  Jerusalem,  etc.  Ori- 
gen  remarks  that  Paul  exactly  imitated 
Christ  when  he  went  up  to  Jerusalem  in  full 
view  of  peril.  Acts  21 :  10-13.  The  predic- 
tion our  Lord  here  gives  is  substantially  the 
same  as  in  16:  21  (see  notes).  Some  new 
particulars  are  now  added,  as  is  natural  in 
the  nearer  approach  to  the  event,  and  when 
their  minds  have  been  somewliat  prepared  by 
the  previous  predictions.  The  Sanhodrin  will 
formally  condemn  him  to  death;  and  not 
only  will  he  '  be  delivered  into  the  hands  of 
men,'   as  foretold    on    the  second    occasion 

(17:   22,  with  Mark  and  Lake),  but    delivered    tO   the 

Gentiles  (Mark  and  Luke  also),  to  mock, 
and  to  scourge,  and  to  crucify  ;  Mark  and 
Luke  add  'spit  upon,"  and  Luke  generally 
that  he  shall  be  'shamefully  treated.'  Tyn- 
dale,  Cran.,  Gen.,  King  James,  all  here  ren- 
der the  same  word,  'betrayed'  in  v.  18  and 
'deliver'  in  v.  19,  a  useless  and  misleading 
variation,  comp.  on  17:  *22,  and  10:  4. — Still, 
after  this  renewed  and  detailed  prediction, 
the  Twelve  "understood  none  of  these 
things."  (Lukei8:S4.)  It  was  utterly  contrary 
to  all  their  ideas  of  Messinh  and  his  wori< ; 
these  things  cnufd  not  be  literally  true  of  tlie 
king—what  did  it  all  mean?  Notice  how 
Luke  dwells  upon  their  inability:   "and  this 


1  W  n.  adopt  the  reading  '  was  about  to  go  np,'  from  I  '  was  going  "P'  *'y  ''•'ly  "f  nssiniilation  to  v.  18  and  to 
B,  one  cursive,  Meniph.,  Theb.,  Pesh  ,  Origen  (three  yUrk  ami  Luke,  and  so  Is  iimlwibly  correct.  There  ia 
times).    This  might  easily  have  been   changed  into  |  of  course  no  substantial  dilferenee. 


416 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XX. 


20  Then  came  to  him  the  mother  of  Zebedee's  children 
with  her  sous,  worshipping  Aim,  and  desiriug  a  certain 
thiug  of  him. 

21  And  he  said  unto  her,  What  wilt  thou?  She  saith 
unto  him,  Grant  that  these  my  two  sons  may  sit,  the 
one  on  thy  right  hand,  and  the  other  on  the  left,  in  thy 
kingdom. 


20  Then  came  to  him  the  mother  of  the  sons  of  Zebe- 
dee  with  her  sons,  worshipping  Aim,  and  asking  a 

21  certain  thing  of  hlin.  And  he  said  unto  her,  What 
wouldest  thou?  She  saith  unto  him,  Command  that 
these  my  two  sons  may  sit,  one  on  thy  right  hand. 


saying  was  hid  from  them,  and  they  per- 
ceived not  the  things  that  were  said."  Comp. 
on  16:  21.  Hanna:  "  This  only  proves  whivt 
a  blinding  power  preconception  and  miscon- 
ception have  in  hiding  the  simplest  things 
told  in  the  simplest  language — a  blinding 
power  often  exercised  over  us  now  as  to  the 
written,  as  it  was  then  exercised  over  the 
apostles  as  to  their  Master's  spoken,  words  .  .  . 
They  had  made  up  their  minds,  on  the  beat 
of  evidence,  that  he  was  the  Messiah.  But 
they  had  their  own  notions  of  the  Messiah- 
ship.  With  these,  such  sufferings  and  such  a 
death  as  actually  lay  before  Jesus  were  utterly 
incon.sistent.  His  expressi(ms,  then,  must  be 
figurative,  intended,  perhaps,  to  represent 
some  severe  struggle  with  his  adversaries, 
through  which  he  had  to  pass  before  his  king- 
dom was  set  up  and  acknowledged." 

II.  20-28.  Ambitious  Bequest  of  the 
Mother  of  James  axd  John.     Mark  10:  | 
36-45.     Luke  does  not  give  this,  though  paral- 
lel to  Mutt,   and  Mark,  just  before  and  just  \ 
after;    but    he    gives    similar    teaching    on  i 
another  occasion,  Luke  22:  24-30.     Mark  rep-  , 
resents  James  and  John  as  themselves  saying, 
in  almost  exactly  identical  words,  what  Matt, 
ascribes  to  their  mother.      The  case  is  pre-  j 
cisely  like  that  of  the  centurion  (see  on  8:  5  | 
ff.),  and  in  accordance  with  the  law  maxim,  j 
"  He  who  does  a  thing  through  another,  does  it 
himself."  Our  Lord  so  takes  it,  for  he  presently  , 
addresses  the  sons  themselves  as  making  the  ! 
request,    ye  '  v.  22  f.     Then  came,  does  not; 
necessarily  (see  on  3:  13),  but  does  naturally! 
indicate  that  this  followed  closely  upon  the  j 
preceding;  Mark  simply  'and,'  as  in  19:  13. 
The  request  seems  to  have  been  made  pri- 
vately, when  the  other  ten  apostles  were  not ', 
present,  v.  24.     The  mother  of  Zebedee's  i 
children  with  her  sons.    Tyndale  and  fol- 
lowers rendered  'Zebedee's  children,'   prob- 
ably to  avoid  the   immediate    repetition    ofj 
'sons;'  but  the  effect  is  to  suggest  that  there 
were  other  children  besides  the  sons.     As  to 
Zebedee  and  Salome,  and  their  sons,  see  on 
10:   2.      "We    have    no    knowledge    whether 
Zebedee  was  in  the  company,  or  was  still  liv- 


ing. It  is  clear  that  the  mother  here  shares  the 
ambition  of  her  sons,  and  so  it  is  not  unlikely 
that  from  her  it  was  inherited.  If,  as  many 
suppose  (see  on  27:  56),  she  was  the  sister  of 
the  Saviour's  mother,  that  would  explain  her 
boldness  in  personally  approaching  him  and 
preferring  so  grave  a  request.  Comp.  Bath- 
sheba  coming  to  David  for  Solomon,  1  Kings 
1:  11  ff.  Worshipping  him  here  evidently 
means  paying  homage  as  to  a  king,  (comp.  on 
2:  2),  for  it  is  precisely  as  such  that  they  ap- 
proach him.  'Worshipping'  and  'asking' 
are  in  the  singular  number,  but  it  is  implied 
that  the  sons  united  with  her.  A  certain 
thing,  or  'something,'  Wye,  Eheims,  Bib. 
Union,  and  so  Meyer.  Mark  says  they  first 
wished  him  to  promise  that  he  would  do 
whatsoever  they  should  ask — which  was  pre- 
sumptuous indeed.  Grant — or  command, 
that,  for  the  Greek  construction  see  on  5  :  29. 
She  is  thinking  of  the  two  highest  places  in  an 
earthly  kingdom.  Could  not  the  solemn  pre- 
diction of  his  death  and  resurrection  which  he 
had  just  before  made  correct  their  unspiritual 
conception?  Nay,  even  after  the  death  and 
resurrection  had  actually  occurred,  the 
Twelve  retained  the  same  expectation. 
(Acta  1:6.)  In  fact  the  prediction  seems  on 
several  other  occasions  also  to  have  been  im- 
mediately followed  by  a  dispute  as  to  great- 
ness in  the  kingdom;  see  on  18:  1,  and  here- 
after 26:  2.  (Luke  22: 24.)  They  seem  to  have 
lost  sight  of  the  suffering  and  death,  and  fixed 
their  minds  only  upon  the  thought  that  some- 
how or  other  the  splendid  Messianic  kingdom 
was  about  to  be  established  ;  comp.  Luke  just 
afterward  (w:"),  "they  supposed  that  the 
kingdom  of  God  was  immediately  to  appear." 
Our  Lord  had  shortly  before  (Mau.  is :  28),  per- 
haps the  same  day,  spoken  of  himself  as  the 
Messiah  who  would  'in  the  regeneration  sit  on 
the  throne  of  his  glory,'  and  had  promised 
that  the  Twelve  should  then  occupj'  '  twelve 
thrones.'  Salome  and  her  sons  seem  to  have 
fastened  upon  that  thought.  Why  not  ask 
that  her  two  sons  may  sit  on  the  two  chief 
thrones?  To  place  the  most  distinguished 
persons  on  the  right  and  left  of  a  sovereign  or 


Ch.  XX.] 


MATTHEW. 


417 


22  But  Jesus  answered  and  said,  Ye  know  not  what 
ye  ask.  Are  ye  able  to  drink  ot  tlie  cup  that  I  shall 
drink  of,  and  to  be  baptized  with  the  baptism  that  I  am 
baptized  with?    They  sav  unto  him,  We  are  able. 

23  And  he  saith  unto  tLem,  Ye  shall  drink  indeed  of 
my  cup,  and  be  baptized  with  the  baptism  that  I  am 
baptized  with :  but  to  sit  on  my  right  hand,  and  on  my 
left,  is  not  mine  to  eive,  but  it  shall  be  given  to  them  for 
whom  it  is  prepared  of  my  Father. 

24  And  when  the  ten  heard  it,  they  were  moved  with 
indignation  against  the  two  brethren. 


22  and  one  on  thy  left  hand,  in  thy  kingdom.  But 
Jesus  answered  and  said,  Ye  know  not  wnat  ye  ask. 
Are  ye  able  to  drink  the  cup  that  I  am  about  to  drink? 

23  They  say  unto  him.  We  are  able.  He  saith  unto 
them.  My  cup  indeed  ye  shall  drink:  but  to  sit  on 
my  right  hand,  and  on  my  left  hand,  is  not  mine  to 
give,  but  it  is  for  them  for  whom  it  hath  been  pre- 

24  pared  of  my  Father.    And  when  the  ten  heard  it. 


presiding  personage  was  common  among  the 
Greeks  and  Romans,  as  well  as  the  Jews 
(Wet.),  and  is  practiced  among  us  at  ban- 
quets, etc.  As  to  the  dignity  of  being  on  the 
right  hand,  comp.  Psa.  16:  11 ;  45:  9;  110:  1; 
Mark  14:  52;  Acts  7:  55  f.,  etc.  Salome's  two 
sons,  with  Peter,  have  already  been  treated 
with  special  distinction  at  the  raising  of  Jairus' 
daughter  and  at  the  Transfiguration,  and 
this  might  encourage  their  present  high  ambi- 
tion. They  had  also  shown  a  fiery  and  self- 
assertive  nature  in  forbidding  the  man  who 
followed  not  with  them  (Mark  9: 38),  and  in 
wishing  to  call  down  fire  from  heaven  on  the 
Samaritan  village  (Lake9:54);  comp.  above  on 
10:  2. 

22  f.  Our  Lord  treats  the  request  as  that  of 
the  sons  themselves.  Ye  know  not  what  ye 
ask.  To  ask  that  they  might  reign  with  him 
was  asking  that  they  might  suffer  with  him; 
comp.  2  Tim.  2:  12;  Rev.  3:  21;  Rom.  8:  17. 
The  cup  that  I  shall  drink,  a  familiar 
image  for  great  suffering,  as  in  26:  39;  John 
18:11;  Psa.  75:8;  Isa.  51 :  17;  Jer.  49:  12. 
Be  baptized  with  the  baptism  that  I  am 
baptized,  to  be  plunged  in  the  same  suffer- 
ings, comp.  Luke  12:  50,  and  see  above  on 
3:  6.  This  comes  from  Mark  10:  38,  and 
WHS  added  to  Matthew  here  and  in 
the  next  verse  by  many  copies.i  We 
are  able.  This  was  excessive  self-confi- 
dence, but  not  mere  arrogance.  They  were 
ignorant  what  the  cup  would  contain,  but 
sincere  and  resolute  in  their  devotion,  as  they 
afterwards  showed.  Probably  (Alexander) 
they  thought  of  having  to  fight  for  the  Mes- 
sianic kingdom,  and  the  ardent  spirit  of  the 
"Sons  of  Thunder"  would  swell  at  the 
thought.  Peter,  the  other  of  the  three  chosen 
disciples,  made  a  like  confident  expression 
soon  after,  Luke  22:  33.  Our  Lrrd's  reply  is 
not  severe,  but  kind.     Drink  indeed  of  my  ! 


cup,  the  particle  rendered  'truly'  in  9:37, 
and  there  explained,  indicating  that  this  state- 
ment is  placed  in  contrast  with  something  to 
follow.  Ye  shall  drink  indeed  of  my  cup, 
...  but,  etc.  They  were  not  appointed  to 
suffer  as  profound  mental  anguish  as  the  Mas- 
ter, nor  would  their  suffering  have  any  aton- 
ing character ;  but  in  his  service  James  would 
die  as  the  first  apostolic  martyr  (Acts  12:  2),  and 
John  would  as  a  living  martyr  suffer  persecu- 
tion (Rev.  1:  9),  and  sore  trouble  in  conflict  with 
error  (Epistles  of  John).  The  legends  that 
John  was  made  to  drink  poison,  and  was 
plunged  in  boiling  oil,  are  likely  (Meyer)  to 
have  been  suggested  by  this  saj'ing.  Not 
mine  to  give.  Ho  thus  lifts  their  minds 
away  from  the  idea  of  a  human  sovereign 
bestowing  earthly  honors  to  that  of  divine 
gifls.  He  speaks  of  himself  (comp.  John 
14:  28)  as  officially  subordinate  to  the  Father 
in  his  office  as  the  God-man,  the  Mediator,  in 
which  he  has  derived  all  his  authority  and 
power  from  the  Father  (28 as),  and  will  at 
length  return  it  to  him.  (icor.  i5:28),  Comp. 
24:36;  Mark  13:  32.  The  English  word 
'but'  might  here  seem  to  mean  'except' — 
"  not  mine  to  give  except  to  those  for  whom 
it  has  been  prepared,"'  but  the  Greek  word 
(nlln)  cannot  have  that  sense.  For  whom  it 
is  prepared  of  my  Father.  All  the  arrange- 
ments of  the  Messianic  kingdom  have  been 
alreadi'  made  by  the  Father,  indeed  made 
"from  the  foundation  of  the  world,"'  25:  34, 
comp.  Acts  1 :  7. 

24.  When  the  ten  heard  it.  They  had 
not  been  present  at  the  time,  but  heard,  ap- 
parently soon  after,  what  had  occurred. 
iMoved  with  indignation  against  the 
two  brethren,  not  'against'  but  concern' 
itifl,  about  their  whole  course  in  the  matter. 
Mark  has  the  same  expression.  Their  feeling 
is  more  easily  accounted   for  from  the  fact 


>  It  is  here  wanting  (in  both  verses)  in  K  B  D  I.  Z,  I  twecn  Matthew  and  .Mark  is  expressly  mentioned  by 
two  cursive?,  Old  Syrlac,  most  copies  of  the  Old  Latin,  Origen.  Such  an  enlargement  of  one  Gospel  from  an- 
"Vulgate,  Memph.,  Tbeb.,  Aeth. ;  and  the  difference  bo-    other  is  extremely  common. 

2B 


418 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XX. 


25  But  Jesus  called  them  unto  him,  and  said,  Ye  know 
that  the  princes  of  the  Gentiles  exercise  dominion  over 
them,  and  they  tliat  are  great  exercise  authority  upon 
them. 

26  But  it  shall  not  be  so  among  you  :  but  whosoever 
will  be  great  among  you,  let  him  be  your  minister ; 

27  And  wiiosoever  will  be  chief  among  you,  let  him 
be  your  servant: 

28  Even  as  the  Son  of  man  came  not  to  be  ministered 
unto,  but  to  minister,  and  to  give  his  life  a  ransom  for 
many. 


25  they  were  moved  with  indignation  concerning  the 
two  brethren.  But  Jesus  called  them  unto  liini,  and 
said,  Ye  know  that  the  rulers  of  the  Uentiles  lord  it 
over  theiu,  and  their  great  ones  exercise  authority 

26  over  them.  Not  so  shall  it  be  among  yon  :  but  who- 
soever would  become  great  among  you  shall  l)e  your 

27  1  minister;  and  whosoever  would  no  first  among  you 

28  shall  be'your  ^servant:  even  as  the  Son  of  man  came 
not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to  minister,  and  to 
give  his  life  a  lausom  for  many. 


1  Or,  tanant 2  bondiervant. 


mentioned  by  Matthew,  that  the  request  was 
made  through  Salome.  Here  was  notonlj'  an 
ambitious  atteuipt  to  gain  tlie  advantage  over 
the  rest,  and  to  forestall  matters  by  a  promise 
in  advance,  but  it  may  have  seemed  an 
unwortliy  thing  to  use  a  woman's  plea;  all 
the  more  if  she  was  near  of  kin  to  the  future 
sovereign.  So  near  the  end,  and  they  are  still 
thinking  of  a  worldly  kingdom,  and  full  of 
selfish  scheming  and  unkindness. 

25-28.  "What  a  sorrowful  task  for  the 
loving  Saviour,  to  repress  these  ambitions  and 
asperities.  Called  them  unto  him.  The 
two  may  have  been  still  with  him,  or  all  may 
have  been  summoned  together.  He  refers  to 
the  fact  that  high  places  of  authority  and  do- 
minion belong  to  worldly  kingdoms.  It  shall 
not  be  so  among  yon,  or  more  likely,  not  so 
it  is  among  you}  Will  be,  or  wishes  to  become; 
and  so  'wishes  to  be.'  For  minister  and 
servant,  or  more  exactly '  bond  servant '  (Rev. 
Ver.  margin),  comp.  on  8  :  6.  Alasl  how 
easily  human  ambition  can  use  these  very 
words  and  yet  retain  its  own  spirit.  The 
"great  ones"  in  a  kingdom  are  called  "min- 
isters." Even  the  Christian  "minister"  will 
sometimes  'lord  it'  over  his  charge  (1  Pet. 
5  :  3,  same  word  as  here)  ;  and  the  often 
arrogant  despot  in  the  Vatican  calls  himself 
"the  servant  of  servants  of  the  servants 
of  God."  Even  as  the  Son  of  man  (see 
on  8  :  20).  the  Messiah  himself  did  not  come 
to  enthrone  himself  in  an  earthly  king- 
dom, with  higher  and  lower  officials  to  wait 
on  him.  How  different  from  all  this  his  life 
had  been  they  knew  \  and  he  here  declares 
that  such  was  the  purpose  of  his  coming. 
Comp.  Luke  22  :  27  ;  Phil.  2:5;  Rom.  15 :  3. 

And  now  comes  a  phrase  of  the  highest 
moment,  such  as  the  Saviour  has  not  before 
employed.    He  has  spoken  repeatedly  of  his 

1  Several  of  the  best  documents  here,  and  still  more 
in  Mark,  read  esii, '  is,'  rather  than  estai,  'shall  be.'    It 


approaching    death  (le :  21 ;  17  :  22  ;  20  :  19 ;  comp.  John 

7 :  33)j  but  now  it  is  added  that  his  death  will  be 
redeeming  and  vicarious,  and  that  this  was  the 
design  of  his  coming.  Mark  10:45  has  pre- 
cisely the  same  expression.  This  remarkable 
statement  must  have  been  quite  bej'ond  the 
comprehension  of  the  disciples,  till  afterwards 
brought  to  their  remembrance  by  the  Holy 
Spirit  (John  u:  26).  His  life,  comp.  on  16:25. 
A  ransom  (Greek  lutron).  The  Greek 
verb  {bio)  means  to  loose,  release,  e.  g., 
a  prisoner,  Acts  22:30.  Lutron  (termina- 
tion— tron)  is  the  means  or  instrument  of 
releasing,  and  this  in  the  case  of  a  captive 
is  naturally  a  ransom.  The  word  is  often 
used  in  the  classics  and  the  Sept.  (Lid- 
dell  and  Scott,  Cremer)  to  denote  a  ran- 
som in  money,  and  in  corresponding  figur- 
ative senses.  So  here  Christ's  life  is  given  as 
'a  ransom,'  serving  to  redeem  men  from  cap- 
tivity, from  the  power  of  sin  and  spiritual 
death.  From  this  word  lutron  are  formed  the 
words  translated  in  the  New  Test,  'redeem' 
and  'redemption.'  Our  English  word  ran- 
som is  the  French  rangon,  contracted  from 
the  Latin  redemptio,  which  we  afterwards 
borrowed  separately  as  redemption.  The 
Old  Latin  and  Vulg.  here  render  redemp- 
tionem;  so  Cranmer  and  Rheims,  'a  redemp- 
tion for  many.'  The  preposition  rendered 
'for'  (anti)  necessarily  means  'instead  of,' 
involving  substitution,  a  vicarious  death. 
The  preposition  in  Mark  14  :  24  and  com- 
monly employed  by  Paul  in  speaking  of 
Christ's  death  for  us  (comp.  John  11  :  51)  is 
hnper,  which  means  'in  behalf  of,'  'for  the 
benefit  of,'  and  derivatively  'instead  of  wher- 
ever the  nature  of  the  case  suggests  that 
idea,  wherever  performing  an  action  for 
one's  benefit  involves  performing  it  in  his 
stead.     This  derivative  use  of  huperis  frequent 


is  diflacult  to  decide,  for  the  former  corresponds  to  what 
precedes,  and  the  latter  to  what  follows. 


Ch.  XX.] 


MATTHEW. 


419 


29  And  as  they  departed  from  Jericho,  a  great  multi- 
tude followed  him. 


And  as  they  went  out  from  Jericho,  a  great  multi- 


enough  in  the  classics,  and  that  Paul  often 
employs  it  to  mean  'instead  of  is  beyond  all 
reasonable  question.  When  objectors  urge 
that  that  is  only  a  secondary  meaning  of 
httper,  and  require  us  to  prove  otherwise  that 
Christ's  death  was  vicarious,  then  it  is  well  to 
remember  that  here  (and  so  in  Mark)  the  pre- 
position is  anti,  which  no  one  can  possibly 
deny  to  have,  and  necessarily,  the  meaning 
'instead  of  ;  and  in  1  Tim.  2  :  6,  while  '  for' 
is  huper,  this  same  aftti  is  prefixed  to  lutron, 
"who  gave  himself  a  substitutionary  ransom 
for  all."  In  26:28  the  preposition  \s  peri, 
'concerning.'  For  many,  Christ's  atoning 
death  made  it  compatible  with  the  divine  jus- 
tice that  all  should  be  saved  if  they  would 
accept  it  on  that  ground ;  and  in  that  sense 
he  "gave  himself  a  ransom  for  all"  (i  Tim. -^ -.  6), 
"tasted  death  for  every  man"  (Heb. 2:9),  comp. 
1  John  2:2;  but  his  death  was  never  ex- 
pected, nor  divinely  designed,  actually  to 
secure  the  salvation  of  all,  and  so  in  the 
sense  of  specific  purpose  he  came  "  to  give  his 
life  a  ransom  for  many.'^  Comp.  26:28; 
Heb.  9:  28;  Kom.  5:  15,  18;  Isa.  53  :  12. 
Henry:  "Sufficient  for  all,  elTectual  for 
many."  * 

HOMILETICAL  AND  PRACTICAL. 

V.  18.  Origen:  "It  is  not  proper  that  we 
should  always  avoid  perils,  or  always  advance 
to  meet  them  ;  one  must  be  wise  in  Christ  to 
determine." — V.  19.  Anonym.:  "All  the  sal- 
vation of  men  lies  in  the  death  of  Christ." 
— Four  discourses;  Jesus  predicting  his  pas- 
sion (see  on  16:  21);  Jesus  preparing  for  his 

passion    (LukelJ:  SO;  John  12:  27  ff.;  Octhsemnne)  ;    JeSUS  | 
enduring      his      passion      (Matthew,  Mark,  Lulte,  John, 

comp.  Heb.  12 :  j) ;    Jesus  looking  back   upon   his  i 

passion.       (Luke24:26f.,  4«.4S;  Kev.l:  is.) — V.     '21      ff.  i 

Chrys.  :  "Let  no  man  be  troubled  at  the  apos-  I 
ties  being  in  such  an  imperfect  state.     Fori 


not  yet  was  the  cross  accomplished,  not  yet 
the  grace  of  the  Spirit  given.  But  if  thou 
wouldst  learn  their  virtue,  notice  them  after 
tjiese  things,  and  see  what  manner  of  men  they 
became  by  grace."— V.  20.  f.  Hall:  "  It  is 
not  discommendable  in  parents  to  seek  the 
preferment  of  their  children,  so  it  be  by  law- 
ful means,  in  a  moderate  measure.  Oh,  the 
madness  of  those  parents  that  desire  rather  to 
leave  their  children  great  than  good." — V. 
22.  Ye  know  not  what  ye  ask.  1)  To  ask  for 
special  qualities  of  mind  and  character  may 
be  asking  for  the  usually  attendant  faults  and 
weaknesses,  and  the  consequertt  perils  and 
distresses;  poet,  artist,  orator,  financier, — 
beauty,  wit,  strength  of  will,  passion,  san- 
guine temperament.  2)  To  ask  for  worldly 
wealth  and  honor  is  asking  for  great  toil  and 
anxiety,  asking  to  be  envied  and  evil  spoken 
of,  asking  often  for  disappointment  and  bitter 
sadness.  3)  To  ask  even  for  eminent  relig- 
ious usefulness  and  reward  is  to  ask  for  great 
suffering.  Col.  1:  24;  2  Cor.  11 :  28 ;  Rev.  1: 
9;  2:  10;  Rom.  8:  17.  Then  let  us  always 
ask  in  subordination  to  God's  will,  1  John  5: 
14  f.  .  Aug.:  "Give  what  thou  bidst  and 
bid  what  thou  wilt."  Henry:  "We  know 
not  what  we  ask,  when  we  ask  for  the  glory 
of  wearing  the  crown,  and  ask  not  for  grace 
to  bear  the  cross  in  our  way  to  it." — V.  26. 
Not  so  among  you.  1)  In  worldly  kingdoms 
ambition  eagerly  seeks  for  authority  and  do- 
minion. 2)  In  Christ's  kingdom  the  only 
greatness  is  usefulness,  the  only  dominion  is 
service.  3)  Our  King  himself  came  to  be  a 
servant  and  a  sacrifice.  4)  Let  these  things 
be  a  check  to  religious  ambition,  and  a  cure 
for  religious  jealousy. 

29-34.  Two  Blind  Men  Healed  Near 
Jericho. 

Found  also  in   Mark  10:  46-54;    Luke  18: 
85-43.    Our  Lord  and  his  disciples  and  the 


1  Here  the  "  Western "  documents,  D,  Old  Syriac, 
most  copies  of  Old  Latin  and  some  Latin  Fathers,  add 
(details  varying) :  "  But  do  you  seek  out  of  little  to  in- 
crease and  out  of  greater  to  be  less.  And  when  you 
enter  in  and  have  been  invited  to  dine,  do  not  recline 
In  the  prominent  places,  lest  a  more  honored  than  thou 
come,  and  the  host  come  and  say  to  thee,  Move  still 
lower,  and  thou  shall  be  ashamed;  but  if  thou  recline 
in  the  inferior  place,  and  there  come  one  inferior  to 


thee,  the  host  will  say  to  thee.  Get  up  still  higher,  and 
this  shall  be  useful  to  thee."  The  latter  sentence  is 
obviously  a  mere  traditional  corruption  of  Luke  14  :  8- 
11.  The  former  is  likely  enough  based  on  a  true  saying 
of  our  Lord.  For  a  collection  of  sayings  ascribed  to 
Jesus  in  early  MS,S.  and  Fathers,  and  not  given  In 
New  Test.,  see  Westcott's  "  Introduction  to  Study  of 
Gospels,"  App.  C. 


420 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XX. 


accompanying  throng  on  the  way  to  the  Pass- 
over, had  crossed  the  Jordan,  and  were  with- 
in one  day's  journey  of  Jerusalem.  They 
had  probably  crossed  by  a  ferry-boat  several 
miles  higher  up  the  river  than  the  point  op- 
posite to  Jericho.  Such  a  ferry  exists  there 
now,  and  existed  in  that  vicinity  at  an  early 
day.  (ssam.  19: 18.)  The  river  just  before  the 
Passover  must  have  been  comparatively  high 
and  swift,  and  only  the  more  adventurous  of 
the  multitude  would  attempt  to  ford.  As  to 
the  Jordan,  see  on  3:  6.  Jericho,  as  flourish- 
ing and  fortified  with  strong  walls  at  the  com- 
ing of  the  Israelites,  and  as  destroyed  by 
them,  is  well  known  from  the  Book  of  Joshua. 
The  curse  of  Joshua  (6:26)  was  fulfilled 
against  the  man  who  rebuilt  it  (i  Kings  lu:  34), 
and  may  have  been  regarded  by  some  as  ex- 
hausted in  his  case.  The  plain  west  of  the 
Jordan  is  there  some  eight  miles  wide,  the 
great  fountain  which  bursts  forth  near  the 
ancient  site  is  so  copious  as  to  irrigate  sev- 
eral square  miles,  there  is  another  fountain 
northward  and  streams  from  the  moun- 
tains lying  west,  while  artificial  irrigation 
from  fountains  higher  up  the  valley  could 
make  all  the  lower  plain  richly  produc- 
tive. There  were  doubtless  many  dwellers 
in     that     plain     at  all     periods.     (2  Sam.  10 : 

5;  2  Kings  2: 1-22;  Neh.  7:36.)        In     the      time     of    the 

Maccabees,  about  b.  c.  160,  a  Syrian  general 
"repaired  the  fort  in  Jericho."  (iMacc 9:5o.) 
Pompey,  B.  c.  63,  destroyed  two  forts  that 
protected  the  entrance  to  Jericho.  In  speak- 
ing of  this,  Strabo  (16,  2,  41)  describes  Jericho 
as  a  plain  everywhere  irrigated,  filled  with 
dwellings,  abounding  in  the  finest  palm  trees 
and  other  fruit  trees,  and  says  that  here  was 
'"the  paradise  of  balsam,"  a  bush  whose  co- 
agulated juice  was  highly  valued  as  a  medi- 
cine and  the  wood  for  its  aroma,  and  which 
was  found  here  only.  The  plain  is  so  far 
below  the  level  of  the  Mediterranean  as  to  be 
extremely  hot.  Josephus  says  that  linen 
clothes  were  worn  at  Jericho  when  there  was 
snow  in  Jerusalem;  and  it  may  be  added 
(from  personal  experience)  that  mosquitoes 
abound  in  the  end  of  February.  Accordingly 
the  productions  were  tropical  in  character 
and  in  luxuriance.  (Jos.  "War,"  4,  8,  3.) 
The  Koman  allies  of  Herod  plundered  the 
city  in  B.  c.  39  ("War,"  1,  15,  6),' finding 
"the  houses  full  of  all  sorts  of  good  things." 


The  great  revenues  of  Jericho,  especially  from 
the  balsam,  were  presented  by  Antony  to 
Cleopatra  (Jos.  "Ant.,"  15,  4,  2),  and  at  a  later 
period  made  the  chief  revenue  officer  notably 
rich.  (Luke  19: 2.)  Herod  built  a  fortified  palacc 
and  a  new  town  northward  from  the  old  site 
("Ant.,"  16,5,2),  and  died  there  ("Ant.," 
17,  6,  5).  Eusebi  us  says  of  Jericho  ( ' '  Onom. " ) : 
"Which  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  thought 
worthy  of  his  presence.  But  when  it  also 
was  destroyed  at  the  siege  of  Jerusalem  on 
account  of  the  unbelief  of  the  inhabitants, 
there  arose  a  third  time  another  city  which  is 
shown  even  now.  And  of  the  two  former 
also  the  traces  are  even  now  preserved."  We 
know  not  whether  our  Lord  took  any  special 
interest  in  tlie  fact  that  his  own  genealogy  in- 
cluded Kahab  of  Jericho  (i:5);  but  we  may 
be  sure  he  delighted  in  the  well-watered  and 
verdant  plain,  with  the  spring  flowers  and 
fruits.  "  It  was  not  the  season  of  figs  "  on  the 
Mount  of  Olives  yet  (Mark  11 :  13,  r.  v.),  but  they 
were  ripening  at  Jericho.  The  juicy  green 
almonds  were  delicious  to  the  taste.  The 
"rose  plants  in  Jericho"  (kooIus. 24:u)  were 
famous  through  the  land.  Everj'  sense  was 
gratified  to  the  utmost  as  he  and  his  followers 
came  up  the  successive  terraces  from  the 
river  into  this  magnificent  plain.  And  yon- 
der precipitous  rock  mountain  that  overhangs 
the  city  on  the  west,  was  it  indeed  the  scene 
of  that  forty  da3's'  temptation  which  began 
the  ministry  now  so  soon  to  end? 

Jesus  spent  the  night  at  Jericho,  and  may 
have  stayed  there  longer.  Luke  gives  a 
deeply  interesting  account  (i9:i-28)  of  Zac- 
cheus,  at  whose  house  he  abode,  and  of  a  par- 
able he  spoke  to  modify  the  supposition  that 
"the  kingdom  of  God  was  immediately  to  ap- 
pear," which  parable  in  an  altered  form  will 
be  repeated  a  few  days  later.   (Matt.  20: 14-30.) 

As  they  departed  from  Jericho.  So 
Mark.  But  Luke,  (i8:35)  'as  he  drew  nigh 
unto  Jericho.'  This  celebrated  "discrep- 
ancy" has  not  been  explained  in  a  thoroughly 
satisfactory  way.  The  older  explanations 
are  very  poor:  as  that  he  healed  one  man  in 
drawing  near  and  two  others  in  leaving,  thus 
making  three  in  all ;  or  that  Matthew  has 
thrown  together  the  two  cases  described  by 
Mark  and  Luke ;  that  Jesus  tarried  some 
daj^s,  and  the  healing  occurred  while  he  was 
going  in  and  out  of  the  city;    that  'draw 


Ch.  XX.] 


MATTHEW. 


421 


30  And,  behold,  two  blind  men  sitting  by  the  way 
side,  when  they  heard  that  Jesus  passed  by,  cried  out, 
saying,  Have  mercy  on  us,  O  Lord,  thou  Son  of  David. 

31  And  the  multitude  rebuked  them,  because  they 
should  hold  their  peace :  but  they  cried  the  more,  say- 
ing, Have  mercy  on  us,  O  Lord,  thou  Son  of  David. 


30  tude  followed  him.  And  behold,  two  blind  men  sil- 
ting by  the  way  side,  when  they  heard  that  Jesus 
was  passing  by,  cried  out,  saying.  Lord,  have  mercy 

31  on  us,  thou  son  of  David.  And  the  multitude  re- 
buked them,  that  they  should  hold  their  peace:  but 
they  cried  out  the  more,  saying.  Lord,  have  mercy 


nigh  '  means  simply  to  be  near  (which  is  not 
true),  etc.  Our  choice  at  present  must  be 
between  two  possible  views.  (1)  Calvin  pre- 
sents as  his  "conjecture,"  followed  by  Mal- 
donatus,  Bengel,  Trench,  Wordsworth,  Ei- 
licott,  Hackett,  Morison,  that  the  blind 
man  made  his  request  as  Jesus  approached 
Jericho  (Luke),  but  was  not  heeded,  in 
order  to  develop  his  faith,  as  in  15:  23  ff., 
and  in  the  closely  similar  case  9:  27  ff. ;  and 
that  he  renewed  the  application  as  Jesus  was 
leaving  Jericho,  accompanied  now  by  another, 
and  they  were  healed.  Then  we  understand 
that  Luke,  meaning  to  tell  of  Zaccheus  and 
the  parable  and  so  pass  on  to  the  ascent  to 
Jerusalem  (Luke  i9: 28),  finishes  the  matter  of  the 
blind  man  in  connection  with  his  original 
application.  Such  prolepsis,  or  anticipation, 
is  common  in  all  histories.  (2)  Farrarquotes 
from  Macknight  the  supposition,  and  Godet 
quotes  it  from  a  German  periodical  of  1870, 
that  the  healing  occurred  at  a  point  between 
the  old  and  tlie  new  city,  and  so  could  be  de- 
scribed as  occurring  either  when  they  went 
out  from  Jericho  or  as  they  drew  near  to  Jeri- 
cho. The  same  view  presented  itself  inde- 
pendently on  the  spot  a  few  years  ago  to  Prof. 
H.  H.  Harris,  D.  D.,  of  Kichmond  College, 
Va.  *  Each  of  these  explanations  seems 
labored,  but  either  is  entirely  possible.  It 
will  not  do  to  say  that  the  accounts  arc  ir- 
reconcilable, andtherefore  involveinaccuracy, 
if  the  apparent  conflict  can  be  explained  in 
any  reasonable  way.  These  discrepancies  in 
the  Gospels  show  the  independence  of  the 
narratives,  and  their  verisimilitude,  and  thus 
do  not  diminish  but  add  to  their  historical 
credibility,  provided  there  be  any  reasonable 
explanation.  It  may  nowadays  be  aflfirmed  that 
nearly  every  case  has  received  satisfactory  ex- 


planation. The  present  example,  and  a  few 
others,  would  probably  be  plain  enough  if  we 
knew  some  slight  circumstances  not  men- 
tioned; and  maybe  fully  cleared  up  hereaf- 
ter, as  some  have  been  by  the  discoveries  and 
researches  of  every  recent  generation.  We 
must  not  nervously  insist  on  the  adequacy  of 
our  explanations  in  every  case,  nor  arrogantly 
assume  that  the  difficulty  cannot  be  removed. 
A  great  multitude  followed  him.  So  also 
when  he  was  approaching  the  city.  (Luke.) 
They  seem  to  have  come  with  him  from 
Perea,  perhaps  many  of  them  from  Galilee 
(comp.  on  19:  1),  en  route  for  the  Passsover. 

30  f.  Two  blind  men.  Luke  'a  certain 
blind  man,'  and  Mark  gives  his  name,  'the 
son  of  Timeus,  Bartimeus.'  Here,  as  in  8:  28 
(see  notes),  we  have  to  suppose  that  one  of  the 
two  was  more  notable,  and  thus  alone  named 
by  Mark  and  Luke.  The  supposition  is  some- 
what difficult,  but  certainly  by  no  means  im- 
possible, and  on  every  account  far  more  prob- 
able than  that  of  a  flat  error.  The  balsam  of 
Jericho  was  "a  wonderful  remedy  for  head- 
ache (neuralgia),  and  for  incipient  cataract, 
and  dimness  of  vision."  (Strabo  16,  2,  41.) 
But  no  balsam  could  open  the  blind  eyes. 
Sitting  by  the  wayside,  Luke  'bogging,' 
Mark 'a  beggar.'  Heard  that  Jusus  was 
passing  by,  Mark  and  Luke  'Jesus  of  Naz- 
areth,' a  title  by  which  the  teacher  and  healer 
had  doubtless  been  heard  of  throughout  the 
land.  Thou  Son  of  David,  so  also  Mark 
and  Luke,  meaning  that  he  was  the  Messiah, 
comp.  on  9:  27;  15  :  22;  22:  42.  AVe  cannot 
tell  how  they  reached  this  conviction.  As  to 
their  particular  request,  they  had  doubtless 
heard  of  his  healing  the  blind  elsewhere,  per- 
haps of  cases  in  Galilee  ^9:27),  more  likely  of 
the  man  born   blind  healed  at  Jerusalem  six 


1  Pr.  Harris  writes  in  a  private  letter,  Richmond,  I  when 'he  went  out  from  .Tericho,'  i.e.,  the  old  city. 
Virginia,  September,  1885:  "Suppose  Jesus  spent  a  I  But  Luke,  a  Gentile  or  ncllenist,  and  writing  to  a  Gen- 
night  aa  lie  would  likely  do  in  the  city  of  his  fore-  |  tile,  says  'a.s  he  drew  nigh  unto  Jericlio,'  t.  e.,  the  Ro- 
niother  Raliab,  and  that  Zaccheus  had  his  office  in  the  i  man  town,  and  going  on  to  tell  about  Zaccheus  adds 
Roman  town  and  his  residence  in  the  West  Knd.  Now  >  '  he  entered  and  was  passing  through  Jericho."  "  Dr. 
locate  the  healing  at  a  bank  on  the  roadxide  about  half  :  Harris  says  he  was  not  aware  that  this  idea  liad  been 
way  between  the  ruins  of  the  two  cities,  where  a  beggar  suggested  by  others, 
might  naturally  sit.    Matthew  and  Mark  speak  of  it  as  I 


422 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXI. 


32  And  Jesus  stood  still,  and  called  tbem,  and  said, 
Wbat  will  ye  that  I  shall  do  unto  you  ? 

83  They  say  unto  him,  Lord,  that  our  eyes  may  be 
opened. 

34  So  Jesus  had  compassion  on  them,  and  touched 
their  eyes :  and  immediately  their  eyes  received  sight, 
and  they  followed  him. 


32  on  us,  thou  son  of  David.    And  Jesus  stood  still,  and 

33  called  tbem,  and  said,  What  will  ye  that  I  should  do 
unto  you  ?    They  say  unto  him,  Lord,  that  our  eyes 

34  may  be  opened.  And  Jesus,  being  moved  with  co'm- 
passioD,  touched  their  eyes:  aud  straightway  they 
received  their  sight,  and  followed  him. 


CHAPTEK   XXI. 


AND  when  they  drew  nigh  unto  Jerusalem,  and  were 
come  to  Betliphage,  unto  the  mount  of  Olives,  then 
sent  Jesus  two  disciples. 


1      And  when  they  drew   nigh  unto  Jerusalem,  and 
came  unto  Bethphage,  unto  the  mount  of  Olives, 


months  before.  (John9:iff.)  The  multitude 
rebuked  them.  Luke  'they  that  went  be- 
fore,' Mark  simply  '  many.'  They  were 
vexed  that  mere  blind  beggars  should  disturb 
a  procession,  and  annoy  the  principal  person- 
age, from  whom  they  may  have  been  eagerly 
expecting  further  teaching.  (Comp.  19:  13.) 
Beggars  in  the  East  are  almost  always  offen- 
Bive  and  often  disgusting,  and  it  is  hard  to  feel 
compassion  for  them,  even  when  blind.  Be- 
cause, or,  that  they  should,  for  the  Greek 
construction  see  on  5:  29;  so  also,  that  our 
eyes  may  be  opened.  Hold  their  peace, 
an  old  English  phrase,  the  Gl"eek  being  liter- 
ally be  silent.  As  they  were  needy  and 
hopeful,  opposition  only  stimulated  a  louder 
cry.  The  Greek  word  denotes  a  harsh  cry, 
comp.  8:  29;  9:  27;  15:  23,  and  Mark  and 
Luke  have  the  imperfect  tense,  describing  a 
continued   crying. 

32-34.  Called  them.  Mark  gives  vivid 
particulars;  Jesus  directed  those  near  him  to 
call ;  they  spoke  cheeringly ;  and  Bartimeus, 
"casting  away  his  garment  (his  loose  outer 
garment,  see  on  5:  40),  sprang  up,  and  came 
to  Jesus."  "We  easily  suppose  that  the  other 
and  less  noticeable  blind  man  followed. 
Jesns  had  compassion,  see  the  Greek  word 
explained  on  9 :  36.  Touched  their  eyes, 
not  mentioned  by  Mark  or  Luke,  a  sign  to 
them  that  he  was  the  healer,  as  in  9 :  29. 
Mark  and  Luke  relate  that  Jesus  said,  "thy 
faith  hath  made  thee  whole,"  saved  thee, 
healed  thee,  as  above  in  9:  22,  and  comp. 
9:  29.  And  they  followed  him,  Mark  'in 
the  way,'  Luke  'glorifying  God.'  They 
probably  accompanied  him  to  Jerusalem. 
Luke  adds:  "And  all  the  people,  when  they 
saw  it.  gave  praise  unto  God."  (Comp.  Matt. 
9:8;  15:  31.)  Jesus  here  shows  no  desire  to 
prevent  his  miracles  from  becoming  generally 
known,  as  he  did  in  9:  30  and  often.  The 
crisis  of  his  ministry  is  now  near  at  hand,  and 
publicity  will  make  no  difference. 


HOMILETICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

V.  31.  And  the  multitude  rebuked  them. 
1)  Men  sometimes  despise,  as  unfit  to  be 
Christians,  those  whose  case  afterwards  brings 
great  glory  to  God.  2)  Kcligious  decorum 
must  sometimes  give  way  to  intense  earnest- 
ness. 3)  Attempted  hindrance  becomes  for 
earnest  souls  a  stimulus  to  greater  exertions. 
4)  Christ's  followers  may  hinder  when  Christ 
himself  stands  ready  to  hear.  Chrys.  :  "See 
how  not  poverty,  not  blindness,  not  their 
being  unheard,  not  their  being  rebuked  by 
the  multitude,  not  anything  else,  impeded 
their  exceeding  earnestness."  Augustine: 
"When  any  Christian  has  begun  to  live 
rightly,  to  be  fervent  in  good  works  and  de- 
spise the  world,  in  the  very  novelty  of  his 
works  he  suffers  blame  and  contradiction  from 
frigid  Christians.  But  if  he  perseveres,  and 
overcomes  them  by  endurance,  and  does  not 
fail  in  good  works,  then  they  turn  and  begin 
to  say,  '  A  great  man,  a  holy  man  ' — like  that 
crowd  that  were  with  the  Lord." — V.  34.  The 
objects  of  Christ's  compassion.  1)  They  were 
very  needy.  2)  They  pleaded  for  pity.  3) 
They  believed  in  his  mission.  4)  They  perse- 
vered and  grew  more  earnest.  5)  They  knew 
just  what  they  wanted.  6)  They  followed  him 
in  gratitude  and  devotion. 


Ch.  21 :  1-11.  The  Triumphal  Entry. 

Found  also  in  Mark  11 :  1-11 ;  Luke  19 :  29- 
44;  John  12:  12-19.  John  has  heretofore  been 
parallel  to  Matt,  and  Mark  only  at  the  early 
departure  from  Judea  to  Galilee  (Matt. 4: 12;  joUq 
4: 1-4),  and  at  the  feeding  of  the  Five  Thousand. 

(Matt.  14:13-21;  John  6:  114.)        He    appears    tO     haVB 

coincided  with  Luke  several  times  in  the  last 
six  months.  (See  above  on  19:  1.)  Here  he 
once  more  becomes  parallel  to  the  others,  and 
will  be  so  at  the  Bethany  supper,  probablj-  at 
the  Paschal  meal,  clearly  at  the  betrayal,  and 
at  certain  points  of  the  Passion  and  Kesurrec- 


A. — Tower  of   Hippicus. 

B.— Pool  of   Hezekiah. 

C. — Rums  of  Hospice  of  Knights  of 
St.  John. 

D. ^Entrance  to  Quarry. 

E-  —  Entrance  to  Subterranean  Apart- 
ments— Solomon's  Stables. 

F.  —  Robinson's  Arch. 

G.— Montefiore  Cottages. 

H. — Armenian  Monastery. 

J.  — English  Church. 

K. — Greek  Monastery. 

L.— Lepers'  Quarter.  ^^->'l>*,\ 

M.— Latm  (R.C.)  Monastery.  ^|Si 

N.  — Holy  Sepulchre  Church 

W— Jews'  Wailing  Place 


Ch.  XXI.] 


MATTHEW. 


423 


tion.  Matthew,  Mark,  and  Luke  continue 
from  this  time  as  generally  and  as  closely 
parallel  as  they  were  during  the  ministry  in 
Galilee. 

We  left  our  Lord  at  Jericho,  Luke  adding 
that  he  "  went  before,  going  up  to  Jerusalem." 
(Lukei9:28,  B.  n.  ver.)  He  doubtlcss  cHmbcd  the 
Roman  military  road,  carefully  graded  and 
paved  with  hewn  stone,  which  came  up  from 
Jericho  past  Bethany  and  across  the  Mount 
of  Olives  to  Jerusalem,  and  portions  of  which 
are  still  clearly  marked  by  patches  of  pave- 
ment. There  was  no  danger  in  this  particular 
journey  that  one  would  fall  "among  rob- 
bers" (Lukeio;3o,  Bev.  ver.),  since  the  multitude 
formed  a  protection  ;  but  there  was  usually 
such  danger,  and  one  cannot  safely  travel  that 
road  to-day  without  a  guard  from  the  sheik  of 
Lazari^'eh  (Bethany).  The  distance  from 
Jericho  to  Jerusalem  is  about  seventeen  miles, 
or  fifteen  miles  to  Bethany;  the  difference  in 
elevation  is  some  three  thousand  feet.  Mat- 
thew does  not  mention  the  arrival  at  Bethany 
(see  on  21 :  17),  which  John  describes  as  occur- 
ring "six  days  before  the  Passover"  (John  12: 1), 
probably  on  Friday  afternoon.  Here  Jesus 
appears  to  have  spent  the  Sabbath,  and  we 
may  suppose  him  to  have  been  the  guest  of 
Martha  and  Mary  and  Lazarus.  Hearing  of 
his  arrival,  many  Jews  came  over  from  Jeru- 
salem to  Bethany  to  see  him,  and  also  Laza- 
rus, whom  he  had  raised  from  the  dead  (John 
12:  ») ;  the  time  of  their  coming  may  have  been 
Saturday  evening,  or  early  next  morning. 
Mark  and  Luke  mention  Bethany,  in  connec- 
tion with  Bethphage,  as  reached  before  the 
triumphal  entry,  but  give  no  details  of  a 
sojourn  at  Bethany. 

1-3.  And  when  they  drew  nigh  unto 
Jerusalem.  The  hills  which  form  the  site 
of  Jerusalem  are  really  the  somewhat  lower 
part  of  a  space  which  gently  slopes  from  the 
northwest,  and  seems  elevated  only  because 
of  the  deep  ravines  which  encompass  it  on 
the  east  and  west  and  south.  Seen  from  a 
real  mountain  five  or  six  miles  distant  in  the 
northwest,  Jerusalem  seems  to  be  in  a  valley, 
with  the  high  ridge  of  Olivet  on  the  eastern 
and  part  of  the  northern  side,  and  with 
another  range  of  hills  on  the  west  and  south. 
Seen  from  Olivet,  the  city  rises  on  an  oppo- 
site but  lower  elevation,  with  a  deep  and  nar- 
row ravine  lying  between  them.     Seen  from 


another  deep  ravine  on  the  south,  the  hill  of 
Zion,   or  city  of  David,  appears  to  be  on  a 
lofty  and  exceedingly  steep  hill,  which  Joab 
and  his  comrades  found  it  hard  to  climb  and 
capture  the  supposed  impregnable  fortress  of 
the  Jebusites.  ( 2  Sam.  5:  6  r. ;  1  chron.  u:  5  f.)    This 
central  space,  which  slopes  narrowing  down 
from  the  northwest  between  its  ever  deepen- 
ing ravines,  is  presently  divided  by  a  slighter 
depression,   having  the  same  direction,  into 
somewhat  separate  ridges,  the  eastern  ridge 
being  the  temple  hill,  two  hundred  feet  lower 
than  the  other,  which  is  Zion.      The  depres- 
sion between   them  gradually  deepens,   con- 
taining the  pool  of  Siloam  near  its  southeast- 
ern end,  and  passing  into  the   eastern  ravine 
before  that  forms  a  junction   with  the  other 
ravine  which  has  come  down  on  the  west  and 
south   of    Zion.      The  northern  part  of  the 
temple  elevation,  higher  than  the  site  of  the 
temple  itself,  and  outside  of  the  city,  is  re- 
cently with  no  small  probability  considered 
to  be  Golgotha  or  Calvary.  (See  on  27:  33.)  A 
considerable  space  north  and  south  of   the 
temple  enclosure  was  occupied  by  dwellings, 
but  the  greater  part  of  the  city  lay  on   Zion, 
and  in  the  depression  separating  it  from  the 
temple.     The  eastern  wall  of  the  temple  en- 
closure was  part  of  the  eastern   wall  of  the 
city,  and  just  north  of  that  enclosure  appears 
to  have  been  the  principal  eastern  entrance  to 
the  city,    now  called   Saint   Stephen's  gate, 
from  the  tradition  that  Stephen  passed  through 
it  to   his    martyrdom.        Through  this  gate, 
Jesus  and  his  followers  probably  entered  in  the 
triumphal  procession,  and  were  at  once  quite 
near  the  northern  entrance  to  the  outer  court 
of  the  temple.     And   every   morning,    as  he 
walked  over  the  Mount  of  Olives  from  Beth- 
any, he  would  enter  the  city  and  the  temple 
the  same  way.     In  the  northern  and  shallow- 
est part  of  the  depression  between  Zion   and 
the  temple  ridge  was  doubtless,  as  now,  the 
great  northern  gate  of  the  city.      Out  of  this 
it  is  most  likely'  that  our  Lord  was  led  to  cru- 
cifixion, Golgotha  being  perhaps  the  elevation 
on  the  right  after  passing  the  outer  gate.     Pi- 
late's official  residence  when  visiting  the  city 
(27:2)   was  doubtless  on    Zion,    probably    in 
Herod's  palace.     It  would  bo  hardly  one-third 
of  a  mile  from   that   place   to  the   northern 
gate.     Not  far  north  of   Herod's  palace  was 
the  principal  western  gate,   probably  about 


424 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXI. 


2  Saying  unto  them,  Go  into  the  village  over  against 
you,  and  straightway  ye  shall  find  au  ass  tied,  and  a 
colt  with  her:  loose  them,  and  bring  them  unto  lue. 

3  And  if  any  man  say  aught  unto  you,  ye  shall  say. 
The  Lord  hath  need  of  them;  and  straightway  he  will 
send  them. 


2  then  Jesus  sent  two  disciples,  saying  unto  them,  Go 
into  the  village  that  isover  against  you,  and  straight- 
way ye  shall  find  an  ass  ti«9,  and  a  colt  with  her  : 

3  loose  them,  aud  bring  them  unto  me.  And  if  any  one 
say  aught  unto  you,  ye  shall  say.  The  Lord  hath 
need  ot  them ;  and  straightway  he  will  send  them. 


the  same  place  as  the  present  gate  leading  to 
Joppa.  The  city  at  that  time  doubtless  ex- 
tended considerably  farther  to  the  northwest 
than  now,  but  the  whole  space  enclosed  was 
quite  small,  as  compared  with  modern  con- 
ceptions of  a  great  city.  After  allowing  for 
the  fashion  in  which  Asiatics  have  always 
crowded  together,  as  the  Chinese  do  now,  it 
is  hard  to  see  how  the  regular  population  in 
the  time  of  Christ  can  have  been  more  than 
two  or  three  hundred  thousand.  But  vast 
multitudes  came  to  the  Passover  (Josephus 
talks  of  three  millions),  sleeping  in  the  streets 
and  public  places,  tenting  in  the  surrounding 
fields,  swarming  over  the  suburban  villages 
like  Bethany  for  several  miles  around. 

Were  come  unto  Bethphage.  To  men- 
tion the  village  and  the  mountain  showed  on 
what  side  they  approached  Jerusalem,  and 
how  near  they  were.  Bethphage  might  seem 
from  the  order  of  Mark  and  Luke  to  have 
been  reached  before  Bethany,  but  this  infer- 
ence is  not  necessary.  The  traditional  site  is 
between  Bethany  and  .Jerusalem,  on  the  east- 
ern slope  of  the  Mount  of  Olives.  The  village 
is  often  mentioned  in  the  Talmud,  but  not  so 
as  to  show  its  location,  nor  are  there  any 
modern  remains.  It  was  at  least  near  the 
mountain  on  the  eastern  side,  and  most  likely 
on  the  Roman  road  from  Bethany  to  .lerusa- 
lem.     The    name    signifies    'house    of    figs.' 

The  Mount  of  Olives  (24:  3;  26 ::«).:«;  Zech.  U:  4), 

in  Acts  1 :  12  '  Olivet,'  is  a  low  mountain  or 
long  and  lofty  hill,  which  begins  north  of 
Jerusalem  and  runs  eastward,  and  then  turn- 
ing at  a  point  nearly  a  mile  northeast  of  the 
city,  runs  southward  until  interrupted  by  the 
outlet  of  the  valleys  which  lie  east  and  south 
of  the  city,  and  send  off  their  united  streams 
at  the  southeast  in  a  deep  ravine  towards  the 
Dead  Sea.  The  mountain  evidently  took  its 
name  from  its  fruitfulness  in  olives.  The 
valley  which  separates  it  from  Jerusalem  is 
"the  brook  Cedron"  or  Kidron,  of  John  18: 
1.  Looking  from  .Jerusalem  eastward  across 
this  deep  and  narrow  valley  (comp.  on  26:  36), 
one  sees  that  the  central  and  highest  part  of 
the  ridge  is  some  three  hundred  feet  higher 


than  the  temple  hill,  and  about  one  hundred 
feet  higher  than  the  hill  of  Zion  ;  but  that  the 
summit  lineand  faceof  the  ridge  are  marked  b3' 
three  slight  depressions,  descending  so  as  nearly 
to  meet  where  they  reach  the  valley  of  the 
Kidron.  Up  the  northern  depression,  as- 
cending northeastward,  went  David  in  fleeing 
from  Absalom,  "over  the  brook  Kidron  .... 
up  by  the  ascent  of  Mount  Olivet  .... 
past  the  top,"  and  so  along  a  route  still  distin- 
guishable east  of  the  mountain  in  that  direc- 
tion. (2  Sam.  15: 23;  16: 1,)  The  Central  depres- 
si<m  runs  nearly  east  and  much  steeper,  almost 
straight  across  the  mountain  and  so  towards 
Bethany  (see  on  21 :  17),  and  is  the  direct  way 
for  walking  between  that  suburb  and  the  cit3\ 
The  southern  depression  ascends  far  southeast- 
ward, giving  a  better  grade  and  crossing  at 
considerably  the  lowest  part  of  the  summit- 
line;  over  this  gap,  and  skillfully  graded 
beyond  it  on  the  eastern  slope  of  Olivet,  is  the 
riding  way  from  Jerusalem  to  Bethany,  still 
clearly  indicated  by  patches  of  Roman  pave- 
ment. Along  this  road  came  in  the  triumphal 
procession. 

Then  sent  Jesus  two  disciples  (so  also 
Mark  and  Luke);  we  know  not  which  two, 
but  verj'  likely  Peter  and  John,  as  hereafter 
in  Luke  22:  8.  The  tillage  over  against 
you  is  not  certainly  known,  but  was  probably 
Bethphage,  fronting  them  as  from  Bethany 
they  approached  the  eastern  face  of  llie 
Mount  of  Olives.  Straightway  ye  shall 
find;  the  description  is  quite  definite.  An 
ass  tied  and  a  colt  with  her.  Mark,  Luke, 
and  John  mention  only  a  colt,  which  here 
was  the  more  important  of  the  two.  (Comp. 
on  20:  30.)  The  object  was  to  have  Messiah 
the  King  ride  a  young  animal  not  previously 
used,  "whereon  no  man  ever  yet  sat"  (Mark 
and  Luke),  as  a  matter  of  special  honor 
(comf).  Deut.  21:  3;  1  Sam.  6:  7);  and  the 
mother  was  probably  led  in  front,  to  make 
the  colt  move  quietly.  Processions  often  in- 
clude led  animals,  besides  those  ridden.  The 
Lord  hath  need  of  them.  We  cannot  tell 
whether  this  would  be  understood  by  the 
owners  (Luke  i9 :  33)  as  meaning  that  they  were 


Ch.  XXL] 


MATTHEW. 


425 


4  AH  this  was  done,  that  It  might  be  fulfilled  which 
was  spoken  by  the  prophet,  saying, 

5  Tell  ye  the  daughter  of  Sion,  Behold,  thy  King 
Cometh  unto  thee,  lueek,  and  sitting  upon  an  ass,  and  a 
colt  the  foal  of  an  ass. 


4  Now  this  is  come  to  pass,  that  it  might  be  fulfilled 
which  was  s^wken  through  the  prophet,  saying, 

5  Tell  ye  the  daughter  of  Zion, 
Behold,  thy  King  cometh  unto  thee, 
Meek,  and  riding  upon  an  ass. 
And  upon  a  colt  the  foal  of  an  ass. 


wanted  for  the  service  of  Jehovah,  or  defi- 
nitely for  the  Lord  Jesus;  in  the  latter  case 
we  might  suppose  owners  who  Icnew  of  Jesus, 
and  would  gladly  serve  him,  as  in  26:  18. 
Doubtless  the  animals  were  restored  that  after- 
noon, as  there  was  no  further  use  for  them ; 
it  could  be  easily  done  in  returning  to  Beth- 
any. 

4  f.    All   this  was   done,  etc. — better  as 
Rev.  Ver.,  Noio  this  is  come  to  pass  (in  the 
course  of  divine  providence) — that  it  might 
be    fultiiled  AVhich   was    spoken   by  the 
prophet,   comp.    on   1 :  22.      The    Common 
Text    has    'all    this,'    evidently   altered    by 
copyists  so  as  to  be  like  1:  22  and  26:  56.i 
The  quotation  is   from  Zech.  9:  9,  where  the 
propln^t  predicts    a   righteous    and    divinely 
preserved  king  of  Israel,  coming  to  Jerusa- 
lem in  peace   and   meekness.     The  Jews  re- 
garded the  passage  as   Messianic.     The  Tal- 
mud of  Babylon  several  times  speaks  of  the 
Messiah  as  riding  upon  an  ass  (Lightf.  and 
AViin. ),  and   some  Rabbinical   commentaries 
apply  this  prophecy  of  Zechariah  to  the  Mes- 
siah.   (Edersh.)     Matthew  and  John  (i'^:  u-is) 
distinctly  declare  the  passage  of  Zechariah  to 
be   Messianic,  and  Jesus  so  treats  it;  nor  is 
there  anything  in  the  connection   of  Zecha- 
riah to  forbid,  but  several  expressions  (zech.  9: 
10,12)   which  are  quite  in  keeping,  while   va- 
rious other  prophetic   passages  also  represent 
the  Messiah  under  the   figure  of  a  king  of 
Israel.     The   Hebrew  signifies  (Toy),   "  Re- 
joice greatly,  daughter  of  Zion,  shimt,  daugh- 
ter of  Jerusalem.     Behold,  thy  king  comes  to 
thee;  just  and  saved  is  he,  meek  and  riding  j 
on  an  ass,  and  on  a  colt  the  foal  of  an  ass."  j 
The    Sept.   difl'ers    but    slightly.      Matthew  , 
omits  'just  and  savtd,'   as  not  important  for  j 
his  purpose,  and  abridges  and    modifies    the 
opening  clause  without  altering  the  substan-  | 
tial  sense    (comp.  on  2:  6),  as  John  does  in 
another  way.     Some  think  that  Matthew  has 
combined    this    passage    with     Isa.     62:    11. 
Daughter  of  Zion,  viz.,  Jerusalem,  a  com- 


mon Hebrew  figure  by  which  a  city  was  rep- 
resented as  the  offspring  of  the  locality. 
Meek  (comp.  11 :  29),  not  a  fierce  warrior. 
Upon  is  repeated  before  '  a  colt '  by  the  cor- 
rect Greek  text.  In  v.  5,  ass  the  second  time 
is  literally'  {an  animal)  under  the  yoke, 
draught-animal,  beast  of  burden,  a  more 
general  term,  but  often  used  to  denote  the  ass. 
(2Pet.  2: 16,  andsept.)  Upou  an  ass,  and  a  colt, 
is  a  Hebrew  parallelism  of  the  peculiar  kind 
in  which  the  second  clause  more  precisely  de- 
fines the  first;  Rev.  Ver.  of  Zechariah  puts  it 
'upon  an  ass,  even  upon  a  colt.'  The  King 
does  ni>t  come  on  a  chariot  or  on  a  war  horse, 
but  riding  as   rulers  did   in   time  of  peace. 

(l  Kings  1:  S3;  Judg.  5:  10;  Num.  22:   2a.)       The      trained 

mule  and  donkey  of  Egypt  and  Syria  are 
very  pleasant  for  riding,  and  have  there  no 
ludicrous  associations.  In  the  imagery  of 
Rev.  19:  11  the  Messiah  appears  again  as  a 
conqueror  on  a  white  horse.  It  seems  clear 
that  our  Lord  arranged  to  ride  the  young  ass 
into  the  city,  as  an  intentional  fulfillment  of 
the  prophecy.  The  disciples  quickly  .so  re- 
cognized, though  not  fully  understanding 
(John  12: 16),  and  communicatcd  to  the  multi- 
tude the  idea  that  this  was  a  Messianic  entry 
into  the  capital,  as  the  shouts  of  v.  9  show 
that  all  understood.  Jesus  has  heretofore 
carefully  avoided  (i6:20)  any  public  declara- 
tion that  he  is  the  Messiah,  because  it  would 
be  misunderstood  and  lead  to  political  agita- 
tion and  fanatical  disturbance,  and  because 
the  disciples  themselves  were  not  yet  suflB- 
ciently  instructed  as  to  the  true  nature  of  the 
Messianic  reign.  Only  two  or  three  days  he- 
fore  this  he  had  spoken  a  parable  at  .Jericho 
(Luke  IS:  11),  designed  to  show  that  he  must  go 
away,  and  return  at  a  later  period  to  establish 
his  reign.  The  time  has  now  come  (.i"hn7:«; 
12:2.1)  for  declaring  that  ho  is  the  king  Mes- 
siah, but  a  lowly  and  peaceful  king.  (Comp. 
2(5 :  m  f. ) 

6-8.  Mark  here  describes  in  detail  (n:4-«) 
the  finding  of  the  animal  according  to  direc- 


1 B  has  this  palpable  error,  and  the  "  Western  "  docu- 
inentA,  with  many  others,  have  the  correct  text.  To 
'  prophet '  a  few  copies  add  Zechariah,  and  two  or  three 


add   Isaiah,    which  is    mentioued  as  illustrating  the 
ways  of  copyists. 


426 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXI. 


6  And  the  disciples  went,  and  did  as  Jesua  com- 
manded them, 

7  And  brought  the  ass,  and  the  colt,  and  put  on  them 
their  clothes,  and  they  set  him  thereon. 

8  And  a  very  great  multitude  spread  their  garments 
in  the  way  ;  others  cut  down  branches  from  the  trees, 
and  strewed  them  in  the  way. 

9  And  the  multitudes  that  went  before,  and  that 
followed,  cried,  saying,  Hosanna  to  the  Son  of  Bavid  : 


6  And  the  disciples  went,  and  did  even  as  Jesus  ap- 

7  pointed  them,  and  brought  the  ass,  and  the  colt,  and 
put  on  them   their  garments ;   and   he  sat  thereon. 

8  And  the  most  part  of  the  multitude  spread  their 
garments  in  the  way;  and  others  cut  branches  from 

9  the  trees,  and  spread  them  in  the  way.  And  the 
multitudes  that  went  before  him,  and  that  followed, 
cried,  saying,  Hosanna  to  the  son  of  David:  Blessed 
is  he  that  cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord :  Hosanna 


tion.     And    put  on    them    their    clothes 

(garments).  An  animal  to  be  ridden  by  a 
monarch  was  often  covered  with  splendid 
cloths.  Lacking  these,  the  disciples  took  off 
their  own  loose  outer  garments  (comp.  on  5 : 
40),  and  put  them  as  housings,  not  only  on  the 
colt  but  on  the  mother  ass  also,  as  that  was  to 
form  part  of  the  procession.  And  they  set ; 
and  he  sat  is  the  text  not  only  of  the  lead- 
ing documents,  but  also  of  the  majority.i 
Thereon,  literally,  on  them,  which  naturally 
means  on  the  garments.  Of  course  the  words 
could  mean  on  the  animals.  Those  who  thus 
take  them  may  understand  the  phrase  gener- 
ally, like  "the  postillion  rode  his  horses 
hard,"  or  "he  sprang  from  the  horses,"  when 
of  course  the  saddle-horse  is  meant.  (Winer, 
175  [219],  Olsh.,  Schaff.)  »But  it  is  much  more 
natural  to  understand  that  he  sat  on  the  gar- 
ments. We  should  not  know  from  Matthew's 
expression  on  which  of  the  two  animals  he 
rode,  but  the  prophecy  he  has  quoted  shows, 
as  do  the  other  Gospels.  And  a  very  grreat, 
etc.  And  the  most  part  of  the  multitude,  is 
the  only  natural  meaning  of  the  Greek,  and 
so  Memph.  distinctly.  Tyn.,  Cran.,  Gen,, 
'many  of  the  people';  K.  James  followed 
Eheims;  'a  very  great  multitude,'  which 
quite  overlooks  the  Greek  article.  The  phrase 
indicates  that  a  good  many  did  not  take  part. 
Besides  some  who  had  joined  them  at  Jericho 
and  at  Bethany,  or  had  come  over  from  Jeru- 
salem (John  12: 9)  and  wcrc  returning,  there 
were  doubtless  persons  among  the  crowd 
that  had  followed  Jesus  from  Perea,  and 
perhaps  from  Galilee,  who  did  not  yet 
believe  him  to  be  Messiah,  and  so  were  not 
prepared  to  treat  him  as  a  monarch  enter- 
ing his  capital  in  triumph.  Luke  pres- 
ently   tells    us    (I9:39f.,  Eev.Ver.)  that    "  SOme   of 


the  Pharisees  from  the  multitude"  spoke  to 
Jesus  and  complained  of  what  was  going  on. 
Spread  their  garments  in  the  way,  having 
no  magnificent  carpets  to  spread  on  the  road 
over  which  the  King  was  to  ride,  as  was  often 
done  in  triumplial  processions.  Comp.  2 
Kings  9  :  13.  Wetstein  quotes,  from  Greek, 
Roman,  and  Jewish  writers,  accounts  of  car- 
pets and  garments  spread  under  the  feet  of 
some  honored  one  moving  in  a  procession. 
Robinson  tells  of  the  Bethlehem  peasants  as 
on  a  certain  occasion  spreading  their  outer  gar- 
ments on  the  road  before  the  horse  of  tlie 
British  Consul,  and  entreating  his  help  against 
the  exactions  of  the  Turkish  tax-gatherers. 
And  others,  must  not  be  taken  as  meaning 
the  rest  of  the  multitude  besides  'the  most 
part'  ;  but  simply  as  an  additional  number  of 
friendly  persons  who  offered  another  mark  of 
honor  to  the  king.  This  second  class  is  men- 
tioned b^'  Mark  also,  though  not  by  Luke. 
The  tense  of  the  verb  'spread'  changes  in 
Matthew  to  the  imperfect,  and  with  that  of 
'cut^  describes  these  persons  as  engaged  in 
cutting  and  strewing.  Thus  three  things  were 
done;  the  disciples  placed  their  garments  on 
the  animal,  most  of  the  crowd  spread  their 
garments  on  the  road,  and  some  spread 
boughs  of  trees.  The  trees  are  naturally  con- 
ceived of  as  mainly'  olive-trees,  which  have 
ample  and  accessible  branches,  and  from 
which  the  mountain  took  its  name,  but  also 
fig-trees  and  others.  Mark's  expression  sug- 
gests rather  leaves  than  boughs.  The  leaves 
were  of  course  the  main  object,  and  they  cast 
in  the  road  only  such  smaller  branches  as 
would  not  embarrass  locomotion  for  man  and 
beast.     So  we  scatter  flowers. 

9.    The  multitudes    that  went  before 
and    that    followed,    the    honored    King 


1' And  they  set  him'  (Com.  Ver.)  is  not  even  found  in 
Stephens'  third  edition,  usually  followed  by  King 
James'  revisers ;  Tyn.  and  followers  had  it,  doubtless 
influenced  by  the  Vulgate  ;  so  also  (Morison)  the  fourth 
edition  of  Stephens,  and  Beza,  who  so  often  influenced 
King  .Tames'  men.  Luke  19  :  35  has  an  equivalent  ex- 
pression. 


*  Strauss  and  some  others  have  chosen  to  insist  thiit 
Matt,  represents  his  Master  as  riding  both  the  animals. 
In  this  absurdly  hypercritical  fancy  they  were  antici- 
pated by  the  "  Western  "  documents,  which,  with  their 
usual  free  handling,  changed  'on  them'  (both  times)  to 
'  on  it '  or  '  on  the  colt 


Ch.  XXI.] 


MATTHEW. 


427 


Blessed  is  hethatcometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  ;  Ho- 
sanna  in  the  highest. 

10  And  wheu  he  was  come  into  Jerusalem,  all  the 
city  was  moved,  saying,  Who  is  this? 

11  And  the  multitude  said.  This  is  Jesus  the  prophet 
of  Nazareth  of  Galilee. 


10  in  the  highest.    And  when  he  was  come  into  Jeru- 
salem, all  the  city  was  stirred,  saying,  Who  is  this? 

11  And  the  multitudes  said,  This  is  the  prophet,  Jesus, 
from  Nazareth  ol  Galilee. 


having  an  advance  guard  and  a  rear  guard. 
John  speaks  of  a  great  multitude  that  had 
come  to  the  feast  and  went  forth  from  Jerusa- 
lem to  meet  Jesus,  bearing  branches  of  pajm- 
trees  (comp.  Lev.  23:  40),  and  crying  "  Ho- 
sanna,"  etc.  (johni2:  lar.)  It  is  easy  to  sup- 
pose that  they  met  the  procession  and  turned 
back  with  those  who  preceded  Jesus.  From 
this  statement  in  John  comes  the  phrase 
"Palm  Sunday."  Cried,  imperfect  tense, 
were  crying,  kept  crying.  Hosanna  is  a 
word  borrowed  from  the  Hebrew,  meaning 
'save  now,'  'O  save,'  in  Psa.  118:  25.  The 
Hebrew  form  represented  by  Hosanna  is  a 
slight  and  natural  alteration  of  that  occurring 
in  the  Psalm.  The  Mishna  (Succoth  IV.,  5) 
says  that  every  day  during  the  Feast  of  Tab- 
ernacles tiiey  encompassed  the  altar,  repeat- 
ing Psa.  118:  25.  The  Talmud  shows  that 
this  Psalm  also  formed  a  part  of  the  series  of 
Psalms  sung  at  the  Passover  (comp.  on  26: 
80),  called  by  Jewish  writers  "the  great  Hal- 
lel,"  Psa.  113-118.  It  was  thus  very  natural 
that  the  people  should  break  out  with  this 
expression  and  the  following  verse.  To  the 
Son  of  David,  recognized  him  as  the  Mes- 
siah, comp.  on  20:  30;  22:  42.  The  gram- 
matical construction,  'Hosanna  to  the  Son  of 
David'  shows  us  that  Hosanna  had  come  to 
be  a  formula  of  congratulation  or  expression 
of  good  wishes,  not  unlike  the  English  "God 
save  the  king."  He  that  cometh  (see  on  3: 
11)  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  (see  on  28:  18), 
from  Psa.  118:  2*5,  qucjted  again  by  our  Lord 
himself  in  23:  39.  Luke  has  'Blessed  is  the 
king  that  cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,' 
distinctly  declaring  him  the  Messiah ;  and 
Mark,  '  Blessed  is  the  kingdom  that  cometh, 
the  kingdom  of  our  father  David.'  Various 
other  expressions  are  given  by  the  four  Evan- 
gelists, and  in  this  case  all  may  have  been 
employed  by  different  persons  (comp.  on  3: 
16).  HoHanna  in  the  highest,  i.  e.,  in  the 
highest  (heaven8\  as  in  Luke  2:  14.     It  is  an 


appeal  to  God  in  heaven  that  he  will  save  and 
bless  his  people;  and  it  here  implies  a  joyful 
recognition  of  evidence  tiiat  he  is  about  to  do 
so.  Luke  alone  here  introduces  (i9: 41-44)  the 
pathetic  account  of  the  Saviour  as  seeing  the 
city  and  weeping  over  it,i  comp  Matt.  23 : 
37-39. 

10  f.  When  he  was  come  into  Jernsa> 
lem.  Mark  adds  'into  the  temple,'  and  that 
he  '  looked  round  about  upon  all  things.' 
All  the  city  was  moved,  a  strong  word,  ren- 
dered 'quake'  in  27:51;  28:  4,  Rev.  Ver., 
'shaken'  in  Rev.  6:  13.  The  great  procession 
and  the  loud  salutations  as  to  the  King  Mes- 
siah awakened  general  attention  and  agitated 
all  the  people.  (Comp.  2:3.)  Who  is  this? 
It  was  plain  that  the  multitudes  who  were  ap- 
plauding Jesus  as  'the  .son  of  David,'  as  'the 
king  that  cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,' 
regarded  him  as  being  the  Messiah.  The 
citizens  inquired  simply  who  was  the  person 
thus  regarded.  And  the  multitudes^ 
plural,  as  in  v.  9,  said,  imperfect  tense,  kept 
saying,  or  said  every  time  they  were  asked. 
This  is  Jesus  the  prophet,  (i.uke  7:  is;  joime: 
14;  7:40;  9:17.)  There  could  in  their  Opinion  bo 
no  doubt  that  he  was  a  prophet;  their  convic- 
tion that  he  was  the  Messiah  they  did  not 
care  to  assert  in  so  many  words.  Of  Naza> 
reth  of  Galilee.  For  Nazareth,  see  on  2: 
23;  for  Galilee,  on  4:  12.  Certainly  some, 
and  probably  many  of  the  crowd  had  accom- 
panied Jesus  from  Galilee  (27:55),  and  would 
take  special  interest  in  stating  that  he  was 
from  that  district.  The  Judeans  insisted  that 
the  Messiah  would  not  be  from  Galilee,  and 
that  in   fact  from    Galilee  arose  no  prophet 

(John  7  :  41  f  ,  52.) 

HOMILKTICAL  AND  PRACTICAL. 

V"  1-3.  Co-workers  with  Christ.  1)  Jesus 
needing  the  help  of  his  followers.  2)  Jesus 
giving  full  directions  for  their  work.  8)  Jesus 
promising  them  success  (v.  8).     4)  Jesus  joy- 


>The  apparent  oontradlclion  in  Luke  between  v.  .S7 
and  V.  41  is  fully  explained  by  .Stanley,  "Sinai  and  Pal- 
estine," whose  beautiful  description  of  the  triumphal  en- 
try ought  to  Ije  read  by  all.  It  may  be  worth  while  to 
mention  that  the  present  writer  and  a  friend  went  over 


the  grounil  in  both  dlre<aions  witli  Dean  Stanley's  Iwok 
In  hand,  and  had  no  doubt  remaining  as  to  the  correct- 
ness of  his  explanation.  A  patch  of  lioman  pavement 
remains  to  dctcniiino  within  a  few  fwt  the  point  at 
which  Jesus  "  saw  the  city  and  wept  over  It." 


428 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXI. 


fully  obeyed  (v.  6f.)— V.  3.  The  Lord  hath 
need  of  them.  1)  The  Lord  often  needs  the 
property  of  men.  2)  The  Lord's  ministers 
must  inform  men  of  this  need.  3)  The  Lord 
promises  success  in  attaining  what  is  needed. 
— V.  5.  The  peaceful  King.  1)  His  charac- 
ter is  peaceful.  2)  His  methods  and  sur- 
roundings are  peaceful  (conip.  12:  19  f.)  3) 
His  office  is  to  bring  men  into  peace  with  God 
and  with  each  other.  (Lukes:i*.)  4)  His  ser- 
vice may  arouse  the  hostility  of  the  ungodly 
(io:»*tr.),  but  its  spirit  and  aim  must  still  be 
peaceful.  (Rum.  12:  is.) — V.  7.  Origen,  Jerome, 
and  other  Fathers  made  the  ass  represent  the 
Jews,  accustomed  to  the  yoke  of  the  law,  and 
the  colt  the  hitherto  untamed  Gentiles. 
Lange:  "The  old  theocracy  runs  idly  and 
instinctively  by  the  side  of  the  young  Church, 
which  has  become  the  true  bearer  of  the  king- 
dom of  Christ."  It  is  somewhat  dangerous  to 
mention  these  conceits,  even  as  a  warning,  for 
there  are  persons  unwise  enough  to  adopt 
them.  Morison  illustrates  v.  8  by  the  famous 
story  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh's  cloak.— V.  8-11. 
Popular  applause.  1)  It  ma^'  be  sincere  even 
when  superficial.  2)  It  need  not  be  despised 
because  so  often  temporary.  3)  It  may  awaken 
the  attention  of  others,  and  thus  do  good 
(v.  10,).  4)  It  must  not  prevent  sorrow  over 
the  perishing.  (Lukei9:4i  ir.)— V.  10.  Hall: 
"Christ's  being  amongst  us  doth  not  make  us 
happy,  but  his  welcome.  Every  day  may  we 
hear  him  in  our  streets,  and  yet  be  as  new  to 
seek  as  these  citizens  of  Jerusalem,  '  who  is 
this?'"  Jer.  Taylor:  "O  holy  King  of 
Zion,  eternal  Jesus,  be  pleased  to  enter  into 
my  soul  with  triumph,  trampling  over  all 
thine  enemies;  and  give  me  grace  to  enter- 
tain thee  with  joy  and  adoration,  lopping  off 
all  my  superfluous  branches  of  a  temporal 
condition,  and  spending  them  in  the  offices  of 
charity  and  religion.  Thou,  to  whose  honor 
the  very  stones  would  give  testimony,  make 
my  stony  heart  an  instrument  of  thy  praises  ; 
let  me  strew  thy  way  with  flowers  of  virtue, 
and  the  holy  rosary  of  Chri'^tian  graces  .  .  . 
and  let  us  at  last  follow  thee  into  thy  heavenly 
Jerusalem  with  palms  in  our  hands,  and  joy 
in  our  heart*,  and  eternal  acclamations  on  our 
lips,  rejoicing  in  thee,  and  singing  hallelujahs 
in  a  happy  eternity  to  thee,  O  holy  King  of 
Zion,  eternal  Jesus.  Amen." 
12-17.  Cleansing  the  Temple, 


Found  also  in  Mark  11 :  1.5-19;  Luke  19:  45- 
48.  It  appears  from  the  order  of  Mark,  who 
is  nearly  always  chronological,  that  this  did 
not  occur  on  the  day  of  the  triumphal  entry, 
but  on  the  next  day.  Matthew,  as  so  often 
before,  has  grouped  topics,  without  stopping 
to  indicate  the  time.     Comp.  on  21 :  20. 

John  (i:  13-22)  has  described  a  similar  cleans- 
ing of  the  temple,  at  the  first  Passover  of  our 
Lord's  ministry.  Of  course  the  destructive 
critics  at  once  assume  that  these  are  only  con- 
flicting accounts  of  the  same  event.  But  we 
have  seen  (on  15:  38)  that  Jesus  certainly  did 
perform  some  very  similar  miracles,  as  he 
certainly  repeated  a  number  of  sayings  (see 
at  beginning  of  ch.  5).  To  make  the  two 
cleansings  the  same  is  to  treat  either  the 
Fourth  Gospel,  or  all  the  other  three,  as 
grossly  inaccurate  in  respect  to  historical 
order.  Matthew,  as  we  have  seen,  sometimes 
arranges  topically  rather  than  chronologically, 
but  so  far  as  can  be  judged,  the  others  are  as 
chronological  as  historians  usually  are.  Cer- 
tainly then  we  ought  not  to  suppose  that  John 
has  placed  a  striking  event  at  the  first  of 
several  passovers,  and  the  other  three  have 
placed  it  at  the  final  passover,  unless  it  be 
impossible,  or  extremely  difficult,  to  believe 
that  the  act  was  repeated.  Now  it  is  perfectly 
natural  that  the  money-loving  traders,  who 
had  been  temporarily  driven  out  by  a  prophet's 
stern  rebuke,  should  quickly  come  back  when 
he  was  gone.  Their  fathers  had  often  returned 
to  idolatry  and  gross  vices  very  soon  after  the 
reformation  wrought  by  a  prophet.  Nobody 
knew  that  the  prophet  from  Nazareth  would 
interfere  with  them  again.  And  what  he  had 
done  produced  no  great  pecuniary  loss,  wliile 
the  opportunity  for  gain  in  this  business  was 
enticing.  After  all,  they  might  say,  we  were 
worse  scared  than  hurt.  The  prophet  does 
not  kill  nor  imprison,  nor  impose  fines,  and 
the  temple  authorities  make  no  objection  ; 
why  not  go  in  again  ?  Nothing  is  more  com- 
mon than  for  reform,  even  when  accompanied 
by  severe  penalties,  to  need  frequent  renewal 
on  the  part  of  civil  as  well  as  ecclesiastical 
authorities.  Even  the  second  cleansing  doubt- 
less had  only  temporary  results.  The  chief 
importance  of  the  act  lies  in  the  assertion  of 
prophetic  authoritj'  (21:2s)  and  its  recognition 
by  all  concerned,  and  in  the  symbolical  lessons. 
There  is  thus  no  difficulty  at  all  in  supposing 


Ch.  XXI.] 


MATTHEW. 


429 


12  And  Jesus  went  into  the  temple  of  God,  and  cast 
out  all  them  that  bought  and  sold  in  the  temple,  and 
overthrew  the  tables  of  the  money  changers,  and  the 
seats  of  them  that  sold  doyes, 


12  And  Jesus  entered  into  the  temple  ^of  God,  and 
cast  out  all  them  that  sold  and  bought  in  the  temple : 
and  overthrew  the  tables  of  the  money-changers,  aud 


1  Many  ancient  authorities  omit,  of  God. 


a  repetition  of  the  cleansing.  The  first  would 
not  be  mentioned  by  Matt.,  Mari<,  and  Luke, 
because  they  give  no  account  of  that  early 
Judean  ministry  with  which  it  was  connected, 
and  which  John  narrates;  and  the  second 
would  be  omitted  by  John,  who  introduced 
very  little  already  found  in  the  other  Gospels. 
There  are  numerous  other  cases  in  which  one 
of  the  Gospels  records  a  certain  event  or  dis- 
course, and  omits  the  repetition  of  it  which  we 
find  in  another  Gospel.  On  this  second  occa- 
sion of  cleansing  fewer  details  are  mentioned 
— nothing  of  oxen  and  sheep,  and  nothing  as 
to  a  scourge  of  cords. 

12.  Jesus  went  into  the  temple.  The 
additional  of  God  should  probably  be  omitted 
(Rev.  Ver.,  margin).,  but  the  questio,n  is  diffi- 
cult and  the  substantial  sense  not  altered.^ 
Though  he  had  entered  Jerusalem  as  the  King 
Messiah,  he  did  not  seek  the  palace  of  Herod 
or  the  city  of  David,  but  we  find  him  every 
day  teacliing  in  the  temple  (Luke i9:  47);  for 
his  Messianic  reign  was  to  be  brought  about 
through  spiritual  instruction.  'Temple'  is 
here  hieron  (see  on  4:  5),  the  general  sacred 
enclosure.  Jesus  is  nowhere  said  to  have 
entered  the  naos,  the  sacred  house,  which 
none  but  priests  were  allowed  to  enter. 
(Comp.  on  27:  5.)  The  sacred  house  was 
situated  on  the  top  of  a  hill,  and  sur- 
rounded by  an  enclosed  space  which,  as 
enlarged  for  Herod's  temple,  seems  to  have 
been  about  six  hundred  feet  square.  The 
house  on  the  summit  was  near  the  western 
side  of  this  space.  The  large  outer  court, 
with  its  great  wall  and  inner  colonnades  (see 
on  4  :  5),  was  considerably  lower  down  the 
hill.     Into  this,  as    more    remote    from    the 


sacred  house  and  the  altar,  it  had  been  cus- 
tomary to  allow  the  entrance  of  Gentiles,  and 
so  it  was  called  the  Court  of  the  Gentiles. 
From  this  court  went  up  grand  steps,  in  two 
flights  with  a  landing  between  them,  on  the 
north,  east,  and  south,  to  the  next  enclosure, 
called  the  Court  of  Israel,  and  a  portion  of  it 
separated  as  the  Court  of  the  Women.  The 
wall  at  the  top  of  the  steps  had  grand  gates, 
one  of  which  was  known  as  "Beautiful" 
(Acts  3: 2),  and  was  perhaps  the  same  that 
Josephus  glowingly  describes  in  "  War,"  5,  5, 
3.  Along  this  wall  were  stone  pillars,  bear- 
ing in  Greek  and  Latin  the  inscription,  "  Let 
no  Gentile  enter  here  under  pain  of  death" 
("  War,"  6,  5,  2)  ;  one  of  these  is  said  to  have 
been  found  a  few  years  ago.  Again  steps,  and 
gates  at  the  summit,  to  the  central  Court  of 
the  Priests,  lying  east  of  the  sacred  house, 
with  an  enclosing  wall  of  only  two  feet  in 
height.  Just  within  this  court  on  the  eastern 
side  stood  the  great  altar  of  burnt  sacrifice — 
probably  built  on  the  large  rock  which  the 
Mohammedans  have  enclosed  in  the  Mosque 
of  Omar.  Thus  the  worshiper  could  bring 
his  sacrifice  up  the  steps  and  pass  it  in  to  the 
priests,  and  could  see  plainly  when  it  was  laid 
on  the  altar  (5:23);  and  looking  beyond 
the  altar  could  see  into  the  eastern  end  of  the 
sacred  house,  where  the  priests  entered  at 
certain  times  to  burn  incense.  (Lukei:9f.)  As 
Gentiles  were  admitted  into  the  large  outer 
court,  it  was  very  easy  for  Jewish  traders  to 
conclude  that  they  might  properly  sell  hero 
the  animals  to  be  used  in  sacrifice.  Wher- 
ever purchased,  these  animals  had  to  be  led 
through  the  courts  up  to  the  altar.  All  that 
were  brought  in  for  sale  would,  it  was  hoped, 


>  Omitted  by  X  B  L,  several  cursives,  Memph.,  Theb., 
one  copy  of  Old  Latin,  .lerusalera  Syriac,  Arm.,  ^Ctli., 
and  some  Fathers.  It  is  not  found  in  the  parallel  pas- 
sages of  Mark  and  I.uke,  nor  the  similar  passage  of  .John 
(i:  14),  but  that  fact,  if  observed  by  copyists,  would  have 
l)een  a  reason,  as  wo  may  judge  from  their  general  prac- 
tice, not  for  omitting  it  in  Matt.,  i)Ut  for  inserting  it  in 
some  of  the  others.  The  expression  would  not  be  in- 
trinsically objectionable  to  any  one,  and  so  we  cannot 
account  for  its  omission  on  that  ground.  Some  suppose 
it  to  have  been  omitted  because  the  plirase  ia  rare    The 


Jews  had  little  use  for  such  a  phrase,  since  for  them 
'  the  temple '  could  mean  only  one  thing.  But  the  addi- 
tion would  not  strike  a  copyist  as  strange  or  iinnatunil. 
And  a  similar  phrase  does  occur,  oven  in  26:  61,  and 
flgurativoly  in  1  Cor.  3:  16  ff. ;  2  Thess.  2:  4;  Rev.  3: 
12,  etc.,  and  'temple  of  the  Lord'  in  Luke  1:  9,  tlio 
word  in  all  these  cases  being  not  hieron  but  nno.i,  which 
fir  our  pn  sent  purpose  makes  little  difference.  As  the 
Internal  evidence  is  indecisive,  it  seems  wisest  to  follow 
the  documents  wliich  so  generally  give  the  correct  text. 
(Comp.  W  H.,  A  PI..) 


430 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXI. 


13  And  said  unto  them,  It  is  written,  My  house  shall  |  13  the  seats  of  them  that  sold  the  doves;  and  he  saith 
be  called  the  house  of  prayer;  but  ye  have  made  it  a  unto  them,  It  is  written,  My  house  shall  be  called  a 
den  of  thieves.  I       house  ot  prayer:  but  ye  make  it  a  den  of  robbers. 


be  purchased  and  sacrificed,  and  so  they  were 
iji  a  certain  sense  already  sacred,  and  quite  as 
fit  to  be  here  as  dogs  of  Gentiles.  Worship- 
ers from  a  distance  would  enter  the  courts, 
pass  up  toward  the  altar,  and  feeling  moved 
to  ofter  a  sacrifice,  would  be  glad  to  find  a  sup- 
ply so  conveniently  near.  Lightfoot  says 
(from  the  Talmud)  that  they  also  sold  "wine, 
salt,  oil,  and  other  requisites  to  sacrfices."  It  is 
natural  that  the  practice  of  admitting  traders, 
not  mentioned  in  Old  Test.,  should  have 
arisen  in  a  later  time  when  so  many  Jews 
came  from  foreign  countries  to  worship. 
Jerome  suspects  that  the  priests  had  a  share 
in  the  profits ;  and  probably  (Morisim)  extor- 
tionate prices  were  charged.  At  any  rate  we 
know  they  derived  gain  from  all  sacrifices, 
and  these  would  be  multiplied  by  having  the 
material  convenient.  Plumptre :  "  We  must 
picture  to  ourselves,  in  addition  to  all  the  stir 
and  bustle  inseparable  from  such  traffic,  the 
wrangling  and  bitter  words  and  reckless  oaths 
which  necessarily  grew  out  of  it  with  such  a 
people  as  the  Jews.  The  historj"  of  Christian 
churches.has  not  been  altogether  without  par- 
allels that  may  help  us  to  understand  how 
such  a  desecration  came  to  be  permitted. 
Those  who  remember  the  state  of  the  great 
Cathedral  of  London,  as  painted  in  the  lite- 
rature of  Elizabeth  and  James,  when  mules 
and  horses  laden  with  market  produce  were 
led  through  St.  Paul's,  as  a  matter  of  every- 
day occurrence,  and  bargains  were  struck 
there,  and  burglaries  planned,  and  servants 
hired,  and  profligate  assignations  made  and 
kept,  will  feel  that  even  Christian  and  Prot- 
estant England  has  hardh^  the  right  to  cast  a 
stone  at  the  priests  and  people  of  Jerusalem." 
Cast  out.  We  do  not  know  whether  as 
on  the  former  occcasion  (Johns: is),  he  used  'a 
scourge  of  small  cords'  as  a  symbol  of  au- 
thority and  punishment.  Overthrew  the 
tables  of  the  money  changers.  The 
Greek  word  signifies  those  who  make  small 
change.  Comp.  on  25:  27.  One  sees  such 
men  now  in  Jerusalem,  with  various  coins 
piled  in  slender  pillars  on  a  table,  ready  for 
a  small  premium  to  change  foreign  money 
into  such  as  would  be  more  current.  In  our 
Lord's  time  there  was  much  demand  for  this 


on  the  part  of  foreign  Jews,  whom  custom 
forbade  to  put  any  but  Jewish  coins  into  the 
treasury  of  the  temple.  (Marki2:4i.)  As  the 
change  was  thus  needed  in  order  to  a  sacred 
contribution,  people  easily  persuaded  them- 
selves that  it  was  proper  to  allow  money- 
changing  for  the  special  purpose  to  take  place 
in  the  outer  court.  That  sold  doves.  These 
were  appointed  as  sacrifices  in  various  cases, 
and  allowed  in  others  as  substitutes  on  the 
part  of  the  poor.  (Luke 2: 21.)  There  is  here 
(and  so  Mark  and  Luke)  no  mention  of  oxen 
and  sheep,  as  on  the  first  occasion.  It  might 
be  inferred  that  the  traders  had  not  again  be- 
come bold  enough  to  bring  in  these,  but  the 
inference  would  be  somewhat  precarious,  as 
the  account  may  have  merely  omitted  them. 
Mark  adds  (11: 16,  Rev.  ver.),  "and  he  would  not 
suffer  that  any  man  should  carry  a  vessel 
through  the  temple."  The  word  rendered 
'vessel'  denotes  all  sorts  of  utensils  and  im- 
plements (comp.  above  on  12:  29,  'goods'). 
It  had  probably  become  common  to  go 
through  the  courts  for  a  short  cut  from  the 
great  eastern  gate  of  the  city  towards  the 
southern  part  of  Zion,  which  was  connected 
with  the  temple  by  arched  bridges  over  the 
intervening  depression. 

13.  It  is  written,  in  Isa.  56:  7.  Luke 
quotes  as  here,  Mark  adds  the  prophet's 
concluding  words,  'for  all  the  nations,' 
which  carry  the  emphasis  in  Isa.,  but  are  not 
necessary  here.  The  meaning  and  applica- 
tion of  this  quotation  are  obvious.  But  ye 
make  it,  as  in  leading  early  documents,  was 
easily  changed  to  ye  have  made  it,  as  in 
Luke  (and  Mark).  A  den  of  thieves,  or, 
robbers,  as  in  27  :  38.  They  were  worse  than 
'thieves,'  they  openly  plundered,  making 
money  out  of  the  worship,  in  sight  of  the 
altar.  The  phrase  is  borrowed  from  Jer.  7 : 
11,  where  the  prophet  reproaches  the  people 
with  having  a  superstitious  reverence  for  the 
temple  and  its  services,  and  yet  living  so  im- 
morally that  they  seem  practicallj'  to  regard 
the  temple  as  'a  den  of  robbers.'  The  Jews 
whom  Jesus  reproached  were  reproducing 
(Toy)  the  superstitious  reverence  for  the  tem- 
ple and  the  wickedness  that  dishonored  it. 
On  the  former  occasion  (John  2 :  le),  Jesus   had 


Ch.  XXL] 


MATTHEW. 


431 


14  And  the  blind  and  the  lame  came  to  him  in  the 
temple ;  and  he  healed  them. 

15  And  when  the  chief  priests  and  scribes  saw  the 
wonderful  things  that  he  did,  and  the  children  crying 
in  the  temple,  and  saying,  Uusanna  to  the  8on  of  David  ; 
tliey  were  ^<ore  displeased. 

16  And  said  unto  him,  Hearest  thou  what  these  say? 
And  Jesus  salth  unto  them,  Yea;  have  ye  never  read, 
Out  of  the  mouth  of  babes  and  sucklings  thou  hast  per- 
fected praise  ? 


14  And  the  blind  and  the  lame  came  to  him  in  the  tem- 

15  pie:  and  he  healed  them.  But  when  the  chief  priests 
and  the  scriljes  saw  the  wonderful  thing:*  that  he  did, 
and  the  children  that  were  crying  in  the  temple  and 
saying,  Hosanna  to  the    son  of  David;  they  were 

16  moved  with  indignation,  and  said  unto  him,  Hearest 
thou  what  these  are  saying?  And  Jesus  saith  unto 
them,  Yea :  did  ye  never  read,  Out  of  the  mouth  of 


simply  said,  "Make  not  my  Father's  house  a 
house  of  merchandise." — What  led  the 
traders  to  obey?  There  must  have  been  in 
our  Lord  a  look  and  tone  of  superhuman  au- 
thority (21 :  23 ;  John  18:  5  f.)  ;  and  then  the  traders 
knew  in  their  secret  heart  that  they  were 
doing  wrong. 

14.  This  is  mentioned  by  Matt.  only. 
Many  afflicted  persons  were  doubtless  to  be 
seen  in  the  temple  courts,  asking  alms 
(Acts 3:2),  or  seeking  consolation  in  worship. 
The  miraculous  healings,  then  and  there, 
served  to  establish  Jesus'  authority  to  cleanse 
the  temple,  and  in  some  sense  (Weiss)  re-con- 
secrated the  courts  which  had  been  pro- 
faned. 

15  f.  The  chief  priests  and  the  scribes 
were  perhaps  representatives  of  the  Sanhe- 
drin  (see  on  26:  69);  comp.  21:  23;  26:  3, 
47;  Mark  11:  18.  Saw  the  wonderful 
things  that  he  didf  not  terata,  'prodigies,' 
usually  translated  'wonders'  (see  on  12:  38), 
but  the  general  term  which  means  exactly 
wonderful  things.  This  doubtless  includes 
his  cleansing  the  temple  and  his  healing  the 
blind  and  the  lame.  And  the  children 
crying;  that  were  crying,  Rev.  Ver.,  repre- 
sents the  Greek  of  the  leading  manuscripts. 
The  words  are  masculine,  meaning  boys  as  in 
2:  16,  and  not  the  general  term  children  as 
in  11 :  16.  It  would  naturally  be  boys  rather 
than  girls,  for  comparatively  few  even  of 
grown  women  went  to  the  temple  amid  the 
crowd-s.  These  boys  had  heard  the  day  bo- 
fore  the  cries  of  the  triumphal  procession, 
'Hosanna  to  the  Son  of  David'  (21 :  »),  and 
readily  understood  it  to  mean  the  Messiah  ; 
now  observing  the  authority  with  which  he 
cleansed  the  temple  and  healed  the  blind  and 
the  lame,  they  recalled  that  cry  and  were 
loudly  repeating  it,  even  in  the  temple. 
The  older  people  who  had  said  the  same  on 
the  Mount  of  Olives  and  in  the  streets  of  the 


city  might  have  shrunk  from  making  the  bold 
proclamation  in  this  most  public  place  and  in 
the  very  face  of  their  religious  rulers;  chil- 
dren are  in  such  a  case  more  ardent  and  more 
fearless.  They  were  sore  displeased,  or, 
moved  with  indignation,  same  word  as  in  20: 
24.  They  ought  to  have  been  led  to  earnest 
inquiry  whether  he  who  thus  asserted  author- 
ity and  wrought  miracles  and  allowed  him- 
self to  be  hailed  as  the  Son  of  David  was  in- 
deed the  Messiah  ;  and  his  purification  of  the 
temple  might  well  have  reminded  them  of 
Mai.  3 :  1-4.  They  rejected  the  idea  without 
inquiry,  and  were  indignant  at  the  apparent 
claim.  He  wasaltogether  ditferentfrom  their 
notion  of  the  Messiah,  came  from  an  obscure 
village  in  distant  Galilee  (Johm:  41  r.,  52),  had 
not  asked  the  recognition  of  the  Sanhedrin, 
but  seemed  to  be  relying  on  mere  popular  re- 
cognition (John  7: 49);  and  as  the  Messiah  was  of 
course  to  be  a  revolutionist  and  civil  ruler,  his 
claim  and  its  popular  support  might  provoke 
the  Romans  to  crush  out  the  "nation,"  and 
deprive  these  .Jewish  oflBcials  of  their  "place," 
as  some  of  them  had  intimated  not  long  be- 
fore. (Johnn:47f.)  Hcarcst  thou  what* 
these  are  saying?  They  do  not  really  doubt 
that  he  hears,  but  mean  to  intimate  surprise 
that  he  does  not  stop  a  thing  so  improper  as  to 
call  him  Son  of  David.  So  during  the  tri- 
umphal procession  (Luke  19:39),  "some  of  the 
Pharisees  from  the  multitude"  openly  called 
on  him  to  rebuke  his  disciples  for  language 
implying  that  he  was  the  Messiah,  but  he  re- 
fused. (Comp.  above  on  21 :  0.)  It  is  idle  for 
critics  to  suppose  this  a  mere  inaccurate  report 
of  that  former  case,  for  the  place  is  different, 
the  persons  making  the  outcry  are  here  chil- 
dren, and  the  Saviour's  reply  is  also  entirely 
diffcrnnt,  and  adapted  to  the  testimony  of 
children.  The  Scribes  complaining  may  have 
been  different,  or  may  have  included  some  of 
the  same  persons,  now  still  further  outraged 


1  The  simple  interrogative  in  indirect  question,  heie  and  in  10 :  19 ;  Marie  14 : 
used  in  classic  Greek  also,  see  Jelf,  2877,  Obs.  2. 


Luke  17 :  8,  is  occasionally 


432 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXI. 


17  And  he  left  them,  and  went  out  of  the  city  into  1 17  babes  and  sucklings  thou  hast  perfected  praise  ?  And 
Bethany;  and  he  lodged  there.  he  left  them,  and  went  lorth  out  of  the  city  to  Ueth- 

I      any,  and  lodged  there. 


by  the  renewed  hosannas.  Yea,  he  heurs  it, 
and  finds  it  unobjectionable  and  proper. 
Have  ye  never  read  (see  on  12:  3),  implying 
a  blameworthy  ignorance  of  what  was  meant 
by  a  very  familiar  passage  of  those  sacred 
writings  with  which  Scribes  were  supposed  to 
be  so  thoroughly  acquainted;  so  also  in  19: 
4;  21:  42;  22:  31.  Out  of  the  mouth,  etc., 
from  Psa.  8:  2  (3).  Hebrew,  'out  of  the 
mouths  of  babes  and  sucklings  thou  hast 
established  strength.'  The  Sept.  has  'thou 
hast  prepared  praise ' ;  in  several  other  pas- 
sages (Toy)  it  has  rendered  the  word  for 
'strength'  by  'praise.'  Matt,  follows  the 
Sept.,  as  he  so  often  does  where  it  expresses  the 
Heb.  sufficiently  for  his  purpose.  (Comp.  on 
3:  3  and  12:  14.)  The  Greek  word  means 
'prepared'  or  'completely  prepared,'  and  so 
may  be  rendered  'perfected.'  The  first  utter- 
ances of  very  young  children,  showing  admi- 
ration of  God's  works,  and  ready  recognition 
of  his  existence,  are  a  strong  testimonj'  to  his 
being  and  glory,  and  ought,  the  Psalmist  adds, 
to  silence  the  enemy  and  the  avenger,  all  the 
"malignant  railers  against  God."  (Alexander 
on  Psalms.)  Suckling  was  sometimes  con- 
tinued among  the  Jews  till  the  child  was  three 
years'  old  (2Maco.  ?:  27;,  and  such  a  custom  is 
still  reported  by  some  travelers  in  the  East. 
What  the  Psalmist  declared  true  of  sucking 
babes  was  also  and  still  more  true  of  these 
boys  crying  hosanna.  Toy  says  that  the 
meaning  in  which  the  words  are  bore  used  is 
"substantially  the  same  as  that  of  the  Psalm- 
ist— God  had  shown  these  children  a  truth 
that  the  learned  men  did  not  see,  and  had 
thereby  made  them  instruments  of  praise  and 
strength."  Our  Lord's  wise  answer,  while 
not  provoking,  yet  failed  to  restrain,  the  pur- 
pose excited  by  the  triumphal  entry  and  his 
cleansing  the  temple,  viz.,  to  destroy  him  if 
possible;  the  popular  recognition  and  en- 
thusiasm made  them  fear  him  all  the  more, 
for  they  accounted  him  a  dangerous  rival  to 
their  own  position  as  religious  instructors  and 

rulers.       (Mark  11 :  is ;  Luke  19:47  r.) 

17.  And  he  left  them,  etc.  Mark  shows 
that  this  was  not  on  the  day  of  the  triumphal 
entry,  but  on  the  day  following.  (Comp. 
above  on  v.  12.)  Indeed,  Mark  tells  us  (ii:i9, 
EcT.ver.)  that  "  evcry  evening  he  went  forth 


out  of  the  city  "  ;  and  Luke  states  in  connec- 
tion with  the  next  day  that  "  every  day  he 
was  teaching  in  the  temple  ;  and  every  night 
lie  went  out  and  lodged  in  the  mount  that  is 
called  the  Mount  of  Olives."  (Luke 21 :  37,  Rev. 
ver.)  This  naturally  enough  means  Bethany, 
which  lay  on  a  spur  of  the  mountain.  Thus 
the  statements  agree,  and  show  us  what  course 
he  took  on  the  three  days  of  his  public  a))- 
pearance,  probably  the  first,  second,  and  third 
days  of  the  week;  he  came  "early  in  the 
morning"  (Luke  21 :  38)  to  the  temple  and  taught, 
and  went  out  at  night  across  the  mountain  to 
Bethany.  Many  who  had  come  to  the  feast 
sought  nightly  lodgings  in  the  surrounding 
villages.  Jesus  would  go  out  to  seek  repose 
in  the  home  of  his  friends  (comp.  on  26:  6), 
and  probably  also  to  avoid  an  attempt  to 
arrest  him,  such  as  was  successfully  made  the 
first  night  he  spent  in  the  city.  There  is  no 
occasion  to  suppose,  as  some  have  done,  that 
he  and  his  followers  camped  out  near  Beth- 
any. His  friends  in  the  village  were  ap- 
parently wealthy. 

In  leaving  Jerusalem  by  the  eastern  gate 
(comp.  on  21:  1),  Jesus  and  his  disciples 
would  descend  the  steep  declivity  into  the 
narrow  valley  of  the  Kidron,  and  by  a  little 
bridge  would  cross  over  the  dry  bed  of  the 
stream,  all  covered  with  flat  stones  worn  into 
rounded  shapes  by  the  torrents  of  the  rainy 
season.  Keaching  the  foot  of  the  Mount  of 
Olives,  they  found  near  them  a  garden  called 
Gethsemane  (see  on  26:  36),  doubtless  occu- 
pied by  olive-trees  and  fig-trees,  with  prob- 
ably flowers,  and  less  probably  vegetables. 
It  seems  to  have  been  a  place  open  to  the 
public,  and  "Jesus  ofttimes  resorted  thither 
with  his  disciples"  (Johni8:2),  perhaps  stop- 
ping to  rest  under  shade  and  among  flowers 
before  climbing  Olivet,  or  in  the  morning 
before  entering  the  hot  and  crowded  city  ; 
for  in  April  it  is  extremely  hot  in  Jerusalem 
in  the  daytime,  though  chilly  towards  morn- 
ing. (Johni8:i8.)  Up  the  Central  depression  in 
the  slope  of  the  Mount  of  Olives  (comp.  on 
21:  1)  the  path  is  steep  and  toilsome,  some- 
times clambering  up  ledges  of  limestone  rock, 
and  gradually  rising  to  a  level  with,  and  then 
above,  the  city  on  the  hills  behind.  At  the 
summit,  from  which  could  be  seen  the  long 


Ch.  XXL] 


MATTHEW. 


433 


18  Now  in  the  morning,  as  he  returned  into  the  city,  1 18    Now  in  the  morning  as  he  returned  to  the  city,  he 
he  hungered.  | 


eastern  line  of  the  high  mountains  of  Moab, 
with  glimpses  of  the  Dead  Sea  in  a  deep  caul- 
dron between,  they  were  half  way  to  Beth- 
any. Some  distance  down  the  eastern  slope 
is  a  narrow  neck  of  rocky  soil  between  little 
northern  and  southern  valleys.  This  neck  of 
land  connects  with  Olivet,  a  small  rounded 
outlying  hill.  Their  path  wound  ivround  the 
northern  part  of  this  hill,  while  the  Roman 
paved  road  from  Bethany  to  Jerusalem  passed 
around  its  southern  face.  On  the  east  this 
rounded  hill  slopes  down  in  a  tongue  of  land 
between  two  minute  valleys,  which  presently 
unite  beyond  it  and  go  deepening  down 
towards  the  Dead  Sea.  On  this  little  tongue  of 
land  and  in  these  shallow  vaLeys,  amid  olive 
trees,  figs,  almonds,  vines,  and  apricots,  and 
patches  of  small,  bright-hued  flowers,  gleamed 
the  white  limestone  dwellings  of  Bethanj-. 
The  place  is  now  called  Lazariyeh,  from 
Lazarus,  or  more  exactly,  in  Arabic,  e1- 
Aziriyeh,  from  cl-Azir.  It  is  by  the  direct 
path  a  mile  and  three  quarters  from  Jeru- 
salem, corresponding  exactly  to  the  fifteen 
stadia  (something  less  than  furlongs)  of  John 
11 :  18.  The  name  Bethany  appears  to  mean 
either  'house  of  dates'  or  'house  of  the  poor.' 
There  was  another  Bethany  beyond  Jordan 
(jobDi:  28),  and  in  John  11:  1  this  Bethany  is 
distinguished  as  "the  village  of  Mary  and  her 
sister  Martha." 

HOMILETICAL  AND  PRACTICAL. 

V.  12.  Thieme  (in  Stier) :  "  Once  more  he 
goes  the  way  which  he  had  loved  as  a  child, 
up  to  the  temple.''— V.  13.  A  place  of  wor- 
ship becoming  a  den  of  robbers.  1)  When 
the  worship  is  conducted  by  men  who  seek  re- 
ligious office  for  the  money  it  yields.  2)  When 
the  worship  is  supported,  or  the  house  of  wor- 
ship erected,  by  such  measures  as  extortion  in 
"fairs,"  or  covert  gambling.  3)  When  per- 
sons join  a  certain  church  in  hope  of  gaining 
custom,  or  otherwise  promoting  their  worldly 


interests.  4)  When  men  wrong  others  through 
the  week,  and  try  to  atone  for  it  by  worship- 
ing God  on  the  Lord's  Day.  (Jer. 7:9-u.) 
Henry:  "Lawful  things,  ill-timed  and  ill- 
placed,  may  become  sinful  things.  That 
which  was  decent  enough  in  another  place, 
and  not  only  lawful  but  laudable  on  another 
day,  defiles  the  sanctuary  and  profanes  the 
Sabbath."  Hall:  "Yea,  thus  it  became 
thee,  O  thou  gracious  Redeemer  of  men,  to 
let  the  world  see  thou  hast  not  lost  thy  jus- 
tice in  thy  mercy ;  that  there  is  not  more 
lenity  in  thy  forbearances,  than  rigor  in  thy 
just  severities ;  that  thou  canst  thunder  as  well 
as  shine." — V.  15  f.  Children  crying  in  the 
temple.  1)  Would-be  wise  men  often  show 
folly  by  despisiiig  the  young.  2)  Children 
sometimes  see  religious  truth  more  clearly 
than  prejudiced  adults.  3)  The  praise  of  chil- 
dren is  thoroughly  acceptable  to  God.  4)  The 
piety  of  children  ought  to  touch  hard  hearts, 
and  silence  malignant  opposers  of  the  gospel. 

18-22.  The  Barrkn  Fig-Tree. 

Found  also  in  Mark  11 :  12-14  and  20-26.  If 
we  had  only  Matthew,  we  should  suppose  that 
all  this  occurred  the  morning  which  followed 
the  triumphal  entry  and  the  cleansing  of  the 
temple.  But  Matthew  docs  not  at  all  contra- 
dict the  fuller  account  of  Mark,  viz.,  that 
after  the  triumphal  entry  (probably  on  the 
first  day  of  the  week)  Jesus  returned  to 
Bethany  ;  the  next  morning  (Monday)  on  his 
way  to  the  city  he  pronounced  a  curse  upon 
the  fig-tree,  and  afterwards  cleansed  the 
temple;  and  the  following  morning  (Tuesday) 
the  disciples  expressed  their  surprise  that  the 
tree  had  at  once  withered.  Matthew  hits 
simply  thrown  together  the  whole  matter  of 
the  fig-tree,  just  as  in  narrating  the  ministry 
in  Galilee  ho  often  arranges  topically  rather 
than  chronologically. 

18.  As  he  returned,  or  probably,  7/pon  re- 
turning.^ He  hungered.  The  first  meal  was 
usually  taken  about  the  middle  of  the  fore- 


»  Aorist  part,  in  K  (first  hand),  B  (first  hand),  L  (fol-  (  the  city,  he  had  not  entered  it.  There  Is  thus  only  an 
lowed  by  Tisch.  and  W  H.),  'upon  returninR,'  '  al^er  npi)arcnt  contradiction  l>pt  ween  this  and  Mark, 'when 
returning,'  '  having  returned.'  This,  as  the  more  diffl-  they  were  come  out  from  lU-thany  he  was  luuigry.'  It 
cult  reading,  easily  changed  by  copyists  into  the  other,  1  was  less  than  two  miles  from  one  place  to  the  other, 
has  strong  claims  to  adoption.  Tho  immediately  foi-  I  Biittmann  would  here  Irnnslate  '  put  oir'  as  it  means  in 
lowing  'bv  the  road'  would  sliow  that  the  former  ex- |  Luke  5:  3  f.,  thus  making  it  'aner  putting  off  to  the 
preaslon  is  meant  loosely,  that  though  he  had  reached  >  city.'    But  it  can  hardly  be  shown  that  the  word  has 

B2 


434 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXI. 


19  And  when  he  saw  a  fig  tree  in  the  way,  he  came  to 
it,  and  found  nothing  thereon,  but  leaves  only,  and 
said  unto  it.  Lot  no  truit  grow  on  thee  henceforward 
for  ever.    And  presently  tlie  fig  tree  withered  away. 


19  hungered.  And  seeing  'a  fig  tree  by  the  way  side, 
he  came  to  it,  and  found  nothing  thereon,  but  "leaves 
only ;  and  he  saith  unto  it,  Let  there  be  no  fruif  from 
thee  henceforward  for  ever.    And  immediately  the 


1  Or,  a  single. 


noon.  (aci»i:15.)  Comp.  on  22:  4.  The  case 
in  John  21 :  12  is  exceptional.  Wall<ing  up 
and  down  the  steep  mountain  in  the  early 
morning  air  would  naturally  awaken  appe- 
tite, especially  in  one  who  had  eaten  moder- 
ately the  evening  before.  There  is  no  occa- 
sion for  the  supposition  that  he  had  spent  the 
night  in  special  prayer. 

19.  A  fig-tree,  or  more  probably,  in  the 
strict  sense  (Rev.  Ver  margin),  'a  single 
fig-tree '(comp.  on  8:  19),  perhaps  one  that 
stood  apart,  or  that  attracted  attention  by  the 
rich  development  of  leaves  which  it  alone  pre- 
sented. Pliny  ("Natural  History"  XVI,  49) 
says  of  the  fig-tree,  "  Its  leaf  comes  later  than 
the  fruit,  except  a  certain  species  in  Cilicia, 
Cyprus,  and  Greece."  Tristram  says  ("Nat. 
Hist,  of  the  Bible")  that  in  Palestine  "the 
fruit  appears  before  the  leaves."  Dr.  Cham- 
bers (in  Schaff )  denies  this,  but  the  conflict  of 
reports  is  accounted  for  by  the  statement  of 
Thomson  ("Land  and  Book"):  "The  fig 
often  comes  with,  or  even  before,  the  leaves." 
Mark's  expression,  "seeing  a  fig-tree  afar  otf, 
having  leaves,  he  came,"  shows  that  the  pres- 
ence of  leaves  suggested  the  presence  of  fruit. 
They  had  perhaps  eaten  new  figs  in  the  deep 
plain  of  Jericho  a  few  days  before.  And 
though  "it  was  not  the  season  of  figs" 
(icarkii:i3,  Rev.  ver.),  here  on  the  mountain,  yet 
this  appeared  to  be  an  exceptional  tree,  bear- 
ing fruit  earlier  than  usual.  Thomson  says 
he  has  eaten  very  early  figs  on  Lebanon  in 
May,  and  that  fruits  are  there  a  month  later 
than  in  Jerusalem.  So  it  was  not  impossible 
that  in  some  warm  nook  of  the  Mount  of 
Olives  an  exceptionally  early  variety  might 
have  figs  at  the  beginning  of  April.  To  sup- 
pose that  Jesus  expected  to  find  a  few  figs  re- 
maining from  the  fall  and  winter  crop  is  en- 
tirely unsuitable.     Leaves  would  be  no  sign 


of  such  remaining  fruit;  there  would  be  no 
occasion  for  finding  fault,  and  no  symbolical 
lesson.  The  artificial  translation  of  Mark 
which  some  have  proposed,  "for  the  season 
was  not  a  good  one  for  figs,"  is  without  war- 
rant in  grammar,  and  a  mere  expedient  to 
escape  a  difficulty. — To  take  from  a  fruit  tree 
beside  the  road,  or  even  to  pluck  ears  of  grain 
in  passing,  was  entirely  in  accordance  with 
law  and  custom,  Deut.  23:  24  f.,  comp.  above 
on  12:  1.  See  the  thorough  humanity  of  our 
Saviour  —  hungry  from  a  mountain  walk, 
seeking  food  from  a  tree  beside  the  road,  and 
disappointed  in  not  finding  figs  when  there 
was  such  a  show  of  leaves.  His  human  mind, 
which  had  grown  in  wisdom  (Luke 2: 521,  which 
did  not  know  the  day  and  hour  of  his  own 
second  coming  (Mark  13:32),  was  of  necessity,  as 
a  finite  mind,  unable  to  contain  all  knowledge. 
We  must  beware  of  unchastened  inferences 
from  this  fact  that  he  did  not  know  some 
things,  remembering  that  in  the  unity  of  his 
person  dwelt  a  divine  as  well  as  a  human  na- 
ture, and  that  the  Holy  Spirit  was  given  him 
without  measure  (John  8:34);  but  we  must  not 
deny  or  becloud  the  fact,  when  distinctly  set 
forth.  This  is  indeed  a  necessary  part  of  a 
real  incarnation,  and  we  must  accept  it  as 
a  mystery.  Maldonatus  holds  that  Jesus 
feigned  to  be  hungry,  and  feigned  to  seek 
what  he  knew  he  would  not  find — which  pain- 
fully reminds  us  that  the  great  commentator 
was  a  Jesuit.  Let  no  fruit  grow  on  thee 
henceforward  forever.  So  Mark,  and  this 
is  what  Peter  called  a  curse.  (Mark  11:21.) 
To  suppose  that  Jesus  angrily  uttered 
imprecations  against  the  inanimate  object 
is  not  only  irreverent,  but  gratuitous  and 
silly.  Our  Lord  sought  illustration  of  re- 
ligious truth  from  all  sources ;  food  from 
and  water,  patching  clothes  and  bottling  wine, 


that  exact  sense,  unless  the  phrase  were  '  after  putting 
off  from  Bethany.' — The  Aorist  part,  in  Acts  25 : 1:}, 
■which  Scrivener  says  is  "manifestly  false"  though  read 
by  all  uncials  and  some  other  good  documents,  and 
which  Hort  regards  as  an  instance  of  "  prior  corrup- 
tion "  of  the  text,  may  perhaps  be  explained  as  mean- 
ing "  they  came  down  to  Cesarea  by  way  of  greeting  to 


Festus,"  since  the  coming  itself  was  a  greeting  as  well 
as  the  words  spoken  on  arriving.  This  would  be  like 
"You  did  well  in  reminding  me"  (anamnesas),  Plato. 
(Comp.  below  25  :  3 ;  26 :  12  ;  27 :  4.)  The  present  part, 
would  mean,  "  they  came  down  while  saluting."  Comp. 
on  23 :  20,  as  to  the  general  theory  ol  the  aorist. 


Ch.  XXI.] 


MATTHEW. 


435 


20  And  when  the  disciples  saw  it,  they  marvelled, 
saying,  How  soon  is  the  fig  tree  withered  away ! 

21  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  them.  Verily  I  say 
unto  you,  If  ye  have  faith,  and  doubt  not,  ye  shall  not 
only  do  this  which  is  done  to  the  fie  tree,  but  also  if  ye 
shall  say  unto  this  mountain,  Be  thou  removed,  and  be 
thou  cast  into  the  sea ;  it  shall  be  done. 


20  fig  tree  withered  away.  And  when  the  disciples  saw 
it,  they  marvelled,  saying,  How  did  the  fig  tree  im- 

21  mediately  wither  away?  And  Jesus  answered  and 
said  unto  theiii,  Verily  I  say  unto  you.  If  ye  have 
faith,  and  doubt  not,  ye  shall  not  only  do  what  is 
done  to  the  fig  tree,  but  even  if  ye  shall  say  unto  this 
mountain,  Be  thou  taken  up  and  cast  into  the  sea,  it 


Bowing  and  reaping,  and  changes  of  weather, 
"birds  and  flowers,  plants  and  trees,  as  well  as 
the  doings  and  sayings  of  men  around  him, — 
all  were  made  to  teach  lessons.  And  here  was 
an  opportunity  for  a  very  striking  lesson.  The 
tree  gave  by  its  leaves  a  false  sign  of  possessing 
fruit,  and  so  would  strikinglj'  represent  false 
professions  of  piety  without  the  eflects  thereof, 
as  so  plainly  seen  in  the  contemporary  Jews, 
and  alas !  not  in  them  alone.  By  the  curse 
pronounced  it  became  a  symbol  and  a  warn- 
ing to  all  who  should  ever  hear  the  gospel. 
That  withered  fig-tree  stands  as  one  of  the 
most  conspicuous  objects  in  sacred  histor3-,  an 
object  lesson  forever  (comp.  on  18:  2).  Its 
lesson  corresponded  exactly  to  that  of  a  para- 
ble given  some  months  earlier  (Luke  is :  6-9),  and 
corresponds  generally  to  the  lamentation  over 
Jerusalem  the  day  before  (Luke  19:42),  to  the 
cleansing  of  the  temple  which  immediately 
followed,  and  to  the  long  course  of  teaching 
on  the  next  day.  (Matt.  21 :  28  to  23 :  39.)  There  was 
among  the  Jews  of  the  time  great  religiosity, 
and  little  religion.  Witness  the  trading  in 
the  temple,  the  hypocrisy  of  the  Scribes  and 
Pharisees,  their  refusal  to  believe  John  the 
Baptist  (iiisj),  their  rejection  of  the  long  ex- 
pected Messiah.  The  fig-tree  destroyed  was 
of  extremely  little  value,  as  it  bore  no  fruit. 
It  may  be  that  standing  '  on  the  road'  it  was 
not  private  property.  The  Talmud  often 
distinguishes  (Lightf. )  between  the  fruit  of 
trees  that  grew  in  common.s,  and  the  fruit  of 
trees  that  grew  in  gardens  or  fields.  But  that 
a  prophet,  a  "teacher  come  from  God,"  should 
destroy  a  piece  of  property  of  trifling  value 
for  the  sake  of  teaching  a  great  lesson,  would 
seem  to  the  Jews  no  ground  whatever  of  com- 
plaint; much  less  will  it  seem  so  to  those  who 
believe  in  his  divinity.  Comp.  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  herd  of  swine,  8 :  30  ff".  Theophrjl. 
remarks  that  our  Lord's  other  miracles  were 
all  beneficent,  and  lest  it  should  be  thought 
that  he  cannot  punish,  he  wrought  two  that 
were  punitive  :  j-et  the.se  were  not  upon  men, 
but  upon  the  tree  and  the  swine,  and  really 
meant  kindness  toward  men  ;  "  he  withers  the 
tree  that  he  may  chasten  men."    And  pres- 


ently (Kev.  Ver.,  immediately)  the  fig-tree 
withered  away,  does  not  necessarily  mean 
that  the  withering  was  completed  in  a  moment. 
And  when  Mark  (11:20,  Rev.  ver.)  states  that  "in 
the  morning  they  saw  the  tig-tree  withered 
away  from  the  roots,"  he  indicates  that  the 
withering  had  previously  occurred.  So  there 
is  no  contradiction. 

20.  And  when  the  disciples  saw  it, 
which  we  learn  from  Mark  was  the  following 
morning.  Matthew  does  not  mention  the 
lapse  of  time,  but  does  not  deny  nor  exclude 
it.  How  soon,  etc.,  better,  as  in  Rev.  Ver., 
Ho70  did  the  fig-tree  immediately,  etc.  See 
Winer,  p.  276  [345].  The  Greek  cannot  mean 
'how  soon,'  for  tiie  word  is  'immediately,' 
just  as  in  the  preceding  verse.  The  disciples 
inquire  how  the  immediate  withering  occur- 
red. The  process  was  justly  characterized  as 
immediate,  as  there  had  been  only  twenty- 
four  hours,  and  it  was  withered  from  the  roots 
(Mark).  The  Master  had  not  expressly  said 
that  the  tree  should  wither  at  once,  but  only 
that  it  should  never  bear  fruit.  We  learn 
from  Mark  (ii:2i)  that  Peter,  so  often  spokes- 
man, mentioned  the  matter  to  the  Teacher, 
but  the  answer  was  addressed  to  them  all. 

21  f.  Our  Lord  indirectly  answers  their 
question  by  telling  how  they  too  may  work 
not  only  such  a  miracle,  but  more  wonderful 
ones,  and  may  obtain  in  prayer  all  that  they 
ask  for,  viz.,  through  undoubting  faith.  Unto 
this  mountain  would  naturally' be  the  Mount 
of  Olives,  and  into  the  sea  would  "be  the 
Mediterranean  or  the  Dead  Sea.  Mark  has 
both  expressions  the  .same.  But  the  example 
is  evidently  presented,  not  as  a  thing  likely  or 
proper  to  be  actually  done,  but  as  an  extreme 
ca.se  of  a  conceivable  miracle  (comp.  1  Cor. 
13:  1),  to  illu.stra'e  more  vividly  the  miracu- 
lous possibilities  presented  to  unwavering 
faith.  (Comp.  on  17:  20.)  In  a  similar  expres- 
sion not  long  before  he  spoke  of  rooting  up  a 
tree  and  planting  it  in  the  sea.  (i.ukei7:6.)  The 
Talmtid  of  Bab.,  (Lightf)  frequently  uses 
"rooter  up  of  mountains"  as  a  figure  to  de- 
scribe some  teacher  who  had  great  power  in 
removing  diflaculties.— Christians  of  the  pres- 


436 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXI. 


22  And  all  things,  whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  in  prayer,  I  22  shall  be  done.    And  all  things,  whatsoever  ye  shall 
believing,  ye  sballreceive.  |       ask  in  prayer,  believing,  ye  shall  receive. 


ent  day  have  no  reason  to  believe  themselves 
commissioned  to  work  miracles,  and  the  at- 
tempt to  do  so  is  either  irreverent  trifling,  or 
a  fanaticism  injurious  to  themselves  and  re- 
pulsive to  thoughtful  observers.  Every  true 
prayer  of  Christian  faith  is  taught  by  the 
Spirit  of  God  (Komans  8:  26  f.),  and  he  will 
never  teach  men  a  presumptuous  prayer. 

From  the  power  which  faith  will  give  them 
to  work  miracles,  our  Lord  passes  to  its  more 
general  power  in  prayer  (v.  22;.  This  in  Mat- 
thew is  merely  added;  in  Mark  (ii:2*jit  is 
declared  to  follow  as  a  consequence  from  what 
precedes.  If  faith  could  work  miracles,  it  fol- 
lows that  faith  can  secure  whatever  we  pray  for 
(comp.  James  5:  16).  Believing,  ye  shall 
receive.  Of  course  this  promise  has  limita- 
tions; we  shall  receive  what  wo  ask,  or  some- 
thing which  our  Heavenly  Father  knows  to 
be  better  (comp.  on  7:  7,  11).  Mark  has  a  yet 
stronger  and  quite  peculiar  expression,  "be- 
lieve that  ye  receive  (Rev.  Ver.,  margin  re- 
ceived) them,  and  ye  shall  have  them  "  ;  from 
the  time  of  asking  go  on  believing  that  your 
prayer  was  heard,  that  you  virtually  received 
when  you  asked,  and  you  shall  have  the 
things  in-  due  season.  Mark  also  adds  (11:25) 
an  injunction  to  forgive  others  when  we  are 
praying  for  God's  forgiveness;  which  Mat- 
thew might  omit  from  having  recorded  it  as 
also  given  in  connection  with  the  "Lord's 
Prayer."  (6:u.) 

HOMILETICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

V.  18  f.  Nothing  but  leaves.  1)  Profession 
without  practice  is  worthless.  2)  Profession 
without  practice  is  oifensive  to  God  and  man. 
3)  Profession  without  practice  is  in  great  dan- 
ger of  becoming  perpetual.  4)  Profession 
need  not  be  laid  down  if  practice  be  taken  up. 
Hall:  "That  which  was  the  fault  of  this 
tree  is  the  punishment  of  it,  fruitlessness. 
Woe  be  to  that  church  or  soul  that  is  punished 
with  her  own  sin." — V.  21  f.  The  power  of 
Christian  faith.  1)  In  the  time  of  Christ  and 
his  apostles  it  could  work  miracles.  2)  If  we 
suppose  it  can  now  work  ar.y  miracle,  it  ought 
to  be  able  to  work  the  greatest  miracles.  (John 
U:i2.)  3)  Its  power  in  miracle-working  as- 
sures and  illustrates  its  present  power  in 
prayer  (comp.  James  5:  17  f. ;  Luke  10:  20). 


4)  We  cannot  be  sure  that  miracles  would 
now  do  good,  but  we  know  that  the  prayer  of 
faith  in  every  age  brings  the  richest  blessings. 

5)  It  enhances  the  privilege  of  prayer  to  be- 
lieve that  God  will  give  what  we  ask,  or  what 
he  sees  to  be  better. 

23-32.  The  Rulers  Question  Christ's 
Authority,  and  are  Rebuked. 

Found  also  in  Mark  11:  27-33;  Luke  20: 
1-8.  It  occurred  on  the  third  day  of  our 
Lord's  appearance  in  the  temple,  which  was 
probably  Tuesday. 

33.  The  chief  priests  and  the  elders. 
Mark,  '  the  chief  priests  and  the  scribes  and 
the  elders,'  representing  the  three  classes 
which  composed  the  Sanhedrin  (see  on  26: 
59);  it  is  not  necessary  to  suppose  a  formal 
deputation.  They  had  already  begun  seek- 
ing to  destroy  hini  (Luke  19 :  47  f.),  and  even  some 
time  sooner.  (John  11:  M.)  As  he  was  teach- 
ing. So  Luke,  Rev.  Ver.  ;  Mark  has  '  as  he 
was  walking  in  the  temple,'  probably  in  one 
of  the  beautiful  colonnades,  as  some  months 
earlier  in  John  10:  23.  To  teach  while  walk- 
ing about  was  very  common  with  the  Rabbis, 
as  it  was  at  Athens,  where  the  followers  of 
Aristotle  were  from  this  specially  called  Peri- 
patetics. To  stop  a  teacher  and  ask  him 
questions,  was  also  common.  (22:16,2.1,35.)  The 
conversation  between  our  Lord  and  the  rulers 
now  goes  on  for  a  long  time  in  the  temple 
court  (21:2310  22:46),  the  people  thronging  to 
hear,  their  usual  keen  interest  in  rabbinical 
discussions  beingheightened  by  the  triumphal 
entry  and  other  recent  events.  After  that, 
he  turns  from  the  baffled  rulers  to  address  di- 
rectly the  multitudes  and  his  disciples  (ch.23), 
and  towards  evening  speaks  to  the  disciples 
on  the  Mount  of  Olives,  (oh. 24  and  25.)  By 
Avhat  authority  (seeon  9:  6),  more  exactly, 
by  what  sort  of  authority  ;  so  also  Mark  and 
Luke.  And  who  gave  thee  this  authority? 
The  first  question  asks  the  nature  of  the  au- 
thority, the  second  asks  its  source.  Did  he 
claim  prophetic  authority  (21:11),  Messianic 
authority  (21:15),  or  what?  Did  he  claim  au- 
thority from  man,  or  from  God?  Any  Jew 
was  allowed  to  talk  publicly  about  religious 
questions  (as  in  our  social  meetings),  but  if 
he  proposed  to  be  a  regular  teacher  (Rabbi), 
he  must  be  authorized  by  other  Rabbis  or  by 


Ch.  XXI.] 


MATTHEW. 


437 


23  And  when  he  was  come  into  the  temple,  the  chief 
priests  and  the  elders  of  the  people  came  unto  him  as 
he  was  teaching,  and  said,  By  what  authority  doest 
thou  these  things?  and  who  gave  thee  this  authority? 

24  And  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  them,  I  also 
will  ask  you  one  thing,  which  if  ye  tell  me,  I  in  like 
wise  will  tell  you  by  wliat  authority  I  do  these  things. 

25  The  baptism  of  John,  whence  was  it?  from  heaven, 
or  of  men?  And  they  reasoned  with  themselves,  say- 
ing. If  we  shall  say.  From  heaven  ;  he  will  say  unto  us, 
Why  did  ye  not  then  believe  him  ? 

26  But  if  we  shall  say.  Of  men ;  we  fear  the  people ; 
for  all  hold  John  as  a  prophet. 

27  And  they  answered  Jesus  and  said,  We  cannot 
tell.  And  he  said  unto  them,  Neither  tell  I  you  by 
what  authority  1  do  these  things. 


23  And  when  he  was  come  into  the  temple,  the  chief 

Eriests  and  the  elders  of  the  people  came  unto  him  as 
e  was  teaching,  and  said.  By  what  authority  doest 
thou  these  tilings?  and  who  gave  thee  this  authority? 

24  And  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  them,  I  also  will 
ask  you  one  i  question,  which  if  ye  tell  uie,  I  likewise 
will  tell  you  by  what  authority  I  do  these  things. 
The  baptism  of  John,  whence  was  it?  from  heaven 
or  from  men  ?  And  they  reasoned  with  themselves, 
saying,  If  we  shall  say.  From  heaven  ;   he  will  say 

26  unto  us.  Why  then  did  ye  not  believe  him  ?  But  if 
we  shall  say.  From  men  ;  we  fear  the  multitude;  for 

27  all  hold  John  as  a  prophet.  And  they  answered 
Jesus,  and  said.  We  know  not.  He  also  said  unto 
them,  Neither  tell  I  you  by  what  authority  I  do 


the  Sanhedrin  (comp.  Edersh,).  Jesus  was 
not  only  making  it  his  occupation  to  teach, 
but  working  miracles,  cleansing  the  temple 
as  if  a  prophet,  and  apparently  justifying  his 
followers  in  greeting  him  as  the  Messiah.  It 
was  proper  for  the  Sanhedrin  to  inquire  into 
his  authority  (comp.  Acts  4:  7),  if  it  had  been 
done  in  a  proper  spirit.  These  rulers  ought 
to  have  recognized  his  divine  mission,  as  their 
associate  Nicodemus  had  done  two  or  three 
years  before,  just  after  the  first  cleansing  of 
the  temple.  (John  2 :  is.) 

24-27.  Jesus  answers  by  asking  them  a 
question.  He  did  this  not  simply  as  a  retort, 
or  to  escape  from  a  dilemma,  but  (comp.  Ori- 
gen)  because  his  question  tended  to  show 
them  the  inconsistency  of  their  position,  and 
lead,  if  possible,  to  self-searching  and  a  better 
mind  (comp.  22:  41  ff.).  If  they  would 
squarely  answer  his  question,  their  own  ques- 
tion would  then  answer  itself.  What  sort  of 
authority  did  John  have,  and  who  gave  it  to 
him?  But  John  had  testified  to  Jesus.  The 
baptism  of  John.  This  striking  rite,  from 
which  John  was  popularly  called  'John  the 
Baptizer'  (comp.  on  3:  1),  represented  in  the 
popular  mind  his  entire  ministry,  and  our 
Lord  so  uses  it  here.  Comp.  Acts  1 :  22;  10: 
37;  13:  24.  From  heaven,  was  the  same  as 
to  say  'from  God'  (see  on  3  :  2).  And  they 
reasoned  with  themselves,  may  mean 
either  among  themselves,  or  in  their  own 
minds.  Their  embarrassment  in  argument 
grew  out  of  their  practical  misconduct,  as 
often  happens.  John's  ministry  had  made  a 
great  impression  (comp.  on  3:  5),  and  the 
people  liad  very  naturally  recognized  that  it 
was  from  heaven,  that  ho  was  a  true  prophet. 
This  feeling  was  doubtless  deepened  by  sor- 
row at  his  untimely  death,  so  that  the  multi- 
tude would  not  now  tolerate  any  expression 


of  doubt  as  to  his  being  a  prophet.  But  the 
rulers,  after  their  first  early  interest  (»=  '), 
had  turned  away  from  his  ministry,  and  de- 
clined his  baptism  (Luke 7: so);  hence  their 
present  embarrassment.  Why  did  ye  not 
then  believe  him?  John  constantly  testi- 
fied that  the  Messianic  reign  was  near  at 
hand,  and  distinctly  intimated  to  messengers 
from  the  rulers  that  the  Messiah  would  very 
soon  appear  (Johni:  19, 26f.),  and  again  in  the 
presence  of  a  Jew  that  Jesus  was  the  Messiah, 
(joiinS:  i8-;io.)  Long  before,  at  Jerusalem,  our 
Lord  had  recalled  this  embassy  to  John,  and 
the  testimony  borne  to  himself.  (Johns:  .32.36.) 
In  the  region  of  the  baptizing  this  testimony 
was  well  remembered.  (John  10 :  40-42.)  So  then 
to  reject  him,  when  by  his  actions  and  by 
popular  acclaim  declared  to  be  the  Messiah, 
was  refusing  to  believe  Jolin ;  tliey  saw  this 
plainly,  and  knew  that  it  would  be  said. 
(t.  32.)  We  fear  the  people,  or  multitude. 
Luke  adds,  'All  the  people  will  stone  us.' 
For  all  hold  John  as  a  prophet.  So  also 
Mark  and  Luke.  Herod  had  long  feared  to 
put  John  to  death  for  the  same  reason,  (u:  s) 
In  Galilee  Jesus  took  for  granted,  and  strongly 
encouraged,  the  popular  persuasion  that  John 
was  a  prophet.  (See  on  11 :  7.)  We  cannot 
tell.  IVe  know  not,  is  the  literal  and  exact 
meaning.  So  Wye.  and  Rheims.  It  was 
Tyn.  that  introduced  '  we  cannot  toll.'  And 
he,  or  he  also,  with  a  certain  emphasis  on  'he' 
(see  on  1:21.)  Neither  tell  I  yoii.  So  also 
Mark  in  Rev.  Ver.,  and  Luke.  Not  'neither 
do  I  know,'  as  they  had  said  ;  in  fact  even 
theirs  was  not  really  a  failure  to  know,  but  to 
tell.  He  was  released  from  all  obligation  to 
tell  them  on  the  ground  of  courtesy,  by  their 
declining  to  answer  his  question.  Ho  did  not 
choo.se  to  answer,  because  he  did  not  wish  to 
make  distinct  and  public  proclamation  of  his 


438 


MATTHEW. 


[Cu.  XXI. 


28  But  what  think  ye  7  A  certain  man  had  two  sons ; 
and  be  came  lo  tlie  first,  and  said,  Son,  go  work  to  day 
iu  my  viucyiird. 

29  He  answered  and  said,  I  will  not ;  but  afterward 
he  repeuted,  and  went. 

30  And  he  came  to  the  second,  and  said  likewise. 
And  be  answered  and  said,  I  go,  sir;  and  went  not. 


28  these  things.    But  what  think  ye?    A  man  had  two 
sons;  and  he  came  to  the  first,  and  said,  iSon,  go 

29  work  to-day  in  the  vineyard.    And  he  answered  and 
said,  I  will  not :  but  afterward  he  repented  himself, 

30  and  went.    And  he  caiue  to  the  second,  and  saia 
likewise.    And  he  answered  and  said,  I  go,  sir:  and 


Messiahship  till  the  moment  of  crisis  came 
(26: 63  f.) ;  wliile  they  probably  wished  to  entrap 
him  into  some  avowal  for  which  he  cimld  be 
accused  before  the  Sanhedrin,  as  in  22:  15  flf. 
And  he  did  not  need  to  answer,  for  they 
knew  that  John  had  testified  to  him  as  the 
Messiah,  and  that  he  had  suffered  the  people 
to  greet  him  as  the  Son  of  David.  The 
principle  involved  in  his  refusal  is  the 
game  as  when  he  refused  a  sign  from 
heaven  (i6:  4),  viz.,  (Alex.)  "that  no  man  has  a 
right  to  demand  a  superfluity  of  evidence  on 
any  question  of  belief  or  duty,  and  that  as  the 
call  for  such  accumulated  proof  is  a  virtual  re- 
jection of  that  previously  given,  it  is  the  law  of 
that  divine  administration  to  refuse  it  even 
as  a  favor."    (Comp.  Luke  16:  31.) 

Our  Lord  now  rebukes  the  rulers  by  three 
parables,  the  first  and  second  being  pointedly 
applied  to  them,  viz.,  v.  28-32,  v.  33-46,  ch. 
22:  1-14.  The  first  and  third  are  given  by 
Matt.  only. 

28-30.  Two  sons,  literally,  children. 
Perhaps  we  may  suppose  them  to  have  been 
boys,  to  whom  the  conduct  in  the  two  cases 
would  be  especially  natural.  Son,  child,  as 
an  expression  of  afl'ection  (see  on  9:  2).  Go, 
go  along,  said  with  a  certain  urgency,  comp. 
4:  10;  5:  24;  13:  44;  18:  15;  19:  21.     In  my 


vineyard,  the,  not  'my,'  according  to  the  best 
text.  The  father  speaks  of  it  as  pertaining 
to  tiie  family,  not  as  distinctively  his  own.  I 
will  not,^  a  rough  and  curt  answer  Repented 
is  the  Greek  word  {ynetamelomai)  which  ex- 
presses regret,  and  may  or  may  not  be  fol- 
lowed by  change  of  purpose  and  conduct 
(comp.  27:  3);  quite  difterent  from  the  word 
(metanoeo),  used  to  denote  repentance  unto 
life.  (See  on  3:  2.)  It  is  rendered  '  repented 
himself  in  Com.  Ver..of  27:  3,  and  it  is  better 
to  give  with  Rev.  Ver.  the  same  rendering 
here  and  in  v.  32.  In  2  Cor.  7:  8,  10,  the 
milder  English  term  'regret'  is  a  sufficient 
translation.  I  go,  sir,  with  emphasis  on  'I,' 
as  it  is  expressed  in  the  Greek;  a  polite  and 
pretentious  reply.  So  the  Jewish  rulers  pro- 
fessed that  they  served  God,  while  others  did 
not.  The  same  fault  had  been  illustrated  that 
morning  by  the  fig-tree,  which  made  great 
show  of  leaves,  but  had  no  fruit.  Some  un- 
derstand the  '  I '  as  a  Hebraistic  expression 
without  emphasis,  comparing  Acts  9:  10; 
Judg.  13:  11 ;  but  those  cases  are  unlike  this, 
and  even  in  those  the  'I'  is  really  emphatic. 
— A  somewhat  similar  parable  is  given  (Wun.) 
in  the  Midrash  (Jewish  commentary)  on  Exo- 
dus, probably  of  the  eleventh  or  twelfth  cen- 
tury.    A  king  wished  to  rent  out  some  land; 


1  Tnere  is  here  a  famous  and  quite  perplexing  ques- 
tion of  text  criticism,  though  fortunately  it  does  not 
materially  affect  the  sense.  W  H.  follow  (as  usual)  B 
and  certain  other  documents  in  transposing  the  order 
in  which  the  conversation  with  the  two  sons  is  held, 
and  then  in  v.  31  reading  '  the  latter ' ;  thus  getting  the 
same  sense  as  that  of  the  common  text.  Lachm.  and 
Treg.  follow  the  "  Western  "  documents  in  keeping  the 
order  of  the  common  text  and  yet  reading  'the  latter.' 
They  preferred  this  as  the  more  dijfficuU  reading,  readily 
accounting  for  the  other  two  as  alterations  from  it ;  but 
the  diflSculty  here  amounts  almost  to  impossibility,  for 
Jerome's  supposition  that  the  Jews  purposely  said  '  the 
latter'  through  perverseness  is  excessively  far-fetched. 
Those  who  prefer  the  "  Textus  Receptus  "  at  all  hazards, 
or  who  merely  count  authorities  instead  of  grouping 
them,  decide  at  once  for  the  common  reading.  W  H., 
on  the  other  hand,  declare  B,  the  lost  uncial  repre- 
sented by  1.3,  fi9,  124,  and  346,  with  three  cursives,  the 
Memph.,  Jerusalem  Syr.,  Arm.,  and  some  codices  of  the 


^th.,  and  some  rather  late  Fathers,  to  be  "far  the 
higher  authority,"  which  is  surely  far  too  strong  a 
statement.  It  is  not  easy  to  say  whether  the  common 
reading  or  that  of  B  will  best  account  for  the  others. 
Perhaps  the  most  satisfactory  conjecture  would  be  that 
in  some  early  copy  of  the  "  Western  "  type  '  the  latter' 
or  '  the  last'  was  substituted  by  a  copyist's  mistake,  and 
propagated  ;  and  that  then  a  corrector  of  the  "  Alexan- 
drian" type  (some  such  corrections  we  have  already 
found  in  B)  removed  the  difficulty  by  transposing  the 
order  of  the  two  conversations,  a  transposition  further 
recommended  to  him  by  the  fact  that  it  puts  first  the 
son  who  represents  the  rulers  as  opposed  to  publicans 
and  harlots, and  (upon  the  interpretation  of  Origen  and 
other  Fathers)  the  Jews  as  opposed  to  Gentiles,  which 
might  seem  the  more  natural  order,  and  would  corre- 
spond to  the  order  of  allusion  in  v.  3J.  This  theory  is 
certainly  not  more  finespun  than  that  of  W  H.  in  the 
opposite  direction.  So  far  as  it  goes  it  will  tend  to  sup- 
port the  common  text. 


Ch.  XXL] 


MATTHEW. 


439 


31  Whether  of  them  twain  did  the  will  of  his  father? 
They  say  uuto  him,  The  first.  Jesus  saith  unto  them, 
Verily  I  say  unto  you,  That  the  publicans  and  the 
harlots  go  into  the  kingdom  of  God  before  you. 

32  Kor  John  came  uuto  you  iu  the  way  of  righteous- 
ners,  and  ye  believed  him  not;  but  the  publicans  and 
the  harlots  believed  him  :  and  ye,  when  ye  had  seen  it, 
repented  not  afterward,  that  ye  might  believe  hiiu. 


31  went  not.  Whether  of  the  twain  did  the  will  of  his 
father?  They  say.  The  first.  Jesus  saith  unto  them, 
Verily  I  say  uuto  you,  that  the  publicans  and  the 

32  harlots  go  into  the  kingdom  of  God  before  you.  For 
John  CAuie  unto  you  in  the  way  of  righteousness,  and 
ve  l)elieved  him  not:  but  the  publicaus  and  the  har- 
lota  believed  him  :  and  ye,  when  ye  saw  it,  did  not 
even  repent  yourselves  afterward,  that  ye  might  be- 
lieve him. 


several  farmers  declined ;  one  undertook  it, 
but  did  not  work  the  land;  the  king  will  be 
most  angry  with  the  last.  This  may  have 
been  an  imitation  of  that  given  by  Jesus. 

31  f.  Tlie  application  is  not  (as  Origen  and 
other  Fathers  explain)  to  Jews  in  contrast  to 
Gentiles,  as  in  the  next  parable,  but  expressly 
(v.  31)  to  the  Jewish  rulers  and  outwardly  cor- 
rect persons,  in  contrast  to  some  who  had 
been  grossly  wicked.  Comp.  Luke's  remark 
(7:29r.)on  an  earlier  occasion.  Here  for  tiie 
first  time  our  Lord  makes  an  open,  personal 
application  of  a  parable  to  the  Jewish  authori- 
ties. So  also  in  v.  43  tf.  The  time  has  come 
for  speaking  out  unreservedly  to  them,  and 
also  to  the  people  concerning  them,  as  he  will 
do  later  in  the  day.  (ch.23.)  The  publicans 
were  very  unpopular,  and  often  very  wicked. 
(See  on  5:  46.)  To  these  he  adds  the  class 
everywhere  most  despised,  and  too  often  re- 
garded as  beyond  the  reach  of  religious  in- 
fluence. The  "woman  which  was  a  sinner" 
of  Luke  7  :  37  probably  belonged  to  this  class. 
Bruce:  "Publicans  and  harlots!  why,  the 
phrase  was  proverbial  to  denote  all  that  was 
vile,  loathsome,  and  alien  to  the  feelings  of 
the  pure,  the  respectable,  and  the  patriotic. 
The  analogous  phrase  in  Corea,  another  Judea 
in  exclusiveness,  is  'pigstickers  and  harlot*.' 
To  tell  the  proud,  self-satisfied  zealots  for 
righteousness  that  the  moral  scum  of  society 
was  nearer  the  kingdom  of  God  than  they, 
was  to  oflTer  them  a  mortal  and  unpardonable 
insult."  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  solemnly 
calling  attention,  see  on  5:  18.  Into  the 
kingdom  of  God,  the  Messianic  kingdom, 
see  on  3 :  2  and  11 :  12.  Go  before  you  (as 
in  21:  9),  or  more  probably  'lead  you  on' 
(as  in  2:  9;  Mark  10:  32,  and  so  in  26:  32; 
28:  7).  You  not  only  do  not  lead  them  for- 
ward, as  you  ought  to  do,  but  will  not  even 
follow  their  lead.    In  the  way  of  righteous- 


ness, and  not  in  any  way  of  sin — a  man  of 
righteous  behavior  and  righteous  teaching. 
Comp.  2  Pet.  2:  21;  Prov.  8:  20;  12:  28; 
Tobit  1 :  3.  You  cannot  excuse  your  failure 
to  believe  him  by  impugning  his  character  or 
his  instructions.  John  showed  no  lack  of 
righteousness  even  as  to  the  externals  which 
the  Pharisees  so  valued,  for  he  practiced  fast- 
ing (9:14:11:18),  and  made  formal  prayers. 
(Luke  11:1.)  Olsh.  and  Bruce  seem  to  go  too 
far  in  making  this  last  the  sole  thought.  And 
ye  believed  him  not,  comp.  on  3  :  7.  They 
knew  Jesus  would  charge  this  upon  them, 
(v. 25.)  When  ye  had  seen  it,  or  saw,  saw 
that  some  of  the  vilest  were  believing  John 
and  entering  the  kingdom.  Repented  not, 
etc.  Better,  as  in  Rev.  Ver.,  Did  not  even^ 
repent  yourselves  afterward,  that  ye  might 
believe  him.  This  does  not  mean  that  they 
did  not  repent  of  their  .sins  in  general  (tne- 
ta.noeo),  but  that  they  did  not  even  after  see- 
ing the  effect  produced  in  others,  repent 
{metamelomai)  of  their  previous  refusal  to 
believe  John  and  enter  the  kingdom.  The 
terms  'repent  yourselves'  and  'afterward' 
are  in  the  application  borrowed  from  the 
parable. 

HOMILKTICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

V.  24-26.  A  question  answered  by  a  ques- 
tion. 1)  It  is  sometimes  proper  to  silence 
captious  inquiry  by  asking  questions  in  return. 
(Comp.  12  :  27  ;  22  :  41,  46.)  2)  We  are  fre- 
quently involved  in  logical  and  in  practical 
difficulties  by  our  previous  wrong-doing; 
comp.  Pilate.  3)  One  has  no  right  to  decide 
questions  of  truth  and  duty  by  considerations 
of  safety  and  popularity.  4)  Yet  public  opin- 
ion is  often  wiser  than  eminent  rulers  (comp. 
John  7  :  48  f. ). — V.  25.  "  From  heaven  or  from 
men."  1)  No  religious  teaching  is  authori- 
tative unless  it  comes  from  God.    2)  No  relig- 


I'Not  even,' oud«,  rather  than  o«,  'not'  (com.  text), 
is  read  by  B,  several  cursives,  the  Latin  and  Syrlac  ver- 
sions, Memph.,  ^fh.,  and  some  Fathers.  D  and  two 
copies  of  the  Old  Latin  put  it  'repeated  afterward 


becaujie  you  did  not  believe,'  which  shows  early  confti- 
slon  as  to  the  text.  '  Xot  even'  would  be  readily 
changtHl  to  '  not,'  by  copyists  who  did  not  see  the  force 
of  the  argument,  and  is  no  doubt  the  correct  reading. 


440 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXI. 


33  Hear  another  parable:  There  was  a  certain  house- 
holder, which  planted  a  vineyard,  and  hedged  it  round 
about,  and  digged  a  winepress  in  it,  and  built  a  tower, 
and  let  it  out  to  husbandmen,  and  went  into  a  far 
coHutiy. 

34  And  when  the  time  of  the  fruit  drew  near,  he 
sent  his  servants  to  the  husbandmen,  that  they  might 
receive  the  fruits  of  it. 


23  Hear  another  parable :  There  was  a  man  that  was 
a  householder,  which'planted  a  vineyard,  and  seta 
hedge  alwnt  it,  and  digged  a  winepress  in  it,  and 
built  a  tower,  and  let  it  out  to  husbandmen,  and  went 

34  into  another  country.  And  when  the  season  of  the 
fruits  drew  near,  he  sent  his  '  servants  to  the  hus- 


1  Gr.  bondservants. 


ious  ceremony  is  obligatory  unless  it  is  com- 
manded b3'  God.  3)  All  teachings  from  God 
should  be  believed,  and  all  ceremonies  ap- 
pointed by  him  should  be  practiced. — V.  27. 
''We  know  not.''  1)  Men  often  shrink  from 
knowing,  because  of  a  lurking  feur  that  the 
knowledge  might  not  please  them.  2)  Men 
often  pretend  they  do  not  know,  because  it 
would  be  embarrassing  to  tell  what  they 
do  know.  3)  Men  might  often  gain,  by  act- 
ing up  to  what  they  know,  some  blessed  in- 
crease of  knowledge. — V.  30.     "I  go,    sir." 

1)  It  is  right  to  profess,  if  we  also  practice. 

2)  It  is  wrong  in  professing  to  assume  superi- 
ority to  others;  coinp.  Peter  (26  :  33).  3)  It 
is  abominable  to  profess,  and  that  loudly, 
when  one  does  not  practice ;  comp.  the  fig- 
tree  (21  :  19).  4)  It  is  wise  not  to  bring  the 
profession  down  to  the  practice,  but  to 
bring  the  practice  up  to  the  profession. — 
V.  31  f.  The  decent  and  the  vile.  1)  The 
vile  who  believe  God's  message  and  turn 
from  their  sin  are  accepted ;  the  Prodigal 
Son,  Zaccheus,  and  the  penitent  robber.  2) 
The  decent  who  refuse  to  believe  God,  are 
thereby  guilty  of  great  and  ruinous  sin  ;  Eve, 
Caiaphas,  Gallio.  3)  The  saved  who  were 
once  vile  should  stir  penitent  shame  and 
awaken  new  hope  in  the  decent  wlio  have 
been  unbelieving.  "Moral"  persons  ought 
to  set  an  example  to  the  vicious  of  joyfully 
accepting  God's  mercy;  but,  alas!  thej'  are 
often  self-righteous,  and  will  not  even  follow 
an  example.  Chrys  :  "It  is  an  evil  thing 
not  at  the  first  to  choose  the  good,  but  it  is 
worse  not  to  even  change  afterwards.  .  .  .  Let 
no  man  then  of  them  that  live  in  vice  despair; 
let  no  man  who  lives  in  virtue  slumber.  Let 
neither  this  last  be  confident,  for  often  the 
harlot  will  pass  him  by ;  nor  let  the  other 
despair,  for  it  is  possible  for  him  to  pass  bj' 
even  the  first." 

33-46.  Parable  of  the  Wicked  Hus- 
bandmen. 

Found  also  in  Mark  12:  1-12;  Luke  20:  9- 
19. 


33  f.  Hear  another  p^able.  Jesus  ad- 
dresses the  Jevvisii  rulers.  (21 :  2j.)  Many  of  the 
people  also  were  listening.  (Luke  20 :  9.)  He  had 
not  called  v.  28-30  a  parable,  but  all  per- 
ceived that  it  was  such.  As  to  the  term,  and 
the  general  principles  upon  which  our  Lord  s 
parabolic  discourses  must  be  interpreted,  see 
on  13:  3.  In  explaining  certain  points  of  the 
story  itself,  we  may  sometimes  for  conveni- 
ence anticipate  the  application.  The  imageri' 
here  recalls  Psalm  80:  8-16,  and  especially 
Isa.  5:  1-7.  Bruce:  "  Our  parable  is  but  an 
old  theme  worked  up  with  new  variations. 
Every  one  who  heard  it  knew  what  the  vine- 
yard with  its  hedge,  winepress,  and  tower 
signified,  and  who  the  vine-dressers  were,  and 
who  the  servants  sent  for  the  fruits.  These 
phrases  belonged  to  the  established  religious 
dialect  of  Israel."  A  certain  householder, 
see  on  10:  25.  A  tower,  in  which  guards  stay 
to  protect  the  vineyard  against  robbery.  Pul- 
pit interpretation  should  beware  of  separately 
"spiritualizing"  the  hedge,  winepress,  tower, 
etc.  Origen  here  especially  cautions  against 
"torturing  the  parable,"  and  then  does  it. 
These  details  simply  show  that  the  owner 
made  all  necessary  arrangements,  so  that  the 
vineyard  ought  to  have  yielded  a  good  return 
(comp.  Isa.  5:  4).  Let  it  out  to  husband- 
men,  the  general  term  'agriculturists,'  here 
applied  to  one  particular  department  of  agri- 
culture. Went  into  a  far  country,  literally 
(in  our  colloquial)  moperf  ajonry.  Luke  adds, 
'  for  a  long  time.'  The  time  ;  season  of 
the  fruits  las  in  v.  41),  not  'time,'  see  on 
11:  21.  His  servants,  '  bond  -  servants ' 
(Rev  Ver.  margin),  doulous,  see  on  8:  6; 
here  they  act  as  the  master's  agents.  Mark 
and  Luke  mention  only  a  single  servant  each 
time,  but  Mark  adds  'and  many  others.'  To 
receive  the  fruits  of  it,  or,  his  fruits.  The 
Greek  may  mean  either;  the  connection 
favors  the  latter,  and  so  Mark  and  Luke. 
The  rent  was  sometimes  paid  in  money 
(Edersh.),  but  in  this  case  in  a  certain  portion 
of  the  crop  (see  Mark  12:  2),  which  the  agents 


Ch.  XXL] 


MATTHEW. 


441 


35  And  the  husbandiuen  took  bis  servants,  and  beat 
one,  and  killed  another,  and  stoned  another. 

36  Again,  be  sent  other  servants  more  than  the  first; 
and  they  did  unto  them  likewise. 

37  But  last  of  all  he  sent  unto  them  his  son,  saying, 
They  will  reverence  my  son. 

38  But  when  the  husbandmen  saw  the  son,  they  said 
among  themselves,  This  is  the  heir;  come,  let  us  kill 
hiui.  and  let  us  seize  on  his  inheritance. 

39  And  they  caught  him,  and  cast  him  out  of  the 
vineyard,  and  slew  Aim. 

40  When  the  lord  therefore  of  the  vineyard  cometh, 
what  will  he  do  unto  those  husbandmen? 

41  They  say  unto  him.  He  will  miserably  destroy 
those  wicked  men,  and  will  let  out  his  vineyard  unto 


35  bandmen  to  receive  1  his  fruits.  And  the  husbandmen 

took  his  ^servants,  and  beat  one,  and  killed  another, 

3fi  and  stoned  another.    Again  he  sent  other  Sservauts 

37  more  than  the  lirst:  and  they  did  unto  them  in  like 
manner.    But  afterward  he  sent  unto  them  his  son, 

38  saying.  They  will  reverence -my  son.    But  the  hus- 
bandmen, when  they  saw  the  sou,  said  among  them- 

39  selves.  This  is  the  heir;  come,  let  us  kill  him,  and 
take  his  inheritance.    And  they  took  him,  and  cast 

40  him  forth  out  of  the  vineyard,  and  killed  him.  When 
therefore  the  lord  of  the  vineyard  shall  come,  what 

41  will  he  do  unto  those  husbandmen  ?    They  say  unto 
him,  He  will  miserably  destroy  those  miserable  men, 


1  Or,  thefruiU  of  it 2  Or.  hondtertantt. 


might  then  sell  to  the  tenants  or  any  one  else, 
or  might  carry  away  with  them.  This  is 
largely  practiced  at  the  present  day  in  India 
and  in  Italy,  and  to  a  considerable  extent  in 
this  country. 

35.  And  beat  one,  more  exactly,  scourged, 
literally,  ''flayed.'  Goebel:  "For  the  bodily 
ill-treatment  of  the  prophets,  the  example  of 
Jeremiah  may  be  compared  (Jer.20:  i  r.;  37:  i5; 
88:6),  and  ofMicah  (i  Kings  22:  w);  for  the  kill- 
ing, the  murder  of  the  prophets  in  the  time  of 
Elijah  (iKingsi8:4;i9:io),  and  of  Urijah  by  Je- 
hoiakim  (Jer.  28: 20ir.) ;  and  for  the  stoning,  the 
example  of  Zechariah.  (JChro...  24: 2if.)  The 
killing  of  the  prophets  collectively  is  men- 
tioned in  Old  Test.  (Jer.  2:  so;  Nell. 9:  i6),  and  re- 
ferred to  hy  Jesus  in  23:  31,  35,  37;  Luke  13: 
34;  also  in  Acts  7:  52;  Heb.  11:  36."  And 
stoned  another  may  well  follow  'killed,' 
since  it  denotes  a  very  wrathful  and  cruel  way 
of  killing.  Stoning  did  not  necessarily  kill 
(aci^u:  19),  but  was  apt  to  do  so.  (acwt:  59.)  How- 
ever it  is  not  necessary  to  find  regular  progres- 
sion in  a  series  of  terms  in  a  style  so  familiar 
as  that  of  the  Gospels. 

36  f.  Renewed  and  more  urgent  calls. 
Goebel  urges  that  the  word  translated  more 
{pleionaa)  here  means  more  excellent  (as  in 
Heb.  11 :  4),  of  higher  dignity;  but  that  use  is 
quite  rare,  and  does  not  seem  to  be  here  called 
for.  His  son.  Mark  and  Luke  add  'be- 
loved.' They  will  reverence  my  son.  Luke 
prefixes  '  it  may  be.'  This  indicates  a  hope 
that  was  doomed  to  disappointment.  Such  a 
detail  could  be  applied  to  God  only  by  anthro- 
pomorphism, as  when  it  is  said  that  God  re- 
pented. And  we  may  add  that  although  God's 
Son  was  slain,  his  mission  did  ultimately  bring 
fruits  from  "other  husbandmen." 

38.  Let  ns  kill  him,  and  let  us  seize  on 
his  inheritance.  This  was  something  not 
likely  to  occur  in  such  a  case,  but  entirely 


possible,  and  that  is  enough  for  an  illustration ; 
the  conduct  to  be  illustrated  was  itself  extraor- 
dinary. The  owner  in  the  story  had  been  long 
absent,  and  seems  to  have  had  no  other  son  ; 
he  might  not  return  for  years,  might  die  in  a 
distant  land,  and  leave  the  vinej'ard  perma- 
nently in  their  possession.  The  property  of  a 
continuous  absentee  is  often  very  freely 
handled  by  the  occupiers.  The  story  shows 
serious  defects  in  local  government  and  out- 
breaks of  popular  violence,  such  as  we  know 
to  have  been  not  uncommon  in  Palestine  at 
that  period.  Alexander:  "It  is  incongruous 
to  press  the  correspondence  of  the  sign  and 
the  thing  signified,  although  this  proposition 
bears  an  evident  analogy  to  the  ambitious  and 
absurd  attempt  of  the  Jewish  rulers  in  the 
time  of  Christ  to  oust  him  from  his  heritage 
and  make  their  own  provisional  authority  per- 
petual. In  every  effort  to  continue  the  Mosaic 
institutionsbeyond  the  time  prescribed  for  their 
duration,  the  Jews  have  been  guilty  of  the 
usurpation  here  projected  by  the  husband- 
men." 

39.  And  cast  him  out  of  the  vineyard. 
Alexander:  "The  act  of  casting  out  denotes 
the  whole  rejection  of  our  Lord,  but  perhaps 
with  an  allusion  to  the  literal  fact  of  his  suffer- 
ing without  the  holy  city  (Heb.  i.i:  111:)),  which 
must  not  however  be  regarded  as  the  whole 
sense."  For  six  months  ))ast  Jesus  has  been 
telling  the  disciples  that  the  rulers  at  Jerusa- 
lem would  kill  him  (i6:2i:  17:23:  20:  is),  and 
now  to  the  rulers  themselves  he  intimates  the 
same  through  a  "  parabolic  veil  "  so  transpar- 
ent that  they  do  not  fail  to  see.  (r.  45f.)  Doubt- 
less some  of  those  who  heard  these  sayings 
were  reminded  of  them  a  few  weeks  later  by 
Peter's  words  on  the  Day  of  Pentecost,  and 
all  the    more  were    pricked    in  their  heart. 

(Act. 2:23,  37;  »:  14.) 

41.    lie  will   miserably  destroy  those 


442 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXI. 


other  husbandmen,  which  shall  render  him  the  fruits 
iu  their  seasons. 

42  Jesus  saith  unto  them,  Did  ye  never  read  in  the 
Scriptures,  The  stone  which  the  builders  rejected,  the 
sitme  i£  become  the  h^ad  of  the  corner:  this  is  the 
Lord's  doing,  and  it  is  marvellous  in  our  eyes? 


and  will  let  out  the  vineyard  unto  other  husband- 
42  men,  that  shall  render  him  the  fruits  in  their  sea- 
sons. Jesus  saith  unto  them.  Did  ye  never  read  in 
the  scriptures, 

The  stone  that  the  builders  rejected. 

The  same  was  made  the  head  of  the  corner : 

This  was  from  the  Lord, 

And  it  is  marvellous  in  our  eyes? 


wicked  men.  The  Rev.  Version  preserves 
the  verbal  assonance  of  the  Greek ;  but  the 
Greek  describes  them  as  wicked — evil  they 
are  and  evil  shall  be  their  fate.  Instead  of 
drawing  out  this  reply  from  the  rulers,  so  as 
to  condemn  them  out  of  their  own  mouth 
(comp.  Nathan  and  David),  our  Lord  in  Mark 
and  Luke  makes  the  statement  himself.  We 
may  perhaps  suppose  fMald.)  that  he  repeated 
their  statement,  so  solemnly  and  pointedly  as 
already  to  indicate  that  it  meant  them;  thus 
leading  them  to  say  "  be  it  not  so.  "  (Luke20:  le, 
KeT.ver.,moryi».^  At  any  rate  there  is  no  substan- 
tial difference  (comp.  on  3:  17).  Ooebel: 
"  On  one  side  the  rhetorical  question  (in  Mark 
and  Luke)  is  still  an  appeal  to  the  assent  of 
the  hearers  to  the  statement  introduced  by  the 
question;  and  on  the  other,  the  acceptance  of 
the  answer  of  the  Sanhedrists  by  the  Lord  (in 
Matt.  )•  is  equivalent  in  substance  to  a  state- 
ment of  his  own  of  the  same  purport."  In 
destroying  the  husbandmen,  the  owner  acts  as 
also  a  sovereign  (comp.  22:  7). 

42.  Our  Lord  now  pointedly  and  severely 
applies  his  illustration  to  the  Jewish  rulers, 
whom  he  has  been  addressing  ever  since  21 : 
23,  and  to  the  nation  in  general,  (v.  42-44.)  The 
nation  of  Israel,  after  being  established  by 
special  divine  act  in  the  land  of  promise,  and 
provided  with  everything  necessary  for  right- 
eous living,  failed  to  render  to  God  the  fruits 
of  righteousness,  when  called  on  bj'  provi- 
dential dealings  and  by  inspired  messages; 
they  have  insulted  and  .sometimes  killed  his 
messengers  the  prophets,  and  are  now  on  the 
point  of  slaying  his  Son  (comp.  Acts  7 :  52.) 
Yet  this  will  not  end  the  matter.  The  re- 
jected one  is  God's  chief  corner-stone  for  the 
temple  of  human  salvation. 

Did  ye  never  read  in  the  Scriptures?  as 
in  12:  3;  19:  4;  21  :  16.  Mark's  phrase 
(12:10,  Bev.ver.)  makcs  Still  more  pointed  the  re- 
buke of  their  ignorance,  '  Have  ye  not  read 
even  this  Scripture '  ?  The  term  'Scriptures' 
or '  Scripture '  (22:  29;  26:  54,  56,  and  through- 
out the  New  Test.)  had  a  technical  sense 
among  the  Jews  of  our  Lord's  time,  (just  as 


among  us),  denoting  a  certain  well-known 
group  of  sacred  books  We  learn  from 
Josephus  and  the  Talmud,  from  Melito  and 
Origen  (see  work  on  The  Canon),  that  this 
group  comprised  exactly  our  Old  Test., 
neither  more  nor  less,  and  was  recognized  as 
definite  and  fixed.  Tiie  Talmud  states,  it  is 
true,  that  in  what  must  have  been  the  latter 
part  of  our  first  century,  some  Rabbis  ques- 
tioned, on  internal  grounds,  whether  Eccle- 
siastes  was  sacred,  and  some  others  as  to  Solo- 
mon's Song;  but  the  final  decision  supported 
those  books,  and  there  is  no  hint  of  any  ques- 
tion as  to  the  other  books — so  that  the  excep- 
tion proves  the  rule.  When  therefore  Jesua 
and  the  apostles  spoke  of  'the  Scriptures'  or 
'Scripture'  as  sacred  and  authoritative,  they 
knew  that  their  hearers  would  understand 
them  to  mean  that  well-known  group  of 
books;  and  they  have  thus  stamped  their  seal 
upon  the  entire  Old  Test, 

Our  Lord's  quotation  is  from  Psa.  118:22  f., 
just  preceding  the  words  borrowed  in  the  ho- 
sannas  of  the  multitude  during  the  triumphal 
entry  (see  on  21 :  9).  The  quotation  follows 
the  Heb.  and  the  Sept.  without  any  notice- 
able difference.  Mark  has  the  same.  The 
second  couplet,  'This  was  from  the  Lord,' 
etc.,  is  omitted  by  Luke,  and  also  by  Peter, 
who  quotes  the  passage  both  in  addressing  the 
Sanhedrin  (Acts4:ii),  and  in  his  first  Epistle. 
(2:7.)Comp.in  general  Isa.  28:16.  The  stone 
which  the  builders  rejected.  A  few  miles 
northwest  of  Jerusalem,  on  the  Roman  road 
to  Gibeon,  may  now  be  seen  in  an  old  quarry 
a  stone  set  on  end,  say  8x3x2  feet.  As  ob- 
served from  the  road  it  is  a  good  stone,  but 
on  riding  around  you  find  a  great  flaw  that 
destroys  its  value.  This  stone  was  quarried 
and  offered,  but  when  lifted  up  for  inspection 
was  rejected  by  the  builders,  and  there  it 
stands.  Imagine  such  a  rejected  stone  to  be- 
come the  chief  corner  stone  in  .«ome  grand 
building.  The  tradition  sometimes  repeated 
that  such  a  thing  actually  occurred  in  build- 
ing the  temple,  doubtless  grew  out  of  this 
passage  and  is  worthless.     The  corner  stones 


Ch.  XXI.] 


MATTHEW. 


443 


43  Therefore  say  I  uuto  vou,  The  kingdom  of  God  \  43  Therefore  I  say  unto  you.  The  kingdom  of  God  shall 
shall  be  taken  from  you,  and  given  to  a  nation  bring-  i  be  taken  away  from  you,  and  shall  be  given  to  u  ua- 
ing  forth  the  fruits  thereof.  44  tion  briugins  forth  the  fruits  thereof.    '  And  he  that 

44  And  whosoever  shall  fall  on  this  stone  shall  be  falleth  on  this  stone  shall  be  broken  to  pieces:  but  on 
broken  :  but  on  whomsoever  it  shall  fall,  it  will  grind  whomsoever  it  shall  fall,  it  will  scatter  him  as  dust, 
him  to  powder.  |  ' 

1  Sniue  ancient  authnrilies  oiuit  ver.  44. 


of  ancient  buildings  were  often  of  enormous 
size,  and  therefore  very  costly,  '  precious.' 
(ipet.  iiB.)  Thus  even  now  at  the  southeast 
corner  of  what  was  the  temple  area  is  seen 
above  ground  a  stone  nearl3'  24  x  5  x  3  feet, 
and  at  the  southwest  corner  one  about  32  x  3 
X  2  feet  (com p.  on  24:  1).  The  same  is  be- 
coine«  or  simply  becameA  The  head  of  the 
corner  does-  not  show  clearly  whether  it 
stands  as  the  foundation,  or  as  the  topmost 
stone,  or  elsewhere.  It  seems  to  be  called 
'head'  simply  from  its  prominence  and  im- 
portance. This  was «  from  the  Lord,  is  the 
literal  translation.  Tyndale's  paraphrase, 
*  This  is  the  Lord's  doing,'  is  very  pleas- 
ing. In  the  Psalm,  the  date  of  which  is  un- 
certain, but  probably  after  the  captivity, 
Israel  seems  to  be  the  stone,  conquered,  car- 
ried away,  and  flung  aside  as  of  no  use,  but 
divinely  destined  to  a  future  of  importance 
and  grandeur.  But  there  is  atypical  relaticm 
between  tiie  history  of  Israel  and  the  Messiah 
(see  on  2:  15),  and  our  Lord  shows  us  in  this 
passage  a  prophecy  at  the  same  time  of  him- 
self. 

43.  This  is  given  by  Matt,  only,  being  of 
special  moment  to  his  Jewish  readers.  The 
kingdom  of  God,  the  Messianic  reign  (see 
on  3:  2),  with  its  privileges  and  benefits. 
Shall  be  taken  away  from  you.  This  was 
fulfilled  partly  in  the  destruction  of  Jerusa- 
lem and  of  the  Jewish  State,  and  partly  in  the 
fact  that  most  Jews  through  their  unbelief 
failed  of  the  Messianic  salvation.  And  given 
to  a  nation  shows  distinctly  that  it  was  to  be 


taken  away  not  merely  from  the  Jewish 
rulers,  whom  our  Lord  has  been  principally 
addressing,  but  from  the  Jewish  people  in 
general — though,  as  we  learn  otherwise,  with 
many  individual  exceptions,  and  with  a  pros- 
pect in  the  far  future  (Kom.  ch.  u),  which  our 
Lord  does  not  here  indicate.  This  other  na- 
tion will  be  the  spiritual  Israel,  called  by 
Peter  "a  holy  nation."  (iPei. 2:9.)  Comp. 
Acts  13:  46;  18 :  5.  Bringing  forth  the 
fruits  thereof  (comp.  3:  8;  7:  16  AT.), 
living  as  is  required  of  Messiah's  subjects. 
The  image  changes  from  that  of  paying  the 
owner's  share  of  the  fruits,  to  the  more  famil- 
iar one  of  producing  the  fruits.  Or  perhaps 
it  is  meant  that  the  husbandmen  were  not 
only  unwilling  to  pay  the  owner's  share,  but 
had  failed  to  make  the  vineyard  duly  pro- 
ductive. 

44  is  here  of  doubtful  genuineness,*  as  it  is 
wanting  in  some  documents,  and  might  easily 
have  been  brought  in  from  Luke  20:  18,  where 
there  is  no  variation  at  all,  while,  on  the  other 
hand,  we  can  see  no  reason  for  its  omission 
here  if  originally  present.  It  is  at  any  rate  a 
real  saying  of  our  Lord  on  this  occasion,  as 
we  know  from  Luke.  The  passage  evidently 
refers  to  Isa.  8:  14  f.,  which  is  borrowed  in  1 
Pet.  2:  8,  along  with  the  quotation  from  Psa. 
118,  which  has  here  just  preceded.  Broken, 
Rev.  Ver.,  broken  to  pieces,  the  Greek  being 
stronger  than  the  mere  '  broken.'  Will  grind 
him  to  powder.  So  Tyndale,  Gen.,  and  K. 
James.  This  would  strike  any  one  at  first 
.sight  as  being  what  the  image  calls  for.     But 


1  It  1»  very  doubtful  whether  the  aoriat  passive  of  this 
verb  is  anywhere  perceptibly  different  in  force  from 
the  aorist  middle.— ' The  stone'  in  Greek  is  an  accusa- 
tive, by  an  unusual,  hut  not  unnatural  nor  wholly  un- 
exampled form  of  attraption. 

*'Thi9'  and  '  marvelous'  are  feminine  in  the  Greek, 
and  might  grammatically  refer  to  kephale, '  head  '  (Ori- 
gen,  Meyer) ;  but  Matt,  only  follows  the  .Sept.,  and  the 
feminine  seems  there  a  mere  literal  rendering  of  the 
Heb.,  which  having  no  neuter,  uses  the  feminine  for 
general  Ideas,  so  that  'this  means  this  thing  or  this 
occurrence,  as  it  would  naturally  be  taken  in  English. 
There  are  other  examples  in  Sept.,  as  Psa.  20 :  4 ;  102  : 


9;  119:  •%  ;  Judg.  15:  7.  So  our  passage  is  understood 
by  Buttra.,  Jelf,  most  commentators;  Win.  and  Alex, 
hesitate. 

>  Wanting  in  D,  33,  several  copies  of  the  old  Latin, 
and  passed  without  mention  in  Origen's  copious  com- 
mentary on  this  passage.  Eusebius  and  Irenatus  copy 
V.  .'i-l-IS,  and  would  hardly  have  failed  to  add  so  striking 
a  concluding  sentence.  Yet  as  the  authorities  for  omis- 
sion are  few,  and  represent  mainly  the  "Western" 
group,  which  has  so  much  arbitrary  alteration  of  the 
text,  the  question  must  be  left  doubtful.  The  sentence 
is  only  hracktied  in  I.achm.,  Treg.  (margin),  and  W  H,, 
and  see  margin  of  Uev.  Ver. 


444 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXI. 


45  And  when  the  chief  priests  and  Pharisees  had 
heard  his  parables,  they  perceived  that  he  spake  of 
theiu. 

46  But  when  they  sought  to  lay  hands  on  him,  they 
feared  the  multitude,  because  they  took  him  for  a 
prophet. 


45  And  when  the  chief  priests  and  the  Pharisees  heard 
his  parables,  they  perceived  that  he  spake  of  them. 

46  And  when  they  sought  to  lay  hold  on  him,  they 
feared  the  multitudes,  because  they  took  him  for  a 
prophet. 


the  Greek  word  nowhere  has  that  meaning. 
By  etymology  and  general  use,  it  signifies  to 
'  winnow,'  to  separate  the  chaff  from  the 
wheat;  and  derivatively  to  'scatter,'  like 
fhatf  or  dust.  Memph.  and  Pesh.  both  here 
render  'scatter.'  There  is  doubtless  an  allusion 
to  Dan.  '2:  35,  "Then  was  the  iron,  the  clay, 
the  brass,  the  silver,  and  the  gold  broken  in 
pieces  together,  and  became  like  the  chaff  of 
the  summer  threshing-floors,  and  the  wind 
carried  them  away,  that  no  place  was  found 
f>)r  them"  (Rev.  Ver.),  in  reference  to  which 
passage  a  little  later  n-.u}  the  Sept.  (Theodo- 
tion)  uses  the  Greek  word  here  employed  by 
Matt,  and  Luke.  The  idea  then  is  not  simply 
that  of  crusiiing,  but  of  scattering  into  noth- 
ingness. What  then  is  the  thought  of  our 
passage?  He  who  in  unbelief  finds  this  stone 
an  o])stacle,  smites  against  it  and  falls  (comp. 
on  11 :  6;  5:  29),  will  not.  only  be  bruised  by 
the  fall,  but  broken  to  pieces,  (isa.  8:  u;  i  Pet.  2:  s.) 
If  he  stumbles  over  Jesus  as  unfit  to  be  a 
Saviour,  all  his  religious  hopes  will  be  utterly 
destroyed.  In  the  second  clause  the  image  is 
somewhat  changed.  The  stone  is  here  con- 
ceived not  as  the  foundation  stone,  but  as 
placed  higher  up  in  the  corner,  perhaps  at  the 
top,  and  some  one  tries  to  pull  it  down  from 
its  plac'j;  but  it  falls  upon  him,  and  scatters 
him  like  a  puff  of  dust.  Jesus  came  to  be  the 
Messiah ;  the  Jews  reject  him,  and  thereby 
utterly  lose  the  Messianic  felicity.  He  is  not- 
withstanding placed  by  God  as  the  corner 
stone  of  salvation  ;  the  Jews  try  to  pull  him 
down,  to  defeat  the  divine  plan  by  putting 
him  to  death,  but  in  falling  he  will  scatter 
like  chaff  their  schemes  and  themselves.  They 
will  have  not  only  the  loss  which  comes  from 
Ptuinbling  at  him,  but  the  terrible  destruction 
which  comes  from  pulling  him  down  on  their 
heads;  while  he,  divinely  replaced,  will  for- 
ever remain  the  corner-stone  of  human  salva- 
tion. 

45  f.  The  chief  priests  and  Pharisees, 
correspond  to  the  chief  priests  and  the  elders 
of  21 :  '23.  The  chief  priests,  certainly  at  this 
period,  were  for  the  most  part  Sadducees, 
comp.  on  26 :  57 ;  27 :  62.    As  to  the  Pharisees, 


see  on  3:  7.  Had  heard  his  parables,  this 
and  that  of  21 :  28  ff.,  and  perhaps  others  not 
recorded.  Mark  and  Luke,  having  only 
given  this  one,  say  'parable.'  That  he 
spake  of  them,  not  of  them  as  distinguished 
from  the  people  at  large,  but  especially  of 
them  as  being  the  leaders.  (Comp.  on  v.  43.) 
When  they  sought.  This  would  cover  not 
merely  actual  efforts,  but  plans  and  wishes. 
The  Sanhedriu  had  some  weeks  before  formed 
the  purpose  to  kill  Jesus.  (John  11:47-53.)  They 
feared  the  multitudes,  just  as  with  refer- 
ence to  John  the  Baptist.  (21:26;  u:5.)  Took 
him  for  a  prophet,  the  expression  being,  in 
the  correct  text,  a  little  different  from  that  of 
21:26. 

HOMILETICAL  AND   PRACTICAL. 

V.  37.  Reverencing  the  Son  of  God.  1)  He 
deserves  to  be  reverenced  by  all  mankind.  2^ 
He  came  to  men,  and  his  own  chosen  people 
(John  1:11)  rejected  and  killed  him,  v.  39.  8) 
He  is  now  rejected  and  dishonored  by  many 
who  ought  most  to  admire  and  revere  him. 
4)  He  is  crucified  afresh  (Heb.  6:6)  by  some  who 
have  professed  to  show  him  reverence.  5) 
Yet,  though  rejected  and  slain,  he  is  risen  and 
ascended  and  reigning,  and  multitudes  do 
reverence  and  serve  him.  6)  In  the  great 
day  every  tongue  will  confess  that  he  is  Lord. 
(Phil.  2:  9-11.) — V.  41.  Henry:  "Many  can 
easily  prognosticate  the  dismal  consequences 
of  other  people's  sins,  that  see  not  what  will 
be  the  end  of  their  own." — V.  42.  "Did  ye 
never  rea  1  in  the  Scriptures?  "  1)  If  we  had 
read  the  Scriptures  aright,  they  would  solve 
for  us  many  a  now  perplexing  question  of 
truth  and  duty.  2)  If  we  had  read  the  Scrip- 
tures aright,  we  should  clearly  perceive  that 
they  condemn  us.  3)  If  we  had  read  the 
Scriptures  aright,  we  should  see  in  them 
Jesus  Christ  the  corner-stone  of  human  sal- 
vation.— V.  43.  Origen:  "The  kingdom  of 
God  is  not  given  to  any  one  that  is  reigned 
over  by  sin." — V.  44.  Use  and  misuse  of 
the  corner-stone.  1)  God  gave  his  Son  to  be 
the  corner-stone  of  salvation  to  all  who  will 

accept    him.      (I«a.  28:  I6;   1  Pet.  2:  6;  Eph.  2:  20.)      2) 


Ch.  XXII.] 


MATTHEW. 


445 


CHAPTEK  XXII. 


AND  Jesus  answered  and  spake  unto  them  again  by 
parables,  and  said, 
2  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  certain  king, 
which  made  a  marriage  for  his  son, 


1  And  Jesus  answered  and  spake  again  In  parables 

2  unto  them,  saying.  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  likened 
unto  a  certain  king,  who  luade  a  marriage  feast  lor 


Many  stumble  against  that  stone  instead  of 

building   upon  it  (Is».8:  U;   Kom.  9:  31  ir.;  1  Pet.  i:  8; 

Matt.  11:6),  and  are  broken  to  pieces  by  the  fall, 
(a)  Some  believe  nothing  in  the  Bible,  (b) 
Others  do  not  believe  that  Christ  is  the  founda- 
tion of  salvation  by  his  atonement,  (c)  Others 
think  the  vicious  may  build  on  Christ,  but 
they  can  build  on  themselves.  3)  On  many 
that  stone  will  fall  and  utterly  destroy  them, 
(a)  He  will  destroy  by  his  providence  their 
plans  of  opposition  to  his  kingdom,  (b)  He 
will  destroy  themselves  to  all  eternity.  (23: 46; 
Heb. 6:2;  2Tiies9. 1:9.)  Calvin  :  "  This  teaching 
partly  instructs  us  that  with  tender  and  flexi- 
ble heart  we  may  gently  yield  ourselves  to  be 
ruled  over  by  Christ;  partlj'  also  confirms 
us  against  the  contumacy  and  furious  assaults 
of  the  ungodly,  for  whom  at  last  a  fearful  end 
is  waiting." — V.  45.  Hknry:  "A  guilty  con- 
science needs  no  accuser,  and  sometimes  will 
save  a  minister  the  labor  of  saying  'Thou  art 
the  man.'  When  those  who  hear  the  reproofs  of 
the  word  perceive  that  it  speaks  of  them,  if  it 
do  not  do  them  good  it  will  certainly  do  them 
hurt."— V.  45  f.  Calvin:  " The  Evangelists 
show  us  how  little  Christ  accomplished,  in 
order  that  we  may  not  wonder  if  to-day  the 
gospel  does  not  constrain  all  to  obey  God." 


Ch.  32  :  1-14.  Marriage  of  the  Kino's 
Son. 

This  is  found  in  Matt,  only,  but  the  first 
part  resembles  a  parable  given  by  Luke  as 
spoken  some  time  earlier.  (Luke  14 :  16-24.)  Some 
critics  at  once  assume  that  only  one  parable  was 
given.  But  any  man  who  ever  went  to  and 
fro  as  a  preacher  will  know  that  to  repeat  an 
illustration  to  a  new  audience  with  some  mod- 
ification is  perfectly  natural  (comp.  at  begin- 
ning of  ch.  5).  So  later  in  this  same  day,  ch. 
25  :  14  flF.  will  repeat  Luke  19  :  11  ff.  There 
are  examples  in  the  Talmud  of  a  like  repeti- 
tion and  reworking  of  an  illustration  by  dif- 
ferent Rabbis,  and  why  not  this  be  done  by 
the  same  Rabbi  ?  It  has  been  held  that  a 
parable  cannot  have  been  spoken  at  this  point, 
between  the  rise  of  the  feelings  described  in 
21  :  45  f.  and  the  consultation  of  22  :  15.     But 


why  not?  It  required  only  a  few  minutes. 
And  21 :  46  is  a  general  statement,  covering 
much  that  followed. — The  supposed  Rabbin- 
ical parallels  to  this  parable  (Wun.,  Edersh.) 
are  in  fact  so  little  like  it  as  not  to  be  worth 
stating.  To  derive  illustration  from  a  feast 
would  be  a  matter  of  course. 

1.  Answered,  not  to  anything  that  had  been 
said,  so  far  as  we  know,  but  responded  to  tho 
feelings  and  wishes  {21 :4Df.)  whicli  he  knew 
were  entertained.  And  spake  again  by 
parables.  Only  one  is  given ;  there  may 
have  been  others,  or  this  may  have  been  re- 
garded as  comprising  two  (2-10. 11-13),  or  the 
plural  may  be  (Goebel)  only  that  of  category, 
meaning  that  he  spoke  parabolically.  This 
parable  is  nut  expressly  applied,  like  the  two 
foregoing,  because  the  application  is  now  suf- 
ficiently obvious,  especially  since  21  :  43. 
Bruce:  "The  parable  of  the  vjne-dressers 
exposes  Israel's  neglect  of  covenanted  duty; 
this,  her  contempt  of  God's  grace.  The  two 
are  mutually  complementary,  and  present 
together  a  full  view  of  Israel's  sin."  For  the 
term  parable,  and  the  general  principles  of 
interpretation,  see  on  13  :  3. 

2  f.  The  kingdom  of  heaven,  see  on  3 :  2. 
Is  like  unto,  see  on  13 :  24.  Unto  a  certain 
king.  Note  the  leading  differences  between 
the  present  parable  and  that  of  Luke  14:  16  ff. 
There  it  was  simply  '  a  certain  man,'  here  it  is 
a  king  ;  there  merely  a  'great  supper,'  here  a 
marriage  feast  for  the  king's  son.  There  he 
sent  once  to  summon  the  invited,  here  twice. 
There  they  made  excuse;  here  they  make 
light  I'f  it,  and  some  shamefully  treat  and  kill 
the  king's  messengers,  and  the  king  destroys 
them  and  their  city.  Then  in  both  parables 
other  guests  are  invited  wherever  thoy  can  ho 
picked  up.  It  thus  appears  that  this  later 
parable  brings  out  much  more  clearly  tho 
wickedness  of  the  Jews  in  not  simply  reject- 
ing God's  general  invitations  of  love,  but  dis- 
honoringhis  Son,  and  killinghisservants  ;  and 
that  difference  exactly  suits  the  change  of  cir- 
cumstances. Very  naturally  the  parable  in 
Luke  is  oftenost  used  in  our  pulpits,  as  it  does 
not  so  distinctively  relate  to  the  conduct  of  the 


446 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXII. 


3  And  sent  forth  his  servants  to  call  them  that  were 
bidden  to  the  wedding:  and  they  would  not  come. 

4  Again,  he  sent  forth  other  servants,  saying.  Tell 
them  which  are  bidden,  Behold,  I  have  prepared  my 
dinner:  my  oxen  and  my  futlings  are,  killed,  and  all 
things  are  ready  :  come  uoto  the  marriage. 


3  his  son,  and  sent  forth  his  '  servants  to  call  them 
that  were  bidden   to  the  marriage  feast :   and  they 

4  would  not  come.  Again  he  sent  forth  other  i  ser- 
vants, saying.  Tell  them  that  are  bidden.  Behold  I 
have  made  ready  my  dinner:  my  oxen  and   my 


1  Or.  hondttrvantt. 


Jews.  But  this  also,  especially  with  the  ad- 
dition of  V.  11-13,  is  full  of  solemn  instruction 
for  all    times.    Made    a    marriage    feast. 

8otne  render  this  simply  •'a  feast,'  because 
gamos  'marriage,'  is  used  by  the  Sept.  to 
translate  the  Heb.  for  'feast'  in  Esther  1  :  5, 
comp.  9  :  22;  and  it  may  be  added  that  Pesh. 
here  translates  back  into  the  sa^me  word 
feast  that  is  there  employed  in  the  Heb.  But 
as  there  is  no  other  known  example  of  such  a 
use  of  gamos,  it  is  better  to  understand  it  here 
in  the  literal  and  common  sense,  especially 
since  '  for  his  son  '  means  the  Messiah  (comp. 
21  :  37),  and  the  Messiah  is  elsewhere  also 
represented  as  a  bridegroom  (25:i;9:i5;  jotmsrw; 

Rev.  21  :  2,  9  ;  Eph.  5  :  «5-32),   just    aS    in     the    prophctS 

Israel  is  often  the  spouse  of  Jehovah.  The 
Greek  word  is  here  in  the  plural,  igamoiis), 
and  so  in  v.  3  and  4  (andLukei2:36\  while  it  is 
singular  in  v.  8,  11  f.  The  plural  of  a  word 
denoting  a  festival  was  ofteti  used  to  indicate 
its  several  parts  or  stages  (Buttm.  p.  23); 
comp.  our  word  nuptials.  Wyclif  here  imi- 
tates the  Greek  plural,  '  made  weddings."  In 
modern  English  we  could  say,  '  made  a  wed- 
ding,' but  the  singular  is  wanted  for  the 
Greek  singular  in  v.  8,  and  so  '  made  a  mar- 
riage feast '  is  our  best  tntnslation.  His  ser- 
vants, literally  slaves  {doulous),  see  on  8  :  6 
and  comp.  U:  2  ;  18  :  23 ;  21  :  34.  To  call 
them  that  were  bidden,  literally,  'to  call 
tJie  called.'  The  guests  were  invited  in  ad- 
vance and  then,  being  close  together  in  a 
crowded  Eastern  city,  and  not  generally  sup- 
plied with  convenient  time-pieces,  they  were 
notified  when  the  feast  was  ready.  Comp. 
Luke  14  :  17  ;  Esth.  6  :  8  and  6  :  14. 

4.  Again  he  sent  forth  other  servants. 
The  king  kindly  renews  the  summons,  and 
remonstrates,  urging  that  he  has  prepared  a 
grand  entertainment,  and  they  really  ought  to 
come.  So  in  the  foregoing  parable  (21 :3fl)  the 
householder  sent  others  and  more  in  number. 
I  have  prepared,  or,  made  ready,  the  same 
Greek  root  as  'ready  '  just  below.  My  din- 
ner, ariston,  found  also  in  Luke  11  :  38,  while 
deipnon,  'supper,'  is  found  in  23:  6  and  often 


elsewhere  in  New  Test.,  and  both  occur  to- 
gether in  Luke  14 :  12.  The  ariston  seems  to 
have  been  usually  taken  about  the  middle  of 
the  forenoon,  sometimes  earlier  or  later;  the 
deipnon  at  the  close  of  the  day,  often  after 
dark.  Josephus  ("Ant.,"  5,  4,  2)  supposes 
that  Eglon's  guards  (Judg.  3:24)  were  negligent 
about  midday,  "both  because  of  the  heat  and 
because  their  attention  was  turned  to  dinner" 
(ariston).  This  would  indicate  that  in  Jose- 
phus' own  time  the  ariston  was  sometimes 
taken  as  late  as  noon  ;  on  the  other  hand  in 
John  21  :  12,  15  it  is  taken  shortly  after  dawn. 
Vambery  (in  Morison)  says  of  the  Turks  at 
the  present  time,  "  There  are  only  two  meals 
during  the  day,  the  smaller  one  between  ten 
and  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  the 
second  and  largerone  after  sunset."  Grimm, 
Plump.,  and  others  seem  to  be  wrong  in  sup- 
posing that  the  Jews  of  our  Lord's  time  took 
a  separate  and  slight  meal  on  rising,  as  the 
later  Greeks  did,  and  some  among  the  later 
Romans.  There  is  no  evidence  that  the  Jews 
had  more  than  the  two  meals.  (See  Smith's 
"Diet.,"  Art.  "Meals.")  In  the  time  of 
Elizabeth  and  King  James,  the  principal 
meal  in  England  was  taken  some  time  before 
noon,  and  called  'dinner,'  and  the  slighter 
meal  taken  at  the  close  of  the  day  was  called 
'supper.'  Accordingly  in  the  early  English 
versions  ariston  is  rendered  'dinner,'  and 
deipnon  'supper,'  which  conforms  to  the  time 
of  day,  but  quite  misrepresents  the  real  im- 
portance of  the  two  meals.  In  modern  city 
life  the  words  breakfast  and  dinner,  the 
former  occurring  at  9  to  12  o'clock,  the  latter 
at  evening,  would  correspond  quite  closely  to 
ariston  and  deipnon  in  the  New  Test.,  but  it  is 
too  late  to  make  a  general  change  (see  Rev. 
Ver.  of  John  21 :  12,  15).  The  marriage  feast 
mentioned  in  this  parable  is  an  ariston,  curi- 
ously resembling  the  English  "wedding- 
breakfast,"  while  the  feast  of  Luke  14:  16  is  a 
deipnon,  as  entertainments  usually  were.  But 
here  the  feast  is  either  protracted,  or  more 
likely  delayed,  until  after  night,  (v.  13.)  As 
new  guests  had  to  be  summoned  and  must 


Ch.  XXII.] 


MATTHEW. 


447 


5  But  they  made  light  of  il,  and  went  their  ways,  one 
to  his  farm,  another  to  his  merchandise: 

6  And  the  remnant  took  his  servants,  and  entreated 
them  spitefully,  and  slew  t/iem. 

7  But  when  the  kin^  heard  thereof  he  was  wroth  :  and 
he  sent  forth  his  armies,  and  destroyed  those  murder- 
ers, and  burned  up  their  city. 

8  Then  saith  he  to  his  servants,  The  wedding  is  ready, 
but  they  which  were  bidden  were  not  worthy. 

9  Go  ye  therefore  into  the  highways,  and  as  many  as 
ye  shall' find,  bid  to  the  marriage. 


5  fatlings  are  killed,  and  all  things  are  readv  :  come 
to  the  marriage  feast.  But  they  made  light  of  it, 
and  went  their  ways,  one  to  his  own  farm,  another 

6  to  his  merchandise:  and  the  rest  laid  hold  on  his 
1  servants,  and  entreated  them  shamefully,  and  killed 

7  them.  But  the  king  was  wroth ;  and  he  sent  his  armies, 
and  destroyed  those  murderers,  and  burned   their 

8  city.  Then  saith  he  to  his  » servants.  The  wedding 
is  ready,  but  they  that  were  bidden  were  not  worthy. 

9  Go  ye  therefore  unto  the  partings  of  the  highways, 
and  as  many  as  ye  shall  find,  bid  to  the  marriage 


1  Or.  bomUervantt. 


have  time  to  assume  festive  apparel,  it  might 
well  be  night  before  the  festival  was  actually 
in  progress,  and  the  king  entered.  Or  the 
ariston  may  have  been  intended  as  a  pre- 
liminary banquet,  while  the  marriage  would 
occur  at  night.  (20:8.)  In  1  Cor.  11:  20,  "the 
Lord's  detpnow  "  seems  to  give  the  idea  of  a 
banquet  to  which  the  Lord  invites.  My  oxen 
and  my  fatlings,  beeves  and  fatted  calves, 
as  in  2  Sam  6:  13;  1  Kings  1 :  9,  where  Adoni- 
jah  made  a  royal  feast.  Come  is  the  same 
strong  and  urgent  word  as  in  11 :  28. 

5-7.  They  made  light  of  it,  a  great  insult 
to  a  king,  whose  invitation  was  the  highest 
honor,  and  who  was  celebrating  an  occasion 
of  peculiar  interest.  These  showed  contempt 
by  going  oflF  to  their  every-day  employments, 
and  those  that  remained  showed  even  murder- 
ous hatred,  a  spirit  of  rebellion  against  the 
king  and  his  son.  (ps». 2:2, 12.)  One  to  his 
farm.  His  own  farm,  is  the  exact  meaning  of 
the  Greek  ; »  he  was  caring  exclusively  for  his 
own  affairs.  Another  to  his  merchandise, 
his  mercantile  business.  The  remnant, 
rather,  the  rest,  whicli  is  not  only  simpler  but 
a  more  exact  translation.  Took,  or,  seized, 
a  stronger  term  than  is  21 :  35,  39.  Entreated 
them  spitefully.  Shamefully  (so  Cranmer) 
is  better  than  'spitefully'  ;  we  might  say  sim- 
ply 'insulted  them.'  But  the  king  was 
wroth,  a  strong  word.  When  .  .  .  heard 
thereof,  is  a  spurious  addition  to  the  text. 
Sent  forth  his  armies.  Our  word  'armies' 
now  always  suggests  a  large  number  of  sol- 
diers, which  is  not  true  of  the  Greek  word; 
Plump,  proposes  'troops.'     Destroyed  those  I 


murderers.  They  were  also  rebels.  Qoebel: 
"The  hitherto  peaceful  image  of  an  invita- 
tion to  a  marriage  feast  is  now  changed  into 
the  warlike  image  of  a  military  raid  with  fire 
and  sword  against  murderous  rebels."  And 
burned  up  their  city,  which  may  be  thought 
of  as  among  the  suburbs  of  the  capital  where 
the  wedding  feast  occurred.  There  is  no  ne- 
cessity for  supposing  that  tliis  order  was  carried 
out  before  the  king  sent  forth  to  invite  other 
guests.  (v'S.)  An  autocratic  sovereign  had  but 
to  give  the  order,  and  could  then  turn  his 
attention  to  other  things. 

8-10.  Into  the  highways.*  Lit.  the  part- 
ings of  the  highways,  colloq.,  'the  forks  of  the 
roads,'  where  the  roads  leading  out  from  the 
city  separated  each  into  two  or  more  roads. 
There  the  country  people  coming  in  from  dif- 
ferent directions  could  all  be  seen  and  invited. 
V.  10  has  the  simple  term  highways,  which 
is  enough  without  repeating  the  precise  direc- 
tion. It  is  surely  over-refinement  to  say 
(Bishop  Lightfoot  on  Revision),  "In  this 
change  of  expression  we  seem  to  see  a  refer- 
ence to  the  imperfect  work  of  the  human 
agents  as  contrasted  with  the  urgent  and  un- 
compromising terms  of  the  command"  ;  but 
certainly  the  two  phrases  ought  to  bo  kept 
distinct  in  the  translation,  which  was  not  done 
by  Tyndale  and  followers,  and  imperfectly 
done  by  Wye.  and  Rheims.  In  Luke  14: 
21  ff.  the  messengers  were  sent  first  into  the 
streets  and  lanes  of  the  city,  and  afterwards 
into  the  roads  outside;  here  only  the  latter 
are  mentioned.  Meyer  oddly  concludes  that 
the  capital  was  the  cit3'  burned,  and  none  but 


1  Winer,  Buttm.,  Grlrara,  suppose  that  here  and  in  2.5  : 
14,  and  some  other  passages  tV/io«  loses  its  proper  sense, 
and  means  not '  his  own,'  but  simply  his.  But  none  of 
the  passages  rrquire  this  weakened  sense,  and  therefore 
it  ii«  not  Justified. 

2  The  term  rendered  'partings'  is  not  found  else- 
where In  the  New  Test.  The  frequent  Sept.  sense  of 
'  outlet '  would  answer  here,  if  the   expression  were 


"  diexodotu  of  the  street*,"  but  not  when  it  Is  "  diexo- 
dous  of  the  roads."  Is  there  any  clear  instance  of  hodof, 
'  way,' '  rnad,'  being  applie<i  to  the  street  of  a  city  ?  The 
preposition  dia  here  has  its  frequent  force  (In  compound 
words)  of  division,  from  the  primary  seuseof 'between.' 
Many  have  been  misled,  here  and  elsewhere,  by  suppos- 
ing that  dia  must  necessarily  mean  '  through.' 


448 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXIL 


10  So  those  servants  went  out  into  the  highways,  and 
gathered  together  all  as  many  as  they  found,  botli  bad 
and  good:  and  the  wedding  was  furnished  with  guests. 

11  And  when  tlie  king  caiue  in  to  see  the  guests,  be 
saw  there  a  luau  wliich  had  not  on  a  wedding  gar- 
ment: 


10  feast.  And  those  'servants  went  out  into  the  high- 
ways, and  gathered  together  all  as  many  aa  they 
found,  both  bad  and  good:  and  the   wetldiiig  was 

11  filled  with  guests.  Hut  when  the  king  came  in  to 
behold  the  guests,  he  saw  there  a  man  who  had  not 


1  Gr.  bondservants. 


country  people  could  now  be  invited ;  but 
'their  city'  (v.  7),  seems  clearly  to  distinguish 
it  from  the  city  in  which  the  king  lived.  As 
many  as  they  found,  both  bad  and  good. 

They  do  not  stop  to  discriminate  as  to  social 
position  or  even  moral  character.  This  alludes 
to  the  fact  that  some  very  wicked  persons 
would  become  Christians.  The  bad  are  men- 
tioned first,  so  as  to  emphasize  the  king's 
grace.  And  the  wedding,  or,  according  to 
the  more  probable  Greek  text,  the  bridal-hall^ 
was  furnished,  filled,  the  literal  and  exact 
meaning,  with  ^nents, withpersons  reclining, 
viz.,  at  table.     See  on  8:  11. 

The  meaning  of  the  parable  up  to  this  point 
is  plain.  The  benefits  and  delights  of  the 
Messianic  reign  are  represented  under  the 
image  of  a  marriage  feast  in  honor  of  God's 
Son.  The  Jewish  people  had  long  before  been 
invited  to  enjoy  the  feast.  God  had  sent  his 
servants  the  prophets  from  time  to  time  (we 
may  include  John  the  Baptist),  to  call  them 
to  the  wedding.  But  many  had  been  utterly 
indifferent,  caring  only  for  their  worldly  pur- 
suits; and  some  had  insulted  and  slain  his 
messengers.  These  murderers  God  will  most 
severely  punish.  Then  his  servants  will  go 
forth  and  bring  in,  no  longer  the  chosen  peo- 
ple originally  indicated,  but  Gentiles,  includ- 
ing some  very  wicked  persons,  and  these  will 
form  the  honored  guests.  If  the  destroyed 
city  of  V.  7  be  supposed  to  point  specially  to 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  then  we  may 
understand  that  the  new  messengers  of  v.  8 
are  the  apostles,  sent  forth  to  the  Gentiles. 
They  began  before  Jerusalem  was  destroyed, 
but  not  before  its  destruction  had  been  fore- 
told as  inevitable  and  near  at  hand,  (ssiss; 
M:  15  ff.)  The  very  Greek  phrase  '  not  worthy ' 
of  v.  8  is  applied  by  Paul  to  the  Jews  in  Acts 


13:  46,  and  rendered  'unworthy.'  Thus 
neglect  and  outrage  on  the  part  of  the  Jewish 
nation  will  not  prevent  the  Messiah  from 
having  a  people  (John  6: 37),  nor  mankind  from 
enjoying  the  Messianic  benefits,  the  feast  of 
salvation.  This  parable,  therefore,  repeats 
the  idea  of  the  foregoing  that  the  Jews  will  be 
severely  punished  for  slighting  and  slaying 
God's  messengers,  but  brings  out  more  fully 
the  thought  that  others  will  enjoy  the  benefits 
they  have  lost.  (Comp.  21  :  41  with  21 :  7-10.) 
Jesus  here  still  looks  sadly  at  the  past  and 
present,  but  also  looks  hopefully  to  the  future. 
11-13  present  a  new  feature  of  the  parable, 
having  nothing  like  it  in  Luke  14  ;  16-24.  V. 
10  makes  the  transition  from  the  main  para- 
ble to  this  further  lesson,  as  is  shown  (Goebel) 
by  the  phrase  'those  servants,'  whereas  'the 
servants'  would  have  been  natural  in  a  mere 
conclusion  of  the  foregoing  narrative.  The 
king's  directions  were  carried  out,  and  the 
bridal  hall  filled  with  persons  reclining  at  the 
banquet ;  but  they  were  not  all  suffered  to 
enjoy  the  feast.  When  the  king  came  in  to 
see  the  guests,  rather  behold,  not  simply  'to 
see,'  but  to  look  at  them  as  a  pleasing  spec- 
tacle. (6:1;  11 : 7.)  This  is  not  the  forenoon  meal 
originally  intended  or  begun  with,  for  it  is 
now  night,  (v.  13.)  A  man.  He  represents  a 
principle  (Bruce),  and  therefore  a  class;  comp. 
the  one  slothful  servant  in  25:  24.  Had  not 
on  a  wedding  garment,  a  dress  suitable  for 
attending  a  wedding.  We  do  not  know  of  any 
specific  vjedding  dress,  as  distinguished  from 
that  appropriate  to  other  festive  occasions ; 
but  the  guests  must  come  properly  arrayed. 
Oriental  monarchs  now  frequently  present 
some  elegant  article  of  apparel  to  a  visitor ; 
and  hence  it  has  been  widely  supposed  by 
commentators  that  in  this  case  the  king  had 


1  In  {<  B  (first  hand)  L  the  word  is  not  gamos  '  wed- 
ding,' but  numphon,  a  rare  word,  meaning  the  place 
where  the  bride  is,  and  found  elsewhere  only  in  the 
sense  '  bride-chamber'  (9 :  15 ;  Tobii  6 :  14, 17).  The  obvious 
inappropriateness  of  that  sense  here  would  account  for 
the  change  to  gamos  (from  v.  8),  while  we  could  not  ex- 
plain the  introduction  of  a  word  apparently  so  unsuit- 
able.    Etymologically  it  could  easily  signify  'bridal 


hall,'  the  place  of  the  wedding  banquet,  and  so  be  en- 
tirely appropriate.  Yet  the  mere  fact  that '  was  filled,' 
suggests  a  room  (comp.  Luke  14:  23)  would  not  account 
for  a  change  from  the  sufficiently  suitable  terra  gamos 
to  an  apparently  quite  unsuitable  word.  Tisch.,  W  H., 
and  Weiss  read  numphon,  and  Treg.  (who  had  not  K) 
placed  it  in  his  margin. 


Ch.  XXII.] 


MATTHEW. 


449 


12  And  he  saith  unto  bini,  Friend,  how  earnest  thou  i  12  on  a  wedding   garment:    and  he  saith  unto  him, 


in  hither  not  having  a  wedding  garment  ?   And  he  was 
speechless. 

13  Then  said  the  king  to  the  servants,  Rind  him  hand 
and  foot,  and  take  him  away,  and  cast  him  into  outer 
darkness;  tliere  shall  be  weeping  and  gnashing  of 
teeth. 

14  For  many  are  called,  but  few  are  chosen. 


Friend,  how  cames  thou  in  hither  not  having  a  wed- 

13  ding  garment?  And  he  wa^  speechless.  Then  the 
king  said  to  the  'servants,  Bind  him  hand  and  foot, 
and  cast  him  out  into  outer  darkness;  there  shall  be 

14  the  weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth.  For  many  are 
called,  but  few  chosen. 


1  Or,  minitttri. 


furnished  suitable  apparel,  and  this  man  had 
refused  or  neglected  to  put  it  on.  But  the 
evidence  furnished  for  such  a  custom  (e.  g., 
by  Trench)  is  not  adequate;  and  if  the  sup- 
position be  here  made,  it  must  be  grounded  on 
the  necessity  of  the  case.  There  is,  however, 
no  intimation  that  the  man  was  poor.  This  is 
uot  a  charitable  feast  to  the  poor  (Luueuiis), 
but  a  grand  entertainment  in  honor  of  the 
king's  son.  A  forenoon  b-.xnquet  was  origi- 
nally proposed  and  it  is  now  night,  so  that  there 
has  been  ample  time  for  preparation.  We 
may  then  suppose  either  that  the  man  ought 
not  to  have  come  in  at  all  if  unable  to  dress 
himself  properly,  or  that  he  might  have  sought 
help  from  the  king  under  the  peculiar  cir- 
cumstances if  he  had  felt  a  proper  an.xiety  to 
be  attired  worthily  of  the  occasion.  At  any 
rate,  his  presence  without  proper  dress  was 
tacitly  admitted  by  himself  to  be  quite  inex- 
cusable, and  was  regarded  hy  the  king  as  a 
flagrant  insult,  deserving  the  severest  punish- 
ment. No  light  is  gained  by  supposing  a 
reference  to  Zeph.  1 :  6  f.,  where  the  imagery 
is  quite  differently  used.  Friend,  or  comrade, 
see  on  20 :  13.  And  he  was  speechless. 
This  shows  that  he  felt  himself  to  be  entirely 
without  excuse ;  he  fully  knew  what  was 
proper,  and  it  was  not  beyond  his  reach.  Our 
pulpit  interpretation  had  better  hold  fast  to 
this  fact  and  not  distract  attention  by  discuss- 
ing the  question  whether  wedding  garments 
were  furnished.  Said  to  the  servants,  the 
attendants  (diakonois,  see  on  8:  6).  including 
others  besides  his  slaves  (v-s,  6);  Rheims 
'waiters.'  Bind  him  hand  and  foot,  and 
cast  him.  The  inserted  words  take  him 
away  and,  are  wanting  in  the  best  manuscripts 
and  nearly  all  early  versions,  and  though 
really  useless  the  phrase  is  not  objectionable, 
80  that  it  is  clearly  an  addition  of  the  copy- 
ists. The  binding  would  prevent  his  return  to 
the  bridal  hall,  and  would  leave  him  helpless 
in  the  darkness.  Into  (the)  outer  darkness 
(see  on  8:   12),  which  would  be  oppressively 


dark  by  the  contrast  of  the  brilliantly  lighted 
palace. 

What  now  is  the  application?  Those  who 
repent  and  propose  to  be  subjects  of  the  Mes- 
sianic reign  must  become  righteous  in  charac- 
ter and  life  or  they  cannot  enjoy  its  benefits. 
(5:20;  Heb.  12:14.)  It  is  not  cuough  for  a  man 
to  place  himself  in  outward  relation  to  the 
kingdom  ;  he  must  also  develop  the  corre- 
sponding character  and  conduct.  There  have 
always  been  persons  who  desired  the  temporal 
and  eternal  advantages  which  Christianity 
offers,  without  caring  to  be  and  to  do  what  it 
requires.  Those  who  accept  God's  bounty  in 
the  gospel,  the  salvation  that  is  not  hy  works 
but  according  to  his  mercy,  must  "be  carefUl 
to  maintain  good  works"  (thus 3: 4-8)  ;  other- 
wise they  insult  God,  and  disgrace  the  feast 
of  salvation,  and  will  not  be  allowed  to  share 
it — yea,  will  be  severely  punished.  The  les- 
son here  taught  is  thus  seen  to  be  of  the 
greatest  importance.  But  to  bring  in  the 
Pauline  conception  of  imputed  righteousness, 
and  understand  the  parable  to  teach  that  we 
must  "  put  on  the  wedding-garment  of 
Christ's  righteousness,"  is  altogether  out  of 
place,  and  turns  attention  away  from  the  real 
lesson. 

To  leave  no  doubt  as  to  what  is  meant  by 
'the  outer  darkness,'  our  Lord  adds,  there 
shall  be  the  weeping  and  gnashing  of 
teeth  (see  on  8:  12),  the  well  known  signs  of 
wretchedness  in  Gehenna,  the  place  of  eter- 
nal punishment.  (13:42;  ia:30,  46,  comp.  on5:r2.)This 

clau.se  cannot  bo  taken  as  spoken  by  the  king, 
and  is  easily  understood  as  an  addition  made 
by  our  Lord,  like  that  which  immediately 
follows. 

14.  For  many  are  called,  but  few  arc 
chosen.  This  is  a  general  fact  added  as  ac- 
counting for  the  particular  fact  described  in 
the  parable  (notice  'for').  Many  arc  called 
to  share  the  Messianic  benefits,  but  few  are  .se- 
lected actualh"  to  attain  them;  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  called  utterly  refusing  to  accept. 


2D 


450 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXII. 


15  Then  went  the  Pharisees,  and  took  counsel  how    15    Then  went  the  Pharisees,  and  took  counsel  how 
they  might  entangle  him  in  his  talk. 


and  some  even  of  those  who  profess  accept- 
ance not  developing  the  corresponding  char- 
acter and  life.  This  selection  of  the  actually 
saved  maj'^  be  looked  at  from  two  sides.  From 
the  divine  side,  we  see  that  the  Scriptures 
teach  an  eternal  election  of  men  to  eternal 
life,  simply  out  of  God's  good  pleasure. 
From  the  human  side,  we  see  that  those  per- 
sons attain  the  blessings  of  salvation  through 
Christ  who  accept  the  gospel  invitation  and 
obey  the  gospel  commandments.  It  is  doubt- 
ful whether  our  minds  can  combine  both 
sides  in  a  single  view,  but  we  must  not  for 
that  reason  deny  either  of  them  to  be  true. — 
This  sentence  is  unwarrantably  borrowed  by 
many  documents  (and  the  common  text)  as 
an  addition-  to  20:  16. 

HOMILETICAL  AND    PRACTICAL. 

V.  5.  "They  made  light  of  it."  1)  Many 
men  acknowledge  no  obligation  to  honor  the 
Son  of  God.  2)  They  take  no  pleasure  in 
contemplating  his  character  and  showing  him 
respect.  3)  They  are  engrossed  with  their 
own  worldly  possessions  and  pursuits,  and 
care  for  nothing  that  he  offers.  4)  They  thus 
deprive  themselves  of  the  highest  benefit,  and 
offer  him  the  grossest  insult. — V.  7.  Hknry  : 
"Christ  will  have  a  kingdom  in  the  world, 
though  many  reject  the  grace  and  resist  the 
power  of  that  kingdom." — V.  8.  God's  for- 
bearance and  wrath.  1)  He  is  not  repelled  by 
refusal,  but  kindly  urges  the  invitation,  v.  4. 
2)  He  chastises  those  who  insult  him  and  out- 
rage his  messengers,  v.  7.  3)  He  condescends 
to  call  many  whom  the  world  would  have 
thought  unfit  for  such  an  honor,  v.  8-10. 
4)  He  punishes  those  who  pretend  to  accept 
his  invitation,  but  di.shonor  him  by  utter  in- 
consistency, V.  11-13. — V.  12.  Chkys.:  "Rev- 
erence the  love  of  him  who  called  you,  and 
let  no  one  continue  to  have  filthy  garments, 
but  let  each  of  you  busy  himself  about  the 
clothing  of  your  soul." — V.  14.  The  called 
and  the  chosen.  1)  The  many  are  called  in 
good  faith,  and  it  is  their  own  fault  if  they 
do  not  have  part  in  the  feast.  2)  There  are 
various  reasons  why  so  large  a  number  of  the 
called  fail,  (a)  Some  turn  away  in  contempt- 
uous neglect,  through  worldly  engrossment, 
V.  6.     (b)  Some  hate  him  who  calls  and  out- 


rage feven  those  who  bring  the  call,  v.  6.  (c) 
Some  profess  to  accept  it,  but  take  no  pains 
to  have  the  corresponding  character  and  con- 
duct, V.  11  f.  3)  The  few  who  are  chosen 
give  proof  of  it  by  accepting  the  call  and  be- 
having accordingly.  4)  These  enjoy  the  feast 
of  salvation,  gladly  honor  the  Son  of  God, 
and  humbly  ascribe  all  to  sovereign  grace. 
Jerome:  "He  sums  up  all  these  parables  in 
a  brief  sentence,  to  the  effect  that  in  working 
the  vineyard,  and  in  building  the  house,  and 
in  the  marriage  feast,  not  the  beginning  but 
the  end  is  the  great  matter." 

15-46.  Question  and  Answer  in  the 
Temple. 

This  is  found  also  in  Mark  12 :  13-37  ;  Luko 
20 :  20-44. 

It  was  customary  for  any  one  who  desired  it 
to  ask  questions  of  a  Rabbi  in  public,  even 
interrupting  him  at  pleasure.  The  Talmud 
gives  many  examples,  and  sometimes  the 
Rabbi  replied  with  further  interrogation.  So 
with  the  Athenian  philosophers,  especially 
Socrates,  who  reduced  questioning  to  a  science. 
The  leading  priests  and  Scribes  felt  themselves 
pointedly  assailed  by  Jesus  in  the  three  para- 
bles just  given,  especially  in  21:  28-32,43-45. 
It  was  determined  upon  consultation  to  attack 
the  Nazarene  with  hard  questions  before  the 
multitude,  hoping  to  extract  from  him  some 
answer  that  would  offend  popular  prejudice  or 
provoke  the  Roman  authorities,  and  at  any 
rate  hoping  to  show  that  he  was  not  greatlj- 
superior  to  other  Rabbis.  Accordingly,  three 
questions  were  successively  proposed  by  rep- 
resentative persons,  the  first  by  Pharisees  and 
Herodians  united,  the  second  by  Sadducees, 
the  third  by  a  Lawyer.  To  all  these  .Tesus 
made  prompt  and  wonderfully  wise  replies, 
and  then  finished  by  asking  them  a  question 
of  the  deepest  importance,  which  they  were 
unable  to  answer.  These  four  instances  of 
question  and  answer  hang  closely  together  in 
the  narrative,  being  all  given  in  the  same 
order  by  Matthew  and  Mark,  and  all  except 
the  third  given  also  by  Luke.  They  occurred 
in  the  temple  court,  probably  on  Tuesday, 
three  days  before  the  crucifixion. 

I.  15-22.  The  Pharisees  and  Herodi- 
ans Ask  about  Tribute  to  Cesar.  Mark 
12:  13-17;    Luke  20:  20-26.     Then  does  not 


Ch.  XXII.] 


MATTHEW. 


451 


16  And  they  sent  out  unto  him  their  disciples  with 
the  Herodians,  saying,  Master,  we  know  that  thou  art 
true,  and  teachest  the  way  of  God  in  truth,  neither 
carest  thou  for  any  man:  for  thou  regardest  not  the 
person  of  men. 


16  they  might  ensnare  him  in  his  talk.  And  they  send 
to  him  their  disciples,  with  the  Herodians,  saying, 
1  Master,  we  know  that  thou  art  true,  and  teachest 
the  way  of  God  in  truth,  and  carest  not  for  any  one ; 


1  Or,  Teacher. 


necessarily  (see  on  3:  13),  but  does  naturally 
indicate  that  this  was  on  the  same  occasion  as 
the  foregoing  (comp.  on  14:  1);  Mark  and 
Luke  have  simply  'and.'  Went,  from  where 
Jesus  was  teaching,  to  some  other  part  of  the 
temple  courts.  The  Pharisees,  see  on  3  :  7. 
Entangle.  This  literally  means,  to  catch  in  a 
snare  or  trap.  Their  disciples,  see  on  5:  1; 
the  leading  Eabbis  send  some  of  their  astute 
pupils,  while  they  themselves  stand  aloof  to 
watch  the  result,  and  so  are  not  committed  to 
.any  subsequent  co-operation  with  the  Herod 
party.  With  the  Herodians.  When  Ar- 
chelaus  (see  on  2:  22)  was  in  A.  t).  6  deposed 
from  the  ethnarchate  of  Judea  and  Samaria, 
and  those  districts  were  placed  under  a  Koman 
governor  (see  at  end  of  chap.  2),  the  Jews 
were  much  divided  in  sentiment.  Secular- 
ists preferred  the  new  arrangement,  as  giving 
security  to  business  and  property;  and  with 
these  the  Sadducees  generally  sympathized. 
Many  Pharisees  bitterly  opposed  it  on  the 
ground  that  Jehovah's  people  ought  not  to  be 
subject  to  heathen  rulers.  Some  persons  in- 
sisted that  another  prince  of  the  house  of 
Herod  ought  to  be  appointed  over  Judea  and 
Samaria,  even  as  Herod  Antipas  was  still  per- 
mitted to  rule  over  Galilee  and  Perea;  and  it 
was  doubtless  hoped  that  some  prince  of  the 
family  would  one  day  regain  all  the  domin- 
ions of  Herod  the  Great,  as  was  at  length 
done  for  a  few  years  by  Herod  Agrippa.  (Acts 
12:  J.)  These  persons  gradually  came  to  be 
known  as  Herodians,  i.  e.,  partisans  of  Herod, 
comp.  Pompeians,  Cesarians,  Christians  (Acts 
11:  26),  the  Latin  termination  —  amis  — he'mg 
used  to  denote  a  follower  of  a  political  leader. 
This  political  party  probably  had  the  sym- 
pathy of  the  less  rigorous  Pharisees,  as  offer- 
ing the  only  available  alternative  to  direct 
heathen  rule;  while  the  great  body  of  tlie 
Pharisees  hated  them,  since  the  Herod  princes 
were,  after  all,  only  appointees  and  under- 
lings of  the  Romans.  (Comp.  Smith's 
"Diet.")  As  Roman  governors  continued 
to  rule  over  Judea  and  Samaria,  the  Herod 
party  would  gradually  diminish,  and  accord- 
ingly it  is  mentioned  only  here  (with  Mark 


12:  13),  and  in  Mark  3:6;  not  at  all  in  Jose- 
phus,  the  Talmud,  or  elsewhere — whence  it 
follows  that  the  above  or  any  other  theory  of 
their  origin  must  be  partly  conjectural.  When 
Herod  Agrippa  became  king  of  all  Palestine 
in  A.  D.  41,  the  lingering  supporters  of  his 
family  in  Judea  must  have  greatly  rejoiced, 
but  all  men  by  that  time  saw  that  no  politi- 
cal position  was  longer  possible  except  sub- 
mission or  hostility  to  the  Romans,  and  so  it 
is  natural  that  we  should  hear  no  more  of  a 
Herod  party.  When  the  Pharisees  united 
Herodians  with  themselves  in  the  eftort  to 
ensnare  Jesus,  it  was  obviously  through  the 
cohesive  power  of  a  common  jealousy  towards 
one  popularly  regarded  as  the  Messiah  ;  for  if 
recognized  as  such,  they  were  sure  he  would 
overthrow  the  Herod  family  everywhere,  and 
depose  the  present  Jewish  officials.  On  the 
earlier  occasion  in  Galilee,  nearly  two  years 
before  this,  according  to  most  harmonists 
(Mark 3: 6),  the  Hcrodians  could  be  relied  on  to 
excite  Herod  Antipas  against  Jesus;  here, 
they  represent  Roman  sympathies,  since  on 
the  Romans  all  Herodian  hopes  now  really 
depended.  Luke  (20:  20,  a.  v.)  does  not  men- 
tion Pharisees  or  Herodians,  but  says  that  the 
Scribes  and  the  chief  priests  sent  'spies,'  or  in 
modern  phrase  detectives,  'which  should  feign 
themselves  to  be  just' — which  agrees  with  their 
attempt  at  flattery  in  Matt. — and  wished  to 
find  an  excuse  for  delivering  him  to  'the 
governor,'  i.  e.,  Pilate — a  design  here  repre- 
sented by  the  Herodians.  Master,  or  Teacher 
{(lidaskalos),  see  on  8:  19.  We  know,  with- 
out emphasis  on  'we.'  They  said  it  in  a  far 
different  spirit  from  Nicodcmus  (Joim  .1:  2) ; 
what  they  said  was  really  true,  but  they 
meant  it  only  as  flattery.  By  this  flattery 
they  would  embolden  the  teacher  to  speak 
out  against  the  Roman  rule,  for  tliey  well 
knew  in  advance  that  only  tlirongh  the 
Romans  could  thoy  compass  his  death.  The 
way  of  (<od,  tin;  way  in  which  (Jod  would 
have  men  walk;  this  would  include  the  ques- 
tion whether  the  peojile  of  God  ougiit  to  do  so 
and  so.  Thou  regardest  not  the  person  of 
men.    This  is  one  of  several  Greek  phrases 


452 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXII. 


17  Tell  us  therefore,  What  thinkest  thou  ?    Is  it  law-  i  17  for  thou  regardest  not  the  person  of  men.    Tell  us 


ful  to  give  tribute  unto  Cesar,  or  not? 

18  But  Jesus  perceived  their  wickedness,  and  said. 
Why  teuipt  ye  uie,  ye  hypocrites  ? 


therefore,  what  thinkest  thou  ?    Is  it  lawful  to  give 
18  tribute  unto  Caesar,  or  not?  But  .Tesus  perceived  their 
wickedness,  and  said.  Why  try  ye  lue,  ye  hypocrites? 


representing  a  peculiar  Hebrew  idiom,  which 
probably  signified  originally  (Morison)  to  lift 
up  the  face  of  a  prostrate  suppliant,  and  so  to 
show  him  favor,  and  hence  came  to  signify 
regard  for  a  person  in  the  good  sense,  or  in 
the  bad  sense  regarding  the  person  rather 
tlian  the  justice  of  the  cause ;  in  Hebrew  and 
Greek  the  term  '  face '  was  derivatively  used 
for  person.  The  flatterers  meant  that  Jesus 
would  follow  principle  and  truth  without 
fear  or  favor.  (Comp.  Gal.  2-  6;  Kom.  2: 
11.) 

17.  Is  it  \avifvi\^  or  permissible,  allowable 
(see  on  14  ;  4) ;  there  is  no  direct  reference  to 
law,  whether  Jewish  or  Roman.  Or  not ; 
they  wish  him  to  say  yes  or  no,  as  when  law- 
yers try  to  corner  a  witness.  Tribute.  The 
Latin  word  census  is  borrowed  in  the  Greek 
of  Matt,  and  Mark,  while  Luke  has  the  gen- 
eral term 'tribute.'  Census  in  Latin  signifies 
a  registration  of  persons  and  property  (.as  we 
borrow  it  in  English),  and  hence  a  tax  on 
either.  But  here  it  signifies  simply  a  poll-tax 
(comp.  on  17  :  25),  Pesh.  Syriac  'head-money.' 
Of  course  the  principle  was  the  same,  whether 
the  question  concerned  poll-tax  or  tribute  in 
general ;  the  former  touched  the  poorest,  and 
was,  as  it  is  among  us,  a  matter  of  greater 
popular  interest  and  complaint.  Cesar  is 
the  general  term  for  the  Roman  imperator  or 
emperor,  applied  to  Augustus  in  Luke  2  :  1, 
Tiberius  in  Luke  3:1;  Claudius  in  Acts  17  :  7 ; 
Nero  in  Acts  25  :  8  AT. ;  Phil.  4  :  22.  The 
family  name  of  the  great  Julius  thus  became 
a  title,  and  in  modern  times  (Kaiser,  Czar)  is 
more  honorable  than  even  king.  Paying  the 
head-tax  to  Roman  authorities  was  the  most 
immediate  and  humiliating  recognition  of 
subjection  to  the  heathen.  Judas  of  Galilee 
(Jos.  "Ant.,"  18,  1,  1  and  6)  headed  a  fierce 
insurrection  against  the  first  Roman  governor 
(a.  d.  6)  for  making  a  census  with  a  view  to 
taxation,  saying  that  God  was  "their  only 
Ruler  and  Lord,"  and  that  the  census  "was 
leading  them  right  straight  into  slavery." 
He  perished,  and  Gamaliel  tells  us  that  his 
followers  "were  scattered  abroad."  (Acts5:37, 
Rev.  ver.)  But  the  Sentiment  represented  by 
that  movement  still  burned  in  many  bosoms. 


Josephus  says  that  Judas  the  Galilean  was 
"the  founder  of  a  fourth  philosophy,"  whose 
followers  agreed  in  all  other  things  with  the 
Pharisees,  but  were  fanatics  for  liberty,  and 
that  this  led  to  the  insurrection  (in  A.  D.  66) 
which  ended  in  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem. 
At  that  later  period  they  were  called  Zealots, 
and  it  is  supposed  that  Simon  the  Zealot  (">:*) 
had  belonged  to  the  party,  and  also  perhaps 
Barabbas.  (27:i7.)  We  may  therefore  be  sure 
that  among  the  easily  excited  crowds  who 
filled  the  temple  courts  when  Jesus  was 
asked  this  question,  there  were  many  who 
regarded  paying  the  poll-tax  as  the  very 
badge  of  slavery  to  the  heathen,  and  as  trea- 
son against  Jehovah,  the  theocratic  king  of 
Israel. 

18-22,  Jesns  perceived  their  wicked- 
ness, or  as  we  should  say,  their  villainy. 
With  smooth,  flattering  words  they  c§me, 
asking  a  question  which  they  thought  would 
prove  a  hopeless  dilemma.  He  was  desired 
to  say  either  yes  or  no.  If  he  said  yes,  the 
Pharisees  would  loudly  proclaim,  through  all 
the  temple  courts  and  every  day,  that  the 
Nazarene  said  it  was  projier  to  pay  tribute  to 
CiBsar,  which  showed  that  all  notion  of  his 
being  the  King  Messiah  must  be  ridiculous 
and  that  in  fact  he  was  neither  patriotic  nor 
pious.  If  he  said  no,  the  Herodians  would  go 
straight  to  Pilate.  Tiie  Romans  cared  noth- 
ing for  questions  pertaining  to  the  religion  of 
a  subject  nation  (comp.  Acts  25  :  18-20),  and 
interfered  very  little  with  local  affairs,  pro- 
vided always  the  people  kept  the  peace  and 
paid  the  taxes.  So  confident  were  the  Jewish 
rulers  that  this  plea  would  be  effectual  before 
Pilate  that  three  days  later  with  flagrant  ftilse- 
hood  they  told  him,  "We  found  this  man 
forbidding  to  give  tribute  to  Caesar,  and  saying 
that  he  himself  is  Christ,  a  king"  (i-ake23:2, 
Rev.  Ver.).  Why  tempt  ye  me,  testing  him 
with  hard  questions,  in  hope  of  drawing  him 
to  say  something  injurious  to  himself.  (Comp. 
on  16  :  1  and  19  :  3.)  Ye  hypocrites  (see  on 
6  :  2  and  15:  7)  ;  they  were  pretending  great 
admiration  for  him  as  a  teacher,  and  pretend- 
ing faithful  allegiance  to  Cesar  (Johni9:i5),  and 
pretending  a  lofty  patriotism  and  piety.   Jesus 


Cn.  XXII.] 


MATTHEW. 


453 


19  Shew  me  the  tribute  money.  And  they  brought 
unto  him  a  "penny. 

20  And  he  saith  unto  them,  Whose  is.  this  image  and 
'superscription  ? 

21  They  say  unto  him,  Cesar's.  Then  saith  he  unto 
them,  Render  therefore  unto  Cesar  the  things  which 
are  Cesar's ;  and  unto  God  the  things  that  are  God's. 

22  When  they  had  heard  these  words,  they  marvelled, 
and  left  him,  and  went  their  way. 


19  Shew  me  the  tribute  money.    And  they  brought 

20  unto  him  a  i  denarius.    And  he  saith  unto  them, 

21  Whose  is  this  image  and  superscription?  They  say 
unto  him,  Caesar's.  Then  saith  he  unto  them,  Ren- 
der therefore  unto  Cijesar  the  things  that  are  Csesar's ; 

22  and  unto  God  the  things  tliat  are  God's.  And  when 
they  heard  it  they  marvelled,  and  left  him,  and 
went  their  way. 


a  la  value  8e?eDp«iice  half  penny :  ch.  20 :  2. . .  .&  Or,  imcription. 1  See  margiual  note  on  cb.  xviii. ! 


showed  them  by  this  term  (Bengel)  that  he 
was  indeed  '  true,'  and  ready  to  speak  out. 
Shew  me  the  tribute  money,  the  coin  used 
in  paying  the  poll-tax.  It  was  natural  that 
the  Koman  coin  should  be  commonly  used  in 
paying  it,  as  there  was  no  exact  equivalent  in 
other  coins.  Hebrew  shekels,  etc.,  from  the 
days  of  the  Maccabaean  kings,  and  various 
Greek  coins  (n :  2*,  27  Rev.  ver.  margin)^  wcrc  also  in 
use.  The  Herod  family  and  the  procurators 
were  allowed  to  coin  onl^'  copper  money 
(Lutter.) ;  any  new  silver  coins  were  of  neces- 
sity Roman.  The  emperors,  down  to  Vespa- 
sian, as  a  concession  to  Jewish  feeling,  had 
coins  made  for  that  province  without  the 
head  of  the  emperor  (Keim),  which  would 
have  been  offensive  as  a  "graven  image." 
But  Roman  coins  from  other  provinces 
would  of  course  come  into  Judea,  especially 
at  the  festivals,  and  one  of  these  hap- 
pened (as  we  say)  to  be  handed  to  Jesus. 
A  penny,  properly  'a  denarius,'  a  Roman 
coin,  equal  to  about  seventeen  cents  of  our 
money.  (Comp.  on  18:  28.)  This  was  the 
price  of  a  day's  labor  in  the  parable  (20:  2), 
and  the  daily  wages  of  a  Roman  soldier  (out 
of  which  he  paid  for  his  food),  and  seems 
also  to  have  been  the  poll-tax  at  this  time. 
Image  and  superscription,  or  'inscription.' 
The  former  translation  might  suggest  some- 
thing written  above  the  image,  whereas  the 
Greek  word  means  only  somothing  written 
(or  graven)  on  the  coin.  (Morison.)  Many 
such  coins  are  still  extant,  bearing  the  head 
of  some  emperor,  with  words  giving  his  name 
and  the  value  of  the  coin.  Lightfoot  quotes 
from  the  Talmud  that  "if  a  king's  coin  is 
current  in  a  country,  the  men  of  the  country 
do  thereby  evidence  that  they  acknowledge 
him  for  their  Lord";  and  there  are  various 
other  testimonies  to  the  same  effect.  Wiinsche 
tries  to  show  the  existence  of  an  exju'ctation 
that  the  Messiah  would  declare  the  Roman 
coins  uncurrent,  which  expectation  would  be 


an  interesting  illustration  of  this  passage  if 
its  existence  were  better  established. 

Our  Lord's  reply  is  one  of  those  great  say- 
ings of  his  which  cut  into  the  heart  of  things 
(comp.  15:  11;  Mark  2:  27),  clearing  up  dif- 
ficulties that  had  long  perplexed  many  honest 
and  devout  Jews,  and  occasioned  vain  wrang- 
ling without  end.     Under  the  theocracy,  re- 
ligious duties  and  civil  duties  were  both  duties 
to  the  same  Divine  Ruler,  and  men  had  little 
occasion  to  distinguish  between  them.    There 
I  was,  indeed,  as  Geikie  reminds  us,  a  some- 
what similar  confusion  of  religion  and  civil 
I  government  among  heathen  peoples,   as  for 
j  example  the  Roman  emperor  was  always  chief 
!  priest.     Now,  however,  that  the  Jewish  civil 
'  government    was    administered    by   heathen 
I  rulers,  the  distinction  between  civil  and  re- 
ligious duties  was  of  great  importance,  but  the 
j  people  in  general  did  not  perceive  that  distinc- 
;  tion.     Jesus    holds  up  the  coin,   which    be- 
longs to  Cesar,  which  they  use  as  furnished  by 
him,  and  thus  vividly  shows  that  there  are 
duties  to  the  civil   ruler  which  are  distinct 
from  duties  to  God,  and  do  not  necessarily 
conflict  with  them.     In  another  sense,  every 
duty  to  other  men  or  to  ourselves  is  at  the 
same  time  a  duty  to  God,  but  that  is  not  here 
,  the    point.     Paul   afterwards    expressed    the 
Saviour's  teaching  on  the  subject  in  definite 
precept,  when  writing  to   Christians  at  the 
cai)ital    of    the    empire    (Rom.  is :  1,5)  ;    comp. 
I  1  Pet.  2:  1.3-17.     This  was  another  case  of  our 
Lord's  giving  an  object-lesson,  like  the  child 
(IS:  2),  the  fig-tree   (2i:J»),  the  feet-washing. 
Render  as  in   16:  27;  21:  41,  literally  give 
back,  translated  'pay'  in  5 :  26;  18:  2j"»,  28; 
i20:  8.     The  idea  here  seems  to  be,  "You  got 
this  from  Cesar,  pay  it  back  to  him."    Ciirys.  : 
"  For  this  is  not  to  give  (v.  n),  but  to  give  back." 
The  things  which  arc  Cesar's,  not  merely 
the  tax,  but  all   that  citizens   owe  the  civil 
government,  one  nuitter  here  suggesting  all. 
The  things  that  are  God's,  not  simply  the 


454 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXII. 


23  The  same  day  came  to  him  the  Sadducees,  which 
say  that  there  is  no  resurrection,  and  asked  him, 

24  Saving,  Master,  Moses  said.  If  a  man  die,  having 
no  chiltiren,  his  l)rother  shall  marry  his  wife,  and  raise 
up  seed  unto  his  brother. 

25  Now  there  were  with  us  seven  brethren:  and  the 
first,  when  he  had  married  a  wife,  deceased,  and  having 
no  issue,  left  his  wife  unto  his  brother: 

26  Likewise  the  second  also,  and  the  third,  unto  the 
"seventh. 

27  And  last  of  all  the  woman  died  also. 


23  On  that  day  there  came  to  him  Sadducees,  i  who 
say  that  there  is  no  resurrection:  and  they  asked 

24  him,sayiiig,  2  Master,  Moses  said,If  a  man  die,  having 
no  children,  his  brother  ^shall  marry  his  wife,  and 

25  raise  up  seed  unto  his  brother.  Now  there  were  with 
us  seven  brethren:  and  the  first  married  and  deceased, 
and  having  no  seed  left  his  wife  unto  his  brother ; 

2G  in  like  manner  the  second  also,  and  the  third,  unto 
27  the  *  seventh.    And  after  them  all  the  woman  died. 


a  Gr.  <ei>en. 1  Muu;  ancient  authc 


ities  read,  saying. . .  .2  Or,  Teacher ;i  Gr.  shall  perform  the  duty  of  a  husband's  brother  to  his 

wife.    Compare  Deut.  xxv.  5 4  Gr.  severi. 


temple  revenues,  but  all  ceremonial  and  moral 
duties.  The  notion  that,  like  the  coin,  our  souls 
are  stamped  with  the  image  of  God,  and  must 
therefore  be  yielded  to  his  service  (Tert., 
Origen,  and  many),  is  a  mere  fancy.  They 
marvelled.  With  all  their  hostility  they 
could  not  help  seeing  that  he  had  not  only 
escaped  from  the  dilemma  (comp.  Luke  20: 
26),  but  had  wonderfully  cleared  up  an  im- 
portant question.  Yet  when  there  was  time 
to  reflect,  they  could  not  fail  to  perceive  that 
Jesus  had  distinctly  declined  the  role  of  a 
political  and  revolutionary  Messiah,  and  this 
would  gradually  alienate  from  him  the 
popular  heart.     (Comp.  "Weiss,  "Life.") 

II.  23-33.  The  Sadducees  Ask  as  to 
THE  Eesurrection.  Mark  12  :  18-27  ;  Luke 
20:  27-40.  This  is  a  second  hard  question 
from  a  new  source.  V.  25-28.  The  same 
day  seems  clearly  to  show  the  close  connec- 
tion with  what  precedes;  Mark  and  Luke 
again  have  simply  'and.'  The  Sadducees 
(see  on  3:  7).  Omit  'the.'  It  was  not 'the 
Sadducees '  as  a  class,  but  some  persons  be- 
longing to  that  party.  Which  say.  The 
participle  without  the  article  here  probably 
means  indefinitely  (Jelf,  H51,  Obs.  2)  'persons 
who  say'  (as  Mark,  and  as  Origen  paraphrases 
Matt.),  while  with  the  article  it  would 
be  'those  persons  who  say,'^  as  Luke. 
That  there  is  no  resurrection,  not  only 
doubting  but  denying.  This  particular  nega- 
tive tenet  of  theirs  (Acts  2:i:  8)  is  named  to  ex- 
plain what  follows.  It  must  have  been  well 
known  that  Jesus  taught  the  resurrection  of 
thedead.  (JohnS:  29;  i-ukeisr-is.)  Master^teacher, 
as  in  22 :  16.     These  priestly  aristocrats  prob- 


ably felt  contemptuous;  but  they  were  gentle- 
men, and  must  be  civil ;  one  seems  to  detect  a 
tone  of  polished  scoffing  in  their  attack. 
Moses  said,  in  Deut.  25:  5  f.  The  quotation 
is  condensed  but  without  important  alteration. 
Mark  and  Luke  have  '  his  brother  shall  take 
his  wife,'  etc.,  as  in  Septuagint.  Matt.,  writ- 
ing especially  for  Jewish  readers,  takes  pains 
to  translate  more  exactly  the  Hebrew,  as  Sept. 
does  in  Gen.  38 :  8.  The  Hebrew  has  a  pecu- 
liar verb  representing  this  peculiar  law,  yeba- 
mah  yibbemah,  'her  husband's  brother  shall 
husband's  brother  her,'  shall  act  the  part  or 
perform  the  duty  of  a  husband's  brother  to 
her.  (See  margin  of  Rev.  Ver.  in  Matt.) 
From  the  late  Latin  levir,  'brother-in-law,' 
this  precept  of  Deut.  is  commonly  called  the 
levirate  law.  A  like  usage  exists  now  in 
Arabia,  the  Caucasus,  and  elsewhere  (Smith's 
"Diet."  Art.  "Marriage").  It  was  an  old 
custom  (Geu.38:8),  which  Moses  did  not  abolish, 
but  regulated  and  restricted,  as  he  did  with 
diVorce  (see  on  5:  32)  and  blood  revenge. 
No  actual  case  is  recorded  in  Old  Test.,  but 
the  custom  is  alluded  to  in  Ruth  1 :  11-13,  and 
a  related  practice  in  Ruth  4:  1  ff.  In  our 
Lord's  time  the  law  was*but  little  observed,  as 
there  was  then  less  concern  about  maintaining 
families  and  family  estates.  The  right  of  the 
husband's  brother  to  decline  (Deut.25: 7  ff.)  is 
declared  in  the  Mishna  (Edersh.)  to  take  pre- 
cedence of  the  obligation  to  perform,  and 
there  was  a  growing  disposition  to  limit  the 
practice.  The  case  described  here. by  the 
Sadducees  need  not  be  supposed  to  have 
actually  occurred.  As  in  a  parable,  they  tell 
the  story  for  illustration.     Seven  is  natural  in 


iThe  article  is  omitted  by  {<  B  D  M  S  Z,  about  fifty 
cursives,  Mth.,  and  some  Fathers.  The  participle 
without  it  would  at  first  sight  seem  to  tuean  'came  to 
him,  saying,'  which  would  be  an  incongruous  and  im- 
probable sense,  though  it  is  so  understood  by  Old 
Syriac  and  Pesh.  The  difficulty  would  be  easily  removed 


by  copyists  through  the  mere  insertion  of  the  article. 
The  indefinite  use  of  the  participle  after  an  indefinite 
noun,  '  Sadducees,  (persons)  who  say,'  though  infre- 
quent is  unquestionable.  So  with  the  reading  oi 
W  H.  in  23 :  24. 


Ch.  XXII.] 


MATTHEW. 


455 


28  Therefore  in  the  resurrection,  whose  wife  shall  she 
be  of  the  seven?  for  they  all  had  her. 

29  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  them,  Ye  do  err,  not 
knowing  the  Scriptures,  nor  the  power  of  God. 

50  For  in  the  resurrection  they  neither  marry,  nor 
are  given  in  marriage,  but  are  as  the  angels  of  God  in 
heaven. 

51  But  as  touching  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  have 
ye  not  read  that  which  was  spoken  unto  you  by  God, 
saying, 


28  In  the  resurrection  therefore  whose  wife  shall  she  be 

29  of  the  seven?  for  they  all  had  her.    But  Jesus  an- 
swered and  said  unto  them,  Ye  do  err,  not  knowing 

30  the  scriptures,  nor  the  power  of  God.    For  in  the 
resurrection  they  neither  marry,  nor  ure  given  in 

31  marriage,  but  are  as  angels'   in   heaven.    But  as 
touching  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  have  ye  not 


1  Maay  aacient  authnrlties  add,  of  God. 


such  a  story  as  a  round  number.  One  ima- 
gines they  had  often  nonplussed  the  Pharisees 
with  the  question,  in  the  resurrection  whose 
wife  shall  she  be  ?  The  Pharisees  generally 
held  that  the  resurrection  life  would  be  a  mere 
reproduction  of  this  life,  with  all  its  relations 
and  conditions  restored  and  made  permanent. 
The  Cabalistic  book  Sohur,  written  late,  but 
with  much  early  material,  says,  "The  woman 
who  has  married  two  in  this  world  is  in  the 
world  to  come  restored  to  the  former."  Mai- 
monides  (twelfth  century)  taught  that  chil- 
dren would  be  produced  in  the  world  to  come. 
Some  Kabbis  in  the  Talmud  declare  (Wet, 
Wlin.)  that  in  the  world  to  come  there  would 
be  no  eating  and  drinking,  no  trading,  no 
marriage  and  production  of  children.  But  it 
is  evident  that  the  other  opinion  generally 
prevailed. 

29  f.  Ye  do  err.  He  speaks  with  kindness 
and  decision.  Not  knowing  the  Scriptures, 
nor  the  power  of  God.  Bengel:  "The 
resurrection  of  the  dead  rests  on  the  power  of 
God ;  and  our  faith  in  a  resurrection  rests  on 
the  Scriptures."  These  Sadducees  were  ac- 
customed to  deny  that  the  Scriptures  so 
taught,  and  doubtless  also  maintained,  as 
skeptics  in  all  subsequent  times  have  done, 
that  a  resurrection  of  the  body  is  impossible. 
But  'the  power  of  God '  can  accomplish  it, 
and  that  not  by  merely  restoring  the  condi- 
tions of  this  life,  but  by  exalting  to  a  different 
and  higher  type  of  existence.  For  introduces 
the  explanation  of  the  difficulty.  In  the  res- 
urrection, in  the  state  of  things  represented 
thereby,  in  the  risen  life.  They  neither 
marry,  etc.,  viz.,  in  the  sense  of  earthly 
marriage,  which   under  its  physical  aspects, 


is  necessarily  an  exclusive  relation,  so  that  a 
woman  cannot  here  be  the  wife  of  several 
men  at  the  same  time.  There  is  nothing  in 
tliis  statement  to  forbid  the  persuasion,  else- 
where countenanced  in  Scripture,  that  the  re- 
lations of  earthly  life  will  be  remembered  in 
the  future  state,  the  persons  recognized,  and 
special  affections  cherished  with  delight;  and 
we  can  imagine  that  exalted  and  spiritualized 
conjugal  affections  may  then  and  there  exist 
towards  more  persons  than  one.  The  idea  is 
hard  to  accept  now,  only  because  we  do  not 
realize  how  great  changes  of  feeling  will 
accompany  existence  in  the  glorified  body 
(icor.io:  M;Phii.3:2i.)  In  hcaven,  the  love  of 
two  that  were  successive  husbands  may  be  as 
little  mutually  exclusive  as  the  love  of  two 
children  or  two  sisters,  and  yet  be  intense, 
peculiar,  and  delightful.  This  is  another  of 
those  sayings  by  which  our  Lord  at  one  stroke 
cut  into  the  heart  of  some  difficulty,  and  laid 
it  open.  Comp.  on  v.  21.  But  are  as  the 
angels  in  heaven, i  viz.,  in  being  exalted 
above  merely  physical  conditions  and  rela- 
tions. Luke's  expression,  'are  equal  unto  the 
angels,'  amounts  to  the  same  thing.  Tlicre  is 
nothing  at  all  here  to  imply  that  the  saints 
become  angels  (comp.  on  18:  10).  Our  Lord 
at  the  same  time  teaches  that  the  Siiddueces 
are  wrong  in  denying  the  exi.stonce  of  angels. 
31>33.  Having  explained  how  they  err 
through  not  knowing  'the  power  of  God,' 
he  now  shows  their  ignorance  of  the  Scrip- 
tures on  this  subject,  (v.  29.)  Have  ye  not 
read,  comp.  on  21 :  42;  12:  3.  Spoken  unto 
you  by  God.  God  spoke  thus  to  Moses 
(Ex.3:6),  and  presently  (s:i5)  bade  him  speak 
likewise  to  the  children  of  Israel.     Matthew 


iThe  addition  'of  OoA,' margin  (Rev.  Ver.)  is  wanting 
In  B  D,  two  cursives,  most  copies  of  the  Old  Latin,  Old 
Syriac,  Tlieb.,  Arm.,  and  repeatedly  in  Origen.  We 
might  regard  this  as  a  "  Western  "  omission,  followed 
by  B.  and  Origen  (as  docs  sometimes  happen),  hut  for 
the  fact  that  one  sees  nothing  to  cause  the  omission. 


On  the  other  hand, '  angels  of  (Jod  '  would  be  a  natural 
marginal  note  to  explain  'angels  in  heaven,'  and  might 
then  easily  creep  into  the  text.  ."Several  of  the  docu- 
ments which  add  the  words  here  add  them  in  Mark 
also. 


456 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXII. 


32  lam  the  God  of  Abraham,  ami  the  God  of  Isaac, 
and  the  God  of  ,]acob  ?  God  is  uot  the  God  of  tha  dead, 
but  of  the  living. 

33  And  when  the  multitude  heard  this,  they  were  as- 
tonished at  his  doctrine. 

34  But  w-tien  the  Pharisees  bad  heard  that  he  had  put 
the  Sadducees  to  silence,  they  were  gathered  together. 


read  that  which  was  spoken  unto  you  by  God,  say- 

32  ing,  I  am  the  God  of  Abraham,  and  the  God  of  Isaac, 
and  the  God  of  Jacob?    God  is  not  the.  God  of  the 

33  dead,  but  of  the  living.    And  when  the  multitudes 
heard  it,  they  were  astonished  at  his  teaching. 

34  But  the  Pharisees,  when  they  heard  that  he  had 
put  the  Sadducees  to  silence,  gathered  themselves 


and  Mark  quote  from  v.  6,  Luke  from  v.  15. 
Luke  says,  'even  Moses  signified.'  It  was  in- 
ferred from  tliis  by  Tert.,  Origen,  Chrys., 
Jerome,  and  has  been  often  repeated,  that  the 
Sadducees  recognized  none  of  the  sacred 
books  as  authoritative  except  the  Pentateucii. 
But  there  is  no  proof  of  more  than  that  they 
valued  the  Pent,  more  highly  than  the  other 
books,  wliich  was  true  in  some  degree  of  all 
the  Jews.  Luke"s  expression  is  sufficiently 
accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  apparent  proofs 
of  the  resurrection  were  familiar  in  the  pro- 
phets. Jesus  means  to  say,  not  only  have  the 
prophets  shown  it,  but  even  Moses.  The 
God,  v.  32,  is  in  italics  in  Kev.  Ver.  ;  it  is 
naturally  understood  to  complete  the  sense. 
The  Sadducees  denied  a  resurrection  of  the 
body  and  any  existence  of  spirits  (Aets23;B)^ 
■which  position  would  exclude  a  separate  im- 
mortality of  the  soul,  and  so  there  is  no  occa- 
sion to  doubt  the  statement  of  Joseph  us 
("War,"  2,  8,  14)  that  "they  do  away  with  the 
continued  existence  of  the  soul,  and  the  pun- 
ishments and  rewards  in  Hades."  Indeed  the 
idea  of  separate  immortality  of  the  soul  was 
little  present  to  the  mind  of  the  Palestinian 
Jews,  and  the  question  la3'  simply  between  a 
resurrection  oi  the  body,  and  no  future  ex- 
istence;  so  also  in  1  Cor.  ch.  15.  If  the  pas- 
sage of  Exod.  be  taken  in  the  superficial 
sense,  an  objector  might  fairlj'  den}'  that  it 
proves  a  resurrection  of  the  dead.  It  might 
mean  simply,  "I  am  he  who  was  the  God 
of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob  during  their 
life,  and  this  is  a  pledge  that  I  will  be 
the  God  of  their  descendants."  We  cannot 
insist  on  thepresent  tense  'am,'  as  many  have 
followed  Chr3-s.  in  doing;  for  the  verb  is  not 
expressed  at  till  in  Mark  nor  in  the  Hebrew, 
and  therefore  certainly  cannot  be  emphatic. 
But  our  Lord  is  the  authority  (7:29)  for  under- 
standing the  passage  in  a  profounder  sense, 
even  as  he  claimed  to  reveal  God.  (11:27.)  God 
here  speaks  of  his  covenant  with  the  patri- 
archs; and  the  Eternal  One  would  not  make 
and  avow  such  a  covenant  save  with  those 
whose  existence  is  permanent.  Our  Lord 
then  does  not  so  much  argue  from  the  passage 


in  its  obvious  meaning,  as  authoritatively 
expound  it  in  a  deeper  sense.  To  explain  in 
this  way  the  difficulty  which  the  passage  rep- 
resents is  not  entirely  satisfactory,  but  it  is 
certainly  more  natural  and  reasonable,  on  the 
very  lowest  ground,  than  to  suppose  that 
.Jesus  failed  to  see  the  fallacy  which  would 
otherwise  lurk  in  the  argument.  The  Tal- 
mud (Wiin.)  tells  of  Kabbi  Gamaliel  (not 
Paul's  teacher,  but  a  later  Rabbi)  as  con- 
vincing some  Sadducee  by  arguing  from 
'them'  in  Deut.  11 :  9,  "in  the  land  which 
the  Lord  sware  unto  your  fathers  to  give 
them  "  ;  and  of  another  Rabbi  as  proving  the 
resurrection  from  Exod.  6:  4,  "to  give  them 
the  land  of  Canaan,"  viz.,  (v.  3)  to  Abraham, 
Isaac,  and  Jacob.  These  do  not  involve  the 
profound  thought  of  the  passage  used  by  our 
Lord,  and  even  these  (Edersh.)  may  have 
been  onl^'  poor  imitations  of  his  teaching. 
The  multitudes  .  .  .  Avere  astonished  as 
in  V.  22;  7  :28;  13:  54,  at  his  doctrine,  lit. 
teaching,  see  on  7 :  28.  Luke  says  that  some 
of  the  Scribes  (not  of  the  Sadducees)  an- 
swered, "Teacher,  thou  hast  well  said." 

The  story  of  the  woman  taken  in  adultery 
(joiin7:M  to 8:11),  wliich  Certainly  does  not  be- 
long where  the  common  te_vt  gives  it  in  John, 
is  placed  after  Luke  21 :  38  by  the  lost  uncial 
represented  by  the  four  cursives,  13,  69,  124, 
346.  This  would  put  it  on  the  day  of  these 
several  attacks  upon  Jesus,  which  it  strikingly 
resembles  both  in  aim  and  in  result.  As  the 
story  is  in  all  probability  historically  true 
(see  Hovey  on  John),  it  may  perhaps  be  sup- 
posed that  the  interview  really  occurred  on 
this  daj'.  Lange  ("Life")  and  Ellicott 
would  place  it  at  the  point  we  have  now 
reached,  Hitzig  before  the  question  of  the 
Sadducees,  Weiss  before  the  question  about 
tribute  to  Cesar;  which  latter  view  suits  the 
phrase  "early  in  the  morning."  (Johns:  i.) 

III.  34-40.  A  Lawyer  Asks  Which  is 
THE  Great  Commandment.  Mark  12:  28-34. 
Luke  does  not  give  this,  probably  because  he 
had  given  a  similar  teaching  in  connection 
with  the  parable  of  the  Good  Samaritan, 
some  months  earlier.  (Lukeio:  asir.) 


Ch.  XXIL] 


MATTHEW. 


457 


35  Then  one  of  them,  which  was  a  lawyer,  asked  him  a   35  together.    And  one  of  them,  a  lawyer,  asked  him  a 
gM««Zf07i,  tempting  him,  and  saying,  |  36  question,  trying  him,  i  Master,  which  is  the  great 


36  Master,  which  is  the  great  commandment  in  the 
law? 

37  Jesus  said  unto  him.  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy 
God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with 
all  thy  mind. 


commandment  in  the  law  ?    And  he  said  unto  him, 
Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart, 


1  Or,  Ttacher. 


34-36.  The  rivalry  between  the  Pharisees 
and  the  Sudducees  (see  on  3  :  7)  here  appears. 
The  former,  who  had  withdrawn  (v.  -n),  were 
doubtless  pleased  to  find  the  Sadducees  beaten 
in  argument,  their  perhaps  celebrated  and  to 
the  Pharisees  very  perplexing  question  solved, 
and  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  more 
firmly  established  in  the  popular  mind ;  but  all 
the  more  was  it  important  that  they  them- 
selves should  make  a  further  attack  upon  the 
Nazarene,  lest  his  followers  should  think  him 
victorious  over  all.  When  the  Pharisees 
had  heard.  This  may  refer  to  the  leading 
Pharisees  who  had  put  forward  the  juniors. 
(2-2:16.)  Put  the  Sadducees  to  silence. 
The  passive  of  the  same  verb  is  rendered  '  was 
speechless'  in  22:  12.     It  signifies  literally  to 

muzzle     ^lCor.9:9),     IhcntO     silence.     (IPet.  2:15.) 

They  were  gathered  together,  either  for 
consultation  as  to  their  next  move  (comp.  v. 
15),  or  to  give  the  weight  of  a  large  attendance 
to  the  new  enquiry.  One  of  them  ...  a 
lawyer.  Mark,  'one  of  the  Scribes.'  The 
Scribes,  from  being  authorized  copyists  of 
the  law,  and  thus  minutely  acquainted  with 
tlie  text,  had  come  to  be  recognized  as 
authoritative  expounders  of  its  meaning, 
(see  on  2:  4).  In  this  capacity  they  were 
called  'lawyers,'  a  term  found  also  six  times 
in  Luke,  and  in  Titus  3:  13,  and  which  may 
have  been  applied  only  to  such  Scribes  as  were 
particularly  noted  for  their  interpretations  of 
the  law.  Some  of  them  acted  as  formal 
'  teachers  of  the  law'  (law  professors),  Luke 
5:  17;  Acts  5:  34;  1  Tim.  1:7.  As  the  law 
of  Moses  united  civil  and  religious  precepts, 
these  lawyers  must  be  described  to  the  modern 
mind  as  half  lawyer,  half  theologian,  corre- 
sponding to  the  original  and  proper  use  of  the 
title  LL.D.,  a  Doctor  of  Laws,  i.  e.,  of  both 
civil  law  and  canon  law.  They  w  re  looked 
up  to  as  great  authorities.  But  their  citations 
an'l  interpretations  of  Scripture-law  were  j 
oflen  belittled  by  petty  quibbling,  and  were 
loaded  with  references  to  former  decisions 
(comp.  on  7 :  29),  both  of  these  being  vices  not  ■ 


confined  to  the  lawyers  or  theologians  of  any 
one  age.  Tempting  him.  (Comp.  on  22: 
18;  l(j:  1).  Putting  him  to  the  test,  with  the 
hope  that  he  would  say  something  unpopular, 
or  perhaps  that  he  might  be  drawn  into  a  bit- 
ter and  wrangling  discussion.  This  the  law- 
yer does  as  representative,  and  apparently'  by 
request,  of  the  many  Pharisees  assembled. 
Mark  shows  (i^:  ■i»),  that  the  lawyer  himself 
had  been  favorably  impressed  by  our  Lord's 
answer  to  the  Sadducees,  and  was  a  man  in- 
clined to  true  devoutness.  The  apparent  con- 
flict between  this  and  Matthew's  statement  is 
removed  by  the  supposition  just  made.  To 
understand  'tempting'  here  in  the  good  sense 
(Plump.,  Morison),  is  contrary  to  the  nearly 
uniform  and  very  frequent  use  of  the  word  in 
the  New  Test.,  and  does  not  harmonize  with 
the  tone  of  Matthew's  narrative.  Which  is 
the  great  commandment  in  the  law? 
More  literally  this  would  be :  What  sort  of 
commandment  is  great  in  the  lav)  ?  And  such 
is  the  exact  sense  in  19 :  18 ;  21 :  23.  The  Jews 
were  fond  of  classifying  the  commandments 
as  great  and  small,  or  weighty  and  light,  (m:  2.1.) 
Wiinsche  thinks  that  the  object  of  so  doing 
was  to  decide  rightly  in  caseof  conflict  between 
several  precepts  and  prohibitions,  since  the 
rabbis  taught  that  there  was  the  same  reward 
for  observing  the  light  as  the  weighty.  vSome 
held  (Talmud  Jer.)  tiiat  "the  words  of  the 
Scribes  surpass  the  words  of  the  law;  for  the 
words  of  the  law  are  weighty  and  light,  but 
the  words  of  the  Scribes  are  all  weighty." 
The  special  hope  in  asking  this  question  may 
have  been  (Keim)  that  he  would  take  position 
for  or  against  the  "oral  law."  Our  Lord's 
reply  (»•  w)  shows  that  ho  recognized  a  diflfer- 
enco  in  the  importance  of  the  cf)mmand- 
ments. 

37  f.  Jesus  said.  'Jesus'  is  wanting  in 
some  of  the  best  documents,  and  was  readily 
inserted  by  copyists  (comp.  on  14:  14).  With 
all  thy  heart,  etc.,  literally,  't'u  all,'  the  love 
dwelling  in  the  heart.  (Comj).  on  3:  11). 
The  Hebrew  (Deut.  G:  4  f.)  has  heart,  soul, 


458 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXII. 


38  This  is  the  first  and  great  comniahdiuent. 

39  And  the  second  is  like  unto  it,  Thou  shalt  love  thy 
neighbour  as  thyself. 

40  On  these  two  commandments  hang  all  the  law  and 
the  prophets. 

41  While  the  Pharisees  were  gathered  together,  Jesus 
asked  theiu, 


I  38  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thv  mind.    This 

39  is  the  great  and  first  comiuaudment.    ^.\nd  a  second 
like  unto  it  is  this,  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as 

40  thyself.    On  these  two  commandments  bangeth  the 
whole  law,  and  the  prophets. 

41  Now  while  the  Pharisees  were  gathered  together, 


1  Or,  And  a  lecond  U  like  unto  it.  Thou  <Aa((  love,  etc. 


might.  We  htivo  repeatedly  observed  that  in 
Hebrew  usage  the  heart  is  regarded  as  the 
seat  of  thought  and  volition,  as  well  as  emo- 
tion. (See  on  6:  21).  A  kindred  Greek  use 
is  found  only  in  Homer  and  the  tragic  poets 
(Lid.  and  Scott)  ;  for  late  Greek  prose  some 
other  expression  might  seem  to  be  needed. 
Accordingly,  in  Sept.  heart  is  here  rendered 
by  a  word  equivalent  to  'mind';  though  in 
2  Kings  23:  25  it  translates  literally  'heart, 
soul,  might,'  and  'heart,  soul'  in  Deut. 
10  :  12  ;  30  :  6.  Matthew  retains  '  heart 
and  substitutes  'mind'  for  the  general  term 
'  might,'  which  of  course  here  denotes  mental 
and  not  physical  power;  Mark  and  Luke  give 
both  '  mind'  and  '  might,'  and  presently  Mark 
(12:  xi)  has  the  Scribe  stating  it  as  heart,  under- 
standing, might.  AH  these  amount  to  the 
same  thing,  piling  up  different  terms  to  show 
that  all  our  faculties  and  affections  must  be 
occupied  with  love  to  Jehovah.  The  first 
and  great  commandment,^  greatest  in  im- 
portance, and  first  in  proper  order  of  state- 
ment. 

39  f.  After  answering  the  immediate  ques- 
tion, Jesus  further  states  what  is  the  second. 
This  is  quoted  from  Lev.  19:  18,  same  in  Heb. 
and  Sept.  Like  unto  it,  viz.,  like  in  na- 
ture, as  being  a  commandment  to  love,  and 
perhaps  like  as  being  also  very  important. 
On  these  tAVo  commandments  hang,  etc. 
Literally,  as  in  Rev.  Ver.,  hangeth  the  whole 
law,  the  verb  being  singular  in  the  correct 
Greek  text.  Like  the  peg  on  which  garments 
hang,  these  great  precepts  upheld  all  the  other 
precepts  of  the  law,  yes,  and  of  the  prophets. 
(Comp.  on7:  12.)  Every  thing  commanded 
in  the  Old  Test,  may  be  included  under  one 
or  the  other  of  these  (comp.  Romans  13 :  8  f.) ; 
and  all  the  instructions  and  promises  serve  to 
help  in  fulfilling  these  great  precepts.  A 
Rabbi  once  said  (Wiin.),  "  Name  a  little  say- 
ing on  which  all  essential  teachings  hang. 


'In  all  thy  ways  acknowledge  him.'  (Pror. 
»•■«•)"  Plutarch  says  (Wet.) :  '"Know  thy- 
self,' and  'Nothing  in  excess';  for  on  these 
hang  all  the  others.'  "  We  see  from  Luke 
10 :  27  that  at  least  some  of  the  '  lawyers '  were 
wont  themselves  to  combine  these  two  great 
commandments,  as  together  telling  what  must 
be  done  in  order  to  "inherit  eternal  life"; 
yet  we  may  be  sure  they  took  a  far  less  broad 
and  spiritual  view  of  them  than  Jesus  took. 
The  two  are  quoted  from  different  books,  but 
our  Lord  declares  them  similar,  and  places 
them  in  close  relation.  Some  religionists  in- 
cline to  dwell  on  the  first  and  neglect  the 
other,  some  unbelievers  eulogize  the  second 
and  care  nothing  for  the  first.  But  there  is  no 
earnest  and  intelligent  love  to  God  without 
love  to  our  neighbor ;  and  the  love  of  our 
neighbor  derives  its  fundamental  and  neces- 
sary sanction  from  love  to  God.  The  second 
precept  cannot  stand  alone,  even  in  theory. 
Why  should  I  subdue  egoism  and  lift  altruism 
to  a  level  with  it?  Certain  skeptical  philoso- 
phers say  that  natural  sympathy  by  frequent 
exercise  hardens  into  altruism.  But  suppose 
this  has  not  happened  with  me  ;  why  should 
I  feel  it  my  duty  to  sacrifice  my  interest  or 
inclination  for  the  benefit  of  others?  The 
true  and  only  sufficient  answer  is,  that 
supreme  duty  to  God  includes  and  authenti- 
cates duty  to  man. — Mark  tells  us  (12:32,34) 
that  the  Scribe  fully  recognized  the  pro- 
priety of  the  answer,  and  the  superiority  of 
these  great  ethical  duties  to  all  religious 
ceremony  ;  and  seeing  that  he  answered  sensi- 
bly, Jesus  said,  "  Thou  art  not  far  from  the 
kingdom  of  God." 

IV.  41-46.  Jesxts  Questions  THE  Phari- 
sees AS  TO  David's  Son  and  Lord,  Mark 
12:  35-37  ;  Luke  20:  41-44.  Having  answered 
all  the  questions  so  as  to  command  the  ad- 
miration even  of  his  enemies,  our  Lord  finishes 
the  conversation  by  turning  on  the  Pharisees 


'This  was  changed  by  many  documents  from  'great  'great,'  because  that  was  the  point  of  the  inquiry;  but 
and  first' to  '  first  and  great,'  as  smoother.  We  can  see,  copyists,  like  modern  compositors,  seldom  had  time  to 
upon  reflection,  that  the  phrase  properly  begins  with  |  reflect. 


Ch.  XXII.] 


MATTHEW; 


459 


42  Saying,  What  think  ye  of  Christ?  whose  son  is  he  ? 
They  say  iiuto  him,  The  sun  of  David. 

43  He  saith  unto  them,How  then  doth  David  in  spirit 
call  him  Lord,  saying, 


42  Jesus  asked  them  a  question,  saving,  What  think  ye 
of  the  Christ?   whose  son  is  he?    They  say  unto 

43  him.  The  son  of  David.    He  saith  unto  them.  How 
then  doth  David  in  the  Spirit  call  him  Lord,  saying, 


with  a  question  which  they  cannot  answer 
(v.  46;  comp.  21:  27),  and  which  ought  to 
set  them  to  thinking  how  defective  are  their 
conceptions  of  the  Messiah.  He  knew  that 
he  would  be  condemned  by  the  Sanhedrin  for 
saying  that  he  was  "the  Christ,  the  Son  of 
God  "(26:  63-66;  comp.  John  5:  18);  and  he 
defends  himself  in  advance  (Godet)  b^'  point- 
ing out  that  the  Messiah  cannot  be  a  mere 
man.  He  takes  occasion  for  this  while  the 
Pharisees  were  gathered  together.  (Comp. 
V.  34.)  What  think  ye  of  (We)  Christ?  What 
is  your  opinion  concerning  the  Messiah  ?  Pul- 
pit interpretation  of  the  Com.  Ver.  has  often 
treated  'What  think  ye  of  Christ?'  entirely 
according  to  our  present  use  of  the  term 
'Christ';  but  with  the  article  it  evidently 
means  'the  Messiah.'  (Comp.  on  2:  4.)  This 
general  question  is  then  especially  applied,  if 
not  restricted,  to  the  added  inquiry,  Whose 
son  is  he?  To  this  there  could  be  but  one 
answer,  according  to  universal  Jewish  opin- 
ion and  recognized  Scripture  teaching  (comp. 
9:  27;  12:  23;  15:  22;  20:  30;  21:  9,  15;  John 
7:  41  f. )  ;  in  Mark  and  Luke  our  Lord  refers 
to  the  fact  thjit  the  Scribes  so  taught. 

43-45.  Jesus  here  quotes  the  first  verse  of 
Psalm  110  as  said  by  David  in  (the)  spirit, 
and  said  concerning  the  Messiah.  Certain 
critics  maintain  that  Psalm  110  was  not  writ- 
ten by  David,  and  does  notrela'te  to  the  Mes- 
siah. Now,  if  this  be  really  so,  let  us  all 
recognize  the  fact,  and  modify  according)}' 
our  conceptions  as  to  the  teachings  of  Jesus, 
and  as  to  inspired  teaching  in  general;  for 
here  would  be  the  Saviour  asserting  two  things 
which  are  both  untrue,  and  making  them  the 
basis  of  his  argument.  This  psalm  is  oftener 
quoted  in  the  New  Test,  as  Messianic  than  is 
any  other  portion  of  the  Old  Test.  Besides 
the  quotation  here,  which  is  recorded  by 
Matthew,  Mark,  and  Luke,  it  is  quoted  by 
Peter  in  Acts  2:  33-35,  by  Paul  in  1  Cor.  15: 
25,  in  Heb.  1:  13;  10:  12  f. ;  and  is  distinctly 
alluded  to  as  Messianic  in  Eph.  1:  20;  Hob. 
1:  3;  1  Pet.  3:  22;  while  v.  4  is  made  the 
basis  of  a  Messianic  argument  in  Heb.  5:  6  to 
7:  25.  The  psalm  is  expressly  ascribed  to 
David  by  Jesus  himself  in  all  three  Gospels, 


and  by  Peter  at  the  Pentecost,  basing  his  ar- 
gument on  that  fact;  and  'David'  certainly 
cannot  be  here  understood,  as  some  wish  to 
understand  it  in  several  other  passages,  to 
mean  merely  the  book  of  Psalms;  for  the  ar- 
gument both  of  the  Saviour  and  of  Peter  re- 
fers to  the  man  himself.  The  inscription,  "A 
Psalm  of  David,"  at  least  shows  that  such 
was  an  early  Jewish  opinion.  It  was  re- 
garded as  Messianic  by  Jewish  expositors 
(comp.  Edersh.,  App.  IX.)  up  to  the  tenth 
century  (Toy)  ;  the  mediaeval  Jewish  writers 
doubtless  began  to  deny  it  in  order  to  escape 
the  Chri.stian  argument. 

On  what  grounds  then  do  some  assert  that 
the  psalm  was  not  written  by  David,  and  does 
not  refer  to  the  Messiah  ?  The  matter  is  of 
such  interest  as  to  justify  a  detailed  statement. 

(1)  It  is  urged  that  the  psalm  cannot  have 
been  written  by  David,  because  the  writer 
speaks  of  David  as  'my  Lord.'  Therefore 
some  think  it  was  written  by  a  contemporary 
and  addressed  to  David ;  so  Ewald,  Meyer. 
A  divine  oracle  from  Jehovah  was  given 
David,  as  in  v.  1,  and  the  poet  started  from 
this.  But  David  ma^'  in  high  prophetic  vision 
be  speaking  immediately  of  the  Messiah. 
There  is  no  certain  example  of  this  elsewhere 
in  the  Old  Test.,  unless  Moses'  prediction  of  a 
prophet  like  himself  (Deut.  is:  15)  be  thought  an 
exception.  It  is  always  primarily  David,  or 
Solomon,  or  Cyrus,  or  Israel,  etc.,  and  then 
secondarily  the  Messiah.  But  our  Lord  saj's 
that  Abraliam  saw  his  day  and  rejoiced 
(John  8: 56);  and  this  being  true,  it  is  certainly 
possible  that  David  may  have  done  likewise. 
.Jesus  distinctly  says  that  this  is  the  case  ;  that 
David  does  here  address  the  Messiah  as  Lord. 
If  prf>phocy  involves  supernatural  knowledge 
of  the  future,  this  miriht  he  the  meaning;  if 
Jesus  possessed  supernatural  insight  into 
Scripture,  this  is  the  meaning.  If  the  critic 
assumes,  as  many  destructive  critics  really  do, 
that  neither  prophet  nor  Saviour  pos.sessed 
any  truly  supernatural  knowledge,  then  the 
argument  may  as  well  be  dropped,  or  must  be 
transferred  to  another  department  of  inquiry. 
(2)  To}/ :  "The  psalm  is  an  address  to  a  king, 
whose  capital  was  Jerusalem,  announcing  his 


460 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXII. 


cumiug  victories  over  enemies,  and  his  estab- 
lishment in  the  dignity  of  priest.  There  is 
nothing  on  its  face  to  indicate  that  it  referred  to 
any  other  person  than  the  one  addressed ;  or 
that  this  person  was  other  than  a  contempo- 
rary of  tlie  poet;  there  is  no  such  pointing 
to  a  coining  man  as  in  Isa.  11,  Mic.  5,  and 
other  proplietic  passages;  it  is  a  present  mon- 
arch to  whom  the  psalmist  speaks."  But  if 
there  is  any  real  Messianic  prophecy  in  the 
Old  Test.,  then  it  is  natural  that  such  a 
prophecy  should  draw  imagery  from  a  king 
at  .Jerusalem.  There  may  be  nothing  on 
the  face  of  the  psalm  whicli  without  assist- 
ance would  have  shown  us  that  it  is  Mes- 
sianic; but  there  is  notiiing  to  siiow  that  it  is 
not,  and  the  Founder  of  Christianity  in- 
forms us  that  it  is  Messianic.  As  to  the 
use  of  present  tenses,  many  prophecies  de- 
scribe future  events  as  present  or  even  as  past. 
In  this  second  case  also,  the  whole  argument 
really  turns  upon  the  question  whether  there 
was  a  supernatural  element  in  the  teaching  of 
Jesus.  (3)  It  is  objected  that  most  of  the 
psalm  describes  a  conqueror  and  a  temporal 
sovereign,  and  so  it  cannot  be  an  immediate 
prediction  of  the  New  Test.  Messiah.  But 
the  Messiah  is  necessarily  described  through 
images,  and  is  in  various  other  prophecies 
conceived  of  as  a  king  and  conqueror.  We 
need  not  suppose  that  David  or  Abraham 
foresaw  the  Messiah's  offices  and  experiences 
in  all  respects.  (4)  It  is  urged  that  the  idea 
of  a  Messiah-priest  is  foreign  to  tlie  Old  Test., 
which  knows  only  a  Messiah-king,  (Reuss). 
But  this  is  a  Messiah-king,  who  is  declared  to 
be  also  priest;  and  Jehovah  recognizes  that 
there  is  no  parallel  in  Israel  by  seeking  one 
in  Melchizedek.  (5)  Some  say  that  to  find  in 
the  actual  history  a  priest-king,  we  must 
come  down  to  Jonathan  the  Maccabee.  Yes, 
farther  still,  to  Alexander  Jannaeus  (b.  c. 
105  to  78) ;  and  even  Alexander's  is  not  a  par- 
allel case,  for  he  was  a  priest  becoming  king, 
while  the  psalm  has  a  king  made  also  priest. 
Even  without  the  supernatural,  certainly 
ideas  might  arise  in  literature  before  the  facts 
occur  in  life.      Besides,  David  and  Solomon 


sometimes  offered  sacrifice,  assuming  tempo- 
rarily the  functions  of  priest;  and  the  psalm 
speaks  of  its  king  as  a  priest  forever.  So  the 
idea  is  not  impossible  or  unintelligible  for  the 
men  of  David's  time.  And  though  supernat- 
ural prophecy  usually  drew  its  inuxgery  from 
the  actual,  it  certainly  might  make  new  and 
easy  combinations  of  existing  objects  or  ideas. 
(6)  The  language  has  been  held  to  show  a  far 
later  time  than  that  of  David.  Some  critics 
have  laid  stress  on  this  argument  and  after- 
wards silently  abandoned  it.  Hitzig  insists 
that  twu  words  in  the  psalm  clearly  prove  it 
to  have  been  written  after  the  captivity.*  But 
Ewald  says:  "As  also  the  language  of  the 
song  does  not  oppose,  it  is  to  be  regarded  as 
certain  that  the  king  is  David  ;  for  king  and 
kingdom  appear  here  at  the  highest  point  of 
nobleness  and  glory."  Hitzig's  proofs  from 
language  cannot  be  very  strong,  when  Ewald 
brushes  them  so  unceremoniously  aside.  In 
fact,  they  amount  to  practically  nothing. 

These  are  all  the  objections  that  are  known 
to  have  been  adduced.  Only  the  first  and 
second  have  any  considerable  force,  and  cer- 
tainly they  are  very  far  from  being  conclu- 
sive. Yet  these  are  the  grounds  upon  which 
some  even  of  reverent  critics  take  the  position 
that  Jesus  has  here  based  an  important  argu- 
ment upon  two  downright  errors.  It  is  true 
that  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord's  human 
mind  was  limited  (comp.  on  21 :  19) ;  but  that 
is  a  very  different  thing  from  saying  that  it 
was  erroneous,  and  that  he  used  error  as  a 
means  of  instructing  and  convincing  others. 

In  (the)  spirit.  The  Greek  expression,  if  it 
stood  alone,  would  be  ambiguous,  for  it  might 
mean,  as  all  the  early  English  versions  here 
render,  'in  spirit,'  viz.,  in  his  own  spirit  (as  in 
John  4:  23).  But  the  term  Spirit  soon  be- 
came among  the  Christians  equivalent  to  a 
proper  name,  and  so  might  be  understood  as 
definite  without  an  article,  meaning  the  Holy 
Spirit  (as  in  John  3:  5).  Now  in  the  par- 
allel passage  of  Mark  (i2:36e.v.),  it  is  'in  the 
Holy  Spirit.'  We  cannot  always  determine 
the  exact  meaning  of  language  from  a  parallel 
passage.     But  here  the  connection  is  precisely 


I  Tne  word  yaMulh, '  youth,"  is  found  elsewhere  only  ]  geresh.  But  the  very  word  migrash  is  used  as  a  noun  in 
in  Ek;cl.,  which  it  is  taken  for  granted  was  written  after  Num.  and  Josh.  And  mishhar,  though  found  only  here, 
the  exile.  The  word  muAAar, '  morning,' is  held  to  be  is  a  regular  Hebrew  formation,  not  characteristically 
a  late  formation  by  addition,  instead  of  the  simple  i  Aramaic.  So  niwAaifc.  laughter,  is  found  only  in  Hab. 
thahar,  like  niesai-,  migrash,  Kzek.  36 :  5,  instead  of  sar,    1 :  10 ;  and  mislar,  dominion,  only  in  Job  3S :  33. 


Ch.  XXIL] 


MATTHEW. 


461 


44  The  I/ORD  said  unto  my  Lord,  Sit  thou  on  my  right  !  44 
hand,  till  I  make  thine  enemies  thy  footstool  ? 

45  If  David  then  call  him  Lord,  how  is  he  his  son  ? 

46  And  no  man  was  able  to  answer  him  a  word, 
neither  durst  any  man  from  that  day  forth  ask  him  any 
more  questions. 


The  Lord  said  unto  my  Lord, 

Sit  thou  on  my  right  hand. 

Till  I  put  thine  enemies  underneath  thy  feel  ? 

45  If  David  then  calleth  him  Ix)nl,  how  is  he  his  son  ? 

46  And  no  one  was  able  to  answer  him  a  word,  neither 
durst  any  man  from  that  day  forth  ask  him  any  more 
questions. 


the  same,  and  so  Mark's  expression  may  be 
taken  as  defining  that  of  Matt.  Comp.  ex- 
actly the  same  Greek  phrase  in  Rev.  1:  10; 
4 :  2,  ?nd  nearly  the  same  in  Rom.  9  :  1 ;  1  Cor. 
12:  3.  As  to  the  idea  here  con vej-cd,  comp. 
Acts  4:  25;  Heb.  3:  7  (quoting  a  psalm), 
and  10:  15;  also  9:  8,  where  the  Spirit  teaches 
through  a  type,  and  2  Pet.  1 :  21.  These  pas- 
sages strongly  assert  that  the  Holy  Spirit 
speaks  through  David  in  Psalm  2  and  110; 
also  that  he  speaks  in  Psalm  95  and  Jer.  31: 
33;  and  that  he  speaks  through  the  prophets 
in  general.  There  is  here  no  theory  of  inspi- 
ration ;  nothing  taught  as  to  the  precise  na- 
ture or  modus  operandi  of  that  influence  of 
the  Spirit  under  which  David  spoke.  But  it 
evidently  means  a  supernatural  influence. 

The  Septuagint  here  exactly  translates  the 
Hebrew,  and  is  closely  followed  in  Luke, 
Acts,  Hebrews.  But  instead  of  'as  the  foot- 
stool of  thy  feet,'  Matt,  and  Mark  in  the  cor- 
rect Greek  text  have  simply  'underneath  thy 
feet,'  which  was  readily  changed  by  copyists  to 
agree  with  the  Sept.*  The  Lord  said  unto 
my  Lord.  In  the  Hebrew,  'Jehovah  {Vnh- 
toeh)  said  unto  my  Lord.'  The  later  Jews 
had  a  superstitious  dread  of  pronouncing  the 
proper  name  of  the  God  of  Israel,  and  when 
they  came  to  it  in  reading  would  substitute, 
as  the  Jews  do  to  this  day,  Adonni,  the  Lord. 
Accordingly  the  Sept.  translators,  who  were 
Jews,  rendered  the  proper  name  by  Kurios, 
'Lord.'  When  the  Massoretic  scholars,  some 
centuries  after  Christ,  undertook  to  write 
vowels  under  the  consonants  of  the  Hebrew 
words,  they  gave  to  the  proper  name,  J hv  h 
the  vowels  of  the  word  Adonni  which  they 
were  accustomed  to  substitute,  with  a  slight 
modification  of  the  first  vowel  which  Hebrew 


I  usage  warranted.     This  has  led  to  the  modern 
I  pronunciation  Jehovah.      But  there    can  be 
!  no  doubt  that  the  word  was  originally   pro- 
nounced with  other  vowels  ;  and  its  sound  was 
I  probably  Jahveh,  or  to  represent  it  more  ex- 
i  actly  in  English  letters,  Yahweh.     Our  Eng- 
lish  versions  of  the  Old  Test,  have  alwaj's  in 
like  manner  represented  this  proper  name  by 
'the   Lord,'    and   it  has  become  common  to 
j  print' the  Lord'  in  capitals  in  those  cases  to  dis- 
j  tinguish   it  from    Adonni.      There  would   be 
great  advantage   in  substituting  Jehovah,  as 
I  preferred  by  American  Revisers,  see  Appen- 
I  dix,  as  showing  that  a  proper  name  is  really 
meant ;  and  the  mere  matter  of  correctly  rep- 
resenting the  Hebrew  vowels  would  be  of  little 
I  practical  importance.     The  New  Test,  writers, 
i  being  accustomed  to  read  and  often  to  quote 
[the  Sept.,  have  followed  its  practice;  and  it 
is  sometimes  not  easy  to  determine  whether 
kurios  means  Jehovah,  or  simply  Lord  in  the 
more  general  sense.      Sit  thou  on  my  ri^ht 
hand.    This  was  naturally  the  post  of  highest 
honor  at  the  court,  where  one  could  be  con- 
veniently consulted  by  the  monarch  in  judg- 
ing his   people,   comp.    19:    28;    Psa.    45:  9. 
Make  thine  enemies,  etc.,   better  as  Rev. 
Ver.,  put  thine  enemies  underneath  thy  feet. 
This  is  an  image  founded  on  the  practice  de- 
'  scribed  in  Josh.  10 :  24 ;  comp.  Psa.  47 :  3.    The 
'  Messiah  will  share  the  divine  reign  and  con- 
!  quering  power  till  all  his  enemies  are  com- 
pletely subdued,  and  will  then  give  back  his 
'delegated  Messianic   dominion   (28:18)  to  the 
!  Father,  (i  cor.is:  ?>*.) 

I      The  question  repeated  and  prc-i-sed  in  v.  45 

!  was  no  catch-question,  such  as  the  Phar.  and 

Sadd.    had    addressed    to    him.  (v.  17.  is.)      It 

'  tended  to  show  that  the  Messiah  could  not  be 


''Underneath,'  hnpokato.  Is  here  read  by  KB,  D,  L,  !  clear  that  'underneath'  is  the  true  reading  In  Matt., 
several  other  uncials,  and  some  cursives,  the  Egyptian  and  pretty  clear  in  Mark,(Rev.Ver.  mnrgin).  This  '  un- 
and  other  versions.  It  was  easily  changed  by  copyists  d.^rneath  '  is  probably  a  mere  simplification,  but  may 
into  hupopodion,  'footstool.'  Nothing  is  more  common  have  come  (Toy)  from  the  Sept.  of  Psa.  8:  7.  The  newv 
in  the  manuscripts  of  the  New  Test,  than  to  find  a  quo-  paper  critics  who  have  ridicule*!  Kov.  Ver,  In  Lnke^ 
tation  altered  in  conformity  with  the  Sept.  In  Mark  1  Acts,  etc.,  for  using  such  a  pbra.sc  as  '  footstool  of  thy 
hupokato  is  given  by  B,  D,  the  Egyptian  versions,  etc.  feet,'  did  not  know  that  ihey  were  ridiculing  the 
HupopoiUon  is  read  with  slight  variation  in  Luke,  and  '  originals, 
without  any  variation  in  Acts  and  Hebrews.    So  It  U  . 


462 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXII. 


a  mere  temporal  sovereign,  nor  in  fact  a  mere 
man. 

46.  No  man  was  able  to  answer  him  a 
word.  (Comp.  Luke  14:  6.)  According  to 
their  conception  of  the  Messiah  the  question 
was  unanswerable.  It  was  afterwards  answered 
by  one  who  was  at  that  time  a  young  Phari- 
see, though  we  know  not  whether  then  study- 
ing in  Jerusalem  or  absent  at  Tarsus.  This 
Pharisee  lived  to  gain  such  revelation  of  Jesus 
the  Messiah,  and  such  understanding  of  tlie 
Messianic  Scriptures,  as  to  perceive  that  he 
was  "made  (6orn)  of  the  seed  of  David  accord- 
ing to  the  flesh,  and  declared  to  be  the  Son  of 
God  with  power,  according  to  the  Spirit  of 
holiness,  by  the  resurrection  of  the  dead." 
(Bom.i:3f.,comp.9:5.)  The  fact  that  no  one  durst 
from  that  day  forth  ask  him  any  more 
questions  is  also  stated  by  Mark  and  Lulxc  as 
the  result  of  this  same  series  of  questions  and 
answers.  Mark  (12: 34)  makes  the  remark  at 
the  close  of  the  lawyer's  question  to  Jesus, 
the  last  question  of  his  enemies;  and  Luke 
(20: 40)  at  the  close  of  the  question  by  the  Sad- 
ducees,  the  last  that  he  records.  All  the 
select  wisdom  and  ingenuity  of  the  learned 
and  ruling  classes,  in  both  the  great  parties, 
had  brought  their  most  puzzling  questions  to 
the  young  teacher  from  Nazareth,  who  had 
never  studied  in  any  of  the  schools  (Joiin-:ioer.), 
and  he  not  only  gave  in  every  case  an  answer 
of  astonishing  depth  and  clearness,  which 
sent  the  wisest  men  away  in  wondering  reflec- 
tion, but  at  length  retorted  by  a  question 
which  no  one  could  answer,  and  which  seemed 
plainly  to  indicate  that  their  views  of  the 
Messiah  were  radically  defective.  Our  Lord 
"went  right  on  discoursing,  attacking  the  ruling 
classes  with  the  most  outspoken  and  unsparing 
severity  (ch.  23),  but  they  dared  not  any  more 
interrupt  or  inquire.  They  were  helpless  in 
argument,  and  as  usual  with  foiled  and  angry 
disputants  who  will  not  be  convinced,  they 
had  no  hope  but  in  violence.  At  this  point 
Mark  says  0^^■^^),  'And  the  common  people 
heard  him  gladly.'  The  people  who  thronged 
the  temple  court  had  no  position  to  lose,  and 
no  pride  of  learning ;  they  were  more  hospit- 
able to  new  truth,  and  were  not  sorry  to  see 
arrogant  rabbis  and  priestly  aristocrats  put  to 
shame. 

HOMILETICAL  AND  PRACTICAL. 

V.  15.  Chrys.  :  "'Then.'     "When?    "When 


most  of  all  they  ought  to  have  been  moved  to 
compunction,  when  they  should  have  been 
amazed  at  his  love  to  man,  when  they  should 
have  feared  the  things  to  come." — V.  16. 
Jesus  praised  by  his  enemies.  1)  Acute  flat- 
terers may  show  what  reputation  a  person 
really  desires.  2)  What  these  flattering  foes 
said  of  Jesus  we  know  from  other  sources  to 
have  been  thoroughly  correct;  (a)  he  was  true, 
(b)  he  taught  the  way  of  God  in  truth,  (c)  and 
without  fear  or  favor.  3)  There  are  other 
recorded  instances  of  unwilling  testimony  to 
Jesus.  4)  The  day  is  coming  when  every 
tongue  shall  confess  that  he  is  Lord  (Phii. 
2:11.) — Alexander:  "Such  adulation  (as  was 
here  ofl'ered  to  Jesus)  has  blinded  the  eyes 
and  warped  the  judgment  of  its  thousands 
and  its  tens  of  thousands  among  human  sages, 
and  especially  of  those  who  glory  in  their  in- 
susceptibility of  flattery." — V.  17.  It  is  much 
to  be  desired  that  people  shall  often  ask  their 
religious  teaclier  concerning  questions  of  truth 
and  duty.  Even  when  questions  are  asked 
with  evil  motives,  as  a  test  or  a  snare,  it  is  well 
to  escape  the  snare  by  prudent  answers  (v.  46), 
and  to  silence  the  evil-disposed  (Tit.  i:n),  and 
better  still  to  give  answers  that  will  clear  up 
real  diflBculties  (v.  21),  and  enlighten  the  well- 
disposed.  (V.  22;  Mark  12: 7.)  Human  tcmptcrs 
may  often  be  not  merely  overcome,  but  won 
to  wiser  judgments  and  kinder  feelings. — V. 
18.  '  Jesus  perceived  their  wickedness.'  He 
knows  to-day  all  that  is  in  the  hearts  of  those 
who  are  openly  trying  to  injure  his  cause  and 
dishonor  his  name,  and  of  those  who  hypo- 
critically pretend  to  be  his  friends. — '  Hypo- 
crites.' Jerome:  "It  is  the  highest  excel- 
lence in  one  who  replies  to  know  the  mind  of 
the  questioner." — V.  21.  Civil  and  religious 
duties.  1)  It  is  a  religious  duty  to  perform  all 
real  civil  duties.  2)  It  is  not  a  civil  duty  to  per- 
form religious  duties.  Laws  as  to  Sabbath  ob- 
servance, etc.,  can  be  based  only  on  public 
health  and  moral  welfare,  and  the  right  of 
worshipers  to  be  undisturbed.  3)  Careful  ob- 
servance of  the  distinction  between  civil  and 
religious  duties  is  necessary  to  freedom  of  con- 
science, and  greatly  promotive  of  genuine 
piety.  Here,  as  everywhere,  liberty  has  its 
embarrassments  and  perils,  but  on  the  whole  it 
is  far  best. — Civil  duties  may  still  be  binding 
when  the  ruler  is  personally  immoral  and 
tyrannical;  Cesarhere  was  Tiberius,  and  when 


Ch.  XXIIL] 


MATTHEW. 


463 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 


THEN  spake  Jesus  to  the  multitude,  and  to  his  dis-  | 
ciples,  I 


1  Then  spake  Jesus  to  the  multitudes  and  to  his 

2  disciples,  saying,  The  Scribes  and  the  Pharisees  sit 


Paul  and  Peter  urged  obedience  it  was  to 
Nero.  Chrys.  :  "  But  thou  when  thou  hear- 
est,  'render  unto  Cesar  the  things  which  are 
Cesar's,'  know  that  he  is  speaking  only  of 
those  things  which  are  no  detriment  to  godli- 
ness; since  if  it  be  any  such  thing  as  this,  such 
a  thing  is  no  longer  Cesar's  tribute,  but  the 
devil's." 

V.  28  f.  Skeptics  often  have  favorite  catch- 
questions;  but  superficial  and  ridiculing  in- 
quiries are  much  better  than  silent  neglect, 
and  they  should  usually  be  met  with  a  kind 
and  tiioughtful  answer,  and  may  sometimes 
be  made  the  occasion  of  establishing  positive 
truth.  All  skepticism  as  to  Christian  truth 
results  in  part  from  ignorance  of  the  Bible, 
and  of  the  divine  attributes. — V.  29  ff.  The 
resurrection  of  the  dead.  1)  It  is  taught  in 
the  Bible,  (a)  even  in  the  Pentateuch,  (b)  in 
the  Prophets,  (c)  in  the  New  Test.  (2Tim.  i:io.) 
2)  It  puts  great  honor  upon  the  human  body. 
(Psa.  139:  u;  Pbii.  3:21.)  3)  It  givcs  vividness  to 
our  conceptions  of  eternal  existence  and 
felicity.  4)  It  will  exalt  above  much  of  the 
narrowness  and  exclusiveness  of  earthly  rela- 
tions and  affections.  Chrys.:  "Since  then 
the  resurrection  is  like  this,  come  let  us  do  all 
things  that  we  may  obtain  the  first  honors 
there." 

V.  36.  All  commandments  of  God  are  in 
one  sense  equally  binding,  and  the  spirit  of 
obedience  is  tested  by  all ;  but  some  relate  to 
matters  intrinsically  more  important. '  Those 
commandments  are  greatest  which  are  most 
spiritual,  most  opposed  to  selfishness,  most 
comprehensive.  Duty  to  God  is  in  itself  the 
highest  duty,  and  comprehends  all  other 
duties. — V.  37.  Love  is  the  attraction  of  gravi-  ! 
tation  in  the  moral  universe,  binding  moral 
creatures  to  each  other,  and  all  alike  to  God. 
Loving  God  and  knowing  God  are  mutually 
dependent.  Pascal  remarks  that  in  other 
things  we  must  know  in  order  to  love;  in  re- 
ligion we  must  love  in  order  to  know. 
Sources  from  which  we  may  gain  knowledge 
of  God — from  nature — from  human  nature — 
from  '  the  image  of  the  invisible  (iod'  ("God 
was  made  flesh,  that  flesh  might  soe  that  God 
was  love")— from  revelation  in  general— from 


observation  of  his  providence,  and  commu- 
nion with  his  Spirit.  Reasons  for  loving  God. 
1)  Because  he  is  God.  2)  Because  he  is  our 
God.  Means  of  increasing  our  love  to  God — 
think  of  him  much— speak  of  him  with  rev- 
erence— cultivate  delight  in  his  worship— see 
him  in  history,  and  in  our  own  life— obey  his 
commandments — strive  to  bring  others  to  love 
him  too.— V.  39.  'Thou  shalt  love  thy  neigh- 
bor as  thyself.'  1)  Why  should  I  love  my 
neighbor  as  myself?  2)  Who  is  the  neighbor 
I  must  love  as  myself?  3)  What  is  involved 
in  loving  my  neighbor  as  myself? 

V.  42-45.  The  Messiah.  1)  To  account  the 
Messiah  merely  a  man,  is  hopelessly  incon- 
sistent with  Scripture.  2)  The  Jewish  Messiah 
is  also  the  world's  Messiah.  3)  The  Messiah 
reigns  now  on  the  right  hand  of  God.  4)  Shall 
we  live  as  the  Messiah's  enemies,  to  be  tram- 
pled under  foot,  or  as  his  loving  subjects,  to  in- 
herit the  kingdom  (25 :  34)  ?— V.  46.  Hexry  : 
"Many  are  silenced  that  are  not  saved,  many 
convinced  that  are  not  converted." 


Ch.  23:  1-12.  Warnings  Against  the 
Scribes  and  Pharisees. 

Partly  found  also  in  Mark  12:  38  f. ;  Luke 
20:  45  f.  This  discourse  probably  belongs  to 
Tuesday,  three  days  before  the  crucifixion. 
The  solemn  intimations  made  early  in  the 
day  that  he  knew  the  Jewish  rulers  would 
reject  and  kill  him,  and  would  be  terribly 
punished  for  it  (n-.istoniit)^  were  followed  by 
the  sharp  questioning  of  22:  15-46;  and  now, 
having  vanquished  his  opponents  in  question 
and  answer,  Jesus  speaks  out  plainly  about 
the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  first  warning  the 
people  against  them  (m:i-i2),  and  then  de- 
nouncing upon  them  a  series  of  mournful 
woes.  (1.1-19.)  After  that  lie  will  speak  no  more 
in  public,  but  will  leave  the  temple,  and  give 
tlie  final  discourse  to  his  disciples  on  the 
Mount  of  Olives.  (ch»p.  24»nrt2i.)  All  these  dis- 
courses follow  each  other  in  natural  connec- 
tion, and  to  all  appearance  were  spoken  on 
the  .«.ame  day.  The  attempts  of  some  critics 
to  scatter  them  upon  different  days  are  arbi- 
trary and  useless.   Of  these  warnings  and  woes 


464 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXIII. 


2  Saying,  The  scribes  and  the  Pharieees  sit  in  Moses'  I    S   on  Moses'   seat :  all  things  therofore  whatsoever 
seat :  I 


fuund  in  chap.  23,  Mark  and  Luke  give  only 
a  very  sniuU  portion. 

1.  Then  naturally  suggests,  though  it  does 
not  necessarily  mean  (see  on  3:  13),  that  the 
following  was  on  the  same  day  as  the  fore- 
going. To  the  multitude  and  to  his  dis- 
ciples. His  previous  discourses  during  tha 
day  were  addressed  mainly  to  the  rulers  and 
the  persons  who  came  questioning — though  in 
hearing  of  others.  (i.uke20:9.)  He  now  turns 
away  from  these  leading  persons  and  ad- 
dresses himself  to  the  people  at  large  and 
to  his  immediate  followers,  the  latter  being 
specially  addressed  in  v.  8-12.  Luke  has 
(10:  45,  RcT.  ver.),  "In  the  hearing  of  all  the 
people  he  said  unto  his  disciples";  which 
does  not  materially  differ.  A  j'ear  before 
(comp.  on  15:  7),  Jesus  had  begun  to  censure 
the  Scribes  and  Pharisees  with  outspoken 
severity;  and  within  a  few  months,  probably 
in  Perea,  clearly  not  at  Jerusalem,  he  had 
denounced  woes  upon  them  and  warned  the 
people  against  them.  (Luke ii : si-s*.)  Now  he 
does  the  same  thing  at  Jerusalem,  in  the 
temple  court,  during  the  great  feast  of  the 
Passover;  and  these  denunciations  form  the 
climax  and  conclusion  of  his  public  dis- 
courses. It  is  natural  that  he  should  have 
thus  spoken  out  earlier  elsewhere  than  at 
Jerusalem  during  the  feast;  and  it  is  much 
more  reasonable  to  suppose  such  a  repetition 
under  these  changed  circumstances  (comp.  at 
beginning  of  chap.  5),  than  to  suppose  that 
either  Luke  or  Matthew  has  utterly  displaced 
these  momentous  teachings.  Notice  that  Mark 
and  Luke  both  report  at  this  same  quarter 
small  portions  of  the  discourse  given  by  Mat- 
thew. 

I.  2-4.  The  Scribks  and  the  Phari- 
sees DO  NOT  Practice  what  they  Teach. 
The  Scribes,  see  on  2  :  4;  the  Pharisees, 
see  on  3  :  7.  Sit  in  Moses'  seat,  has  in  the 
Greek  sentence  an  emphatic  position.  Liter- 
ally the  verb  is  sflti,  'have  sat,'  have  taken  a 
seat  there — which  leaves  it  to  be  understood 
that  they  so  remain  ;  comp.  Heb.  8  :  1.     Not 


only  the  judge  (Exod.  i8:i3)  but  in  later  times 
the  teacher,  usually  spoke  in  a  sitting  posture. 
(5:1;  13:2;  Luke*: 20;  Acvs 22: 3.)  The  Greek  term 
for  'seat'  is  kathedra,  and  as  borrowed  into 
Latin  gave  the  phrase  "  to  speak  ex  cathedra,'^ 
i.  e.,  "from  the  seat"  of  an  authoritative 
teacher.  The  Rabbinical  writers  speak  of  a 
Rabbi's  successor  as  sitting  in  his  seat;  so  we, 
as  to  a  professor's  "chair,"  which  word  is  our 
contracted  form  of  cathedra  (Skeat).  Our 
Lord  means,  then,  that  the  Scribes  and 
Pharisees  are  in  some  sense  successors  of 
Moses,  teachers  of  the  law  as  he  was.  They 
claimed  this,  and  to  a  certain  extent  the  claim 
was  just,  since  most  of  their  explanations  were 
substantially  conformed  to  Scripture.  The 
time  had  not  come  for  turning  away  from 
their  teachings  to  new  and  better  teachers. 
All  therefore  whatsoever  they  bid  yon  is 
set  in  contrast  to  their  works.  He  meant  in 
a  general  way  to  commend  their  instructions 
in  religious  duty  as  correct,  and  then  to  contrast 
strongly  their  practice  as  wrong.  We  know 
that  he  condemned  the  exaggerated  import- 
ance they  attached  to  their  traditions  (i5:3, 6), 
and  their  general  spirit.  (i6:6.)  The  common 
Greek  text  has  'bid  you  observe,'  but  the 
authority  against  adding  'observe'  is  over- 
whelming. Observe  and  do,  the  verb  being 
in  the  tense  of  continued  action — continually 
observe.  They  say,  and  do  not.  So  he 
had  already  declared  in  Galilee,  (is :  7-9)  and 
now  repeats  in  Jerusalem  on  the  n.ost  pub- 
lic occasion.  For  they  bind,  yea  repre- 
sents the  correct  Greek  text.  Heavy  bur- 
dens, (comp.  11  :  28)  the  strict  requirements 
of  tradition  as  to  ceremonial  observances  and 
the  details  of  moral  duty  ;  comp.  Luke  11 :  46. 
Peter  substantially  repeated  this  statement  in 
Acts  15  :  10.  The  image  is  of  binding  fagots 
of  wood  or  bundles  of  grain;  the  idea  is  of 
combining  many  separate  precepts  or  require- 
ments until  together  they  make  a  heavy  load. 
The  term  rendered  grievous  to  be  borne 
does  not  belong  here,  but  was  brought  in  by 
copyists  from  Luke  11  :  46.1    Will  not  move 


lit  is  wanting  in  several  early  versions  and  some  ]  doubtless  spurious  in  Matt.    W   H.  place  it  in  their 
MSS.,  and  Origen  on  Matt,  expressly  mentions  that   margin  here,  apparently  because  B  has  it,  and  because 
Luke  adds  this  term.    It  might  be  easily  inserted  here    the  documents  for  omitting  have  an  "  Alexandrian" 
from  Luke,  while  on  the  other  hand  no  one  could  have   look, 
any  reason  for  omitting  it  if  originally  present ;  so  it  is  > 


Ch.  XXIIL] 


MATTHEW. 


465 


3  All  therefore  whatsoever  they  bid  you  observe,  thai  \ 
observe  and  do;  but  do  not  ye  after  "their  works:  for  ] 
they  say,  and  do  not. 

4  For  they  bind  heavy  burdens  and  grievous  to  be 
borne,  and  lay  them  on  men's  shoulders ;  but  they  theni- 
talves  will  not  move  them  with  one  of  their  fingers. 

5  But  all  their  works  they  do  for  to  be  seen  of  men : 
they  make  broad  their  phylacteries,  and  enlarge  the 
borders  of  their  garments, 

6  And  love  the  uppermost  rooms  at  feasts,  and  the 
chief  seats  in  the  synagogues. 


they  bid  you,  these  do  and  observe :  but  do  not  ye 

4  after  their  works;  for  they  say,  and  do  not.  Yea, 
thej-  bind  heavy  burdens,  land'grievous  to  l>e  borne, 
and  lay  them  on  men's  shoulders ;  but  they  them- 

5  selves  will  not  move  them  with  their  finger.  But 
all  their  works  they  do  for  to  be  seen  of  men :  for 
they  make  broad  tlieir  phylacteries,  and  enlarge  the 

6  borders  qf  their  garments,  and  love  the  chief  place 


1  Manv  ancieat  authorilie:)  omit,  and  ^evou«  to  bt  bom». 


them  with  one  of  their  fingers  does  not 
mean  that  the  burdens  are  easy  to  move,  but 
that  they  will  not  make  the  slightest  exertion 
to  move  them  ;  far  less  will  they  take  them 
on  their  shoulders. 

II.  5-7.  The  Scribes  and  the  Phari- 
sees ARE  Ostentatious.  Mark  12 :  38  f.  ; 
Luke  20:  46.  To  be  seen  of  men,  'with  a 
view  to  be  looked  at  by  men,'  the  same  phrase 
as  in  6:  1.     The  desire  for  human  praise  was. 


heart  as  possible,  fastening  it  with  a  mystically 
knotted  string,  and  then  covering  it  with  the 
sleeve.  Small  leather  boxes  must  be  made 
from  the  skin  of  a  "clean"  animal,  and  col- 
ored black.  Phylacteries  similar  to  those 
thus  described  by  the  Rabbinical  writers  are 
now  worn  by  the  stricter  Jews,  the  details 
slightly  varying  in  difterent  countries;  and 
those  long  used  by  some  deceased  Eabbi  may 
be  bouglit  in  the  shops  of  Jerusalem.     These 


and  often  is,  a  great  hindrance  to  believing  in  i  little  boxes  with  their  contents  are  called  by 
Christ,  and  confessing  him.  (John  5:44;  12: 42  r.)  the  Targum  of  Onkelos  and  by  the  Kabbiiii- 
But.  For  they  is  the  correct  Gr.  text,  and  in-  cal  writers  tephiilin,  "prayers,"  because  put 
troduces  the  proof  of  the  foregoing.     They  j  on  before  praying  (see  Buxtorf) ;  they  were 


make  broad  their  phylacteries.  In  Exod. 
13:  16;  Deut.  6:  8;  11:  18,  it  was  said  to 
Israel  concerning  the  teachings  of  the  law, 
that  they  should  be  bound  "for  a  token  upon 
thine  hand,  and  for  frontlets  between  thine 
eyes."  Here  an  image  seems  to  be  drawn 
from   the  old  Egyptian  practice  of  wearing 


worn  by  men  in  general  during  public  wor- 
ship, but  by  the  Pharisees  worn  continu- 
ally. Matthew's  term  phylactery,  found 
nowhere  else  in  the  Greek  Bible,  signifies 
in  classical  Greek  a  guarded  post,  then  a  safe- 
guard, finally  an  amulet,  as  guarding  against 
evils.     The  Rosetta  stone  speaks  of  "golden 


amulets;  the  Israelites  were  to  keep  the  law  '  phylacteries"  worn  by  the  kings  of  Egypt, 
always  near  them,  always  in  mind.  In  the!  (Lid.  and  Scott.)  The  Rabbinical  writings 
interbiblical  period  we  find  the  Jews  convert-  show  that  many  Jews  regarded  the  phylnc- 
ing  this  figure  into  outward  fact.     They  took  |  teries  as  amulets;  and  it  seems  most  likely 


four  passages  adjacent  to  the  thrice  repeated 
injunction,  viz.,  Exod.  13:  2-10,  11-17;  Deut. 
6:  4-9;  11 :  13-22,  and  writing  them  on  strips 
of  parchment,  encased  the  folded  strips  in 
minute  leather  boxes.  These  four  boxes  were 
set  on  edge  and  fastened  upon  one  leather 
base,  which  was  placed  on  the  middle  of  the 
forehead,  and  held  there  by  a  string  tied 
round  the  head  with  peculiar  knots,  which 
had  a  mystical  meaning.  Four  similar  strips 
were  placed  in  a  smaller  single  box,  which 
was  worn  on  the  palm  of  the  hand  by  the  Sad- 


that  the  Greek  term  was  commonly  employed 
among  the  Jews  in  that  sense  (so  Jerome), 
and  Matt,  merely  used  it  because  it  was 
common.  The  term  might  etymologically 
mean  'a  place  for  guarding'  the  divine  word 
(SchSttgen,  Stier),  but  there  is  no  usage  fur 
that  sen.«e.  Justin  Martyn  tells  Trypho  (ch. 
4())  that  Moses  commanded  the  people  to  wear 
a  phylactery,  but  does  not  throw  any  light  in 
his  connection  upon  the  meaning  of  the  term. 
The  Pesh.  hero  translates  by  trp/iif/in,  the 
Rabbinical  word.  The  Council  of  Laodicea 
(fourth  century)  forbade  clerics  to  make  phy- 


ducees,  apparently  because  the  hand  is  men 

tioned  in  the  figurative  injunction,  but  by  the  !  lactones,  declaring  (with  a  piny  upon  th 
Pharisees  on  the  left  arm  near  the  heart,  J  word)  that  they  are  prisons  of  their  souls,  and 
because  of  Deut.  6:  6,  "and  these  words  those  who  wearthem  must  beexpelled  from  the 
shall  be  in  (or  Mpon)  thy  heart."  Thoy  I  church.  (Suicer.)  Chrys.  compares  the  fact 
placed  the  box  on  the  bare  arm,  as  near  the  '  that  "many  of  our  women  now  wear  Gospels 

2R 


466 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXIII. 


7  And  greetings  in  the  luarkeU,  and  to  be  called  of 
men,  Kiibbi,  Hablii. 

8  But  be  not  ye  called  Rabbi:  for  one  is  your  Master, 
ewnCbrist:  and  all  ye  are  brethren. 


7  at  feasts,  and  the  chief  seats  in  the  synagogues,  and 
the  salutations  in  the  luarltetplaces,  and  to  be  called 

8  of  men,  Babbi.    But  be  not  ye  called  Kabbi :  for  one 


hung  from  their  necks."  Some  modern  writers 
have  maintained  that  Moses  intended  these 
literal  frontlets  and  armlets  to  be  worn  as  a 
substitute  for  the  superstitious  Egyptian  amu- 
lets. But  how  could  Moses  fail  to  see  that 
they  would  themselves  be  worn  as  amulets? 
We  find  no  evidence  of  their  use  until  the  lat- 
ter part  of  the  interbiblical  period,  and  the 
general  tendency  to  scrupulosity  about  exter- 
nals would  account  for  their  appearance  at 
that  time.  The  Karaite  Jews  (who  arose  in 
the  eighth  Christian  century)  have  always 
understood  these  passages  of  the  law  as  figura- 
tive, holding  that  the  hand  represents  pre- 
cepts for  action,  and  the  head  represents  the 
mental  and  spiritual.  Comp.  Prov.  3:  3;  6: 
21;  Ezek.  24:  17.  Making  their  phylacteries 
unusually  broad  would  show  every  casual 
observer  that  the  Pharisees  were  remarkably 
pious.  Tlie  head  being  bare,  or  covered  only 
with  a  cloth,  this  cube  of  some  two  inches  on 
■every  side,  projecting  from  the  centre  of  the 
forehead,  would  attract  great  attention.  En- 
large the  borders  (of  their  garments). 
These  peculiar  '  borders  '  were  commanded  to 
be  worn  (Mum.  i5:»8),  and  were  worn  by 
Jesus.  (See  on  9:  20.)  It  does  not  follow 
that  he  wore  the  phylacteries,  Matthew's 
Jewish  readers  would  at  once  understand 
'enlarge  the  borders';  but  many  copyists 
thought  it  necessary  for  perspicuity  to  add, 
'of  their  garments,'  and  this  naturally  crept 
into  the  Common  text.  Love  the  upper- 
most rooms  (or  ■chief  place)  at  feasts. 
The  feast  is  here  deipnon,  see  on  22 :  4  The 
guests  reclined  on  couches,  see  on  8  :  11.  The 
place  of  highest  honor  for  a  guest  apparently 
was  to  recline  just  in  front  of  the  host,  so  that 
the  head  could  be  laid  hack  in  the  host's 
bosom.  (John  13:  23-25;  Loke  18: 22.)  In  general, 
the  most  honorable  places  were  those  near  the 
host.  Mark  and  Luke  have  the  plural,  '  chief 
places';  all  three  use  the  same  Greek  word, 
literally,  chief  reclining -place.     The  old  ren- 


dering, 'rooms,'  really  meant  simply  places, 
but  would  now  suggest  apartments.  '  Upper- 
most '  was  probably  used  here  by  Tyn.,  Cran., 
K.  J.,  because  of  the  phrase  '  come  up  higher ' 
(Luke  14:  10),  and  the  English  expression,  "the 
upper  end  of  the  table."  The  chief  seats 
in  the  synagogues  were  the  front  seats  near- 
est to  the  place  in  which  the  rolls  of  the  law 
were  kept.  For  'synagogues,'  see  on  4:  23. 
And  greetings  {salutations)  in  the  mar- 
kets, that  is,  the  market  places.  They  were 
the  general  places  of  assembly,  for  men  of  all 
pursuits.  Indeed,  the  Greek  word  denotes 
primarily  a  place  of  gathering  or  assembly, 
the  thought  of  buying  and  selling  being  sub- 
ordinate. The  Asiatics  have  always  attaclied 
great  importance  to  profoundly  respectful 
salutations  in  public  intercourse.  Not  in 
Paris,  but  only  in  China,  could  one  find  such 
elaborate  courtesy  as  in  an  old-fashioned 
sheik  who  meets  you  in  Palestine,  as  he 
touches  his  lips  and  forehead  and  breast,  each 
time  bowing  low,  and  saying,  "Salaam  to 
you  I  "  And  to  be  called  of  men,  Rabbi, 
the  common  Jewish  word  for  teacher.  (See 
on  8:  19.)  It  means,  etymologicallj',  'great 
one'  or  'superior,'  like  master  from  mag-ister, 
and  somewhat  like  "His  Excellency,"  "Your 
Highness,"  etc.  The  office  and  its  title  were 
much  coveted  among  the  Jews  in  the  time  of 
Christ  and  afterwards.  Statements  of  later 
writers  make  it  probable  (Herzog)  that  the 
use,  or  at  any  rate  the  frequent  use,  of  the 
title  began  in  the  time  of  Hillel  and  Sham- 
mai,  in  the  generation  preceding  the  Christian 
era.i 

III.  8-12.  Christ's  Disciples  Must  Not 
BE  Like  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees. 
Jesus  turns  from  his  account  of  the  inconsist- 
ent and  ostentatious  Jewish  teachers  to  warn 
his  disciples  (comp.  v.  1)  against  doing  like- 
wise. Keim  thinks  it  impossible  that  in  an 
address  to  the  people  {■'■  i)  Jesus  should  have 
introduced  admonitions  to  the  disciples  con- 


1  The  doubling  of  Rabbi  (comtnon  Greelt   text)  Is  f  so  we  cannot,  with  entire  confidence,  reject  it.  'Even 


against  the  earliest  Greek  MSS.  and  most  of  the  early 
versions.  Yet  the  doubling  accords  with  a  frequent 
.Tewish  practice  (Lightf.),  while  to  copyists,  ignorant 
of  that  practice,  it  would  be  apt  to  seem  superfluous ; 


{the)  Christ'(v.  8),  is  no  doubt  spurious,  added  from  v.  10 ; 
as  also  '  teacher '  was  here  changed  by  some  documents 
to  '  guide,'  the  word  in  v.  10. 


Ch.  XXIII.] 


MATTHEW. 


467 


9  And  call  no  man  your  father  upon  the  earth:  fori    9  Is  your  teacher,  and  all  ye  are  brethren.    And  call 
one  is  your  Father,  which  is  in  heaven.  no  man  your  father  on  the  earth:  for  one  is  your 

10  Neither  be  ye  called  masters:  for  one  is  your  Mas-    10  Father,  'ei-e/i  he  who  is  in  heaven.    Neither  he  ye 
ter,  even  Christ.  I       called  masters :   for  one  is  your  master,  even  the 


1  Or,  (Ae  heavenly. 


cerning  their  one  Teacher  the  Messiah,  and 
should  then  have  launched  'woes'  against 
the  Pharisees,  "as  if  he  were  speaking  to 
them."  But  what  strange  criticism  is  here. 
"With  a  heterogeneous  crowd  thronging 
around  him,  nothing  was  more  natural  than 
that  an  impassioned  popular  speaker  should 
turn  from  one  class  of  his  hearers  to  another. 
After  V.  12  it  might  even  be  supposed  that 
some  of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  hearing  in 
the  outskirts  of  the  throng  that  he  was  warn- 
ing the  people  against  them,  had  pressed 
their  way  through  and  were  just  then  draw- 
ing near  with  hostile  looks,  so  as  to  furnish 
an  immediate  occasion  for  his  addressing 
them. 

Be  not  ye  called  Rabbi,  with  emphasis 
on  'ye,'  as  the  Greek  indicates.  Do  not  crave 
the  honor  of  being  recognized  as  a  religious 
teacher.  For  one  is  your  Master,  teacher. 
The  Rabbis  were  independent,  and  any 
one  of  them  might  found  a  distinct  school. 
But  Christians  are  all  pupils  in  one  school  of 
Jesus,  and  among  them  is  no  difference  of 
dignity.  So  Ignatius  addresses  the  Ephesians 
(ch.  3)  as  his  "schoolmates."  As  Rabbi  is 
equivalent  to  the  Latin  Doctor,  'teacher,' 
some  literalists  urge  that  to  call  a  minister 
"Doctor"  is  here  definitely  prohibited.  But 
the  matter  goes  far  deeper.  What  our  Lord 
prohibits  is  desire  for  the  distinction  involved 
in  being  recognized  as  a  religious  teacher. 
A  man  who  shows  great  desire  to  be  "  invited 
into  the  pulpit,"  or  otherwise  publicly  treated 
as  a  minister,  is  exactly  violating  this  com- 
mand. The  title  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  is 
often  80  conferred,  so  sought,  so  borne,  and 
sometimes  so  declined,  as  fo  come  under  this 
head,  but  it  is  the  spirit  involved  rather  than 
the  phrase  that  should  be  condemned.  It 
would  be  better  to  have  no  distinctive  titles, 
seeming  to  set  one  minister  above  others,  for 
there  really  is  danger  of  forgetting  that  all  | 
ye  are  brethren.  Yet  (Schnff)  "our  nd- i 
dressing  others  by  the  usual  titles  is  not  for- 
bidden; pride  taking  the  form  of  want  of 
courtesy  cannot  find  shelter  here."  The  folly 
of  mere  verbal  and  literalistic  interpretation 


is  seen  in  the  fact  that  persons  who  vehement- 
ly declaim  against  the  use  of  "Doctor,"  as 
being  prohibited  in  v.  8,  are  often  fond  of 
calling  some  venerable  minister  "Father," 
which  is  equally  prohibited  in  v.  9.  The  Jews 
often  addressed  a  religious  teacher  as  'Fa- 
ther' (Buxtorf,  comp.  2  Kings  2:  12),  even  as 
the  " sons  of  the  prophets"  and  the  "sons" 
of  the  Pharisees  were  their  pupils.  (Comp.  on 
12:  27.)  Romanists  habitually  call  a  priest 
"Father,"  and  the  sovereign  priest  the\'  call 
"Holy  Father."  So  ^66o^  is  derived  from 
abba,  '  father,'  and  Pope  is  the  same  word  as 
the  English  papa;  in  the  Greek  Church 
papas  is  applied  to  any  priest.  In  the  Church 
of  England  a  bishop  is  sometimes  formally 
addressed  as  "Right  Reverend  Father  in 
God."  While  earnestly  condemning  all  this, 
we  do  well  to  remember  that  Stephen  said, 
" Brethren  and  fathers,  hearken"  (Acts7:j); 
comp.  also  1  Cor.  4:  15.  One  is  your 
Father,  which  is  in  heaven,  more  exactly 
as  by  Amer.  Revisers,  'even  he  who  is  in 
heaven,'  literally  'the  heavenly  (one),' 
comp.  on  6:  9. 

10  ff.  Master  is  here  kathegetea,  guide, 
instructor,  see  on  8  :  19.  Even  (the)  Christ, 
the  Messiah,  see  on  2:  4.  Jesus  is  not  hero 
distinctly  saying  before  the  hostile  hearers 
that  he  is  the  Mes.siah.  ,  His  disciples  so  un- 
derstood him,  but  he  did  not  publicly  avow 
liimself  as  such  until  he  appeared  before  the 
Sanhcdrin.  (26:64,  comp.  nn  21 :  is.)  He  that  is 
greatest  among  you,  etc.,  is  repeated  from 
20:  2G.  'Greatest'  is  here  literally  ^greater 
(than  all  others),'  as  in  18:  1.  In  this  matter 
also  there  may  be  loud  professions  without 
the  reality'.  One  who  with  strict  and  ostenta- 
tious literalness  calls  himself  "servant  of  ser- 
vants of  the  servants  of  (rod,"  yet  claims  to 
be  sf)vereign  of  the  Christian  world.  Who- 
soever shall  exalt  himself,  s<-('king  to  at- 
tract human  notice  and  praise.  Shall  be 
abased.  The  Greek  has  hunihlrd  .... 
humble;  the  early  English  versions,  except 
Rheims.  unnecessarily  varied  the  translation, 
e.  g.,  Com.  Version.  The  saying  of  v.  12 
had  been  given  before,  pr(A)ably  a  week  or 


468 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXIII. 


11  But  he  that  la  greatest  among  you  shall  he  your 
servaut. 

12  And  whosoever  shall  exalt  himself  shall  he  abased; 
and  he  that  shall  humble  himself  shall  be  exalted. 


11  Christ.    But  he  that  is  >  greatest  among  you  shall 

12  be  your  *  servant.  And  whosoever  shallexalt  him- 
self shall  be  bumbled;  and  whosoever  shall  humble 
himself  shall  be  exalted. 


1  Or.  greater. . .  .2  Or,  minuter. 


two  earlier,  in  Perea,  Luke  18:  14.  It  is  very 
natural  that  any  saj'ing  uttered  at  a  distance 
should  afterwards  be  repeated  in  Jerusalem. 
The  lesson  of  humility  is  one  peculiarly  need- 
ing to  be  often  repeated.  In  one  form  or 
another,  Jesus  has  taught  it  many  times; 
comp.  on  18:  4;  and  comp.  Prov.  15:  33;  29: 
23;  James  4:  6;  1  Pet.  5:  5.  The  Talmud 
has  similar  sayings,  especially  one  (Wiin.), 
"  Whoever  humbles  himself  God  exalts,  and 
whoever  exalts  himself  God  humbles,"  which 
may  have  been  borrowed  from  the  Gospels, 
or  may  have  been  built  on  Ezek.  21 :  26. 

HOMILETICAL  AND  PRACTICAL. 

V.  2-4.  Teaching  without  practicing.  1)  A 
very  faulty  man  may  give  teaching  that  is 
Scripturally  correct.  2)  A  man  who  utterly 
neglects  his  own  duty  is  often  very  severe  in 
laying  down  the  duty  of  others.  3)  We  must 
often  disregard  a  teacher's  evil  example,  and 
heed  his  correct  precept.  4)  Yet  how  much 
better,  for  teacher  and  for  hearers,  when  he 
that  says,  also  does.  Chrts.  :  "  For  what 
can  be  more  wretched  than  a  teacher,  when  it 
is  the  preservation  of  his  disciples  not  to  give 
heed  to  his  life."  Henry:  "What  greater 
hypocrisj'  can  there  be,  than  to  press  that 
upon  others  to  be  believed  and  done,  which 
they  themselves  disbelieve  and  disobey  ;  pull- 
ing down  in  their  practice  what  they  build  up 
in  their  preaching;  when  in  the  pulpit, 
preaching  so  well  that  it  is  pity  they  should 
ever  come  out;  but  when  out  of  the  pulpit 
living  so  ill  that  it  is  pity  they  should  ever 
come  in." 

V.  5.  A  man's  aims  determine  the  moral 
quality  of  his  actions.  The  desire  for  popu- 
lar applause  may  render  a  man  very  careful 
about  outward  religious  observances  or  formal 
orthodoxy,  but  not  about  inward  piety.— V. 
6-12.  Ministerial  greatness  lies  1)  not  in  dress, 
or  any  outward  display  of  pious  punctilio; 
2)  not  in  social  honors,  or  public  recognition  ; 


3)  not  in  titles,  or  admiring  followers  ;  but  4) 
in  humble  service  of  others. — V.  11  f.  Humil- 
ity. 1)  Professed  humility  is  often  only  covert 
pride.  2)  Effort  to  be  humble  in  hope  of  ex- 
altation may  impose  on  ourselves,  and  on 
many  of  our  fellow-men,  but  cannot  deceive 
God.  3)  True  humility  has  not  time  to  think 
of  self,  because  busy  with  serving  others,  by 
speech  and  action.  4)  Genuine  humilitj-  will 
lead  to  exaltation,  in  God's  own  good  time 
and  way.  (iPet. 5:ar.) 

13-39.  Woes  Denoxinced  tjpon  the 
Scribes  and  Pharisees. 

This  is  given  by  Matthew  only.  Luke  re- 
cords several  similar  woes  (11:37-54),  which  ap- 
pear to  have  been  pronounced  some  months 
earlier,  comp.  above  on  22:  1  and  on  19:  1. 
Our  Lord  now  ceases  to  address  his  disciples 
and  the  people  in  general  (23  :i),  and  turns 
back  to  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  pro- 
nouncing upon  them  a  series  of  mournful 
woes,  V.  13,  15,  16-22,  23  f.,  25  f.,  27  f.,  29-36, 
closing  with  an  apostrophe  to  Jerusalem,  37- 
39.  In  each  case  some  special  form  of  wicked- 
ness is  made  the  ground  of  this  stern  denunci- 
ation, and  the  solemnly  repeated  address  at 
the  opening  of  the  successive  paragraphs  gives 
them  a  rhythmical  character,  like  strophes  in 
an  ode.  Keini:  "  In  the  seven  woes,  the  first 
place  is  given  (first  and  second  woes)  to  the 
judgment  against  the  foes  of  the  kingdom  of 
God,  whose  proselyting  zeal  for  their  lost 
cause  stands  in  sharp  contrast  to  the  hin- 
drances to  the  progress  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.  The  third  and  fourth  woes  denounce 
their  false  teaching  of  the  law;  the  fifth  and 
sixth,  the  slovenly  efforts  after  purity  by  the 
'  pure ' ;  the  seventh  definitely  reverts  to  the 
attitude  of  the  Pharisees  towards  the  prophets 
— the  announcers  and  forerunners  of  Jesus 
— whose  graves  they  build,  and  in  doing  so 
prove  themselves  to  be  the  sons  of  those  that 
murdered  the  prophets." 

I.  13.^  They  Shut  the  Kingdom.    Woe 


1  W  H.,  and  also  Stephens'  third  ed.,  which  in  Eng- 
land is  called  the  Textut  Recplus,  put  this  as  v.  14.  The 
spurious  verse  follows  v.  12  in  most  of  the  documents 


which  contain  it.    The  early  English  versions  proba- 
bly followed  the  Vulgate  in  giving  the  other  order. 


Ch.  XXIII.] 


MATTHEW. 


469 


13  But  woe  unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypo- 
crites !  for  ye  shut  up  the  kingdom  of  heaven  'against 
men  :  for  ye  neither  go  in  yourselves,  neither  sutl'er  ye 
them  that  are  entering  to  go  in. 

14  Woe  unto  j'ou,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites  I 
for  ye  devour  widows'  houses,  and  for  a  pretence  make 
long  prayer:  therefore  ye  shall  receive  the  greater 
damnation. 

15  Woe  unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites  ! 
for  ye  compass  sea  and  land  to  make  one  proselyte  ; 
and  when  he  is  made,  ye  make  him  twofold  more  the 
child  of  hell  than  yourselves. 


13 


But  woe  unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hvpo- 

crites!    because  ye  shut    the  kingdom    of   heaven 

1  against  men  :  for  ye  enter  ntt  in  youriselves,  neither 

sutler  ye  them  that  are  entering  in  to  enter.'.; 

15      Woe  unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hvpocrites  ! 

for  ye  compass  sea  and  land  to  make  one  "proselyte ; 

and  when  he  is  become  so  ye  make  him  twololU  more 

a  sou  of  Shell  than  yourselves. 


1  Gr.  be/ore. . .  .2  Some  aaihoritiea  losert  here,  or  after  ver.  12.  ver.  14  :     Woe  unto  you,  tcribeM  and  PharUeet.  hypoerUet  I  for  ye  devour 
widow' houae;  even  while  for  a  pretence  ye  make  long prayere :  there/ore  ye  $haU  receive  greater  .ondemnattoa.    See  Murk  xli.  40  ; 

Luke  XX.  47 3  Or.  Gekenna. 


is  a  solemn  warning  and  also  an  expression  of 
pity — alas  for  you.  (is:  t.)  With  these  eight 
'  woes '  (the  eighth  given  by  Mark  and  Luke), 
comp.  six  'woes'  in  Isa.  ch.  5,  and  five  in 
Hab.  2:  6ff.  Scribes,  see  on  2:  4;  Phari- 
sees, see  on  3:  7;  hypocrites,  see  on  6:  2; 
kingdom  of  heaven,  see  on  3:  2.  Our  Lord 
implies  that  the  Messianic  reign  has  already 
begun,  as  he  did  even  in  11 :  12.  Ye  shut. 
These  religious  teachers  ought  to  have  set 
men  in  general  the  example  of  promptly  and 
joyfully  entering  the  Messianic  kingdom,  but 
they  actually  prevented  others  from  enter- 
ing. Against  men,  literally  before  men  (Rev. 
Ver.  margin),  and  so  all  English  versions  be- 
fore K.  James.  The  image  is  of  the  people  at 
large  as  moving  towards  the  open  gate  of  the 
kingdom,  and  on  the  point  of  entering;  but 
their  religious  leaders,  heading  the  procession, 
refuse  to  enter  themselves,  and  practically 
shut  the  gate  in  the  people's  face.  (Comp.  on 
16:  19.)  They  do  this  by  denying  that  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand,  and  striving  to 
turn  the  popular  mind  away  from  the  rising 
persuasion  that  Jesus  is  the  Messiah  (21:9,15, 
44  f.),  and  from  entering  the  Messianic  king- 
dom through  penitent  faith.  They  paraded 
tiiemselves  as  leaders  of  the  people,  while 
really  (Weiss)  they  were  misleaders. 

14.  This  verse  of  Com.  Ver.  is  here  spuri- 
ous, *  but  genuine  in  Mark  12:  40,  and  Luke  20: 
47,  so  that  it  was  actually  spoken  on  this  occa- 
sion, though  not  included  in  Matthew's  report. 
Widows,  being  without  a  male  representative 
in  business,  have  always  been  in  Asia  specially 


exposed  to  fraud  and  other  wrong.  (Comp. 
Luke  18 :  3 ;  Acts  6:1;  James  1 :  27. )  To  seize 
their  property,  even  their  homes,  is  in  other 
parts  of  the  world  also  a  common  practice  of 
men  who  commend  themselves  by  "making 
long  prayers"  (comp.  6:  7)  as  extraordinarily 
devout,  and  therefore  trustworthy.  The  ex- 
pression, "shall  receive  greater  condemna- 
tion," suggests  degrees  in  future  punisliment, 
a  subject  of  very  great  practical  importance. 
See  the  Commentaries  on  Mark  and  Luke. 

II.  15.  Thky  Proselyte  with  Wrong 
Aims.  This  saying  is  not  elsewhere  recorded. 
Woe  unto  you,  etc.,  see  on  v.  13.  Hypo- 
crites, because  they  pretend  to  be  zealous  for 
the  promotion  of  the  true  religion  and  for  the 
religious  benefit  of  men,  when  they  are  really 
aiming  only  to  multiph'  partisans,  and  are 
making  them  not  better,  but  wor.«e.  Ye  com- 
pass sea  and  land,  literally,  the  dry  (land), 
as  so  often  in  Old  Test.  The  h\'pcrbolical  ex- 
pression shows  how  zealous  and  active  they 
were  in  order  that  even  a  single  Gontile  might 
become  a  Jew.  An  interesting  example  of 
proselyting  even  beyond  the  Tigris,  a  few 
years  after  our  Lord  said  this,  may  be  xeen  in 
Jos.  "  Ant.,"  20,  2,  2  ff.  The  same  false  zeal 
appeared  atlerwards  in  the  Judaizers  who  fol- 
lowed Paul,  Gal.  6:  13.  The  notion  of  Chrys. 
and  others  that  Je.sus  reproaches  the  Pharisees 
with  the  small  results  of  their  immense  activ- 
ity, is  quite  foreign  to  the  connection.  He  is 
speaking  not  of  small  results,  but  of  bail 
results.  To  make  one  proselyte.  This 
word  is  found  elsewhere  in  New  Test,  only  in 


1  It  is  wanting  In  the  earliest  and  beat  Greek  manu- 
scripts, and  several  early  versions,  is  evidently  unknown 
here  toOrigen,  and  Eus,  and  Jerome,  and  was  obviously 
brought  in  from  Mark  and  Luke.  Being  written  on 
the  margin  of  Matt,  by  some  student,  and  known  l)y 
subsequent  copyists  to  be  a  real  saying  of  Jesus,  it 


readily  crept  into  the  text,  being  placed  in  many  copies 
after  v.  12,  but  in  some  after  v.  IS.  Such  Introduction 
of  an  addition  at  two  different  points  indifferent  copies 
is  not  infrcfiucnt,  and  oheds  light  on  (he  treutmcut  of 
parallel  passages  by  students  and  copyists. 


470 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXIII. 


16  Woe  unto  you,  ye  blind  guides,  which  say,  Whoso-  I  16  Woe  unto  you,  ye  blind  guides,  who  sav.  Whoso- 
ever sha  swear  by  the  temple,  it  is  nothing:  but  whoso-  :  ever  shall  swear  by  the  i  temple,  it  is  nothing ;  but 
ever  shall  swear  by  tUegold  of  the  temple,  heisadebtorl  |       whosoever  shall  swear  by  the  gold  of  the  i  te^Dle 

1/  1«  fools  and  blind:  for  whether  is  greater,  the  17  he  is  s  a  debtor.  Ye  fools  and  blind:  for  whether  ij 
gold,  or  the  temple  that  sanctifieth  the  gold  ?  |       greater,  the  gold,  or  the  i  temple  that  hath  sanctified 


1  Or,  «anc(uary ;  u  In  ver.  36.    2  Or,  bound  by  his  oath. 


Acts  2  :  10;  6  :  5;  13  :  43,  but  very  often  in 
Sept.  It  signified  originally  an  immigrant,  a 
foreigner  who  had  '  come  to '  a  community  for 
the  purpose  of  dwelling  there;  this  is  its  com- 
mon use  in  Sept.,  English  'stranger.'  By  an 
easy  transition  it  denoted  a  Gentile  who  be- 
came a  Jew,  which  is  its  use  in  New  Test. 
"What  is  involved  in  '  make '  one  proselyte  ? 
To  convince  hitn  that  Jehovah  the  God  of 
Israel  is  the  only  true  God  (Deut.6:«f.),  and 
induce  him  to  be  circumcised  and  set  out  to 
keep  the  law  of  Moses.  (Exod.  ij:48.)  Those  who 
were  convinced,  but  unwilling  to  submit  to 
this  unpopular  rite  (Jos.  "Ant.,"  20,  2,  4), 
were  called  "  proselytes  of  the  gate,"  as  if  not 
fully  entering  the  city  and  becoming  citizens, 
but  merely  sitting  in  the  gate;  the  others 
were  called  "proselytes  of  righteousness," 
righteous  proselytes,  who  did  their  whole 
duty.  After  the  ceremony  of  circumcision, 
the  proselyte  must  of  course  give  himself  a 
thorough  purification,  as  he  would  after  any 


made,  Rev.  Ver.,  he  is  become  so,  or  'is  be- 
come (a  proselyte),' as  in  4:  13;  13:  32;  18:  3; 
'  made '  was  here  a  bad  rendering  of  the  Greek 
word,  as  it  confounds  this  term  with  the  term 
'make  '  that  precedes  and  follows;  it  was  an 
imitation  of  the  Vulgate.  The  child,  a  son 
(Wyclif )  is  the  exact  translation,  as  in  5:9 
Rev.  Ver.  and  8 :  12,  etc.  Hell  is  here  Ge- 
henna, the  place  of  torment,  see  on  5  :  22.  'A 
son  of  heir  would  be  one  having  a  helliSh 
character,  as  a  child  is  apt  to  resemble  the 
parent  (comp.  on  8  :  12),  and  so  suited  to 
dwell  in  hell.  This,  then,  was  the  ground  of 
the  woe  ;  not  that  they  zealously  made  prose- 
lytes, which  was  entirely  proper  if  rightly 
done,  but  that  they  made  them  bad  men  like 
themselves,  yea,  doubly  as  bad.  These  prose- 
lytes retained  the  essential  faults  of  the 
heathen,  and  took  on  the  faults  of  the  Phari- 
sees. So  some  of  our  "civilized"  Indiansare 
still  savages,  with  the  vices  of  civilization, 
and    comp.    the   heathen   converts   made   by 


other  thorough  defilement,  before  approach-  I  some  Jesuit  missionaries.     In  these  proselytes 
ing  the  altar  with  a  sacrifice.     In  later  times,    the  good  was  more  superficial  than  in   the 


after  the  destruction  of  the  temple  by  Titus, 
and  the  consequent  cessation  of  sacrifices,  this 
purification  of  the  proselyte  was  the  final  act, 
and  came  to  be  then  regarded  as  a  special  rite, 
which  by  modern  writers  is  called  "proselyte 
baptism,"  see  on  3:6.  Tyndale  and  Gen. 
have  here  'to  bring  one  into  your  belief,' 
which  is  not  a  bad  paraphrase.  A  picture  of 
a  real  proselyte  to  the  true  faith  is  given  in 
1  Pet.  4 : 2-4.  Talmud  Bab.  says  that  a 
heathen  inclined  to  become  a  proselyte  should 
be  told  that  "the Israelites  are  now  enfeebled, 
persecuted,  and  distressed."  But  this  by  no 
means  proves,  as  Wun.  and  others  argue,  that 
the  Jews  were  never  much  given  to  proselyt- 


Pharisees — who  often  retained  some  roots  of 
old  convictions — while  the  hj'pocris^'  was  not 
less  deep.  Pupils  in  error  and  vice  frequently 
surpass  their  teachers.  Very  likely  also  some 
became  proselytes  for  the  sake  of  gain.  Yet 
not  all  the  proselytes  of  the  time  came  under 
the  condemnation  here  uttered,  for  some  of 
them  were  among  the  early  con  verts  of  the  apos- 
tles. (Acts  2:  lo;  6:5;10:2;  13:43,50;  16:14;  17:4.17;  18:7.) 

Other  proselytes  would  naturally  be  very 
bitter  against  Christianity ;  and  Justin  Mar- 
tyr, after  quoting  this  passage,  says  to  Trypho 
(ch.  122),  "But  the  proselytes  not  only  do 
not  believe,  but  twofold  more  than  you  they 
blaspheme  against  his  name."     Proselytes  are 


ing.  The  attempt  in  later  centuries  to  check  often  mentioned  in  the  Talmud  with  suspicion 
the  influx  of  proselytes  by  speaking  of  the  j  or  contempt.  Plump.:  "The  popular  Jew- 
then  depressed  condition  of  Israel,  implies  a  !  ish  feeling  about  them  was  like  the  popular 
previous  contrary  course.  Tacitus  ("  Hist.,"  |  Christian  feeling  about  a  converted  Jew. 
v.,  5)  says  that  the  Jews  grew  because  all  the  I  Proselytes  were  regarded  as  the  leprosy  of 
worst  men  left  their  national  religions  and  j  Israel,  hindering  the  coming  of  the  Messiah, 
became  Jews.  See  Juvenal,  "Sat.,"  14,  96-  It  became  a  proverb  that  no  one  should 
106,  and  other  statements  to  the  same  efl'ect  in  trust  a  proselyte,  even  the  twenty-fourth 
Wet.,  and  comp.  Edersh.     And  when  he  is  j  generation." 


Ch.  XXIIL] 


MATTHEW. 


471 


18  And,  whosoever  shall  swear  by  the  altar,  it  is 
nothing;  but  whosoever  swealreth  by  the  gilt  that  is 
upon  it,  he  is  "  guilty. 

19  >e  fools  and  blind:  for  whether  is  greater,  the 
gift,  or  the  altar  that  sanctitieth  the  gift  ? 

20  Whoso  therefore  shall  swear  by  the  altar,  swear- 
eth  by  it,  and  by  all  things  thereon. 

21  And  whoso  shall  swear  by  the  temple, swcareth  by 
it,  and  by  him  that  dwelleth  therein. 


18  the  gold  ?    And,  Whosoever  shall  swear  by  the  altar, 
it  is  nothing;  but  whosoever  shall  swt-ar  by  the  gift 

19  that  is  upon  it,  he   is  la   debtor.     Ye  blind:  for 
whether  is  greater,  the  gift,  or  the  aitar  that  saucii- 

20  fieth  the  gilt?    He  therefore  that  swtarelh  by  the 
altar,  sweareth  by  it,  and   by   all  things  thereon. 

21  And  he  that  sweareth  by  the s  temple,  sweareth  by  it, 


a  Or,  debtor,  or  bound. 1  Or,  bound  br  bi>  oatb 2  Or,  tanctuarf:  u  to  ver.  36. 


III.  16-22.  By  Foolish  Distinctions 
THEY  Excuse  the  Violation  of  Oaths. 
Til  is  is  found  in  Matt.  only.  As  to  the 
general  subject  of  oath.s,  comp.  on  5:  33-37. 
Here  the  Saviour  confines  himself  to  one 
point,  viz.,  that  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees 
wickedly  encourage  the  people  to  violate 
oaths,  by  making  untenable  and  silly  dis- 
tinctions between  certain  oaths  as  binding 
and  certain  others  as  not  binding.  Woe  unto 
you,  as  in  v.  13.  Ye  blind  guides,  see  on 
15:  14.  A  religious  teacher  who  gives  mis- 
leading instruction  is  strikingly  represented 
by  a  blind  guide.  Our  Lord  does  not  in  this 
case  call  them  hypocrites,  as  in  the  other  woes. 
The  temple  is  here  the  nwos,  the  sacred 
house,  see  on  4:  5.  The  oath  by  the  temple 
would  naturally  be  often  used,  and  so  would 
be  often  violated,  until  men  did  not  feel  very 
solemnly  bound  by  it  to  speak  the  truth  or 
keep  an  engagement.  Then  a  new  oath  was 
invented,  by  the  gold  of  the  temple,  and 
this  as  being  new  was  felt  to  be  more  binding. 
This  gold  would  mean  the  gold  plates  with 
which  much  of  the  temple  was  covered  (Jos. 
"War,"  5,  5,  3-6),  and  the  golden  vessels  of 
the  temple  (6,  8,  3);  probably  also  the  coin 
from  contributions.  Jos.  states  ("  Ant.,"  14, 
7,  1)  that  Croesus  took  from  the  temple  eight 
thousand  talents  of  gold,  say  ten  million  dol- 
lars. It  is  nothing.  The  Mishna  on  Vows 
(Nedarim,  1,  3)  speaks  of  vowing,  "This 
shall  be  to  me  as  the  lamb,  as  the  wood,  as  the 
fire,  as  the  altar,  as  the  temple,  as  Jerusalem  ;  " 
and  adds  "Rabbi  Jehuda  says.  If  one  says 
'  Jerusalem '  (i.  e.,  not '  as  Jerusalem  '),  he  has 
said  nothing."  (Comp.  Wfln.)  The  Scribes 
and  Pharisees  had  conformed  to  popular  cus- 
tom and  feeling  by  actually  teaching  that  the 
old  and  common  oath  by  the  temple  was  not 
binding,  but  only  the  new-fashioned  oath  by 
the  gold.  The  Saviour  shows  this  to  bo  an 
absurd  distinction,  since  it  was  the  temple 
thi't  gave  to  this  gold  such  sacredness  as  to 
make  it  the  natural  subject  matter  of  an  oath. 


So  as  to  the  old  oath  by  the  altar,  and  the 
new  oath  by  the  gift  that  is  upon  it.    It 

was  only  the  altar  that  made  the  gift  a  holy 
thing,  so  as  to  render  it  natural  that  men 
should  swear  by  the  gift.  He  adds  (v.vo)  that 
to  swear  by  the  altar  included  swearing  by  the 
gift,  for  the  former  suggested  and  involved 
the  latter  In  like  manner,  the  old  and 
slighted  oath  'by  the  temple'  really  involved 
swearing  by  him  that  dwelleth  therein, 
who  gives  to  the  temple  its  sacrednes.s.  The 
Jews  would  avoid  literally  taking  in  vain  any 
name  of  Jehovah  their  God,  and  when  swear- 
ing only  by  things  associated  with  him,  as  the 
temple,  heaven,  etc.,  they  imagined  that  they 
would  not  break  the  third  commandment  in 
violating  such  an  oath.  The  Mishna  on  Oaths 
(Shebuoth,  4,  13)  says  if  one  adjures  others  by 
heaven  and  by  earth,  they  are  not  bound ; 
but  they  are  bound  if  he  adjures  them  by  " 
d,  representing  Adonai  (Lord),  or  by  j,  h, 
representing  Jehovah,  or  by  Sabaoth  (.Jehovah 
of  hosts),  or  by  any  divine  attribute  or  divine 
name.  The  Gemara  on  this  passage  of  the 
Mishna  explains  (Wiin.)  that  this  is  because 
these  terms  must  mean  the  divine  being,  while 
heaven  and  earth  can  bo  conceived  of  as  mere 
objects,  without  reference  to  the  Creator. 
This  is  exactly  the  notion  that  our  Lord  here 
condemns.  Heaven  and  earth,  when  used  in 
oaths,  do  suggest  the  Creator.  So  the  Mo- 
hammedans will  take  many  oaths  without 
pretending  to  act  accordingly,  but  an  oath  by 
the  Koran  thej'  must  keep.  The  Bohemian 
in  "Quentin  Durward"  glibly  utters  many 
profused  oaths,  but  when  required  to  swear 
"by  the  three  kings  of  Cologne,"  and  that 
with  his  face  turned  towards  the  east,  he  feels 
bound.  Comp.  above,  "  Horn,  and  Pract.",  on 
5:  3:i-37.  He  is  a  debtor  (».i«)  means  that 
he  owes  what  ho  has  thus  solemnly  declared 
or  promised,  and  must  pay  it —  he  is  hound  by 
his  oath  (Kev.  Ver.  margin).  The  .same  Greek 
word  is  used  in  v.  18,  but  Com.  Ver.,  as  so 
often,  must  needs  vary  the  translation,  and 


472  MATTHEW.  [Ch.  XXIII. 

22  And  he  that  shall  swear  bv  heaven,  eweareth  by  ( 22  and  by  him  that  dwelleth  therein.    And  he  that 
the  throne  of  God,  and  by  him  that  siiteth  thert-on.  sweareth  bv  the  heaven,  sweareth  by  the  throne  of 

23  Woe  unto  yon,  senbes  and  Pharisees  hypocrites  ?  j       God,  and  bv  him  that  sitteth  thereon. 

for  ye  pay  tithe  of  mint  and  "anise  and  cumiuiu,  and  23      Woe  unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees  hypocrites  ' 
have  omitted  the   weightier  matlfrs  of  the  law.judg-        for  ye  tithe  mint  and  i  anise  and  cummin,  and  have 


nient,  mercy,  and  faiili:  these  ought  ye  to  have  done, 
and  not  to  leave  the  other  undone. 

24  i'e  blind  guides,  which  siraiu  at  a  gnat,  and  swal- 
low a  camel. 


left  undone  the  weightier  matters  of  the' law,  jus- 
tice, and  mercy,  and  faith:  but  these  ye  ought  to 
have  done,  and  not  to  have  left  the  other  undone. 
24  Ye  blind  guides,  who  strain  out  the  gnat,  and  swal- 
low the  camel. 


a  Gr.  anethon.  dill. 1  Or,  dill. 


give  he  is  guilty.  That  hath  sanctified,  j  tised  both  for  flavoring  food  and  as  valuable 
is  in  V.  17  the  correct  Greek  text;  in  v.  19  it  carminative  medicines;  the  seeds  of  cummin 
is  that  sanctifieth.  The  assimilation  of  the  i  were  used  for  the  former  purpose.  Judg- 
former  to  the  latter  was  a  characteristic  act    ment,  mercy,  and  faith,  i.  e.,  good  faith, 


of  copyists.*    So  with  the  addition  of  '  fools 
in  v.  19  from  v.  17. 

IV.  23  f.  SCRUPITLOITS  AS  TO  MiNOR  MAT- 
TERS, BUT  Neglecting  Great  Moral  Du- 
ties.  Woe  unto  yon,  etc.,  see  on  v.  13.   The 

law  required  the  Israelites  to  pay  tithes  of 
agricultural  products,  including  fruits  (Lev. 27: 
30;  0eut.  14:22  ff.);  and  these  punctilious  Phari- 
sees took  pains  to  tithe  every  product  that 
was  edible  and  could  be  preserved.  (Tal- 
mud.) Our  Lord  mentions  as  specimens, 
mint  and  anise  and  cummin;  on  the 
former  occasion  he  gave  'mint  and  rue  and 
every  herb.'  (Lukeu:42,  r.v.)  Comp.  the  boast 
"I  give  tithes  of  all  that  I  get."  (Luke  is:  12, 
R-  V.)  Some  even  gave  tithes  of  what  they 
purchased  for  use.  (Hausrath.)  The  Greek 
word  here  used  for  mint  means  'sweet-smell- 
ing,' though  the  Greek  also  had  the  word 
minthn ;  our  words  anise  and  cummin  are 
borrowed  from  the  Greek.      The    leaves  of 


fidelity  (Kom. 3:3),  the  common  classical  sense 
of  the  term.  In  Luke,  it  is  'judgment  and  the 
love  of  God.'  Comp.  Mic.  6:  8.  The  Ameri- 
can Revisers  properly  urge  that  not  'judg- 
ment,' but  'justice,'  is  the  correct  translation 
here  and  in  Luke,  though  the  Greek  word  is 
correctly  rendered  'judgment'  in  v.  33,  and 
so  rendered  elsewhere.  To  render  a  Greek 
term  everywhere  by  the  same  word  is  very 
desirable,  but  not  always  practicable.  The 
Aveightier  matters  of  the  law.  We  have 
seen  (on  22:  36)  that  the  Rabbis  called  some 
commandments  of  the  law  weighty  and  others 
light.  Jesus  recognizes  that  such  a  distinc- 
tion is  legitimate,  but  draws  the  line  very 
differently  from  their  teachings,  for  he  makes 
fundamental,  ethical,  and  spiritual  duties 
(comp.  Luke)  the  weightier  matters.  Comp. 
'one  of  these  least  commandments.'  (5:i9.)  As 
to  tht;  superiority  of  the  ethical  to  the  cere- 


mint  and  the  seeds  of  anise  (or  dill)  were    monial,  comp.  on  9:  11  and  12:  7.    And  not 


1  *  He  that  sweareth '  in  v.  20,  21,  22  is  the  aorist  par- 
ticiple, of  which  Meyer  here  gives  a  hopelessly  artificial 
explanation,  and  which  none  of  the  grammars  treat 
satisfactorily.  It  presents  the  simple  notion  of  the 
action  witfiout  any  such  idea  of  continuance  or  repeti- 
tion or  custom  as  the  present  participle  would  give.  In 
general,  the  aorist  tense  ("  second  aorist ")  is  the  origi- 
nal root  of  the  verb,  presenting  the  unmodified  action. 
As  various  tense  forms  were  devised,  the  present  sys- 
tem, the  perfect  system,  etc.,  to  express  particular 
modifications,  the  aorist  continued  to  be  use<l  whenever 
no  one  of  these  others  was  distinctly  wanted.  This 
history  appears  to  explain  the  use  of  the  aorist  in  the 
suhj.,  opt.,  imperative,  infinitive,  and  participle;  the  ao- 
rist is  in  all  these  employed  as  a  matter  of  course,  unless 
the  distinctive  sense  of  thp  present  or  perfect  tense  be 
specially  desired — because  the  aorist  is  the  original 
verb.  When  the  so-called  "  first  aorist  "  form  was  sul>- 
sequently  invented,  it  came  to  be  used  in  the  same 
sense  as  the  old  aorist.  Apparent  exceptions  to  this 
theory  of  the  aorist  are  believed  to  be  only  apparent. 


If  the  aorist  subjunctive  is  sometimes  naturally  trans- 
lated by  the  Latin  future  perfect  (as  some  would  do  in 
V.  16,  18),  this  is  merely  suggested  by  the  nature  of  the 
case,  just  as  when  the  aorist  indicative  is  translated  by 
the  pluperfect.  So  when  the  aorist  participle  denotes 
an  action  antecedent  to  the  time  of  the  principal  verb, 
this  is  only  through  a  suggested  contrast  to  the  present 
participle,  which  would  of  necessity  give  an  action 
contemporaneous  with  that  of  the  principal  verb  ;  and 
in  a  case  like  that  before  us  the  suggestion  of  such  a 
contrast  is  excluded  by  the  nature  of  the  case.  Comp. 
on  21 :  18.  In  the  indicative  mood  the  aorist  bears  the 
same  relation  to  the  imperfect  that  it  bears  in  the  other 
moods  to  the  present.  If  these  views  of  the  aorist  be 
correct,  there  is  no  occasion  for  the  various  artificial 
definitions  of  that  tense  which  are  given  by  many 
grammarians  and  commentators. — In  v.  21  the  aorist 
participle  for  'dwelleth,'  given  by  many  documents 
and  editors,  is  probably  an  alteration  of  the  copyists  to 
make  it  correspond  outwardly  to  the  tense  ol '  sweareth.' 


Ch.  XXIIL] 


MATTHEW. 


473 


25  Woe  unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites  I 
for  ye  make  clean  the  outside  of  the  cup  and  of  tlie 
platter,  but  withio  ihey  are  full  of  extortion  and 
excess. 

26  Thou  blind  Pharisee,  cleanse  first  that  which  is 
within  the  cup  and  platter,  that  the  outside  of  them 
may  be  clean  also. 


25  Woe  unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites! 
for  ye  cleanse  the  outside  of  the  cup  and  of  the 
platter,  but  within  they  are  full  from  extortion  and 

26  excess.  Thou  blind  Pharisee,  cleanse  tirst  the  iu- 
si'leof  the  cup  and  of  the  platter,  that  the  outside 
thereof  may  become  clean  also. 


to  leave  the  other  undone.  The  old  Eng- 
lish plural  use  of  'other'  here  creates  mo- 
mentary diflBculty,  as  if  referring  to  a  singu- 
lar, and  there  is  no  propriety  in  retaining  it. 
Our  Lord  beautifully  adapts  his  two  expres- 
sions. They  were  strict  as  to  the  slightest  exter- 
nals, and  left  undone  the  ethical;  he  says  that 
the  ethical  duties  ought  to  be  done,  and  the 
others  not  to  be  neglected.  So  Luke  11 :  42, 
and  comp.  above  on  12:  7.  He  does  not  for- 
bid the  tithing  of  herbs,  but  sets  in  strong 
contrast  with  this  scrupulosity  their  neglect  of 
great  moral  duties.  Ye  blind  guides,  as  in 
V.  16,  leading  the  people  utterly  astray  by 
false  teaching  and  bad  example.  The  image 
in  V.  2i  expresses  the  same  thing  as  v.  23. 
The  Talmud  speaks  (Wet.)  of  straining  wine 
in  order  to  remove  minute  unclean  creatures. 
(i*v.  11 :«-«.)  The  Buddhists  in  Ceylon  strain 
their  wine  for  a  similar  reason.  Gnats  sip  at 
wine,  and  so  may  fall  into  it.  Trench  (on 
Rev. )  tells  of  a  soldier  in  Morocco  who  always 
placed  the  end  of  his  turban  over  the  vessel 
from  which  he  drank  water,  avowedly  for  the 
purpose  of  straining  out  the  gnats,  "whose 
larvae  swarm  in  the  water  of  that  country." 
The  gnat  and  the  camel  are  put  in  contrast 
as  extremes  in  regard  to  size;  the  latter  is 
obviously'  a  .strong  hyperbole,  for  the  camel 
was  the  largest  animal  familiarly  known  to 
the  Jews.  (Comp.  on  19:  24.)  Observe  that 
it  also  was  "unclean."  (Lev. ii:4.)  Thus  these 
persons  carefully  strain  out  the  smallest 
creature,  and  swallow  the  largest;  they  are 
very  scrupulous  about  the  minutest  matters 
of  ceremonial  observance,  and  then  neglect 
the  highest  ethical  duties  enjoined  by  the 
law.  The  translation  strain  at  is  generally  j 
supposed  to  have  been  a  mere  misprint,  in 
the  original  edition  of  K.  James'  version, 
for  'strain  out,'  which  had  been  given  by 
Tyn.,  Cran.,   and  Gen.      The  Greek  means 


'thoroughly  filter,'  thoroughly  strain,  ap- 
plied to  wine  in  Amos  6:  6,  and  here  to  that 
which  is  removed  by  filtering  wine.  Alford 
thinks  that  the  K.  J.  revisers  purposely  gave 
'strain  at,'  meaning  'strain  (the  wine)  at  (the 
occurrence  of)  a  gnat,'  but  this  is  highly  im- 
probable. 

V.  25  f.  Caring  for  Outward  Purifi- 
cation Rather  Than  for  True  Mo- 
rality. Comp.  what  Luke  gives  (ii:38ff.), 
as  spoken  some  time  earlier.  Woe  unto 
you,  etc.,  see  on  v.  13.  Of  all  the  re- 
quirements of  the  law,  purification  was  that 
on  which  the  Pharisees  seem  to  have  laid 
most  stress;  comp.  on  15  :  2.  There  is  hete  a 
regular  progression,  oaths,  tithes,  purifications. 
They  were  careful  about  not  only  the  actual 
cleaning,  but  the  ceremonial  cleaning  of  the 
cup  and  the  platter,  Mark  7  :  4.  'Platter' 
is  in  the  Greek  a  rare  word,  denoting  a  side- 
dish,  some  delicacy  set  on  the  side-table,  and 
only  handed  to  the  guests,  and  derivatively 
the  di.sh  used  for  such  dainties.  Full  of 
From  (Rev.  Ver. )  extortion  and  excess, 
or  'intemperance,'  in  the  original  sense  of 
that  term.  The  contents  of  the  cup  and  dish, 
namely  the  wine  and  food,  are  the  product  of 
extortion,  and  the  cup  and  dish  &rc filled  in 
con.sequence  of  desire  for  excess  in  eating 
and  drinking.  The  image  seems  to  change 
slightly,  the  full  cup  and  platter  being  due  in 
one  sen.se  to  extortion,  and  in  another  to  ex- 
cess.* Thou  blind  Pharisee,  not  now  re- 
proached as  blindly  leading  others  astray 
(v.  i«,  24),  but  as  blindly  going  a.stray  himself. 
Cleanse  first  that  which  is  within.  Let 
the  contents  of  the  cup  and  dish  be  the  fruit 
of  honest  industry  and  not  of  extortion,  and 
be  used  temjierately  and  not  in  excess;  then 
your  ceremonial  deansingof  the  vessels  them- 
selves, will  be  real,  and  accejitable  to  God. 
Comp.  on  G:  8.     May  be  clean;   Rev.  Ver. 


1  This  was  not  understood,  and  many  manuscripts  i  Reocptun.  Ro,  also,  some  documents  omit  the  preposU 
have 'extortion  and  iniquity,' and  several  leading  early  I  tion  rendered  '  from,'  becauiie  it  wn.t  not  undorstood, 
versions  have  'extortion  ami  uncleannens ' ;  both  are  'and  the  early  English  versions  fail  to  trannlnt'-  il,  ttlv- 
obviously  changes  to  remove  the  difficulty,  and,  for  iiig  «ini|)ly  'full  of,' which  Is  correct  in  Luke  II:  39, 
once,  the  simplification  did  not  pass  Into  the  Textus  I  and  below  in  v.  27. 


474 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXIII. 


27  Woe  unto  you,  scribes  and  Pbarisees,  hypocrites ! 
for  ye  are  like  unto  whited  sepulchres,  wbicU  indeed 
appear  beautiful  outward,  but  are  within  full  of  dead 
titen's  bones,  and  of  all  unclean ness. 

28  Even  so  ye  also  outwardly  appear  righteous  unto 
men,  but  within  ye  are  full  of  hypocrisy  aud  iniquity. 

29  Woe  unto  vou,  scribes  aud"  Pharisees,  hypocrites  I 
because  ve  build  the  tombs  of  the  prophets,  and  garnish 
the  sepulchres  of  the  righteous, 


27  Woe  unio  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites  I 
for  ye  are  like  unto  whited  sepulehres,  which  out- 
wardly appear  beautiful,  but  inwardly   are   full  of 

28  dead  men's  bones,  and  of  all  uncleanness.  Even  so 
je  also  outwardly  appear  righteous  unto  men,  but 
inwardly  ye  are  full  of  hypocrisy  and  iniquity. 

29  Woe  unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites! 
for  ye  build  the  sepulchres  of  the  prophets,  and 


May  become  clean  is  the  exact  meaning  of  the 
Greek  and  suits  the  connection. 

VI.  27  f.  They  are  Whited  Sepul- 
CHEES.  Comp.  Luke  11 :  44.  The  transition 
from  outward  and  inward  purity  of  vessels  to 
outward  and  inward  personal  purity,  is  natu- 
ral and  immediate.  Woe  unto  you,  etc., 
see  on  v.  13.  Whited  sepulchres.  Tombs 
of  the  better  class  about  Jerusalem  were 
caves,  or  artificial  chambers  cut  in  the  lime- 
stone rock.  (27:60.)  The  exterior  of  these  was 
whitewashed,  mainly  to  prevent  persons  from 
touching  them  unawares  and  thus  becoming 
unclean  (Num. i9:i6),  but  also  for  agreeable  ap- 
pearance and  perhaps  for  sanitary  reasons. 
The  Mishna  states  (Shekalim  1,  1)  that  on  the 
15  of  Adar  (roughly  answering  to  our  March, 
when  the  rains  are  over)  people  repair  the 
roads,  and  public  baths  and  other  public 
works,  and  whitewash  the  tombs.  The  Jeru- 
salem Gemara  (tr.  of  Schwab)  explains  that 
this  is  because  the  rain  may  have  washed  off 
the  lime.  The  Talmud  also  represents 
(Lightf. )  that  sometimes  they  whitened  the 
whole  tomb,  in  other  cases  made  on  it  the 
figure  of  a  bone  or  bones,  and  adds  that 
as  the  leper  said,  "Unclean,  unclean"  (Lev. 
is:*5),  so  here  "uncleanness  cries  out  to  you 
and  says,  'Come  not  near.'"  Our  Lord  is 
speaking  at  the  Passover,  when  the  recent 
whitening  would  be  very  noticeable.  Which 
appear  beautiful  outward,  not  simply 
through  the  whitewashing,  but  architectural 
ornament,  as  seen  in  tombs  still  remaining.  In 
Acts  23  :  3  Paul  calls  a  hypocrite  a  '  whited 
wall.'  And  of  all  uncleanness  is  a  delicate 
reference  to  the  other  products  of  the  gradual 
decay  besides  the  bones.  These  products  ac- 
cording to  the  Mosaic  law  and  Jewish  feeling 
produced  the  highest  degree  of  ceremonial 
uncleanness.  In  Luke  11 :  44,  Rev.  Ver.,  as 
spoken  on  a  former  occasion,  the  image  is 
somewhat  different,  'ye  are  as  the  tombs 
which  appear  not,  and  the  men  that  walk  over 
them  know  it  not.'  It  is  likely  that  the 
masses  of  the  people  buried  in  the  ground,  as 


we  commonly  do,  and  as  is  done  with  most  of 
the  Jews  now  dying  at  Jerusalem  ;  while  the 
sepulchres  in  the  rocks  would  correspond  to 
our  vaults  and  tombs  above  ground,  though 
much  oftener  employed.  The  differiMit  Greek 
terms  in  Matthew  and  Luke  do  not  suggest 
any  practical  distinction,  for  that  of  Luke  is 
the  same  as  the  second  term  below  in  v.  29, 
and  as  in  John  11:  28.  In  v.  28,  iniquity  is 
more  exactly  lawlessness,  anomia,  violation  of 
law,  as  in  7 :  23 ;  13 :  41 ;  24 : 1'2.  This  word  is  not 
used  by  the  other  Gospels,  but  was  a  natural 
term  for  a  gospel  addressed  especially  to  Jews 
and  for  Paul,  while  John  particularly  needs 
it  in  1  John 3:  4.  Adikia,  'iniquity,'  or 'injus- 
tice,' is  not  used  by  Matthew,  but  several 
times  by  Luke,  Paul,  and  others,  and  Matthew 
has  its  adjective  in  5  :  45,  and  its  verb  in  20  : 
13.  Are  full  here  represents  a  different  word 
from  that  of  v.  25  and  27,  but  our  language 
cannot  conveniently  express  the  difference, 
and  it  has  no  practical  importance. 

VII.  29-36.  They  Resemble  Their 
Wicked  Ancestors,  who  Slew  the 
Prophets.  Comp.  Luke  11  :  47-51,  proba- 
bly spoken  some  months  earlier,  see  on  23:  1. 
Woe  unto  you,  etc.,  see  on  v.  13.  There  is  no 
practically  important  difference  between  the 
sepulchres  and  the  tombs.  The  word  ren- 
dered garnish,  means  literally,  adorn,  'orna- 
ment,' as  in  12:  44;  comp.  25:  7.  The 
prophets,  .  .  .  the  righteous.  (Comp. 
10:  41;  13;  17).  In  1  Mace.  13:  27-30,  is 
described  a  grand  tomb  which  Simon  the 
Maccabee  built  for  his  father  and  brothers. 
Josephus  tells  us  ("Ant,"  16,  17,  1)  how 
Herod  built  a  marble  monument  over  the 
tombs  of  David  and  Solomon,  to  atone  for  his 
attempt  to  plunder  them.  It  is  very  doubt- 
ful whether  the  elaborate  structures  on  the 
lower  slope  of  Olivet,  southeast  of  the  city, 
which  are  now  called  "tombs  of  the  pro- 
phets," have  any  proper  claim  to  that  name; 
but  they  appear  to  date  from  the  time  of  the 
Herods  (Robinson,  Thomson),  and  may  thus 
give  an  idea  of  the  tombs  referred  to.     One  of 


Ch.  XXIIL] 


MATTHEW. 


475 


30  And  say,  If  we  had  been  in  thedaysof  our  fathers, 
we  would  not  have  been  partakers  with  them  in  the 
blood  of  the  prophets. 

31  Wherefore  ye  be  witnesses  unto  yourselves,  that 
ye  are  the  children  of  them  which  killed  the  prophets. 

32  Fill  ye  up  then  the  measure  of  your  fathers. 

33  Ye  serpents,  ye  generation  of  vipers,  how  can  ye 
escape  the  damnation  of  hell  ? 

34  Wherefore,  behold,  1  send  unto  you  prophets,  and 
wise  men,  and  scribes :  and  «ome  of  them  ye  shall  kill 
and  crucify  ;  and  some  of  them  shall  ye  scourge  in  your 
synagogues,  and  persecute  thevt  from  city  to  city  : 


30  garnish  the  tombs  of  the  righteous,  and  say.  If  we 
had  been  in  the  days  of  our  fatheis,  we  should  not 
have  been  partakers  with  them  in  the  blood  of  the 

31  prophets.    Wherefore  ye  witness  to  yourselves,  thut 

32  ye  are  sons  of  them  that  slew  the  prophets.    Fill  ye 

33  up  then  the  measure  of  your  fathers.  Ye  serpents, 
ye  offspring  of  vipers,  how  shall  ye  escape  the  judg- 

34  ment  of  i  hell?  Therefore,  behold,  I  send  unto  you 
prophets,  and  wise  men,  and  scribes:  some  of  tliem 
shall  ye  kill  and  crucify  ;  and  some  of  them  shall  ye 
scourge  in  your  synagogues,  and  persecute  I'rJiu 


1  Gr.  Gehenna. 


them  is  now  called  the  tomb  of  Zechariah, 
with  evident  reference  to  v.  35.  A  little  later 
t)mn  our  Lord's  time,  we  have  account  in 
Josephus  of  several  grand  tombs,  as  that  of 
Annas,  the  High  Priest  ("War,"  5,  12,  2),  of 
Philip,  theTetrarch  ("Ant.,"  18,  4,  6),  and  of 
Queen  Helena,  of  Adiabene,  and  her  son — 
with  three  pyramids  ("  Ant.,"  20,  4,  3). 

31.  Wherefore,  or  more  exactly  so  that. 
Ye  be  witnesses  nnto,  or,  witness  to  your- 
selves, i.  e.,  in  this  case  (Winer)  'against 
yourselves,'  it  being  a  testimony  to  their 
hurt.  (Comp.  James  5  :  3. )  In  the  very  self- 
excuse  of  v.  30,  they  acknowledge  themselves 
the  children  of  those  who  slew  the  prophets, 
and  our  Lord  intimates  that  here,  as  is  usual, 
the  offspring  resemble  the  parents  (5:45;johu 
8:41,44),  though  they  pretend  the  contrary  in 
their  case.  The  rulers  are  already  plotting  to 
murder  Jesus  (.!i:46.)  They  are  minded  to  do 
as  their  fathers  did  in  this  very  matter,  and 
piously  pretending  to  be  altogether  different. 
(Comp.  Luke  11 :  48.)  "  Ye  are  witnesses  and 
consent  unto  the  works ofyour  fathers."  (Comp. 
above  on  21  :  39  ff.,  and  see  Acts  7  :  51  f.,  and 
IThess.  2:  14,15.) 

3i.  Fill  ye  up  then,  or  literally,  and  do 
ye  fill  up,  the  'ye'  being  expressed  in  Greek, 
and  thus  emphatic,  viz.,  'ye,'  as  set  over 
against  your  fathers.  The  expression  is 
gravely  ironical  (Winer),'  a  thing  natural  in 
so  impassioned  and  pointedly  personal  a  dis- 
course, which  has  kept  growing  in  earnest- 
ness. This  generation  ought  to  turn  from 
their  fathers'  sins,  but  instead  of  that  they 
were  adding  like  sins,  and  the  new  divine 
warnings  did  not  stop  them.  So  with  mourn- 
ful irony  he  bids  them  go  on  and  fill  tlie 
measure  full.  (oen.  i3:i6) 


33.  Ye  serpents,  ye  generation  (ojf- 
sprin^r)  of  vipers,  see  on  3  :  7;  12:  34.  This 
corresponds  to  v.  31  ;  they  are  like  tlieir  an- 
cestors— they  are  serpents  and  the  offspring  of 
serpents.  How  can  ye  escape,  or  '  how  are 
you  to  escape',  implying  tliat  it  is  impossible 
to  see  any  way.  As  tliey  resemble  tiieir  an- 
cestors, and  are  busily  filling  up  the  measure 
of  their  ancestors'  sins,  it  is  not  possible  that 
they  should  escape.  (Comp.  11:  22;  John 
3: 19.)  The  Afumnation  (judgment)  of  hell, 
i.  e.,  the  judgment  which  condemns  to  punish- 
ment in  hell,  is  a  phrase  also  used  several 
times  in  the  Talmud  (Wiin.).  'Judgment' 
is  the  correct  translation  of  kinsis;  it  is  kata- 
krisia  that  signifies  condemnation,  the  idea 
formerly  expressed  in  English  by  'damna- 
tion.' This  last  word  now  denotes  in  English 
the  eternal  penalty  resulting  from  judgment 
or  condemnation,  and  while  often  necessa- 
rily suggested,  this  is  not  what  the  Greek 
terms  themselves  express.  Accordingly,  the 
words  'damn'  and  'damnation'  must  now 
give  way  to  'judge,'  'condemn,'  etc.,  leaving 
the  punishment  to  be  suggested,  as  it  is  in  the 
Greek.  (See  Mark  3:  29;  12:40;  16:  16; 
Luke 20:  47;  John  5:  29;  Rom.  3:  8;  13:  2; 
14:  23;  1  Cor.  11:  '29;  2  Thess.  2:  12;  also 
(Greek  meaning,  'perdition')  2  Pet.  2:  1,  3.) 
The  changes  thus  made  in  the  Revised  Ver- 
sion do  not  at  all  proceed  from  any  ehanj^o  in 
exegetical  views  or  in  theological  opinion,  hut 
are  simply  required  by  the  altered  iiican- 
ing  of  an  English  word.  Comp.  as  to  'licll,' 
on  16:  18.)  '  Hell'  is  hero  Oehenna,  the  place 
of  torment,  as  in  v.  15,  see  on  5:  '22. 

34-36.  Wherefore,  behold,  I  send  unto 
you.  The  'I'  is  expressed  in  Greek,  and  so 
is  emphatic.     Jesus  speaks  as  the  divine  rep- 


>  The  Ironical  Imperative  was  not  understood,  and  by  |  few  other  documents.    W  H.  cling  to  B,  and  place  It 
the  change  of  one  letter  might  be  convert^  Into  a  fn-    in  their  margin,  tjough  plainly  a  correction, 
lure,  'ye  will  fill  up,'  which  is  read  in  B  and  a  very  ' 


476 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXIII. 


35  That  upon  you  may  come  all  the  righteous  blood 
shed  upun  toe  earth,  i'rum  the  blood  of  righteous  Abel 
uuto  the  bliiod  of  Zacharias  son  of  Baruchias,  whom  ye 
slew  between  the  temple  and  the  altar. 


35  city  to  city  :  that  upon  you  may  come  all  the  right- 
eous blood  shed  on  the  earth,  Ironi  the  blood  of  Abel 
the  righteous  uuto  the  blood  of  Zachariah  son  of 
Barachiab,  whom  ye  slew  between  the  sanctuary 


resentative  (johnsu),  as  having  plenary  au- 
thority in  the  whole  matter  of  human  salva- 
tion (28:18);  he  utters  the  divine  decree, 
which  in  the  similar  passage  of  Luke  (ii :«) 
is  referred  to  'the  wisdom  of  God.'  'Send' 
in  the  present  tense,  hecause  the  mission  is 
arranged  and  on  the*  point  of  beginning. 
Wherefore,  or  therefore,  because  they  are  like 
their  fathers,  and  will  treat  God's  messengers 
as  their  fathers  did,  he  sends  them  messengers 
to  be  persecuted ;  it  will  thus  become  mani- 
festly right  that  they  should  be  held  guilty 
for  tiieir  ancestors'  sin  and  their  own.  (v.  .is.) 
God  of  course  does  not  wish  men  to  sin,  but 
he  tests  them,  so  as  to  show  to  themselves  and 
others  their  real  character,  and  vindicate  the 
justice  of  their  punishment.  Wise  men,  and 
scribes  are  Jewish  terms,  used  because  of 
what  precedes  (v.  20  and  23 : 2, 7),  '  wise  men'  being 
a  common  appellation  of  the  Kabbis.  But 
they  may  be  fulfilled  in  apostles  and  evangel- 
ists also  (comp.  13 :  52).  The  distinction  be- 
tween them  should  not  here  be  insisted  on. 
The  decree  to  send,  and  their  treatment  of 
the  persons  sent,  may  include  all  the  divine 
messengers  to  that  generation,  from  John  the 
Baptist  to  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem, 
(v.  .16;  24:  »4.)  Jesus  intimates  his  knowledge 
that  they  will  not  only  kill  him  (21:88),  but 
also  kill  or  maltreat  his  messengers  hereafter 
sent  (comp.  1  Thess.  2:  15).  And  crucify, 
see  on  27 :  35.  This  may  include  the  case  of 
Jt'sus  liimself.  It  is  a  tradition  that  Peter 
was  crucified,  and  Simeon,  a  brother  of  Jesus. 
Some  of  them  shall  ye  scourge  in  your 
synagogues,  as  he  had  already  foretold  to 
his  followers.  (lO:  n.)  And  persecute  them 
from  city  to  city,  comp.  10:  23;  Acts  9: 
2;  13:  50  f.;  14:  6;  17:  10  ff.  That  upon 
you  may  come  is  the  divine  purpose,  not 
that  of  the  Jews.  (Comp.  2:  23,  and  see  on 
1:  22.)  There  here  comes  before  us  what 
recent  philosophical  writers  are  fond  of  call- 
ing "the  solidarity  of  the  race."  Plump.: 
"  Men  make  the  guilt  of  past  ages  their  own, 
reproduce  its  atrocities,  identify  themselves 
with  it ;  and  so,  what  seems  at  first  an  arbi- 
trary decree,  visiting  on  the  children  the  sins 
of    the    fathers,    becomes    in    such    cases    a 


righteous  judgment.  If  they  repent,  they  cut 
oflfthe  terrible  entail  of  sin  and  punishment ; 
but  if  they  harden  themselves  in  their  evil, 
they  inherit  the  delayed  punishment  of  their 
fatlier's  sins  as  well  as  of  their  own."  The 
Jewish  multitude  afterward  voluntarily  took 
upon  themselves  and  their  children  the  blood 
of  Je.«us.  (27:25.)  Noticc  here  the  solemn 
threefold  repetition  of  'blood.'  Shed  is 
present  tense;  tlie  totality  of  the  righteous 
blood  is  conceived  as  in  the  process  of  being 
shed,  the  whole  past  and  present  thrown  to- 
gether. 

Zacharias,  the  son  of  Barachias.  There 
is  here  a  well-known  difficulty,  which  various 
theories  have  attempted  to  remove.  (1)  Some 
think  that  the  prophet  Zechariah  is  meant, 
who  was  son  of  Berechiah  (zech.  i:  1);  but  we 
have  no  account  of  his  being  slain.  (2)  Some 
Fathers  supposed  Zachariah  the  father  of  John 
the  Baptist  to  be  meant,  and  had  traditional 
stories  of  his  being  killed  for  asserting  the  per- 
petual virginity  of  the  mother  of  Jesus  ;  but 
all  this  is  without  historical  foundation,  ex- 
cessively improbable,  and  very  likely  sug- 
gested by  the  present  allusion.  (3)  Aug.  and 
some  others  have  supposed  that  our  Lord  is 
predicting  the  death  ef  Zachariah  son  of 
Baruch,  killed  in  the  temple  during  the  subse- 
quent siege  of  Jerusalem,  as  described  by 
Josephus.  ("War,"  4,  5,  4.)  But  the  temple 
is  there  only  hieron,  which  means  the  general 
enclosure,  Baruch  is  quite  a  diflferent  name 
from  Barachiab,  and  our  Lord  is  evidently 
speaking  of  things  already  past  ('ye  slew'), 
while  this  event  was  forty  years  later.  (4)  In 
2  Chron.  24:  '20-22,  we  read  that  a  priest 
named  Zechariah  was  stoned  "  in  the  court  of 
the  house  of  Jehovab."  His  dying  words  are 
quite  in  accordance  with  the  reference  our 
Lord  here  makes,  "Jehovah  look  upon  it  and 
require  it,"  and  correspond  to  the  other  case 
of  Abel's  blood,  (oen.  4:  10.)  In  the  ancient 
Hebrew  grouping  of  the  books,  as  in  Hebrew 
Bibles  now,  the  Chronicles  seem  to  have  stood 
at  the  end;  so  that  from  Abel  to  this  Zacha- 
riah would  include  all  the  cases  from  begin- 
ning to  end  of  the  sacred  books.  All  these 
circumstances  fit  exactly.    Both  the  Jerusalem 


Ch.  XXIIL] 


MATTHEW. 


477 


36  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  All  these  things  shall  come 
upon  this  generation. 

37  O  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  thou  that  killest  the  pro- 
phets, and  stonest  them  which  are  sent  unto  thee,  how 
often  would  I  have  gathered  thy  children  together, 
even  as  a  hen  gathereth  her  chickens  under  her  wings, 
and  ye  would  not ! 


36  and  the  altar.  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  All  these 
things  shall  come  upon  this  generation. 

37  O  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  that  killeth  the  prophets, 
and  stoueth  them  that  are  sent  unto  her  1  how  olteu 
would  1  have  gathered  thy  children  together,  even 
as  a  hen  gathereth  her  chickens  under  her  wings, 


and  the  Babylon  Talmud,  as  also  some  Midra- 
shim  (Lightf.,  Wiin.),  contain  wild  legends 
about  the  blood  of  this  Zachariah  as  continu- 
ing to  bubble  for  more  than  two  centuries 
until  the  captivity — which  go  to  show  that  his 
murder  in  the  court  of  the  priests  was  re- 
garded as  a  notable  event.  But  this  Zachariah 
is  expressly  described  as  son  of  Jehoiada,  the 
priest,  whose  kindness  King  Joash  was  thus 
ill  requiting.  Some  make  haste  to  say  that 
Matt,  has  fallen  into  the  error  of  confounding 
this  Zechariah  with  the  prophet  who  was  son  of 
Berechiah,  while  Luke  gives  no  name  of  his 
father.  (Lukeu:  51.)  But  we  ought  certainly  to 
be  very  slow  to  remove  difficulties  by  a  suppo- 
sition so  improbable  in  the  case  of  an  inspired 
writer.  There  are  several  possible  ways  of 
e.\plaining  the  matter.  Zachariah's  father, 
Jehoiada,  may  have  had  the  surname  of  Bere- 
chiah, '  blessed  of  Jehovah,'  a  name  borne  by 
six  or  seven  persons'in  the  history,  and  which 
might  hsive  been  given  to  the  great  priest  for  I 
saving  his  country.  Or,  Jehoiada,  who  had 
just  died  at  the  age  of  one  hundred  and  thirty 
(iChron.  24:  15), may  havc  been  the  grandfather  of 
Zechariah,  and  his  father  a  Berechiah,  not 
otherwise  mentioned.  So  the  prophet  is  in 
Zech,  1 :  1,  called  "  Zechariah,  the  son  of  Bere- 
chiah, thesonof  Iddo,"  while  in  Ezra  6:  14,  he 
is  called  "  Zechariah,  the  son  of  Iddo."  Or  it 
may  be  (Lutter.)  that  there  Was  some  other 
murder  near  to  the  time  of  Jesus,  and  known 
to  his  hearers.  All  these  are  unsupported 
hypotheses,  but  they  are  certainly  possible, 
and  so  it  is  by  no  means  necessary  to  suppose 
that  Matt,  fell  into  an  error.  Not  a  few  cases 
that  long  appeared  as  difficult  as  this  have 
been  cleared  up  by  the  progress  of  knowledge 
within  the  present  half  century.'  (Comp.  on 
20:  29.)  Whom  ye  slew,  viz.,  through  your 
fathers.  They  are  held  guilty  of  their  fathers' 
conduct  because  they  have  imitated  it.  The 
temple  is  here  nnoa,  the  sacred  house,  as  in 


V.  17,  see  on  4 :  5 ;  the  altar  is  the  great  altar 
of  burnt  offering,  which  stood  in  the  Court  of 
the  Priests  in  front  of  the  sacred  house.  '  Be- 
tween the  temple  and  the  altar'  would  be  a 
natural  expansion  of  the  statement  in  Chron., 
where  Zechariah  the  priest  stands"  above  the 
people,"  in  the  Court  of  the  Priests.  Upon 
this  generation,  comp.  11 :  16,  and  see  on 
24 :  34 ;  the  idea  is  kept  up  by  v.  38  f.  These 
are  our  Lord's  farewell  words  to  the  Jews  at 
large. 

VIII.  37-39.  A  Mournful  Apostrophe 
TO  Jerusalem.  Our  Lord's  thoughts  had 
been  turning  sadly  toward  Jerusalem  formore 
than  a  half  year,  comp.  on  16:  21 ;  20:  18  f. 
Now  the  conclusion  of  the  series  of  woes  hav- 
ing pointed  directly  to  dreadful  and  speedy 
judgments  upon  the  persons  addressed,  which 
would  be  connected  especially  with  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem,  he  breaks  into  a  grieved 
and  compassionate  apostrophe.  That  such 
feelings  should  have  taken  this  form  when 
speaking  of  Jerusalem  at  a  distance  (i-nne  is :  sir.), 
again  when  coming  in  sight  of  the  citj'  during 
the  triumphal  entry  (Luke  19:4144),  and  now 
again  in  closing  his  last  address  to  the  people, 
is  in  every  respect  natural ;  and  there  is  not 
the  slightest  occasion  for  supposing  that  the 
saying  has  been  displaced  by  one  or  the  other 
Gospel.  The  doubled  address,  and  the  fre- 
quent changes  of  person,  are  also  natural  in 
the  language  of  passionate  emotion:  "Jeru- 
salem, Jerusalem— thou  that  killest  .  .  .  sent 
unto  thee  .  .  .  thy  children  .  .  .  your  house 
.  .  .  ye  shall  not  see.  "  Thou  that  killest 
the  prophets  gives  the  point  of  connection 
between  this  and  the  preceding  puragrnph. 
Andstonestthem.  The  Zechariah  just  before 
mentioned  (according  to  the  view  preferred) 
was  stoned  to  death,  How  often  implies  fre- 
quent visits  to  Jerusalem  during  his  ministry, 
and  special  efforts  to  save  her  people,  and 
this  agrees  with  the  Gospel  according  to  John. 


1  The  omission  of  Barachiah  in  X,  "nd  the  change  to  1  cult  to  believe  that  nil  the  words  n«  Ihcy  stand  hare 
Jehoiada,  which  Jerome  found  In  the  (Jospel  used  hy  apostolic  authnrllv."  But  cnnjectunil  enieiidailon  to 
the  Nazarenes,  are  obviously  mere  attempts  to  get  rll  n-tiiove  a  patent  diffloulty,  would  of  course  be  extremely 
of  the  discrepancy.    W  II.  say  (App.  p.  2)JJ),  "  it  is  diffl-  ;  precarious. 


478 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXIII. 


38  Behold,  your  house  is  left  unto  you  desolate. 

39  For  1  say  unto  you,  Ye  shall  not  see  uie  hence- 
forth, till  ye  shall  say,  Blessed  i*  he  that  cometh  iu  the 
name  of  the  Lord. 


38  and  ye  would  not !    Behold,  your  house  is  left  unto 

39  you  'desolate !  For  I  s;iy  unlo  you.  Ye  shall  not  see 
uie  henceforth,  till  ye  shall  say,  Blessed  is  he  that 
Cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord. 


I  Some  ancient  authorities  omit  desolate. 


Others  would  suppose  that  he  speaks  of  the 
frequent  divine  wish  in  past  generations.  As 
a  hen  gathereth  her  chickens.  This 
beautiful  comparison  is  the  onl^'  passage  of 
the  Bible,  except  26:  34,  etc.,  in  which  barn- 
yard fowls  are  expressly  mentioned,  but  see 
probable  allusion  iu  Psa.  17:8;  91:4;  Jer. 
48:  40;  comp.  Deut.  32:  11;  Psa.  36:  7,  etc. 
Wilkinson  says  they  are  not  represented  in 
the  old  Egyptian  paintings.  Yet  they  are 
now  extremely  common  in  both  countries,  and 
must  have  been  so  from  early  times.  There 
was  simply  no  occasion  for  more  frequent  ref- 
erence to  them.  Proselytes  are  spoken  of  in 
the  Talmud  (Wiin.)  as  taking  shelter  under 
the  wings  of  the  Shechinah.  How  often 
would  I  .  .  .  and  ye  would  not.  'I'  and 
'ye'  are  not  separately  expressed  in  the 
Greek,  and  so  cannot  be  taken  as  emphatic. 
The  reference  here  is  to  the  divine  wish  and 
not  to  the  divine  purpose.  God's  will  of  pur- 
pose is  always  carried  out;  his  will  of  desire 
often  fails,  because  the  free  will  of  men  will 
not  yield;  comp.  on  6:  10.  Your  house  is 
left,  present  tense,  '  is  now  being  left.'  The 
city,  which  is  the  house  or  dwelling  of  the 
people,  is  now  in  process  of  being  left  deso- 
late, causes  are  in  operation  that  must  have 
this  rosult.i  Some  think  that 'house',  means 
the  temple  rather  than  the  city.  For  intro- 
duces the  proof  that  this  process  of  leaving 
them  desolate  is  going  on,  viz.,  in  the  fact  that 
the  Messiah  who  has  so  often  wished  to  gather 
and  save,  is  now  on  the  point  of  turning 
away.  Ye  shall  not  see  me  henceforth. 
After  the  resurrection  he  was  not  seen  by  the 
people  at  large,  but  only  by  chosen  witnesses, 
Acts  10:  40  f.  Till  ye  shall  say,  viz.,  at  his 
second  ccmiing,  of  which  he  will  presently 
speak  fully  to  his  disciples  (ch,  24  and  25.)  At 
the  triumphal  entry  (aiia)  some  said  this,  but 
the  people  of  Jerusalem  in  general  did  not. 
At   the    second    coming  all    will    sincerely, 


though  some  most  unwillingly  and  sadly, 
recognize  him  as  the  Messiah,  that  cometh 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  24:  30  f.,  comp. 
Kev.  1:7;  Phil.  2:  9-11.  From  Rom.  11: 
25  ff.  we  may  hope  that  among  those  who  then 
joyfully  recognize  hitn  will  be  many  Jews. 

HOMILETICAL   AXD   PRACTICAL. 

V.  14.  Origen:  "Two  faults.  1)  Tliey  do 
not  themselves  enter  the  kingdom.  2)  They 
do  not  suffer  those  that  are  trying  to  enter. 
These  two  sins  are  naturally  inseparable;  he 
who  commits  the  one  cannot  refrain  from 
committing  the  other;  he  who  refrains  from 
the  one  is  sure  to  refrain  from  the  other  also." 
— What  an  evil  thing  it  is  by  our  teaching  to 
shut  the  gate  of  salvation  in  men's  faces; 
what  a  blessed  thing  to  open  the  gate,  and 
lead  men  to  enter. — V.  15.  False  religious 
teaching  is  very  apt  to  make  the  pupils  worse 
than  the  teacher;  1)  more  extreme  in  opinion; 
2)  more  sure  they  are  right;  3)  more  unhesi- 
tating in  action  ;  4)  more  uncharitable  to  those 
who  think  otherwise. — Origen  :  "To  the  son 
of  Gehenna,  Christ's  teaching  gives  the  right 
to  become  the  child  of  God."  (Joiin  i :  12.; — V. 
16-22.  Discrimination  is  an  indispensable 
element  of  sound  judgment,  in  the  sphere  of 
thought  or  of  action  ;  but  false  distinctions  are 
one  of  the  commonest  means  of  self-deception^ 
— The  fact  that  oaths  wear  out  is  not  a  reason 
for  inventing  new  ones,  but  for  refraining 
from  oaths,  save  when  used  on  extraordinary 
occasions  and  in  a  reverent  spirit;  comp.  on 
5:  34. — V.  17.  The  Saviour  calls  these  men 
'fools,'  notwithstanding  what  he  said  in 5:  2*2. 
He  infallibly  knows  them  to  be  fools,  and  he 
says  it  with  perfectly  right  aims  and  feelings. 

V.  23.  The  centre  of  gravity,  even  in  the 
Mosaic  system,  lay  in  the  ethical  and  not  in 
the  ceremonial,  and  still  more  is  that  the  case 
with  Christianity  ;  but  even  apparently  slight 
matters  of  external    observance,    if   divinely 


1 'Desolate'  is  omitted  here  by  B,  L,  an  Old  Latin  [position  accounts  for  all  the  phenomena.     W  H.  omit 
copy,  and  a  quotation  in  Origen.    In  Luke  13:  35  it  is    it  in  Matt,  also,  placing  it  in  the  margin.    But  we  have 
onii.ted  by  most  documents,  and  its  chief  supports  are    found  various  instances  in  which  B,  vrith  some  other 
there  "  Western."    It  seems  pretty  clear  that  the  word  1  documents,  must  be  regarded  as  wrong, 
is  spurious  in  Luke  and  genuine  iu  Matt.,  as  this  sup-  ' 


Ch.  XXIV.] 


MATTHEW. 


479 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


AND  Jesus  went  out,  and  departed  from  the  temple: 
and  his  disciples  came  to  Aim  lor  to  shew  hiiu  the 
buildings  of  the  temple. 


1      And  .Tcsus  went  out  from  the  temple,  and  was 
going  on  his  way ;  and  his  disciples  caiue  to  him  to 


enjoined,  should  by  no  means  be  neglected. — 
Origkn  applies  this  to  persons  who  neglect 
wholesome  instruction,  and  care  only  for 
rhetorical  ornament;  comp.  1  Cor.  1:  17. — V. 
21.  Blind  guides.  Chrys.  :  "For  if  for  a 
blind  man  not  to  think  he  needs  a  guide  be 
e.ictreme  mi.sery  and  wretchedness;  when  he 
wishes  himself  to  guide  others,  see  to  what  a 
gulf  it  leads." — V.  25.  Scrupulosity  in  re- 
ligious ceremonial  cannot  atone  for  extortion 
in  business  or  for  indulgence  of  appetite  to 
excess.  Indeed,  religious  ceremonial  is  itself 
unacceptable  to  God  when  performed  by  the 
immoral.  1  Tim.  2:8;  Prov.  15:  8;  21 :  27.— 
V.  28.  Rochkfoucauld:  "Hypocrisy  is  a 
sort  of  homage  that  vice  pays  to  virtue."  Poi.- 
lok:  "He  was  a  man  who  stole  the  livery  of 
the  court  of  heaven  to  serve  the  devil  in." — 
V.  30  f.  It  is  very  easy  to  condemn  severely 
the  misconduct  of  others,  while  secretly  guilty 
of  essentially  the  same  sin.  But  "God  is  not 
mocked,"  Gal.  6:  7.  Hexry:  "The  deceit- 
fulness  of  sinners'  hearts  appears  very  much 
in  this,  that  while  they  go  down  the  stream  of 
the  sins  of  their  own  day,  they  fancy  they 
should  have  swum  against  the  stream  of  the 
sins  of  former  days;  that  if  they  had  had 
otlier  people's  opportunities,  they  would  have 
improved  them  more  faithfully;  if  the3' had 
been  in  other  people's  temptations,  they  would 
have  resisted  them  more  vigorously;  when 
yet  they  improve  not  the  opportunities  they 
have,  nor  resist  the  temptations  they  are  in." 
— V.  32.  Filling  up  the  measure.  1)  In  one 
sense  men  are  accountable  only  for  their  own 
sins;  "the  soul  that  sinneth  it  shall  die," 
Ezek.  18:  4.  2)  Yet  all  men  suffer  the  conse- 
quences of  the  wrong  doing  of  others — ances- 
tors, present  kindred,  rulers,  neighbors.  3) 
Human  wickedness  goes  on  increasing  in  lines 
of  descent  or  of  other  relation  till  there  comes 
ft  time  of  reckoning,  till  the  full  measure  of 
guilt  overflows  in  destruction.  4)  The  only 
escape  is  in  really  turning  from  the  sin  of 
wicked  ancestors,  so  as  to  interrupt  the  trans- 
mission of  wickedness  and  guilt;  yea,  in  tiirn- 
insf  from  nil  sin  to  the  sin-hating  and  sin-par- 
doning God. 


24  :  1-36.  Destruction  of  Jerusalem 
AND  Coming  of  Christ. 

Found  also  in  Mark  13:  1-32;  Luke  21:  5-33. 

Our  Lord's  last  public  discourse  has  now 
been  ended.  The  day  is  probably  Tuesday  of 
the  Passover  week  (see  on  21 :  18,  23).  He 
has  been  discoursing  all  day  in  the  courts  of 
the  temple,  and  before  turning  away  he  draws 
instruction  from  the  widow's  touching  gift  to 
the  sacred  treasury.  (Mark  12 :  4i ;  Luke  ii  :i.)  He 
then  leaves  the  temple,  and  seems  never  to 
have  entered  it  again.  In  this  final  departure 
it  was  very  natural  that  his  thoughts  should 
dwell  on  the  impending  destruction  of  the 
temple  and  the  city.  Moreover,  as  there  is 
no  sufficient  reason  for  departing  from  Mat- 
thew's order  (comp.  on  23  :  1,  13),  we  see  that 
he  had  just  before  predicted  the  destruction 
of  Jerusalem  and  his  own  future  coming. 
(23:38f.)  Six  months  earlier  (i6:27f.)  he  had 
declared  that  he  would  come  again  in  the 
glory  of  his  Father,  as  the  sovereign  Judge 
of  mankind;  and  that  some  then  present 
would  live  to  see  him  "coming  in  his  king- 
dom." We  there  found  it  necessary  to  under- 
stand that  the  pnrticular  coming  to  which  this 
last  phrase  especially  refers  took  place  at  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem,  which  made  Chris- 
tianity completely  and  manifestly  distinct 
from  Judaism,  and  established  the  Messianic 
kingdom  in  its  permanent  present  state.  The 
prediction  then  briefly  made  by  our  Lord  is 
now  more  fully  unfolded.  He  first  declares 
in  leaving  the  temple  that  it  is  going  to  be 
completely  destroyed  (»•  i  f) ;  and  then,  sit- 
ting on  the  Mount  of  Olives,  he  gives  the 
great  discourse  of  ch.  24  and  25. 

This  discourse  certainly'  foretells  in  the  out- 
set the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  {e.  (/.,  v.  15-21, 
V.  34) ;  and  in  the  conclusion  certainly  fore- 
tells the  final  coming  of  our  Lord,  with  the 
general  judgment  of  mankind  and  the  result- 
ing permanent  state  of  the  good  and  the  bad 
(■!i:3\-i6),  in  a  way  substantially  equivalent  to 
the  predictive  descriptions  afterwards  given 
l)y  the  apostles.  To  refer  that  closing  passage 
to  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  is  absurd  and 
impossible.      So    then    the  discourse    begins 


480 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXIV. 


with  the  destruction  of  the  temple  and  city, 
and  ends  with  the  final  coming  to  judgment; 
how  does  it  make  the  transition  from  the  for- 
mer to  the  latter  topic?  Every  attempt  to 
assign  a  definite  point  of  division  between  the 
two  topics  has  proved  a  failure.  Place  it  after 
V.  28,  saying  that  up  to  that  point  only  the 
former  topic  is  meant,  and  after  that  point 
only  the  latter,  and  at  once  we  see  that  v.  34 
must  refer  to  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem. 
Place  it  after  v.  34  or  36  or  42,  and  we  cannot 
resist  the  persuasion  that  v.  30  f.  (and  v.  36) 
must  refer  to  the  final  coming  for  judgment 
(comp.  12 :  41-43  ;  2  Tliess.  1:7-10).  But  if 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  was  itself  in  one 
sense  a  coming  of  the  liord,  why  may  we  not 
suppose  that  the  transition  from  this  to  the 
final  coming  is  gradual?  Then  much  in 
24:  3-36  may  be  taken  as  referring  both  to  the 
former  and  the  latter  topic,  while  some  of  the 
expressions  may  refer  exclusively  to  the  one 
or  the  other.  In  24:  37  to  25  :  13  the  earlier 
topic  is  sinking  out  of  sight ;  in  25  :  31-46  it 
has  completely  disappeared,  and  nothing  is  in 
view  but  the  final  coming  to  judgment.  (Luke 
and  Mark  are  parallel  only  as  far  as  24:  42.) 
Similar  cases  occur  in  Old  Test.,  where  a  pre- 
diction refers  to  some  nearer  event,  and  also, 
by  tj'pical  relation,  to  a  kindred  event  in  the 
remoter  future.  This  view  does  not  rest  on 
the  crude  notion  of  a  "double  sense"  in 
Scripture  words  or  phrases,  but  on  the  un- 
questionable Scripture  u?e  of  types,  prophetic 
as  well  as  ceremonial.  For  example,  in  Isa. 
ch.  41 :  8  to  ch.  53,  the  predictions  as  to  the 
"servant  of  Jehovah  "  make  a  gradual  tran- 
sition from  Israel  to  the  Messiah,  the  former 
alone  being  seen  in  41 :  8ff.,  the  Messiah  also 
appearing  to  view  in  42:  1  If.  (Matt.  12: 18-21),  and 
Israel  quite  sinking  out  of  our  sight  in  ch.  53. 
(acu8:3j-35.)  Comp.  above  on  2:  15.  All  the 
Scripture  predictions  remained  obscure  till 
their  fulfillment  (comp.  on  v.  15).  Accord- 
ingly we  may  expect  here  to  see  somewhat 
clearly  the  fulfillment  in  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem,  but  the  other  and  yet  future  fulfill- 
ment must  remain  still  quite  obscure,  and  we 
should  be  "contented  (Alex.)  with  a  careful 
explanation  of  the  terms  employed,  according 
to  analogy  and  usage,  and  a  reverential  wait- 
ing for  ulterior  disclosures  by  the  light  of 


divine  providence  shining  on  the  word." 
Some  zealous  students  of  prophecy  have 
brought  reproach  on  the  Scripture  by  their 
lack  of  moderation  and  reserve  in  the  inter- 
pretation. It  should  be  frankly  conceded 
that  grave  difiiculties  attend  the  interpreta- 
tion of  this  discourse  in  any  of  the  methods 
that  have  been  suggested.  The  view  above 
described  is  believed  to  involve  fewer  diffi- 
culties, and  to  yield  better  results,  than  any 
other  theory. 

1  f.  The  temple  is  here  hieron,  the  general 
sacred  enclosure,  see  on  4:  5.  Jesus  went  into 
the  Court  of  the  Gentiles  and  the  Court  of  Is- 
rael, but  never  into  the  central  building  [nnos) 
and  the  surrounding  Court  of  the  Priests. 
(Comp.  on  21:  12.)  The  clause  'from  the 
temple'  stand  in  the  Greek  (correct  text)^ 
between  the  participle  rendered  'went  out' 
and  the  verb  'was  going,'  and  could  be  con- 
nected with  the  latter,  as  in  Com.  Ver.,  but 
is  more  naturally  connected  with  the  former, 
as  in  Rev.  Ver.  The  preposition  'from' 
makes  the  temple  the  point  of  departure ;  the 
other  expression,  'going  out,'  shows  distinctly 
that  he  had  been  in  the  temple,  which  would 
be  plain  from  the  nature  of  the  case.  (Comp. 
on  3:  16.)  Was  going  on  his  way  (Rev. 
Ver.),  doubtless  returning  towards  Bethany, 
whence  he  had  come  that  morning  (21:  n  r.; 
Luke  21:  37);  and  the  disciples  interrupted  his 
progress  to  show  him  the  buildings  of  the 
temple  (hieron).  In  Mark  (i3;2)  they  are  ex- 
pressly called  'great  buildings,'  and  in  Mark 
and  Luke  special  attention  is  directed  to  the 
vast  "stones"  employed.  Josephus  sa^-s 
("Ant.,"  15,  11,  3)  that  Herod  built  the  sanc- 
tuary {naos)  of  stones  that  were  "white  and 
strong,"  probablj'^  meaning  a  hard  variety  of 
white  limestone  still,  much  used  in  Palestine, 
and  that  they  were  about  twenty-five  cubits 
long,  eight  in  height,  and  twelve  in  breadth, 
or  in  our  feet  about  forty  by  twelve  bj^  twenty, 
which  is  even  larger  than  the  stones  now  found 
in  the  southern  angles  of  Herod  the  Great's 
outer  wall.  (See  on  21:  42.)  In  "War,"  5, 
5,  6,  Josephus  even  says  that  some  of  the 
stones  were  forty-five  cubits  long  (eightj"-five 
feet).  Doubtless  the  inner  walls  also,  and 
pillars  of  the  colonnades  (see  on  21 :  12),  pre- 
sented   very    large    and    'beautiful'    stones. 


'  The  earliest  MSS.  and  nearly  all  the  early  versions  give  this  order,  and  the  internal  probabilities  are  at 
least  not  against  it;  so  there  need  be  no  question. 


Ch.  XXIV.] 


MATTHEW. 


481 


2  And  Jesus  said  vinto  them,  See  ye  not  all  these 
things  ?  verily  I  say  unto  you,  There  shall  not  be  left 
here  one  stone  upon  another,  that  shall  not  be  thrown 
down. 

3  And  as  he  sat  upon  the  mount  of  Olives,  the  disci- 
ples came  unto  him  privately,  saying.  Tell  us,  when 
shall  these  things  be  ?  and  what  shall  be  the  sign  of  thy 
coming,  and  of  the  end  of  the  world? 


2  shew  him  the  buildings  of  the  temple.  But  he  an- 
awered  and  said  unio  them.  See  ye  not  all  these 
things?  verily  i  say  unto  you.  There  shall  not  beleft- 
here  one  stune  upon  another,  that  shall  not  be  thrown 
down. 

3  And  as  he  sat  on  the  mount  of  Olives,  the  disci- 
ples came  unto  him  privactly,  saying,  Tell  us,  when 
shall  these  things  be  ?  and  what  shcUl  he  the  sign  of 


(Luke  21:  5,  Bib.  Ud.  Ver.)       It    is    doubtful    whether 

any  other  pile  of  sacred  buildings  on  earth 
has  been  so  vast  or  to  contemporaries  so  im- 
posing as  Herod's  temple.  Talmud  Bab. 
saj's:  "He  that  never  saw  the  temple  of 
Herod,  never  saw  a  fine  building."  Luke's 
other  expression,  'the  temple  was  adorned 
with  beautiful  stones  and  offerings'  (Bib.  Un. 
Ver.),  recalls  Josephus'  statement  that  "fast- 
ened all  around  the  temple  (hieron)  were  bar- 
baric spoils,  and  all  these  King  Herod  offered 
up,  adding  whatever  he  took  from  the  Ara- 
bians also."  (Comp.  Rev.  21:  26.)  There 
were  doubtless  also  many  votive  tablets,  and 
other  beautiful  objects  offered  by  the  people, 
to  adorn  all  the  courts  and  colonnades,  as  well 
as  the  central  sacred  building.  Tacitus  says 
("Hist.,"  v.,  8,  12),  that  it  was  "a  temple  of 
immense  wealth,"  and  so  constructed  as  to  be 
"an  excellent  fortress."  Our  Lord  seems  to 
have  been  outside  of  the  temple  when  his  at- 
tention was  called  by  the  disciples,  but  this 
does  not  show  that  they  were  observing  only 
the  stones  of  the  outer  wall,  for  the  central 


cavations  reached  foundation-stones  supposed 
to  have  been  laid  by  Solomon.  Our  Lord's 
language  is  of  course  popular,  and  such  an 
objection  is  trifling.  Comp.  Jer.  26:  18.  In 
fact,  it  is  wonderful  how  literally  the  predic- 
tion was  fulfilled,  for  very  seldom  was  a  great 
city  so  completely  destroyed.  Josephus  says 
("War,"  7,  1,  1)  that  Titus  finally  ordered 
the  whole  city  and  the  .sanctuary  to  be  razed 
to  its  foundations,  except  three  towers  and 
part  of  the  western  wall,  and  that  all  the  rest 
of  the  city  wall  "was  so  completely  leveled 
with  the  ground  that  there  was  no  longer  any- 
thing to  lead  those  who  visited  the  spot  to  be- 
lieve that  it  had  ever  been  inhabited." 

3.  Going  on  towards  Bethany,  our  Lord 
climbs  the  steep  base  of  the  Mount  of 
Olives,  see  on  21 :  1,  17.  Half  way  up  the 
walking  path  one  is  apt  to  feel  tired  on  a  hot 
afternoon  at  the  time  of  the  Passover,  and  to 
seat  himself  on  some  ledge  of  limestone  rock 
to  rest.  There  he  finds  himself  '  over  against ' 
(Mark)  the  site  of  the  temple,  at  about  the 
same  height  above  the  ravine  of  the  Kedron. 


building  rose  high  above  the  outer  court  and    Our  Lord  may  have  sat  here,  or  perhaps  on 


its  wall,  and  was  visible  to  a  great  distance, 
as  Josephus  states.  ("Ant.,"  15,  11,  3.)  Our 
Lord's  language  in  v.  2  shows  that  he  is  re- 
ferring to  the  entire  structure.  And  Jesus 
said,  etc.  But  he  answered  and  said,  is  the 
correct  Greek  text.  The  subsequent  insertion 
of  the  name  'Jesus'  is  a  thing  of  frequent  oc- 
currence in  the  manuscripts,  comp.  on  14:  14. 
See  ye  not  all  these  things?  This  called 
their  attention  to  the  vast  and  solid  mass  of 
buildings,  by  way  of  preparation  for  the 
statement  that  all  would  be  overthrown,  a 
thing  which  then  seemed  in  the  highest  de- 
gree unlikely  ;  indeed,  we  know  that  Titus 
fully' meant  to  preserve  it.  (Jos.  "  War.,"  6, 
4.)  There  shall  not  be  left  here  one  stone 
upon  another.  So  also  in  Mark  and  Luke. 
Some  stickle  at  the  fact  that  several  stones  of 
Herod's  outer  wall  now  remain  in  situ,  e.  g., 
at  the  Jews'  place  of  wailing,  and  at  the 
southeast  and  southwest  corners;  indeed,  at 
the  southeast  corner  the  recent  English   ex- 


the  summit,  where  he  would  look  down  upon 
the  whole  city.  The  place  at  which  some 
days  before  he  "saw  the  city  and  wept  over 
it'"  (i.ukei9:4i.  Rev.  Ver.),  was  about  half  a  mile 
further  south,  on  the  riding  road  from  Beth- 
any. The  time  was  now  towards  night,  and 
the  evening  sun  kindled  the  white  stone  and 
gold  of  the  temple  buildings  into  splendor. 
The  disciples.  Mark  says  (i3;s),  'Peter 
and  James  and  John  and  Andrew,'  who  were 
the  first  company  of  the  Twelve  {.see  above  on 
10:  2),  and  three  of  whom  had  been  with  the 
Lord  on  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration.  (":!.) 
This  fact  might  have  led  these  particular  dis- 
ciples to  suppo.se  that  ho  would  tell  them 
what  he  would  not  tell  the  rest  of  theTwelve  ; 
and  Matthew's  general  expression  might  be 
easily  restricted  to  the  four  mentioned  by 
Mark.  Or  it  may  bo,  as  Euthym.  suggests, 
that  "  they  all  came  to  learn,  but  four  asked, 
as  having  greater  freedom  of  access."  Pri- 
vately, so  also  Mark,  as  opposed  to  the  public 


2F 


482 


MATTHEW. 


[Oh.  XXIV. 


4  And  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  them,  Take  I 
heed  that  no  man  deceive  you.  { 


4  thy  looming,  and  of  2 the  end  of  the  world?    And 
Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  them,  Take  heed  that 


1  Or. prMene«.,.. 2  Or,  the  eotuummalion  o/the  age. 


discourses  he  had  been  giving  all  day  in  the 
temple.  Jesus  would  of  course  refrain  from 
speaking  plainly  in  public  of  his  future  com- 
ing as  the  Messiah,  when  he  had  not  yet  pub- 
licly declared  himself  to  be  the  Messiah. 
And  it  would  have  been  dangerous  (Maid.) 
to  foretell  openly  the  destruction  of  the  tem- 
ple (comp.  John  2:  20),  which  in  the  case  of 
Stephen  was  reckoned  blasphemy.  (Acts  6:  is  f.) 
When  shall  these  things  be?  So  Mark  and 
Luke.  The  prediction  that  the  entire  temple 
would  be  thrown  down  reminded  them  of 
previous    predictions    that    he   would    come 

again  as  the  Messiah  (16:  27  r.;  Lake  19:  11 ;  Matt.  23:  39), 

for  they  might  well  suppose  such  an  utter 
destruction  would  occur  only  in  connection 
with  the  establishment  of  the  Messianic  king- 
dom, which  many  Jews  believed  would  be 
attended  by  miglity  changes.  So  the  disci- 
ples privately  inquire  as  to  the  time  of  his 
promised  coming,  and  the  sign  of  it.  The 
sign  of  thy  coming,  {parousia),  presence 
(Kev.  Ver.  margin),  as  in  2  Cor.  10:  10,  or 
'arrival'  as  in  the  phrase  'by  the  coming  of 
Titus,'  2  Cor.  7:6;  the  idea  is  of  not  merely 
arriving  but  then  remaining  present,  The 
word  suggests  (Ewald)  that  Jesus  will  come 
and  stay  with  his  people.  This  peculiar  term 
is  used  for  the  second  coming  of  Christ  four 
times  in  the  chapter  (v.  3, 27, 37, 39),  and  repeat- 
edly by  James,  Paul,  Peter;  also  in  1  John 
2:  28.  Other  terms  used  in  the  Epistles  are 
manifestation,  revelation,  appearing,  coming, 
day.  The  word  'thy'  has  a  certain  emphasis 
in  the  Greek.  He  has  spoken  of  the  Messiah's 
coming  (23:39;  16: 28) ;  they  are  satisfied  that 
this  means  his  coming.  And  of  the  end  of 
the  world,  or,  as  the  Greek  exactly  means, 
the  consummation  of  the  age  (Rev.  Ver.  m.ar- 
gin),  see  on  13:  39  f.  There  is  here  no  refer- 
ence to  any  such  idea  as  that  of  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  material  universe  (kosmos),  but 
only  the  consummation  and  termination  of 
the  present  aion,  age,  or  state  of  things.  A 
common  Jewish  conception  was  that  the  ap- 


pearing of  the  Messiah  would  close  'this  age,' 
and  introduce  'the  coming  age' — these 
phrases  often  occurring  in  the  Talmud.  The 
disciples  would  easily  transform  the  concep- 
tion into  that  of  a  future  appearance  of  their 
Master  as  the  Messiah.  Jesus  had  taught 
them  that  at  'the  consummation  of  the  age,' 
the  end  of  the  present  state  of  things,  the 
Messiah  would  destroy  the  wicked  (is :4i,  49), 
and  they  were  now  fully  convinced  that  he 
himself  was  the  Messiah.  Thus  it  was  nat- 
ural for  them  to  ask  these  questions.  It  is 
not  wise  to  distinguish  sharply  between  the 
three  clauses  as  if  representing  three  entirely 
separate  points.  Evidently  the  disciples  did 
not  separate  between  his  future  coming  and 
the  end  of  the  present  period ;  nor  has  the 
Saviour  done  so  in  his  reply.  They  also  then 
supposed  that  the  destruction  of  the  temple 
would  coincide  with  his  coming  and  the  end 
of  the  age  ;  the  reply  did  not  clearly  show 
that  they  would  in  fact  be  far  apart,  but  it 
left  the  way  open  for  what  has  in  this  respect 
turned  out  to  be  the  case.  The  phrases  'com- 
ing' and  '  consummation  of  the  age'  would 
be  readily  intelligible  to  the  Jewish  readers 
contemplated  by  Matt.,  but  not  to  Gentiles; 
and  accordingly  Mark  and  Luke  have  simply 
'and  what  is  the  sign  when  all  these  things 
are  going  to  be  completed'  (Luke  'to  come 
to  pass').^ 

The  Saviour's  reply,  so  far  as  included  in  - 
our  present  section,  divides  itself  into  v.  4-14, 
15-28,  29-31,  32-36;  and  this  last  is  very  close- 
Ij'  connected  with  what  follows  in  the  next 
section.  Observe  that  the  whole  discourse  is 
evidently  designed,  not  to  satisfy  curiosity 
about  the  future,  but  to  save  from  misconcep- 
tion, restrain  impatience,  and  stimulate  to 
perpetual  watchfulness  (24.42)  and  faithful- 
ness.   (25:14ff.) 

I.  4-14.  Misleading  Signs.  Foundalsoin 
Markl3:5-13;  Luke21:8-19.  Alexander: ''The 
divine  wisdom  of  the  Saviour  and  his  knowl- 
edge of  the  perils  which  beset  his  followers 


1  Wilnsche  here  quotes  a  good  deal  from  the  Talmud, 
and  other  Rabbinical  writings,  as  to  presages  of  the 
Messiah's  coming  (t.  e.  what  we  call  his  first  coming), 
and  descriptions  of  the  Messianic  time,  but  nothing 


that  would  really  help  in  understanding  this  discourse. 
As  to  the  wide  difference  between  the  Rabbinical  con- 
ceptions of  "the  List  things,"  and  those  of  the  New 
Test.,  see  Edersh,  II,  434,  445. 


Cn.  XXIV.] 


MATTHEW. 


483 


5  For  many  shall  come  in  my  name,  saying,  I  am 
Christ :  and  shall  deceive  many. 

6  And  ye  shall  hear  of  wars  and  rumours  of  wais: 
see  that  ye  be  not  troubled  :  for  all  (lieie  things  must 
come  to  pass,  but  the  end  is  not  yet. 


5  no  man  lead  you  astray.    For  many  shall  come  in 
my  name,  saying,  I  am  the  Christ ;"  and  shall  lead 

6  many  astray.  And  ye  shall  hearof  warsaud  rumours 
of  wars :  see  that  ye  be  not  troubled :  lor  these  thingt 


are  strikingly  exemplified  in  this  preliminary 
warning  against  error  and  delusion,  this  ex- 
posure of  false  signs  before  giving  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  true.  This  method  of  proceeding 
is  the  more  remarkable  because  the  course 
suggested  by  fanatical  excitement  is  the  very 
opposite,  and  even  wise  men  who  devote  them- 
selves to  such  inquiries  are  too  prone  to  look 
exclusively  at  what  is  positive  in  Ciirist's  in- 
structions, without  heeding  this  preliminary 
admonition,  or  even  observing  that  his  pur- 
pose in  this  first  part  of  his  discourse  is  not  to 
tell  what  are  but  what  are  not  the  premoni- 
tions of  the  great  catastrophe  to  which  he 
here  refers,  whatever  it  may  be." 

(a)  False  Messiahs  and  other  false  teachers, 
V.  4  f.  ;  also  in  Mark  and  Luke.  Many  shall 
come  in  my  name  (see  on  18:  5),  here  means 
more  than  reliance  on  him,  for  they  would 
claim  to  be  what  he  really  was.  (Comp.  v. 
23-25  and  Jer.  14:  14.)  We  have  no  account 
of  any  one  who  claimed  to  be  the  Messiah 
between  this  time  and  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem.  Yet  there  may  very  well  have 
been  such  persons.  As  the  Jews  expected  the 
Messiah  to  be  a  political  deliverer,  it  was  very 
natural  that  men  who  set  up  for  political  de- 
liverers should  pretend  to  be  the  Messiah ; 
but  as  Josephus  had  interpreted  the  Messianic 
predictions  as  fulfilled  in  Vespasian,'  and 
knew  that  any  popular  expectation  of  a  native 
ruler  would  be  highly  unacceptable  to  the 
Roman.s,  he  would  be  likely  to  pass  over  such 
claims  without  mention.  Christ,  the  Christ, 
with  the  article.  (See  on  2:  4.)  Com.  Ver. 
itself  gives  the  article  in  26:  G3. 

(b)  Wars,  famines,  earthquakes,  affecting 
the  world  at  large,  v.  0-8;  so  also  Mark  and 
Luke,  the  latter  expanding.  These  extraor- 
dinary occurrences  would  become  a  false  sign 


by  being  misinterpreted,  as  such  events  often 
are.  Wars  and  rumors  of  wars,  which 
latter  may  turn  out  unreal.  Both  real  wars 
and  such  rumors  were  abundant  before  a.  d. 
70,  as  well  as  often  since.  Famines  (acu  n :  28) 
are  often  mentioned  in  Old.  Test,  and  are 
still  frequent  in  Palestine  ;  earthquakes  also 
frequently  occur,  and  there  are  many  signs  of 
former  volcanic  activity.  We  read  in  Jos. 
and  Tacitus  of  various  famines  and  earth- 
quakes in  Palestine  during  the  years  preced- 
ing the  destruction  of  Jerusalem.  Persons 
caring  to  trace  them  out  may  refer  to  Alford 
or  "Bible  Comm."  Be  not  troubled.  Luke, 
'terrified.'  Alexander:  "As  if  these  commo- 
motions  would  necessarily  imply  the  immi- 
nence of  some  great  catastrophe,  or  of  the 
final  consummation.  The  necessity  of  this 
caution,  not  to  the  first  disciples  merely,  but 
to  their  successors,  is  abundantly  apparent 
from  the  well-known  fact  that  pious  men  in 
every  age  have  been  continually  falling  into 
the  mistake  of  looking  on  national  commo- 
tions and  collisions  as  decisive  proof  that  the 
world  is  near  its  end.  The  meaning  is  not  that 
such  changes  may  not  be  immediately  suc- 
ceeded by  the  greatest  change  of  all,  but  only 
that  they  are  no  sign  of  it,  and  ought  not  to 
be  so  regarded."  For  all  these  things 
(rather,  the.y)2  must  come  to  pass,  the  latter 
term  as  in  5:  18.  Why  "must,"  or  "must 
needs?"  (Rev.  Ver.)  We  might  simply  .say 
(Meyer)  that  it  was  necessary  according  to 
the  divine  purpose,  the  thought  of  which 
might  console  the  disciples,  as  it  did  the  Sa- 
viour. (26:  m)  But  does  not  the  ex])res.«ion 
mean  that  in  the  preparation  for  the  comiilete 
reign  of  the  Messiah,  conflict  is  unavoidable, 
not  simply  individual  and  <lf)mcstic  variance 
(10:  M  IT.),  but  conflict  of  the  races  and  nations, 


»  See  "  War,"  6,  5, 4,  and  comp.  3, 8, 9,  with  4, 10, 7.  The 
often  quoted  statement  of  Suetonius  ("Claudius"  25) 
and  Tacitus  ("  Hist."  V,  13)  as  to  an  cxpoclation  "  that 
persons  proceeding  from  .ludca  would  gain  dominion," 
was  to  all  appearance  derived  by  them  from  Jofieplius, 
for  they  both  make  the  same  application  that  he 
does. 

s  Some  documents  inserted  'these  things,' some  'all 


things,'  a  few  'all  these  things;'  the  earliest  M.'iS.  and 
several  early  versions  are  without  any  such  expression 
and  the  various  phra-scs  mentioned  are  obviously  addi- 
tions made  by  students  or  copyists.  In  v.  7  '  and  pesti- 
lences'is  ad<lcd  by  many  documents,  but  wanting  in 
the  earliest  MSS.,  and  plainly  in»crted  from  Luke 
21:  11. 


484 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXIV. 


7  For  nation  shall  rise  against  nation,  and  kingdom 
against  kingdom:  and  there  shall  be  famines,  and  pes- 
tilences, ana  earthquakes,  in  divers  places. 

8  All  these  ar<;the  beginning  of  sorrows. 

9  Then  shall  they  deliver  you  up  to  be  afflicted,  and 
shall  kill  you :  and  ye  shall  be  hated  of  all  nations  for 
my  name's  sake. 

10  And  then  shall  many  be  offended,  and  shall  be- 
tray one  another,  and  shall  hate  one  another. 

11  And  many  false  prophets  shall  rise,  and  shall  de- 
ceive many. 

12  And  because  iniquity  shall  abound,  the  love  of 
many  shall  wax  cold. 


7  must  needs  come  to  pass :  but  the  end  is  not  yet, 
For  nation  shall  rise  against  nation,  and  kingdom 
against  kingdom :  and  there  shall  l)e  famines  and 

8  earthquakes  in  divers  places..    But  all  these  things 

9  are  the  beginning  of  travail.  Then  shall  they  de- 
liver you   up  unto  tribulation,  and  shall   kill  you : 

10  and  ye  shall  be  hated  of  all  the  nations  for  my 
name's  sake.  And  then  shall  many  stumble,  and  shall 
deliver  up  one  another,  and  shall  hate  one  another. 

11  And  many  false  prophets  shall  arise,  and  lead  many 

12  astray.     And  because  iniquity  shall  be  multiplied, 


as  afterwards  depicted  in  the  visions  of  John 
in  Piitinos?  Meyer  sees  in  v.  6  f.,  "the  first, 
far  off  indirect  proe;nostics  of  the  second  ad- 
vent, like  the  roll  of  distant  thunder."  With 
the  imagery  of  v.  7  comp.  that  of  Isa.  19:  2. 
In  V.  8,  the  beginning  of  sorrows,  or, 
travail,  and  not  the  end,  the  consummation. 
'Travail'  is  in  the  Greek  a  plural,  meaning 
the  pains  of  labor,  the  birth-pangs  (iTbess. 5:3) 
and  often  in  Old  Test. ;  then  any  severe 
pangs  (Acts  2: 24.)  Thesc  things  will  not  be 
merely  the  beginning  of  distresses,  but  of 
labor-pains  (comp.  Kom.  8 :  22) ;  and  the 
end  of  these  will  be  the  appearance  of  a  bet- 
ter state  of  things  (comp.  "the  regeneration," 
19:  28.)  Edersh:  "Jewish  writings  speak 
very  frequently  of  the  so-called  'sorrows  of 
the  Messiah '  [the  word  meaning  labor-pains.] 
These  were  partly  those  of  the  Messiah,  and 
partly — perhaps  chiefly — those  coming  on  Is- 
rael and  the  world  previous  to,  and  connected 
with,  the  coming  of  the  Messiah."  The  par- 
ticulars mentioned  vary  greatly,  and  the 
descriptions  are  quite  fanciful.  But  they  may 
generally  be  characterized  as  marking  a  period 
of  internal  corruption  and  of  outward  dis- 
tress, especially  of  famine  and  war,  of  which 
the  land  of  Palestine  was  to  be  the  scene,  and 
in  which  the  people  of  Israel  were  to  be  the 
chief  sufferers ;  yet  none  of  them  refers  to 
desolation  of  the  City  and  Temple  as  one  of 
the  'signs'  or  'sorrows'  of  the  Messiah. 

(c)  Things  directly  affecting  the  Christians 
— persecution,  false  prophets,  multiplied  trans- 
gressions, V.  9-13.  So  Mark  and  Luke.  But 
they  here  also  give  a  prediction  that  the  dis- 
ciples win  be  brought  before  Jewish  and 
heathen  tribunals,  with  persecution  and 
scourging  (comp.  Acts  22 :  19 ;  2  Cor.  11 :  24  f ) ; 
and  that  they  will  be  taught  by  inspiration 
what  to  say  in  their  defence,  and  need  not  be 
anxious  in  advance  on  that  point.  (Comp. 
Acts  4:  8-13.)  Matthew  has  given  a  similar 
passage  in  the  discourse  to  the  Twelve  on  send- 


ing them  out  (see  10:  17-22),  and  therefore 
(we  may  suppose)  does  not  repeat  it  here.  To 
be  afflicted,  better,  as  Kev.  Ver.,  to  tribula- 
tion, see  the  word  explained  on  13:  21.  For 
instances  of  persecution,  see  Acts  4  :  1 ;  7  :  59; 
12:  1;  Kev.  2:  10,  12.  Ye  shall  be  hated 
of  all  nations.  Comp.  "as  concerning  this 
sect,  it  is  known  to  us  that  everywhere  it 
is  spoken  against."  (Acts  28:  22,  r.  v.)  Tacitus 
("Annals"  XV.  44)  speaks  of  the  Christians 
as  "a  kind  of  men  hated  for  their  acts  of 
wickedness."  And  then  shall  many  be  of- 
fended {stumble),  comp.  13:  21,  57,  and  see 
the  term  explained  on  5 :  29.  Shall  betray 
(or  deliver  up)  one  another,  represents  a  pe- 
culiarly painful  feature  of  the  situation  in 
times  of  severe  persecution.  Tacitus  in  speak- 
ing of  the  persecution  of  Christians  by  Nero 
in  A.  D.  64,  says,  "At  first  those  who  con- 
fessed were  seized,  afterwards  upon  their  in- 
formation a  great  multitude."  And  shall 
hate  one  another.  Kemember  how  Paul 
was  hated  by  the  Judaizers,  and  by  various 
parties  at  Corinth. 

11  f.  is  found  in  Matt.  only.  There  shall  be 
not  merely  persecution  but  false  teaching. 
(Comp.  Acts  20:  29  f;  2  Pet.  2:  1;  1  John 
4:  1.)  False  prophets,  comp.  V.  24;  7:  15; 
2  Pet.  2:  1.  Shall  deceive,  or  lead  astray, 
many,  the  same  term  as  in  v.  4  f.  Iniquity, 
more  exactly  transgression  of  law,  see  on  23 : 
28.  Shall  abound,  or  Je  multiplied,  as  this 
word  is  everywhere  else  rendered.  The  love 
of(<Ae)many,  the  general  mass,  excepting  a 
few  individuals.  (Comp.  Winer.)  'Love' here 
probably  means  love  to  Christ  and  to  his  people. 
The  great  increase  of  the  violation  of  God's 
law  among  the  wicked  vnll  gradually  tone 
down  and  chill  the  zeal  and  love  of  the  great 
mass  of  professed  subjects  of  the  Messiah. 
The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  seems  aimed  at 
such  a  tendency,  and  similar  periods  have 
often  existed  in  Christian  history.  Tyndale 
and  followers  greatly   enfeebled   this  state- 


Ch.  XXIV.] 


MATTHEW. 


485 


13  But  he  that  shall  endure  unto  the  end,  the  same  |  the  love  of  the  many  shall  wax  cold.  But  he  that 
shall  be  saved.  13  endureth  to  the  end,  the  same  shall  be  saved.    And 

14  And  this  gospel  of  the  kingdom  shall  be  preached  14  i.this  go.spel  of  the  kingdom  shall  be  preached  in  the 
in  all  the  world  for  a  witness  unto  all  nations ;  and  then  whole  -  world  for  a  testimony  unto  all  the  nations ; 
shall  the  end  come.  and  then  shall  the  end  come. 

15  When  ye  therefore  shall  see  the  abomination  of  15  When  therefore  ye  see  the  abomination  of  desola- 
desolation,  spoken  of  by  Daniel  the  prophet,  stand  in  tion,  which  was  spoken  of  through  Daniel  the  pro- 
the  holy  place,  (whoso  readeth,  let  him  understand  :)      |  phet,  standing  in  "the  holy  place  (let  him  that  read- 


1  Or,  these  good  tidinga 2  Gr.  inhabited  earth i  Or.  a  holy  place. 


ment  by  neglecting  the  article,  and  making 
it  'the  love  of  many.' 
13.  He  that  shall  endure  unto  the  end, 

that  through  life  endures  persecution  (t.9-ii) 
without  flinching,  and  with  multiplied  trans- 
gression all  around  him  maintains  warm  Chris- 
tian love  (v.  12);  comp.  Kev.  2:  10.  Or  'unto 
the  end '  may  mean  not  through  life,  but  unto 
the  end  of  these  trials.  Luke  gives  (21:19)  the 
kindred  and  remarkable  expression,  "in  your 
patience  ye  shall  win  your  souls ' '  (correct  text 
and  translation),  implying  that  men  may  gain 
possession  of  their  own  spiritual  nature 
through  patient  endurance  of  the  ills  of  life, 
(d)  A  corrective  to  the  false  signs,  v.  14; 
Mark  13:  10.  Nothwithstanding  the  perse- 
cution from  without  and  the  false  teaching 
and  diminished  love  within,  the  gospel  will 
be  everywhere  preached;  then,  and  not  till 
then,  will  the  end  come.  This  gospel  of 
the  kingdom,  the  good  tidings  (Kev.  Ver. 
margin)  that  the  Messianic  kingdom  or  reign 
is  near  (see  on  4 :  2<S ;  3 :  2),  which  the  Sav- 
iour was  and  long  had  been  engaged  in  pro- 
claiming. Comp.  the  beginning  of  our  Lord's 
preaching  in  Galilee,  Mark  1 :  15.  Preached, 
kerusso,  see  on  4:  17.  In  all  the  world, 
more  exactly,  in  the  whole  inhabited  (earth), 
as  in  Kev.  Ver.  margin.  This  term,  oikou- 
mene,  is  repeatedly  used  in  Luke  (and  Acts), 
not  elsewhere  in  the  Gospels.  From  it  comes 
the  modern  Popish  phrase,  "an  oecumenical 
council,"  one  whose  members  gather  from  all 
the  inhabited  earth.  This  statement,  that  the 
gospel  shall  be  preached  in  the  whole  inhabi- 
ted earth,  and  the  following  expression  for  n 
witness  unto  all  {the)  nations,  could  bo 
regarded  as  a  hyperbolical  prediction  of  what 
was  fulfilled  before  the  destruction  of  Jerusa- 
lem, even  as  Paul  wrote  to  the  Colossians 
(about  A.  D.  63),  concerning  "the  gos])ol 
which  ye  heard,  which  was  preached  in  all 
creation  under  heaven."  (Coi.  1 :  23,  Rev.  ver.)  It 
will  evidently  be  fulfilled  much  more  thor- 
oughly before  the  second  coming  of  Christ ;  yot 
Paul's  phrase,  and  the  apparent  primary  ref- 


erence here  to  a.  d.,  70  as  'the  end,'  should 
restrain  theorizers  from  insisting  that  the  sec- 
ond coming  of  Christ  cannot  take  place  until 
this  has  been  fulfilled  with  literal  complete- 
ness. For  a  witness,  or,  testiinony,  in  order 
that  testimony  may  be  offered  them  concern- 
ing the  Messiah  and  his  salvation,  such  as 
they  may  believe  if  they  will. 

II.  15-28.  One  Great  Sign  at  Jeru- 
salem ;  also  in  Mark  13 :  14-23 ;  Luke  21 : 
20-24.  In  V.  15-22  the  Saviour  states  what 
they  must  do  upon  the  occurrence  of  this 
sign,  and  in  v.  23-28  warns  against  misleading 
pretensions  and  propositions. 

(a)  The  sign,  and  what  they  must  do,  v.  15- 
22.  When  ye  therefore  shall  see.  What 
inference  is  expressed  by  'therefore'?  He 
has  said  that  the  end  is  coming  (»•"),  and  that 
those  who  endure  to  the  end  shall  be  saved 
(v.  13);  when  therefore  they  see  a  certain  sign, 
let  them  promptly  flee,  in  order  to  save  them- 
selves,   (v.  i6fr.) 

13.  f.,  apparently  refers  both  to  the  de- 
struction of  Jerusalem  and  to  the  final 
coming  of  Christ;  an  inference  from  it  in 
the  former  sense  is  that  which  here  fol- 
lows. The  abomination  of  desolation. 
The  Greek  construction  makes  it  the  abomi- 
nation characterized  by  desolation,  which 
might  be  as  a  token  or  as  a  cause  of  desola- 
tion. This  vague  phrase  is  further  described 
by  adding  spoken  of  by  {through)  Daniel 
the  prophet,  viz.,  spoken  of  by  God  through 
the  prophet,  comp.  21:  4,  and  see  on  1 :  22; 
2:  5.  This  addition  is  wanting  in  the  correct 
text  of  Mark  (is:  u),  having  been  added  in  the 
common  text  from  Matt.  It  is  stated  in  Dan- 
iel (9:26f.),  that  'the  anointed  one,'  the  Mes- 
siah, 'shall  be  cut  oflT,'  and  'the  people  of  the 
prince  that  .shall  come,  shall  destroy  the  city 

and  the  sanctuary and  he  shall  cause 

the  sacrifice  and  the  meat-offering  to  cease; 
and  upon  the  wing  of  abominations  shall 
come  one  that  maketh  desolate,'  or  (margin, 
Kev.  Ver.),  'upon  the  pinnacle  of  abomina- 
tions shall  be  one  that  maketh  desolate.'     In 


486 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXIV. 


16  Then  let  them  which  be  in  Judea  flee  into  the 
mountains: 


16  eth  understand),  then  let  them  that  are  in  Judaea  flee 


this  last  sense  it  was  understood  by  the  Sept., 
which  renders  'upon  the  temple  (hieron) 
(shall  be)  the  abomination  of  the  desolations.' 
In  Dan.  11:  31  and  12:  11  the  Sept.  has 
'abomination  of  desolation,'  as  here.  The 
writer  of  1  Mace.  (»=  m)  applied  this  phrase 
to  the  heathen  altar  which  in  the  time  of  An- 
tiochus  Epiphanes  was  set  upon  the  altar  of 
.Jehovah.  It  is  evident  that  our  Lord  inter- 
prets the  prediction  in  Daniel  as  referring  to 
the  Messiah,  and  to  that  destruction  of  the 
city  and  the  temple  which  he  is  now  foretell- 
ing; and  his  interpretation  is  authoratative 
for  us.  What  this  predicted  '  abomination 
of  desolation '  would  be,  was  an  obscure 
question.  Many  a  prediction  of  human  ac- 
tion was  necessarily  obscure  till  the  fulfill- 
ment came,  because  otherwise  it  would  have 
so  influenced  believers  as  to  fulfill  itself,  and 
would  have  thus  failed  to  be  valid  as  a  super- 
human prediction  to  strengthen  faith  in  him 
who  spoke  it.  (John  u:  29.)  Our  Lord  cites  this  ob- 
scure expression  without  explaining  it,  simply 
pointing  out  that  it  demands  attention  from 
the  reader  of  Daniel — let  him  that  readeth 
understand — and  implying  that  if  really 
understood  it  has  -the  reference  he  is  indi- 
cating. Some  suppose  the  parenthetic  remark 
to  be  that  of  Matthew,  addressing  the  reader 
of  the  Gospel;  but  this  is  made  improbable 
by  the  fact  that  Mark  gives  the  same  paren- 
thesis verbatim,  for  although  Mark  (in  the 
correct  text)  does  not  mention  Daniel,  yet  the 
peculiar  and  well-known  phrase  would  sug- 
gest its  source  in  that  book.  Luke  (21 :  20), 
probably  because  tlie  phrase  was  obscure  and 
difficult,  paraphrases  it  by  an  expression  (or 
perhaps  reports  an  additional  expression, 
comp.  Luke  19:  42),  which  suggests  to  us  the 
interpretation :  '  When  ye  see  Jerusalem  com- 
passed with  armies,  then  know  that  the  deso- 
lation thereof  is  near.'  Literally,  it  is  'being 
encircled  by  armies,'  when  you  see  the  pro- 
cess going  on,  then  flee.  Notice  that  Luke 
retains  the  term  'desolation.'  Now  we  cannot 
alwaj's  interpret  the  phraseology  of  a  passage  | 
from  that  of  a  parallel  passage,  but  there  is  ' 
always  a  strong  probability  that  their  mean-  j 
ing  is  substantially  the  same.  It  is  possible 
that  Luke  describes  an  occurrence  without  the 
city,  and  Matthew,  some  concurrent  desecra-  | 


tion  of  thetemple,  representedby  theabomina- 
tion  of  desolation.  But  it  is  much  more  likely 
that  'the  abomination  of  desolation,  standing 
in  the  holy  place '  means  some  object  con- 
nected with  the  Roman  army  under  Titus 
that  encircled  and  captured  Jerusalem,  which 
object  foretokened  speedy  desolation.  The 
Roman  military  standard,  with  its  eagle  of 
silver  or  bronze,  and  under  that  an  imperial 
bust  which  the  soldiers  were  accustomed  to 
worship,  standing  anywhere  in  the  holy  city 
(*:  5)  would  be  a  violation  of  the  second  com- 
mandment, would  be  abominable  in  the  eyes 
of  all  devout  Jews,  would  in  itself  desolate 
the  holy  place,  according  to  their  feeling,  and 
would  foretoken  a  yet  more  complete  desola- 
tion. Holy  place  cannot  well  mean  dis- 
tinctively thetemple  in  this  case,  for  when  the 
Roman  standards  stood  in  the  temple  it  was 
too  late  for  fleeing  to  the  mountain.  One  or 
two  years  before  the  Saviour  thus  spoke, 
Pilate  had  outraged  the  Jews  by  bringing  into 
Jerusalem  by  night  such  military  standards, 
having  on  them  the  emperor's  bust,  and  only 
upon  vehement  and  protracted  entreaty  did 
he  consent  to  remove  them  (Jos.  "Ant.,"  18, 
3,  1).  The  masculine  participle  for  'stand- 
ing' used  by  Mark  (i3:i4,  correct  text)  might  re- 
fer to  the  emperor  whose  bust  the  standard 
bore,  or  to  the  general  Avhose  authority  it  rep- 
resented. The  term  '  abomination  '  is  oftenest 
used  in  Old  Test,  as  denoting  idols,  or  objects 
connected  with  idolatry.  The  horror  of  civil 
war  in  the  temple  (Jos.  "War.,"  4,  9,  11  f.) 
would  not  so  well  account  for  this  phrase,  nor 
correspond  to  the  connection  in  Daniel.  Some 
prefer  simply  to  understand  the  Roman 
power,  as  abominable  and  desolating. 

16.  Then.  The  signs  previously  mentioned 
will  not  show  that  the  end  is  near  ;  but  when 
this  sign  is  seen,  then  the  followers  of  Christ 
must  at  once  leave  Jerusalem  and  the  entire 
district  of  Judea.  Flee  into  the  mountains 
seems  to  be  a  general  phrase,  not  denoting  any 
particular  mountains.  In  the  Maccabean 
time  the  Jews  had  become  familiar  with  the 
idea  of  hiding  in  ravines  and  caves  of  the 
mountains.  Eusebius  states  ("  Hist."  III.,  5, 
2  f.)  that  at  the  time  of  the  siege  by  Titus  the 
apostles  had  gone  to  preach  the  gospel  to  all 
the  nations,  and  that  the  people  (laity)  of  the 


Ch.  XXIV.] 


MATTHEW. 


487 


17  Let  him  which  is  on  the  housetop  not  come  down 
to  take  anything  out  of  his  house: 

18  Neitlier  let  him  which  is  in  the  field  return  back 
to  take  his  clothes. 

19  And  woe  unto  them  that  are  with  child,  and  to 
them  that  give  suck  in  those  days  ! 

20  But  pray  ye  that  your  flight  be  not  in  the  winter, 
neither  on  the  sabbath  day : 


17  unto  the  mountains:  let  him  that  is  on  the  housetop 

18  not  go  down  to  take  out  the  things  that  are  in  his 
house :  and  let  him  that  is  in  the  field  not  return 

19  back  to  take  his  cloak.    But  woe  unto  them  that  are 
with  child  and  to  them  that  give  suck  in  those  days ! 


church  in  Jerusalem,  in  accordance  with  a 
certain  divine  communication  given  by  revehi- 
tion  before  the  war,  removed  and  dwelt  in  a 
city  of  Perea  named  Pella.  Epiphanius  has 
a  similar  statement.  Merrill,  "East  of  the 
Jordan,"  leaves  no  reasonable  doubt  that 
Kobinson  was  right  in  identifying  Pella  with 
the  ruins  called  Fah'l,  lying  just  across  the 
Jordan  valley  eastward  from  Bethshean,  in  a 
beautiful  and  healthy  situation.  The  ruins 
indicate  an  important  city.  Epiphanius  says 
that  when  Hadrian  rebuilt  Jerusalem,  chang- 
ing its  name  to  ^lia  (a.  d.  135),  the  Chris- 
tians a  second  time  withdrew  to  Pella.  It  is 
not  clear  from  Eusebius  at  what  precise  time 
the  Christians  withdrew  from  Jerusalem ;  it 
may  have  been  (so  Plump,  and  Edersh. 
think)  in  a.  d  68,  but  it  seems  to  have  occur- 
red after  Titus  took  command,  which  followed 
the  death  of  Galba,  A.  D.  69  (see  Jos.  "  War," 
4,  9,  2).  During  the  siege,  in  A.  d.  70,  Titus 
allowed  many  Jews  to  withdraw  from  the  city 
("War,"  5,  10,  1),  and  the  Christians  may 
have  left  then.  Such  an  abandonment  of 
Jerusalem  was  not  unprecedented,  for  after 
the  affair  of  Ce:itius,  in  a.  d  66,  "  many  of 
the  distinguished  Jews  left  the  city,  as  if 
swimming  from  a  sinking  ship"  ("War,"  2, 
20,  1). 

17  f.  The  flight  is  to  be  prompt,  immediate. 
The  top  of  an  Oriental  house  is  flat,  with  only 
slant  enough  to  carry  off  the  rain,  and  with  a 
battlement  or  parapet  to  prevent  persons  from 
falling.  (Deut.'«:8.)  Thisroof  is  usually  reached 
by  steps  from  the  inner  court.  (Mark  2 : 4.)  In  a 
city,  where  the  houses  adjoin,  one  might  go 
along  the  roofs  from  house  to  house  without 


descending  to  the  court  and  the  street.  Jo- 
sephus  ("Ant.,"  13,  5,  8)  represents  some 
Jewish  soldiers  as  quelling  11  tumultuous  re- 
bellion in  Antioch  by  going  on  the  roofs  of 
the  palaces  to  cast  down  missiles  upon  the 
crowds  in  the  streets,  and  then  leaping  from 
house  to  house  and  setting  fire  to  the  dwell- 
ings of  the  people.  So  here,  he  which  is  on 
the  housetop  (e.y.,  acuio:9)  will  find  it  the 
shortest  way  to  escape  from  the  doomed  city 
to  pass  from  roof  to  roof,  and  must  not  go 
down  to  take  anything  out  of  his  house.' 
In  like  manner,  neither  let  him  which  is  in 
the  field  at  work,  and  has  laid  aside  his  outer 
garment  (5;  w),  return  to  the  place  where  he 
laid  it,  but  he  must  flee  straightway.  Origen 
understands  return  to  the  city,  but  that  would 
take  a  long  time,  and  the  prohibition  of  it 
would  not  indicate  great  haste;  besides  that 
decorous  persons  would  not  leave  the  outer 
garment  at  home,  but  would  wear  it  in  going 
from  the  city  to  the  field.  These  are  strong 
expressions— such  as  the  Saviour  frequently 
used,  see  on  5:  39 — to  show  that  the  flight 
must  be  extremely  prompt,  when  the  pre- 
dicted sign  appears. 

19-22.  Woe  is  here  said  compassionately, 
while  in  23:  13  it  was  denounced  as  a  thing 
deserved.  A  flight  so  prompt  and  hasty  must 
involve  great  hardship  and  difficulty  for  deli- 
cate women,  and  for  all  if  it  should  be  in  the 
winter.*  So  the  traditional  law  as  to  a  Sab- 
bath day  journey,  that  it  should  be  not  more 
than  two  thousand  cubit«,  about  ton  hundred 
and  fifty  yards,  would  prove  overwhelmingly 
inconvenient,  if  the  flight  should  occur  on 
the   Sabbath  day.     Some  (WQn.)   held   it 


1  Literally  'to  lake  aicnij  the  Ihivgs  that  art.  out  of  his 
houte,'  an  abrevialcd  expression  for  "  to  take  out  of  the 
bouse  the  things  that  are  in  it."  This  is  undoubtedly 
the  correct  reading  here.  The  singular 'garment '  (or 
'cloak')  is  read  by  all  the  earliest  M.SS.  and  many 
others,  and  by  nearly  all  the  early  vcrsion.s  ;  this  must 
outweigh  the  probability  of  a.ssimilalion  to  Mark  1.'! :  Ifi. 

»  It  wan  a  great  mercy  to  tbe  Southern  p«'ople  that 
the  end  of  the  Civil  War  (ISiii)  cauirt  in  A|>rll,  when  if 
the  men  hurried  home  and  went  imnif<liate!y  to  work, 


I  there  was  Just  time  enough  to  plant  corn,  tobacco,  cot- 
ton ;  this  prcvente<l  disorilrr  and  A'lolcnce,  by  engaging 
all  In  hofwful  Induxfry.  .So  sonic  Kabblnb-al  writorn 
(Wet.)  8|>oak  of  it  as  a  special  nwrcy  that  the  destruc- 
tion of  .lerusalcni  by  tbe  Hnbylonisins  h  Kin««JS:  3»)  oc- 
curro<l  at  a  season  of  the  year  suit abl<- for  journeying 
and  exposure.  And,  accortliiig  to  .losephus,  tbe  nriuy 
of  Titus  reached  .lorusalem  in  .Vprll  (A.  i).  70),  and 
destroyed  it  in  .September. 


488 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXIV. 


21  For  then  shall  be  great  tribulation,  such  as  was 
not  since  the  bogiuuiug  of  the  world  to  this  time,  no, 
nor  ever  shall  be. 

22  And  except  those  days  should  be  shortened,  there 
should  no  llesli  be  saved  :"but  for  the  elect's  sake  those 
days  shall  be  shortened. 

23  Tlien  if  any  uian  shall  say  unto  you,  Lo,  here  is 
Christ,  or  there:  believe  it  not. 

24  For  there  shall  arise  fal.^e  Christs,  and  false  pro- 
phets, and  shall  shew  great  signs  and  wonders ;  inso- 
much that,  if  il  were  possible,  they  shall  deceive  the 
very  elect. 

25  Behold,  I  have  told  you  before. 


20  And  pray  ye  that  your  flight  be  not  in  the  winter, 

21  neither  on  a  Salibath:  for  then  shall  be  great  tribu- 
lation, such  as  hath  not  been  from  the  beginning  of 

22  the  world  until  now,  no,  nor  ever  shall  be.  And  ex- 
cept those  days  had  been  shortened,  no  flesh  would 

23  have  been  saved :  but  for  the  elect's  sake  those  davs 
shall  be  shortened.    Then  if  any  man  shall  say  unto 

24  you,  Lo,  here  is  the  Christ,  or  Here  ;  l)elieve  it  i  not. 
For  there  shall  arise  false  Christs,  and  false  prophets, 
and  shall  shew  great  signs  and  wonders ;  so  as  to 

25  lead  astray,  if  possible,  even  the  elect.    Behold,  I 


lawful  to  violate  this  when  in  peril  of  life ; 
and  such  a  course  our  Lord  would  certainly 
have  approved  (com p.  on  12:  2  ff. );  but  it 
would  be  to  any  strict  Jew  a  painful  and 
embarrassing  necessity.  Moreover  (Hessey, 
in  "Bible  Comm."),  "it  was  no  doubt  con- 
sidered wrong  to  assist  the  traveler,  however 
urgent  his  errand,  in  his  movements  on  the 
Sabbath  day.  All  possible  impediments  there- 
fore would  be  thrown  in  the  way  of  the  fugi- 
tives by  those  who  were  still  zealous  for  the 
supposed  requirements  of  the  law."  Our 
Lord  seems  to  imply  that  his  Jewish  followers 
will  be  still  scrupulous  about  the  traditional 
mode  of  observing  the  Sabbath  up  to  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem.  It  was  indeed  this 
event  that  first  made  the  Jewish  Christians 
clearly  understand  the  ceremonial  law  to  be 
no  longer  binding  (comp.  on  16:  28).  Pray 
ye  that  your  flight  be  not  is  a  non-final  con- 
struction, see  on  5 :  29. 

21.  For,  reason  for  the  injunction  of 
v.  16,  which  was  expanded  by  v.  17-20.  This 
reason  is  that  the  sufferings  attendant 
upon  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  will  be 
without  parallel  in  past  or  future  his- 
tory. (Comp.  on  v.  29.)  We  might  regard 
this  also  as  the  hyperbolical  language  often 
used  in  prophecy  (comp.  Dan.  12:  1;  Joel 
2:1);  yet  in  this  case  it  may  be  taken  liter- 
ally, for  certainly  no  recorded  distresses  have 
been  so  vast,  so  prolonged,  so  terrible,  as 
those  described  by  Josephus  in  the  "Jewish 
War."  We  are  not  surprised  to  find  him  saj^- 
ing  (5,  10,  5),  "no  other  city  ever  endured 
similar  calamities,  and  no  generaticm  ever 
existed  more  prolific  in  crime."  Comp.  his 
Preface  to  the  "  War,"  ?  4.  The  elect  (v.  22) 
would  seem  to  be  the  elect  among  the  Jews 
(isa.65:9),  the  Jcwish  Christians.  If  the  de- 
struction and  desolation  inflicted  by  the 
Komans  during  the  siege  and  overthrow  of 


the  city,  and  afterwards  at  various  points,  had 
been  continued  much  longer,  they  would  have 
swept  away  all  Jews  who  were  then  Christians, 
and  all  who  afterwards  became  Christians — 
yea,  the  whole  Jewish  race.  Should  be  short- 
ened, etc..  Rev.  Ver.  Had  been  shortened,  no 
flesh  would  have  been  saved,  is  the  necessary 
meaning  of  the  Greek;  'saved'  means  the  saving 
of  the  life,  9:  21  f.,  comp.  on  1 :  21.  Mark  13: 20 
refers  the  shortening  expressly  to  Jehovah. 
That  others  should  also  be  saved  for  the  sake 
of  saving  the  elect,  reminds  of  Gen.  18:  23  AT. 
Luke  adds  (-h-.u.r.v.)  'and  they  shall  be  led 
away  captive  into  all  nations'  (comp.  Jos. 
"War,"  Book  7),  'and  .Jerusalem  shall  be 
trodden  down  by  the  Gentiles  until  the  times 
of  the  Gentiles  be  fulfilled.' 

We  cannot  say  that  v.  15-22  does  not  at  all 
refer  to  the  times  just  preceding  our  Lord's 
final  conung;  but  no  such  reference  shows  it- 
self. The  terms  of  v.  22  might  readily  be  so 
understood,  but  'those  days'  can  hardly  mean 
anything  else  than  the  da^'s  of  the  flight  from 
Judea.     (v.  16-20.) 

(b)  False  pretensions  which  must  then  be 
guarded  against,  v.  23-38;  so  Mark  13:  21-23; 
not  in  Luke. 

23-25.  Further  cases  of  false  Messiahs. 
(Comp.  V.  5.)  A  pseudo-ch7'ist,  one  who 
falsely  claimed  to  be  Christ,  must  be  distin- 
guished from  an  anti-christ,  an  opposer  of 
Christ  (Epistles  of  John);  compare  the  some- 
what similar  designation  in  2  Thess.  2:  4. 
Shall  shew  great  signs  and  wonders, 
comp.  on  16:  1,  and  for  the  terms  see  on  12: 
38.  Shall  deceive,  or  lead  astray,  same 
term  as  in  v.  4  f,  11,  and  in  18:  12 f.  (Comp. 
Deut.  13 :  1  fl". ;  Rev.  13 :  13. )  Alexander  : 
"This  prediction,  in  its  strict  sense,  is  among 
the  passages  which  seem  to  show  that  even 
real  miracles  are  not  sufficient  of  themselves 
to  prove  the  truth  of  any  doctrine,  but  only 


Ch.  XXIV.] 


MATTHEW. 


489 


26  Wherefore  if  they  shall  say  unto  you,  Behold,  he 
is  in  the  desert ;  go  not  forth :  behold,  he  U  in  the  secret 
chambers ;  believe  it  not. 

•27  For  as  the  lightning  conieth  out  of  the  east,  and 
shineth  even  unto  the  west;  so  shall  also  the  coming 
of  the  Son  of  man  be. 

28  For  wheresoever  the  carcass  is,  there  will  the 
eagles  be  gathered  together. 

2J  Immediately  after  the  tribulation  of  those  days 
shall  the  sun  be  darkened,  and  the  moon  shall  not  give 
her  light,  and  the  stars  shall  fall  from  heaven,  and  the 
powers  of  the  heavens  shall  be  shaken: 


26  have  told  you  beforehand.  If  therefore  they  shall 
say  unto  you.  Behold,  he  is  in  the  wilderness;  go 

27  not  forth:  Benold,  he  is  in  the  inner  chaiubers:  be- 
lieve ^  it  not.  For  as  the  lightning  comelh  forth 
from  the  east,  and  is  seen  even  unto  the  west ;  so 

28  shall  be  the  *  coming  of  the  Son  of  man.  Where- 
soever the  carcase  is,  there  will  the  "  eagles  be  gath- 
ered together. 

29  But  immediately,  after  the  tribulation  of  tiiose 
days,  the  sun  shall  be  darkened,  and  the  moon  shall 
not  give  her  light,  and  the  stars  shall  fall  from 


1  Or,  them. . .  .2  6r.  pretence, . .  .3  Or,  vulturet. 


one  part  of  a  complex  demonstration,  at  once 
sensible,  rational,  and  spiritual." 

26  f.  The  true  Messiah's  appearing  will  be 
sudden  and  visible  to  all.  The  desert  or 
wilderness  (*:i),  and  the  secret  chambers 
(6:  8),  are  contrasted.  He  will  not  be  known  to 
have  appeared  elsewhere,  and  will  not  be  found 
by  searching  in  the  wild,  thinly  inhabited 
regions,  or  in  the  private  portions  of  some  city 
house  ;  his  appearing  will  be  visible  to  all,  as 
a  flash  of  lightning.  (Comp.  Luke  17:  23  f.) 
The  coming,  comp.  on  v.  3.  The  Son  of 
man,  the  Messiah,  see  on  8:  20.  Here  'the 
coming  of  the  Son  of  man'  answers  to  'thy 
coming'  in  v.  3. 

27  is  closely  connected  by  for  with  v.  26, 
which  last  points  to  the  destruction  of  Jeru- 
salem. Yet  the  language  of  v.  27  seems  spe- 
cially appropriate  to  the  final  coming;  and  it 
may  perhaps  be  understood  as  referring  to 
both.  (Comp.  on  v.  3.)  Also  is  an  inade- 
quately supi)orted  addition  in  the  common 
text.  And  shineth,  or  is  seen,  as  in  6:  5; 
not  that  the  lightning  goes  to  the  west,  as 
'shineth'  might  suggest,  but  that  its  light  is 
seen  even  that  far.  The  thought  therefore 
seems  to  be  (Weiss)  that  the  Messiah's  coming 
will  bo  alike  visible  to  all,  and  so  there  will 
be  no  occasion  for  some  to  tell  others  where 
he  may  be  seen. 

28.  Comp.  Luke  17:  37,  and  the  same  image 
in  Job  39  :  30.  Wheresoever  the  carcass 
is,  1  there  will  the  eagles  be  gathered 
together.  As  the  eagle  proper  rarely  feeds 
on  carrion,  the  word  probably  here  denotes  a 
carrion-kite,  which  Pliny  classes  with  eagles 
(Grimm),  or  a  great  vulture  as  large  as  the 
eagle,  which  now  abounds  in  Palestine,  and 
is  called  eagle  by  the  natives  (Thomson,  III, 


221).  The  meaning  of  the  saying  as  here  ap- 
plied seems  to  be,  that  things  will  come  to 
pass  when  the  occasion  for  them  exists.  When 
Jerusalem  is  ready  for  destruction,  the  Roman 
armies  will  gather  and  destroy  it ;  when  the 
world  lies  awaiting  the  final  appearance  of 
Christ  to  judgment,  he  will  come.  Kendrick 
(in  Olsh.)  considers,  with  less  probability, 
that  it  means  the  swarming  of  the  false 
prophets  to  prey  on  the  corrupt  mass  of 
Judaism.  Calvin,  after  some  Fathers,  under- 
stands the  children  of  God  as  gathering  to 
Christ  and  feeding  on  him,  an  idea  repulsive 
in  itself,  and  out  of  harmony  with  the  con- 
nection, in  which  ("Bible  Comm.")  Christ 
comes  not  in  grace,  but  in  judgment;  yet 
many  later  writers  have  unwisely  adopted 
this  view.  It  is  hardly  possible,  as  formerly 
fiincied  by  some,  that  our  Lord  meant  an 
allusion  to  the  Roman  eagles. 

III.  29-31.  Signs  in  Heaven.  Mark 
13  :  24-27;  Luke  21  :  2o-28.  Immediately. 
The  phrase  is  not  exactly  'immediately  after'; 
the  adverb  'immediately'  is  connected  with 
'the  sun  shall  be  darkened,'  etc.  The  sub- 
stantial sense  is  however  the  same.  So  far  us 
this  passage  relates  to  the  destruction  of  Jeru- 
salem, we  may  suppose  that  the  events  it 
indicates  were  to  follow  immediately  after  those 
predicted  in  15-28.  As  regards  the  ulterior 
reference  to  the  final  paronsia,  there  may 
prove  to  be  in  like  manner  some  close  conse- 
cution, but  only  the  fulfillment  is  likely  to 
show.  After  the  tribulation  of  those  days, 
viz., the  tribulation  attendingiiiioii  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem,  see  especially  v.  21.  The 
English  term  tribulation  is  often  regarded  as 
interesting,  from  its  supposed  comicctioii  with 
the    Latin    trihtdum,   a    threshing-sled    with 


»*  For'  Is  wanting  in  the  earliest  MSS.  and  moot  of  !  (or  'corpse')  was  here  altered  by  some  documents  Into 
the  early  versions,  and  would  be  very  easily  Inserted  the  somewhat  similar  word  meaning  '  iMxly,"  which 
by  students  or  copyists.    The  word  meaning  '  carcass,'  1  Luke  has  in  17  :  37  ;  comp.  above  on  14 :  12. 


490 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXIV. 


30  And  then  shall  appear  the  sign  of  the  Son  of  man 
in  heaven :  and  then  sliall  all  the  tribes  of  the  earth 
luoiirn,  aud  they  shall  see  the  Son  of  man  couiing  in 
the  clouds  of  lieaven  with  power  and  great  glory. 

31  And  he  shall  send  his  angels  with  a  great  sound 
of  a  trumpet,  and  they  shall  gather  together  his  elect 
from  the  four  winds,  from  one  end  of  heaven  to  the 
other. 


heaven,  and   the  powers  of  the  heavens  shall  be 

30  shaken:  and  then  shall  appear  the  sign  of  the  Son 
of  man  in  heaven:  and  then  shall  all  the  tribes  of 
the  earth  mourn,  and  they  shall  see  the  Sou  of  man 
coming  on  the  clouds  of  heaven  with   power  and 

31  great  glory.  And  he  shall  send  forth  liis  angels 
I  with  3 a  great  sound  of  a  trumpet,  and  they  shall 
gather  together  his  elect  from  the  four  wiuUs,  from 
one  end  of  heaven  to  the  other. 


I  Uanv  ancient  itutlinrilieg  read,  with  a  great  trumpet,  and  they  ihall  gather,  etc 2  Or,  a  trumpet  0/ great  sound. 


sharp  teeth  to  beat  the  grain  out  of  the  straw. 
But  the  Greek  certainly  has  no  such  associa- 
tion, and  means  simply  pressure,  oppression, 
affliction  (e.5'.,2Cor.  1:3-8).  Of  those  days, 
is  naturally  but  not  necessarily  the  same  period 
as  'those  days'  in  v.  19  and  22.  The  sun 
shall  be  darkened,  etc.,  comp.  Joel  2  :  31; 
3  :  15 ;  Amos  8:9;  Isa.  13 :  9  f.  ;  Ezek.  32  :  7 ; 
Rev.  6  :  12.  These  passages  incline  one  to 
understand  the  expressions  as  a  mere  image. 
And  so  with  the  following  expression,  the 
stars  shall  fall,  meaning  not  some  stars,  but 
the  stars  generally.  Comp.  Isa.  34  :  4.  The 
powers  of  the  heavens,  the  forces  which 
dwell  in  the  heavens  and  keep  them  stable; 
the  shaking  of  which  will  disturb  their  stabil- 
ity (Meyer).      Luke  condenses  all  this  into 


own  coming  on  the  clouds,  as  just  afterwards 
mentioned,  and  as  predicted  in  Dan.  7:  13. 

Then  shall  all  the  tribes  of  the  earth 
mourn.  (Comp.  Zech.  12:  10, 12;  Rev.  1:7.) 
Not  simply  the  Jews  shall  mourn,  but  all 
men.  This  may  have  been  true  in  some  par- 
tial sense  at  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem.  Is 
it  not  probable  that  many  Jews  who  had 
heard  the  apostles  preach,  or  who  had  read  the 
Gospel  of  Matt.,  did  then  remember  the  re- 
jected Jesus,  how  he  predicted  all  this  calam- 
ity and  ruin,  how  they  voluntarily  assumed 
the  guilt  of  his  blood  (ct;  25),  and  did  mourn 
bitterly?  But  the  prediction  will  doubtless 
be  completely  fulfilled  at  the  second  coming 
of    Christ.      Coming    in    the     clouds     of 


heaven,  etc.  (Comp.  16:  27.)  Com.  Ver. 
'there  shall  be  signs  in  sun  and  moon  and  [  obscures  the  variation  of  this  expression  in 
stars,'  and  then  adds  some  other  striking  1  different  passages.  The  Greek  has  'on  the 
imagery,  as  '  the  roaring  of  the  sea  and  the  !  clouds'   here,   26:    64;    Rev.   14:    14-16;   'in 


billows.'  (Luke2i:-25f.,R.v.)  Somc  Premillenuial- 
ist  or  Adventist  writers  hold  (Hanna)  that 
•with  V.  29  begins  the  account  of  the  introduc- 
tion of  Christ's  personal  reign  on  earth,  ex- 
tending to  25  :  30,  and  after  that  is  described 
the  general  judgment  at  the  end  of  the 
millennium.  But  it  is  extremely  doubtful 
whether  we  ought  to  introduce  into  the 
Saviour's  discourse  such  ideas  supposed  to  be 
drawn  from  the  Apocalypse. 

30.  The  sign  of  the  Son  of  man  in  heaven. 
The  Jews  had  repeatedly  asked  for  such  a  sign 
(16: 1: 12 :  38;  John 2 :  ts),  and  the  disciples  had  just 
inquif"ed  as  to  the  sign  of  his  coming,  (v.  3.)  He 
here  tells  the  disciples  when  it  will  appear,  but 
does  not  tell  them  what  the  sign  will  be,  nor 
can  we  clearly  perceive  from  the  connection. 
Some  Fathers  fancied  that  it  meant  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  cross  in  the  sky,  as  in  the 
famous  story  of  Constantino  ;  but  this  is  quite 
unwarranted.  It  may  be  (Calvin)  that  the 
sign  will  be  nothing  more  than  the  Saviour's 


clouds'  (Mark  13:  26;  Luke  21:  27);  'with 
the  clouds'  (Mark  14:  62;  Rev.  1:7;  Dan. 
7:  13.) 

31.  Send  his  angels  (see  on  13:  41.)  A 
great  sound  of  a  trumpet.  With  a  trum- 
pet of  great  sound  (Rev.  Ver.,  margin),  i.  e., 
with  a  loud-sounding  trumpet  (Buttm.),  is 
the  natural  translation  of  the  most  probable 
text.^  It  might  possibly  be  translated  as  in 
Com.  and  Rev.  Ver.,  but  not  naturally,  for  so 
the  word  rendered  trumpet  would  have  in  the 
Greek  an  emphatic  position  without  any  dis- 
cernible reason  (Weiss).  The  image  is  drawn 
from  a  herald  sounding  a  loud  trumpet  to  an- 
nounce the  approach  of  a  monarch,  or  of  his 
representatives,  and  to  assemble  the  people 
that  they  may  hear  his  commands.  From 
this  saying  Paul  probably  derived  the  expres- 
sions of  1  Cor.  15:  52.  And  they  sha'l 
gather  together  his  elect,  etc.  Notice  how 
often  this  term  '  the  elect '  is  used  (v.  22,  24, 
311,  and  so  Mark  in  each  case.     (Comp.  above, 


1  There  is  considerable  documentary  evidence  for  the 
other  reading  in  the  margin  of  Rev.  Ver., '  with  a  great 
trumpet,' but  only  the  "  Western  "  documents  support 
that  in  the  margin  of  Com.  Ver., '  with  a  trumpet,  and 


a  great  voice  (sound)',  which  is  a  manifest  alteration. 
The  difTerence  in  any  case  is  unimportant,  as  a  great 
trumpet  would  make  a  great  sound. 


Ch.  XXIV.] 


MATTHEW. 


491 


32  Now  learn  a  parable  of  the  fig  tree ;  When  his 
branch  is  yet  tender,  and  puitelh  forth  leaves,  ye  know 
that  summer  is  nigh : 

33  So  likewise  ye,  when  ye  shall  see  all  these  things, 
know  that  it  is  near,  even  at  the  doors. 

34  Verily  I  say  unto  you.  This  generation  shall  not 
pass,  till  all  these  things  be  fulfilled. 


32  Now  from  the  fig  tree  learn  her  parable :  when  her 
branch  is  now  become  tender,  and  putteth  forth  ita 

33  leaves,  ye  know  that  the  summer  is  uigh:  even  so 
ye  also,  when  ye  see  all  these  things,  know  ye  that 

34  'he  is  nigh,  et>en  at  the  doors.    Verily  I  say   unto 
you,  This  geqeratioa  shall  not  pass  away,  till  all 


22:  14.)  From  the  four  winds,  a  common 
designation  of  what  we  now  call  the  four 
points  of  the  compass.  From  one  end  of 
heaven  to  the  other,  a  phrase  drawn  from 
the  old  conception  of  the  earth  as  an  oblong 
plain,  bounded  at  each  end  by  the  sky,  the 
horizon.  Such  familiar  phrases  are  used 
in  Scripture  as  they  are  among  us,  without 
becoming  responsible  for  the  conformity  of 
the  conception  they  involve  to  the  physical 
fact.  The  meaning  is  that  the  elect  will  be 
gathered  from  every  part  of  the  earth  in 
which  they  are  found. 

It  is  practically  impossible  to  suppose  that 
V.  30  f.  relates  sbnpLy  to  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem.  As  the  latter  part  of  the  discourse 
(25: 31-16)  clearly  refers  to  the  second  coming  of 
our  Lord,  it  seems  unavoidable  to  suppose  a 
similar  reference  here;  see  also  the  corre- 
sponding passage,  13:  41.  But  v.  34  will 
presently  declare  that  'all'  the  foregoing 
matter  will  occur  during  the  existing  genera- 
tion. Then  as  we  cannot  believe  (with  Meyer 
and  others)  that  the  Saviour  mistakenly  ex- 
pected his  paroiisia  to  be  within  that  genera- 
tion, it  follows  that  v.  29-31  must  refer  to  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem.  The  difficulty  is 
relieved  by  understanding  a  typical  relation 
between  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  and  his 
final  parousia,  on  the  ground  of  which  rela- 
tion V.  29-31  really  points  in  some  sense  to 
both  events.  (Com p.  above  on  v.  3.) 
^y^  IV.  32-36.  Thesk  Signs  Will  StrFFicE 
^ — lo  Show.  Mark  13:  28-32  (very  nearly  the 
same  words);  Luke  21:  29-33.  From  the 
flg  tree,  placed  first  in  the  sentence,  and  thus 
emphatic.  He  may  have  looked  at  some  fig 
tree  near  them,  just  as  in  the  same  vicinity  he 
had  five  days  before  used  a  fig  tree  for  an  ob- 
ject-lesson. (21.20.)  But  the  article,  'the  flg 
tree,'  does  not  necessarily  indicate  a  particu- 
lar tree,  but  may  mean  only  that  kind  of  tree, 
or  that  class  of  objects.  Learn  a  parable 
(Rev.  Ver.,  her  parable),  or  simply  'the 
parable,'  the  one  which  the  fig  tree  has  to 
teach.     Everything  in  nature  has  its  moral 


analogies;  Jesus  has  set  us  the  example  of 
perceiving  the.se  and  using  them  for  religious 
instruction.  The  word  parable  (see  on  13:  3) 
is  here  used  in  its  general  sense  of  an  illustra- 
tive comparison,  as  in  15:  15,  there  being  here 
no  narrative  such  as  we  commonly  mean  by  a 

parable.      When    his    branch its 

leaves.  The 'his'  is  the  old  possessive  of 
'it,'  which  was  originally  'Ai<,'  and  is  still 
often  so  pronounced  by  the  vulgar.  The 
possessive  its  was  just  beginning  to  be  used 
when  the  K.  James  version  was  made.  It  is 
found  several  times  in  Shakespeare,  though 
he  commonly  still  employs  his.  (Schmidt, 
"Shakesp.  Lex.")  Its  never  occurs  in  the 
Com.  Ver.  We  find  his  as  neuter  repeatedly 
in  Old  Test.  (e.  g.,  Psa.  1:3;  Exod.  25:  31; 
36:  17,  etc.),  and  several  times  in  New  Test. 
(5: 13;  Acta  12: 10;  1  Cor.  15:  .H8.)  The  parallel  passage 
in  Com.  Ver.  of  Mark  has  '  her  branch,' 
which  Rev.  Ver.  adopts  here,  personifying 
the  fig  tree  as  feminine  (like  the  Greek),  and 
so  in  Rev.  6:  13;  comp.  22:  *2.  Is  yet  tender. 
The  Rev.  Ver.,  Is  note  become  tender,  gives 
the  exact  vneaning.  'Is  yet  tender,'  Tyn. 
and  followers,  suggests  that  the  tenderness  is 
about  to  cease,  when  the  Greek  means  that  it 
has  just  become  complete.  When  ye  shall 
see  all  these  things,  probably  those  of  v.  15 
and  v.  29  f.  Know  that  it  is  near,  (r.sr.) 
The  Rev.  Ver.  gives  'He  is  nigh,'  or  in  mar- 
gin, 'it  is  nigh,'  viz.,  his  coming  (»•"),  or  'the 
kingdom  of  God  is  nigh'  (Luiie2i:3i),  all  ob- 
viously amounting  to  the  same  thing.  The 
'he'  is  most  naturally  suggested  by  what  pre- 
cedes, and  is  sui)ported  by  James  5 :  9.  Kdersh. 
thinks  "it  can  scarcely  be  supposed  that  Christ 
woiiltl  speak  of  himself  in  tlie  thin!  person  ' ; 
but  see  in  this  very  discourse  v.  31  and  2-j:  31  If. 
31.  Verily,  I  say  unto  you  (see  on  5:  18), 
calling  attention  to  something  of  special  im- 
portance. This  generation,  as  in  2^1:  30, 
also  11  :  10;  12:  41  f. ;  and  comimre  Luke  17: 
2.J  with  21:  32.  The  word  cannot  have  any 
other  meaning  hero  than  the  obvious  one. 
The  attempts  to  establish  for  it  the  sense  of 


492 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXIV. 


35  Heaven  and  earth  shall  pass  away,  but  luy  words 
shall  not  pass  away. 

3ti  But  of  that  day  and  hour  knoweth  no  vuin,  no,  not 
the  angels  of  heaven,  but  my  Father  only. 


35  these  things  be  accomplished.    Heaven  and  earth 
shall  pass  away,  but  my  words  shall  not  pass  away. 

36  But  of  that  day  and  hour  kuoweth  no  one,  not  even 
the  angels  of  heaven,  i  neither  the  Sou,  but  the  Father 


1  Uany  authoriiiea,  some  anoient,  omit,  neither  the  Son. 


race  or  iiation  have  failed.  There  are  some 
examples  in  which  it  might  have  such  a  mean- 
ing, but  none  in  which  it  must,  for  in  every 
case  the  recognized  meaning  will  answer,  and 
so  another  sense  is  not  admissible.  (Comp.  on 
3:6.)  Some  of  the  Fathers  took  it  to  mean 
the  generation  of  believers,  i.  e.,  the  Chris- 
tians, etc.,  after  the  loose  manner  of  inter- 
preting into  which  many  of  them  so  often 
fell.  We  now  commonly  make  the  rough 
estimate  of  three  generations  to  a  century. 
The  year  in  which  our  Lord  said  this  was 
most  probably  A.  d.  30,  and  if  so,  it  was  forty 
years  to  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem.  The 
thought  is  thus  the  same  as  in  16:  28;  and 
comp.  John  21 :  22  f.  Till  all  these  things 
be  fulfilled,  or,  more  exactly,  take  place, 
'come  to  pass,'  see  on  5:  18.  The  emphasis  is 
on  'all.'  All  the  things  predicted  in  v.  4-31 
would  occur  before  or  in  immediate  connec- 
tion with  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem.  But 
like  events  might  again  occur  in  connection 
■with  another  and  greater  coming  of  the  Lord, 
and  such  seems  evidently  to  be  his  meaning. 
(See  on  v.  3.) 
35.  Heaven  and  earth  shall  pass  away. 


etc.  (see  on  5:  19),  still  Turther  emphasizes  the 
importance  of  what  he  is  saying,  which  was 
introduced  by  '  Verily,  I  say  unto  you.'  It 
was  hard  for  the  disciples  to  believe  that  their 
Master  would  come  again  and  utterly  destroy 
the  temple  and  the  holy  city  (v.sr.),  and  work 
such  great  changes  as  have  been  indicated  by 
v.  29-31,  within  that  generation;  and  so  he 
asserts  it  very  solemnly,  comp.  John  16:  7. 
We  learn  also  in  2  Pet.  3:  7  f.  and  else- 
where that  heaven  and  earth  will  pass  away; 
not  that  they  will  cease  to  exist,  but  that  they 
will  be  changed  into  something  entirely  new. 
36.  The  predictions  he  has  made  will  re- 
ceive a  fulfillment  within  that  generation 
(▼•»*),  to  be  witnessed  by  some  then  living 
(16:28);  this  much  he  solemnly  declares,  but 
the  time  he  will  not  more  exactly  state,  for 
indeed  the  precise  time  no  one  knows  but  the 
Father  only.  Of  (coHce?'m«5')  that  day  and 
hour.  It  is  mere  quibbling  to  say  that  still 
we  may  ascertain  the  year  and  month.  No, 
not  the  angels  of  heaven,  comp.  on  18:  10. 
The  Rev.  Yer.  gives  'neither  the  Son.'  It  is 
difficult  to  decide  whether  these  words  are 
here  genuine.i    They  are  certainly  genuine  in 


1  Though  of  little  practical  importarroe,  the  ques- 
tion is  one  of  great  interest  to  the  science  of  text- 
criticism.  The  clause  is  given  here  by  X  B  D,  by  the 
old  uncial  represented  by  13, 124,  34C,  two  other  cur- 
sives, some  codices  of  the  Old  Latin  and  a  few  of  the 
Vulgate,  Syriac  of  Jerusalem,  .SIthiopic,  and  Arme- 
nian, Origen  (who  carefully  discusses  the  phrase  in 
his  commentary  on  Matt.),  Chrys.,  Hilary,  and  the 
Anonymous  Comm.  on  Matt.  Now  if  B  were  absent 
from  this  list,  the  clause  would  be  immediately  re- 
jected as  a  "Western"  addition,  obviously  drawn 
from  Mark.  We  know  (W  H.,  Int.  ?  159)  that  "in  Ori- 
gen, especially  in  some  of  his  writings.  Western 
quotations  hold  a  prominent  place,"  e.  g.,  see  just 
after  this,  v.  41.  The  Ethiopia  is  well  known  to 
present  "  Western  "  readings  in  many  passages,  and 
the  Armenian  gives  them  in  v.  2;  25:  1;  Acts  8:. 37; 
Eph.  6:  30,  and  elsewhere.  It  is  of  course  possible 
(Tisch.  and  W  H.)  that  the  words  were  omitted  be- 
cause of  the  obvious  difficulty  they  present ;  but 
then  why  are  they  omitted  from  Mark  by  no  docu- 
ments except  X  and  one  codex  of  the  Vulgate  ?  It 
is  true  that  Matt,  was  more  used  than  Mark,  but  the 
difference  in  this  respect  will  bear  no  comparison 
with  the  immense  difference  between  the  documents 


I  for  omission  in  Matt,  and  in  Mark,  even  after  we 
j  allow  for  the  ready  acceptauce  likely  to  be  given  to  a 
!  form  of  text  that  would  remove  a  difficulty.    Various 
Fathers  speak  of  the  clause  as  wanting  in  Matt,  and 
present  in  Mark,  but  they  do  not  regard  that  as  les- 
sening the  doctrinal  difficulty.    On  the  other  hand, 
nothing  would  be  more  natural  than  the  insertion  of 
the  clause  in  Matt,  by  transcriptional  assimilation  to 
I  Mark.    Such  assimilation  of  parallel  paiisages  occurs 
I  oftener  than  can  be  numbered ;  while  alteration  to 
avoid  doctrinal  difficulty  is  a  thing  of  very  rare 
occurrence.    How  then  can  W  H.  maintain  that  the 
I  omission  "can  be  no  less,  easily  explained  by  the 
''  doctrinal  difficulty"  than  their  insertion  by  '•assimi- 
lation to  Mark"?    This  seems  to  be  only  because 
they  regard  "  the  documentary  evidence  in  favor"  of 
the  clause  as  "overwhelming";  and  it  is  made  over- 
whelming by  the  concurrence  of  B  with  the  other 
documents.    Now  it  is  true  that  a  group  containing 
i  B  very  commonly  presents  the  original  text,  as  W 
j  H.  have  convincingly  shown   in  their  genealogical 
.  classification  on  the  basis  of  internal  evidence.    But 
]  it  is  not  true  that  such  a  group  presents  overwhelm- 
ing evidence;  for  we  have  seen  in  this  commentary  a 
1  good  many  cases  in  which  a  group  containing  B  is 


C«.  XXIV.] 


MATTHEW. 


493 


Mark  (i*:'"),  and  so  were  spoken  by  our  Lord 
on  this  occasion.  In  fact,  the  thought  they 
convey  is  implied  in  but  my  ^Me)  Father 
only,  for  otherwise  we  should  have  expected 
'but  God  only.'  Comp.  20:  23;  Acts  1:  7. 
The  '  my  '  of  the  common  text  is  spurious. 

This  statement  of  our  Lord  as  to  himself 
can  be  explained  only  by  referring  the  igno- 
rance to  his  human  mind.  We  read  of  him 
at  twelve  years  of  age  that  he  'advanced  in 
wisdom  and  stature'  (or  'age').  If  he  then 
advanced  in  wisdom,  he  did  not  cease  advanc- 
ing at  the  age  of  twenty  or  of  thirty.  If  his 
knowledge  was  incomplete  at  twelve,  it  was 
still  incomplete  at  thirty.  Indeed,  a  finite 
mind  could  not  contain  all  knowledge.  If 
there  was  to  be  a  real  Incarnation  of  the 
Eternal  Word,  then  the  body  he  took  must  be 
a  real  body,  and  the  mind  a  real  mind.  How 
his  divine  nature  could  be  omniscient,  and  his 
human  mind  limited  in  knowledge,  both 
being  united  in  one  person,  is  part  of  the 
mj-stery  of  the  Incarnation,  which  we  need 
not  expect  to  solve.  (Comp.  Phil.  2  :  7.)  But 
to  be  limited  in  knowledge,  does  not  neces- 
sarily involve  erroneous  information  or  con- 
ceptions. The  human  nature  of  the  Incarnate 
Deity  was  infallibly  preserved  from  sin  (comp. 
on  4:1),  and  so,  we  may  believe,  from  error 
of  judgment. 

So  remarkable  a  statement  seems  much  more 
natural  if  it  relates  not  simply  to  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem,  but  also,  and  mainly,  to 
the  second  coming  of  which  our  Lord  goes  on 
to  speak  in  the  immediately  succeeding  verses ; 
and  we  have  seen  that  the  passage  as  a  whole 
appears  to  predict  both  events.  This  saying 
ought  to  repress  all  curious  inquiry  as  to  the 
precise  time  of  his  second  coming,  to  prevent 
reliance  on  any  arithmetical  calculations,  and 
also  to  foster  confidence  in  him.  The  disci- 
ples greatly  wished  to  know  the  precise  time; 
in  every  age  many  have  been  eagerly  seeking 


to  determine,  and  some  fancying  they  have 
ascertained  it,  only  to  be  disappointed;  but 
he  expressly  warned  against  this  from  the  out- 
set, and  impliedly  bade  us  be  reconciled  to  an 
ignorance  shared  by  the  high  angels,  and 
(Mark)  by  the  Son  himself.  The  humiliating 
failures  by  so  many  well-meaning  Christians 
in  this  matter,  should  bring  no  reproach  to 
their  Master,  but  cause  him  to  be  honored  all 
the  more.  And  if  the  God-man,  the  Mediator, 
left  this  and  many  other  things  (20 :  23  ),  to  the 
Father  alone,  how  cheerfully  should  we  his 
followers  rest  in  ignorance  that  cannot  be 
removed,  trusting  in  all  things  to  our  Heav- 
enly Father's  wisdom  and  goodness,  striving  to 
obey  his  clearly  revealed  will,  and  leaning  on 
his  grace  for  support.  Whether  this  partic- 
ular limitation  upon  the  Saviour's  knowledge 
was  removed  after  his  resurrection  (28:  is),  we 
cannot  undertake  to  judge. 

HOMILKTICAL  AND  PRACTICAL. 

V.  2.  Henry:  "A  believing  foresight  of 
the  defacing  of  all  worldly  glory  will  help 
to  take  us  ofi"  from  overvaluing  it." — V.  4  f. 
In  times  of  great  trial  we  must  carefully  avoid 
false  guidance  and  comfort.  Griffith: 
"  Men's  first  impulse  under  trouble  is  to  catch 
rashly  at  every  person  who  seems  to  promise 
relief" — V.  6.  Henry:  "It  is  against  the 
mind  of  Christ,  that  his  people  should  have 
troubled  hearts  even  in  troublous  times." 

V.  1*2.  Love  waxing  cold.  1)  Through  dis- 
couragement from  apparently  fruitless  efforts 
to  do  good.  2)  Through  resentment  at  in- 
gratitude and  injustice.  3)  Through  general 
influence  of  evil  example  and  environment. 
Happy  the  few  who  resist  all  such  tendencies, 
whose  love  is  warm  even  amid  surrounding 
chill,  for  they  shall  be  useful  to  men,  shall 
honor  Christ,  shall  themselves  be  saved,  (v.  is.) 
— V.  14.  Preaching  the  gospel.  1)  It  is  the 
gospel  of  the  kingdom.    2)  It  is  adapted  to  all 


certftinl.v  or  probnbly  wrong;  and  Dr.  Hort  himself 
states  that  B  "  has  n  few  widely  spread  wrong  read- 
ings in  this  Gospel  "  (.\pp.  on  Matt.  l.T:  35.)  For  ex- 
ample, W  H.  do  not  follow  groups  containing  B,  some 
of  them  large  groups,  in  6  :  22;  13:  0,  24  ;  2n  :  27  ;  27: 
28,49.  Comp.  above  on  19:  9.  In  Mark  4:  21  X  B,  the 
uncial  represented  by  13  and  09,  with  .1-'!,  and  we  may 
now  add  j,  give  a  manifest  clerical  error,  which  Hort 
says  is  "due  to  mechnnical  repetition"  There  ore 
various  examples  in  the  other  Gospels  which  tend 
to  the  same  result.    80  the  B  groups,  and  even  the 


{<  B  groups  (as  in  several  of  the  above  instance.")  do 
present  a  number  of  unquestionable  errors,  even  in 
the  Gospels,  and  W  H.  fully  agree  that  B  is  repeat- 
edly "Western"'  in  the  Epistles  of  Paul.  Accord- 
ingly, the  K  B  group  in  this  case  does  not  constitute 
"  overwhelming"  evidence  in  favor  of  a  clause  want- 
ing in  the  great  mass  of  documents,  and  so  readily 
accounted  for  by  a<>similation  to  Mark.  We  think 
that  W  H.  ought  to  have  confined  it  to  their  margin, 
and  that  Rev.  Ver.  ought  not  to  have  noticed  it  hero 
at  all.    Comp.  on  27  :  49. 


494 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXIV. 


37  But  as  the  days  of  Koe  were,  so  shall  also  the  I  37  only, 
coiuing  of  the  Son  of  niau  be.  I 


And  as  were  the  days  of  Noah,  so  shall  be  the 


the  world.  8)  Christ  commands  his  people  to 
preach  it  to  all.  (Comp.  28:  19.)  4)  Christ 
predicts  that  it  will  be  preached  to  all.  Are 
we  personally  receiving  it,  and  busy  in  pro- 
claiming it? 

V.   16.  Henry:    "In    times  of  imminent 
peril  and  danger,  it  is  not  only  lawful  but  our 
duty,  to  seek  our  own  preservation  by  all  good 
and  honest  means  ;  and  if  God  opens  a  door  of 
escape,  we  ought  to  make  our  escape ;  otherwise 
we  do  not  trust  God,  but  tempt  him." — V.  20. 
Henry  :  "Though  the  ease  of  the  body  is  not 
to  be  mainly  consulted,  it  ought  to  be  duly  j 
considered;  though  we  must  take  what  God  1 
sends,  and  when  he  sends  it,  yet  we  may  pray  | 
against  inconveniences." — V.   23.  Faith   is  a  ! 
characteristic  of  Christianity ;  but  belief  of  j 
truth  involves  stern  refusal  to  believe  in  false-  , 
hood.      Henry:    "There    is    not   a   greater 
enemy    to  true    faith    than    vain    credulity. 
The  simple  believeth  every  word,  and  runs 
after  every  cry." 

V.  80  f.  The  final  and  glorious  coming  of 
Christ.  1)  It  will  be  sudden,  v.  27.  2)  It  will 
be  not  in  the  form  of  a  servant  (Phii.  2  -.  7),  but 
as  the  Divine  King,  with  power  and  great 
glory.  3)  It  will  cause  mourning  to  all  who 
have  rejected  him.  (Rev.  i:  t;  Heb.6:  6.)  4)  It  will 
bring  all  his  scattered  people  together  in  un- 
speakable and  eternal  blessedness, comp.  2  Tim. 
4:  8.  Henry:  "Sooner  or  later,  all  sinners 
wnll  be  mourners ;  penitent  sinners  look  to 
Christ,  and  mourn  after  a  godly  sort;  impeni- 
tent sinners  shall  look  unto  him  whom  they 
have  pierced,  and  though  they  laugh  now, 
shall  mourn  and  weep  in  endless  horror  and 
despair." — V.  36.  The  great  day.  1)  There  is 
a  definite  day  on  which  Christ  will  come  to 
judgment,  comp.  Acts  17:  31;  2  Tim.  1:  12. 
2)  The  precise  day  is  wholly  iinrevealed,  and 
known  only  to  God  the  Father;  attempts  to 
fix  it  by  calculation  are  idle.  3)  Our  great 
concern  is  to  be  ready  when  that  day  comes, 
and  we  shall  do  this  by  constant  and  watchful 
service  of  Christ,  v.  42;  comp.  25:  1-14. 

24:  37—25:  13.  Watch  Continually 
FOR  THE  Coming  of  Christ. 

Only  the  early  part  of  this  section  has  a 
parallel  in  Mark  (13 :  33-3;)  and  Luke  (2i:34.3«); 
but  Luke  has  more  extensive  parallels  in 
earlier  discourses.    As  to  the  general  contents 


and  the  divisions  of  this  discourse  on  the 
Mount  of  Olives,  see  at  the  beginning  of 
chap.  24.  From  the  point  we  have  now 
reached,  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  sinks 
rapidlj'  out  of  view.  The  passage  in  v.  37-44 
might  be  understood  as  having  also  a  primary 
reference  to  that  event,  regarded  as  a  coming 
of  Christ,  but  it  contains  no  expression  re- 
quiring to  be  so  understood.  Still  less  indi- 
cation is  there  of  such  a  reference  in  the  two 
illustrations  of  v.  45-51  and  25:  1-13.  But 
throughout  this  section  everything  naturally 
suggests  that  final  coming  of  Christ  to  judg- 
ment, which  is  alone  brought  to  view  in  the 
closing  paragraph  of  the  great  discourse,  25 : 
31-46.  There  would  be  no  profit  in  working 
out  a  possible  allusion  to  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem  in  some  parts  of  this  section,  and 
we  may  confine  ourselves  to  its  obvious  and 
supremely  important  teaching  as  regards 
preparation  for  the  final  coming.  Our  Lord 
first  declares  that  his  coming  will  be  unex- 
pected, as  illustrated  by  the  coming  of  the 
flood  and  the  coming  of  a  thief,  and  bases  on 
this  an  injunction  to  watchfulness  (v.  37-«);  be 
then  further  illustrates  the  same  fact  and  con- 
sequent duty  hy  the  supposed  case  of  a  good 
and  a  bad  servant  (v.  45-51),  and  by  the  parable 
of  the  foolish  and  the  wise  virgins.  (2»:  m3.) 

I.  37-44.  Watch,  for  He  Will  Come 
Unexpectedly.  Comp.  Mark  13:  33  and 
Luke  in  the  earlier  discourses  he  gives  in  17: 
26-35;  and  12:  39  f. 

(a)  Illustration  from  the  coming  of  !N"oah's 
flood.— 37-39.  But  aSjRev.Ver.,  ornrfns.  But 
some  of  the  best  documents  read  'for  as,' 
which  would  easily  be  changed  by  copyists 
because  somewhat  obscure ;  it  is  tlierefore 
probably  correct.  (Lach.,  Treg.,  W  H.)  It 
does  not  exactly  give  the  reason  why  the 
day  and  hour  is  unknown  (2*: 36),  but  a  con- 
firmation of  the  statement  that  no  one  knows : 
men  will  not  even  be  thinking  of  it  when  it 
arrives.  Also  is  genuine  in  Luke  17:  26,  but 
not  here,  nor  in  v.  39.  The  coming,  see  on 
24:3.  The  Son  of  man,  see  on  8:  20.  On  a 
former  occasion  our  Lord  had  added  another 
illustration  to  the  same  effect  from  the  times 
of  Lot,  Luke  17  :  28-32.  Here,  as  often  before, 
the  question  arises  whether  we  shall  suppose 
that  Jesus  used  these  illustrations  only  once, 


Ch.  XXIV.] 


MATTHEW. 


495 


38  For  as  in  the  days  that  were  before  the  flood  they 
vrere  eating  and  drinking,  marrying  and  giving  in 
marriage,  until  the  day  that  Noe  entered  into  the  ark. 

39  And  knew  not  until  the  flood  came  and  took  them 
all  away ;  so  shall  also  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  man  be. 

40  Then  shall  two  be  in  the  field ;  the  one  shall  be 
taken,  and  the  other  left. 

41  Two  women  shall  be  grinding  at  the  mill ;  the  one 
shall  be  taken,  and  the  other  left. 

42  Watch  therefore ;  for  ye  know  not  what  hour  your 
Lord  doth  come. 


38  1  coming  of  the  Son  of  man.  For  as  in  those  days 
which  were  before  the  flood  they  were  eating  and 
drinking,  marrying  and  giving  in  marriage,  until  the 

39  day  that  Noah  entered  into  the  ark,  and  they  knew 
not  until  the  flood  came,  and  took  them  all  away  ;  so 

40  shall  be  the  i  coming  of  the  Son  of  man.  Then  shall 
two  men  be  in  the  field ;  one  is  taken,  and  one  is  left : 

41  two  women  shall  be  grinding  at  the  mill;  one  is 

42  taken,  and  one  is  left.    Watch  therefore;  for  ye 


and  one  or  other  Evangelist  has  made  a  dis- 
location ;  or  that  he  repeated.  To  one  who 
has  had  experience  of  itinerant  preaching  to 
popular  audiences,  the  supposition  that  an 
illustration  was  repeated  at  some  new  place 
and  time  seems  so  perfectly  natural  that  there 
is  no  occasion  for  the  other  hypothesis. — The 
coming  of  Christ  will  find  men  in  general 
busy  with  the  ordinary  pursuits  of  life,  as  in 
the  time  of  Noah ;  only  those  who  are  pre- 
pared as  he  was  will  escape  the  sudden  and 
unexpected  destruction.  It  follows  that  our 
Lord's  coming  certainly  cannot  be  at  the  end 
of  a  thousand  years  of  universal  and  perfect 
piety,  for  in  that  case  all  would  know  the 
exact  time,  and  all  would  be  devoutly  and 
eagerly  expecting  the  event.  Comp.  Luke 
18:  8.  Took  them  all  away^  with  emphasis 
on  'all.' 

(b)  Persons  most  intimately  associated  will 
be  separated  by  that  unexpected  coming. — 
40  f.  Two  (men).  The  Greek  has  only  '  two,' 
but  the  connected  words  are  ma.sculine,  as 
with  the  following  'two'  they  are  feminine. 
In  the  field,'  in  the  cultivated  district  ap- 
pertaining to  some  supposed  city.  One  shall 
be  (lit.,  is)  taken,  taken  along,  perhaps  by 
the  angels  sent  to  gather  the  elect.  (2*:3i.) 
The  same  Greek  word  is  rendered  'receive' 
in  John  14:  3;  for  the  idea,  comp.  1  Thess. 
4:  17.  The  Greek  has  here  the  present  tense, 
which  is  more  vivid  than  the  future  would  be. 
Some  understand  the  term  to  mean  taken 
along  by  the  destroying  agencies  attending 
Christ's  appearance,  as  the  flood  carried  all 
away.  In  either  view  of  this  phrase  the 
main  thought  of  the  passage  remains  the 
same;  it  shall  be  well  with  one  and  ill  with 


the  other,  and  there  will  be  no  time  then  for 
preparing.  Two  women  grinding  at  the 
mill.  This  domestic  labor  is  still  frequently 
performed  in  Palestine  by  women,  and  was 
observed  there  by  the  present  writer.  The 
lower  millstone,  say  twelve  inches  in  diam- 
eter, is  placed  on  the  ground  and  perhaps  fixed 
in  it ;  the  upper  stone  is  turned  by  a  peg  near 
the  outer  edge.  One  woman  sits  on  the 
ground  (isa.47:i  r.),  so  as  to  have  the  mill 
steadied  between  her  knees,  the  other  crouches 
on  the  opposite  side.  Sometimes  the  stone  is 
much  larger,  and  each  crouches  on  one  side. 
One  pulls  the  peg  towards  her  through  half  a 
circle,  the  other  seizes  it  above  or  below  and 
completes  the  circle ;  or  else  both  retain  their 
hold,  and  one  relaxes  while  the  other  pulls. 
With  the  free  hand  one  now  and  then  puts  a 
little  grain  into  the  central  orifice  of  the  re- 
volving stone.  To  the  jerky  motion  of  the 
stone  they  keep  time  by  a  low,  wailing  chant. 
"The  sound  of  the  grinding"  (kcoi.  12:  <)  may 
be  only  the  rumbling  and  ringing  noise  made 
by  the  revolving  stone,  but  more  probably 
refers  to  this  chant.*  The  two  women  are  apt, 
in  the  nature  of  things,  to  be  mother  and 
daughter,  or  older  and  younger  sister,  or 
friendly  neighbors,  or  slaves  in  the  same 
house.  Yet  even  these  will  be  'separated  by 
the  Lord's  second  coming,  the  prepared  one 
being  accepted,  the  other  having  then  no  time 
to  prepare. — Some  larger  millstones  were 
turned  by  an  ass  (i8:«),  and  others  by  water, 
whc-e  this  was  available,  as  is  now  to  be  seen 
in  many  places.  "The  Greek  Anthology" 
(Wet.)  has  a  statement  that  "in  ancient 
times"  women  used  to  grind,  before  the  art 
of  grinding  by  water    was   discovered. — A 


1  This  expression  was  Interpolated  Into  the  text  of 
Luke  17:  36,  and  Luke  17  :  34  was  Interpolated  here,  in 
both  ca.'ies  by  the  "Western  "  group  of  documents;  the 
former  interpolation  pa-o-sed  into  some  ".Syrian  "  docu- 
ments, and  80  into  K.  James  and  the  Klzevir,  the  Tez- 


lu.i  Recjitus  on  the  Continent,  though   not  found  in 
Stephens,  the  Texttui  Receplus  in  Great  Hritain. 

*  Dr.  Hobinson  heard  no  such  chant,  but  we  heanl  it 
nt  El  Jib  ((iibcon).  Laborers  of  many  kinds  all  over 
the  world  have  certain  cries  or  songs  to  accompany  and 
relieve  monotonous  work. 


496 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXIV. 


43  But  know  this,  that  If  the  goodnian  of  the  house 
bad  known  in  what  watch  the  ihiel'  would  come,  he 
would  have  watched,  and  would  not  have  suttered  his 
house  to  lie  broken  up. 

44  Therefore  he  ye  also  ready :  for  in  such  an  hour 
as  ye  think  not  tlie'Son  of  man  conieth. 

45  Who  then  is  a  faithful  and  wise  servant,  whom  his 
lord  hath  made  ruler  over  his  household,  to  give  them 
meat  in  due  season  7 


43  know  not  on  what  day  your  Lord  conieth.  '  But 
know  this,  that  if  the  master  of  the  house  had 
known  in  what  watch  the  thief  was  comiuK,  he  would 
have  watched,  and  would  not  have  suffered  his  house 

44  to  be  2  broken  through.  Therefore  be  ye  also  ready: 
for  in  an  hour  that  ye  think   not  the  Son  of  man 

45  cometh.  Who  then  is  the  faithful  and  wise^servant, 
whom  bis  lord  hath  set  over  his  household,  to  give 


1  Ur,  But  thU  |r<  know 2  Gr.  digged  through 3  6r.  bondservant. 


third  illustration  of  the  same  kind  is  given  in 
Luke  17 :  34  as  used  on  an  earlier  occasion, 
viz.,  that  of  two  men  on  one  bed. 

(c)  Application  of  these  illustrations. — 42;^ 
Mark  13:  33.  What  hour.  Kev.  Ver.,  on  what 
day.  This  is  read  by  many  of  the  best  doc- 
uments, and  was  easily  changed  by  copyists 
into  '  hour,'  by  assimilation  to  v.  44.  Thus  of 
the  two  words  in  v.  36,  we  have  one  in  v.  42 
and  the  other  in  v.  44,  and  again  both  in  v. 
50  and  25:  13.  Your  Lord  cometh.  Else- 
where he  always  says  '  the  Son  of  man  com- 
eth,'as  inv.  44;  comp.  24:  27,  30,  37,  39; 
Luke  12:  40;  17:  24,26,30;  21:  36.  The 
expression  'your  Lord  cometh'  connects  it- 
self closely  with  'his  Lord'  in  the  illustration 
that  i)resently  follows,  v.  45-50,  and  so  in 
Luke.  Probably  this  expression  led  to  the 
phrase  "our  Lord  cometh,"  which  was  so 
common  a  saying  among  the  early  Christians 
that  Paul  quotes  it  in  the  Aramaic,  Maran 
atha  (icor.i6:22)  ;  comp.  Phil.  4:  5;  James  5: 
7;  2Thess.  2:  2;  2  Peter  1:  16;  3:  10.  Tyn- 
dale  and  Geneva  use  'master'  all  through  v. 
42-50;  Wye,  Cran.,  Eheims,  have  'lord,' 
K.  James  '  Lord.'  Wiinsche  says  the  Kab- 
bis  also  declare  that  the  Messiah  will  come 
•when  least  expected  ;  so  every  one  must  hojd 
himself  ready,  and  he  who  does  not,  will 
have  himself  to  blame  if  he  is  shut  out.  In- 
deed, this  is  a  principle  applying  to  every- 
thing which  is  certain  to  come,  but  at  an 
uncertain  time.  Hence  it  applies  exactly  to 
our  own  death,  for  which  we  ought  to  make 
ready  in  advance  and  to  stay  ready  always. 

(d)  A  further  illustration  and  its  applica- 
tion.—43  f.;  comp.  Luke  12:  39  f.  This  illus- 
tration was  often  repeated  by  the  apostles,  1 
Thess.  5:  2,  4;  2  Peter3:  10;  Kev.  3:  3;  16: 
15.  Know  this,  or  this  ye  know.  The  Greek 
second  plural  has  the  same  form  in  the  indic- 
ative as  in  the  imperative,  hence  occasional 


ambiguities,  .as  in  John  5:  39;  14:  1.  The 
good  man  {master)  of  the  house,  see  on  10: 
25.  In  what  watch.  The  night,  from  sun- 
set to  sunrise,  was  divided  by  the  Jews  in 
earlier  times  into  three,  but  under  the  Ro- 
mans into  four  periods  called  "watches," 
comp.  Mark  13:  35,  and  see  above  on  14:  25. 
Broken  up,  literally  digged  through  (Rev. 
Ver.  margin),  implying  walls  made  of  mud  or 
of  sun-dried  bricks,  which  are  still  common 
in  many  parts  of  the  world,  comp.  on  6 :  19. 
Therefore  (r.  44),  the  propriety  of  the  injunc- 
tion being  inferred  from  the  foregoing  illus- 
tration. Be,  more  exactly,  become,  get 
ready ;  ye  also,  as  the  householder  must  do 
if  he  would  be  ready  whenever  the  thief 
comes.  The  Son  of  man,  as  in  v.  37,  39; 
see  on  8 :  20. 

IL  45-51.  Let  his  Coming  Find  you 
A  Good  Servant  and  not  an  Evil  One. 
Mark  13:  34-37;  Luke  21 :  34-36;  comp.  an 
earlier  discourse  in  Luke  12:  35-38,  42-46. 

45-47.  Servant,  doulos,  slave,  see  on  8:  6. 
Wise  is  not  the  general  Greek  word,  but 
means  more  exactly  prudent,  discreet,  shrewd, 
etc.,  with  varying  shades  of  good  and  bad 
meaning,  as  in  7  :  24 ;  10:  16 ;  25 :  2  ff.  ;  Luke 
16  :  8.  It  here  probably  signifies  prudent  and 
judicious  in  the  means  and  methods  of  faith- 
fully serving  the  master ;  or  possibly,  prudent 
in  subserving  his  own  true  interest  by  fidelity 
to  his  master.  Household.  The  Greek 
word  denotes  the  whole  body  of  domestics. 
The  servant  in  question  is  the  head  .stewj^rd, 
charged  with  the  special  duty  of  regularly  sup- 
plying all  the  domestics  with  food  ;  along  with 
that  he  exercised  a  general  control,  observe, 
made  ruler,  or  set  orer,  and  sometimes  as- 
sumed the  right  to  punish  (v.  49.).  Meat,  food, 
which  was  formerly  the  meaning  of  the  Eng- 
lish word 'meat.'  In  due  season.  To  dis- 
tribute the  food  regularly  and  promptly  was 


1  Persons  learning  a  Bible  lesson,  at  this  point,  may  I  the  whole  discourse  on  24:    3.    Practical  remarks  on  t. 
find  the  connection  traced  on  v.  37,  and  an  outline  of  I  42-51  will  be  found  below,  after  25:  13. 


Ch.  XXIV.] 


MATTHEW. 


497 


46  Blessed  is  that  servant,  whom  his  lord  when  he 
oometb  shall  find  so  doing. 

47  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  That  he  shall  make  him 
ruler  over  all  his  goods. 

48  But  and  if  that  evil  servant  shall  say  in  his  heart, 
My  lord  delayeth  his  coming  ; 

49  And  shall  begin  to  smite  his  fellow  servants,  and 
to  eat  and  drink  with  the  drunken ; 

50  The  lord  of  that  servant  shall  come  in  a  day 
when  he  looketh  not  for  Mm,  and  in  an  hour  that  he  is 
not  aware  of. 

51  And  shall  "cut  him  asunder,  and  shall  appoint  him 
his  portion  with  the  hypocrites:  there  shall  be  weeping 
and  gnashing  of  teeth. 


46  them  their  food  in  due  season  ?  Blessed  is  that  i  serv- 
ant, whom  his  lord  when  be  cometh  shall  find    so 

47  doing.     Verily  I  say  unto  you,  that  he  will  set  him 

48  over  all  that  he  hath.    But'if  that  evil  i  servant  shall 

49  say  in  his  heart,  My  lord  tarrieth ;  and  shall  begin 
to'beat  his  fellow-servants,  and  shall  eat  and  drink 

50  with  the  drunken;  the  lord  of  that  i  servant  shall 
come  in  a  day  when  he  expecteth  not,  and  in  an 

51  hour  when  he  knoweth  not,  and  shall  ^cut  him 
asunder,  and  appoint  his  portion  with  the  hypo- 
crites :  there  shall  be  the  weeping  and  gnashing  of 
teeth. 


a  Or.  cut  Aim  o/T. 1  Gr.  bondtervant 2  Or,  tererely  scourged  him. 


an  important  point  of  good  management  in  a 
steward.  Blessed  is  more  exactlj'  happy,  as 
in  5:3  ff. ;  another  beatitude.  His  lord, 
when  he  cometh,  from  some  journey,  or 
some  other  place  of  residence.  Shall  find  so 
doing,  faithfully  and  judiciously  supplying 
the  domestics  with  food,  i.  e.,  performing  the 
special  duties  of  his  position.  Verily  I  say 
unto  you,  calling  special  attention,  comp. 
on  5:  18.  Will  make  him  ruler  (or  set 
him)  over  all  his  goods,  over  all  his 
property  of  every  kind,  and  not  simply  over 
his  body  of  domestics.  Comp.  25  :  21 ;  Luke 
19 :  17,  26.  Our  Lord  here  puts  honor  upon 
those  who  serve  him  by  comparing  them,  not 
to  a  menial  or  ordinary  slave,  but  to  the  intel- 
ligent, faithful,  and  trusted  head-slave  of  the 
household,  like  Joseph  in  Potiphar's  house. 
Many  have  understood  a  specific  reference  to 
ministers,  and  from  this  notion  has  arisen  a 
singular  mixed  text,  widely  current  in  the 
language  of  devotional  meetings,  "a  work- 
man that  needeth  not  to  be  ashamed,  rightly 
dividing  the  word  of  truth,  and  giving  to  each 
his  portion  (Luke  12: «)  in  due  season  "  (but  see 
Rev.  Vcr.  of  2  Tim.  2 :  15).  That  our  passage 
really  refers  to  all  Christians  is  confirmed  by 
Mark  13:  37,  "  And  what  I  say  unto  you  I  say 
unto  all.  Watch."  The  passage  maybe  ap- 
plied to  ministers  a  fortiori,  as  having  all  the 
ordinary  responsibilities  of  Christian  life,  and 
others  that  are  extraordinary. 

48-51.  With  the  faithful  diligence  and 
happy  reward  of  the  good  head-servant  (in 
any  supposed  case)  is  now  contrasted  the 
behavior  and  punishment  of  the  head-serv- 
ant   in    case    he    turns    out    an     evil    one. 


copulative  and  by  writing  it  an,  as  in  Shakes- 
peare's "an  it  please  you,"  "an  thou  lovest 
me,"  etc.  When  this  conditional  use  of  and 
grew  indistinct  to  the  mind  it  was  strength- 
ened by  adding  if,  so  as  to  make  in  Shakes- 
peare '  an  if,'  and  here,  '  but  and  if  ;  modern 
usage  omits  the  and,  and  the  old  phrase  'but 
and  if  now  looks  very  strange.  Comp.  Luke 
12:45;  20:6;  John  6:  62;  1  Cor.  7 :  11,  28; 
1  Pet.  3 :  14 ;  in  the  three  last  passages  Rev. 
Ver.  unwisely  retains  'and.'  Shall  say  in 
his  heart,  comp.  'to  say  within  yourselves,' 
in  3 :  9.  The  heart,  as  always  in  Scripture,  is 
here  the  seat  of  thought  as  well  as  of  feeling, 
see  on  6:  21.  Delayeth  his  coming.  Tar- 
rieth expresses  the  correct  Greek  text.  It 
contained  a  delicate  intimation  to  the  disci- 
ples that  Jesus  was  not  comingagain  ina  very 
short  time  (comp.  on  25:  19).  Shall  begin, 
com.  on  11 :  20.  And  to,  rather,  shall  eat  and 
dri7ik  with  the  drunken,  carousing  at  the 
master's  expense,  instead  of  keeping  the  house- 
hold in  order  and  exercising  a  prudent  econ- 
omy. In  a  day,  implies  that  he  comes  from 
some  distance;  and  in  an  hour,  amplifies 
and  makes  more  impressive,  as  so  often  in 
Heb.  parallelism.  Shall  cut  him  asunder, 
cut  him  in  two.  This  is  the  exact  meaning  of 
the  term,  and  no  other  has  any  support  from 
Greek  usage.  The  Old  Latin  translates  by 
dividet,  'will  divide,'  mfindet,  'will  cleave'; 
Pesh.  'will  divide';  and  Memph.  takes 
great  pains,  'will  divide  him  in  his  mid- 
dle.' Such  a  .severe  punishment  was  practiced 
among  the  Hebrews  (2  sam.  12:  «i;  Heb.  11 :  si; 
Susanna 55) ;  nnd  Wet.  givos  various  examples 
from  Greek  and  Roman  writers.     Some  think 


Evil  is  opposed  both  to  faithful  and  to  it  must  be  here  simply  a  hyperbole  for  severe 
prudent,  (t.  «.)  But  and  if.  So  also  in  '  scourging,  because  of  the  followjng  phrase: 
Tyndale  and  all  his  followers.  In  Middle  And  appoint  hi.«i  portion  with  the  hypo- 
English  and  was  used  in  the  sense  of  'if  j  crites.  This  makes  a  sudden  transition  from 
(Skeat),  afterwards  distinguished    from    the  i  the  illustration  to  the  thing  illustrated.     'Cut 


498 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  xxy. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 


THEN  shall  the  kingdom  of  heaven  be  likened  unto 
ten  virgins,  which  took  their  lamps,  and  went  forth 
to  meet  the  bridegroom. 


1    Th^  shall  the  kingdom  of  heaven  be  likened  unto 
ten  virgins,  that  took  their  i  lamps,  and  went  forth 


him  in  two'  is  the  image,  a  severe  temporal 
punishment;  'his  portion  with  the  hypo- 
crites' is  in  eternity.  That  hypocrites  (see  on 
6:  2)  are  grossly  offensive  in  God's  sight,  and 
must  be  severely  punished,  was  a  thought  fa- 
miliar to  the  minds  of  the  disciples  («;  «>  5, 
16;  15:  7;  16:  $),  and  just  freshened  through 
the  discourse  of  that  same  day.  (•.3:i3-29.) 
The  good  servant  will  be  exalted  to  the  high- 
est position  a  servant  can  have  (v«) ;  the  bad 
servant,  who  drank  with  the  drunken,  shall 
dwell  with  the  hypocrites.  Now  if  '  appoint 
his  portion'  makes  a  transition  from  the 
earthly  punishment  to  the  punishment  of  hell 
(25:  «.  *6),  there  is  no  occasion  for  objecting  to 
the  literal  and  only  established  sense  of  'cut 
him  in  two,'  and  no  ground  for  the  alterna- 
tive rendering  of  Rev.  Ver.,  margin.  The 
weeping  and  the  gnashing  of  teeth  (see  on 
8:  12.) 

Luke  having  given  a  similar  comparison  tc 
the  good  and  bad  steward  in  an  earlier  dis- 
course (Lukei2:  «.«),  does  not  here  repeat  it, 
nor  yet  wholly  pass  it  by,  but  sums  up  the 
thought  in  the  comprehensive  and  impressive 
sentences  of  21 :  34-36. 

III.  Ch.  25:  1-13.  Parable  of  the  Ten 
Virgins.  Not  found  elsewhere.  This  beau- 
tiful parable  is  a  further  illustration  of  the 
variously  illustrated  injunction  to  'watch' 
(24:  42,44),  which  is  repeated  at  its  close  (25: is), 
in  such  a  form  as  to  recall  also  the  great 
statement  of  24 :  36,  and  thus  link  all  the  dis- 
course up  to  this  point  in  the  closest  connec- 
tion. Our  Lord  is  still  sitting  on  the  Mount 
of  Olives,  late  in  the  afternoon  of  his  last  day 
of  public  ministry  (see  on  24:  1,  3.) 

1.  Then,  viz.,  at  the  time  of  the  Saviour's 
coming  («« :  «,  44.)  The  kingdom  of  heaven, 
the  Messianic  Dispensation  (see  on  3:2.) 
Be  likened  nnto  (see  on  13  :  24.)  The  omis- 
sion of  certain  details,  and  the  desire  of  inter- 
preters to  prepare  for  this  or  that  homiletical 
application,  have  led  to  much  difference  of 
opinion  as  to  some  points  of  this  tender  and 
beautiful  story.    But  scarcely  any  of  these 


seriously  affect  the  main  lesson  of  the  para- 
ble, and  they  should  not  b^ allowed  to  occupy 
much  space  in  an  expository  sermon  or  Sun- 
day-school lesson.  It  was  the  custom  to  hold 
weddings  after  nightfall.  The  bridegroom 
and  some  friends  went  to  the  house  of  the 
bride,  and  after  religious  ceremonies  there  he 
set  forth  towards  his  own  abode  in  a  grand 
procession,  which  was  illuminated  by  torches 
or  lamps  in  the  hands  of  the  participants,  and 
often  preceded  by  musicians.  In  the  utterly 
dark  street  of  an  Asiatic  city,  every  one  who 
goes  forth  at  night  is  expected,  and  in  modern 
Jerusalem  is  strictly  required  by  the  author- 
ities, to  carry  a  light.  (Comp.  Psa.  119:  105.) 
Other  invited  guests,  who  had  not  gone  to  the 
brides  home,  could  join  the  procession  at  any 
point,  and  enter  with  it  into  the  bride- 
groom's residence,  to  share  in  the  festivities. 
But  without  a  burning  lamp  or  torch  they 
could  not  march  in  the  procession,  and  so 
could  not  enter  the  house.  In  order  to  join 
the  procession  conveniently,  such  persons 
might  assemble  beforehand  at  different  points 
along  the  proposed  route,  and  wait  for  the 
bridegoom's  approach.  Some  recent  commen- 
tators urge  that  the  bridegroom  must  here  be 
conceived  as  on  his  waj'  to  the  bride's  house,  to 
hold  the  festivities  there,  since  in  the  applica- 
tion Christ  comes  from  heaven  to  earth  to  es- 
tablish his  kingdom ;  but  it  is  useless  for  the 
sake  of  a  painful  literalism,  to  imagine  a  de- 
parture from  cu.stom.  In  1  Mace.  9 :  39  only 
the  bridegroom  is  mentioned  as  coming  forth, 
with  a  grand  procession  and  musicians;  and 
yet  just  above  (".37)  we  see  that  they  were 
"bringing  the  bride."  "When  the  bridegroom 
came  from  a  distance,  the  festivities  were 
sometimes  held  at  the  residence  of  the  bride, 
as  in  Gen.  29:  22;  Tobit  8:  20  ff.  In  that 
case,  however,  the  virgins  would  not  have 
lighted  their  lamps  till  news  came  that  the 
bridegroom  was  near,  and  after  that  the  delay 
on  his  part  would  be  unnatural,  whereas  ac- 
cording to  the  common  view,  the  delay  of  the 
wedding  procession  in  setting  out  from  the 
bride's  house  is  natural  enough.    In  that  case, 


Ch.  XXV.] 


MATTHEW. 


499 


2  And  five  of  them  were  wise,  and  five  were  foolish. 

3  They  that  were  foolish  took  their  lamps,  and  took 
no  oil  with  them  : 

4  But  the  wise  took  oil  in  their  vessels  with  their 
lamps.  * 

5  While  the  bridegroom  tarried,  they  all  slumbered 
and  slept. 


2  to  meet  the  bridegroom.    And  five  of  them  were 

3  foolish,  and  five  were  wise.    For  the  foolish,  when 

4  they  took  their  '  lamps,  took  no  oil  with  them :  but 
the  wise  took  oil  in  their  vessels  with  their  '  lamps. 

5  Now  while  the  bridegroom  tarried,  they  all  slum- 


I  Or,  torch«t. 


also,  not  the  bridegroom,  but  tiie  father  of  the 
bride,  would  have  decided  whether  the  five 
should  be  admitted.  It  seems  tolerably  evi- 
dent from  V.  10-12  that  the  marriage  feast  is 
at  the  house  of  the  brideg<-oom.  Still,  the 
general  lesson  remains  the  same  in  either 
view  of  this  particular.  The  "Western" 
type  of  text  has,  with  its  usual  free  hand- 
ling, made  it  read  'went  forth  to  meet 
the  bridegroom  and  the  bride,'  in  order  that 
the  text  might  distinctly  conform  to  custom. 
The  bride  is  really  not  mentioned  throughout 
the  parable,  doubtless  because  Christ's  people 
in  this  image  are  represented  by  the  attend- 
ants. 

The  story  in  itself  considered  has  curious 
points  of  naturalness  and  verisimilitude. 
Young  girls  would  be  specially  interested  in  a 
wedding,  prominent  in  its  ceremonies,  and 
distressed  at  missing  the  festivities.  Bridal 
ceremonies  are  very  apt  to  be  delayed  beyond 
the  time  appointed.  It  is  evident  that  great 
delay  is  here  supposed,  for  otherwise  the 
maidens  would  not  themselves  have  been  ar- 
rayed and  assembled  so  long  beforehand  as  to 
have  time  for  all  falling  asleep  while  they 
waited. 

Ten  may  be  regarded  as  merely  a  round 
number,  suflSciently  large  to  show  interest  in 
tlie  occasion.  Comp.  Luke  19:  13.  We  learn 
however  from  Lightfoot  that  the  Jews  "de- 
lighted mightily  in  the  number  ten.  A  syna- 
gogue must  have  at  least  ten  present ;  an 
order  or  ring  of  men  consisted  not  but  of  ten 
at  the  least."  Wun.  adds  that  ten  men  must 
be  present  at  a  wedding,  in  order  to  utter  the 
requisite  blessings.  Comp.  Ruth  4:  2.  Jose- 
phus  says  ("  War,"  6,  9,  3)  that  not  less  than 
ten  men  must  assemble  to  partake  of  a  paschal 
lamb.  Morison  reminds  us  how  these  uses  of 
the  number  might  be  suggested  by  the  ten 
fingers,  as  was  the  decimal  basisof  numeration. 


The  word  for  lamps  is  different  from  that  of 
5:  15,  and  regularly  means  a  torch  (Johni8:3; 
Key. 8:10),  and  wc  kuow  that  the  Greeks  and 
Romans  commonly  used  torches  in  marriage 
processions;  but  here  it  seems  to  denote  a 
lamp  fed  with  oil,  though  it  might  be  a  sort  of 
torch  fed  with  oil  (Rev.  Ver.  margin).  In 
processions,  such  a  lamp  was  borne  on  a 
wooden  pole  (Edersh.);  and  was  doubtless 
protected  from  the  wind,  probably  (as  now)  by 
a  covering  of  wood,  or  of  cloth  supported  by 
a  wire  frame  (.Smith's  'Diet.").  These  lamps 
held  but  little  oil,  and  would  need  to  be  re- 
plenished. As  the  lamp  was  indispensable, 
and  the  movements  of  a  bridal  procession 
were  uncertain,  prudent  persons  would  carry 
with  them  vessels  of  oil,  but  these  were  very 
unpleasant  for  persons  in  festive  apparel  to 
carry,  and  the  imprudent  might  conclude  to 
risk  it  with  the  oil  in  their  lamps.  They 
woiild  all  set  down  the  lamps  and  leave  them 
burning,  because  they  were  constantly  ex- 
pecting the  approach  of  the  procession.  If  we 
conceive  them  as  waiting  at  the  bride's  house, 
it  would  have  been  silly  to  leave  the  lamps 
burning,  before  there  was  any  announcement 
of  the  bridegroom's  approach  ;  especially^  as 
in  that  view  he  would  be  coming  from  a  great 
distance.  Goebel  maintains  that  the  foolish 
had  empty  lamps,  the  vessels  being  those 
which  formed  part  of  the  lamps.  This  fancy 
is  devised  in  order  that  the  oil  may  mean 
divine  grace,  without  any  hitch  in  the  inter- 
pretation ;  but  it  makes  the  foolish  virgins 
simpletons.  Wise*  is  the  word  meaning 
prudent,  etc.,  see  on  24:  45.  Tarried  is  the 
same  word  as  in  24:  48,  and  one  of  tlie  links 
of  connection  between  the  two  illustrations; 
comp.  also  25:  19.  Slumbered  and  slept  is 
lit.,  nodded  and  were  afeeping.  Persons  sit- 
ting up  and  overcome  by  drowsiness  first  nod 
and  presently    begin  to  sleep  continuously. 


1  In  V.  2  the '  foolish '  are  named  first  in  the  best  docu- 
ments (and  so  in  all  English  versions  before  K.  James, 
which  probably  followed  Beza).  This  would  sfcm  to 
copyists  an  unnatural  order,  but  really  accords  with 
the  whole  tone  of  the  foregoing  passage,  which  makes 


prominent  the  case  of  the  unprepared.  The  change 
made  hereby  copyixts  le<l  to  a  corresponding  change 
in  v.  3  (almost  exactly  the  same  documents),  which 
properly  reads  '  for  the  foolish,'  Introducing  a  proof  of 
their  folly. 


500 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXV 


6  And  at  midnight  there  was  a  cry  made,  Behold,  the 
brideerooni  cometn ;  ^o  ye  out  touieet  him. 

7  Then  all  those  virgins  arose,  and  trimmed  their 
lamps. 

8  And  the  foolish  said  unto  the  wise,  Give  us  of  your 
oil ;  for  our  lamps  are  "gone  out. 

9  But  the  wise  answered,  saving,  Not  so;  lest  there  be 
not  enough  for  us  and  you:  l)ut  go  ye  rather  to  them 
that  sell,  and  buy  for  yourselves. 

10  And  while  they  went  to  buy,  the  bridegroom  came; 
and  they  that  were  ready  went  in  with  him  to  the  mar- 
riage :  and  the  door  was  shut. 

11  Afterward  came  also  the  other  virgins,  saying, 
Lord,  Lord,  open  to  us. 

12  But  he  answered  and  said.  Verily  I  say  unto  you, 
I  know  you  not. 


6  bered  and  slept.    But  at  midnight  there  is  a  cry, 
Behold,  the  bridegroom !    Come  ye  forth  to  meet 

7  him.     Then  all  those  virgins  arose,  and  trimmed 

8  their  1  lamps.  And  the  foolish  said  unto  the  wise. 
Give  us  of  your  oil;  for  our  Uamps  are  going  out. 

9  But  the  wise  answered,  saying,  Peradventure  there 
will  not  be  enough  for  us  and  you:  go  ye  rather  to 

10  them  that  sell,  and  buy  for  yourselves.  And  while 
they  went  away  to  buy,  the  bridegroom  came  ;  and 
they  that  were  "ready  went  in  with  him  to  the  mar- 

11  riage  feast:  and  the  door  was  shut.  Afterward  come 
also  the  other  virgins,  saying.  Lord,  Lord,  open  to 

12  us.    But  he  answered  and  said,  "Verily  I  say  unto 


a  Or,  going  out. 1  Or,  torches. 


Go  ye  out,  or,  come  ye  forth.  The  latter  is 
more  probably  the  meaning  than  'go  ye  out'  ; 
the  Greek  word  oftener  means  come  than 
go,  which  is  usually  expressed  in  New  Test. 
by  the  word  used  in  v.  9,  comp.  3:5;  20:  29 ; 
and  the  cry  would  naturally  be  made  b3'  per- 
sons in  the  street  who  saw  the  procession  ap- 
proaching, rather  than  by  persons  in  the 
house  ;  nor  would  the  latter  have  occasion  for 
making  a  loud,  clangorous  cry,  such  as  the 
Greek  word  denotes.  There  was  a  cry,  or 
more  literally  a  cry  has  arisen,  a  vivid  ex- 
pression which  transports  us  into  the  midst  of 
the  scene.  Behold,  the  bridegroom  !  like 
'  Behold,  the  Lamb  of  God  !  '  (John  i :  36) ;  but 
many  copyists  added,  as  in  Com.  Ver.,  com- 
eth.  Trimmed  is  the  word  rendered  'gar- 
nish '  in  12 :  44  and  23 :  29,  and  denotes  adorn- 
ing, beautifying;  thej' poured  in  oil,  trimmed 
and  drew  up  the  wick,  wiped  off  the  lamp, 
did  everything  that  would  make  it  beautiful 
and  bright.  Our  lamps  are  going  out,  the 
Greek  having  the  present  tense  and  not  the 
perfect ;  correctly  translated  in  Tyn.,  Rheims, 
and  margin  of  Com.  Ver.  Lest  there  be 
not.  Rev.  Ver.  saj's  peradventure,  etc.  The 
wise  kindly  abstain  from  express  refusal,  and 
only  imply  it  by  the  words,  'Peradventure 
there  will  not  be  enough  for  us  and  you,  go 
rather,  etc'  (Comp.  Plumptre.)  In  attempt- 
ing to  buy  oil  at  midnight,  they  would  find 
few  or  no  shops  open,  and  would  be  much  de- 
layed. Bruce  fancies  that  it  was  a  second 
folly  to  go  after  oil,  when  if  they  had  but  re- 
mained they  might  have  been  admitted  with- 
out it.  But  (1)  the  whole  tone  of  the  story, 
and  all  that  we  know  of  the  wedding  customs, 
implies  that  a  burning  light  was  necessary',  i 
Without  it  they  would  not  have  been  showing 
honor  to  the  bridegroom,  and  could  not  have 
been  distinguished  at  the  door  from  strangers 


or  other  persons  having  no  right  to  be  admit- 
ted. (2)  The  advice  of  the  wise  to  go  and 
buy  must,  on  Bruce's  view,  be  taken  as  cruel 
mockery,  or  possibly  as  dictated  by  the  unre- 
flecting selfishness  of  persons  hurried  and  dis- 
concerted ;  either  of  which  would  seem  exces- 
sively incongruous  and  improbable.  To  the 
marriage  (feast),  as  in  22  :  2  ff.  The  door 
was  usually  in  the  middle  of  one  side  of  a 
house,  leading  by  a  passage  under  the  second 
story  to  the  inner  court,  upon  which  all  the 
rooms  of  the  house  opened.  When  this  outer 
door  was  shut,  all  connection  with  the  outside 
world  was  cut  off.  Persistent  knocking,  and 
loud  entreatj'^  addressed  to  the  bridegroom 
personally,  might  at  length  bring  him  to  the 
door.  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  a  solemn  as- 
surance, comp.  on  5:  18.  I  know  you  not. 
They  have  no  claim  to  be  received  as  guests; 
he  does  not  even  recognize  them  as  acquaint- 
ances (comp.  7:  23). 

The  application  of  this  beautiful  parable  is 
obvious,  but  is  surpassingly  tender  and  pa- 
thetic. It  teaches  the  same  lesson  as  24:  87- 
42,  and  43-51,  that  the  only  way  to  be  ready 
when  Jesus  comes  is  to  be  ready  alwaj's.  The 
term  'virgins'  must  not  be  given  a  spiritual 
significance,  as  if  denoting  pure  Christians ; 
for  five  of  these  represent  persons  not  really 
Christians  at  all.  The  division  into  two  halves 
must  surely  not  be  supposed  to  teach  that  at 
the  coming  of  Christ  half  the  people  in  the 
world  or  in  any  community  will  be  ready  to 
meet  him,  and  half  not  ready  ;  it  was  simply 
the  most  natural  division  of  the  round  num- 
ber, there  being  no  special  reason  for  dividing 
otherwise.  The  bridegroom  tarried  might 
suggest  to  the  disciples  that  their  Lord  would 
not  come  immediately.  (Comp.  on  25:  19.) 
The  fact  that  all  the  ten  were  sleeping  should 
not  be  made  a  reproach  to  true  Christians.    It 


Ch.  XXV.] 


MATTHEW. 


501 


13  Watch' therefore:  for  ye  know  neither  the  day  nor  |  13  you,  I  know  you  not.    Watch  therefore,  for  ye  know 
the  hour  wherein  the  Son  of  man  cometh.  |       not  the  day  nor  the  hour. 


was  not  wrong  for  the  virgins  to  sleep  under 
the  circumstances;  they  were  neglecting  no 
duty  in  so  doing,  provided  they  had  thor- 
oughly made  ready  for  the  bridegroom's 
coming.  To  understand  it  as  meaning  that 
the  successive  generations  of  mankind  must 
fall  asleep  in  death  (various  Fathers  and  some 
modern  writers),  is  wholly  unwarranted  and 
seems  strangely  unsuitable.  Whether  the 
foolish  virgins  are  to  be  considered  as  repre- 
senting "church  members,"  there  is  nothing 
to  show ;  they  are  persons  who  profess,  and 
honestly  think  that  they  are  Christ's  friends, 
and  expect  to  meet  him  with  joy.  To  take 
lamps  and  no  lasting  supply  of  oil,  suggests 
that  superficial  and  temporary  interest  in 
divine  things  which  is  so  often  witnessed; 
comp.  HoseaG:  4.  The  hurried  and  fruitless 
attempt,  when  the  moment  arrives,  to  make 
the  preparation  which  ought  to  have  been 
made  in  advance,  is  deeply  pathetic,  and 
touches  a  sadly  common  fault  in  regard  to 
readiness  for  meeting  Christ  at  his  coming,  or 
for  meeting  the  messenger  wliom  he  sends  to 
bear  us  away,  6ven  death.  The  inability  of 
the  prudent  virgins  to  help  the  foolish  in 
their  extremity  reminds  us  that  piety  in- 
volves personal  conditions  and  relations  to 
Christ  that  are  not  transferable.  I  know 
you  not.  This  will  not  be  rejecting  persons 
who  ask  to  be  saved,  but  disowning  persons 
who  claim  to  have  been  saved,  to  have  been 
ready  and  waiting  for  his  coming. 

To  find  some  separate  spiritual  meaning  in 
the  lamps,  the  vessels,  the  oil,  and  the  sellers 
of  oil,  etc.,  seems  here  worse  than  idle.  (Comp. 
on  13  ;  3.)  Maldonatus  counts  fifteen  separate 
items  having  spiritual  significance,  and  Keach 
thirteen.  It  is  very  unwise  here  to  bring  in 
the  idea  of  the  bride  as  meaning  "the  church." 
(Epb.  i:M.)  The  bride  is  not  mentioned  in  the 
parable,  and,  as  already  suggested,  for  the 
obvious  reason  that  Christians  here  appear  as 
friends  waiting  to  join  the  procession.  Bring 
in  the  bride  as  the  church,  and  you  introduce 


inevitable  confusion  of  idea  through  a  mix- 
ture of  distinct  images.  It  ought  to  be  every- 
where carefully  remembered  that  if  "  mixed 
metaphors"  are  bad  for  rhetoric,  they  are 
worse  for  exegesis. 

Watch  therefore,  for  ye  know  neither 
the  day  nor  the  hour^  repeats  the  sol- 
emn refrain  of  24:  42,  44,  and  50.  The 
whole  passage  from  24:  36  to  25:  18  should 
be  read  in  worship  as  one,  and  this  re- 
frain brought  out  with  special  emphasis;  just 
as  one  reads  Psalms 42  and  43,  with  the  refrain 
of  42:  5,  11  and  43:  5;  or  like  the  refrain  in 
Psa.  80:  3,  7,  19,  and  various  other  Psalms. 
This  is  not  saying  that  the  passage  before  us  is, 
properly  speaking,  poetical ;  it  rather  presents 
an  oratorical  repetition  of  the  practical  theme, 
after  each  separate  illustration.  "Watch" 
does  not  here  mean  keep  awake,  as  opposed  to 
the  sleeping  of  v.  5,  but  be  so  heedfuUy  ex- 
pectant as  not  to  be  caught  unprepared. 

HOMILKTICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

Ch.  24:  37-39.  The  flood,  as  a  picture 
of  Christ's  final  coming.  1)  Men  knew  not 
when  it  would  be,  and  did  not  really  believe 
it  would  ever  be;  comp.  Luke  18:  8.  2)  Men 
were  too  busy  with  ordinary  affairs  to  stop  and 
think  about  God's  merciful  warning.  3)  Men 
in  general  were  caught  unprepared,  and  swept 
into  destruction.  4)  Those  men  who  believed 
and  made  ready  found  themselves  safe,  and 
had  a  blessed  future. — V.  40  f.  The  most  inti- 
mate associations  of  this  life  will  in  many 
cases  be  severed,  in  a  moment  and  forever,  by 
the  coming  of  Christ.  And  so  death,  though 
for  none  an  eternal  sleep,  will  be  for  many, 
alas!  an  eternal  separation. — V.  42.  The 
coming  of  our  Lord.  1)  We  know  not  when 
he  will  come — need  not  know — cannot  know 
— should  not  wish  to  know,  comp.  24:  3G.  2) 
We  shall  be  ready  when  he  comes  if  we 
are  ready  always,  comp.  v.  43  f.  3)  We 
should  watch,  not  in  dread  but  in  hope,  for 
it    will    be    our    Lord's   coming,    comp.    2 


>  '  Wherein  the  Son  of  man  cometh'  is  wanting  in  all 
the  early  versions  and  the  leading  Greek  copies,  and 
was  easily  added  from  24:  44.  In  reality,  the  expres- 
sion is  more  energetic  without  it,  and  amply  iHjrspicu- 


oiis  to  one  who  has  read  what  precedes,  since  24:  .36. 
The  well  meant  but  really  enfeebling  addition  reminds 
one  of  that  in  1  Cor.  6:  20. 


502 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXV. 


Tim.  14:  8;  Titus  2:  11-14  4)  Thus  are  we 
better  prepared  to  serve  him  when  he  does 
come;  (a)  with  patience  under  trouble,  conip. 
James  5:  7;  (b)  with  gentleness  and  forbear- 
ance towards  others,  comp.  Phil.  4:5;  (c) 
with  all  holy  living  and  piety,  comp.  2  Peter 
8:  11  f.  ;  (d>  with  efforts  to  make  all  men  like- 
wise ready  to  meet  him,  comp.  24:  14. — V.  45- 
47.  A  good  servant  of  Christ.  1)  He  is  aware 
that  the  responsibilities  of  Christ's  service  re- 
quire not  only  faithfulness,  but  prudence,  dis- 
cretion, good  sense.  2)  He  is  conscious  of 
duties  to  his  fellow-men,  and  is  exact  and 
punctual  in  performing  them,  as  being  also 
duties  to  Christ.  3)  He  is  always  ready  to 
meet  Christ,  because  always  busily  engaged 
in  Christ's  service.  4)  He  will  be  rewarded 
for  serving  Christ  here  by  better  opportunities 
of  serving  him  hereafter. — V.  45-51.  The 
good  and  the  bad  servant  contrasted.  All 
men  are  in  one  or  another  sense  Christ's  serv- 
ants, and  will  be  held  by  him  to  account, 
comp.  2  Cor.  5:  10.  1)  The  good  servant  is 
faithful  and  wise;  the  bad  servant  is  unfaith- 
ful and  foolish.  2)  The  good  servant  is  busy 
in  serving  Christ  by  benefiting  others;  the 
bad  servant  is  unkind  to  others,  and  engrossed 
with  selfish  gratifications.  3)  The  good  serv- 
ant will  welcome  the  Lord  at  any  moment; 
the  bad  servant  will  be  caught  unawares.  4) 
The  good  servant  will  be  exalted  to  higher 
honors  and  wider  usefulness  ;  the  bad  servant 
will  be  terribly  punished,  dwelling  forever 
amid  hypocrites,  and  filled  with  bitter  but 
vain  regrets. 

25:  1-13.  The  Ten  Virgins.  1)  The  coming 
of  our  Lord  ought  to  be  thought  of  as  a  joy- 
ful event.  2)  The  time  of  his  coming  is  un- 
certain and  may  be  delayed,  so  that  prepara- 
tion for  it  must  be  permanent.  3)  Not  all 
those  who  call  themselves  his  friends,  and 
nominally  await  his  coming,  will  be  found 
really  ready  when  he  comes.  4)  Hurried  at- 
tempts to  make  ready  then,  will  prove  a 
failure.  5)  Oh  the  bitter  grief  and  disap- 
pointment of  having  meant,  and  professed, 
and  long  appeared,  to  be  his  friends,  and  then 
encountering  the  closed  door  and  the  solemn 
voice  of  refusal. 

"  No  light  bad  we :  for  that  we  do  repent : 
And,  learning  this,  the  Bridegroom  will  relent. 
'Too  late,  too  late  I  ye  cannot  enter  now.' 
No  light,  so  late !  and  dark  and  chill  the  night! 
Oh,  let  us  in,  that  we  may  find  the  light ! 
'  Too  late,  too  late !  ye  cannot  enter  now.' " 


V.  8.  Henry:  "Those  will  see  their  need 
of  grace  hereafter,  when  it  should  save  them, 
who  will  not  see  their  need  of  grace  now, 
when  it  should  sanctify  and  rule  them." — V. 
11.  Jerome  :  "  What  does  it  profit  to  invoke 
him  with  the  voice  whom  by  worksyou  deny?" 
— V.  12.  Henry  :  •'  With  regard  to  those  that 
put  off  their  great  work  to  the  last,  it  is  a  thou- 
sand to  one  that  they  have  not  time  to  do  it 
then.  While  the  poor  awakened  soul  ad- 
dresses itself,  upon  a  sick-bed,  to  repentance 
and  prayer,  in  awful  confusion,  it  scarcely 
knows  which  end  to  begin  at,  or  what  to  do 
first;  and  presently  death  comes,  judgment 
comes,  and  the  work  is  undone,  and  the  poor 
sinner  undone  forever." — V.  13.  We  need 
not  wonder  at  the  frequent  repetition,  and 
fourfold  illustration,  of  "  Watch,  for  ye  know 
not,"  seeing  that  human  nature  is  so  prone  to 
heedless  sloth  or  to  preoccupation  with  worldly 
affairs. — All  these  exhortations  to  watch,  and 
be  ready,  for  the  Lord's  coming,  will  apply 
without  material  alteration  to  the  duty  of 
preparation  for  death,  which  will  in  an  im- 
portant sense  summon  us  to  meet  Christ,  and 
will  leave  fixed  and  permanent  the  relation  in 
which  we  shall  rise  to  meet  him  when  he  does 

come.     (John  5 :  28  f.) 

14-30.  Be  Ready  to  Give  Account  at 
the  Coming  of  Christ. 

This  is  found  in  Matt,  only,  though  a  quite 
similar  parable  is  given  by  Luke  (19:11-27),  as 
spoken  at  Jericho,  some  five  or  six  days 
earlier.  On  that  occasion  it  had  a  special 
design,  to  indicate  that  the  consummated 
reign  of  the  Messiah  would  begin  only  at 
his  return  after  an  absence,  and  that  then  he 
would  reward  and  punish  men  according  to 
their  behavior  during  his  absence;  the  illus- 
tration in  that  form  exactly  corresponded  to 
the  history  of  Archelaus.  (See  above,  at  close 
of  chap.  2.)  Here  those  peculiar  traits  are 
dropped,  and  we  have  not  a  returning  king, 
but  simply  a  master,  who  returns  from  a  long 
journey  to  reward  and  punish.  It  must  not 
be  inferred  that  Jesus  is  here  taking  pains  to 
avoid  calling  the  Messiah  a  king,  for  he  does 
so  immediately  afterwards.  (25:31,34.)  Some 
critics  at  once  take  for  granted  that  Jesus 
spoke  only  one  parable  of  this  sort,  and  that 
either  Luke  or  Matt,  has  reported  inaccu- 
rately. But  we  have  already  remarked  many 
times  that  such  varied  repetition  on  the  part 
of  a  preacher  who  journeys  about  is  perfectly 


Ch.  XXV.] 


MATTHEW. 


503 


14  For  the  kingdom,  of  heaven  u  as  a  man  travelling  into 
a  far  country,  wlu)  called  his  own  servants,  and  de- 
livered unto  them  his  goods. 

15  And  unto  one  he  gave  five  "talents,  to  another  two, 
and  to  another  one :  to  every  man  according  to  his 
several  ability ;  and  straightway  took  his  journey. 


14  For  it  ixos  when  a  man,  going  into  another  coun- 
try,  called  his  own  'servants,  and  delivered  uuto 

15  them  his  goods,-  And  unto  one  he  gave  tivu  talents, 
to  another  two,  to  another  one;  to  each  according  to 
his  several  ability  ;  and  he  went  on  his  journey. 


I  A  talent  is  ^187,  lOs.  ch.  lH-24. 1  Gr.  bond*ervanf. 


natural.  Meyer  thinks  it  would  be  unnatural 
that  the  simpler  should  be  the  later  form.  It 
is  amusing  to  watch  the  current  propensity  to 
explain  every  thing  as  an  evolution  from  the 
simple  to  the  complex.  Certainly  in  preach- 
ing it  is  very  common  to  produce  a  complex 
illustration  adapted  to  certain  surroundings, 
and  on  a  second  use  in  some  other  discourse 
to  make  it  simpler  and  more  general.  Edersh. 
counts  it  difficult  to  believe  that  our  Lord 
would  give  a  parable  in  the  presence  of  his 
disciples  at  Jericho,  and  then,  a  few  days 
later,  repeat  it  to  the  disciples  in  private;  but 
theological  instructors  find  frequent  nee. I  of 
repeating  to  a  class  in  an  altered  form  what 
had  been  said  in  a  sermon  not  long  before. 

14  f.  For  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  as  a 
man,  etc.,  Greek,  lit.,  for  just  as  a  man,  etc. 
The  other  member  of  the  comparison  is  never 
formally  stated,  but  it  is  understood  without 
difficulty.  Our  Lord  has  given  (since  21 :  37) 
a  series  of  illustrations  to  show  the  import- 
ance of  watchful  preparation  for  his  coming 
— the  days  of  Noah,  one  taken  and  the  other 
left,  the  thief  coming  unexpectedly,  the  head- 
steward  and  his  returning  master,  the  foolish 
and  the  prudent  virgins.  In  the  latter  case 
he  said  expressly  (m:!)  that  the  Messianic 
reign  shall  resemble  the  case  of  these  virgins 
and  the  coming  bridegroom,  so  he  here  goes 
on  without  further  stating  the  matter  to  be 
illustrated.  It  is  important  to  watch  (»•"), 
for  the  Messiah's  second  coming  is  like  the 
case  of  a  man,  etc.  See  a  similar  expression 
in  Mark  13 :  34.  Travelling  into  a  far  conn- 
try,  as  in  21 :  33 ;  '  took,  or  wont  on,  his  jour- 
ney,' V.  15,  is  the  same  Greek  term.  His  own 
servants,  as  in  22:  6,  those  that  belonged  to 
him,  doulous,  slaves  (see  on  8:  6),  from  whom 
he  might  require  and  expect  care  for  his  in- 
terests. Trench:  "Slaves  in  antiquity  were 
often  artisans,  or  were  allowed  otherwise  to 
engage  freely  in  business,  paying,  as  it  was 
frequently  arranged,  a  fixed  yearly  sum  to 
their  master;  or  they  had  money  committc^d 
to  them  wherewith  to  trade  on  his  account,  or 
with   which   to    enlarge    their  business,   and 


bring  in  to  him  a  share  of  their  profits."  A 
similar  course  was  sometimes  pursued  in  our 
Southern  States,  during  the  existence  of 
slavery.  Five  talents.  A  talent  of  gold, 
see  on  18:  24,  would  be  near  twelve  thousand 
dollars  of  our  money,  and  with  a  purchasing 
power  at  least  ten  times  as  great.  It  was  as  if 
one  should  now  put  ?60,000  in  the  hands  of  a 
dependent  to  preserve  and  increase.  In  the 
earlier  parable  (Luk«  i9)  the  sum  stated  is  a 
"mina,"  about  $17,  so  that  ten  minas  would 
be  one  hundred  and  seventy,  equal  in  pur- 
chasing power  to  say  two  thousand  dollars. 
The  sums  used  in  the  two  illustrations  are  ob- 
viously round  numbers.  As  talents  in  the 
parable  represent  whatever  God  gives  us  to 
use  and  improve,  and  as  beyond  comparison 
the  most  important  of  such  gifts  are  our  men- 
tal powers,  so  it  had  become  common  in 
English  to  call  a  man's  mental  powers  his 
talents,  and  hence  to  speak  of  a  man  of 
talent,  or  a  talented  man.  A  more  or  less 
similar  use  is  found  in  German  and  Dutch, 
in  French,  Spanish,  and  Italian,  even  in  mod- 
ern Greek.  To  every  man  according  to 
his  several  ability,  or  'his  own  ability,' 
viz.,  his  capacity'  for  preserving  and  increas- 
ing the  funds  intrusted  to  him.  Comp.  Rom. 
12:  6;  1  Cor.  12:  11;  Eph.  4:  11.  In  the 
earlier  parable  this  distinction  was  not  made, 
but  to  each  was  given  the  same  sum.    (i.nke 

19:13.) 

10-18.  The  trusted  servants  go  to  work. 
Straightway  should  most  probably  be  con- 
nected with  what  follows,  as  in  Com.  Ver. 
and  Rev.  Ver.,  rather  than  with  what  pre- 
cedes, as  in  Com.  Greek  text.  In  Matt,  this 
Greek  word  (Weiss)  always  connects  with 
what  follows  it.  The  good  and  faithful  serv- 
ant (»•«•),  feeling  his  responsibility,  went  to 
work  without  delay.  We  naturally  suppose 
that  likewise,  said  of  the  second  .«i'rvant,  in- 
cludes this  feature.  Traded,  literally  worked, 
wrought  (Wye),  as  in  21:  28;  2»):  10;  then 
in  a  technical  sense,  'engaged  in  hiisinrs^,' 
and  so  'traded.'  The  men  who  conduct  large 
business  operations  have  to  work  indeed.    One 


504 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXV. 


16  Then  he  that  had  received  the  five  talents  went 
and  traded  with  the  same,  and  maae  them  other  live 
tHlent». 

17  And  likewise  he  that  had  received  two,  he  also 
gained  other  two. 

18  But  he  that  had  receivetl  one  went  and  digged  in 
the  earth,  and  hid  his  lord's  money. 

19  After  a  long  time  the  lord  of  those  servants  cometh, 
and  reckoneth  with  theiu. 

20  And  so  he  that  had  received  five  talents  came  and 
brought  either  five  talents,  saying,  Lord,  thou  deli  vereiist 
unto  me  five  talents:  behold",  I hiive  gained  beside  them 
five  talents  more. 

21  His  lord  said  unto  him,  Well  done,  thou  good  and 
faithful  servant:  thou  hast  been  faithful  over  a  few 
things,  I  will  make  thee  ruler  over  many  things:  enter 
thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  lord. 

22  He  also  that  had  received  two  talents  came  and 
said,  Lord  thou  delivercdst  unto  me  two  talents:  be- 
hold, I  have  gained  two  other  talents  beside  them. 

23  His  lord  said  unto  him,  Well  done,  good  and  faith- 
ful servant:  thou  nasi  been  faithful  over  a  few  things, 
I  will  mak3  thee  ruler  over  many  things:  enter  thou 
into  the  joy  of  thy  lord. 


16  Straightway  he  that  received  the  five  talents  went 
and  traded  with  them,  and  made  other  five  talents. 

17  In  like  manner  he  also  that  received  the  two  gained 

18  other  two.    But  he  that  received  the  one  went  away 

19  and  digged  in  the  earth,  and  hid  his  lord's  money. 
Now  after  a  long  time  the  lord  of  those  i  servants 

20  Cometh,  and  niaketh  a  reckoning  with  them.  .And 
he  that  received  the  five  talents  came  and  brought 
other  five  talents,  saying,  Lord,  thou  deliveredst 
unto  me  five  talents  :  lo,  I  have  gained  other  five 

21  talents.  His  lord  said  unto  him.  Well  done,  good 
and  faithful  Sgervant:  thou  hast  been  faithful  over 
a  few  things,  I  will  set  thee  over  many  things:  enter 

22  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  lord.  And  he  also  that  re- 
ceived the  two  talents  came  and  said.  Lord,  thou 
deli veredst  unto  me  two  talents:  lo,  I  have  gained 

23  other  two  talents.  His  lord  said  unto  him.  Well 
done,  good  and  faithful  2 servant;  thou  hast  been 
faithfiu  over  a  few  things,  I  will  set  thee  over  many 


1  Gr.  hondtenantt . . .  .i  Or,  hondterva'nt. 


of  the  popular  delusions  is  shown  in  speaking 
of  "the  working  classes,"  as  if  brain-work 
were  not  often  far  more  intense  and  severe 
than  mere  hand-work.  But  the  term  "busi- 
ness men  "  proceeds  on  a  like  assumption  that 
no  one  else  is  really  busy.  In  the  other 
parable  (Luke  i9:  13-15)  the  Greek  word  used 
means  directly  'engage  in  business,'  which 
was  expressed  in  Old  English  by  'occupy' 
(comp.  Ezek.  27:  9,  22),  used  here  also  by 
Cran.  and  Rheims,  while  Tyn.  and  Gen.  in 
Luke  give 'buy  and  sell.'  Made.  It  is  hard 
to  decide  whether  we  should  read  this  word 
or  'gained,'  which  has  much  better  docu- 
mentary evidence,  but  might  easily  here 
come  from  v.  17,  20,  while  'made'  is  also 
found  in  Luke  19:  18,  Kev.  Ver.  There  is  ob- 
viously no  substantial  difference.  For  lord, 
meaning  master^  see  on  8:  19. 

19-23.  The  master  returns  and  demands 
an  account.  The  two  faithful  servants.  Af- 
ter a  long  time.  This  was  necessary  in  the 
illustration  for  doubling  the  capital  by  any 
safe  business.  In  the  application  it  intimates 
that  the  final  coming  of  the  Messiah  is  remote, 
but  still  the  phrase  is  quite  indefinite.  There 
was  nothing  in  it  to  show  that  the  coming 
would  not  take  place  in  their  day,  but  only 
enough  to  show  that  they  must  go  on  dili- 
gently serving  Christ  under  present  condi- 
tions. Bruce  well  compares  the  correction 
addressed  by  Paul  to  those  Thcssalonians  w^ho 
8upp<*sed  the  Lord  was  certainly  coming  im- 
mediately, and  inferred  that  it  was  useless  to 
engage  any  more  in  the  ordinary  duties  of 


life.  (2  Thess.  3:10-12.)  Well  done  is  a  good 
translation,  found  first  in  the  Geneva  version; 
but  stress  cannot  be  laid  on  '  done  '  in  con- 
trast to  the  'well  doing'  of  Gal.  6:9;  for 
'done'  is  not  expressed  in  the  Greek,  but 
only  implied  in  the  word  'well.'  Tyndale 
and  Cran.  translate  simply  '  well,'  but  this  in 
modern  English  would  be  inadequate  and 
ambiguous.  Over  a  few  things  .... 
over  many  things,  implies  that  the  master 
had  vast  capital  and  many  kinds  of  business 
to  be  managed.  We  can  hardly  suppose 
here  a  conception  remaining  from  the  former 
parable,  where  a  king  was  speaking  (Luke  i9:  it), 
for  there  the  reward  was  to  be  made  governor 
over  ten  cities ;  the  two  parables  seem  to  be 
consistently  distinct  throughout.  The  joy 
of  thy  Lord  is  in  the  story  the  rejoicing  and 
felicity  consequent  on  the  master's  return  to 
his  home  (comp.  Luke  15  :  22  ff.).  But  here 
the  application  quite  overpasses  the  limits  of 
the  illustration.  The  noblest  and  purest 
earthly  delight  could  but  dimly  picture  the 
joy  which  will  follow  the  Saviour's  final  com- 
ing, for  all  that  have  been  good  and  faithful 
servants,  a  joy  unspeakably  heightened  by  the 
fact  that  they  will  share  in  it  with  him ; 
comp.  Heb.  12:  2;  Rom.  8:  17. 

The  rhythmical  repetition  in  v.  22  f.  of  v. 
20  f.  reminds  one  of  7:  26  f.,  and  of  the  par- 
allelism which  characterizes  the  Old  Test, 
poetry.  But  what  is  more  important,  it  com- 
mends and  rewards  the  servant  who  has 
faithfully  used  the  two  talents  in  the  same 
terms  as  the  one  who  received  the  five  talents. 


Cn.  XXV.] 


MATTHEW. 


505 


24  Then  he  which  had  received  the  one  talent  came 
and  said,  Lord,  I  knew  thee  that  thou  art  a  hard  man, 
reaping  where  thou  hast  not  sown,  and  gathering  where 
thou  hast  not  strewed : 

25  And  I  was  afraid,  and  went  and  hid  thy  talent  in 
the  earth:  lo,  there  thou  hast<Afl<  U  thine. 

26  His  lord  answered  and  said  unto  him.  Thou  wicked 
and  slothful  servant,  thou  knewestthat  I  reap  where  I 
sowed  not,  and  gather  where  1  have  not  strewed: 

27  Thou  oughtest  therefore  to  have  put  my  money 
to  the  exchangers,  and  then  at  luy  coming  1  should 
have  received  mine  own  with  usury. 


24  things:  enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  lord.  And 
he  also  that  had  received  the  one  talent  caiue  and 
said.  Lord,  I  knew  thee  that  thou  art  a  hard  man, 
reaping  where  thou  diUst  not  sow,  and  gathering 

25  where  thou  didst  not  scatter :  and  1  was  afraid,  and 
went  away  and  hid  thy  talent  in  the  earth :  lo,  thou 

26  hast  thine  own.  But  his  lord  answered  and  said 
unto  hiui.  Thou  wicked  and  slothful  i  servant,  thou 
knewest  that  I  reap  where  1  sowed  not,  and  gather 

27  where  I  did  not  scatter :  thou  oughtest  therefore  to 
have  put  my  money  to  tne  bankers,  and  at  my  com- 


1  Or,  hondtervant. 


There  will  doubtless  be  different  cupacities  for 
sharing  in  the  joy  of  our  Lord,  but  every  one 
will  enjoy  to  the  full.  In  the  other  parable 
the  reward  varies  in  exact  accordance  with 
the  profit  made  upon  the  original  trust,  ten 
cities,  five  cities,  as  was  natural  in  the  case  of 
a  king  appointing  governors.  Even  here  the 
wicked  servant's  talent  is  not  divided  between 
the  two  others,  but  given  to  the  first.  In 
V.  22  received  is  not  expressed  in  the  Greek, 
according  to  some  of  the  best  documents,  but 
left  to  be  understood  ;  beside  them  rests  on 
inferior  evidence. 

24-30.  The  wicked  and  slothful  servant. 
A  hard  man,  the  Greek  word  for  liard  hav- 
ing metaphorical  uses  like  our  own.  In 
Luke  19 :  21  f.  the  Greek  is  substantially 
equivalent,  being  atisteros,  rough,  harsh,  etc., 
which  we  borrow  through  the  Latin  as  aus- 
tere, but  now  use  in  a  somewhat  more  re- 
stricted sense.  The  image  in  gathering 
Where  thou  hast  not  strewed,  or  scattered, 
is  not  exactly  the  same  as  in  reaping  where 
thou  hast  not  sown,  but  seems  to  mean 
the  gathering  of  wheat  that  after  it  was  cut 
had  been  scattered,  in  order  to  become  more 
dry  and  ripe;  or  else  gathering  up  from  the 
threshing-floor  what  another  had  scattered 
there  to  be  threshed.  The  servant  knew,  he 
said,  that  his  master  was  hard  and  grasping, 
drawing  gain  from  the  labor  of  others.  He 
therefore  pretends  that  he  was  afraid  to  in- 
vest the  talent  in  business ;  for  if  he  should 
make  profit,  the  master  would  take  it  all  (Goe- 
bel);  and  if  he  should  lose  the  principal,  he 
would  be  harshlj'  treated,  since  one  who  so 
grasped  after  gain  would  have  no  patience  ^ 
under  loss.  So  he  returns  the  talent,  as  being 
all  that  would  really  have  belonged  to  his  , 
master  even  if  ho  had  engaged  in  profitable 
business.  He  does  not  recognize  his  position 
and  duty  as  a  servant,  and  tries  to  excuse  j 
himself  by  attacking  his  masters  character 


and  disposition.  Alford:  "The  foolish  vir- 
gins failed  from  thinking  their  part  too  easy  ; 
the  wicked  servant  fails  from  thinking  his 
too  hard.''  Hid  thy  talent  in  the  earth, 
comp.  on  1.3:  44.  In  Luke  19:  20  the  servant 
having  a  much  smaller  sum  in  charge  simply 
kept  it  "laid  up  in  a  napkin."  There  is  a 
sort  of  spiteful  fling  in  the  words  lo,  there 
thou  hast  that  is  thine  own,  or  thou 
hast  thine  own,  Rev.  Ver. — implying  that  the 
master  had  no  right  to  expect  more.  Thou 
wicked  and  slothful  servant.  He  wicked- 
ly misjudged  and  slandered  his  master,  and 
tried  to  make  that  an  excuse  for  his  slothful 
failure  to  do  as  he  had  been  commanded. 
The  master  retorts  that  his  own  excuse  estab- 
lished his  guilt.  Granting  the  master's  char- 
acter to  be  as  represented,  this  would  itself 
have  indicated  the  propriety  of  at  least  lend- 
ing out  the  money  on  interest.  So  also  in  the 
earlier  parable,  Luke  19: 23.  Exchangers,  or 
hankers.  The  Greek  word  is  derived  from  the 
word  for  bank  or  bench  on  which  money  used 
to  be  received  and  paid  out.  These  bankers 
also  changed  money,  but  they  weresomethinjc 
much  higher  than  the  small-change  men  of 
21:  12.  PLumptre :  It  was  in  the  servant's 
power  "to  take  advantage  of  the  banking, 
money-changing,  money-lending  system,  of 
which  the  Phoenicians  were  the  inventors, 
and  which  at  the  time  was  in  full  operation 
throughout  the  Roman  Empire.  The  bankers 
received  money  on  depcJsit,  and  paid  interest 
on  it,  and  then  lent  it  at  a  higher  percentage, 
or  employed  it  in  trade,  or  fas  did  iho  puhli- 
cani  at  Rome)  in  farming  the  revenues  of  a 
province.  This  was  theref<iro  the  natural  re- 
source, as  investment  in  .stocks  or  companies 
is  with  us,  for  those  who  had  not  energy  to 
engage  in  business."  The  law  of  Moses  forliade 
Israelites  to  charge  interest  against  each  other. 

(Ex.K:24;I.«r.  M:»i-S7;  neul.  3.1;1».)         Rut     DPUt.  23  : 

20  allowed  them  to  lend  upon  interest  to  Gen- 


506 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXV. 


28  Take  therefore  the  talent  from  him,  and  give  it 
uuto  biiu  which  hath  ten  talents. 

29  For  unto  everv  one  that  hath  shall  be  given,  and 
he  shall  have  abundance:  but  from  him  that  hath  not 
shall  be  taken  away  even  that  which  he  hath. 

ao  And  ca.st  ye  the  unprofitable  servant  into  outer 
darkness:  there  shall  be  weeping  and  gnashing  of 
teeth. 


28  ing  I  should  have  received  back  mine  own  with  in- 
terest. Take  ye  away  therefore  the  talent  from  him, 
and  give  it  unto  him  that  hath  the  ten  talents. 

29  For  unto  every  one  that  hath  shall  be  given,  and  he 
shall  have  abundance:  but  from  him  that  bath  not, 

30  even  that  which  he  hath  shall  be  taken  away.  And 
cast  ye  out  the  unprofitable  i  servant  into  the  outer 
darlkuess:  there  shall  be  the  weeping  and  gnashing 
of  teeth. 


1  Or,  bond»ervant 


tiles,  and  we  may  suppose  this  to  have  been 
a  case  of  that  sort,  tliere  being  here  no  indi- 
cation of  nationality.  Besides,  the  law  was 
no  doubt  often  disregarded  or  evaded  in  the 
dealings  of  Jews  with  eacli  other,  as  we  find 
in  the  time  of  Nehemiah.  (Neh.  s:  10-12.)  Our  Lord 
draws  his  illustrations  from  the  actual  conduct 
of  men,  sometimes  from  their  wrong  conduct 
(e.  g.,  Luke  16 :  1  ff.  ;  18:  1  ff.).  Usury,  in 
Old  English  denoted  simply  what  we  now 
call  interest,  being  the  sum  paid  for  the  useo{ 
money,  Latin  usura ;  but  by  degrees  came 
to  signify  exorbitant  interest,  as  so  many 
words  have  from  evil  practices  acquired  an 
evil  sense.  Our  word  'interest'  derives  its 
technical  sense  from  the  more  general  notion 
of  profit.  Tlie  Greek  word  here  employed 
denotes  what  is  born  of  money,  what  it  brings 
forth  or  produces.  The  translation  ought  to 
be  changed  to  '  interest,'  throughout  the  Old 
Test.  Psa.  15:  5  refers  to  the  law  of  Moses 
above  mentioned,  which  is  not  binding  upon 
Christians. 

28.  "Bib.  Comm":  "  God's  gifts  are  not  left 
unproductive,  because  one  to  whom  they  are 
intrusted  neglects  his  duty.  So  far  as  such 
gifts  are  transferable,  they  are  often,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  taken  away  from  him  who  does 
not  use  them  ariglit,  and  given  to  another. 
Thus  the  kingly  power  which  Saul  misused 
was  taken  from  him  and  given  to  David. 
Thus  the  kingdom  of  God  was  taken  awny 
from  the  Jews,  and  given  to  a  nation  bring- 
ing forth  the  fruits  thereof." 

29.  Comp.  Luke  19  :  26.  See  above  on  13: 
12.  This  is  a  principle  of  the  divine  govern- 
ment having  many  applications. 

As  some  would  make  hiding  the  talent  in 
the  earth  mean  sinking  the  spiritual  in  the 
carnal,  or  what  not,  so  some  understand  put- 
ting the  money  to  the  bankers  to  mean  con- 
tributing to  charitable  associations,  etc.  This 
last  might  be  suggested  as  one  application  of 
the  principle  that  persons  who  timidly  shrink 
from  personal  exertions  may  indirectly  pro- 
mote spiritual  work;    but  a  single  practical 


application  of  a  general  principle  should  not 
be  put  forward  as  an  interpretation. 

30.  The  unprofitable, or  'unserviceable,' 
in  colloquial  phrase  'of  no  use ';  before  called 
'  wicked  and  slothful.'  If  the  man  with  one 
talent  was  blameworthy  for  making  no  in- 
crease, much  more  (Bruce)  would  that  have 
applied  to  persons  having  two  or  five  talents. 
Thus  the  guilt  of  uselessness  holds  true  for 
high  and  low.  Alas  !  how  many  professed 
Christians  are  utterly  useless.  Into  {the) 
outer  darkness,  etc.,  (see  on  22:  13),  while 
the  faithful  servants  share  their  master's  joy 
in  his  brightly  lighted"  abode ;  the  applica- 
tion of  the  image  is  to  hell  and  heaven. 

HOMILETICAL   AND    PRACTICAL. 

V.  15.  'To  each  according  to  his  ability.' 
1)  Inequalities  of  human  condition  neces- 
sarily result  from  the  inequalities  of  human 
character  and  conduct.  2)  To  have  more  of 
l^roperty  or  of  other  talents  than  one  can 
manage  for  God's  glory,  would  be  a  burden 
and  not  a  privilege.  3)  The  way  to  get  a 
larger  portion  is  to  make  wise  use  of  what  we 
have.  4)  The  best  reward  in  eternitj-,  will  be 
the  ability  and  opportunity  to  do  grander 
work  for  Christ.  5)  The  faithful  use  of  two 
talents  will  receive  as  hearty  commendation  as 
that  of  five  ;  and  the  cup  of  joy  will  in  each 
case  be  full.  Yea,  it  would  have  been  the 
same  with  the  servant  who  received  one  tal- 
ent, had  he  faithfully  used  it.— V.  21.  'Enter 
thou  into  the  joj'  of  thy  Lord.'  1)  A  joy  un- 
alloyed by  sorrow.  2)  A  joy  which  is  the 
reward  of  faithful  service.  3)  A  joy  which 
consists  not  in  idle  resting,  but  in  higher  and 
wider  usefulness.  4)  A  joy  shared  with  the 
Lord  himself. — V.  28.  Jewish  comm.  (Mid- 
rash)  on  Exodus  (Wet.):  "God  never  be- 
stows great  things  on  men  till  he  has  first 
tried  them  by  little  things;  e.g.,  Moses, 
David." — V.  24.  Calling  God  a  hard  master. 
1)  Men  are  often  hard  masters,  but  that  does 
not  prove  that  God  is.  2)  God  gives  to  every 
servant  some  talent  to  improve — only  in  pro- 


Ch.  XXV.] 


MATTHEW. 


507 


l?lK^K^"  "'^  ^°i°  of .J?a° .shall  come  in  his  glory,  aud  I  31      But  when  the  Son  of  man  shall  come  in  his  Rlory. 
the  throne  of  hiflor'*  "  **"  "****"         """^  *"  ^^^  ''"^^'^  **'**  ^''"'  •■'"'°  ****"  ***  "*  "^  *"" 


portion  as  he  has  really  sown  does  he  claim  to 
reap.  3)  It  is  the  wicked  and  slothful  servant 
who  complains  of  having  a  hard  master. 
4)  To  excuse  our  lack  of  service  hy  accusing 
him  whom  we  ought  to  serve,  is  but  adding 
insult  to  injury.  5)  "VVe  may  delude  our- 
selves with  flimsy  excuses,  but  we  cannot 
deceive  God,  nor  escape  ai;gravatcd  punish- 
ment.—V.  25.  The  hid  talent.  1)  It  is  "his 
lord's  money"  (t-is),  entrusted  for  use  and 
increase,  and  the  servant  has  no  right  to  hide 
it.  2)  The  reason  for  hiding  may  be  profess- 
edly prudent  fear,  but  is  really  sloth,  disobe- 
dience, and  lack  of  devotion  to  the  master's 
interests.  3)  The  risks  involved  in  doing  any- 
thing whatsoever,  form  no  suflBcient  reason  for 
doing  nothing.  4)  To  return  the  hid  talent  is 
not  giving  the  master  his  own,  for  he  has  a 
right  to  expect  increase.  Anon.  :  "One  who, 
receiving  seed  to  sow,  has  at  seed-time  not  sown 
it,  inflicts  loss  upon  his  master;  although  he 
has  not  lost  the  seed,  yet  there  is  a  loss  in  pro- 
portion as  there  might  have  been  gain  if  he 
had  sown  at  the  lit  time." — V.  29.  Chrys.  : 
"He  that  hath  a  gift  of  word  and  teaching  to 
profit  thereby,  and  useth  it  not,  will  lose  the 
gift  also;  but  he  that  giveth  diligence,  will 
gain  to  himself  the  gift  in  more  abundance; 
even  as  the  other  loseth  what  he  had  re- 
ceived."— V.  30.  The  unprofitable  servant. 
1)  Unprofitable  because  slothful.  2)  Unprofit- 
able, and  therefore  wicked.  3)  Unprofitable 
and  inexcusable  (t.  26f.);  If  shrinking  from 
one  way,  he  might  have  been  useful  in  some 
other.  4)  Unprofitable,  and  for  this  severely 
punished. 

V.  14-m  Parable  of  the  Talents.  1)  Chris- 
tians should  gladly  recognize  that  they  are 
Christ's  "own  servants,"  and  must  bend 
every  energy  to  promote  his  cause  in  the 
world.  2)  Christ  commits  to  us  as  talents  to 
be  used  in  his  service  (a)  our  personal  powers 
— of  body — of  intellect,  imagination,  passion, 
taste,  conscience,  will;  (b)  our  attainments; 
(c)  our  possessions,  and  capacities  for  further 
acquisition;  (d)  our  influence,  through  fam- 
ily, social,  and  business  relations.  3)  When 
Christ  comes  he  will  reward  us  for  the  faithful 
use  of  all  these  by  admitting  us  into  intimate 
and  permanent  intercourse  with  himself,  and 


by  heightened  resources  for  glorifying  him. 
(t.  28.)  4)  In  the  case  of  failure  to  improve 
our  talents,  many  or  few,  complaints  against 
Christ  will  be  a  poor  excuse,  only  aggravating 
the  offence.  5)  To  do  no  good  in  the  world, 
to  be  simply  useless  and  worthless,  is  to  sin 
grievously  against  Christ;  aud  only  by  inces- 
sant eflTorts  to  do  good  can  we  avoid  doing 
positive  evil.  6)  The  unprofitable  servant 
will  be  punished  by  taking  away  his  neglected 
resources  for  doing  good  (v.  ^g),  and  by  griev- 
ous and  abiding  suffering,  (v. so.) 

31-46.  JuDuMKNT  Scene  at  the  Com- 
ing OF  Christ. 

The  other  Gospels  have  nothing  at  all  paral- 
lel to  this  solemnly  beautiful  passage.  Mat- 
thew has  in  various  other  instances  given 
much  more  of  a  discourse  than  Mark  or  Luke, 
e.  g.,  ch.  &-7,  ch.  10,  ch.  13,  ch.  18;  and  so 
here  ch.  25  is  all  peculiar  to  Matt.,  except  that 
Luke  has  a  parable  given  on  a  former  occasion 
that  closely  resembles  the  parable  of  the 
Talents.  The  reference  to  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem,  with  which  this  great  discourse 
began,  has  now  passed  out  of  sight,  and  we 
think  only  of  the  final  coming  of  Christ. 
(Comp.  on  24:  3.)  Our  Lord  had  before  inti- 
mated that  he  was  to  be  the  final  judge  of  men 

(7:  22r. ;  !.•»:  40-43;  16:  27;  John  5:  25-»;;  he  noW  de- 
scribes the  future  judgment  scene,  in  a  way 
strikingly  appropriate  for  the  conclusion  of 
his  whole  discourse  on  his  coming.  (Ch.  24 
and  25.)  Especially  close  is  the  connection 
with  the  foregoing  parable  of  the  Talents,  in 
which  the  master  returns  to  examine,  and  re- 
ward or  punish. — Some  expositors  here  intro- 
duce elaborate  di.scussions  as  to  the  relation  of 
this  judgment  to  the  "thousand  years"  of 
Rev.  20:  2-7.  But  whatever  may  bo  re- 
garded as  the  meaning  of  that  obscure  and 
highly  figurative  statement  in  the  visions  of 
Patmos,  it  seems  out  of  jilace  to  bring  in  the 
matter  here,  where  there  is  no  distinct  room, 
and  no  occasion  whatever,  for  it8introdu<;tion. 
— The  passage  obviously  divides  itself  into  v. 
31-33,  34-40,  41-45,  and  40.  Al/nrd .-  "  It  will 
heighten  our  estimation  of  the  wonderful  sub- 
limity of  this  description,  when  we  recollect 
that  it  was  spoken  by  the  Lord  only  three  days 
before  his  aufferinffs." 


508 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXV. 


32  And  before  him  shall  be  gathered  all  nations:  and  132  throne  of  his  glory  :  and  before  him  shall  be  gath- 
he  shall  separate  theui  one  from  another,  as  a  shep-  ered  all  the  nations :  and  he  shall  separate  them  one- 
herd  divideth  his  sheep  from  the  goat^:  |       from  another,  as  the  shepherd  separateth  the  sheep 


31>33.  All  men  gathered  uhd  divided. 
When,  Rev.  Ver.,  But  when.  It  is  very 
doubtful  whether  the  Greek  particle  ought 
here  to  be  translated  'but,'  or  '  now,'  or  to  re- 
main untranslated.  This  depends  on  the  rela- 
tion of  what  follows  to  wliat  precedes,  which 
the  particle  itself  does  not  at  all  determine. 
Only  if  the  following  passage  stands  in  some 
sort  of  opposition  to  the  foregoing,  do  we 
properly  render  'but,'  otherwise  the  Greek 
term  is  only  a  particle  of  transition,  which  we 
render  by  'now'  or  'and,'  or  often  leave  quite 
untranslated.  This  passage  does  not  seem 
clearly  opposed  to  the  parable  of  the  Talents, 
for  that  also,  as  we  have  seen,  presents  an  ex- 
amination followed  by  reward  and  punish- 
ment. It  would  therefore  seem  better  to  leave 
the  particle  untranslated,  as  in  Com.  Ver. 
The  Son  of  man,  the  Messiah,  as  so  often  in 
this  discourse  ('<  =  ".  so,  37,  -m,  44),  and  previously ; 
eee  on  8:  20.  Nowhere  in  the  discourse  does 
Jesus  say  that  this  will  be  himself,  but  he  is  an- 
swering the  question  of  the  disciples, '  what  siiall 
bethesignof  thy  coming?'  («:3);  and  indeed 
he  had  long  encouraged  the  disciples  in  the 
belief  that  he  was  the  Messiah.  Shall  come 
in  his  glory,  conip.  16:  27,  'in  the  glory  of 
his  Father,'  and  24 :  30,  '  coming  on  the  clouds 
of  heaven  with  power  and  great  glory.'  We 
have  little  further  information  as  to  the  nature 
of  this  'glory.'  .Just  below  is  menti(med  'the 
throne  of  his  glory ; '  and  Paul  speaks  of 
'flaming  fire'  (2The«. i:8),  and  'thetrumpof 
God.'  (iThess.4:ifi:  icor.  15:52.)  Nothing  earthly 
could  furnish  the  images  for  an  adequate 
description.  And  all  the  holy  angels  with 
him,  like  the  splendid  retinue  of  a  king, 
comp.  13:  41 ;  16:  27.  No  longer  %vill  he  be  a 
homeless  wanderer,  with  a  handful  of  fol- 
lowers. As  to  the  angels  in  general,  see  on 
18 :  10.  '  Holy '  (Com.  Ver. )  is  a  spurious  ad- 
dition.^ Sit  npon  the  throne,  as  a  king 
(v.34);  comp.  19:  28.  The  .Tews,  includingthe 
Twelve,  expected  the  Messiah  to  sit  on  a 
throne  of  temporal  dominion.  Our  Lord 
here  shows  the  disciples  that  at  his  second 
coming  he  will  sit  on  a  throne  of  judgment, 


making  awards  for  eternity.  He  sits  now 
already'  on  the  throne  of  mediatorial  author- 
ity (28:18),  spiritually  conquering  and  ruling. 

(I  Cor.  15:  25;  Htsb.  12  :  2.) 

All  (the)  nations.  Not  only  Jews,  but 
Gentiles,  not  only  some  nations,  but  all.  The 
ancients  all  inclined  to  think  that  every 
nation  must  of  cour.-:e  have  its  own  deities; 
but  there  is  only  one  God  for  all  nations,  and 
only  one  Mediator  and  final  Judge  (comp.  1 
Tim.  2:  5).  Though  his  personal  mission  was 
exclusively  to  the  lost  slieep  of  the  house  of 
Israel  (is:-'*),  yet  he  was  destined  to  draw  all 
men  unto  him  (John  12: 32),  and  the  proclama- 
tion of  his  work  was  to  be  made  to  all  nations. 
(28:19.)  Bengel:  "All  the  angels,  all  the  na- 
tions; how  vast  an  assembly."  Some  com- 
mentatators  suppose  that  it  means  only  the 
Gentiles,  who  are  most  frequently  meant  by 
'the  nations.'  Plumptre  finds  a  striking  dis- 
tribution :  the  parable  of  the  Virgins  refers  to 
all  Christians ;  that  of  the  Talents  to  those 
"that  hold  any  office  or  ministry  in  the 
church";  and  this  passage  to  the  heathen. 
But  the  parable  of  the  Talents  does  not  admit 
of  the  proposed  limitation ;  and  here,  cer- 
tainly the  blessed  for  whom  the  kingdom  is 
prepared  are  Christians.  Others,  even  Meyer, 
understand  that  this  judgment  relates  to  Chris- 
tians only;  but  that  is  made  highly  improb- 
able by  '  all  the  nations,'  and  seems  impossible 
in  view  of  'depart  accursed' — strange  Chris- 
tians !  As  {the)  shepherd,  in  any  particular 
case,  like  'the  sower,'  'the  good  man,'  etc. 
(12:35;  13:3.)  Divideth, or scjoora^e^A (Rhcims), 
same  word  as  in  preceding  clause.  Com.  Ver. 
follows  Tyn.,  'divideth,' an  improper  variation 
of  the  translation,  comp.  on  v.  46.  From  the 
goats.  The  Greek  word  properly  means  'kids' 
(Rev.  Ver.  margin),  as  in  '  Thou  never  gavest 
me  a  kid,'  Luke  15:  29.  The  Latin  and  Peshito 
versions  have  the  distinctive  terms  for  kids; 
Jerome  expresslylnentions  that  it  is  not  goats 
but  kids,  and  Anon,  labors  to  show  why  the 
term  kids  is  more  appropriate.  The  diflference 
is  of  course  quite  unimportant.  Sheep  and 
goats  are  often  found  in  one  flock  (Gen.  so:  32  r.), 


1  It  is  wanting  in  the  earliest  uncials,  and  in  nearly 
all  the  early  versions.  It  was  probably  suggested  by 
way  of  contrast  to  *  the  devil  and  his  angels,'  in  y.  41, 


or  by  "  the  Lord  my  God  shall  come,  and  all  the  holy 
ones  with  thee,"  Zech.  14 :  5,  Rev.  Ver. 


Ch.  XXV.] 


MATTHEW. 


509 


33  And  he  shall  set  the  sheep  on  his  right  hand,  but 
the  goats  on  the  left. 

34  Then  shall  the  King  say  unto  them  on  his  right 
hand,  Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father,  inherit  the  king- 
dom prepared  for  you  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world : 


33  from  the  i  goats :  and  he  shall  set  the  sheep  on  his 

34  right  hand,  but  the  >  goats  on  the  left.  Then  shall 
the  King  say  unto  them  on  his  right  hand.  Come, 
ye  blessed  of  my  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  pre- 


but  sometimes  do  not  feed  well  together,  and 
are  kept  apart  while  grazing.^  The  Scriptures 
often  employ  sheep  to  denote  those  who  trust  in 
God,  and  so  the  goats  or  kids  are  here  naturally 
taken  to  represent  the  worse  side.  Various 
Fathers  and  some  modern  writers  proceed 
eagerly  to  trace  minute  analogies  between  the 
wicked  and  kids  or  goats,  and  between  the 
righteous  and  sheep,  in  the  way  that  has 
brought  so  much  reproach  upon  the  interpret- 
ation of  Scripture.  On  his  right  hand  .  .  . 
on  the  left.  Wet.  quotes  Greek  and  Roman 
writers  and  the  Talmud  as  putting  the  good  on 
the  right  hand  of  the  judge  and  the  bad  on  the 
left  hand.  It  is  a  perfectly  natural  sj'mbol- 
ism,  connected  with  our  preference  for  the 
right  hand  in  greetings,  and  in  manj'  ways. 

(Lukel:n;Markl6:5.)        HoW    far     this     prcdictivC 

imagery  of  a  judgment  scene  will  be  literally 
fulfilled  by  actual  assembly  in  a  locality,  etc., 
no  one  can  tell.  All  descriptions  and  concep- 
tions of  things  unseen  and  eternal  are  neces- 
sarily dependent  upon  material  analogies, 
even  as  our  own  mental  action  can  be  defined 
only  in  terms  drawn  from  physical  action. 
We  may  be  very  sure  that  the  spiritual  and 
eternal  reality  will  be  something  far  more 
solemn  and  instructive  than  any  conception 
we  are  able  to  derive  from  the  simplest  or  the 
most  sublime  images. 

34-40.  The  King  and  Judge  speaks  to  those 
on  his  right  hand.  The  King.  Our  Lord 
has  been  constantly  speaking,  throughout  his 
ministry,  of  the  'kingdom  of  heaven,' and 
'kingdom  of  God'  {*■  ":  Jobn3:.i,  etc.),  the  fa- 
miliar Jewish  designation  of  the  Messianic 
reign  (see  on  3:  2).  In  like  manner  "King 
Messiah"  was  a  familiar  phrase  among  the 
Jews.  Had  Jesus  emploj^ed  that  expression 
in  speaking  to  the  people,  they  would  have 
seized  upon  it  as  confirming  their  conception 
of    a    worldly    sovereign,    conquering    and 


reigning  in  splendor  at  Jerusalem.  So  he  has 
preferred  to  designate  the  Messiah  by  the 
phrase  'the  Son  of  man  '  (see  on  8:  20),  which 
would  not  encourage  these  popular  miscon- 
ceptions. In  16:  28  he  predicted  'the  Son  of 
man  coming  in  bis  kingdom,'  coming  as  king, 
and  in  19:  '28  as  sitting  'on  the  throne  of  his 
glory' ;  but  in  both  cases  he  was  talking  with 
the  Twelve.  And  so  here— perhaps  with  only 
four  of  them  (see  on  24:  3);  the  time  is  near 
when  he  will  avow  himself  before  the  Sanhe- 
drintobethe  Messiah  and  will  take  the  foreseen 
consequences.  (26 :  ea-es;  27 :  n.)  Observe  too  that 
he  distinctly  speaks  of  h\s  future  coming,  and 
not  of  any  present  and  temporal  reign.  It 
must  be  remembered  that  an  Oriental  king, 
indeed  any  ancient  king,  often  acted  as  judge. 
Come,  in  Greek  the  same  emphatic  expres- 
sion as  in  11:  28;  as  now  he  strongly  and 
warmly  invites  to  loving  trust  and  service,  so 
hereafter  to  blessed  reward.  Blessed,  not 
the  word  properly  rendered  '  happy  '  (see  on 
5:  3),  but  another  which  exactly  means  'bles- 
sed,' persons  whom  God  has  blessed,  who  are 
in  a  blessed  state;  as  in  21:  9;  23:  39;  Luke 
1 :  42.  Blessed  of  my  Father  means  exactly 
'my  Father's  blessed  ones,'  denoting  not 
simply  that  thej'  have  been  blessed  by  him, 
but  that  they  are  his.  Tyndalc  unwarrant- 
ably, 'blessed  children  of  my  Father,'  and 
this  expression,  though  adopted  by  none  of 
his  followers,  was  introduced  into  the  Burial 
Service  of  the  Church  of  England.  Our  Lord 
delights  to  connect  his  work  in  many  ways 
with  that  of  the  Father;  see  10 :  32  f  ;  11 :  26- 
27;  16:  13;  16:17,27;  18:10,19;  20:23; 
23  :  29,  63  ;  Luk«  2  :  49 ;  22  :  '29  ;  23  :  46,  and 
exceedingly  often  in  John.  Inherit,  because 
it  is  not  merely  theirs  by  gift,  but  theirs  by 
inheritance  (so  Chrys.  and  followers),  their 
Father's  gift  (R«in.  urn:  R»r.  n  -.  7),  designed  from 
all  eternity  to  be  theirs.     So  the  literal  sense 


k 


>  The  morning  after  reaching  Palestine,  when  setting  |  the  flock.  When  a  sheep  came  up,  he  tapped  it  with 
out  from  Ramleh,  across  the  plain  of  Sharon,  we  saw  a  his  long  staff  on  the  right  side  of  the  head,  and  It 
shepherd  leading  forth  a  flock  of  white  sheep  and  black  quickly  moved  off  to  his  right ;  a  gont  ho  tnpix-d  on  the 
goats,  all  mingled  as  they  followed  him.  Presently  he  |  other  side,  and  It  went  to  his  left.  Thus  the  ."^vloiir's 
turned  aside  inlo  a  little  green  valley,  and  stood  facing    image  presented  itself  exactly  before  our  eyes. 


510 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXV. 


35  For  I  was  a  hungered,  and  ye  gave  me  meat :  I  was 
thirsty,  and  ye  gave  me  drink :  I  was  a  stranger,  and 
ye  took  me  in: 

36  Naked,  and  ye  clothed  me :  I  was  sick,  and  ye 
visited  me:  I  wasiu  prison,  and  ye  came  unto  me. 

37  Then  shall  the  righteous  answer  hiui,  saying, 
Lord,  when  saw  we  thee  a  hungered,  and  fed  thee  t  or 
thirst V,  and  gave  thee  driuk  ? 

38  When  saw  we  thee  a  stranger,  and  took  thee  in  ?  or 
naked,  and  clothed  thee  t 

39  Or  when  saw  we  thee  sick,  or  in  prison,  and  came 
unto  thee? 

40  And  the  King  shall  answer  and  say  unto  them, 
Verily  I  say  unto  you.  Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it 
unto  one  of  the  least  of  these  my  brethren,  ye  have 
done  it  unto  me. 


35  pared  for  you  from  the  foundation  of  the  world:  for 
I  was  an  hungred,  and  ye  gave  me  meat:  I  was 

36  thirsty,  and  ye  gave  hie  driuk  :  I  was  a  stranger,  and 
ye  -took  me  in ;  naked,  and  ye  clothed  me :  1  was 
sick,  and  ye  visited  me :   I  was  in  prison,  and  ye 

37  came  unto  me.  Then  shall  the  righteous  answer 
him,  saying,  Lord,  when  saw  we  thee  an  hungred, 

38  and  fed  thee?  orathirst,  and  gave  thee  drink?  And 
when  saw  we  thee  a  stranger,  and  took  thee  in  ?  or 

39  naked,  and  clothed  thee?    And  when  saw  we  thee 

40  sick,  or  in  prison,  and  came  unto  thee?  And  the 
King  shall  answer  and  say  unto  them,  Verily  I  say 
unto  you.  Inasmuch  as  ye  did  it  unto  one  of  these 
my  brethren,  even  these  least,  ye  did  it  unto  me. 


of  the  word  seems  appropriate  here  (coinp.  1 
Cor.  15:  50;  Gal.  5:  21),  and  not  the  modified 
sense  found  in  5  :  5,  and  perhaps  in  19  :  29.  But 
this  heirship  is  proven  to  exist  by  their  mani- 
festing a  Christian  character  and  leading  a 
Christian  life  (2  Peter  i :  10) ;  and  paracularlj",  as 
here  set  forth,  by  their  kindness  to  Christ's 
people.  The  kingdom  is  here  the  Messianic 
kingdom  (see  on  3:  2)  in  its  perfected  heavenly 
state.  Prepared,  not  merely  destined,  but 
made  ready  (Meyer);  comp.  John  14:2; 
Heb.  11:  IG;  James  2:  5.  Petgr  adds  (1  Pet. 
i:*f.)that  it  is  preserved  for  the  heirs,  and 
thej'  are  guarded  for  the  inheritance,  so  that 
neither  shall  fail  of  the  other.  The  eternal 
fire  also  is  'prepared.'  (»•«•)  From  the 
foundation  of  the  world,  comp.  John  17  : 
24;  1  Pet.  1:  20;  Eph.  1 :  4,  and  above  in 
13 :  35.  For  introduces  the  proof  that  they 
are  blessed  of  the  Father,  and  entitled  to  in- 
herit the  kingdom,  viz.,  that  they  have  ren- 
dered service  to  the  King's  brethren,  and  thus 
virtually  to  him.  Ye  took  me  in.  The 
Greek  means  led  me  with  (.you),  viz.,  into 
your  houses  (Grimm.).  Nuked,  imperfectly 
clothed.  (Acwi9:i6.) — These  tender  and  beauti- 
ful sentences  are  designed  to  impress  the  great 
thought  that  the  Messiah  would  recognize 
himself  as  served  in  serving  even  the  least  of 
his  brethren,  and  neglected  in  neglecting 
them,  a  thought  for  which  the  wa3'  has 
already  been  prepared  in  10 :  40  ff. ;  18 :  5  f.  ; 
comp.  Heb.  6:  10;  1  John  3  :  16.  It  would  be 
a  grave  mistake  to  suppose  that  nothing  will 
be  regarded  in  the  judgment,  nothing  help  in 
determining  a  man's  future,  but  the  simple 
question  whether  he  has  been  benevolent 
towards  suffering  Christians  ;  we  are  taught 
elsewhere  that  each  will  "receive  the  things 
done  in  the  body,  according  to  what  he  hath 
done,  whether  it  be  good  or  bad."(!iCor.5: 10, 
Ber.  Ter.)    It  is  also  a  mistake  to  infer  that  only 


actions  will  enter  into  the  judgment.  The 
essence  of  the  passage  is  that  the  actions  in 
question  will  be  accepted  as  indicating  per- 
sonal relation  to  Christ;  and  it  is  really  per- 
sonal relation  to  Christ,  as  acted  out  in  the 
life,  that  will  fix  eternal  destiny.  All  this 
directly  applies  only  to  those  who  have  had 
some  knowledge  of  Christ's  brethren  and  of 
him;  the  heathen  who  have  had  no  such 
knowledge  will  be  condemned  for  neglecting 
the  light  of  nature,  and  the  law  of  conscience. 
(Rom.  i:i8ff.;  2:12-16.)— Observe  then  that  our 
Lord  is  not  expressly  speaking  of  benevolence 
to  the  poor  and  suflTering  in  general,  but  of 
kindness  to  his  poor  and  suffering  'brethren' 
for  his  sake.  Yet  he  himself  healed  and  fed 
maiiy  who  were  not  truly  his;  and  we  are 
imitating  and  honoring  him  if  for  his  sake  we 
minister  to  any  and  all  who  are  needy  or  dis- 
tressed— provided  alwaj-s  we  minister  wisely 
in  a  truly  helpful  way,  and  not  so  as  to  pro- 
mote professional  beggary  or  other  imposition, 
nor  the  self-conceit  of  criminals  in  prison,  etc. 

37-39.  The  righteous  answer  in  no  self-de- 
preciation, but  in  simple  sincerity  and  humil- 
ity ;  they  have  not  personally  seen  the  Saviour 
(1  Pet.  1:8),  and  how  (Maid.)  can  thej'  have 
rendered  him  any  personal  service?  They 
will,  when  actually  brought  to  judgment, 
think  and  feel  otherwise  onl^*  in  proportion  a> 
they  have  understood  and  remembered  the 
lesson  here  given. 

40.  Verily,  I  say  unto  yon,  calling  solemn 
attention.  (Comp.  on  5 :  18. )  With  this  reply 
of  the  King  we  may  well  compare  6 :  4,  Rev. 
Ver.,  "that  thine  alms  may  be  in  secret;  and 
thy  Father,  which  seeth  in  secret,  shall  recom- 
pense thee."  He  knows  and  remembers  every 
act  of  modest  charity,  and  is  ready  to  accept 
it  as  done  to  himself.  One  of  the  least  of 
these,  or,  even  these  least.  Many  of  Christ's 
followers  were  poor  and  of   little  apparent 


Ch.  XXV.] 


MATTHEW. 


511 


41  Then  shall  he  say  also  unto  them  on  the  left  hand, 
Depart  from  me,  ye  cursed,  into  everlasting  fire,  pre- 
pared for  the  devil  aud  his  angels : 

42  For  I  was  a  hungered,  aud  ye  gave  me  no  meat : 
I  was  thirsty,  and  ye  gave  me  no  drink : 

43  I  was  a  stranger,  and  ye  took  me  not  in  :  naked, 
and  ye  clothed  me  not :  sick,  and  in  prison,  and  ye 
visit«a  me  not. 

44  Then  shall  they  also  answer  him,  saying.  Lord, 
when  saw  we  thee  a  hungered,  or  athirst,  or  a  stranger, 
or  naked,  or  sick,  or  in  prison,  and  did  not  minister 
unto  thee  ? 

45  Then  shall  he  answer  them,  saying.  Verily  I  say 
unto  you,  Inasmuch  as  ye  did  il  not  to  one  of  the  least 
of  these,  ye  did  it  not  to  me. 

46  And  these  shall  go  away  into  everlasting  punish- 
ment :  but  the  righteous  into  life  eternal. 


41  Then  shall  he  say  also  unto  them  on  the  left  hand, 
1  Depart  from  me,  ye  cursed,  into  the  eternal  fire 

42  which  is  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels :  for 
1  was  an  hungred,  and  ye  gave  me  no  meat :  I  was 
thirsty,  aud  ye  gave  me  no  drink :  I  was  a  stranger, 

43  and  ye  took  me  not  in ;  naked,  and  ye  clothed  me 
not:   sick,  and  in  prison,  and  ye  visited  me  not. 

44  Then  shall  they  also  answer,  saying.  Lord,  when 
saw  we  thee  an  hungred,  or  atnirst,  or  a  stranger,  or 
naked,  or  sick,  orin  prison,  aud  did  not  minister 

45  unto  thee?  Then  shall  he  answer  them,  saying. 
Verily  I  say  unto  you,  Inasmuch  as  ye  did  it  not 

46  unto  one  of  these  least,  ye  did  it  not  unto  me.  Aud 
these  shall  go  away  into  eternal  punishment:  but 
the  righteous  into  eternal  life. 


1  Or,  Dtpart/rom  ax  under  a  eitrts. . 


importance ;  only  a  few  were  otherwise. 
(johD7:  *8;  icor.  1:  26ef.)  He  identifies  himself 
not  merely  with  the  distinguished,  but  with 
those  whom  men  would  lightly  esteem.  Mori- 
8on  :  "When  the  Judge,  as  it  were,  points  to 
these  his  brethren,  and  then  refers  to  the  least 
of  them,  it  is  not  needful  that  we  should  sup- 
pose that  they  are  different  from  'the  sheep.' 
...  In  pronouncing  sentence  on  each,  he 
could  point  to  surrounding  brethren  who  had 
been  loved  and  sympathetically  helped." 

41-45.  Those  on  the  left  hand.  Depart 
from  me,  substantially  the  same  expression 
as  in  7:  23;  but  the  added  words  are  here 
more  awful.  The  participle  rendered  cursed 
lacks  the  article  in  some  of  the  earliest  and 
best  MSS.,^  and  in  that  form  it  could  not  mean 
ye  cursed,  but  depart  accursed,  'depart  from 
me  under  a  curse'  (Rev.  Ver.,  margin),  the 
curse  resting  upon  them  as  a  part  of  the  sen- 
tence. Everlasting,  or,  the  eternal,  Are,  the 
Greek  having  the  article;  that  eternal  fire 
which  was  a  familiar  thought  to  the  minds  of 
his  hearers  ;  see  the  same  phrase  in  18 :  8,  and 
comp.  3:  12,  and  Mark  9:  48,  'the  fire  is  not 
quenched.'  See  on  5:  22,  'the  Gehenna  of 
fire,'  and  13:  42,  50,  'the  furnace  of  fire'; 
also  on  3:  11,  'baptize  ...  in  fire.'  (Comp. 
Jude7;  Rev.  20:  10  ff.)  The  term  'eternal' 
is  used  instead  of  '  everlasting,'  merely  to  keep 
the  translation  uniform.  (See  on  v.  46.) 
Whetlier  eternal  punishment  involves  any 
physical    reality   corresponding   to   fire,   we 


know  not ;  there  will  be  something  as  bad  as 
fire,  and  doubtless  worse,  for  no  earthly  image 
can  be  adequate.  (Comp.  above  on  v.  31-33.) 
For  the  devil,  that  is,  Satan  (see  on  4:  1.) 
We  might  say  that  by  analogy  to  the  angels 
of  God,  Satan's  attendants  and  helpers,  the 
demons  (see  on  8:  31),  are  called  his  angels. 
But  more  than  that  appears  to  be  true.  The 
demons  are  fallen  angels.  ( Jnde s ;  ?  pet.  j :  < ;  Rev.  ir.  ^.) 
We  must  beware  of  confounding  what  little 
we  know  from  Scripture  concerning  these 
dreadful  beings  with  the  ideas  of  Milton  in 
Paradise  Lost,  or  with  popular  traditions  and 
nursery  tales.  (Comp.  on  4:  1.)  Notice  (Ori- 
gen)  that  while  it  is  the  kingdom  prepared  for 
you  (v- »«),  it  is  not  the  eternal  fire  prepared  for 
you,  but  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels ; 
the  wicked  go  to  share  the  dreadful  doom  of 
the  fallen  angels,  go  of  their  own  movement 
into  that  which  was  prepared  for  others.  And 
they  are  not  said  to  '  inherit'  the  eternal  fire, 
but  incur  the  punishment  through  conscious 
sin  and  through  rejection  of  the  Saviour. 

42-45.  This  answers  to  86-40,  with  the 
beautiful  Hebrew  circumstantiality  and  paral- 
lelism, comp.  25:  20-23;  7:  24-27.  This  pas- 
sage presents  a  notable  exemplification  o(  sins 
of  omission. 

46.  We  find  here  a  remarkable  instance  of 
that  unnecessary  and  unwarranted  variation 
in  translation  which  so  abounds  in  the  ver- 
sions from  Tyndale  to  King  James.  The 
Greek  here  applies  the  same  adjective  to  pun- 


L 


»  The  article  is  omitted  by  K  B  L,  33,  102,  Cyril.  One 
sees  no  ground  for  supposing  it  to  have  been  struck  out 
as  an  "Alexandrian  "  correction  (such  as  these  docu- 
ments sometimes  give),  since  the  reading  with  the  arti- 
cles isgood  and  unobjectionable, corresponding  exactly 
to  "come,  ye  blessed."  But  we  can  see  obvious  reasons 
for  the  iiuerlion  of  the  article  by  copyists,  both  because 


I  of  a  certain  obscurity  without  It,  and  (Vom  the  desire 
to  make  the  two  corresponding  clauses  exactly  sym- 
metrical. Therefore  the  reading  without  the  article  In 
quite  probably  correct.  lU  dlslinclive  meaning,  though 
one  that  might  not  readily  occur  to  a  copyist,  is 
thoroughly  appropriate. 


612 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXV. 


ishment  and  life.  The  Latin  and  other  early 
versions  translated  both  by  the  same  word, 
and  Wye.  and  Rheims,  following  the  Latin 
Vulgate,  render  'everlasting'  in  both  cases; 
butTyn.  and  followers,  'everlasting  pain  .  .  . 
life  eternal.'  The  English  language,  as  being 
compounded  of  Anglo-Saxon  and  French 
(Latin),  has  an  extraordinary  number  of 
words  nearly  synonymous;  and  this  fact  has 
probably  fostered  a  passion  for  variety  of 
expression.  As  a  mere  question  of  Eng- 
lish literature,  the  early  versions  have  no 
doubt  gained  a  certain  beauty 'of  style  by 
diversifying  their  renderings;  and  King 
James'  translators,  in  their  "  Address  to  the 
Reader,"  have  expressly  defended  themselves 
and  their  predecessors  for  this  practice.  But 
they  have  thereby  seriously  obscured  the 
verbal  connection  throughout  many  a  passage 
and  between  different  passages.  The  careful 
student  of  the  English  Bible,  using  Concord- 
ance and  References  for  comparing  Scripture 
with  Scripture,  has  been  misled  a  thousand 
times,  either  imagining  two  passages  to  con- 
tain the  same  Hebrew  or  Greek  word  when 
they  do  not,  because  the  English  has  the  same 
word,  or  failing  to  learn,  often  in  highly  im- 
portant cases,  that  two  passages  do  contain  the 
same  word  in  the  original,  because  the  Eng- 
lish has  rendered  differently.  It  is  of  course 
impossible  to  translate  the  same  Hebrew  or 
Greek  word  in  every  case  by  the  same  English 
word ;  but  wherever  this  can  be  done  with  due 
regard  to  the  meaning,  it  is  a  grave  fault  to 
neglect  it  merely  for  the  sake  of  gratifying  a 
certain  fastidious  taste  in  English  style. 
Among  the  many  examples  of  this  fault 
which  occur  in  the  Common  Version  of  Matt., 
see  5:  15  f. ;  14:  24;  18:  33;  19:  20;  20:  20; 
25;  82.  For  some  examples  in  other  parts  of 
New  Test.,  see  Bp.  Lightf.  on  Revision.  As 
to  whether  eternal  or  everlasting  should  here 
be  used  in  both  cases,  there  is  room  for  a  slight 
difference  of  opinion.  Noyes,  Amer.  Bib. 
Union,  and  Davidson  give  'everlasting  pun- 
ishment .  .  .  everlasting  life'  (comp.  Dan. 
12:  2)  ;  Darby,  'eternal  punishment  .  .  .  life 
eternal.'     Some  would  prefer  to  reserve  the 


term  '  eternal '  for  that  which  is  without  be- 
ginning as  well  as  without  end ;  but  that  word 
is  necessary  in  several  passages  of  the  New 
Test,  to  denote  duration  that  is  simply  without 
end.  Upon  the  whole,  the  Revisers  are  be- 
lieved to  have  acted  wisely  in  uniformly  ren- 
dering this  Greek  word  by  eternal ;  there  is  a 
slight  loss  in  some  passages,  but  an  important 
gain  upon  the  whole.  It  is  difficult  to  estimate 
how  much  would  have  been  gained  for  the 
English  speaking  world  in  the  exact  appre- 
hension of  the  present  important  passage,  if 
the  punishment  and  the  life  had  been  through 
all  these  centuries  described,  in  English  as  in 
the  Greek,  not  merely  by  substantially  equiva- 
lent words,  but  by  exactly  the  same  word. 

Eternal  pnnishment  .  .  .  life  eternal. 
It  will  at  once  be  taken  for  granted,  by  any 
unprejudiced  and  docile  mind,  that  the  pun- 
ishment of  the  wicked  will  last  as  long  as  the 
life  of  the  righteous;  it  is  to  the  last  degree 
improbable  that  the  Great  Teacher  would  have 
used  an  expression  so  inevitably  suggesting  a 
great  doctrine  he  did  not  mean  to  teach ;  those 
who  deny  the  doctrine  must  establish  here  a 
difference  of  meaning,  and  »with  an  over- 
whelming presumption  against  them.  At- 
tempts to  set  aside  the  obvious  meaning  have 
been  made  in  several  ways,  (a)  It  is  pointed 
out  that  the  etymology  of  the  term  aionios, 
'eternal,'  has  not  been  clearly  ascertained. 
But  it  is  now  past  question  (Curtius,  Lid.  and 
Scott,  Crcmer,  Skeat)  that  aion,  originally 
rtiwon,  has  the  same  root  as  aiei  and  aei,  'al- 
ways'; the  same  as  the  Latin  nev-um,  from 
which  came  ae[v)-ternus,  borrowed  b^'  us  in 
the  form  eternal :  the  same  as  the  Gothic  aiws, 
rtiw,  the  German  ew-ig,  'everlasting,'  'eter- 
nal,' and  the  English  ev-er  in  everlasting, 
forever,  etc.  And  the  words  aion  and  aionios 
in  the  Greek  as  well  as  in  the  other  languages 
mentioned  certainly  have  the  use  in  question, 
whatever  may  have  been  the  primary  sense 
of  the  root.  You  cannot  persude  those  who 
speak  English  that  the  meaning  of  everlasting 
is  doubtful,  simply  because  philologers  have 
not  determined  the  primary  sense  of  the  root 
ev.^    (b)  It  is  urged  that  aion  and  aionios  are 


1  We  do  not  know  the  original  meaning  of  this  root 
aitr,  or  ev,  whether  it  meant  primarily  unlimited  dura- 
tion, and  was  then  weakened  to  denote  definite  periods, 
or,  more  probably,  meant  a  definite  period,  as  a  life- 


definite  period,  or  unlimited  duration.  But  there  Is  no 
question  that  the  Greek  words  formed  upon  the  root  do 
often  actually  denote  unlimited  duration  ;  e.  g.,  eis  ton 
aiona,  '  forever,'  ap'aionos, '  from  everlasting,'  etc.,  and 


time,  an  age,  and  was  then  extended  to  denote  an  in-  I  aionios,  as  often  applied  to  God. 


Ch.  XXV.] 


MATTHEW. 


}13 


in  the  Sept  frequently  applied — following  the 
Heb.  word  'olam, — to  things  finite,  as  "the 
everlasting  hills,"  "an  ordinance  forever." 
Certainly,  just  as  in  English  we  say  "to 
have  and  to  hold,  unto  him  sind  his  heirs  for- 
ever," or  say  "  there  is  everlasting  trouble  in 
that  church."  In  the  one  c^se  we  use  a  natu- 
ral and  perfectly  intelligible  hyperbole,  in  the 
other  the  possession  or  the  law  really  is  of  un- 
limited duration,  in  a  sense  well  understood, 
and  not  restricted  save  by  the  nature  of  things. 
Any  terms  that  could  possibly  be  employed 
to  describe  future  punishment  as  unlimited 
would  be  equally  subject  to  such  processes  of 
"explaining  away."*  (c)  It  is  affirmed  by 
some  that  while  aionins  here  means  'eternal,' 
that  is  a  wholly  different  idea  from  everlast- 
ing or  endless.  They  say  that  'eternal  life,' 
as  in  John  3:  36,  Kev.  Ver. ;  5:  39;  17:  3, 
Rev.  Ver.,  does  not  mean  '  endless  life,'  but 
simply  the  kind  of  life  which  is  lived  in  eter- 
nity, for  it  really  begins  in  this  life  whenever 
one  becomes  a  Christian ;  and  so  they  infer 
that  'eternal  punishment'  means  simply  pun- 
ishment suffered  in  eternity  and  not  necessa- 
rily endless  punishment.  But  'eternal  life' 
does  in  all  the  cases  primarily  and  distinctly 
denote  the  future  and  endless  life,  and  it  is 
simply  an  added  thought  that  the  believer  be- 
comes already  in  this  world  a  partaker  of  its 
spiritual  essence — this  added  thought  not  at 
all  excluding  or  pushing  out  of  view  the  pri- 
mary sense.  Of  course  then  the  inference  as 
to  eternal  punishment  falls  away.  Others 
turn  attention  to  the  Hebrew  phrase  'this 
'otam,'  and  'the  coming 'otewi,' (see  above  on 
12:  32),  and  urge  that  aionian  punishment 
means  only  that  which  pertains  to  the  coming 
nion  Colnm),  age  or  period,  after  the  day  of 
judgment,  without  saying  that  it  is  to  be  end- 
less punishment.  Butthe  force  of  those  Jew- 
ish phrases,  whether  as  used  by  the  Rabbis  or 
in  New  Test.,  turned  on  'this'  and  '  the  com- 
ing,' which  terms  are  wanting  in  the  phrase 
aionian  punishment.'    Thus  none  of  these  at- 


tempts have  set  aside  or  really  weakened  the 
plain  meaning  of  the  word  aionios,  'eternal,' 
as  hera  describing  both  the  punishment  and 
the  life.  Westcott  and  Hort  suppose  the  ex- 
pression to  be  derived  by  our  Lord  from  Dan. 
12:  2,  'some  to  everlasting  life,'  where  the 
Greek  has  exactly  the  same  phrase  as  here, 
'  and  some  to  shame  and  everlasting  con- 
tempt,' where  the  adjective  is  the  same. 

The  term  kolasis,  rendered  panishment, 
denotes  primarily  pruning  (a  tree,  vine),  and 
hence  checking,  chastisement,  castigation, 
punishment.  Aristotle  says  that  this  word  is 
different  from  tirnoria,  vindication,  vengeance, 
revenge,  "for  punishment  is  for  the  sake  of 
the  sufferer,  but  revenge  for  that  of  the  per- 
son inflicting  it,  in  order  that  he  may  be  sati- 
ated'; and  Plato  joins  Ao^ffsts  with  admoni- 
tion, as  opposed  to  irrational  vengeance 
(Trench  "Syn.").  So  A;o/«ma  is  the  milder 
term,  implying  the  absence  of  vengefulness. 
It  is  therefore  naturally  employed  hereto  de- 
note punishment  inflicted  by  Qod,  and  so 
also  in  1  John  4: 18,  not  '  torment'  Com.  Ver., 
but  'punishment'  Rot.  Ver.,  and  the  verb  in 
2  Pet.  2  :  9;  while  the  severer  term  timorin  is 
used  only  in  Heb.  10:  29,  for  the  punishment 
of  very  aggravated  sin.  But  that  the  distinc- 
tion made  by  the  philosophers  was  not  abso- 
lute, th&t  kola»is  really  meant  penal  infliction, 
is  seen  from  the  use  of  the  verb  in  Acta  4  :  21, 
"finding  nothing  how  they  might  punish 
them,"  compared  with  Paul's  use  of  the 
stronger  term  thnnren  in  Acts  22:  5;  26:  11,  to 
describe  the  persecutions  he  had  inflicted  on 
the  Christians;  also  from  such  classic  phrases 
as  "punish  (kolmein)  with  death"  and  from 
the  conjunction  of  the  two  words  kolnzein 
timorinis  (Lid.  and  ScottV  It  is  therefopu 
vain  to  say  that  the  use  of  this  term  hero  for- 
bids us  to  understand  the  punishment  as 
penalty,  and  without  end. 

With  this  passage  agree  the  general  teach- 
ings of  Scripture  on  the  Rubjoct,  including 
oven  some  corresponding  expressions,  as  *  into 


'  Farrar  says  ("Mercy  and  .Tudginent,"p.388)  that  atti, 
'  always,'  "  would  have  been  regarded  a<i  dpcisive,"  and 
that  aneu  Ulom, '  without  end,'  "  would  preclude  all  con- 


Thus  we  see  that  the  term  ' endleM '  could  be  explained 
away  in  the  same  faAhion. 
*  Farrar  even  says  (p.  3iV5)  that  the  phrase  used  here 


troversy."    Yet  aionio.i  hau  the  same  root  as  n^i,  and  as  by  the  Peehlto  Syrlac  means  'the  punishment  of  ih« 

aidios,  which  he  mentions  in  the  same  connection  :  an<l  world  to  come' ;  whereas  the  '  tocome,'  is  enllrely  wanl- 

Farrar  himself,  in  quoting  Ovid's  expression,  "  Eternal  Ing,  and  the  .Syrlac  plainly   means -the  punlshm.-nt 

civil  wars,"  remarks  (p,  :i90,  n.),  "  So  we  say. '  It  will  l>c  that  is  fon-ver,'  using  the  game  phrase  a.-,  the  Hebrew 

an  endless  business  ; ' '  This  led  to  endless  trouble,"  etc."  -'olam,  ( ircck  eU  aiona. 

2a 


514 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXV. 


the  eternal  fire,'  v.  41,  Rev.  Ver.  (comp.  Jude 
7),  'into  the  unquenchable  fire,'  Mark  9:  43, 
Rev.  Ver.  (comp.  Matt.  3:  12),  an(?  'where 
their  worm  dieth  not,  and  the  tire  is  not 
quenched,'  Mark  9:  48.  This  last  phrase  i- 
obviously  derived  from  Isa.  66:  24,  but  it 
does  not  follow  that  our  Lord  means  by  it 
only  what  the  prophet  had  in  view,  for  it  is 
not  a  quotation,  but  a  mere  use  of  the 
prophet's  terms.  Comp.  also  John  3:  36,  Rev. 
Ver.,  "He  that  believeth  on  the  Son  hath 
eternal  life;  but  he  that  believeth  not  the 
Son  shall  not  see  life,  but  the  wrath  of  God 
abideth  on  him,"  where  the  last  phrases  dis- 
tinctly indicate  a  penalty  without  end;  also 
John  5:  28f.,  etc. 

But  certain  more  general  objections  are 
brought  against  the  obvious  meaning  of  our 
Lord's  language. 

(1)  It  is  said  (Farrar)  that  the  Jews  in  our 
Lord's  time  did  not  believe  Gehenna  to  be  a 
place  of  eternal  punishment,  and  that  his 
hearers  would  understand  him  according  to 
the  common  view,  unless  he  stated  the  con- 
trary. But  this  is  an  incorrect  statement,  see 
Wiinsche,  Edersheim  (App.  XIX.),  and  the 
Talnmdic  passages  quoted  in  Surenh.  Mish- 
na.  Vol.  2,  p.  314.  These  make  it  manifest 
that  the  great  Jewish  schools  about  the  time 
of  our  Lord  did  both  believe  in  Gehenna  as  a 
place  of  perpetual  punishment  for  some  per- 
sons. And  the  Saviour  here  teaches  that 
«uch  will  be  the  case  with  the  persons  of 
wihom  he  is  speaking.* 

(2)  A  metaphysical  objection  is  sometimes 
pressed,  to  the  effect  that  suffering  is  neces- 
sarily destructive,  and  so  the  sufferer  must 
sooner  or  later  cease  to  exist.  But  this  is  not 
proven.  And  surelj'  he  who  caused  to  exist 
could  keep  in  existence.  This  is  the  most 
probable  meaning  of  the  Saviour's  solemn 
word  (Mark9:4»),  '  Every  one  shall  be  salted 
with  fire.'  Fire  is  usually  destructive,  but 
this  unquenchable  fire  will  act  like  .alt,  pre- 
serving  instead  of  destroying.     So    Keble, 


"Christian  Year,  Fifth  Sunday  in  Lent," 
says  of  the  Jewish  race  in  their  present  con- 
dition : 

"  Salted  with  fire,  they  seem  to  show 
How  spirits  lost  in  endless  woe 

May  undecaying  live. 
Oh,  sickening  thought !  yet  hold  it  fast 
Long  as  this  glittering  world  shall  last, 

Or  sin  at  heart  survive." 

(3)  There  are  also  "moral  arguments" 
alleged  to  show  that  the  Saviour  cannot  have 
meant  to  teach  eternal  punishment,  (a)  Some 
maintain  that  it  is  inconsistent  with  the  good- 
ness of  God.  Thus  John  Foster  said  it  was 
useless  to  occupy  oneself  with  the  discussion 
of  texts,  since  the  matter  is  decided  by  a  great 
moral  argument.  But  if  we  have  a  revelation 
from  God,  it  is  certainly  our  chief  source  of 
instruction  concerning  things  unseen  and 
eternal,  and  such  lofty  superiority  to  the  dis- 
cussion of  texts  is  quite  out  of  place.  God  is 
certainly  a  better  judge  than  we  are,  as  to 
what  is  consistent  with  his  goodness.  Perhaps 
we  have  not  an  adequate  sense  of  the  evil  of 
sin,  nor  a  full  appreciation  of  the  claims  of 
justice.  Perhaps  the  humanity  for  which  our 
age  is  distinguished,  has  with  many  run  into 
a  sentimental  humanitarianism,  which  weakly 
shrinks  from  the  idea  of  suffering,  and  dot-s 
not  sympathize  with  stern  moral  indignation 
against  wrong.  Farrar  argues  that  the  doc- 
trine of  endless  punishment  has  converted 
many  men  into  infidels.  But  many  have  also 
declared  themselves  driven  off  by  the  doctrine 
of  atonement,  or  that  of  regeneration,  or  of 
the  divinity  of  Christ.  Paul  did  not  cease  to 
preach  the  cross  because  to  the  Jews  it  was  a 
stumbling-block,  (b)  Others  say  it  is  incon- 
sistent with  the  justice  of  God  to  punish  all 
alike,  when  their  actual  wrong-doing  has  been 
so  different,  and  their  advantages  likewise  so 
different.  But  it  is  expressly  taught  that  the 
eternal  punishment  will  not  be  the  same  for 
all.  "  That  each  may  receive  .  .  .  according 
to  that  he  hath  done."     (2  Cor.  5:10.)     "It 


1  The  school  of  Shammai  held  there  would  be  three 
classes  on  the  day  of  judgment,  the  perfectly  right- 
eous, the  completely  wicked,  and  an  intermediate  class. 
The  righteous  are  immediately  inscribed  in  the  book  of 
life;  the  completely  wicked  " are  inscribed  and  imme- 
diately sealed  to  Gehenna,"  according  to  (Dan.  12:2). 
The  intermediate  class  "go  down  to  Gehenna,  and 
moan,  uud  afterwards  ascend,"  according  to  (Zach.  13 : 


9).  The  school  of  Hillel  held  that  in  God's  great  mercy 
the  intermediate  class  do  not  go  down.  Of  the  thor- 
oughly wicked,  some  go  down  and  are  punished  twelve 
month',  and  are  then  destroyed.  But  heretics,  inform- 
ers, Epicureans,  persons  who  deny  the  resurrection  ol 
the  dead,  and  persons  who  cause  many  to  sin,  like  Jero- 
boam, "go  down  to  Gehenna  and  are  there  punished 
unto  ages  of  ages." 


Ch.  XXV.] 


MATTHEW. 


515 


shall  be  more,  tolerable  for  Tyre  and  Sidon,  in 
the  day  of  judgment,  than  for  you."  (Matt. 
11:  22,  Rev.  Ver.)  Especially  notice  Luke 
12:  47  f.,  Rev.  Ver.:  "And  that  servant, 
which  knew  his  Lord's  will,  and  made  not 
ready,  nor  did  according  to  his  will,  shall  be 
beaten  with  many  stripes;  but  he  that  knew 
not,  and  did  things  worthy  of  stripes,  shall  be 
beaten  with  few  stripes."  This  teaching  has 
been  in  many  cases  grievously  overlooked. 
Taking  images  literally,  men  have  fancied  that 
the  'Gehenna  of  Are'  (0:22)  will  be  the  same 
place  and  the  same  degree  of  punishment  for 
all.  But  the  above  passages  and  many  others 
show  that  there  will  be  differences.  The  de- 
grees of  punishment  must,  in  the  nature  of 
tilings,  be  exceedingly  various,  and  the  ex- 
tremes of  punishment  must  be  as  remote  as 
the  east  is  from  the  west.  All  inherited  pro- 
clivities, "taints  of  blood,"  all  difference  of 
environment,  every  privilege  and  every  dis- 
advantage, will  be  taken  into  account.  It  is 
the  Divine  Judge  that  will  apportion  punish- 
ment, with  perfect  knowledge  and  perfect  jus- 
tice and  perfect  goodness.  This  great  fact, 
that  there  will  be  degrees  in  future  punish- 
ment— as  well  as  in  future  rewards — ought  to 
be  more  prominent  in  religious  instruction. 
It  gives  some  relief  in  contemplating  the 
awful  fate  of  those  who  perish.  It  might 
save  many  from  going  away  into  Universal- 
ism  ;  and  others  from  dreaming  of  "a  second 
probation"  in  eternity,  for  which  the  Scrip- 
tures give  no  warrant  (comp.  on  12:  32) ;  and 
yet  others  from  unjustly  assailing  and  reject- 
ing, to  their  own  ruin,  the  gospel  of  salvation. 

HOMILETICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

V.  32.  Separation  of  the  righteous  and  the 
wicked.  1)  A  necessary  separation ;  (a)  neces- 
sary to  the  vindication  of  God's  justice;  (b) 
necessary  to  the  blessedness  of  the  righteous  ; 
(c)  necessary  to  the  punishment  of  the  wicked. 
2)  An  accurate  separation — no  mistakes;  self- 
delusion,  hypocrisy,  strangely  mingled  char- 
acters, nothing  will  prevent  the  assignment  of 
each  as  he  really  belongs.  3)  A  separation 
leading  to  new  companionships — the  righteous 
with  the  Saviour  and  all  the  angels — the 
wicked  with  the  devil  and  his  angels.  4)  A 
separation  without  hope  of  reunion,  v.  46 ; 


Luke  16:  26.— V.  35-40.  Charity.  1)  Varieties 
of  charity,  v.  35 ;  comp.  James  1 :  27.  2)  Reasons 
for  charity  ;  (a)  for  the  sake  of  humanity  ;  (b) 
for  Christ's  sake.  3)  Rewards  of  charity ;  (a)  the 
joy  of  doing  service  to  the  Saviour;  (b)  the 
kingdom  prepared. — V.  40.  Christ  identified 
with  Christians.  1)  Through  them  men  may 
learn  concerning  him,  and  be  convinced  as  to 
the  divinity  of  his  religion.  2)  Inward  union 
with  Christ  should  be  expressed,  and  thus 
strengthened,  by  an  outward  union  with  his 
people.  3)  Benefits  conferred  on  his  people  as 
such  (comp.  10:  42),  will  be  acknowledged 
and  rewarded  as  benefits  to  himself.  4)  Un- 
kindness  to  Christians  as  such  is  insulting  re- 
jection of  Christ.— V.  42.  Sins  of  omission. 
1)  The  neglect  of  any  duty  is  in  itself  a  great 
sin.  2)  The  omission  of  right-doing  turns  all 
our  active  powers  towards  the  commission  of 
wrong. — V.  40.  Luther:  "Whoever  then  is 
minded  to  do  works  of  compassion  to  Chris- 
tians, because  he  believes  he  has  in  Christ  a 
faithful  Redeemer  who  reconciles  him  to  God ; 
or  himself  suffers  the  opposition  of  the  devil 
and  the  world  because  of  his  faith — let  him  be 
cheerful  and  joyous,  for  he  has  already  re- 
ceived the  joyous  sentence,  '  Come,  ye 
bles.sed.' "  Calvin:  "Whenever  we  feel 
slothful  about  helping  the  wretched,  let  the 
Son  of  God  come  before  our  eyes;  to  refuse 
him  anj'thing  is  a  dreadful  sacrilege." — V.  45. 
Luther:  "What  shalt  become  of  those  who 
not  only  give  nothing  to  Christ's  poor,  but 
by  fraud  and  extortion  rob  them  of  what  they 
have?"  Calvin:  "Let  believers  be  admon- 
ished ;  for  as  we  need  promises  to  incite  us  to 
zeal  in  living  well,  so  also  threatenings  to 
keep  us  in  solicitude  and  fear." — V.  31-46. 
The  judgment  scene.  1)  The  Judge — once  a 
homeless  wanderer,  now  enthroned  in  glorj* — 
once  despised  and  rejected,  now  accepting 
or  rejecting — once  subjected  to  unrighteous 
judgment,  now  judging  the  world  in  right- 
eousness. (Acui7:3i.)  2)  The  grounds  of  this 
judgment— the  conduct  of  men  to  each 
other,  as  revealing  their  relation  to  God ; 
(a)  benefiting  Christ's  brethren  is  accepted 
by  Christ  as  personal  service  to  him ;  (b) 
neglecting  them  is  regarded  by  him  ns  per- 
BO)ial  nf>glcct.  3)  The  results  of  this  judg- 
ment— eternal  punishment— eternal  life. 


516 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXVI.I 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 


AKT>  it  came  to  pass,  when  Jesus  had  finished  all 
these  sayings,  he  said  unto  his  disciples, 

2  Ye  know  that  after  two  days  is  the  feast  of  the  pass- 
over,  and  the  Son  of  man  is  betrayed  to'be  crucified. 

3  Then  assembled  together  the  chief  priests,  and  the 
scribes,  and  the  elders  of  the  people,  unto  the  palace  of 
the  liigh  priest,  who  was  called  Caiaphas, 

4  And  consulted  that  they  might  take  Jesus  by  sub- 
tilty,  and  kill  hivi. 


1  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Jesus  had  finished  all 

2  these  words,  he  said  unto  his  disciples.  Ye  know 
that  after  two  days  the  passover  cometh,  and  the 

3  Son  of  man  is  delivered  up  to  be  crucified.  Then 
were  gathered  together  the  chief  priests,  and  the 
elders  of  the  people,  unto  the  court  of  the  high 

4  priest,  who  was  called  Caiaphas ;  and  they  took 
counsel  together  that  they  might  take  Jesus  by  sub- 


Ch.  26:  1-16.  Our  Lord's  Death  Ap- 
proaching.   The  Supper  at  Bethany. 

Found  also  in  Mark  14:  1-11;  Luke  22:  1-6; 
John  12:  2-8. 

Here  begins  what  is  commonly  called  the 
history  of  our  Lord's  Passion.  This  is  nar- 
rated by  all  four  Evangelists,  but  the  matter 
given  in  the  Fourth  Gospel  is  for  the  most 
part  distinct  from  that  given  in  the  others. — 
In  Matt.  26 :  1-46  everything  is  preparation. 
Jesus  prepares  the  disciples  for  the  speedy 
coming  of  the  long  predicted  end  (t. if.);  the 
rulers  lay  their  plans  (a  f.) ;  the  anointing  pre- 
pares Jesus  for  burial  (s-is)  ;  Judas  arranges 
to  deliver  him  up  (i+-i6)  ;  Jesus  further  pre- 
pares the  disciples,  warns  the  betrayer,  and 
institutes  a  memorial  of  himself  for  the  future 
(iT-30) ;  he  then  warns  them  of  the  approach- 
ing trial  to  their  own  fidelity  (31-35) ;  and 
finally  he  prepares  himself  by  solitary  prayer 
for  all  that  awaits  him.   (36-<6.) 

Our  Lord  has  now  ended  his  teaching  in  the 
temple,  and  his  great  eschatological  discourse 
on  the  Mount  of  Olives,  and  goes  on  to  Beth- 
any (t.  6)  to  spend  the  night  as  usual.  He 
reached  there  probably  late  on  Tuesday  after- 
noon, or  if  it  was  after  sunset,  then  in  the  first 
hour  of  Wednesday.  We  have  here  his  final 
announcement  to  the  disciples  of  his  approach- 
ing death,  with  some  account  of  the  plans  of 
the  Jewish  rulers  for  killing  him,  v.  1-5;  then 
an  account  of  the  supper  at  Bethany,  v.  6-13  ; 
and  finally  of  Judas'  arrangement  to  deliver 
Jesus  for  money,  v.  14-16. 

I.  1-5.  Our  Lord's  Death  Approach- 
ing. Mark  14:  1  f. ;  Luke  22:  1  f.  Had  fin- 
ished all  these  sayings,  meaning  the  dis- 
course of  ch.  24  and  25,  and  perhaps  also  in- 
cluding the  previous  teaching  on  that  day, 
from  21 :  23  onward.  He  said  nnto  his  dis- 
ciples, probably  all  the  Twelve,  comp.  on 
24:  3.  The  three  preceding  recorded  predic- 
tions of  his  death  are  in  16 :  21  (comp.  17:9); 


17:  22  f. ;  20:  18  f.  The  passover,  see  on 
26:  19.  Is,  cometh,  occurs,  the  word  ex- 
plained on  1 :  22,  and  very  often  used ;  the 
present  tense  signifies  that  the  passover  so  oc- 
curs according  to  the  custom  and  the  law,  as 
the  disciples  know.  After  two  days  (so 
Mark  14:  1)  must  mean  less  than  forty-eight 
hours,  or  it  would  have  been  called  three  daj's 
(comp.  on  27:  63);  the  festival  began  on 
Thursday  afternoon  with  the  slaying  of  the 
lamb.  The  words  may  be  naturally  regarded 
as  uttered  after  sunset  on  what  we  should  call 
Tuesday,  but  according  to  the  Jewish  reckon- 
ing, the  beginning  of  Wednesday.  (See 
above.)  The  Son  of  man,  the  Messiah, 
see  on  8:  20.  Is  betrayed,  strictly,  delivered 
up  (see  on  10:  4;  17 :  22j,  stated  in  the  present 
tense  because  it  is  near  and  sure  to  occur. 
His  enemies  are  planning  it,  and  he  is  pre- 
paring for  it.  Accordingly,  the  Latin  ver- 
sions translate  by  the  future,  and  so  did  all 
English  versions  before  K.  James.  This 
would  from  the  construction  of  the  sentence 
be  more  naturally  understood  as  a  part  of 
what  the  disciples  '  know,'  but  may  be  simply 
appended  to  it.  They  knew  that  he  was  to  be 
crucified,  and  at  Jerusalem  (20:i'8f.),  but  we 
are  not  .informed  of  their  knowing  that  it 
would  be  at  the  Passover.  To  be  cnicified, 
see  on  27:  35.  He  does  not  in  this  case  add 
that  he  will  be  raised  again,  as  he  did  in  all 
the  previous  announcements  of  his  death. 
Was  it  because  his  death  would  correspond 
to  the  paschal  offering  (lOor.  5:7),  or  because 
the  shadow  of  the  cross  was  now  on  him,  and 
his  thoughts  went  no  further? 

3-5.  Then  naturally,  though  not  neces.sa- 
rily  (see  on  3:  13),  means  at  the  precise  time 
of  what  precedes.  The  night  following  his 
great  series  of  discourses  in  the  temple 
(21: 23  to  23: 30),  which  SO  defeated  and  silenced 
the  Jewish  teachers,  would  have  been  the 
natural  time  for  this  plotting;    see  21:  45  f. 


Cn.  XXVI.] 


MATTHEW. 


517 


5  But  they  said,  Not  on  the  feast  day,  lest  there  be  an 
uproar  among  the  people. 

6  Now  when  Jesus  was  in  Bethany,  in  the  house  of 
Simon  the  leper, 


5  tilty,  and  kill  him.    But  they  said,  Not  during  the 
feast,  lest  a  tumult  arise  among  the  people. 

6  Now  when  Jesus  was  in  Bethany,  in  the  house  of 


The  chief  priests  and  the  elders  were  two 
of  the  classes^  constituting  the  Sanhedrin,  see 
on  26:  57;  also  as  to  the  high  priest  who 
was  called  Caiaphas.  There  is  doubt 
whether  we  should  translate  the  palace,  or 
the  court,  i.  e.,  the  inner  court  of  the  high 
priest's  official  residence,  as  in  26:  69,  Rev. 
Ver.,  or  wliether  it  means  in  general  the  resi- 
dence, palace,  as  rendered  in  this  place  by 
Grimm,  Keim,  Weiss,  and  so  in  26:58,  and 
as  often  used  in  later  Greek.  It  is  perhaps 
better,  with  Rev.  Ver.,  to  use  'court'  in  all 
three  passages,  there  being  no  substantial  dif- 
ference. And  consulted,  took  counsel  to- 
gether (comp.  Psa.  2:  2;  Acts  4:  24  ff.), 
apparently  not  in  an  official  meeting,  but 
only  an  informal  consultation.  They  had 
wi.shed  to  apprehend  him  that  morning  in  the 
temple  court,  but  "feared  the  multitudes  ' 
(•21:46,  Eev.  Ver.)  ;  they  had  sent  officers  to  seize 
him  at  the  feast  of  Tabernacles,  six  months 
before,  but  the  officers  were  awed  by  his 
teaching.  (Johni:s2,  isff.)  Now  they  propose  to 
take  Jesus  by  subtilty.  Com.  Ver.  ren- 
ders the  Greek  word  by  "guile  "  in  John  1 : 
47,  and  by  a  still  different  word  "craft"  in 
the  parallel  passage  of  Mark  14:  1.  Weiss: 
"Thus  the  rulers  were  obliged  to  resort  to 
secrecy.  It  is  not  likely  that  they  ever  thought 
of  assassination,  for  Jesus  was  so  constantly 
surrounded  by  his  disciples  that  such  a  deed 
must  have  been  discovered,  and  the  odium  of 
it  would  have  clung  to  the  supreme  Council. 
The  respect  entertained  for  him  by  his  fol- 
lowers could  only  receive  a  fatal  blow  by  a 
public  and  shameful  execution  carried 
through  with  all  the  forms  of  justice;  and  if 
he  were  once  safely  in  confinement,  ways  and 
means  for  the  execution  would  soon  be  found." 
Not  during  the  feast,  which  lasted  seven 
days.  The  rendering  of  Com.  Ver.,  on  the 
feast-day,  is  a  mistake.  The  rulers  say 
nothing  as  to  the  sacredness  of  the  occasion, 
but  are  only  concerned  lest  there  be  an  up- 
roar among  the  people.  Of  this  there  WHS 
always  special  danger  when  vast  crowds  were 
assembled  for  a  great  festival   (comp.   Mark 


12:  12);  and  Pilate  had  taught  them  that  a 
popular  tumult  could  become  with  him  the 
occasion  of  savage  cruelties.  The  subsequent 
proposition  of  Judas  (v.  i5)  led  tliem  to  change 
their  plan,  and  take  the  risk  ;  and  so  the  Sav- 
iour's death  came  at  least  a  week  earlier  than 
they  had  calculated,  and  at  the  time  he  pre- 
dicted, (y.i.) 

II.  6-13.  Thk  Suppbr  at  Bethany. 
Mark  14:  3-9;  John  12:  2-8.  Bethany,  see 
on  21 :  17.  As  to  the  time,  no  one  of  the  three 
accounts  gives  any  decisive  statement.  Mark 
agrees  with  Matt,  in  mentioning  the  supper 
immediately  after  the  consultation  of  the  au- 
thorities as  to  seizing  Jesus;  and  Mark's 
narrative  runs  on  without  any  break,  so  that 
it  would  be  very  difficult  to  remove  his  para- 
graph about  the  supper  to  an  earlier  chrono- 
logical position.  Luke  does  not  speak  of  the 
supper,  perhaps  because  he  had  described  a 
somewhat  similar  anointing  in  Galilee 
(Luke 7: 36-50),  but  he  givcs  immediately  after 
the  consultation  the  proposition  made  to  the 
authorities  by  Judas,  which  in  Matt,  and 
Mark  follows  in  the  same  order,  with  the  sup- 
per between.  On  the  other  hand,  John  men- 
tions thesupper  just  after  tellingof  our  Lord's 
arrival  at  Bethany  before  the  triumphal 
entry,  which  would  place  it  three  or  four 
days  earlier.  Either  John,  or  Matt.and  Mark, 
must  be  supposed  to  have  given  the  event  out 
of  its  chronological  position.  Several  consid- 
erations support  the  opinion  that  it  occurred 
where  Matt,  and  Mark  mention  it.  (a)  The 
rebuke  of  Jesus  to  a  suggestion  about  the  poor 
which  really  came  from  Judas  (John  !■.•:♦) 
would  be  the  natural  occasion  of  his  deciding 
to  carry  out  the  design  which  may  have  been 
previously  meditated,  viz.,  to  deliver  the 
Master  to  the  authorities;  and  this  agrees  with 
the  order  of  Matt.,  Mark,  and  Luke,  (b)  The 
outspoken  indication  that  our  Lord's  death  is 
at  hand  (»•  u),  agrees  greatly  better  with  a 
time  following  his  intimations  in  21 :  38  f.  and 
23:89,  hiseschatological  discourse  in  ch.  24 
and  26,  and  his  definite  prediction  here  in  26: 
2,  than  with  a  time  preceding  the  triumphal 


1  The  Com.  text  inserts  also  the  'scriben,'  hut  this  I  was  evidently  Interpolated  by  copyists  from  Mark  and 
term  is  wanting  in  the  earliest  MSH.  and  versions,  and  '  Luke. 


518 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXVI. 


7  There  came  unto  him  a  woman  having  an  alabaster 
box  of  very  precious  ointment,  and  poured  it  on  his 
head,  as  he  sat  at  meat.  { 


7  Simon  the  leper,  there  came  unto  him  a  woman 
having  >an  alabaster  cruse  of  exceeding  precious 
ointment,  and  she  poured  it  upon  bis  head,  as  he  sat 


1  Or,  afiask. 


entry,  (c)  This  also  better  accounts  for  the 
idea  that  the  devout  woman  was  preparing 
him  beforehand  for  burial,  (d)  We  can  see 
a  reason  for  John's  mentioning  the  supper  by 
anticipation,  viz.,  because  he  has  just  spoken 
of  Bethany,  and  he  will  speak  of  it  no  more. 
On  the  other  hand,  Mark  at  least  has  men- 
tioned Bethany  before  the  triumphal  entry 
(Mark  11:1),  and  wc  scG  no  reason  why  he 
should  have  dislocated  the  supper.  John  is 
in  general  more  chronological  than  Matt.,  as 
some  have  here  urged,  but  not  more  so  than 
Mark ;  here  Matt,  and  Mark  exactly  agree, 
and  to  a  certain  extent  Luke  also.  John's  ex- 
pressions, 12:  2,  12,  would  naturally  suggest 
that  the  supper  occurred  at  the  point  of  time 
at  which  he  speaks  of  it,  but  they  do  not  at 
all  require  that  view.  The  great  majority  of 
recent  writers  follow  John's  order,  usually 
without  giving  reasons.  On  the  other  side 
are  Kobinson,  (but  Kiddle  otherwise),  Hack- 
ett,  G.  W.  Clark,  McClellan,  Geikie,  and 
others.  It  is  impossible  to  settle  the  question, 
but  the  event  seems  to  fit  much  better  into  the 
situation  presented  by  Matt,  and  Mark.  The 
notion  of  Origen  and  Chrys.  that  there  were 
two  different  feasts  of  Bethany,  with  a  similar 
anointing  and  conversation,  only  three  or  four 
days  apart,  is  out  of  the  question.  The  as- 
sumption of  many  that  the  anointing  in  Gali- 
lee described  by  Luke  7 :  36-50  was  the  same 
as  this,  will  not  bear  investigation.  The  only 
points  of  resemblance  are  (a)  anointing  by  a 
woman,  (b)  at  a  feast,  (c)  in  the  house  of  Si- 
mon. But  Luke  is  closely  chronological  in 
ch.  5  to  9,  if  not  throughout,  and  he  places 
his  anointing  at  a  much  earlier  time,  and  not 
at  Jerusalem,  but  in  Galileo.  There  the  wo- 
man was  "a  sinner,"  here  there  is  no  such 
intimation,  and  in  John's  account  it  is  the 
beloved  Mary  of  Bethany.  There  the  host 
scorned  the  woman,  here  (John)  her  brother 
is  one  of  the  guests,  and  her  sister  assisting  the 
family.  There  we  find  nothing  whatever  an- 
swering to  the  complaint  of  the  disciples  and 
the  Saviour's  rebuke,  justification,  and  won- 
derful promise;  and  on  the  other  hand  we 
find  there  the  parable  of  the  two  debtors,  and 
a  very  diflferent  assurance  to  the  woman.  The 


distinct  allusion  to  his  death  is  possible  onl3' 
here,  and  there  is  nothing  to  account  for 
Luke's  removing  the  story  so  far  away  in  time 
and  place.  An  anointing  might  certainly 
take  place  more  than  once,  being  a  very  nat- 
ural way,  according  to  their  customs,  of  ex- 
hibiting reverential  aflTection.  (LukeT:  46.)  The 
Talmud  of  Bab.  reports  it  (Wiin.)  as  a  custom 
in  Babylon  at  a  wedding  for  women  to  pour 
fragrant  oil  upon  the  heads  of  the  rabbis  pres- 
ent. A  feast  where  the  guests  reclined  on 
couches,  was  a  very  natural  occasion  for 
anointing  the  feet.  The  name  Simon  was  very 
common.  Thus  the  differences  between  the 
two  cases  are  many  and  serious,  while  the  few 
points  of  resemblance  are  easily  accounted 
for.  This  question  is  important;  for  to  sup- 
pose that  Luke  had  transported  this  story  to 
Galilee,  and  so  long  before,  would  cut  us  oflf 
from  all  reliance  upon  his  chronological  order, 
and  to  suppose  that  the  other  Gospels  have 
transformed  the  event  in  Galilee  'into  the  so 
different  occurrence  they  here  describe,  would 
make  the  whole  history  unreliable.  As  to 
the  occurrence  of  similar  events  in  various 
cases,  comp.  above  on  13:  54;  15:  38;  21:  12. 

In  the  house  of  Simon  the  leper,  (.«o 
also  Mark),  who  is  not  otherwise  known. 
Doubtless  his  leprosy  had  been  healed  (coinp. 
on  8 :  2),  either  by  natural  causes  or  by  the 
Saviour's  supernatural  work,  and  he  merely 
retained  a  distinctive  name  he  had  long 
borne;  comp.  Matthew  the  publican,  Simon 
the  zealot.  It  would  have  been  a  violation 
of  the  law  of  Moses  for  Jesus  and  his  disciples 
to  recline  at  table  with  an  unhealed  leper. 
A  woman.  Matt,  and  Mark  give  no  name. 
John  states  that  the  woman  who  anointed  was 
Mary,  that  Lazarus  was  one  of  the  guests, 
and  Martha  "served,"  i.  e.,  took  part  with 
the  women  of  the  household  in  preparing  and 
presenting  the  food.  It  seems  clearly  not 
true,  as  even  Meyer  holds,  that  John  repre- 
sents the  supper  as  given  by  the  well-known 
familj' ;  for  in  that  case  the  expressions  used 
in  regard  to  Lazarus  and  Martha  would  be 
quite  unsuitable.  The  notion  that  Simon  was 
the  deceased  father  of  this  family  is  idle.  The 
sisters  here   present  the  same  difference  of 


Ch.  XXVI.] 


MATTHEW. 


519 


8  But  when  his  disciples  saw  i/,they  had  iudigaation, 
gayiug,  To  what  purpose  u  this  waste  ? 


8  at  meat.    But  when  the  disciples  saw  it,  they  had 
indignation,  saying,  To  what  purpose  is  this  waste? 


character  as  when  Luke  first  mentions  them 
(Luke!0:3s-«),  and  at  the  raising  of  Lazarus 
(johnch.  u),  the  one  showing  love  by  bustling 
activity,  the  other  delighting  in  unpractical 
and  delicate  manifestations  of  affection.  True 
Christian  piety  does  not  alter  one's  funda- 
mental type  of  character,  but  brings  out  its 
distinctive  excellencies.  It  has  been  conject- 
ured that  the  silence  of  Luke  about  Lazarus, 
and  of  Matt,  and  Mark  about  the  wliole 
family,  was  caused  by  the  jealous  hatred  of 
the  Jewish  rulers,  who  might  iiave  revived 
their  desire  to  put  Lazarus  to  death  (John  12 :  10), 
if  the  family  had  been  brought  to  their  notice 
in  the  oral  and  written  accounts  given  by  the 
apostles  ;  but  when  the  family  had  all  passed 
away,  and  the  Jewish  State  had  been  de- 
stroyed, John  could  speak  of  them  without 
reserve.  Comp.  on  26:51.  An  alabaster 
boX)  or  cru.ie.  Some  kinds  of  alabaster  are  of 
delicate  and  richly  varied  hues,  and  are  ex- 
tremely beautiful  and  costly. 1  The  Jews,  like 
all  the  other  civilized  ancient  peoples,  made 
much  use  of  fragrant  ointment,  often  rare 
and  of  great  price;  and  the  flasks  which 
contained  it  were  of  great  variety  as  to  mate- 
rial and  shape.  John  says  this  flask  con- 
tained 'a  pound,'  viz.,  of  twelve  ounces.  It 
was,  with  its  contents,  a  tasteful  and  costly 
object,  such  as  a  woman  would  delight  in  pos- 
sessing. Very  precioas  ointment.^  Mark 
and  John  tell  the  kind  of  ointment,  using  the 
same  terms.  But  one  of  the  terms  is  of  un- 
certain meaning,  as  stated  in  margin  Rev. 
Ver.  of  Mark  14:  3,  "  Gr.  pistic  nard,^'  pistic 
being  perhaps  a  local  name.  Others  take  it 
to  mean  genuine;  others,  liquid.  Yet  this 
uncertainty  does  not  affect  the  substantial 
meaning;  it  was  ointment  of  extraordinary 
value.  Pliny  ("  Nat.  Hist."  XII.  26)  tells  of 
many  kinds  of  precious  nard.  And  poured 
it  on  his  head.  Mark  says,  (Rev. Ver.)  'she 
brake  the  cruse  and  poured  it.'  The  flask,  or 
cruse,  probably  had  a  long  neck  and  a  small 
mouth,  to  prevent  evaporation,  and  the  pre- 
cious ointment  was  ordinarily  extracted  in 
small  quantities.     Being  a  thick,  viscid  mass. 


it  could  not  be  made  to  flow  freely  through 
the  opening,  and  so  in  her  eagerness  she 
'thoroughly  crushed'  the  cruse,  and  poured 
its  contents  lavishly  upon  one  so  honored  and 
loved.  A  thin  flask  of  delicate  alabaster 
could  be  crushed  by  the  pressure  of  the  hands. 
As  he  sat  at  meat,  lit.  as  he  reclined,  see  on 
8:  11.  John  (12  ij)  describes  it  as  a  special  en- 
tertainment in  the  Saviour's  honor :  "  So  they 
made  him  a  supper  there."  John  makes  the 
apparently  conflicting  statement  that  she 
"anointed  the  feet  of  Jesus,  and  wiped  oft* 
his  feet  with  her  hair."  To  anoint  the  head 
(Matt,  and  Mark)  was  the  more  common  ser- 
vice of  friendship  or  honor,  but  Mary  went 
further  and  anointed  even  his  feet.  It  is  plain 
from  the  Saviour's  expressions  about  the  sim- 
ilar anointing  in  Galilee  (Luke?:  «-46),  that  to 
anoint  the  feet  was  an  act  of  greater  humility 
and  profound  respect.  Observe  (Morison) 
that  Matt,  and  Mark  simply  say  'poured 
upcm  his  head,'  without  inserting  'it';  so 
there  is  no  diflSculty  in  supposing  that  she 
used  a  part  of  the  contents  otherwise,  and  even 
that  much  still  remained  in  the  crushed  flask 
(see  below  on  v.  10).  John  adds  "and  the 
house  was  filled  with  the  odor  of  the  oint- 
ment."— Upon  this  scene,  see  Tennyson,  "In 
Memoriam,"  xxxi.,  xxxii. 

8  f.  Complaint  as  to  such  waste.  His  dis- 
ciples. Mark  says  simply 'some.'  John  tells 
us  that  Judas  Iscariot  said,  "  Why  was  not 
this  ointment  sold,"  etc.  It  is  easy  to  suppose 
that  Judas  first  said  this,  and  others  of  the 
Twelve  approved  and  so  repeated  the  sa^'ing 
(Mark),  which  was  plausible,  and  might  seem 
to  them  proper  enough,  though  Judas  himself 
had  suggested  the  idea  tlirough  very  un- 
worthy motives  (John  12:  6.)  /)icA:.wn  ( Morison ) : 
"One  murmurer  may  infect  a  whole  com- 
pany." Pliny  remarks  that  indulgence  in 
costly  perfumes  is  more  luxurious  than  in 
gems  and  garments,  because  the  former  per- 
ish in  the  moment  of  using.  Most  of  the 
apostles  had  little  familiarity  with  such  costly 
luxuries,  and  the  waste  might  seem  to  them 
frightful.     The  word  'ointment'  is  not  pres- 


i.Sni'lafl  defines  a/<iAa«<ron" an  o)l-Te».>«e1  having  no  I  afterwards  iwed  to  denote  the mnterial  from  which mioh 
handles."  Some  think  (Hum|iliry)  that  the  wonl  I  fliink.i  were  nnen  made,  lleuce  the  ruudering  a  '  flask' 
meant  primarily  a  flask  without  handles  (lobe)  and  was  ;  iu  maiyin  Kcv.  Ver. 


520 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXVI. 


9  For  this  ointment  might  have  been  sold  for  luucb, 
and  given  to  the  poor. 

10  When  Jesus  understood  it,  he  said  unto  them,  Why 
trouble  ye  the  womau?  for  she  hath  wrought  a  good 
work  npon  me. 

11  For  ye  have  the  poor  always  with  you  ;  but  me  ye 
have  not  always. 

Vi  For  in  that  she  hath  poured  this  ointment  on  my 
body,  she  did  it  for  my  burial. 


9  For  this  oinlvient  might  have  been  sold  for  much, 

10  aud  given  to  the  poor.    But  Jesus  perceiving  it,  said 
unto  tlieui.  Why  trouble  ye  the  woman?  for  she 

11  hiith  wrought  a  good  work  upon  me.    For  ye  have 
the  poor  always  with  you ;  but  me  ye  have  not  al- 

12  ways.    For  in  that  she  ^  poured  this  ointment  upon 


ent  in  the  correct  Greek  text  of  v.  9,  but  is 
naturally  suggested.  Alight  have  been  sold 
lor  much.  John:  '  for  three  hundred  dena- 
ries';  Mark:  'for  above  three  hundred  dena- 
ries.'  The  Koman  denary,  about  seventeen 
cents  (see  on  18:  28),  was  the  common  price  of 
aday'slabor.  (See  on20:  2.)"  So  the  ointment 
was  worth  more  than  three  hundred  days'  Ui- 
bor,  and  omitting  Sabbath  and  feast-days,  this 
would  be  a  year  of  labor.  Pliny  (XIII,  4), 
says  that  some  unguents  cost  more  than  four 
hundred  denaries  a  pound.  We  see  at  once 
that  the  sisters  must  have  been  wealthy.  A 
poor  young  woman  could  not  have  possessed 
a  flask  of  perfumery  worth  a  man's  labor  for 
a  whole  year;  or  if  by  inheritance  or  extra- 
ordinary gift  possessing  it,  she  would  have 
had  no  right  to  expend  so  large  a  sum  in  an 
utterly  unpractical  expression  of  affection. 
The  inference  that  the^'  were  rich  is  supported 
by  the  fact  that  many  of  the  Jews  came  out 
from  Jerusalem  to  this  suburban  village  to 
comfort  the  sisters  after  their  brother's  death 
(John  11: 19);  and  it  explains  the  propriety  of 
Mary's  leaving  Martha  "to  serve  alone" 
(Luke  10: 40),  which  would  havc  been  wrong  if 
they  had  been  poor  and  unable  to  secure 
domestic  helpers.  The  Talmud  shows  (Edersh. ) 
that  wealthy  Jewish  women  often  spent  large 
sums  for  perfumery.  And  given  to  the 
poor,  without  article  (in  correct  text)  to  poor 
people.  It  has  the  article  in  v.  11.  .Jerusalem 
abounded  in  poor  people,  and  many  others 
doubtless  came  to  the  passover,  as  they  come 
now  to  Jerusalem  at  Easter,  who  were  needy 
and  dependent  on  assistance.  Within  two 
miles  of  the  supper-table  were  thou.'»ands  of 
the  really  poor. 

10-12.  Jesus  rebukes  the  censurers,  and 
vindicates  the  loving  act.  When  Jesus 
understood  it,  or,  perceiving  it,  exactly  as 
in  16:  8,  Kev.  Ver.  The  complaints  had 
doubtless  circulated  in  a  low  tone.  The  Com. 
Ver.  has  given  an  unfortunate  rendering,  for 
it  would  suggest  that  a  considerable  time  in- 


tervened, and  the  Greek  does  not.  Why 
trouble  ye  the  woman?  The  Greek  ex- 
pression is  quite  strong;  see  in  Mark  also, 
and  in  Luke  11:  7;  Gal.  6:  17.  She  hath 
wrought  a  good  work  upon  me,  is  pres- 
ently explained  by  saying,  she  did  it,  etc., 
(as  in  Rev.  Ver.)  did  it  to  prepare  me  for 
burial.  So  Mark,  Rev.  Ver.:  "She  hath 
anointed  my  body  aforehand  for  the  burying.' 
John  (>2:7),  Rev.  Ver.,  abcording  to  the  cor- 
rect text  and  most  natural  translation,  has, 
'Suffer  her  to  keep  it  against  the  day  of  my 
burying,'  which  may  mean  that  she  had  been 
interrupted,  and  much  of  the  costly  ointment 
still  remained  in  the  broken  flask.  See  an- 
other possible  translation  in  margin  of  Rev. 
Ver.  of  John.  Ye  have  the  poor  always 
with  you.  And  Mark  adds,  'and  whenso- 
ever ye  will  ye  may  do  them  good.'  (Comp. 
Deut.  15:  11. )  But  me  ye  have  not  always, 
i.  e.,  in  bodily  presence  ;  he  would  be  with  his 
people  spiritually.  (•28:20,- John  u:21-m.)  Extra- 
ordinarj'  occasions  may  justify  extraordinary 
expenditures.  Wc  may  suppose  (Keim)  that 
at  an  earlier  period  he  would  have  declined 
the  proposed  service,  and  directed  attention  to 
the  poor.  But  openings  for  ministry  to  the 
poor  would  never  cease;  while  their  opportu- 
nity for  personal  services  to  him  would  soon 
bo  at  an  end.  And  this  apparently  useless 
and  wasteful  service  possessed  in  fact  a  special 
significance  and  timeliness  in  connection  with 
that  foreseen  death  which  was  now  so  near. 
(v.  2.)  It  was  an  interesting,  gratifying,  com- 
forting token  of  affection,  as  a  sort  of  anticipa- 
tion (Mark)  of  the  usual  anointing  when  pre- 
paring a  body  for  interment;  comp.  the  large 
quantity  of  costly  spices  brought  by  Nicode- 
mus  for  the  actual  interment.  (John i9:. 39.)  To 
receive  this  loving  preparation  might  help  the 
Saviour  to  look  forward  with  less  pain  to  the 
suffering  and  shame  which  awaited  him.  It 
is  not  nQcessar3'  to  conclude  that  Mary  so 
designed  her  action  ;  but  it  is  very  natural  to 
suppose  she  did,  as  they  were  all  thinking 


Ch.  XXVI.] 


MATTHEW. 


521 


13  Verily  I  say  unto  you.  Wheresoever  this  gospel 
shall  be  preached  in  the  whole  world,  there  shall  also 
this,  that  this  womaa  hath  done,  be  told  for  a  memorial 
of  her. 

14  Then  one  of  the  twelve,  called  Judas  Iscariot,  went 
uuto  the  chief  priests, 


13  my  body,  she  did  it  to  prepare  me  for  burial.  Verily 
I  say  uuto  you,  Wheresoever  ithis  gospel  shall  be 
preached  in  the  whole  world,  that  also  which  this 
woman  hath  done  shall  l>e  spoken  of  for  a  memorial 
of  her. 

14  Then  one  of  the  twelve,  who  was  called  Judas  !»• 


1  Or,  tkt*»  good  tidingn, 


much  of  his  intimations  that  he  would  soon 
die;  at  any  rate,  he  so  accepted  it,  and  that 
must  have  been  Hn  unspeakable  joy  to  her. 
''She  hath  done  what  she  could"  (M»rki4:8); 
and  she  finds  that  she  had  really  done  some- 
thing extremely  grateful  to  the  Master.  She 
could  not  prevent  his  approaching  death,  but 
she  could  manifest  devoted  love  for  him. 
Feminine  intuitions,  kindled  by  intense  affec- 
tion, might  pierce  through  all  preconceptions 
and  accept  it  as  a  fearful  reality  that  the  Mes- 
siah was  to  be  literally  killed.  This  came  as  a 
new  and  startling  announcement  to  her,  with- 
out time  for  the  mystical  interpretations  which 
the  disciples  appear  to  have  placed  upon  it. 
(See  on  16:  21.)  Whatever  fitly  manifests, 
and  by  reaction  strengthens,  devout  afl'ection 
— true  religious  sentiment — is  in  itself  accept- 
able toCiirist  and  useful  to  us;  for  these  sen- 
timents are  a  necessary  part  of  developed  and 
symmetrical  Christian  character.  Nor  should 
they  be  hastily  condemned  as  unpractical, 
for  they  stimulate  to  corresponding  action. 
This  unpractical  gift,  and  the  Saviour's  com- 
mendation of  it,  have  themselves  caused 
richer  gifts  to  the  poor  in  all  ages  than  the 
whole  wealth  of  Jerusalem  would  have 
equaled.  Twice  did  Mary  incur  human  cen- 
sure, and  yet,  for  the  same  act,  received  divine 
commendation.  (Luke lo: 40.)  Poured,  in  v.  12, 
is  not  the  ordinary  word  of  v.  7,  but  means 
threw,  cast,  flung,  a  profuse  and  lavish  pouring. 
13.  This  gospel,  the  good  news  of  the  Mes- 
sianic reign,  as  in  24:  14;  and  comp.  11:  5. 
In  the  whole  world.  He  here  anticipates 
the  universal  spread  of  his  teachings  and  influ- 
ence. (Comp.  28:  19.  ^  This  very  remarkable 
promise  concerning  the  woman  was  already  in 
process  of  fulfillment  when  John  wrote  his 
Gospel,  probably  sixty  years  afterwards;  fi>r 
he  distinguishes  this  Bethany  from  the  one 
beyond  Jordan  (Johni:28)  by  calling  it  {J«*>« 
11:  If)  the  village  of  Mary  (placed  first)  and 
her  sister  Martha;  and  then  makes  all  definite 
and  clear  by  adding,  "it  was  that  Mary  who 
anointed  the  Lord  with  ointment."  etc.  He 
has  not  yet  in  his  Gospel  told  the  story  of  the 


anointing,  but  he  assumes  that  it  is  familiar 
to  all  Christian  readers.  Chrys. :  "For  lol 
what  he  said  is  come  to  pass,  and  to  what- 
ever part  of  the  earth  thou  mayest  go,  thou 
wilt  see  her  celebrated."  Alexander:  "One 
of  the  most  glorious  distinctions  ever  conferred 
upon  a  mortal,  a  distinction  which  instead  i>f 
fading  with  the  lapse  of  time,  grows  daily 
brighter,  and  to  which,  as  one  has  well  said, 
even  unfriendly  critics  and  interpreters  con- 
tribute, as  it  were,  against  their  will  and  in  the 
very  act  of  doubt  or  censure." 

III.  14-16.  Judas  Proposes  to  Deliver 
Jesus  to  the  Chief  Priests.  Mark  14: 
10  f. ;  Luke  22:  3-6.  Then  does  not  neces- 
sarily (see  on  3:  13),  but  does  naturally  in- 
dicate that  what  follows  in  the  narrative  oc- 
curred immediately  after  what  precedes. 
Mark  and  Luke  have  simply  said  '  and,'  but 
place  the  matter  in  the  same  connection  as 
Matthew.  The  rebuke  Judas  had  received 
(see  on  v.  6),  may  have  brought  to  a  crisis 
those  wrong  feelings  towards  the  Master 
which  he  had  more  or  less  consciously  enter- 
tained for  a  long  time.  (John6:70f.)  Even 
after  this,  when  he  had  made  the  bargain,  and 
was  awaiting  an  opportunity,  Satan  took  still 
stronger  possession  of  him  upon  its  becoming 
manifest  that  Jesus  understood  him.  (Johni8:J7.) 
Judas  Iscariot,  see  on  10 :  4  and  27  :  3.  One 
of  the  twelve  is  a  phrase  given  by  all  four 
Evangelists,  doubtless  because  this  fact  showed 
how  peculiar  was  his  wickedness.  The  chief 
priests,  see  on  2:  4.  What  will  you,  etc. 
What  are  you  willing  to  give  me,  is  the  exact 
translation.  This  was  expressed  in  old  Eng- 
lish by  '  what  will  you  give  me,'  but  that  is 
now  understood  as  a  mere  future  tense,  as  in 
the  following  words.  And  I  will  deliver 
him,  the  Greek  making  the  'I'  emphatic. 
He  knows  they  wish  to  get  Jesus  in  their 
hands,  and  he  will  gratify  them  if  they  are 
willing  to  give  enough.  'Deliver'  is  here 
correctly  translated  in  Com.  Ver  (sec  on  10: 
4;  17:  22),  but  in  v.  10,  and  in  Mark  and 
Luke,  they  translated  it  'betray.'  with  tliat 
passion  for  variety  in  rendering  which  marks 


522 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXVI. 


15  And  said  unto  them.  What  will  ye  give  nie,  and  I 
will  deliver  him  unto  you?  And  they  covenanted  with 
hiiu  for  thirty  pieces  of  silver. 

16  And  from  that  time  he  sought  opportunity  to  be- 
tray him. 


15  cariot,  went  unto  the  chief  priests,  and  said,  What 
are  ye  willing  to  give  uie,  and  I  will  deliver  him 
unto  you?     And   they   weighed  unto   him   thirty 

16  pieces  of  silver.  And  from  that  time  he  sought  op- 
portunity to  deliver  him  unto  them. 


tlie  early  English  versions.  Comp.  on  25:  46. 
They  covenanted  with  him.  Rev.  Ver., 
■weighed  unto  him.  The  word  means  literally 
placed  {in  the  balance),  ivnd  is  used  for  weigh- 
ing money  in  the  classics  and  the  Septuagint, 
e.  g.,  Zech.  11:  12,  "So  they  weighed  for  my 
hire  thirty  pieces  of  silver."  The  word  in 
Matt,  might  be  translated,  'appointed  unto 
him,'  or  'covenanted  witii  him,'  and  these 
were  preferred  by  the  early  English  versions 
because  Mark  says  they  '  promised,'  Luke 
'  covenanted,'  to  give  him  money.  But  Mark 
and  Luke  use  other  terms,  and  there  can  be 
little  doubt  that  Matt,  is  referring  to  Zecha- 
riah.  Coins  had  certainly  been  in  use  from 
the  time  of  Simon  the  Maecabee,  b.  c.  140 
(1  Maoc.  13:6) ;  but  it  may  have  been  still  not 
uncommon  to  weigh  the  coins,  being  of  vari- 
able value,  and  this  especially  on  the  part 
of  religious  functionaries,  who  usually  retain 
old  customs.  Matthew's  expression  does  not 
require  us  to  understand  that  they  paid  it  at 
the  moment  of  his  proposition,  but  that  they 
paid  it  in  advance.  Some  have  plausibly 
suggested  that  this  sum  was  only  earnest 
money,  and  more  was  to  follow.  A  traitor  is 
seldom  trusted  with  his  entire  reward  in  ad- 
vance. The  thirty  pieces  of  silver  were 
probably  shekels,  worth  in  our  Lord's  time 
something  over  sixty  cents,  comp.  on  17:  24. 
Thirty  shekels  was  appointed  by  the  law  as 
damages  for  the  killing  of  a  slave  by  an  ox. 
(Exod.  iiisa.)  He  sought  opportunity.  Luke 
adds  "without  a  throng."  This  plan  Judas 
skillfully  carried  out,  finding  him  at  night, 
and  without  the  city.  Jerome:  "Unhappy 
Judas  I  the  loss  he  thought  he  had  incurred 
by  the  pouring  out  of  the  ointment,  he  wishes 
to  make  up  by  selling  his  Master." 

HOMILETICAL  AND  PRACTICAL. 

Ch.  26.  1.  Henrt:  "So  Christ's  witnesses 
die  not  till  they  have  finished  their  testimony." 
V.  8,  9.  Edersh.  :  "It  is  ever  the  light 
which  throws  the  shadows  of  objects — and  this 
deed  of  faith  and  love  now  oast  the  features  of 
Judas  in  gigantic  dark  outlines  against  the 
scene.  He  knew  the  nearness  of  Christ's  be- 
trayal, and  hated  the  more;  she  knew  of  the 


nearness  of  his  precious  death,  and  loved  the 
more."  Henry:  "It  is  no  new  thing  forbad 
affections  to  shelter  themselves  under  specious 
covers;  for  people  to  shift  off  works  of  piety 
under  color  of  works  of  charity." 

V.  10.  "Why  trouble  ye  the  woman?"  1) 
A  woman's  love  will  sometimes  be  wiser  than 
a  man's  judgment.  2)  A  devout  heart  will 
often  build  better  than  it  knew.  3)  An  act 
plausibly  censured  at  the  moment  may  be 
destined  to  everlasting  honor.  Henry:  "It 
is  a  great  trouble  to  good  people  to  have  their 
good  works  censured  and  misconstrued;  and 
it  is  a  thing  that  Jesus  Christ  takes  very  ill."  — 
A  good  work.  1)  A  good  work,  though  due 
to  the  unaided  promptings  of  a  loving  heart. 
2)  A  good  work,  though  severely  censured  by 
some  good  men.  3)  A  good  work,  though 
wholly  unpractical.  4)  A  good  work,  though 
under  ordinaiy  circumstances  it  would  have 
been  wasteful  and  wrong.  5)  A  good  work, 
which  gained  the  Saviour's  approval,  and  will 
be  honored  for  evermore. — It  has  been  re- 
marked that  the  only  two  persons  Jesus  is 
recorded  as  commending  for  th^ir  gifts  \v9re 
women,  one  poor,  the  other  rich. — V.  11. 
Jesus  and  the  poor.  1)  By  helping  the  poor 
we  may  always  honor  Jesus.  2)  By  honoring 
Jesus  we  do  always  help  the  poor. — Charity 
to  the  poor.  1)  Charity  is  not  our  only  dutj'. 
2)  Charity  must  not  be  made  an  excuse  for 
neglecting  other  duties.  3)  Charity  is  greatly 
promoted  by  loving  devotion  to  Jesus. — V. 
14-16.  Chrys.  :  "Hearken,  all  ye  covetous, 
and  beware  of\  the  calamity.  For  if  he  that 
was  with  Christ,  and  wrought  signs,  and  had 
the  benefit  of  so  much  instruction,  because  he 
was  not  freed  from  this  disease,  was  sunk  into 
such  a  gulf;  how  much  more  sr.all  ye,  who  do 
not  so  much  as  listen  to  the  Scriptures,  who 
are  constantly  riveted  to  the  things  present, 
become  an  easy  prey  to  this  calamitj',  unless 
ye  have  the  advantage  of  constant  care." — 
V.  15.  Bishop  Hall:  "If  Judas  were 
Christ's  domestic,  yet  he  was  Mammons 
servant;  he  could  not  but  hate  the  Master 
whom  he  formerly  professed  to  serve,  while 
he  reallj'  served  that  master  which  he  pro- 
fessed to  hate."     Henry:  " The  greater  pro- 


Ch.  XXVI.] 


MATTHEW. 


523 


17  Now  the  first  day  of  the  feast  of  unleavened  bread 
the  disciples  came  to  Jesus,  saying  unto  him,  Where 
Wilt  thou  that  we  prepare  lor  thee  to  eat  tlie  passover? 

18  And  he  said,  Go  into  the  ci«y  to  such  a  man,  and 
say  unto  him,  The  Master  saith,  My  time  is  at  hand;  I 
will  keep  the  passover  at  thy  house  with  my  disciples. 


17  Kow  on  the  first  day  of  unleavened  bread  the  dis- 
ciples came  to  Jesus,  sayiug,  Where  wilt  thou  that 

18  we  make  ready  lor  thee  to  eat  the  passover?  Aud 
he  said, Go  iuto  the  city  to  such  a  man,  and  say  unto 
him,  The  >  Master  saith,  My  time  is  at  hand :  I  keep 


1  Or,  Teaehtr. 


fession  men  make  of  religion,  and  the  more 
they  are  employed  in  the  study  and  service  of 
it,  the  greater  opportunity  they  have  of  doing 
mischief,  if  their  hearts  be  not  right  with 
God." 

17-35.  The  Passover  Meal  and  the 
Lord's  Supper. 

Found  also  in  Mark  14:  12-31  ;  Luke  22: 
7-39;  comp.  John  13:  1  to  18:  1.  Mark  is 
here  quite  closely  parallel  to  Matthew ;  Luke 
adds  a  good  deal.  John  introduces  the  feet- 
washing,  and  the  great  farewell  discourse, 
which  belong  to  this  same  evening,  and  pre- 
sent several  not  very  distinct  points  of  contact 
with  the  narrative  of  the  other  Gospels.  Our 
Lord  seems  to  have  remained  in  seclusion  at 
Bethany  from  Tuesday  evening  (beginning 
of  the  Jewish  "Wednesday)  to  Thursday  after- 
noon ;  comp.  on  26:  1.  Judas  would  natu- 
rally go  the  morning  after  the  supper  at 
Bethany  to  Jerusalem,  and  make  his  arrange- 
ment with  the  rulers.  Jesus  stays  away  from 
Jerusalem  till  his  "hour  is  come."  It  was 
proper  for  every  devout  Jew  to  eat  the  pass- 
over,  and  Jesus  was  careful  to  "  fulfil  all  right- 
eousness" (see  on  3:  15).  So  he  returned  to 
Jerusalem  for  this  purpose,  though  foreseeing 
the  consequences  (v.  si  r.;  joimis:  i) ;  and  he  sent 
two  disciples  in  advance  to  prepare  for  the 
feast.  This  section  may  be  divided  into  v. 
17-19,  20-2;3,  26-30,  31-35. 

I.  17-19.  The  Disciples  Prepare  for 
the  Passover  Meal.  Mark  14:  12-16;  22: 
7-13.  On  the  first  day  of  unleavened 
bread.  Mark  adds.  Rev.  Ver.,  'when  they 
sacrificed  the  passover,'  which  .Matthew's 
Jewish  readers  would  not  need  to  be  told. 
The  law  required  the  Jews  to  begin  to  use  un- 
leavened bread  with  the  fifteenth  day  of  the 
month  Nisan.  (Lev.  23:6:  Num. 28: 17.)  But  Exod. 
12:  18  suggested  that  all  leavened  bread  be  re- 
moved in  the  afternoon  of  the  fourteenth  day; 
and  the  Talmud  (Lightf.  on  Mark  14  :  12)  says 
they  removed  it  at  noon.  Accordingly  Joso- 
phus  in  one  place  puts  the  beginning  of  the, 
feast  on  the  fifteenth  ("Ant.,"  3,  10,  5),  and 
in  another  place  on  the  fourteenth  ("War," 


5,  3,  1),  and  elsewhere  says  ("Ant.,"  2,  15,1), 
"  We  keep  a  feast  for  eight  days,  which  is 
called  tiie  feast  of  unleavened  bread."  With 
all  tliis  Mark  agrees,  and  Luke  is  equivalent. 
In  Exod.  12:  6  ;  Num.  9:  3,  they  were  directed 
to  Ai^^  the  lamb  '  between  the  two  evenings' 
(Rev.  Ver.  margin',  wiiich  the  Jews  of  dur 
Lords  time  understood  to  mean  the  middle  of 
the  afternoon,  beginning  at  3  p.  M. ;  and  tiiey 
would  continue  killing  iambs  till  the  going 
down  of  the  sun.  (oeut.  16:  6.)  Josepiius 
("  War,"  6,  9,  3)  says,  "  they  slay  the  sacrifice 
from  the  ninth  hour  to  the  eleventh,"  from  3 
to  5  p.  M.,and  menticms  the  number  of  lambs 
slain  on  some  occasions  as  256,500.  After  the 
fifteenth  day  began,  i.  e..  after  sunset,  they  ate 
the  paschal  lamb.  (kxou.  u-.s-,  Num.  33: 3.)  So  the 
disciples  probably  went  to  the  cit3' about  noon, 
to  procure  a  room,  take  a  lamb  to  the  temple 
court  and  s!ay  it,  roast  the  flesh  with  bitter 
herbs  (Kxod.  12:  sr),  and  provide  bread  and  wine 
for  the  meal.  The  disciples  came  to  Jesns^ 
at  Bethany.  Prepare,  or,  make  ready  same 
Greek  word  as  in  v.  19.  It  may  very  well  be 
that  the  lamb  had  been  procured  the  day  be- 
fore, as  was  common;  what  they  inquire 
about  is  the  place.  And  he  said.  Go  into 
the  city.  Mark  says  (Rev.  Ver.) '  he  sendeth 
two  of  his  disciples  and  saith  unto  them.  Go 
into  the  city' ;  and  Luke,  '  he  sent  Peter  and 
John,'  who  from  this  time  are  frequently 
mentioned  together  (John  is:  24;  i8:i5  r.;  to-.  2  jr.; 
Act»s:  I;  8:  u.  eus.) ;  even  as  they  and  James  were 
the  only  disciples  accompanying  the  Master 
on  several  occasions.  To  snch  a  man. 
This  may  mean  that  Jesus  indicated  who  tho 
man  was,  but  Matthew  does  not  give  the 
name.  Some  however  suppose  that  Jesus 
gave  no  name  because  he  did  not  wish  Judas 
to  learn  the  place  in  advance,  being  aware  of 
liis  treacherous  designs,  and  desiring  to  re- 
main uninterrupted  till  a  later  hour.  With 
this  agrees  the  fact  that  Mark  and  Luke  tell 
how  they  were  to  find  the  person  in  question. 
In  the  city  they  will  meet  a  man  bearing  a 
pitcher  of  water,  and  following  him  home 
they  must  deliver  a  message  to  tho  goodman 


624 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXVI. 


19  And  the  dii^ciples  did  as  Jesus    had   appointed  | 
thdiii ;  and  they  luaue  ready  the  possover.  | 


19  tlie  passover  at  thy  house  with  niv  disciples.    And 
the  disciples  did  as  Jesus  appointed  them ;  and  they 


of  the  house,  substutitially  the  same  as  that 
reforded  by  Matthew.  All  this  would  seem 
to  involve  supeniatunil  knowledge,  like  the 
prophetic  direction  in  1  Sam.  10:  1-8;  but 
some  think  that  Jesus  had  arranged  with  the 
householder  for  such  signs.  The  Master 
saithf  shows  that  this  man  would  prove  to  be 
a  disciple  of  Jesus,  if  not  in  the  full  sense,  yet 
so  far  that  he  would  gladly  render  him  this 
service ;  comp.  Nicodemus  and  Joseph  of 
Arimuthea,  and  comp.  above  on  21 :  3.  '  Mas- 
ter' is  didnsknlos,  'teacher,'  see  on  8:  19.  My 
time^  kairos,  set  time,  special  time.  Season, 
see  on  11 :  25,  meaning  here  the  time  of  his 
death;  comp.  the  use  of  'hour'  in  John  12: 
23;  17  :  1,  and  often.  I  will  keep,  or,  I  keep, 
the  present  tense '  indicating  an  intention 
about  to  be  carried  out.  At  thy  house,  has 
in  the  Greek  an  emphatic  position.  The 
householders  at  Jerusalem  were  accustomed 
to  receive  into  their  houses  without  charge 
such  family  groups  as  wished  to  eat  the  pas- 
chal lamb  (Edersh.  and  others) ;  but  they 
would  of  course  exercise  some  choice.  In 
Mark  our  Lord  adds,  "And  he  will  himself 
show  you  a  large  upper  room  furnished  and 
ready"  ;  the  householder  would  show  respect 
by  going  himself,  the  room  would  be  large, 
and  in  all  respects  prepared  for  use.  It  is 
still  common  in  Oriental  houses  to  have  the 
principal  rooms  in  the  second  story  (comp. 
Acts  1 :  13).  And  they  made  ready  the 
passover,  as  described  above;  and  at  even 
Jesus  came  and  ate  it.  (t.  w.)  So  also  Mark 
and  Luke. 

Thus  Matt.,  Mark,  and  Luke  distinctly  state 
that  Jesus  ate  the  paschal  meal,  and  that 
would  place  his  death  at  3  p.  m.  on  the  fif- 
teenth of  Nisan.  But  there  are  several  pas- 
sages in  John  which  at  first  seem  inconsistent 
with  the  idea  that  he  ate  the  paschal  meal. 
If  John  really  meant  that  he  did  not,  then 
there  is  a  hopeless  conflict  between  him  and 
the  other  three  Evangelists,  one  side  or  the 
other  being  in  error;  unless,  indeed,  we  adopt 
the  highly  artificial  supposition  of  some 
writers  that  Matt.,  Mark,  and  Luke  refer  to 


an  anticipation  of  the  paschal  meal  twenty- 
four  hours  in  advance.  But  this  we  cannot  do ; 
for  besides  the  difliculty  of  supposing  that  the 
Saviour  would  thus  violate  the  law  in  the  act 
of  observing  it,  who  can  believe  that  the 
temple  authorities  would  have  knowingly  al- 
lowed the  slaying  of  the  paschal  lamb  before 
the  time,  or  that  Peter  and  John  would  have 
slain  it  clandestinely?  A  number  of  recent 
writerscontendorassume  that  John's  language 
does  forbid  our  believing  tl>at  Jesus  ate  the  pass- 
sover.  Most  of  these  writers,  it  should  be  ob- 
served, are  quite  willing  to  recognize  errors  in 
the  Scriptures  as  to  matters  of  fact;  and  some  of 
tiiem  are  anxious  to  point  out  such  errors  upon 
every  possible  occasion.  Others  of  us  are  very 
unwilling  to  admit  the  existence  of  sucli 
errors,  and  earnestly  strive  to  remove  the  ap- 
pearance of  contradiction  in  the  sacred 
writers,  whenever  it  can  be  fairly  done. 
Neither  side  in  such  a  case  can  claim  superior 
exemption  from  the  influence  of  theoretical 
prepossessions ;  and  it  becomes  every  writer  to 
state  his  views  with  due  respect  for  those  who 
diflTer  with  him. 

There  are  five  passages  of  the  Fourth  Gos- 
pel which  have  been  regarded  as  showing  that 
Jesus  did  not  eat  the  passover.  (Comp.  espe- 
cially Robinson's  "Harm., ''Clark's  " Harm.," 
Andrews,  Milligan.)  Do  these  passages  really 
thus  teach?  (1)  John  13:  l,Rev.Ver.,"  Before 
the  feast  of  the  passover,  when  Jesus  kne  w, "  etc. 
This  is  held  to  show  that  the  supper  described 
in  John  13  occurred  before  the  paschal  supper, 
and  consequently  twenty-four  hours  before  it. 
But  observe  that  13  :  2  is  not  '  supper  being 
ended,'  but  (in  the  correct  text)  'during  sup- 
per.' Then  may  we  not  understand  that 
'before  the  feast'  refers  to  the  feet-washing, 
which  occirrred  after  they  had  reclined  for 
supper,  but  before  they  actually  partook  of 
the  feast?  Is  not  this  more  probable  than 
that  Matt.,  Mark,  and  Luke  are  in  downright 
error?  (2)  John  13:27,  "That  thou  doest, 
do  quickly."  It  is  added  that  some  thought 
this  meant,  "Buy  what  things  we  have  need 
of  for  the  feast,"  Rev.  Ver.     But  if  the  pas- 


1  This  is  one  of  the  cases  as  to  which  it  nsed  to  be  said 
that  in  New  Test.  Greek,  the  present  tense  is  used  for 
the  future.    Coiup.  26 ;  2, 45 ;  John  10 :  32 ;  11 :  47.    Ac- 


cordingly, Tyndale  and  followers  here  render  '  I  will 
keep  !  *  But  no  one  now  talks  about  present  for  future. 
See  Winer  and  Buttmann. 


Ch.  XXVL] 


MATTHEW. 


525 


211  Now  when  the  even  was  come,  he  sat  down  with  j  20  made  leady  thepassover.    Now  when  even  was  come, 
the  twelve.  |       he  was  sitting  at  meat  with  the  twelve  ^disciples. 


1  Manr  aaiborlciet,  aonie  ancient,  omit  diteiplet. 


chal  feast  was  twenty-four  hours  off,  what 
possible  propriety  would  there  have  been  in 
hastening  out  that  night  to  make  purchases 
for  it?  It  is  much  easier  to  suppose  that  they 
thought  of  hurried  purchases  to  complete  the 
feast  then  in  progress.  But  the  new  difficulty 
arises  that  upon  this  supposition  there  had 
already  begun  the  first  day  of  the  paschal 
festival,  and  this  being  a  holy  day,  purchases 
would  not  have  been  lawful.  Now  the 
Mishna,  "Sabbath,"  23,  2,  says  that  if  the 
day  before  the  passover  be  a  Sabbath,  one 
may  buy  a  lamb,  even  leaving  his  garment  in 
pledge,  and  then  settle  after  the  feast.  From 
this  Edersh.  and  others  fairly  argue  that  if  a 
purchase  of  something  needed  for  the  feast 
could  be  made  even  on  the  Sabbath,  much 
more  on  tlie  first  day  of  a  feast  when  not  a 
Sabbath.  (3)  John  18 :  28,  Kev.  Ver.,  "  They 
themselves  entered  not  into  the  Praetorium 
(palace),  that  they  might  not  be  defiled,  but 
might  eat  the  passover."  This  seems  at  the 
first  glance  distinctly  to  show  that  the  paschal 
supper  was  yet  to  come  when  our  Lord  was 
before  Pilate.  But  in  fact  the  passage  fur- 
nishes an  argument  in  the  other  direction. 
If  this  had  been  the  morning  before  the  pas- 
chal meal,  then  the  defilement  incurred  by 
entering  a  Gentile's  dwelling  could  have 
been  removed  at  sunset  by  washing  with 
water.  (SeeLev. i5:5-ii,i6-i8;  wio-t.)  Edersh.  :  "In 
fact,  it  is  distinctly  laid  down  (Jerus.  Talmud, 
Pes.  92  b.)  tliat  the  '  bathed  of  the  day,'  that 
is,  he  who  had  been  impure  for  the  day  and 
had  bathed  in  the  evening,  did  partake  of  the 
Paschal  Supper,  and  an  instance  is  related 
{Pes.  36  b.),  when  some  soldiers  who  had 
guarded  the  gates  of  Jerusalem  'immersed,' 
and  ate  the  Paschal  Lamb."  It  is  not  neces- 
sary to  explain  with  certainty  the  meaning 
of  the  phrase  '  eat  the  passover'  as  here  em- 
ployed. It  may  be  a  general  expression  for 
observing  the  paschal  festival,  or  may  refer  to 
the  Chagigah,  or  feast-oflfering  which  was 
offered  on  the  morning  of  the  first  paschal 
day ;  and  various  other  suggested  meanings 
are  possible.  If  the  passover  festival  had 
already  commenced,  the  rulers  would  wish 
not  to  be  cut  off  from  its  privileges  during  the 
day  upon  which  they  had  entered.     At  any 


rate  this  passage  as  a  whole  agrees  best  with 
the  idea  that  the  paschal  meal  was  not  still  in 
the  future.  (4)  John  19 :  14,  "  Now  it  was  the 
Preparation  of  the  passover."  This  was  the 
day  of  the  crucifixion,  and  many  argue  that 
the  day  of  the  crucifixion  was  not  on  the  first 
daj'  of  the  paschal  festival,  as  Matt.,  Mark, 
and  Luke  represent,  but  on  the  day  of  prepara- 
tion for  the  passover.  But  "  the  Preparation  " 
was  already  an  established  phrase  for  "the  day 
before  the  Sabbath,"  as  distinctly  shown  by 
Mark  15:42,  Matt.  27:62;  and  the  Greek 
term  here  employed  has  from  an  early  period 
been  the  regular  word  for  Friday  in  the 
whole  Greek  speaking  world.  This  passage 
of  John  may  therefore  easily*  mean  that  it  was 
the  Sabbath  eve,  or  Friday,  of  the  passover 
week  ;  and  observe  that  John  himself  so  uses 
the  term  Preparation  in  19:  31,  42.  (6) 
J<)hn  19:  31,  "For  that  Sablmth  day  was  a 
high  day,"  has  been  supposed  to  mean  that 
the  first  day  of  the  passover  festival  on  that 
occasion  coincided  with  the  weekly  Sabbath, 
But  the  weekly  Sabbath  during  the  great  an- 
nual festival  would  have  been  without  that 
a  notable  occasion,  "  a  great  daj'." 

It  thus  appears  that  no  one  of  these  five  pas- 
sages at  all  requires  us  to  understand  that 
Jesus  did  not  eat  the  paschal  supper  on  the 
night  before  his  crucifixion,  and  the  second 
and  third  distinctly  tend  in  the  contrary  di- 
rection. Grant  that  the  first  impression  pro- 
duced by  reading  these  passages  in  John 
would  be  as  claimed  ;  grant  that  some  of  the 
explanations  above  given  are  not  obvioils  nor 
certainly  correct, — yet  how  can  one  say  that 
the  total  result  is  to  furnish  suflUcient  ground 
for  accusing  the  other  three  Gospels  of  uniting 
in  a  definite  error?  'Among  the  writers  who 
hold  that  John's  expressions  do  not  contra- 
dict the  express  statements  of  the  other  Gos- 
pels are  Robinson,  Andrews,  Wieseler,  Tho- 
luck,  Ebrard,  Clark,  Milligan,  Plumptre, 
McClcllan,  Schaff,  Morison,  Edershein>.  On 
the  other  side  are  Nennder,  Ewald,  Bleek, 
Meyer,  Ellicott,  Alford,  Pressensd,  Godet, 
Farrar,  Westcott,  Weiss. 

II.  20-35.  Whilk  Eatino  the  Pass- 
over,   JksITS    DKCt.ARKS   THAT   OnK   OF  THK 

Twelve   will   Deliver   Him   Up.     Mark 


526 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXVI. 


21  And  ns  they  did  eat,  lie  said,  Verily  I  say  unto  you,    21  and  as  they  were  eating,  he  said.  Verily  I  say  uuto 
that  one  of  yoii  "shsUl  betray  lue. 


14:  18-21;  Luke  22:21-23;  John  13:  21-30. 
When  the  even  was  come,  after  sunset  (see 
on  V.  17);  no  particulur  hour  of  the  evening 
w«s  fixed  by  the  law  or  by  custom.  He  sat 
down,  etc.,  Rev.  Ver.,  he  was  sitting  at  meat, 
reclining,  as  in  26 :  7,  see  on  8 :  11.  It  was  origi- 
nally directed  (Kxod.  i2:ii)  that  the  passover 
should  be  eaten  in  a  standing  posture,  "with 
j-our  loins  girded,  your  shoes  on  your  feet, 
and  your  staff  in  your  hand ;  and  ye  shall  eat 
it  in  haste,"  representing  the  circumstances  of 
its  first  observance.  This  posture  and  haste 
had  been  disused,  probably  because  the  cir- 
cumstances no  longer  seemed  to  call  for  it. 
The  Talmud  of  Jerusalem  says,  "It  is  the 
manner  of  servants  to  eat  standing,  but  now 
let  them  (the  Israelites)  eat  reclining,  that 
they  may  be  known  to  have  passed  out  of 
slavery  into  liberty."  We  have  to  conclude 
that  the  matters  of  posture  and  haste  really 
were  of  no  importance,  and  so  Jesus  con- 
formed to  custom.  Reclining  at  table  at  all 
was  an  indolent  practice,  but  it  was  not  nec- 
essarih'  wrong;  and  in  this,  as  in  dress  and 
various  other  matters,  Jesus  was  content  to 
follow  custom.  With  the  twelve  disciples. 
'Disciples'  was  omitted  by  some  early  and 
many  later  documents,  probably  by  way  of 
assimilation  to  Mark  14:  17;  the  word  is  im- 
plied if  not  expressed.  Twelve  made  a  party 
of  about  the  usual  size.  Josephus  says 
("War"  6,  9,  3),  that  the  company  partaking 
of  a  paschal  lamb  consisted  of  not  less  than 
ten  men,  and  sometimes  reached  twenty.  It 
was  necessary  to  have  a  good  many,  in  order 
to  consume  the  entire  lamb.  (Exod.  12:4, 43-46.) 
On  the  several  steps  in  the  observance  of  the 
Passover,  as  described  in  the  Rabbinical  writ- 
ings, see  Lightf.,  Meyer,  and  a  highly  inter- 
esting account  in  EdersTieim.  It  is  not  certain 
how  far  this  round  of  observances  already 
existed  in  the  time  of  Christ.  Nor  do  they 
throw  any  clear  light  on  our  Lord's  appoint- 
ment of  bread  and  wine.  Though  instituted 
on  the  occasion  of  the  paschal  meal,  and  out 
of  its  materials,  the  Christian  ceremony  is  in 
no  way  dependent,  for  its  meaning,  import- 
ance, or  proper  observance,  upon  the  Jewish 
ceremony. — Luke  reports  (22:14.16),  our  Lord's 
expressions  of  gratification  in  eating  the  pass- 
over    with     his    disciples.      He     also    states 


(  Luke  22: 23-30,  K.  v.),  that  "there  arose  a  conten- 
tion among  them,  which  of  them  is  accounted 
to  be  greatest,"  as  above  in  18:  1;  Mark  9: 
84.  Our  Lord  rebukes  this  spirit,  in  terms 
similar,  ^rs<  (Luke 22: 23-27)  to  that  uttered  after 
the  ambitious  request  of  James  and  John, 
Matt.  20:  25-27;  Mark  10:  42-44,  and  secondly 
(Luke  22: 30),  to  that  recorded  by  Matt,  alone  in 
19:  28.  It  is  thus  possible  that  Luke,  who 
has  no  record  of  those  sayings,  gives  here 
what  was  spoken  then.  But  it  is  much  more 
likely  thnt  on  a  new  occasion  Jesus  rebukes 
the  same  fault  in  similar  terms,  as  we  have 
often  found  him  doing  (comp.  on  21 :  12).  The 
contention  as  to  who  was  greatest  might  have 
been  suggested  in  this  case  by  questions  of 
precedence  at  table,  about  which  Orientals 
and  even  Europeans  show  an  outspoken  solici- 
tude which  in  America  we  can  hardly  ima- 
gine. The  Mishna  ("  Sabbath  "  23,  2)  speaks 
of  drawing  lots  to  determine  the  place  at 
table,  even  among  the  members  of  a  family. 
Luke  passes  at  once  from  the  opening  paschal 
cup  to  tell  of  our  Lord's  institution  of  the 
memorial  bread  and  wine  ;  then  narrates  the 
allusion  to  Judas,  the  contention  among  the 
disciples,  and  so  arrives  at  the  warning  to 
Peter.  This  contention  also  suggests  a  very 
natural  occasion  for  the  feet-washing  of  John 
13 :  1-17,  as  another  object-lesson  in  humility, 
answering  exactly  to  that  of  Matt.  18:  2.  As 
they  w^ere  eating  (v.  21  ami  26),  two  things  oc- 
curred :  Jesus  (a)  foretold  that  one  of  them 
would  deliver  him  up,  and  (b)  established  the 
ordinance  of  bread  and  wine. 

21  f.  The  strong  expression  betray  me, 
seems  to  be  necessary  to  our  feeling  through- 
out this  passage  (v.  21, 23, 24),  partly  because  we 
are  accustomed  to  it;  yet  the  Greek  really 
means  simply  deliver  me  up,  precisely  as  in 
Rev.  Ver.,  26:  2,  15  f.  The  Evangelists  speak 
with  compassionate  moderation  of  Judas, 
comp.  on  17:  22.  Began  is  not  mere  Hebrew 
circumstantiality  (comp.  on  11 :  20),  but  sug- 
gests that  the  process  of  inquiry  was  con- 
tinued by  one  after  another.  Lord,  is 
it  I  ?  with  an  interrogative  particle  in  the 
Greek  which  strongly  implies  expecta- 
tion of  a  negative  answer,  as  in  7:  9  f.; 
9:  15;  11:  23  R.  V.  The  nearest  English 
equivalent  would    be,   'It  is  not  I,   Is  it?' 


Ch.  XXVI.] 


MATTHEW 


527 


22  And  they  were  exceeding  sorrowful,  and  began  i  22  you,  that  one  of  you  shall  betray  me.    And  they 
every  one  of  them  to  say  unto  him,  Lonl,  is  it  I?  were  exceeding  sorrowful,  and  began   to  say  unio 

23  And  he  answered  and  said,  He  that  dippeth  his    23  him  every  one,  Is  it  1,  I^rd?    And  he  answered  and 


hand  with  me  in  the  di:<h.  the  same  shall  betray  me, 

24  The  Son  of  man gueth  as  it  is  u litten  of  him :  but 
woe  unto  that  man  by  whom  the  Son  of  man  is  be- 
trayed !  it  had  iieen  good  for  that  man  if  he  had  not 
been  bi>rn. 

25  Then  Juda.s,  which  betrayed  him,  answered  and 
said.  Master,  is  it  I  ?  Ue  said  unto  him,  Thou  hast 
said. 


s.tid.  He  that  dip(ied  his  hand  with  me  in  the  dish, 
24  the  same  shall  betray  me.    The  Son  of  man  goeth, 

even  as  it  is  written  of  liira :  but  woe  unto  that  man 

throuj^h  whom  the  Son  of  man  is  betrayed!  good 
23  were  it  i  for  that  man  if  be  bad  not  been  born.    And 

Judas,  who  betrayed  him,  answered  and  said.  Is  it  I, 


I  Or. /or  himi/tkat  matt. 


Jerome:  "The  eleven,  believing  the  Master 
more  than  theni.selves,  and  fearing  their  own 
weakness,  sadly  ask  about  a  sin  of  which  they 
had  no  consciousness."  The  answer  in  v.  23, 
He  that  dippeth,  or  dipped  (Rev.  Ver.), 
his  hand  with  me  in  the  dish  (so  also 
Mark),  might  .seem  only  a  general  description, 
as  doubtless  all  the  Twelve  did  so.  Knives  and 
forks  were  not  used  in  eating,  and  any  person 
would  help  himself  from  the  dish  before  him. 
Our  Lord  might  appear  here  not  to  be  identi- 
fying Judas,  but  merely  showing  the  enor- 
mity of  his  offence :  the  man  that  ate  from  the 
same  dish  with  me  will  deliver  me  up. 
(Comp.  Psa.  41:  9;  John  13:  18.)  'He  that 
dipped'  does  not  necessarily  mean  before  the 
time  of  speaking,  but  just  as  well  before  that 
of  delivering  up.  So  it  does  not  materially 
differ  from  '  he  that  dippeth  '  in  Mark  14:  20, 
Rev.  Ver.  It  is  thus  possible  to  regard  this 
saying  as  different  from  the  identification  de- 
scribed by  John  ;  see  below  on  v.  25.  The 
Son  of  man,  our  Lord's  common  de.signation 
of  the  Messiah,  see  on  8:  20.  Goeth,  present 
tense  because  the  going  is  certain  and  near  at 
hand  ;  so  with  is  betrayed.  As  it  is  writ- 
ten of  him,  apparently  not  a  reference  to 
any  particular  prediction,  but  to  the  general 
tenor  of  Messianic  prophecy,  viz.,  that  he 
should  die.  Some  compare  Isa.  63:  7-9;  Dan. 
9:  26;  see  also  Luke  24:  46.  Luke  has  here 
(•i2:22.  Rev.  Ver.),  '  as  it  hath  bccn  determined,' 
viz.,  in  the  divine  purpose.  Plump.:  "  It  was 
appointed  that  the  Christ  should  suffer,  but 
that  appointment  did  not  make  men  less  free 
agents,  nor  diminish  the  guilt  of  treachery  or 
injustice.  So,  in  like  manner,  as  if  taught  by 
his  Master,  Peter  speaks  of  the  guilt  of  Judas 
in  Acts  1 :  16-18,  and  of  that  of  the  priests  and 
Scribes  in  Acts  4:  27,  28."  Woe  unto  may 
express  not  only  wrath  (23:i3  rr.),  but  at  the 
same  time  compassion  (" ;  i»)  By,  or  through, 
whom,  the  person  through  whose  acticm  a 
thing  comes  to  pass.     It  does  not  seem  proper 


to  find  here  (with  Winer)  a  hint  that  Judas 
was  merely  the  instrument  of  other  men.  He 
appears  to  have  acted  of  his  own  motion. 
Origen  thinks  it  represents  him  as  the  tool  of 
Satan.  Betrayed,  delivered  up.  (See  on  v. 
21.)  It  had  been  good  for  that  man,  etc. 
This  is  a  popular  expression.  If  he  had  never 
lived,  then,  while  losing  all  the  good  of  life, 
he  would  have  escaped  the  dreadful  guilt  he 
is  incurring,  and  the  horrors  of  future  retri- 
bution. For  him  life  was  not  "  worth  living." 
25.  Jndas,  see  on  27:  3.  Answered.  He 
had  not  been  directly  addressed,  but  he  felt 
himself  concerned  in  the  pointed  sayings  just 
uttered,  (v. st-w.)  As  all  the  others  were  ask- 
ing, he  probably  thought  it  necessary  to  ask 
also,  lest  silence  should  betray  him.  Master, 
is  it  I?  with  the  same  interrogative  particle 
as  in  V.  22,  implying  the  expectation  of  a 
negative  answer.  He  does  not  say  'Lord,' 
like  the  others,  but  literally,  Rabbi,  and  so  in 
*26  :  49 ;  but  the  difference  must  not  be  pressed, 
for  the  disciples  often  addressed  Jesus  as 
Rabbi.  (Comp.  on  8:  19.)  Thou  hast  said, 
i.  e.,  hast  said  what  is  true.  This  was  a  com- 
mon form  of  aflRrmative  reply,  found  also  in 
26:  f>4,  and  occurring  in  the  Talmud.  It  here 
solemnly  repels  the  8uggesti.)n  of  a  negative 
answer,  and  treats  his  question  as  a  virtual 
confession  (Lutter.)  This  is  the  moment  repre- 
sented in  Leonardo  Da  Vinci's  fresco  of  the 
"  Last  Supper,"  of  which  everybody  has  seen 
.some  engraving;  Judas  has  just  received  the 
affirmative  answer.  Of  course  we  must  not 
think  of  the  guesta  as  sitting,  according  to 
that  picture,  f«>r  we  know  that  they  reclined. 
See  an  ingenious  representation  of  the  prob- 
able scene,  with  a  plan  of  the  table,  in  Kdorsh., 
II.,  494.  This  question  of  Judas  and  the  an- 
swer in  Matt,  (not  found  in  Mark  or  Luke)  is 
recorded  in  terms  so  general  as  not  to  show 
whether  the  answer  was  also  known  to  others. 
Jolwi  has  a  full  account  of  apparently  the 
same  matter,  differing  in  form,  but  not  in  sub- 


628 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXVI. 


26  And  as  they  were  eating,  Jesus  took  bread,  and  i  26  Rabbi?  He  saith  unto  him,  Thou  hast  said.  And 
«  blessed  it  and  brake  ii  and  gave  it  to  the  disciples,  and  as  they  were  eating,  Jesus  took  i  bread,  and  blessed, 
said,  Take,  eat;  this  is  my  l>ody.  I       and  brake  it ;  and  be  gave  to  the  disc  pies,  and  suiU, 


a  Hsny  Oreek  oopiea  hate,  Oave  thank:    See  Mnrk  6 :  41. 1  Or,  a  loaf. 


stance,  from  Matthew's  summary  statement. 
He  says  the  disciples  were  at  a  loss  whom 
Jesus  was  speaking  about,  and  that  Peter 
beckoned  to  John,  who  was  reclining  in  the 
bosom  of  Jesus,  to  inquire  who  it  was.  Then 
Jesus  replied,  apparently  in  a  low  tone,  that 
it  was  he  for  whom  he  would  dip  a  sop  and 
give  it  to  him;  and  presently  he  dipped,  and 
gave  it  to  Judas,  who  immediately  went  out 
into  the  night.  In  connection  with  this  sign 
to  John,  our  Lord  may  have  given  an  oral 
answer  to  the  question  just  asked  by  Judas,  as 
in  Matt. ;  or  the  facts  may  be  harmonized  in 
other  ways. 

According  to  the  order  in  Matt,  and  Mark, 
Judas  went  out  before  the  memorial  of  bread 
and  wine  was  instituted.  Luke  seems  to 
place  things  otherwise;  but  we  have  seen  that 
he  appears  to  relate  the  institution  of  the 
bread  and  wine  immediately  after  mentioning 
the  first  paschal  cup  (Luke  22: 17-20),  and  then  to 
return  to  speak  of  the  false  disciple;  if  so, 
Luke  does  not  teach  that  Judas  was  present  at 
the  institution,  and  partook  of  the  loaf  and 
the  cup.  The  case  is  not  certain,  but  this  is 
the  most  natural  way  of  combining  the  ac- 
counts. So  there  is  no  propriety  in  under- 
standing that  here  a  flagrantly  wicked  person 
was  knowingly  admitted  to  take  part  in  the 
ordinance. 

III.  26-30.  The  Lord's  Suppkr.  Murk 
14:  23-26;  Luke  22:  19,  20;  1  Cor.  11:  23-25. 
John  gives  no  account  of  the  institution  of  the 
Lord's  Supper.  Paul  says,  "  I  have  received 
of  the  Lord,"  and  judging  from  his  similar 
expressions  elsewhere,  we  understand  him  to 
mean  by  direct  revelation,  which  would  make 
this  an  independent  account.  It  resembles 
that  of  his  companion  Luke.*  and  Matt,  and 
Mark  form  another  pair.     The  place  is  an 


upper  room  in  the  house  of  some  friend  (v.  is), 
and  the  time  apparently  some  hours  after  sun- 
set, on  the  evening  before  the  crucifixion,  h  s 
they  were  eating,  comp.  v.  21;  this  is  the 
second  thing  described  as  occurring  in  the 
course  of  the  meal;  so  Mark  14:  18,  22. 
Jesus  took  bread,  or  a  loaf  (Kev.  Yer. 
margin);  the  common  Greek  text  has  an  arti- 
cle, but  wrongly.  The  word  is  singular  in  all 
four  accounts.  It  is  sometimes  employed  col- 
lectively for  bread  in  general  (*:  4;  6:  11;  15:  2,26), 
but  more  commonly  for  a  loaf  or  cake  of  bread 

(4:  .3;  12:  4;  U:  17.19;  15:  33  ff. ;  16:  5-12),  and  probably 

so  here.  This  is  more  likely  to  have  been 
what  we  should  call  a  cake  than  a  loaf  (see 
Smith's  "Diet.,"  Bread);  such  flat  cakes  the 
Jews  at  Jerusalem  now  eat  at  the  passover. 
It  was  unleavened,  of  course,  as  required  by 
the  law  at  the  passover  (Exod.  12:  is;  is:  3, 7;  Deut. 
16: 3) ;  but  our  Lord  makes  no  reference  to  this, 
and  it  is  not  wise  to  insist  on  using  only  un- 
leavened bread  in  the  Lord's  Supper.  And 
blessed,  naturally  means  blessed  the  loaf,  that 
being  the  object  of  the  preceding  and  the  two 
following  verbs.  Luke  and  Paul,  however, 
have  'gave  thanks,'  viz.,  to  God,  as  below,  v. 
27 ;i  and  so  some  would  here  understand  it  to 
mean  blessed  God.  But  in  Luke  9:  16  it  is 
distinctly  'he  blessed  them,'  viz.,  the  loaves 
and  fishes.  This  shows  that  the  idea  of  bless- 
ing the  loaf  is  not  repugnant  to  Scripture, 
and  as  the  connection  naturally  indicates  that 
idea  here,  it  should  be  preferred  Comp.  1 
Cor,  10:  16,  "The  cup  of  blessing  which  we 
bless."  To  bless  a  loaf  is  of  course  to  invoke 
God's  blessing  upon  it,  to  ask  that  God  will 
make  it  a  means  of  blessing  to  those  who  par- 
take. And  brake  it.  Hence  the  observance 
of  this  ordinance  came  to  be  described  as  '  the 
breaking  of  bread.'    (Aot32: 42,46;  20:  7;  comp.icor. 


1  If  indeed  W  H.  are  not  right  in  holding  that  all  in 
Luke,  after  '  body,'  being  absent  in  the  "  Western " 
group  of  documents,  is  really  an  interpolation  from 
Paul ;  and  that  v.  17  f.  is  Luke's  account  of  our  Lord's 
giving  the  cup,  the  order  of  the  cup  and  the  loaf  being 
simply  transposed.  The  question  of  text  is  very  diffi- 
cult, but  the  arguments  for  exclusion  seem  to  grow 
npon  one  with  renewed  consideration.  The  omission 
of  tbat-portiou  of  Luke  would,  however,  take  away 


nothing  from  the  total  information  possessed  by  us,  as 
it  is  all  given  in  Paul. 

2  The  reading  'g.we  thanks,' in  v.  2',  mentioned  in 
margin  Com.  Ver.,  is  supported  only  by  later  docu- 
ments; the  earliest  uncijils,  and  nearly  everyone  of 
the  early  versions,  give  '  blessed,'  and  the  change  to  the 
other  is  at  once  expliiined  as  an  assimilation  to  v.  27, 
and  to  Luke  and  Paul. 


Ch.  XXVI.] 


MATTHEW. 


529 


10:  16.)  And  gave,  is  according  to  the  most  prob-  I  dache."  The  question  need  not  be  here  argued, 
able  Greek  text^  in  the  imperfect  tense,  which  |  The  language  seems  evidently  figurative,  as  in 
may  mean  that  he  went  on  giving,  himself!  "I  am  the  door,"  "  I  am  the  vine,"  "and  the 


breaking  a  piece  for  each  one,  to  be  passed  on 
to  those  out  of  his  reach  ;  while  as  to  the  cup 
it  is  aorist,  since  he  simply  gave  the  cup,  and 
they  passed  it  to  each  other.  But  the  imper- 
fect in  such  a  case  might  only  describe  him  as 
engaged  in  giving,  and  so  would  not  substan- 
tially differ  from  the  aorist.  Take,  eat. 
Mark  has  simply  'take'  ;  Luke  and  Paul  in 
Rev.  Ver.  have  neither.  This  is  my  body. 
'  This'  is  neuter,  while  the  masculine  would 
be  needed  to  agree  with  '  bread '  ;  it  means, 
this  object  represents  my  body.  Paul  (i  cor. 
11:24, Eev.ver.)  has  'This  is  my  body,  which  is 
for  you,' where  'broken'  was  early  inserted, 
probably  suggested  by  1  Cor.  10:  16.  The 
phrase  current  among  us,  "broken  for  you," 


rock  was  Christ,"  "the  field  is  the  world," 
etc.  We  must  remember  that  in  Hebrew  or 
Aramaic  the  copula  'is'  would  not  be  ex- 
pressed at  all.  (2)  Consubstantiation,  the 
term  invented  by  Luther,  and  still  used  by 
some  of  his  followers,  means  that  with  the  un- 
changed substance  of  the  bread  is  united  the 
substance  of  the  glorified  body  of  Christ. 
Luther :  "  What  is  now  the  sacrament  of  the 
altar?  Answer :  It  is  the  true  body  and 
blood  of  the  Lord  Christ,  in  and  under  the 
bread  and  wine,  which  we  Christians  are 
through  Christ's  word  commanded  to  eat  and 
to  drink  .  .  .  but  how  the  body  is  in  the  bread, 
we  know  not."  His  followers  have  compared 
it  to  iron,  with  heat  superadded,  or  more  re- 


is  thus  not  a  Scripture  expression.  'That  is  cently  to  iron  magnetized.  But  the  whole 
for  you  '  means  '  for  your  benefit ' ;  we  should  i  notion  is  obviously  a  mere  makeshift  of  per- 
lovingly  take  what  represents  the  body  that  is  i  sons  unwilling  to  give  up  the  literal  sense  of 


for  us.  Luke,  Rev.  Ver.,  has  'this  is  my 
body  which  is  given  for  you,'  which  amounts 
to  the  same  thing.  Weiss:  "Not  as  a  dark 
fatality  were  they  to  regard  the  death  which 
he  was  now  to  meet,  but  as  the  way  by  which 
God  would  make  them  sharers  in  his  greatest 
gift  of  salvation  ;  and  that  gift  was  not  to  be 
for  mere  contemplative  purposes,  but  for  per- 
sonal appropriation." 

Four  different  views  as  to  the  meaning  of 
the  phrase,  'this  is  my  body,'  now  prevail  in 
the  Christian  world.  Two  of  them  take  the 
expression  literally,  the  others  figuratively 


'is,'  and  the  mystical  notion  of  Christ's  real 
presence.  And  how  could  the  glorified  body 
be  invisdbly  dwelling  in  the  bread,  and  the 
blood  of  that  same  glorified  body  be  sepa- 
rately dwelling  in  the  wine?  They  could  be 
symbolized  separately,  but  how  could  they 
exist  separately?  (Comp.  Meyer.)  (3)  The 
view  of  Calvin,  now  held  by  Presbyterians, 
Methodists,  and  many  Episcopalians,  appears 
to  be  that  to  tlie  partaking  of  the  bread  is  at- 
tached by  divine  appointment  a  special  spirit- 
ual blessing,  which  is  received  by  all  who 
take  the  bread  in  faith,  and  which  cannot  be 


(1)  Transubstantiation,  which  represents  the  '  had  without  taking  it.  Hence,  they  some- 
Roman  Catholic  view,  mejjni  that  the  broad  times  feel  aggrieved  that  other  Christians  who 
ceases  to  be  bread,  and  its  substance  is  changed  j  do  not  invite  them  to  partake  of  the  bread  and 
into  the  substance  of  the  glorified  bo<iy  of;  wine  are  denying  them  the  opportunity  of  u 
Christ.  This  notion  arose  from  combining  '  spiritual  blessing,  not  to  be  otherwise  enjoyed 
the  expression  before  us  with  John  6:  48-58,  I  at  that  time.  Some  High  Churchmen  have 
the  images  there  used  being  taken  literally.  '  receded  from  the  Calvinian  view,  and  main- 
In  Justin  Martyr,  "1  Apol.  "  66,  Irenajus.  i  tain  the  "Real  Presence"  of  Christ  in  the 
4,  18,  5,  and  even  in  Ignatius,  Sm.  6,  are  ex-  !  Sacrament,  without  undertaking  to  explain  in 
pressions  which  do  not  in  fact  mean  transub-  [  what  way  or  in  what  sense  it  exists.  (4l  The 
stantiation  or  real  presence,  but  which  tend  in  i  view  of  Zwingli,  now  almost  universally  held 
that  direction,  and  doubtless  helped  to  prepare    by  Baptists,   is  that  the  bread  is  simply  ap- 


the  way  for  the  doctrine  subsequently  devel- 
oped.  There  is  nothing  of  the  sort  in  the  "Di- 


pointed  as  the  symbol  or  memento,  which  we 
take  in  remembrance  of  the  Saviour's  body, 


>  The  aorist  (participle)  here  Is  reat\  by  X  B  D  L  Z_ 
some  important  cursives,  and  Iho  Mf-mphitio,  ftmni; 
evidence.  But  wo  !<ee  at  nncc  how  the  imperfpct  nli^ht 
h;«ve  been  changed  Ititocorrespondeuce  with  the  aorist 


of  V.  27,  and  or  the  parallels  an  to  the  lonf  In  Mark  and 
Luke,  and  we  see  ro  re;ison  for  the  counter  change  ; 
therefore  the  imperfect  is  probably  correct. 


21 


530 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXVI, 


I 


27  And  he  took  the  cup,  and  gave  thanks,  and  gave 
it  to  them,  saying,  Drink  ye  all  of  it : 

28  For  this  is  my  blood  of  the  new  testament,  which 
is  shed  for  many  for  the  remission  of  sius. 


27  Take,  eat;  this  is  my  body.    And  he  took 'a  cup, 

28  and  gave  thanks,  and  gave  to  them,  saying,  Diink 
ye  all  of  it ;  for  this  is  my  blood  of  the  «  covenant, 


I  Some  ancient  authnrtties  reud  the  cup 3  Man;  ancient  auttiorittes  inserl  i 


and  that  the  natural  effect  of  such  a  memento 
or  sj'mbol  in  vividly  reminding  of  the  Sav- 
iour, and  kindling  grateful  affection  toward 
him,  is  blessed  to  the  devout  participant.  A 
memento  of  the  departed  may  be  a  very  sim- 
ple thing,  and  yet  deeply  move  the  heart. 
But  the  blessing  thus  receeived  is  not  supposed 
to  be  essentially  different  in  kind  from  other 
spiritual  blessings,  or  to  be  associated  by 
mere  divine  appointment  with  this  particular 
means  of  grace.  Hence  no  spiritual  loss  is 
necessarily  inflicted  by  failing  to  invite  to  this 
ceremony  persons  who  have  made  a  credible 
oral  profession  of  faith,  but  have  not  yet  sub- 
mitted to  the  prerequisite  ceremonj'. 

27.  Took  the  cup  ;  a  cup,  is  the  correct 
text  in  Matthew  and  Mark,  while  it  is  'the 
cup'  in  Luke  and  Paul.  There  was  a  cup  on 
the  table  for  drinking  wine  according  to  the 
custom  of  the  paschal  meal ;  '  a  cup '  does  not 
say  there  were  others.  The  paschal  wine  was 
usually  mixed  with  a  double  quantity  of  water 
(Edersh.).  Gave  thanks.  From  the  Greek 
word  thus  translated  comes 'the  Eucharist,  i.e., 
the  Thanksgiving,'  as  a  phrase  for  taking  the 
bread  and  wine.  It  is  used  by  Ignatius  and  the 
"Didncke"  to  denote  the  takingof  bread  and 
wine  in  connection  with  an  agape,  or  '  love- 
feast'  (Judeiii),  just  as  Paul  seems  to  use  his 
phrase 'the  Lord's  Supper.'  (icor.ii:20.)  But 
the  connection  with  a  regular  meal  in  common 


is  not  made  a  duty  by  Paul,  nor  the  connec- 
tion with  the  passover  by  our  Lord.  What 
he  directs  is  not  to  eat  the  passover,  or  to  eat 
a  supper,  7iot  to  eat  in  the  evening,  or  at  a 
table,  or  in  a  reclining  posture,  but  to  eat 
bread  and  drink  wine.  Protestants  unite  in 
declaiming  against  the  Romish  practice  of 
witiiholding  the  wine  from  the  laitj',  because 
the  Saviour  enjoined  both  the  eating  and  the 
drinking;  and  exactly  what  the  Saviour  en- 
joined we  should  do.  So  as  to  baptism,  there  is 
no  command  to  baptize  "in  living  water," 
as  the  "'Didache"  declares  preferable,  or  in 
any  particular  place,  time,  circumstances,  or 
manner;  the  thing  enjoined  is  to  baptize 
(•28:  19),  viz.,  in  water  (3:ii),  and  we  should 
insist  on  nothing  but  water  and  the  bap- 
tizing. (Comp.  on  3:  6.)  Drink  ye  all  of 
it.  It  would  seem  unnecessary  to  say  that 
this  means  all  of  you,  and  not  all  of  it,  as  the 
Greek  places  beyond  question  ;  j^et  some  have 
misunderstood.  Mark  records,  not  the  com- 
mand, but  the  performance,  'and  they 
all  drank  of  it.'  For,  what  follows  being  a 
reason  for  drinking.  This  is  my  blood,  i.  e., 
this  wine  represents  my  blood,  like  'this  is  m^- 
body.'  Of  the  new  covenant;  the  correct 
reading  here,'  and  in  Mark,  does  not  contain 
"  new.''  It  was  added  by  copyists  from  Luke 
and  Paul.  (Comp.  Jer.  31:  31:  Hob.  8:  8.)2 
Moses  at  Mount  Sinai  "  took  the  book  of  the 


1 '  Covenant,'  without  '  new '  in  K  B  L  Z,  33, 102,  The- 
baic, Cyril ;  in  Mark,  K  B  C  D  L,  Theb.  and  Memph., 
and  k  of  the  Old  Latin.  We  see  at  once  that  the  '  new  ' 
might  have  been  interpolated  in  Matt,  and  Mark  from 
Luke  and  Paul  (and  comp.  v.  29),  while  we  see  no  rea- 
son why  it  should  have  been  omitted  if  originally  pres- 
ent. So  the  internal  evidence  supports  this  important 
group  of  documents.  Notice  the  constant  correspond- 
ence ia  this  narrative  between  Matt,  and  Mark,  and 
between  Luke  and  Paul. 

» The  word  diatheke  signifies  both  covenant,  an  ar- 
rangement between  {dia)  two  parties,  and  testament,  an 
arrangement  of  things  at  intervals  (dia),  each  in  its 
proper  place,  a  diiposition  of  one's  affairs.  The  former 
is  clearly  the  sense  in  most  passages  of  the  New  Test., 
but  the  two  ideas  are  blended  in  Heb.  9:  15-20,  because 
the  new  covenant  was  made  in  and  through  Christ's 
df,ath,  and  its  benefits  are,  as  it  were,  an  inheritance 
from  him.    This  sense  of  testament  early  took  hold  of 


the  Christian  mind.'  The  Old  Latin  and  Vulgate  ver- 
sions everywhere  translate  diatheke  by  lestamentvm, 
which  in  many  passages  is  flagrantly  inappropriate  (as 
Luke  1 :  72;  Acts  3:  25;  Heb.  8:  8  etc.),  and  nowheie 
needed  except  in  Heb.  9:  16  f.  The  Old  Covenant  and 
the  New  Covenant  thus  gave  names  to  the  two  great 
divisions  of  the  Bible  under  the  form  of  Old  Test,  and 
New  Test.,  which  names  cannot  now  be  shaken  off, 
though  Covenant  would  be  far  more  expressive.  The 
domination  of  this  idea  made  it  hard  for  early  English 
translations  to  break  away  from  the  rendering 'testa- 
ment.' Wye.  and  Rheims  of  course  follow  the  Vulgate, 
and  give  testament  everywhere.  Tyn.,  Cran.,  Gen.,  and 
K.  J.,  all  give  testament  in  tlie  four  passages  pertainins; 
to  the  Lord's  Supper,  in  2  Cor.  3:  6,  14,  and  throughout 
Heb.  9:  1.5-20  (Gen.  has  covenant  in  9 :  15  only) ;  and  all 
give  covenant  in  Luke  1 :  72 ;  Acts  3 :  25 ;  7:8;  Rom.  9 : 
4;  11 :  27;  Tyn.  and  Cran.  have  testament,  but  Gen.  and 
K.  J.  covenant,  in  GaL  3:  15, 17  ;  Eph.  2:  12;  Heb.  8:  6- 


Ch.  XXVI.] 


MATTHEW. 


531 


29  But  I  say  unto  you,  I  will  not  drink  henceforth  of 
this  t'niit  of  the  vine,  until  that  day  when  1  drink  it 
new  with  you  in  my  Father's  kingdom. 


29  which  is  shed  for  many  unto  remission  of  sins.  But 
I  say  unto  you,  I  shall  not  drink  henceforth  of  this 
fruit  of  the  vine,  until  that  day  when  I  drink  it  new 
with  you  in  my  Father's  kingdom. 


covenant  and  read  in  the  audience  of  the 
people,"  and  they  promised  to  obey.  Then 
he  "  took  the  blood  "  of  oxen  just  slain,  "  and 
sprinkled  it  on  the  people,  and  said,  Behold 
the  blood  of  the  covenant."  (Exod.  24:3-8;oomp. 
Heb.  9: 19  f.)  So  the  ncw  covcnant  predicted  by 
Jer.  31 :  31-35  is  about  to  be  ratified  by  the 
Saviour's  own  blood  as  the  "blood  of  the  cov- 
enant." (Comp.  Heb.  10:  29;  13:  20.)  For 
world-wide  symbolism  of  blood  as  sealing  a 
covenant,  and  its  participation  as  denoting 
vital  union,  see  Trumbull:  "The  Blood 
Covenant,"  especially  p.  271-286.  Which  is 
shed,  present  tense  (in  Mark  also),  express- 
ing what  is  near  and  certain,  on  the  point  of 
taking  place,  like  'is  delivered,'  26:  2,  Rev. 
Ver.,  and  'I  keep,'  26:  18,  Rev.  Ver.  For 
many,  so  Mark.  In  Luke,  if  v.  20  be  genu- 
ine, it  is  'for  you.'  The  'many'  (comp.  20: 
28)  is  simply  a  general  expression  (probably 
derived  from  Isa.  53  :  12,  "  he  bare  the  sin  of 
many,"  comp.  52:  15),  not  necessarily  indi- 
cating that  some  are  omitted.  In  one  sense, 
Jesus  "gave  himself  a  ransom  for  all" 
(1  Tim.  2:6),  and  to  "  tastc  death  for  every 
man"  (Heb.2:9;  comp.iJohn2:2),  making  salva- 
tion  objectively  possible  for  all;  in  another 
sense,  his  atoning  death  definitely  contem- 
plated the  salvation  of  the  elect.  Euthym. 
understands  that  whereas  the  blood  of  the 
sacrifices  was  shed  for  Jews  only,  i.  e.,  few, 
this  blood  is  shed  for  many,  i.  e.,  for  Gentiles 
also.  The  preposition  here  rendered  'for" 
means  'concerning'  (peri),  and  so  'for  the 
benefit  of,'  as  in  John  16:  26;  17:  9,  20;  Heb. 
6:3;  11:  40.  This  preposition  would  not  of 
itself  suggest  the  idea  of  substitution.  That 
idea  would  be  readily,  though  not  necessarily, 
suggested  by  Mark  14:  24,  huper  (which  copy- 
ists easily  changed  by  assimilation  to  Matt. ; 
and  so  the  common  Greek  text  of  Mark  has 
peri) ;  and  substitution  is  necessarily  the 
meaning  of  anti,  see  on  20 :  28.     For,  or  nnto, 


remission  of  sins,  in  order  that  sins  may  be 
remitted.  (Heb.»:22.)  This  is  the  natural  and 
most  probable  meaning  of  the  preposition  and 
its  case,  and  is  here  entirely  appropriate. 
(Comp.  on  3:  11.)  The  bread  and  wine  sym- 
bolize objectively  the  Saviour's  bqdy  and 
blood ;  our  eating  and  drinking  these  symbol- 
izes our  personal  union  with  Christ,  and  feed- 
ing our  spiritual  nature  upon  him ;  and  our 
doing  this  together  with  others  will,  from  the 
nature  of  the  case,  like  any  other  action  in 
common,  promote  Christian  fellowship  and 
unity  where  these  already  exist.  Yet  this 
last  is  a  subordinate  and  incidental  eflTect  of 
the  ceremony,  and  the  presence  of  some  in 
whose  piety  we  lack  confidence  should  not 
prevent  our  eating  the  bread  and  drinking  the 
wine  in  remembrance  of  Christ.  The  Lord's 
Supper  is  often  called  "the  Communion," 
through  a  misunderstanding  of  1  Cor.  10:  16, 
where  the  word  communion  really  means 
'participation,'  as  in  Rev.  Ver.,  margin. 
This  wrong  name  for  the  ordinance  has  often 
proved  very  misleading.  (See  T.  G.  Jones, 
"The  Great  Misnomer,"  Nashville,  Tenn.) 
Few  have  ever  questioned  that  the  apostles 
had  all  been  baptized  before  this  ordinance 
was  established ;  some  urge  that  being  the 
baptism  of  John,  this  was  not  Christian  bap- 
tism, and  so  they  curiously  infer  that  Chris- 
tian baptism  is  not  a  prerequisite  to  the  Lord's 
Supper.  But  if  John's  bapti.em  was  e»sentinlly 
distinct  from  Christian  baptism,  then  how  as 
to  the  baptism  administered  by  Christ  him- 
self (Johns :  22. 2«),  i.  c,  through  his  disciples 
(John 4: If.),  at  the  samc  time  with  John,  and 
upon  the  same  general  teaching  (M»rki:ii)? 
If  the  baptism  performed  hy  Christ  was  not 
Christian  baptism,  then  what  was  it?  (Comp. 
on  11:  11.) 

29.  I  will  not  drink,  should  be,  'I  8haU 
not  drink,'  as  preferred  by  Amer.  Revisers. 
This  fruit  of  the  vine.    One  of  the  prayers 


10- 9:  4- 11 :  10,  20;  LS:  20;  Tyn.,  Cran.,  and  K. . I.,  have  and  all  hut  Darby  there  explain  in  the  nwri/in  that  the 
testament,  though  Gen.  has  covenant,  in  HeK  7:  r2;  j  Greek  word  means  both  ;  Rev.  Ver.  also  puts  lestamnnt 
Rev.  11 :  10;  Tyn.,Cran.,  and  Gen.,  testament,  but  K.  .1.  In  the  m'irtjtn  of  ceveral  other pa.s"<ng<»,  including  those 
covenant,  in  Heb.  12:  24.  Coming  outof  all  this  con-  relating  to  the  I-ord's  SupfKr,  but  the  American  Itevis- 
fiision.Bih.  Un.,  Noyes,  Darby,  David.son,  and  Rev  ers  rightly  desired  to  omit  this  marginal  alternative 
Ver.  give  covenant  everywhere  except  in  lleb.  9:  16  f.,    rendering. 


532 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXVI. 


30  And  when  they  had  sung  a  hymn,"  they  went  out  I  30      And  when  they  had  sung  a  hymn,  they  went  out 
into  the  mount  of  Olives.  {       unto  the  mount  of  Olives. 

a  Or,  ptalm. 

used  at  the  Passover  was  (Lightf. ) :  "Blessed 
art  thou,  Jehovah  our  God,  who  hast  created 
the  fruit  of  the  vine."  Drink  it  new  with 
you   in  my  Father's  kingdom.      He  has 

gradually  succeeded  in  making  it  plain  to 
them  that  he  will  not  establish  a  temporal 
kingdom,  such  as  the  Jews  expected  the  Mes- 
siah to  found.  He  is  going  to  die,  will  soon 
leave  them.  But  there  will  be  a  future  king- 
dom of  God,  not  a  temporal  but  a  spiritual 
kingdom,  in  which  all  things  will  be  new. 
(Kev.  wis.)  In  that  new  kingdom,  founded  on 
the  New  Covenant,  he  will  meet  them  again, 
and  drink  with  them  a  new  kind  of  wine 
(  Lutter. )  This  can  hardly  be  understood  other- 
wise than  as  a  figure,  even  by  those  who  ex- 
pect a  quasi-temporal  reign  of  our  Lord  at 
Jerusalem  after  his  second  coming.  (Comp. 
Luke  22 :  16,  30. )  In  his  present  state  of  sub- 
mission and  suffering,  our  Lord  docs  not  speak 
of  his  own  kingdom  fas  in  16:  28;  25:  31,  34), 
but  of  his  Father's  kingdom,  in  which  he,  as 
the  Son,  will  rejoice  with  his  friends.  Yes, 
and  all  who  shall  have  believed  on  him 
through  the  word  of  the  apostles,  will  be  with 
him  there.  (John  17:20,24.)  Matthew  and  Mark 
have  not  stated  that  the  taking  of  the  bread 
and  wine  was  established  by  Jesus  as  a  perma- 
nent institution.  But  Paul  makes  it  clear  by 
recording  the  words,  "this  do  ye,  as  oft  as  ye 
drink  it,  in  remembrance  of  me,"  and  add- 
ing, "For  as  often  as  ye  eat  this  bread,  and 
drink  this  cup,  ye  shew  the  Lord's  death  till 
he  come."  And  we  see  the  apostles  practicing 
it  in  Acts  2:  42;  20:  7. 

30.  When  they  had  sung  a  hymn,  liter- 
ally, if  our  idiom  would  allow,  after  hymn- 
ing. The  Greek  word  humnos  was  properly  a 
song  of  praise ;  and  with  this  agrees  the  Sept. 
and  New  Test,  use  of  the  word.  Acts  16:  25; 
Heb.  2:  12.  We  learn  from  the  Talmud  that 
the  Jews  were  accustomed  in  connection  with 
the  paschal  meal  to  sing  Psalms  113  to  118, 
which  Psalms  they  called  "the  great Hallel  " 
(praise)  ;  it  was  sung  in  two  parts,  113,  114, 
and  115  to  118;  the  singing  here  was  probably 
the  second  of  these  parts,  or  possibly  136, 
which  the  Jews  now  sing  at  the  close  of  the 
passover  meal.     It  is  interesting  to  read  these 


Psalms  in  this  connection,  remembering  that 
Jesus  himself  took  part  in  the  singing.  The 
psalms  were  written  in  the  Hebrew  form  of 
poetry,  viz.,  parallel  clauses;  to  translate 
them  into  metre,  which  is  the  ordinary  Eng- 
lish form  of  poetry,  is  therefore  appropriate. 
The  term  '  hymn  '  must  not  be  here  taken  in 
our  common  sense  as  diifering  from  a  psalm, 
nor  is  there  any  radical  distinction  between 
the  two  in  Col.  3 :  16 ;  Eph.  5  :  19.  The  music 
was  a  very  simple  chant;  something  probably 
quite  similar  may  now  be  heard  in  an  old- 
fashioned  (not  "reformed")  Jewish  syna- 
gogue. They  went  out,  viz.,  out  of  the 
house  and  the  city.  There  was  light  in  many 
dwellings,  and  movement  in  the  streets,  till 
long  after  midnight,  at  which  hour  the  feast 
was  required  to  end. — Before  leaving  the 
house,  our  Lord  must  be  supposed  to  have 
given  the  great  farewell  discourse,  and  the 
prayer  of  John  ch.  14-17.  It  is  not  unlikely 
that  ch.  14  was  spoken  before  singing  the 
latter  part  of  the  great  Hallel ;  then  Jesus 
said,  "Arise,  let  us  go  hence"  (John  u:  31),  and 
after  making  arrangements  for  leaving  the 
room,  they  sung  the  psalms,  and  he  went  on 
with  ch.  15,  16,  and  the  sweet  and  solemn 
prayer  of  ch.  17,  after  which  we  read  (John 
i8:i.Rev. ver.),  "When  Jcsus  had  spoken  these 
words,  he  went  forth  with  his  disciples  over 
the  brook  Kidron,  where  was  a  garden,"  and 
hither  Judas  came,  with  the  soldiers  and  oflS- 
cials.  This  answers  to  the  present  sentence  of 
Matt.,  and  the  parallels  in  Mark  and  Luke. 
Into  the  mount  of  Olives,  see  on  21:  1. 
They  would  naturally  go  through  the  eastern 
gate  north  of  the  temple  area,  which  is  now 
called  St.  Stephen's  Gate;  then  down  the 
steep  declivity  into  the  valley,  presently 
crossing  the  bed  of  "the  brook  Kidron," 
probably  on  a  low  bridge  as  now,  and  in  not 
many  steps  further  would  reach  the  foot  of 
the  mountain.  It  was  late,  perhaps  midnight 
or  later;  but  the  city  gates  were  open  all  night 
during  the  great  feasts.  The  paschal  full 
moon  shone  upon  them  from  exactly  over-  '^ 
head,  lighting  up  the  bottom  of  the  deep 
ravine. 
IV.    31-35.  Our  Lord  Foretells  the 


Ch.  XXVI.] 


MATTHEW. 


533 


31  Then  saith  Jesus  <into  theiu,  All  ye  shall  be  of- 
fended because  of  me  this  night:  fi>r  it  is  written,  I 
will  smite  the  Shepherd,  anu  the  sheep  of  the  flock 
shall  be  scattert-d  abroad. 

32  But  after  I  am  risen  again,  I  will  go  before  you 
into  Galilee. 


31  Then  saith  Jesus  unto  them,  All  ye  shall  be  ^  of- 
fended in  me  this  night :  for  it  is  written.  I  will 
suiite  the  shepherd,  and  the  sheep  of  the  flock  shall 

32  be  scattered  abroad.    But  alter  1  am  raised  up,  I  will 


1  Or,  camed  to  UumhU. 


Dispersion  OF  thk  Twelve,  and  the  Fall 
OF  Peter.  Mark  14 :  27-31 ;  Luke  22  :  31-38 ; 
John  13:  36-38.  The  passage  occurs  in  Mark 
in  the  same  order  as  here,  but  neither  of  them 
compels  us  to  understand  that  the  warning 
was  given  after  leaving  the  room.  That  re- 
corded by  John  is  distinctly  placed  by  him 
just  after  the  commencement  of  the  farewell 
address — for  that  address  really  begins  with 
John  13:  31.  Luke  seems  also  to  put  the 
warning  before  they  left  the  house  (m::«),  but 
his  order  in  22:  21-38  is,  as  we  have  seen, 
pretty  clearly  not  chronological.  It  is  more 
diflScult  to  suppose  the  report  in  John  to  be 
out  of  its  chronological  position  than  those  of 
Matt,  and  Mark.  Clark's  "Harm."  supposes 
two  distinct  warnings,  that  given  in  Luke  and 
John  occurring  before  they  left  the  house,  and 
that  of  Matt,  and  Mark  after  they  went  out. 
This  is  an  improbable  supposition,  though 
presented  by  Greswell  and  Oosterzee,  and  by 
Riddle  in  Robinson's  "  Harmony."  Differ- 
ent as  are  the  terms  employed  in  Luke,  we 
more  naturally  understand  the  warning  as 
the  same  in  all  four  Gospels,  for  its  repetition 
during  the  same  evening  is  highly  improb- 
able. It  is  therefore  best  to  suppose,  with 
most  harmonists,  that  Matt,  and  Mark  have 
here  introduced  the  warning  a  little  later  than 
its  chronological  position,  in  order  to  avoid 
breaking  the  connection  of  v.  20-29.  It  is 
likely  that  more  was  said  than  any  of  the 
Gospels  give,  or  all  of  them  together;  as  in 
the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  and  often.  All  ye 
shall  be  offended  because  of  (in)  me,  or 
shall  find  in  me  occasion  of  stumbling,  as  in 
11:  6,  and  see  on  5:  29.  They  will  find  in 
him  some  obstacle  to  continued  devotion,  and 
so  will  turn  away  and  forsake  him.  This 
night.  He  has  during  more  than  six  months 
repeatedly  foretold  that  he  should  be  put  to 
death  in  Jerusalem  and  rise  again  ;  see  16:  21 ; 
17 :  22  f. ;  20 :  18  f.  At  the  close  of  his  public 
teaching,  he  declared  that  ho  should  at  the 
passover  be  delivered  up  and  crucifiwl,  26:  2. 
Now  he  is  perfectly  definite  as  to  the  time. 
For  it  is  written,  stands  on  record,  a  com- 


mon formula  of  reference  to  the  Old  Test. 
Scriptures,  as  in  2:  5;  4:4,  etc.  Neither  our 
Lord  nor  the  Evangelist  says  that  this  was 
fulfilled  in  the  present  occurrence,  and  it 
might  be  enough  to  understand  that  our  Lord 
merely  borrows  the  language  to  indicate  that 
he  will  be  killed,  and  the  disciples  will  leave 
him  and  disperse.  Still,  his  introducing  the 
quotation  by  'for'  (so also  Mark  14:  27),  indi- 
cates it  as  proving  or  as  requiring  that  which 
he  has  just  foretold;  and  it  is  entirely  possi- 
ble to  understand  Zech.  13 :  7  as  really  point- 
ing forward  to  this  event.  As  to  the  form  of 
the  quotation  Matt,  and  Mark  follow  the  He- 
brew, except  in  changing  'smite'  (singular) 
into  'I  will  smite' ;  while  the  Sept.  (B  and  J<) 
is  quite  different,  'smite  (plural)  the  shepherds 
and  draw  forth  the  sheep.'  This  is  a  clear 
case  of  Matthews  following  the  Hebrew 
rather  than  the  Sept.  (Comp.  on  3:3.)  To 
take  the  passage  as  referring  to  the  Messiah, 
corresponds  to  the  idea  of  the  Messiah  as  king, 
since  kings  were  often  described  as  shepherds. 
Then  the  flock  will  here  be  Israel,  and  the  pre- 
diction is  that  Israel  will  be  scattered,  the  first 
stage  of  which  was  the  scattering  of  the 
Twelve  when  the  Shepherd  was  smitten.  It 
is,  however,  diflicult  to  connect  Zech.  13:  7, 
thus  understood,  with  what  there  precedes. 
(».!-«.)  There  is  of  course  no  absolute  neces- 
sity for  supposing  such  a  c<mnection.  But  the 
idea  maybe  that  in  the  coming  time  (».«ff-), 
idolatry  and  false  prophets  shall  cease  (which 
was  true  just  before  the  coming  of  Christ), 
and  yet  there  shall  be  great  wickedness,  and 
the  Shepherd  shall  be  smitten  and  Israel 
scattered,  and  only  a  third  (».  h.  m  finally  puri- 
fied and  saved.  Many  writera  insist  that  the 
idea  of  a  shepherd  here  must  bo  essentially 
like  that  of  Zech.,  chap:  11,  so  that  this  is  a  bad 
shepherd,  i.  «.,  a  bad  king  of  Israel,  whom 
God  will  remov.  That  is  a  possible  interpret- 
ation, if  we  leave  the  New  Test,  out  of  view, 
but  not  at  all  a  necessary  one. 

32.  After  I  am  risen  again,  or  raised  up. 
He  has  in  every  case,  except  26:  2.  promised 
that  after  being  killed  be  would  rise  Again. 


534 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXVI. 


33  Peter  answei'ed  and  8.-iid  unto  him,  Though  all 
men  shall  be  offended  because  of  thee,  yet  will  I  never 
be  offended. 

34  Jesus  said  unto  him,  Verily  I  say  unto  thee.  That 
this  night,  belore  the  cock  crow,  thou  shall  deny  me 
thrice. 

3o  I'eter  said  unto  him,  ThouKb  I  should  die  with 
thee,  yet  will  I  not  deny  thee.  Likewise  also  said  all 
the  ai>ciples. 


33  go  before  you  into  Galilee.  But  Peter  answered 
and  said  unto  him,  If  all  shall  be  >  ofieuded  in  thee, 

34  1  will  never  be  'offended.  Jesus  said  unto  hiiu, 
Verily  I  say  unto  thee,  that  this  niglit,  before  the 

35  cock  crow,  thou  shalt  deny  me  thrice.  Peter  saith 
unto  him.  Even  if  I  must  die  with  thee,  yet  will  I 
not  deny  thee.    Likewise  also  said  all  the  disciples. 


I  Gr.  cauted  to  itumbte. 


I  will  go  before  yon  into  Galilee,  liter- 
ally, wiil  lead  you  forward,  see  on  21 :  31 ;  pos- 
sibly with  reference  to  the  figure  of  a  shepherd 
here  just  preceding.  So  Mark,  and  below, 
28 :  7.  His  chief  appearance  to  them  was  to 
be  in  Galilee  (28:  le),  which  had  been  the  prin- 
cipal field  of  his  ministry. 

33-35.  Though  all.  ...  I  never.  The 
peculiar  Greek  construction  (two  indicative 
futures)  implies  the  assumption  that  all  will. 
Here  is  the  beginning  of  that  self-confidence 
which  led  step  by  step  to  Peter's  dreadful  fall. 
And  here  is  the  distinct  assumption  that  he 
loves  the  Master  "more than  these " (John 21 :  15), 
indeed  more  than  any  one  whatsoever  loved 
him.  When  bitter  experience  had  chastened 
him,  he  made  no  more  comparisons,  but  said 
only,  '•  Thou  knowest  that  I  love  thee."  Verily 
I  say  unto  thee,  calling  attention  to  some- 
thing solemnly  important  (see  on  5 :  18). 
This  night,  as  in  v.  31.  Before  the  cock 
crow,  Mark  (14:50, 72)  has  'before  the  cock 
crow  twice.'  The  cock  was  apt  to  crow  about 
midnight,  and  again  a  few  hours  later.  The 
second  crowing  was  the  one  more  apt  to  be 
observed  as  indicating  the  approach  of  morn- 
ing ;  and  so  this  alone  is  mentioned  by  Matt., 
Luke,  and  John.  Alexander  :  "  The  differ- 
ence is  the  same  as  that  between  saying 
'  before  the  bell  rings '  and  '  before  the  second 
bell  rings'  (for  church  or  dinner),  the  refer- 
ence in  both  expressions  being  to  the  last  and 
most  important  signal,  to  which  the  first  is 
only  a  preliminary.  The  minute  recollection 
of  this  reference  to  the  first  cock-crowing 
also  would  be  natural  in  Peter,  and  there  are 
many  things  in  the  second  Gospel  to  support 
the  very  early  tradition    that    Mark    wrote 


down  what  he  heard  Peter  say.  (Comp.  1  Pet. 
5:  13.)  Some  have  made  a  difficulty  of  the 
fact  that  one  passage  of  the  Mishna  forbids 
rearing  fowls  in  Jerusalem,  because  the 
worms  they  scratch  up  would  be  Levitically 
defiling.  But  Wun.  and  Edersh.  show  that 
the  cock-crow  is  repeatedly  mentioned  in  the 
Talmud,  and  produce  from  it  a  story  of  a 
cock  stoned  to  death  in  Jerusalem  because  it 
had  killed  a  child.  So  the  Kabbinical  rule 
did  not  exist  in  the  time  of  Christ,  or  else  was 
not  strictly  observed.  Palestine  seems  par- 
ticularly well  suited  to  fowls,  and  they  are 
very  numerous  there  now.  Deny,  see  on 
16  :  24.1  Even  if  I  must  die,  is  the  exact 
translation;  that  of  Com.  Ver.,  Though  I 
should  die,  is  inadequate.  Peter  is  so  ex- 
tremely self-confident  through  consciousness 
of  real  and  honest  attachment,  that  even  the 
Master's  own  warning  cannot  make  him  think 
it  possible  that  he  would  do  such  a  thing. 
And  encouraged  by  his  ardor  and  positive- 
ness  the  other  disciples  make  similar  assur- 
ances. Comp.  the  proposal  of  Thomas  some 
weeks  before  (Joiinii:i6),  "Let  us  also  go, 
that  we  may  die  with  him."  We  have  no 
reason  to  believe  that  any  of  the  ten  did 
formally  deny  their  Lord,  though  they  all 
left  him  and  fled,  Peter  and  John  pres- 
ently returning.  (26:56.)  AH  four  of  the  ac- 
counts of  the  warning  to  Peter  include  the 
cock-crowing  and  'deny  me  thrice.'  But  in 
Luke  and  John  the  confident  expressions  of 
Peter  are  called  forth  by  sayings  of  our  Lord 
quite  diflTerent  from  each  other,  and  from  that 
recorded  by  Matthew  and  Mark.  In  John, 
Peter  wishes  to  go  with  the  Master  now,  and 
asserts  that  he  has  no  fear  of  perils  :  "I  will 


iln  1885  was  published,  see  "Theolog.  Literaturzeit-  1 
nng,"  13  June,  a  papyrus  fragment  in  Greek,  brought  I 
from  Egypt  to  Vienna,  which  forms  a  shorter  parallel  to  I 
V.  31-34,  and  Mark  14:  27-30.  As  completed  and  trans-  ] 
lated,  it  reads,  "  [And  after]  eatiuK,  as  they  were  going  , 
forth:  I  will  smite  the  [shepherd  and  the]  sheep  will  be  ' 
scattered.    Upon  Peter's  [saying],  even  if  all,  no[t  I,  he  J 


said  to  him],  the  cock  will  crow  twice,  and  thou  first 
(t.  e.  before  that)  wilt  thrice  deny  me."  Harnack  thinks 
this  shorter  account  is  from  a  gospel  earlier  th»n  Matt, 
and  Mark.  But  it  is  easier  to  suppose,  with  Warfield 
and  Hort,  that  this  is  a  mere  abridgement  of  the  gos- 
pel story,  given  from  memory  in  some  homily  or  prac- 
tical treatise.    The  reasons  cannot  be  here  presented. 


Cii.  XXVI.] 


MATTHEW. 


535 


So  Then  comcth  Jesus  with  iheiu  unto  a  place  called 
Getbseuiane,  and  saith  unto  the  disciples,  Sit  ye  here 
while  I  go  and  pray  yonder. 


36      Then  coiueth  Jesus  with  them  unto  >  a  place  called 
Geihseuiane,  and  saith  unto  his  disciples,  Sit  ye 


1  Or.  an  eneloied  piece  of  ground. 


lay  down  my  life  for  thy  sake."     In  Luke,    and   blood  should  awaken  ,grateful   remem 


Jesus  speaks  of  Satan's  asking  for  the  disci- 
ples that  he  might  sift  them;  he  says  he  has 
made  special  supplication  for  Peter,  and  adds 
an  injunction  that  after  turning  again  he  must 
stablish  his  brethren.  Peter  repels  the  impli- 
cation that  he  will  go  wrong  and  have  to  turn, 
saying,  "Lord,  with  thee  I  am  ready  to  go 
both  to  prison  and  to  death,"  Rev.  Ver.  In 
each  case,  our  Lord  replies  by  substantially 
the  same  warning  as  in  Matthew  and  Mark. 
It  is  not  necessary  for  us  to  consolidate  or  con- 
catenate all  these  distinct  occasions  for  the 
warning.  Probably  the  conversation  was 
more  extended  than  any  of  the  narratives 
would  indicate.  And  a  few  missing  points  of 
information  might  harmonize  all  the  accounts. 

HOMILKTICAL  AND  PRACTICAL. 

V.  17-19.  The  externals  of  religious  ser- 
vice. 1)  They  should  be  observed  with  fore- 
thought and  propriety.  2)  They  are  a  proper 
subject  of  request  for  the   Lord's  guidance. 


brance  of  him  (i  Cor.  n :  24  r.),  and  stir  the  strong 
desire  to  live  for  him  who  died  for  us. — V.  28. 
Henry  :  "  1)  '  It  is  my  blood  of  the  covenant.' 
2)  It  is  shed  for  many.  3)  Unto  remission  of 
sins."— V.  33.  Henry  :  "Those  are  often  least 
safe  that  are  most  secure." 

36-56.  The  Agony  inGethsemane  and 
THE  Arrest  of  Jesus. 

Found  also  in  Mark  14:  32-52;  Luke  22:  39- 
53;  John  18:  1-12.  The  time  of  this  section  is 
between  midnight  and  morning.  Gethsemane 
is  here  called  a  place.  Rev.  Ver.,  margin,  an 
enclosed  piece  of  ground  ;  com  p.  the  same  word 
in  John  9 :  5.  The  name  Gethsemane  means 
'oil-press.'  But  the  place  was  not  simply  an 
oil-press,  for  John  calls  it  a  garden  or  orchard, 
probably  containing  fruit  trees  and  flowers, 
as  well  as  vegetables.  Gethsemane  is  now 
shown  as  a  small  enclosure  lying  just  where 
the  three  roads  across  the  Mount  of  Olives 
branch  olf  at  its  base  (see  on  21:  1),  and 
between  the  central  and  southern  roads,  both 
3)  They  offer  many  opi)<)rtunities  of  honoring  j  of  which  lead  to  Bethany.     This  enclosure  is 


the  Lord  with  our  substance,  v.  18.  4)  Yet, 
alas!  they  are  sometimes  shared  by  one  whose 
heart  is  set  on  worldliness  and  wickedness,  v. 
21;  comp.  Phil.  3:  18.— V.  21-25.  The  betrayal 
foretold.  1)  Consciousness  of  good  intentions 
cannot  always  save  us  from  fear  of  commit- 
ting great  sin,  v.  22  ;  1  Cor.  10:  12.  2)  The 
most  affecting  associations  and  solemn  warn- 
ings may  not  prevent  desperate  wickedness. 
3)  One  whose  heart  is  set  on  the  darkest  crime 
may  sometimes  talk  calmly  and  with  affected 
modesty,  v.  25.  4)  A  bad  man  may  be  unin- 
tentionally accomplishing  some  exalted  pur- 
pose of  God,  v.  24;  (comp.  Psalm  70:  10).  5) 
The  fact  that  an  evil  action  is  overruled  for 
good  does  not  lessen  its  guilt  and  penalty,  v. 
21.  6)  It  is  possible  for  human  wickedness  to 
make  human  existence  a  curse,  v.  21.— V.  2(>- 
28.  The  bread  and  wine.     1)  Jesus  has  bidden 


of  somewhat  less  than  an  acre,  and  contains 
several  very  old  olive  trees,  looking  at  a  dis- 
tance like  large  old  apple  trees.  These  iden- 
tical trees  appear  to  be  traced  back  for  many 
centuries.  But  they  cannot  have  existed  in 
our  Lord's  time,  for  Joseph  us  tells  us  ("War." 
6,  1,  1),  that  the  Romans,  in  order  to  build 
their  mounds  about  the  walls,  cut  down  all 
the  trees  for  ten  or  twelve  miles  around  the 
city,  so  that  the  region  that  had  been  so  beau- 
tiful with  trees  and  gardens  (paradises)  was 
now  desolate  on  every  side,  and  a  pitiable, 
mournful  spectacle.  And  even  before  this 
("War."  5,  12,  2),  they  had  drawn  around 
the  city  a  wall  which  is  described  as  passing 
south  along  the  foot  of  the  Mount  of  Olives  to 
a  point  opposite  Siloam,  and  must  therefore 
have  pa.ssed  exactly  where  the  present  en- 
closure stands.     The    real    Gethsemane    was 


us  cr)mmemorate,  not  his  birth,  his  miracles,  [  probably  quite  near  this  enclosed  place.     As 


his  triumphal  entry,  hut  his  death.  2)  His 
death  sealed  a  covenant  of  salvation  (comp. 
Heb.  9:  19  f. ),  making  atonement  for  sin,  and 
purchasing  forgiveness  for  sinners.  3)  To  eat 
and  drink  these  simple  emblems  of  his  body 


Jesus  oft-times  resorted  thither  with  his  dis- 
ciples," so  that  Judas  "knew  the  place" 
(johois:!),  we  naturally  think  of  it  as  near  the 
way  to  and  from  Bethany.  If  not  a  small 
public  garden  or  park,  it  was  owned    by  a 


536 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXVI. 


37  And  he  took  with  him  Peter  and  the  two  sous  of  i  37  here,  while  I  go  yonder  and  pray.    And  he  took 
Zebedee,  and  bt-gan  to  besorrowl'ul  and  very  heavy.       j       with  him  Peter  and  the  two  sons  of  Zebedee,  and 
Then  sailh  he  unto  them,  My  soul  is  excee.uiug  i  38  began  to  be  sorrowful  and  sore  troubled.    Thensaith 


sorrowful,  even  unto  death:  tarry  ye  here,  and  watch 
with  me. 

39  And  he  went  a  little  further,  and  fell  on  his  face, 
and  prayed,  saying,  O  my  Father,  if  it  be  possible,  let 
this  cup  pass  from  me:  nevertheless,  not  aa  I  will,  but 
as  thou  wiit. 


he  unto  them,  My  soul  is  exceeding  sorrowful,  even 
unto  death:  abide  ye  here,  and  watch  with  me. 
9  And  he  went  forward  a  little,  and  fell  on  bis  face, 
and  prayed,  saying,  O  my  father,  if  it  be  possible, 
let  tnis  cup  pass  away  from  me  :   nevertheless,  not 


public-spirited  man  who  allowed  visitors  to 
enter  at  will,  particularly  during  the  great 
festivals,  or  else  by  some  friend  of  Jesus,  like 
the  owner  of  the  house  in  which  he  had  eaten 
the  passover. — In  1871,  a  party  of  Americans 
went  forth  from  Jerusalem  one  night  at  Easter 
to  visit  Gethsemane.  Passing  through  what 
is  traditionally  called  St.  Stephen's  Gate,  we 
wont  along  a  winding  path  far  down  the  steep 
descent  into  the  narrow  valley  of  the  Kidron 
(which  has  there  no  water  except  in  the  rainy 
season),  and  crossing,  were  almost  immedi- 
ately at  the  modern  stone  wall  which  encloses 
the  old  olive  trees.  The  paschal  full  moon 
for  us  too  shone  bright  on  the  scene.  It  was 
late  at  night,  and  all  was  still ;  and  at  several 
different  points  we  kneeled,  a  little  company 
from  a  distant  land,  and  one  or  another  of  us 
prayed  with  choked  utterance,  for  we  knew 
that  we  could  not  be  far  from  the  spot  at 
which  the  Saviour  kneeled  down,  and  fell 
prostrate,  and  prayed  in  his  agony. 

This  section  divides  itself  into  two  parts,  the 
Agony  and  the  Arrest. 

I.  36-46.  The  Agony  in  Gethsemane. 
Mark  14:  32-42;  Luke  22:  40-46.  John  does 
not  record  this,  but  he  records  (Alf.)  a  some- 
what similar  utterance  on  the  previous  day, 
John  12:  28-33,  and  other  passages  which  re- 
veal mental  suffering,  John  13:21;  16:32. 
Sit  ye  here,  apparently  outside  of  the  en- 
closure. Peter  and  the  two  sons  of  Zebe- 
dee. These  three  belong  to  the  first  group 
of  four  among  the  Twelve  (see  on  10:  2) ;  they 
alone  had  accompanied  Jesus  when  he  raised 
Jairus'  daughter  to  life,  and  up  into  the 
Mount  of  Transfiguration.  Began,  and  con- 
tinued for  some  time  (see  on  11  :  20).  Very 
heavy;  sore  troubled  is  a  better  translation 
than  'very  heavy.'  Mark  has  the  same  pecu- 
liar Greek  term.  My  soul  is  exceeding 
sorrowful.  The  phrase,  which  resembles 
Psa.  41  (42) :  6  in  Sept.,  can  only  denote  a 
real  human  mind ;  comp.  John  12 :  27.  The 
ancient  fancy  which  some  are  trying  to  re- 
vive, that  in  the  Incarnation  the  divine  nature 


took  the  place  and  fulfilled  the  functions  of  a 
human  soul,  is  incompatible,  not  only  with 
this  scene  and  the  temptation  of  4 :  1  ff.,  but 
with  the  whole  history  of  Jesus.  Whatever 
anthropomorphic  expressions  may  be  neces- 
sarily used  in  speaking  of  God,  it  is  evident 
that  the  divine  nature  could  not,  in  any  proper 
sense  of  the  term,  suffer  agony.  How  his 
human  soul  could  suffer  apart  from  his  divine 
nature,  is  a  part  of  the  mystery  of  the  Incar- 
nation, like  his  temptation,  his  increasing  in 
wisdom  (Luke 2: 52),  and  his  not  knowing  the 
day  nor  the  hour.  (Mark  is :  32.)  Not  is  it  wise 
to  make  trichotomist  distinctions  between 
'soul'  here  and  'spirit'  in  v.  41 ;  see  on  16:  25. 
Even  unto  death.  Comp.  Isa.  38  :  1.  The 
time  is  now  nearer  than  on  the  occasion  de- 
scribed in  John  12:27,  and  his  suffering  is 
more  intense.  Alford:  "Our  Lord's  whole 
inmost  life  must  have  been  one  of  continued 
trouble  of  spirit — he  was  a  man  of  sorrows,  and 
acquainted  with  grief— but  there  was  an  ex- 
tremity of  anguish  now,  reaching  even  to  the 
utmost  limit  of  endurance,  so  that  it  seemed 
that  more  would  be  death  itself"  Tarry  ye 
here.  He  had  brought  the  three  to  some 
point  removed  from  the  other  eight.  And 
watch  with  me.  The  idea  seems  to  be  that 
they  were  to  guard  his  season  of  exceeding 
and  deadly  sorrow  from  intrusion,  and  also  to 
give  him  the  support  of  knowing  that  sympa- 
thetic friends  were  close  by.  In  any  season 
of  extraordinary  sorrow,  one  likes  to  be  much 
alone,  and  yet  to  have  some  dear  friends  near, 
so  that  he  may  go  to  them  when  the  craving 
for  sympathy  becomes  uppermost.  Alford: 
"He  does  not  saj'  pray  with  me,  for  in  that 
work  the  Mediator  must  be  alone." 

39-41.  He  withdraws  the  first  time.  He 
went  a  little  further.  Luke  says  'about  a 
stone's  cast,'  say  fifty  yards.  This  might  be 
from  the  eight  disciples,  as  Luke  does  not 
mention  the  special  three;  but  from  compar- 
ing his  whole  connection  we  see  that  it  more 
likely  means  the  three.  Jesus  doubtless 
sought  the  most  secluded  spot  in  the  enclo- 


Ch.  XXVL] 


MATTHEW. 


537 


40  And  he  cometh  unto  the  dis<iples,  and  findeth 
them  asleep, and  ^aith  uuto  Peter,  Wuat,  could  ye  not 
watch  with  me  one  hour? 

41  Wntch  and  pray,  that  ye  enter  not  into  tempta- 
tion :  the  spirit  indeed  is  willing,  but  the  flesh  U 
weak. 


40  as  I  will,  but  as  thou  wilt.  And  he  cometh  unto  the 
disciples,  and  findeth  them  sleeping,  and  saith  unto 
Peter,  Whiit,  could  ye  not  watch  with  me  one  hour? 

41  1  Watch  and  pray,  that  ye  enter  not  into  temptation: 
the  spirit  indeed  is  willing,  but  the  Uesh  is  weak. 


I  Or,  Watth  ire,  and  prog  thett  ye  enler  not. 


sure,  and  probably  withdrew  from  the  li<rht 
of  the  full  tnoon  to  the  shade  of  trees.  Fell 
on  his  face.  Luke  says  '  kneeled,'  which 
would  naturally  be  followed,  in  an  agony  of 
distress,  by  complete  prostration.  And 
prayed,  the  tense  un  Mark  and  Luke  also) 
denoting  continued  action.  The  Saviour  evi- 
dently spent  much  time  in  prayer,  and  par- 
ticularly on  any  special  occasion.  At  his 
baptistn  (Luke3:2i),  before  choosing  the  twelve 
(Luk*6:i2),  when  the  multitudes  wanted  to 
make  him  king  ( Matt,  u :  23 ;  John  6 :  is),  when  the 
disciples  were  just  becoming  satisfied  that  he 
was  tlie  Messiah  (Luke  9:  is)^  when  on  the  Mount 
of  Transfiguration  (Luke9:28),  and  upon  other 
occasions,  there  is  special  mention  of  his  pray- 
ing, sometimes  for  many  hours,  even  a  whole 
night.  So  his  praying  here,  long  and  repeat- 
edly, is  no  new  thing  in  his  experience.  O,  my 
father.  Mark  gives  the  Aramaic  word  Abba, 
which  our  Lord  doubtless  actually  employed, 
and  then  adds  the  Greek  word,  making 
'.\bba.  Father'  ;  so  Paul  in  Rom.  8:  15.  If 
it  be  possible,  i.  e.,  morally  possible,  con- 
sistent with  the  Father's  purpose  of  saving 
men.  The  God-man  speaks  according  to  his 
suffering  human  nature,  referring  all  to  the 
Father  (com p.  20:  23  ;  Mark  13:  32).  In 
Mark  (i4:»8)  the  expression  is  stronger,  'AH 

things  are  possible   unto  thee but 

what  thou  wilt' — he  refers  it  to  the  Father's 
will.  This  cup,  a  common  image  for  great 
suffering,  like  some  allotted  bitter  draught. 
See  on  20:  22.  Let  this  cup  pass  from  me. 
So  Mark.  But  Luke,  i;i  the  common  and 
probably  correct  text,  'If  thou  art  willing  to 
let  this  cup  pass  away  from  me' — the  sen- 
tence remaining  unfinished,  an  aposiopesis,  as 


in  Luke  13:9;  19:42;  Acts  23:  9  (Winer, 
599  f.  [750]).  We  have  seen  that  the  words 
spoken  from  heaven  at  the  baptism  and  the 
Transfiguration  (»:";n:&)are  not  reported  in 
precisely  the  same  terms  by  the  different 
Evangelists,  which  conclusively  shows  that 
I  they  did  not  undertake  to  give  in  all  cases  the 
I  exact  words  spoken.  But  there  is  no  substan- 
tial difference.'  Not  as  I  will,  but  as  thou 
[  wilt.  Comp.  John  5:  30;  6:  38;  Phil.  2:  8. 
j  Many  months  earlier,  when  he  first  spoke  to 
j  the  disciples  of  his  approaching  death,  he  in- 
I  dicated  that  such  was  God's  thought  and 
{  purpose.  (IS:  23.)  He  cometh  unto  the  dis- 
ciples, the  three.  And  findeth  them 
asleep.  Luke  adds 'for  sorrow.'  They  felt 
a  dull,  depressing  sorrow  at  the  intimation 
that  their  Master  was  about  to  leave  them, 
was  about  to  be  killed.  Tliey  saw  nothing  to 
be  done  by  themselves,  and  could  not  realize 
that  the  danger  was  so  imminent  and  perilous 
as  the  result  showed.  Such  a  state  of  mind 
often  superinduces  heavy  sleep;  and  it  was 
now  long  past  midnight.  These  same  three 
disciples  were  "  heavy  with  sleep"  during  the 
Transfiguration.  (Luke9:32.)  And  saith  unto 
Peter,  who  was  the  recognized  leader,  in 
some  sense,  of  the  Twelve,  see  on  16:  16.  No- 
tice that  the  following  verbs  are  all  plural ; 
he  addresses  all  three  through  Peter.  What, 
could  ye  not,  is  a  good  English  equivalent  to 
the  peculiar  phrase  of  the  original,  '  were  ye 
thus  unable,'  were  ye  as  unable  as  this? 
Watch  with  me  one  hour.  The  expression 
is  doubtless  only  general  and  not  to  be  pres.sed, 
but  it  shows  that  he  had  been  alone  no  little 
time.  '  Watch '  refers  primarily  to  keeping 
awake,  but  also  suggests  mental  alertness.    It 


'  After  V.  39,  the  old  nncial  represented  by  13,  6fl,  124, 
some  Greek  lectionaries,  and  the  Syriac  of  Jerusalem 
Introduce  the  arcount  of  the  bloody  sweat  and  the 
angel's  appeiirln);,  taken  from  Luke  2-J:43f.,  and,  of 
course,  not  genuine  here.  A  numl)cr  of  important  dnc- 
uments  omil  that  passage  from  Luke.  But  the  omission 
cm  be  more  ea.«ily  accounted  forthnn  the  insertion. 
AH  the  Gnostic  heretics  of  the  second  centtiry  would 
dislike  the  pass-nge  inteuscly,  and  many  orthodox  peo- 


I  pie  might  think  It  derogatory.  Rpiphanius  rcniorkn 
I  that  "orthodox  persons  removed  the  pa«sage.  hecniise 
1  th''y  were  afraid,  and  <lid  not  understand  Its  d<!<iign  and 
extreme  importance."  We  think,  therefore,  that  it 
ought  to  l)e  retained  in  Luke.  In  combining  the  Cos- 
pels,  this  passage  is  more  naturally  connectc<I  with  the 
first  season  of  prayer,  than  with  the  stKxind  or  third, 
wbeu  bia  agony  seenu  to  have  been  less  severe. 


538 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXVI. 


.  4S  He  went  away  again  the  second  time,  and  prayed,  •  42  Again  a  second  time  he  went  away  and  praved  say- 
nying,  O  my  Father,  if  this  cup  may  not  pass  away  iug,  Omy  Father,  if  this  cannot  pass  away  cxct'Dt  I 
ftom  n»e,  except  I  drink  it,  thy  will  be  done.  |  '         ^ 


became  a  favorite  term  with  the  apostles; 
com  p.  24:42;  25:13;  1  Thcss.  5:  6;  1  Cor. 
16:  13;  Rom.  13:  11;  Col.  4:  2;  1  Peter  5:  8. 
That  ye  enter  not,  may  be  connected  with 
both  'watch  and  pray,'  or  with  only  'pray,' 
as  in  Rev.  Ver.  margin,  and  so  Origen  ("On 
Prayer,"  page 557,  Migne),  Chrys.,  Theophyl., 
Euthym.  In  Luke  22:  40  it  is  simply  'pray 
that  ye  enter  not,'  etc.;  and  in  22:  46  Rev. 
Ver.,  'rise  and  pray  lest  ye  enter  into,'  the 
latter  connection  is  much  the  more  natural  of 
the  two.*  Temptation,  comp.  on  4:  1.  Ob- 
serve that  it  is  not  merely  "tliat  you  may 
overcome  temptation,"  or  "that  you  may  be 
supported  under  temptation,"  but  "that  you 
may  not  come  into  temptation,"  may  avoid 
being  tempted.  Comp.  on  6:  13,  and  see 
Luke  22:  31.  The  Com.  Ver.,  through  over- 
sight or  in  its  passion  for  variety  (see  on  25: 
46),  translates  by  'lest  ye  enter'  in  Mark  and 
Luke.  In  the  following  clause  it  gives  in 
Mark,  'the  spirit  truly  is  ready,'  but  in  Matt. 
where  the  Greek  has  exactly  the  same  words, 
it  translates,  the  spirit  indeed  is  will- 
ing, the  word  'indeed'  being  used  to  trans- 
late the  Greek  word  men,  a  particle  which 
merely  indicates  that  to  its  clause  something 
else  will  presently  be  brought  in  contrast; 
comp.  on  3:  11  or  9:  37.  The  emphasis  is  on 
'spirit,'  not  at  all  on  'indeed.'  This  is  given 
as  a  general  proposition,  suggested  by  their 
case.  The  flesh  means  not  simply  the  body 
as  opposed  to  the  mind,  but  the  body  as  rep- 
resenting our  sinfulness,  being  so  used  because 
bodily  sins  are  patent;  while  the  spirit  repre- 
sents what  is  better  in  us,  regarded  as  pro- 
duced by  divine  influence.  Comp.  a  similar 
contrast  between  body  and  spirit,  or  flesh  and 
spirit,  frequently  occurringin  Paul's  Epistles. 
This  statement  was  not  added  by  way  of  ex- 
cuse, as  some  have  imagined,  but  of  warning 
and  incentive.  The  fact  that  while  the  spirit 
is  willing  the  flesh  is  weak  forms  a  reason  why 
we  should  watchfully  and  prayerfully  strive 
to  keep  out  of  temptation,  lost  it  take  advan- 
tage of  our  weakness  and  overcome  us.     Eu- 


thym.:  "Do  not  look  to  the  soul's  readiness 
and  be  bold,  but  look  to  the  flesh's  weakness 
and  be  humble." 

43-44.  He  withdraws  the  second  and  third 
times.  He  went  away  again  the  second 
time.  When  one  is  in  very  bitter  grief,  and, 
after  being  for  some  while  alone,  comes  back  to 
his  friends,  it  is  natural,  especially  if  they  do 
not  seem  very  sympathetic,  that  presently  a 
great  wave  of  sorrow  should  come  afrasli  over 
his  soul,  and  he  must  again  .seek  to  hear  it 
alone.  It  this  cup  may  not  pass  away. 
Correct  text  omits  'cup.'  The  Rev.  Ver.  has 
more  literally  cannot.  'May  not'  is  a  quite 
different  and  feebler  expression,  the  ques- 
tion being  not  merely  as  to  the  permissible, 
but  the  possible,  as  in  v.  39.  Mark  (Rev. 
Ver.)  says,  'and  prayed,  saying  the  same 
words.'  They  are,  as  given  by  Matt,  substan- 
stantially  the  same  as  the  first  time,  and  yet 
we  note  a  certain' progress.  He  does  not  now 
begin  by  asking  that  the  cup  may  pass  away, 
and  afterwards  attain  resignation ;  he  begins 
with  the  assumption  tliat  it  cannot  be  other- 
wise (which  the  Greek  phrase  implies),  and  at 
once  expresses  resignation.  The  third  time, 
Matthew  also  has,  'saying  the  same  words.' 
This  was  very  different  from  the  "vain  repe- 
titions" condemned  in  6:  7.  Impassioned 
feeling  sometimes  makes  repetition  natural. 
Thy  will  be  done,  the  same  phrase  as  in  the 
model  prayer,  6 :  10.  Asleep  again.  Alas! 
not  even  from  ardent  Peter,  and  the  impas- 
sioned "disciple  whom  Jesus  loved,"  could 
he  find  sympathy  in  this  terrible  time.  Mark 
adds  (Bib.  Un.  Ver.),  'and  they  knew  not 
what  to  answer  him.'  Their  minds  were  con- 
fused at  the  thought  of  the  Messiah  dying,  of 
the  miracle-worker  slain,  of  the  Master  for- 
saking the  disciples,  and  this  increased  their 
dull  drowsiness.  Luke  does  not  mention  his 
withdrawing  three  separate  times,  but  makes 
one  general  statement  (Luke 22: 40-46),  substanti- 
ally equivalent  to  the  more  detailed  narrative 
of  Matthew  and  Mark.  Again.  The  Greek 
word  for  this  (palin)  occurs  twice  in  v.  44,  ac- 


'  If  connected  with  both  tenus,  the  dependent  clause 
is  final;  if  taken  only  with  ' pray,' it  is  non-final,  see 
on  5:  29.  Origen,  Chrys.,  etc.  use  the  infinitive  (and  so 
Luke  22 :  40),  which  is  the  classical  construction  to  con- 


vey the  idea  often  expressed  in  'later'  Greek  by  hina 
non-final;  and  the  infinitive  in  this  connection  could 
not  be  taken  with  '  watch.' 


Ch.  XXV  L] 


MATTHEW. 


539 


43  And  he  came  and  found  them  asleep  again :  for 
their  eyes  were  heavy. 

44  And  he  left  them,  and  went  away  again,  and 
prayed  the  third  time,  saying  the  sume  words. 

45  Then  cometh  he  to  his  disciples,  and  saith  unto 
them,  Sleep  on  now,  and  take  your  rest:  behold,  the 
hour  is  at  hand,  and  the  Sou  of  man  is  betrayed  iuto 
the  hands  ot  sinners. 

46  Kise,  let  us  be  going:  behold,  he  is  at  hand  that 
doth  betray  me. 

47  And  while  he  yet  spake,  lo,  Judas,  one  of  the 
twelve,  came,  and  a  great  nmltitude  with  swords  and 
staves,  from  the  chief  priests  and  elders  of  the  people. 


43  drink  it,  thy  will  be  done.  And  be  came  again  and 
fouud  them   sleeping,  for  their  eyes   were   heavy. 

44  And  he  left  them  again,  and  went  away,  and  prayed 

45  a  third  time,  saying  again  the  same  words.  Then 
Cometh   he   to  the  disciples,  and  saith  unto  them, 

.  Sleep  on  now,  and  take  your  rest :  behold,  the  hour 
is  at  hand,  and  the  Son  of  man  is  betrayed  unto  the 

46  hands  of  siuner.s.  Arise,  let  us  be  going:  behold, 
he  is  at  hand  that  betrayeth  me. 

47  And  while  he  yet  spake,  lo,Judas,one  of  the  twelve, 
came,  and  with  him  a  great  multitude  with  swoi-ds 
and  staves,  from  the  chief  priests  and  elders  of  the 


cording  to  the  best  documents.  The  third 
time.  Yet  again  the  wave  of  sorrow  came 
rolling  over  his  soul.  It  must  have  been 
something  awful  and  overwhelming,  if  Jesus 
found  it  so  hard  to  bear.  Was  this  dread  cup 
merely  the  bodily  pains  and  the  shame  of 
approaching  crucifixion  ?  Was  it  merely  the 
interruption  of  a  good  man's  course  of  self- 
denying  and  loving  usefulness?  Why,  many 
of  his  followers  have  faced  impending  death, 
even  at  the  stake,  without  once  praying  that 
they  might,  if  possible,  be  spared  the  trial ; 
have  in  the  very  midst  of  the  torturing  flames 
been  found  "  rejoicing  that  they  were  counted 
worthy  to  suflfer"  all  this  for  him.  Were  they 
sustained  by  conscious  innocence?  He  alone 
was  perfectly  innocent.  Were  they  supported 
by  the  remembrance  of  good  already  done, 
by  unselfish  devotion  to  human  welfare  and 
to  God's  glory,  by  the  indwelling  Spirit?  In 
all  respects,  he  much  more.  The  agony  of 
Gethsemane,  and  the  cry  of  the  forsaken  on 
Calvary,  can  be  accounted  for,  in  one  of 
strong  and  sinless  character,  only  when  we 
remember  how  it  is  said,  "Him  who  knew  no 
sin  he  made  to  be  sin  on  our  behalf."  "He  was 
wounded  for  our  transgressions,  ho  was 
bruised  for  our  iniquities";  "Who  his  own 
self  bare  our  sins  in  his  body  on  the  tree." 

(2  Cor.  5:al,  Bov.  Ver.  ;l»a.M:5;lPev.  2:  24,  Rer.  Yer.)      The 

effect  of  these  agonizing  supplications  is  re- 
ferred to  in  Heb.  5:  7-9,  Rev.  Ver.  He  was 
"  heard  for  his  godly  fear,"  and  while  the  cup 
did  not  pass  away,  he  became  through  sufter- 
ing  completely  fitted  to  sympathize  and  to 
save.  (Heb.  2: 18;  4: 15; 5: 7  ti.)  We  need  not  then  be 
surprised  that  our  prayers  also  are  often  an- 
swered by  granting,  not  what  we  at  first 
asked,  but  something  better. 

45  f.  His  final  return.  Sleep  on  now, 
and  take  your  rest.  This  is  a  "permi.s.*ive 
imperative."  (Winer,  311  [391],  Ellicott, 
"Hist.  Lect.").  He  has  no  further  need  of 
their  keeping  awake;  his  struggles  in  the  soli- 


tude close  by  are  past.  So  fur  as  concerns  the 
object  for  which  he  desired  them  to  watch 
(v.  38),  they  may  now  yield  to  sleep  without 
any  effort  to  resist.  But  the  close  of  his  sea- 
son of  struggle  is  promptly  followed  by  the 
approach  of  a  new  experience  for  him  an<l  for 
them.  It  may  be  (Hackett)  that  just  after 
saying  'sleep  on  now,'  his  eye  caught  the 
gleam  of  the  torches  descending  the  steep 
declivity  beyond  the  ravine  of  Kidron  and 
coming  towards  them.  Behold,  calling  at- 
tention, as  so  often  in  Matt.  The  hour  is  at 
hand,  has  come  near,  the  same  expression  as 
in  3:  2;  and  so  in  v.  4G.  The  Son  of  man, 
the  Messiah,  see  on  8:  20.  Is  betrayed, 
present  tense,  because  just  on  the  point  of 
occurring.  The  word  really  means  'is  deliv- 
ered,' comp.  on  26:  23.  Into  the  hands  of 
sinners.  The  Greek  has  no  article,  but 
means,  'into  sinners'  hands,'  indicating  not 
the  particular  persons,  but  the  kind  of  per- 
sons. The  reference  is  not  to  the  mere  officials 
sent  to  lay  hands  on  him,  but  to  the  wicked 
authorities,  the  Sanhedrin.  Rise,  let  us  be 
going,  looks  to  what  is  just  beginning,  as 
'sleep  on  now,'  based  itself  on  what  had  just 
ended.  He  does  not  propose  to  go  away  and 
avoid  those  who  are  approaching,  but  to  go 
forth  from  the  enclosure  and  meet  them. 
(John  18: 4  «r.)  Other  proposed  explanations  of 
the  apparent  conflict  between  v.  45  and  v.  40 
may  be  found  copiously  discussed  in  Morison. 
II.  47-56.  Je8U8  Dklivkred  Up  hy 
Judas,  and  Seized  by  the  Soldi  eh.-*. 
(Mark  14:  43-52;  Luke  '22:  47-5:i;  John  18:  2- 
12.)  And  while  he  yet  spake.  So  Mark 
and  Luke,  and  comp.  John  18:  4.  He  fore- 
saw not  only  'the  hour,'  but  the  moment. 
Judas,  see  on  10;  4;  27  :  3.  He  had  probably 
gone  to  the  house  whore  the  supper  was  eaten, 
and  not  finding  them  there,  had  como  on  to 
the  well-known  garden.  (Joiin  is ;  ir.)  A  grrat 
multitude,  with  swords  and  staves.  So 
Mark.     John  (Uev.   Ver.  inai-gin),  says  that 


540 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXVI. 


48  Now  he  that  betrayed  him  gave  them  a  sign,  say- 
ing, Whomsoever  I  shall  kias,  that  same  is  be;  hold 
biui  last. 

49  And  forthwith  he  came  to  Jesus,  and  said,  Hail, 
Master ;  and  kissed  him. 

50  And  Jesus  said  unto  him,  Friend,  wherefore  art 
thou  come  ?  Then  came  they,  and  laid  hands  on  Jesus, 
and  took  him. 


48  people.  Now  he  that  betrayed  him  gave  them  a 
sign,  saying,  Whomsoever  I 'shall  kiss,  that  is  he: 

49  take  him.     And  straightway  he  came  to  Jesus,  and 

50  said,  Hail,  Rabbi ;  and  »  kissed  liim.  And  Jesus  said 
unto  him,  Friend,  do  that  for  which  thou  art  come. 
Then  they  came  and  laid  bauds  ou  Jesus,  and  took 


1  Gr,  kitted  him  muck. 


Judus  received  'the  cohort'  of  soldiers,  which, 
if  full,  would  be  several  hundred  men,  and 
the  extreme  solicitude  of  the  Jewish  rulers 
lest  the  Galilean  crowds  attending  the  fesist 
should  rescue  Jesus  might  well  account  for  so 
large  a  force;  but  the  word  may  be  used  gen- 
erally for  a  'band'  of  men.  The  article  sug- 
gests the  particular  cohort  or  band  then  gar- 
risoning the  temple.  It  was  commanded  by 
a  chiliarch,  or  military  tribune,  a  rank  higher 

than     our     colonel.        (JolinlS:  12;comp.  Acts2l:3Iff.) 

Edersh.  suggests  that  so  large  a  force  and  so 
high  an  officer  commanding  would  hardly 
have  been  furnished  without  the  knowledge 
of  Pilate,  and  this  might  account  for  the  anx- 
ious dream  of  Pilate's  wife.  (27:19.")  It  was 
common  to  strengthen  the  garrison  of  the 
Ciistle  of  Antonia  at  the  time  of  the  great 
feasts,  in  order  to  restrain  the  throngs  in  the 
citj'and  in  the  temple  courts  (Acts 21 :  31  sr.),  just  as 
the  Turks  do  now  at  Easter.  This  '  band '  can- 
not have  been  Jewish  soldiers,  for  the  Romans 
would  not  have  allowed  bodies  of  armed 
natives  in  what  was  now  a  regular  Roman 
pr;)vince.  The  'great  multitude'  may  have 
included  many  followers  through  curiosity, 
as  people  were  moving  about  through  the 
whole  of  the  passover  night.  Whatever  was 
the  number  of  soldiers,  there  was  at  any  rate 
a  military  force  to  support  the  officials  sent  to 
make  the  arrest,  which  was  not  the  case  at  the 
attempt  of  six  months  earlier.  (John 7: 32.)  Be- 
sides the  weapons,  .John  says  the  party  had 
'lanterns  and  torches.'  The  moon  was  full, 
for  the  passover  came  at  the  middle  of  the 
month,  and  the  month  began  with  the  new 
moon,  but  the  officials  might  expect  to  have 
occasion  for  search  in  dark  places,  and  for 
a-ssured  identification.  From  the  chief 
priests  and  elders.  Mark  adds,  'the 
Scribes,'  thus  showing  more  plainly  that  the 
Sauhedrin  is  meant,  see  on  26 :  59.  We  learn 
presently  from  Luke  22:  52  that  some  of  these 
dignitaries  were  themselves  among  the  multi- 
tude. So  there  were  soldiers  (John),  temple 
officials  (Luke,  John),  at  least  one  servant  of 


the  high-priest  (Matt.,  Mark,  Luke),  and 
some  of  the  chief-priests  and  elders  (Luke)  ; 
altogether  '  a  great  multitude  '  (Matt.,  Mark, 
Luke). 

48-50.  Jesus  is  pointed  out  and  seized. 
Gave  them  a  sign,  gave  it  when  they  set  out 
together.  All  the  better  instincts  of  human 
nature  revolt  at  the  treacherous  disciple's 
kiss.  The  kiss  was  a  common  form  of  saluta- 
tion, but  only  between  friends.  And  Judas 
seems  to  liave  pretended  a  very  marked  friend- 
liness; for  both  Matt,  and  Mark,  in  saying 
'and  kissed  him'  (v.49),  do  not  use  the  simple 
verb  as  before,  but  compound  it  with  a  prepo- 
sition, so  as  to  mean  kissed  frequently,  eagerlj', 
warmly.  (Rev.  Ycr.,  margin.)  There  is  the 
same  change  from  the  simple  to  the  compound 
verb  in  Luke  7 :  45  f.,  where  the  latter  denotes 
warm  affection;  comp.  also  the  prodi- 
gal's father  (Luke  15:20),  and  Paul's  friends. 
(Acis20:37.)  The  distinction  is  recognized  by 
Mej'er,  Ellicott,  Grimm,  Alford,  Morison, 
Edersh.  Comp.  Prov.  27:  6,  Rev.  Ver. 
"The  kisses  of  an  enemy  are  profuse." 
Hold  him  fast,  take  him,  the  same  word 
as  in  V.  4,  50,  and  55,  and  the  translation 
ought  not  to  be  varied.  Our  Lord  is  described 
by  John  as  coming  voluntarily  forward  to 
the  multitude  and  avowing  himself  to  be  the 
person  they  were  seeking;  and  this  while 
Judas  was  standing  with  them.  We  may 
perhaps  suppose  that  Judas,  to  fulfill  his  con- 
tract and  earn  his  reward,  stepped  forward 
notwithstanding  and  gave  the  appointed  sign. 
And  the  occasion  for  this  may  have  been 
aflforded  by  the  fact  that  the  multitude,  over- 
awed by  the  calm  majesty  of  the  Saviour  as 
he  avowed  himself,  "  went  backward  and  fell 
to  the  ground."  (John  18: 6.)  Moreover,  the 
Roman  officer  might  not  know  but  that  some 
other  person  was  pretending  to  be  the  one 
whom  he  sought,  and  would  naturally  wait 
for  the  sign  agreed  upon.  Master,  or  Rabbi. 
This  term  was  often  used  by  the  disciples  in  ad- 
dressing Jesus,  comp.  on  8:  19.  Friend  is  not 
the  common  Greek  term,  biit  signifies  com,pan- 


Ch.  XXVI.] 


MATTHEW. 


541 


51  And,  behold,  one  of  them  which  were  with  Jesus  i  51  him.    And  behold,  one  of  them  that  were  with  Jesus 


stretched  out  his  hand,  and  drew  liia  sword,  and  strucK 
a  servant  of  the  high  priest,  and  smote  off  bis  ear. 

52  Then  said  Jesus  unto  him.  Put  up  again  thy  sword 
into  bis  place:  for  all  they  that  take  the  sword  shall 
perish  with  the  sword. 

53  Thinkest  thou  that  I  cannot  now  pray  to  my 
Father,  and  he  shall  presently  give  me  more  than 
twelve  legions  of  angels  ? 


stretched  out  his  hand,  and  drew  bis  sword,  and 
smote  the  '  servant  of  the  high  priest,  and  struck  off 

52  bis  ear.  Then  saith  Jesus  unto  him.  Put  up  again 
thy  sword  iuto  its  place :  for  all  tney  tbat  take  the 

53  sword  sball  perish  with  the  sword.  Or  thinkeat 
thou  that  1  cannot  beseech  my  Father,  and  he  shall 
even  now  send  me  more  than  twelve  legions  of  angels? 


1  Or,  hondtervant. 


ton, 'comrade,'  as  in  20:  13.  Hehad  long  been 
an  every-day  associate,  and  Jesus  reminds  him 
of  this  fact.  {Do  that)  for  which  thou  art 
come.  This  is  the  natural  meaning  of  the 
Greek,  and  not,  Wherefore  art  thou  come? 
The  Greek  pronoun  used  is  not  an  interroga- 
tive, but  a  relative,  which  as  very  often  in 
Greek  and  Latin  suggests  its  antecedent, 
'  (that)  for  which  thou  art  come.'  We  then 
have  to  supply  a  verb,  which  might  be  'tell' 
(Morison,  'say'),  'mind'  (Meyer),  or  better 
'do.'  (Euthym.)  This  accords  with  the  .say- 
ing given  by  Luke,' Judas,  betrayest thou  the 
Son  of  man  with  a  kiss?'  and  with  John 
13 :  27,  Bib.  Un.  Ver.,  '  What  thou  doest,  do 
quickly.'  '  Wherefore,'  in  Com.  Ver.,  would 
imply  that  Jesus  did  not  know,  and  would 
seem  to  conflict  with  Luke.  '(What  is  that) 
for  which  thou  art  come,'  is  also  a  possible 
way  of  supplying  the  gap.i  Laid  hands  on 
Jesus  and  took  him.  Thebinding(Johni8:i2) 
seems  to  have  occurred  a  little  later,  when 
they  were  about  to  lead  him  away. 

51-54.  The  disciple's  rash  attempt  at  de- 
fence. One  is  the  numeral,  notsimply  'some 
one.'  John  tells  (i8:io)  that  it  was  Simon 
Peter,  and  gives  also  the  name  of  the  man 
smitten,  Malchus.  The  names  were  perhaps 
omitted  by  Matt.,  Mark,  and  Luke  because 
Peter  was  still  living  when  they  wrote,  and 
might  have  been  seized  on  this  pretext  in  any 
season  of  special  persecution  by  the  Jews 
(comp.  Acts  21 :  27)  ;  while  when  John  wrote, 
Peter  was  dead.  Comp.  on  26 :  7.  Stretched 
out  his  hand  and  drew  his  sword,  details 
all  the  circumstances,  as  in  5:  1  f  and  often. 
Luke  says  (•«:«)  that  others  of  the  Twelve  in 
sympathy  with  Peter  united  witii  him  in  ask- 
ing, 'Lord,  shall  we  smite  with  the  sword?' 
And  one  of  them  (rash  Peter)  did  not  wait 


for  the  answer,  but  smote.  A  [the)  servant 
of  the  high  priest.  The  word  is  doulon, 
'  slave,'  see  on  8:  6.  But  a  slave  of  the  high- 
priest  would  have,  under  the  circumstances,  a 
sort  of  official  character.  All  four  Evangel- 
ists mention  this,  for  it  was  an  important  cir- 
cumstance, greatly  increasing  the  peril  of 
Peter's  position.  His  invincible  self-confi- 
dence had  made  him  fall  asleep  notwithstand- 
ing the  Master" s  warnings.  Now,  suddenly 
awakening,  he  saw  the  new  comers  laying 
hands  on  the  Master,  and  with  a  sudden  im- 
pulse he  attacked  and  wounded  a  person  hav- 
ing official  importance.  Smote  off  his  ear, 
having  evidently  intended  to  smite  his  head  a 
deadly  blow.  Peter  came  very  near  (Alf. ) 
being  like  Barabbasand  his  followers,  "who 
in  the  insurrection  had  committed  murder." 
(Mark  15: 7.)  Lukc  and  John  mention  that  it 
was  the  right  ear,  and  we  can  see  exactly  how 
the  blow  missed  Return  thy  sword  into  his 
place.  'His'  is  the  original  possessive  of  it 
(hyt),  see  on  24:  32.  Notice  that  Jesus  does  not 
bid  him  throw  away  the  sword.  All  they  that 
take  the  sword,  etc.  Comp.  Rev.  13:  10. 
Christ's  followers  are  not  to  carry  on  his  work 
with  carnal  weapons.  Lutter.  :  "Christ  has 
no  other  sword  than  the  sword  of  his  mouth. 
(Her.  2:18.)  Thosc  who  wish  to  fight  for  him 
must  in  like  manner  have  no  other."  Even 
as  a  matter  of  general  human  prudence,  men 
who  carry  weapons  in  a  civilized  country  are 
on  the  whole  in  much  greater  danger  than 
men  who  do  not.  Thinkest  thou,  etc.,  lit., 
or  if  this  consideration  docs  not  restrain  you, 
take  another  view  of  the  matter  (comp.  on 
7:  9),  thinkest  thou  that  T  cannot  beseech  mi/ 
Father,  is  the  exact  translation,  not  simply 
'pray.'  Now  (rather  even  now),  in  the  com- 
mon Greek  text  is  connected  with  'beseech,' 


>  Winer,  Biittm.,  and  Grimm,  and  many  comment*-  |  probable  In  Itself.    The  example*  collected  by  Moulton 
tors,  take  the  pronoun  as  used  interrogatively,  being  '  In  liis  Winer,  207  f.,  are  all  readily  explained  as  rela- 
influenced   by  a  traditional  Interpretation  (from  the    tive  with  the  autcc«dent  uudetrstood,  or  as  attracted 
Vulgate).    But  there  are  no  clear  examples  of  such  a  !  relative, 
use  of  the  relative  hot  (comp.  Meyer),  aud  it  Is  bigbly  Im- 


542 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXVI. 


54  But  how  then  shall  the  Scriptures  be  fulfilled,  that 
thus  it  must  be  ? 

55  In  that  same  hour  said  .Tesus  to  the  multitudes, 
Are  ye  come  out  as  against  a  thief  with  swords  and 
stavesfor  totake  me?  1  sat  daily  witli  you  teaching  in 
the  temple,  and  ye  laid  no  hold  on  lue. 

56  But  alt  this  was  done,  that  the  Scriptures  of  the 
prophets  might  be  fulfilled.  Then  all  the  di&ciples  for- 
sook him,  and  fled. 


54  How  then  should  the  scriptures  be  fulfilled,  that 

55  thus  it  must  be?  In  that  hour  said  Jesus  to  tlie 
multitudes.  Are  ye  come  out  as  against  a  robber  with 
swords  and  staves  to  seize  me?    I  sat  daily  in  the 

56  temple  teaching,  and  ye  took  me  not.  Kut  all  this 
is  come  to  pass,  that  the  scriptures  of  the  prophets 
might  be  fulfilled.  Then  all  the  disciples  left  him, 
aud  fled. 


but  in  X  B  L,  and  most  of  the  early  versions 
it  is  connected  with  'shall  send'  as  in  Rev. 
Ver.  Give,  or  supply,  furnish.  More  than 
twelve  legions  of  angels.  To  protect 
twelve  men  (himself  and  the  eleven),  he 
might  have  twelve  legions  and  more  of  de- 
fenders. If  a  cohort  seemed  formidable,  he 
might  have  legions.  A  full  Roman  legion  at 
that  day  contained  some  six  thousand  men. 
Of  course  the  expression  is  general,  a  round 
number,  and  stated  strongly.  He  is  not  help- 
lessly' submitting  through  lack  of  strength  and 
of  protection  (comp.  2  Kings  6:  17),  but  is 
voluntarily  yielding  himself  to  thpse  who  de- 
sign putting  him  to  death.  He  could  easily 
avoid  all  that  is  coming,  but  how  then  shall 
the  Scriptures  be  fulfilled,  that  thus  it 
must  be?  viz.,  that  the  Messiah  must  be 
despised  and  rejected,  must  suffer  and  die 
(comp.  Luke  24:  25  f. ).  'The  Scriptures,'  a 
technical  term  among  the  Jews,  denoting  the 
collection  of  books  which  we  call  the  Old 
Testament,  see  on  21 :  42.  Only  Matt,  gives 
here  the  ri-ference  to  prophecy,  a  matter  in 
which  he  took  peculiar  interest,  as  writing 
especially  for  Jewish  readers;  but  Mark  also 
g>es  the  parallel  to  v.  56.  John  (i8:ii)  re- 
cords another  expression  in  harmony  with  v. 
52-54,  "  The  cup  which  my  Father  has  given 
me,  shall  I  not  drink  it "  ?  Just  after,  or  just 
before,  thus  speaking  to  Peter,  he  spoke  also 
(Lake22:5i)  to  the  pcrsous  who  Were  arresting 
him,  "Suffer  ye  thus  far";  suffer  the  resist- 
ance of  the  mistaken  but  well-meaning  fol- 
lower to  go  thus  far  without  punishing  him. 
Then  immediately  healing  the  ear  by  a  mi- 
raculous touch,  he  induced  them  to  let  the  rash 
disciple  alone. 

55  f.  Having  rebuked  the  disciple,  and  con- 
ciliated the  persons  immediately  engaged  in 
arrpsting  him,  Jesus  now  turns  to  the  multi- 
tudes that  thronged  around.  Luke  shows 
(j2:o2)  that  among  them  were  chief  priests 
and  captains  of  the  temple  and  elders,  who 
might  naturally  enough,  in  their  extreme 
solicitude,  come  along  to  see  that  the  perilous 


arrest  was  surely  and  safely  made.  In  that 
same  hour  (comp.  18:  1),  viz.,  at  the  time 
when  they  were  engaged  in  arresting  him  ; 
but  it  is  not  easy  to  see  why  this  more  em- 
phatic expression  is  used  instead  of  the  siinple 
'then.'  Perhaps  the  following  words  were 
well  known  among  the  Christians  to  have 
been  spoken  by  Jesus,  and  Matt,  means  to 
say  that  this  was  the  time  of  their  utterance. 
Mark  and  Luke  have  a  simple  'and.'  Are 
ye  come  out  as  against  a  thief,  etc.  Bet- 
ter as  in  Rev.  Ver.,  as  if  against  a  robber  are 
ye  come  out  with  swords  and  staves  to  seize  me  ? 
Not  a  'thief,'  but  tlie  quite  different  Greek 
word  meaning  'robber,'  see  on  27:  38.  A 
thief  would  try  to  escape  by  flight,  a  robber 
was  likely  to  resist,  and  they  must  bring 
weapons  to  apprehend  him.  '  Seize'  is  in  the 
Greek  a  stronger  term  than  that  of  v.  48,  50, 
and  end  of  55 ;  Mark  makes  exactly  the  same 
distinction.  Jesus  reproaches  the  multitudes 
with  coming  against  him  as  if  a  man  of  vio- 
lence. There  had  been  abundant  opportunity 
of  arresting  him  without  difficulty.  I  sat, 
imperfect  tense,  continued  or  habitual  action. 
This  posture,  which  was  common  for  a  teacher 
(5:i),  would  have  made  it  easy  to  seize  him, 
and  also  indicated  quiet  innocence.  Daily, 
for  several  days  of  the  preceding  week;  pos- 
sibly it  points  back  also  to  earlier  periods  of 
teaching  at  Jerusalem,  recorded  only  in  the 
Fourth  Gospel.  With  you,  is  wanting  in  some 
of  the  best  documents.  In  the  temple, 
hieron,  the  general  sacred  enclosure  and  edi- 
fices (see  on  4:  5) ;  he  taught  in  the  Court  of 
the  Gentiles  and  the  Court  of  Israel ;  not 
being  of  the  tribe  of  Levi,  we  may  be  sure  he 
never  entered  the  naos,  nor  the  Court  of  the 
Priests.  And  ye  laid  no  hold  on  me.  He 
thus  reminds  them  that  he  had  given  no 
occasion  for  their  treating  him  as  violent  and 
dangerous,  nor  for  their  arresting  him  at  all. 
But  all  this  was  done,  is  come  to  pass 
(comp.  on  1:  22),  still  the  Saviour's  words, 
as  clearly  shown  by  Mark  14:  49.  In  the 
course  of  Providence  this  plotting  and  arrest- 


Ch.  XXVI.] 


MATTHEW. 


543 


ing  had  all  taken  place,  that  the  Scrip- 
tures might  be  fulfilled;  though  the  hu- 
man actors  had  no  such  design.  The  Scrip- 
tures of  the  prophets,  because  the  reference 
is  especially  to  the  predictive  portions  of 
Scripture,  the  Messianic  prophecies;  comp. 
at  the  crucifixion,  John  19:  28.  Luke  records 
the  additional  saying,  in  harmony  with  that 
given  here,  "But  this  is  your  hour,  and  the 
power  of  darkness."  The  purpose  of  redemp- 
tion now  permitted  that  great  wrong,  which 
was  to  be  wonderfully  overruled  for  good. 
Then  all  the  disciples  forsook  him  and 
fled.  In  judging  them,  we  must  remember 
that  the  Master  had  forbidden  all  resistance, 
and  had  distinctly  said  he  was  about  to  leave 
them.  Mark  adds  (u:5if)an  account  of  a 
certain  young  man  who  left  his  solitary  gar- 
ment when  he  was  seized  by  the  captors,  and 
fled.  Tlie  mention  of  this  slight  incident  may 
be  suflSciently  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that 
it  shows  how  great  was  the  terror  felt  by  the 
followers  of  Jesus.  Some  think,  however, 
that  it  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  personal  remin- 
iscence, the  youth  being  Mark  himself, 
whose  mother  is  found  living  at  Jerusalem  a 
dozen  years  later  (Acts  12:  12) ;  and  it  is  sug- 
gested ("Weiss,  Edersh.)  that  the  youth  had 
followed  Jesus  and  the  disciples  from  the 
house  in  which  they  had  eaten  the  passover, 
and  so  that  the  hospitable  householder  was 
Mark's  father.  There  is  very  slight  ground 
for  this  conjecture,  or  for  the  notion  that  it 
was  Lazarus  of  Bethany.  We  find  afterwards 
that  Peter  and  John  must  have  speedily  re- 
turned. (26:  M;  John  18: 15.)  They  might  be 
regarded  as  exceptions  to  tlie  general  state- 
ment that  all  fled;  but  the  Saviour  had 
also  made  a  general  prediction  (.m:si,  e.v.), 
'All  ye  shall  be  oflTended  because  of  me  this 
night.'— So  the  oflRcials  and  the  8f>ldiers  led 
Jesus  away  (Jounis:  i-i);  and  mean  time 
(  iVeiss,  "Life"),  "Jerusalem  slept  in  peace, 
and  did  not  know  what  had  happened." 

HOMILETICAL   AXD   PRACTICAL. 

V.  37.  The  three  disciples  in  Gethscmane. 
1)  How  hard  to  realize  the  significance  of 
great  crises  in  life.  2)  How  imperfect  is  nil 
human  sympathy  with  the  Divine  Redeemer. 
3)  How  readily  does  human  infirmity  weiirh 
down  the  willingspirit.  4)  Howwatclifiil  wc 
should  be  in  all  times  of  special  trial.    6)  How 


great  the  privilege  of  praying  that  we  may 
not  come  into  temptation. — Three  witnesses  of 
three  scenes.  1)  Their  Master's  power,  Mark 
5:  37.  2)  Their  Master's  glory,  Matt.  17:  1. 
3)  Their  Master's  agony. — V.  39.  Three  pray- 
ers of  Jesus.  1)  The  prayer  he  taught  his 
disciples  to  pray.  2)  The  prayer  he  ofiTered 
in  behalf  of  his  disciples,  John  17.  3)  The 
prayer  he  made  in  his  own  behalf.  Alfobd: 
"AH  conflict  of  the  holy  soul  is  pra3'er;  all 
its  struggles  are  continued  communion  with 
God.  When  Abrahams  faith  was  to  be  put 
to  so  sore  a  trial,  he  says,  '  I  and  the  lad  will 
go  yonder  and  worship.'  Our  Lord  (almost 
on  the  same  spot)  unites  in  himself  (Stier) 
as  the  priest  and  victim,  Abraham's  faith 
and  Isaac's  patience." — The  three  gardens, 
Eden,  Gethsemane,  Paradise.  The  fall  of 
man  in  Eden  made  necessary  the  agony  of 
man's  Saviour  in  Gethsemane,  and  this  made 
possible  the  admission  of  man  into  the  Para- 
dise on  high. — V.  40  f.  Even  in  this  season  of 
special  suffering  he  has  time  to  counsel  his 
disciples;  so  on  the  cross  ho  prays  for  his 
murderers,  provides  for  his  mother,  and  an- 
swers the  request  of  his  companion  in  suffer- 
ing.— V.   41.     Safety  as  regards    temptation. 

1)  Temptation  is  dangerous  because  the  flesh 
is  weak.  2)  Our  only  real  safety  is  in  avoid- 
ing temptation.  3)  In  order  to  this,  let  us  be 
watchful  and  prayerful.— V.  42.  Prkssense: 
"Not  thy  will  but  mine  be  done,  changed 
Paradise  into  a  desert;  not  my  will  but  thine 
be  done,  changed  the  desert  into  Paradise, 
and  made  Gethsemane  the  gate  of  glory." — 
V.  43.  Their  eyes  were  heavy.  Bengel: 
"Such  slothfulness  often  holds  the  pious 
when  it  is  least  becoming." — V.  45  f.  Rest 
and  arise.  It  is  often  the  case  that  when  one 
cause  of  anxiety  has  ceased  and  left  us  a 
moment's  rest,  in  the  next  moment  some  new 
trouble  comes,  and  we  must  arise  to  face  it. — 
V.  47-54.  The  betrayal  of  Jesus.  1)  The  trai- 
tor's kiss,  and   the  Saviour's  calm  response. 

2)  The  rash  disciple's  blow,  and  the  Saviour's 
mild  rebuke.  3)  The  Saviour's  determina- 
tion, though  he  could  escape  in  a  moment,  to 
fulfill  the  Scriptures  and  work  out  the  world's 
salvation. 

57-08.  Je.sus  Sentenced   bv  the  San- 

HKDRIN. 

This  is  found  also  in  Mark  14:  68-66;  Luke 
22:  64,  6;M>6;  John  18:  12-14,  19-24. 


544 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXVI. 


57  And  thev  that  had  laid  hold  on  Jesus  led  him  '  57  And  they  that  had  taken  Jesus  led  him  away  to 
away  to  Caiaplias  the  high  priest,  where  the  scribes  and  I  the  house  of  Caiaphas  the  high  priest,  where  the 
the  elders  were  assembled.  I 


The  trial  of  our  Lord  may  be  divided  into 
two  main  parts,  the  Jewish  and  the  Romsin 
trial.  Each  of  these  must  be  subdivided. 
(1)  The  Jewish  trial  comprises  (a)  The  exami- 
nation before  Annas,  John  18:  12-14,  19-23; 
(b)  The  sentence  by  an  informal  session  of 
the  Sanhedrin,  Matt.  26:  57-68;  Mark  14:  53- 
65 ;  (c)  The  formal  trial  before  the  Sanhedrin, 
which  sends  him  to  Pilate  for  sentence.  Matt. 
27:  If;  Luke  22:  66-71.  (2)  The  Roman 
trial  includes  (a)  The  first  examination  before 
Pilate,  27:  11-14;  John  18:  28-38;  (b)  The 
reference  to  Herod,  Luke  23:  6-12;  (c;  The 
final  appearance  before  Pilate,  27:  15-31 ;  John 
18 :  39-19 :  16.  It  is  noticeable  that  John  gives  a 
good  deal  as  to  the  Roman  trial  that  is  not 
found  in  the  other  Gospels,  particularly  as  to 
Pilate's  private  inquiries.  Mark  continues  to 
resemble  Matt.  Luke  has  some  matter  not 
found  in  the  others. 

Our  present  section  contains  the  trial  before 
an  informal  session  of  the  Sanhedrin.  It 
may  be  divided  into  v.  57  f.  ;  69-63a;  63b- 
66 ;  67  f 

I.  57  f.  Jesus  is  brought  before  Caiaphas 
and  the  Scribes  and  Elders.  Peter  follow^s 
and  looks  on.  (Mark  14 :  53  f. ;  Luke  22 :  54 ; 
John  18:  15,  24.)  They  that  had  laid  hold 
on  Jesns,  at  Gethsemane.  Led  him  away 
to  Caiaphas,  the  high  priest.  The  ap- 
pended '  where '  implies  that  this  means  to  the 
house  of  Caiaphas,  and  that  is  distinctly 
stated  in  Luke.  Caiaphas  was  the  son-in-law 
of  Annas,  Ananus,  or  Hanan,  who  had  long 
before  been  high  priest  himself,  and  among 
the  numerous  changes  of  the  time,  was  suc- 
ceeded by  five  .sons  and  this  son-in-law  (Jos., 
"Ant.,"  18,  2,  If;  20,  9,  1.)  The  family 
were  all  Sadducees  (Jos.,  Talmud),  and  were 
specially  odious  to  the  Pharisees,  the  "house 
of  Annas"  becoming  a  by-word  (Talmud). 
Joseph  Caiaphas  was  deposed  shortly  after 
Pilate  lo.st  the  procuratorship,  a.  d.  36 
("Ant.,"  18,  4,  2f)  The  time  when  he  was 
made  high  priest  depends  on  an  obscure  state- 
ment of  Jos.  ("Ant.,"  18,  2,  2.)  His  expres- 
sions leave  hardly  more  than  four  j'ears 
between  Annas  and  Caiaphas.  Either  Annas 
officiated  about  A.  D.  7-21,  and  then  Caiaphas 
A.   D.  25-36,  or  Annas  a.  d.  7-14,  and  then 


Caiaphas  A.  D.  18-36.  The  son  Eleazar  came 
between  Annas  and  Caiaphas;  Jonathan  and 
Theophilus  (Keim)  a.  d.  36  f. ;  Matthias  a.  d. 
42  f  ;  Annas,  junior  ("Ant.,"  20,  9,  1)  a.  d 
63.  This  makes  the  last  a  diflerent  person 
from  the  high  priest  Ananias  of  Acts  23:  2; 
24:  1,  A.  D.  58.  The  character  of  Caiaphas 
appears  from  John  11:  49-52,  and  from  the 
trial  of  Jesus,  to  have  been  shrewd,  self-seek- 
ing, and  unscrupulous.  Where  the  scribes 
and  the  elders  were  assembled.  Mark 
mentions  also  (i*:  53)  '  all  the  chief  priests,'  and 
these  are  expressly  mentioned  just  after  by 
Matthew,  v.  59.  These  were  the  three  classes 
composing  the  Sanhedrin  (see  on  v.  59.)  In- 
.stead  of  'were  a.osembled'  (Com.  Ver. \  it  is 
better  to  translate  icere  gathered  together, 
for  the  former  woiild  indicate  a  formal  session 
of  the  Sanhedrin,  while  the  Greek  term  is 
neutral  on  that  point.  Mark's  phrase  is 
simply  'there  come  together  with  him,'  and 
the  fact  seems  to  be  that  this  was  an  informal 
gathering  before  dawn,  whereas,  a  formal 
session  could  not  be  held  till  '  morning  was 
come.'  (•■'7:1.) 

It  was  apparently  while  the  dignitaries  were 
gatheringat  that  unseasonable  hour,  that  Jesus 
was  first  questioned  by  Annas.  (John  is:  12-u.) 
Annas  and  Caiaphas  were  both  regarded  as 
high  priests  (Lukes :  2),  the  former  still  in  pop- 
ular estimation  holding  the  office  as  long  as 
he  lived,  while  the  latter  only  was  recognized 
bj'  the  Romains.  So  in  1  Kings  4 :  4,  Zadok 
and  Abiathar  are  mentioned  as  priests,  it  hav- 
ing been  stated  in  2:  35  that  the  king  put 
Zadok  in  the  room  of  Abiathar.  An  action 
would  be  valid  in  the  eyes  of  both  the  people 
and  the  Romans  if  known  to  have  the  ap- 
proval of  both  Caiaphas  and  Annas.  This  was 
easier  from  the  fact  that  Caiaphas  was  son-in- 
law  to  Annas;  and  the  supposition  (Euthym. 
and  various  recent  writers')  that  Annas  at  this 
time  lived  with  Caiaphas  in  the  high  priest's 
official  residence,  each  having  his  own  recep- 
tion room,  will  account  for  all  the  st:itement8 
in  the  several  Gospels.  It  is  also  a  plausible 
conjecture  (Wieseler,  Ewald),  that  Annas 
may  have  been  at  this  period  president  (Nasi) 
of  the  Sanhedrin.  John  distinctly  states  that 
they  "led  him  to  Annas  first;    for  he  was 


Ch.  XXVI.] 


MATTHEW. 


545 


58  But  Peter  followed  him  afar  off  unto  the  high  58  scribes  and  the  elders  were  gathered  together.  But 
priest's  palace,  and  went  in,  and  sat  with  the  servants,  I  Peter  followed  him  alar  off,  unto  the  court  of  the 
to  see  the  end.  |       high  priest,  aud  entered  in,  and  sat  with  the  officers, 


father-in-law  to  Caiaphas,  who  was  high 
priest  that  year."  (Rev.  Ver.)  Then  after 
mentioning  some  things  about  Caiaphas  and 
about  Peter,  John  states  that  "the  high 
priest"  questioned  Jesus  "of  his  disciples, 
and  of  his  teachings"  (Rev.  Ver.);  but  the 
Saviour  declined  a  response,  saying  that  he 
had  taught  publicly,  and  those  who  had 
heard  him  could  be  asked.  Then  John  adds 
(correct  text,  Rev.  Ver.),  "Annas  therefore 
senthim  bound  unto  Caiaphas  the  high  priest." 
This  seems  to  leave  no  doubt  that  the  high 
priest  who  first  vainly  interrogated  Jesus  was 
Annas.  Many  of  the  ablest  recent  writers 
have  taken  this  view,  while  not  a  few  still 
think  otherwise.'  Thus  understood,  this  was 
not  a  trial,  but  a  mere  personal  interrogation 
by  an  aged  ex-high  priest.  John  gives  no 
account  of  the  trial  before  Caiaphas  and  the 
Sanhedrin,  that  having  been  fully  described 
by  the  earlier  Gospels.  Indeed,  it  may  be 
(Weiss,  "  Life")  that  John  mentions  this  pre- 
liminary examination  only  because  of  its  con- 
nection with  the  first  of  Peter's  denials. 

But  Peter  followed  him  afar  off,  viz., 
followed  him  from  Gethsemane  (comp.  on 
26:  56).  Really  attached  to  the  Master,  and 
still  self-confident,  he  was  yet  alarmed  by  the 
probable  consequences  of  his  smiting  the  high 
priest's  servant,  and  so  he  took  a  middle 
course;  John  went  along  with  the  party  who 
conducted  Jesus;  the  other  disciples  fled; 
Peter  followed  at  a  distance.  Alexander: 
"However  unexpected  the  fact  here  recorded, 
there  is  probably  no  reader  who,  as  soon  as  it 
is  stated,  does  not  feel  it  to  be  perfectly  in 
keeping  with  what  he  knows  already  of  the 
character  of  Peter,  who  would  scarcely' seem 
to  be  himself  if  he  continued  in  concealment, 
and  whose  re-appearance  on  the  scene,  and 
subsequent  performance  there,  exhibit  just 
tlie  strength  and  weakness  which  together 
constitute  the  native  temper  of  this  great 
apostle."  Unto  the  high  priest's  palace,  see 


on  26 -.3.  The  building  was  doubtless  four- 
square, surrounding  an  open  court.  Upon 
this  court  opened  the  rooms,  one  of  which 
formed  the  audience  room  of  the  high  priest, 
and  probably  another  that  of  Annas.  John 
gives  the  further  details  that  Peter  reached  the 
house  only  after  the  procession  had  all  en- 
tered and  the  gate  was  closed  ;  and  that  he 
(John),  being  "known  unto  the  high  priest," 

went  out  "  and  spake  unto  her  that 

kept  the  door,  and  brought  in  Peter."  And 
sat  with  the  servants,  or  officers.  Tyndale, 
etc.,  'servants,'  GrcaV  huperetes,  see  on  8:6. 
John  adds  (18:8)  that  "the  servants  (dnufoi) 
and  the  officers  stood  there,  who  had  made  a 
fire  of  coals;  for  it  wtts  cold."  At  the  time 
of  the  passover  it  is  quite  hot  in  Jerusalem 
at  mid-day,  but  frequently' grows  cold  towards 
morning.  As  to  the  fact  that  Matt,  says  '.sat,' 
and  John  'standing,'  it  is  easy  to  meet  so  tri- 
fling a  difficulty  by  remembering  that  they 
would  be  likely  to  change  posture.  To  see 
the  end..  Ho  was  anxious  as  to  the  matter, 
and  determined  to  see  it  through,  but  not 
humble,  watchful,  and  prayerful  (2«:40f.),  or 
he  would  not  have  become  involved  in  such 
difficulty.  The  further  account  of  Peter  see 
below  in 26:  69-75.  Bengel :  "Hero  mid-way 
between  courage  ("-si)  and  cowardice.  (».  to.)" 
II.  59-63  a.  Vain  attempts  to  convict 
Jesus  by  false  witness.  Mark  14:  65-59. 
Luke  does  not  mention  this  informal  gather- 
ing of  the  Sanhedrin,  but  only  the  formal 
session  "as  soon  as  it  was  day."  (i.uice jv:**! 
oonip.  Matt.  17:1.)  Many  expositors  identify  the 
two  meetings;  but  the  supposition  of  a  pre- 
vious informal  meeting  is  natural  in  itself,  as 
many  of  the  rulers  would  be  anxiously  await- 
ing the  result  of  Judas'  expedition,  and  this 
supposition  accounts  for  all  the  phenomena  of 
the  narrative;  accordingly  it  is  adopted  by 
Wicseler,  Alford,  Godot,  Koim,  and  various 
other  recent  writers.  PIdersh.  insi.sts  that 
neither  of  these  was  a  regular  8e.«8ion  of  the 


»  Vedder  ("  Bibl.  Sac.,"  Oct.  1882),  calls  it  a  "clumsy  i  the  apo,  falling  to  notice  that  Mttlh  i*  n<it  nse*!  In  New 
and  Improhal.le  hypothesis,"  and  savs,  "There  is  some  |  TeM.  (except  twice  In  the  middle  voice),  and  n,,o>lello  Is 
thing  ludicrous  in  the  statement,  '  Now  Annas  sent  him  j  frequently  employed  where  there  Is  no  dlsllnotlve  no- 
away  hound  to  faiaphas;  if  the  sending  away  consisted  tion  of  sending  nwa^.  .Moreover,  sending  from  one 
in  a  removal  from  one  apartment  to  another  in  the  same  audience  r<Kim  to  another,  across  a  large  court,  was  not 
house."    But  he  has  laid  an  unwarranted  stress  upon    a  trilling  remov.ii. 

2  K 


546 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXVI. 


59  Now  the  chief  priests,  and  elders,  and  all  the  '  59  to  see  the  end.  Now  the  chief  priests  and  the  whole 
council,  sought  false  witness  against  Jesus,  to  put  him  I  council  sought  false  witness  against  Jesus,  that  they 
to  death  ;  160  might  put  him  to  death;  and  they  found  it  not, 

60  But  found  none:  yea,  though  many  false  witnesses 
came,  yet  found  they  none.    At  the  last  came  two  false  1 
witnesses,  | 


Sanhedrin,  and  there  was  no  formal  condem- 
nation of  Jesus  by  that  body ;  but  his  line  of  ar- 
gument is  fur  from  convincing.  Geikie  adopts 
the  same  view  from  the  Jewish  writer  Jost. 
Chiefpriests,and  elders,  and  all  the  coun- 
cil, or  Sanhedrin.  The  phrase  suggests  that  the 
chief  priests  formed  a  part  of  the  Sanhedrin, 
and  that  this  was  a  full  meeting.  While  no 
exception  is  here  mentioned,  we  know  from 
Luke  (23:50f.,  R.  V.)  that  Joseph  of  Arimathea 
"had  not  consented  to  their  counsel  and 
deed,"  and  we  infer  the  same  as  to  Nicodemus 
from  the  accounts  in  John.  It  would  not  be  an 
improbable  supposition  that  the  rulers  had 
avoided  informing  Nicodemus  of  this  meeting 
(comp.  John  7  :  50-52).  A  quorum  of  the  San- 
hedrin was  twenty  three  (Lf. ),  but  this  was 
'"all  the  Sanhedrin,"  a  very  full  meeting. 

The  Sanhedrin  was  in  the  time  of  our  Lord 
the  highest  court  of  the  Jews.  Our  knowl- 
edge of  its  constitution  and  functions  is  but 
fragmentary.  It  arose  during  the  Greek  or 
the  Maccabaean  period.  The  very  name  is  a 
mere  Hebrew  spelling  of  the  Greek  sunedrion 
('sitting  together'),  the  h  of  hedra,  lost  in  the 
Greek  compound,  being  restored  in  the  trans- 
literation, as  has  frequently  happened.  The 
Mishna  supposes  that  the  Sanhedrin  was  a 
survival  of  the  council  of  seventy  formed  by 
Moses  (Num.  n :  16),  and  infers  that  it  also  must 
have  contained  seventy  members,  or  adding 
one  for  Moses,  then  seventy-one.  It  is  prob- 
able that  this  was  the  number,  but  we  cannot 
certainly  determine.  The  constitution  of  the 
body  is  not  described  by  the  Talmud,  but  the 

New  Test,  shows  (27:  l;  Mark  15:1;  Luke  22:  66)  that 

it  consisted  of  chief  priests,  elders,  and  scribes, 
though  we  know  not  in  what  proportions,  nor 
what  sort  of  elders  were  included.  As  to  the 
chief  priests  and  the  scribes,  see  on  2:  4.  The 
chief  priests  are  usually  mentioned  first,  and 
would  naturally  be  the  ruling  section  of  the 
body.  They  were  for  the  most  part  Saddu- 
cees,  while  the  scribes  were  probably  all 
Pharisees.  The  presidency  of  the  body  seems 
to  have  been  elective,  but  the  high  priest  was 
commonly  the  person  elected.  The  Sanhe- 
drin tried  (Schurer)  all  the  more  important 


secular  and  religious,  civil  and  criminal 
causes,  the  less  important  being  tried  by  in- 
ferior local  tribunals.  It  seems  highly  prob- 
able, though  not  certain  (see  the  difficulties 
well  stated  by  Vedder,  p.  666  ff.),  that  the 
Sanhedrin's  death-sentence  could  at  this 
period  be  executed  only  by  the  procurator's 
permission.  In  John  13:  31,  the  Jews  say  to 
Pilate,  "  It  is  not  lawful  for  us  to  put  any  man 
to  death."  Some  argue  that  the  Romans  had 
taken  away  this  power  when  Judea  first  be- 
came a  province,  as  they  are  known  to  have 
done  in  some  other  provinces.  The  Jems. 
Talmud  says  (Sanh.  i,  1;  vii,  2),  "Forty 
years  before  the  destruction  of  the  temple, 
judgments  upon  life  and  death  were  taken 
away  from  Israel."  This  date  is  probably 
given  (Sohiirer)  in  a  round  number,  as  was 
natural  three  hundred  years  later.  The  cru- 
cifixion was  probably  in  the  forty-first  year 
before  the  destruction  of  the  temple.  The 
stoning  of  Stephen  was  a  tumultuary  pro- 
ceeding, and  probably  occurred  at  a  time 
when  there  was  no  procurator.  The  regular 
place  of  meeting  of  the  Sanhedrin  was  at  a 
hall  either  in  or  near  the  temple  area  (Jos. 
and  the  Mishna  differ).  It  is  stated  in  the 
Talmud  that  forty  years  before  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  temple  the  Sanhedrin  ceased  to 
meet  in  its  hall,  and  met  in  shops  ;  these  may 
have  been  in  the  outer  court  of  the  temple, 
which  the  Saviour  more  than  once  cleansed. 
At  any  rate,  a  special  meeting  at  the  high 
priest's  residence  would  not  be  surprising  in 
such  an  emergency  as  the  trial  of  Jesus,  when 
in  various  ways  they  were  departing  from 
custom.  Moreover,  it  may  have  been  only 
the  informal  meeting  that  was  held  at  the 
high  priest's  house;  the  formal  session  of  27: 
1,  may  have  been  at  their  hall — notice  espe- 
cially 'led  him  away'  in  Luke  22:  66  (Rev. 
Ver.,  correct  text). 

Sou^rht  false  witness,  imperfect  tense, 
describing  them  as  engaged  in  seeking.  To, 
or,  that  they  might,  put  him  to  death.  Thej' 
must  have  sufficient  evidence  for  sentencing 
him  to  death,  in  order  that  they  might  gain 
the  Roman    governor's  authority  to  execute 


Ch.  XXVI.] 


MATTHEW. 


547 


61  Aud  said,  This  fellow  said,  I  am  able  to  destroy 
the  temple  of  lied,  and  to  build  it  iu  three  days. 

62  And  the  high  priest  arose,  and  said  unto"hini,  An- 
swerest  thou  nothing?  what  is  it  which  these  witness 
against  thee  ? 


61  though  many  false  witnesses  came.  But  afterward 
came  two,  and  said.  This  man  said,  I  am  able  to  de- 
stroy the  1  temple  of  Uod,  and  to  build  it  in  three 

62  days.  And  the  high  priest  stood  up,  and  said  unto 
him,  Auswerest  thou  nottiing?   what  is  it  which 


1  Or,  tanctuary :  as  iu  oh.  xxili.  35 ;  xxvil.  &. 


the  sentence.  Though  many  false  wit> 
nesses  caine.i  This  was  easy  to  bring  about 
through  the  continued  exertions  of  influential 
men,  comp.  Acts  6:  11;  in  fact,  they  had  no 
doubt  been  for  some  time  hunting  up  wit- 
nesses. (26:  *f.)  Anywhere  in  Asia,  not  to 
speak  of  other  countries,  there  are  hangers  on 
about  the  courts  ready  to  sell  testimony. 
Marl<  explains (H: 56)  that  'their  witness  agreed 
not  together.'  The  Sanhedrin  could  not 
affird  to  disregard  the  ordinary  forms  of 
judicial  pr.>cedure.  Their  proceedings  could 
not  be  permanently  kept  secret.  The  law  ex- 
pressly forbade  the  death  penalty  upon  the  tes- 
timony of  a  single  witness.    (Num.  SSrSO;  Oeut.  17:6.) 

Here  there  were  many  witnesses,  each  making 
a  separate  accusation,  but  not  two  to  the  same 
count.  It  is  vain  to  conjecture  what  were  the 
various  and  conflicting  false  testimonies.  At 
the  last  (afterward)  came  two.  The  Com. 
text  adds  'false  witnes.ses,'  from  the  preceding 
verse.  We  might  suppose  that  these  two 
agreed  in  their  testimony;  but  Mark(M:59, 
Ber. ver.)  says,  "and  not  even  so  did  their  wit- 
ness agree  together,"  probably  meaning  that 
it  did  not  so  agree  concerning  the  circum- 
stances and  terras  of  the  alleged  statement  as 
to  be  credible.  The  Mishna,  treatise  'Sanhe- 
drin,' gives  detailed  directions  concerning  wit- 
nesses, one  of  which  is  ("Sanh.,"  V.,  1)  that 
each  witness  must  be  asked  seven  questions  as 
to  the  alleged  offence,  viz.,  in  what  period  of 
seven  years  (counting  from  the  Sabbatical 
year)  it  occurred,  in  what  year  of  the  period, 
in  what  month,  day  of  the  month,  day  of  the 
week,  hour  of  the  day,  and  at  what  place; 
and  the  limits  are  indicated  within  which  two 
witnesses  may  differ  upon  one  or  another 
question,    without    invalidating    their    testi- 


I  mony.     (Comp.  Wunsche,  or  "The  Criminal 
Code  of  the  Jews,"   London,  1880.)    Observe 
that  in   Mark   (u:58)  the   witnesses  declare, 
"We  heard  him  say,"  etc.,  with  emphasis  on 
"  we  "  ;  and  so  they  could  be  required  to  give 
time  and  place.     We  of  course  do  not  know 
how  far  these  strict  rules  were  actually  ob- 
served two  centuries  before  the  Mishna  was 
written  down.     But  while  the  Sanhedrin  was 
bent  on  conviction,  it  would  for  that  reason  bo 
all   the  more  careful   to  observe  customary 
forms.     Notice  that  there  seems  to  have  been 
no  call  for  evidence  in  Jesus'  defence,  though 
he  had  intimated  to  Annas  (John  is :  20 r.)  that 
such   evidence  might  be  easily  found.     The 
mediaeval  Jewish  fables  tried  to  remove  this 
obvious  injustice  by  declaring  that  heralds 
made  proclamation   for  forty  days,  and  no 
witness    appeared    in    Jesus'    behalf.      It    is 
hardly  necessary  to  say  that  Jewish  writers  do 
not  now  claim  any  respect  for  these  fables, 
though  some  of  them  try  to  soflen  the  guilt  of 
the  Sanhedrin.     This  fellow  (rather,  7na?t) 
said.    The  Greek  for  '  this '  does  not  in  itself 
carry  such   contempt  as  Tyndale,   etc.,   ex- 
pressed hy  '  fellow.'    I  am  able  to  destroy. 
Mark    has    'I    will    destroy,'    substantially 
equivalent;  and  so  as  to  the  other  slight  dif- 
ferences between  Matt,  and  Mark.    'Destroy' 
is  literally,  'pull  down,'  same  word  as  in  6: 
17.     The  temple,  is  here  nann,  the  central 
house,  see  on  4:6.     In  three  days,  or,  more 
correctly,  after  three  days,  literally,  '  with  an 
interval   of  three  days,"  as  in  Acts  24:  17; 
Gal.  2:  1.     This  alleged  statement  was  evi- 
dently a  perversion  of  what  Jesus  had  said  at 
the  first  passover  of  his  ministry   (John 2: 19), 
"  Destroy  this   temple,  and   in   three  days  I 
will  raise  it  up."     He  did  not  even  suggest 


1  The  common  text  here  presents  an  interesting  ex- 
ample of  a  "conflate  reading."  True  text,  'and  they 
found  it  not,  though  many  false  witnesses  came.'  Rev. 
Ver.,  gome  documents,  'and  though  maty  false  wit- 
nesses c.inie  they  found  it  not.'  Conflate  text,  '  and 
they  found  it  not,  and  though  many  false  witnesses 
came  they  found  it  not.'  Any  body  can  see  that  the 
last  was  formed  by  combining  the  other  two;  and  there 


I  are  many  such  readings  in  the  Common  Greek  text 

I  (coMip.  \V  H.,  Int.  g  132  ff.). 

«  Meyer  and  many  are  here  misled  by  taking  dia  in 
the  sense  of  'through,'  and  overlooking  its  primary 
w^nse  of '  between,'  from  which  one  derivative  sense  was 
that  of  interval.  In  27:  40  and  John  2:  19  the  phrase 
employed  literally  means  '  in  three  days." 


548 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXVI. 


63  But  Jesus  held  his  peace.  And  the  high  priest 
answered  and  said  unto  hini,  I  adjure  thee  by  the  living 
God,  that  ihou  tell  us  whetlier  thou  be  theChrist,  the 
Son  of  God. 


63  thes3  witness  against  thee?  But  Jesus  held  his 
peace.  And  the  nigh  priest  said  unto  hiiu,  I  adjure 
thee  by  the  living  God,  that  thou  tell  us  whether 


the  idea  of  himself  destroying  the  temple, 
which  the  Jews  would  naturally  call  impious; 
and  we  know,  as  the  Simhedrin  might  have 
learned  from  him  if  they  had  desired,  that  he 
meant  the  expression  in  a  merely  figurative 
sense.  But  we  find  the  same  conception  still 
cherished  among  the  Jews  in  Acts  6:  14.  It 
might  be  (Edersh.)  a  good  pretext  to  use  with 
Pilate,  that  Jesus  would  encourage  popular 
violence  against  public  and  sacred  buildings. 
The  Egyptian  of  Acts  21 :  38  promised  his 
followers  that  from  the  Mount  of  Olives  they 
would  see  the  walls  of  Jerusalem  fall  at  his 
command,  and  could  inarch  in.  But  this 
could  hardly  be  seriously  treated  as  a  ground 
for  sentence  of  death ;  so  the  high  priest 
eagerly  urges  Jesus  to  answer  the  accusation, 
hoping  that  thus  he  will  somehow  criminate 
himself.  This  eagerness  is  indicated  bj'  the 
fact  that  he  arose,  or  stood  up,  Mark  like- 
wise, and  also  by  the  second  question,  what 
is  it,  etc.,  by  which  he  seeks  to  arouse  the 
accused  into  attention  and  response.  It  is 
much  more  natural  to  understand  the  Greek 
as  two  questions  than  as  one.  But  Jesus 
held  his  peace,  literally,  was  silent,  comp. 
Isa:  53:  7.  He  knew  that  no  explanation  or 
self-defence  would  be  heeded,  that  his  con- 
demnation and  sentence  was  a  foregone  con- 
clusion ;  comp.  on  27:  14.  He  was  fully  pre- 
pared for  the  foreseen  result  (2«:«),  and  now 
awaited  it  in  calm  silence.  Origen  remarks 
that  the  utter  failure,  notwithstanding  dili- 
gent effort,  to  find  anything  against  Jesus, 
shows  that  his  life  was  most  pure  and  wholly 
irreprehensible. 

III.  63b-66.  Jesus  is  condemned  upon  his 
own  testimony.  Mark  14:  60-64.  Luke,  who 
gives  no  account  of  the  informal  meeting, 
presently  introduces  much  the  same  matter 
into  his  account  of  the  formal  session  held 
"as  soon  as  it  was  day."  (Lnke  22:66-71.)  It  is 
very  improbable  that  this  was  all  repeated  in 
the  formal  session  (Clark's  "Harmony"),  and 
very  easy  to  understand  that  Luke  has  thrown 
all  the  examination  together,  while  some 
portions  of  it  would  very  likely  be  repeated. 


The  only  matter  of  great  practical  importance 
was  that  Jesus  was  condemned  by  the  Sanhe- 
drin,  and  upon  his  own  confession. — Finding 
that  the  false  testimony  does  not  suffice  for  a 
conviction,  and  that  the  accused  will  not  dis- 
cuss it,  the  high  priest  essays  a  bold  stroke. 
He  demands  a  categorical  answer,  upon  oath, 
to  the  question  whether  Jesus  is  the  Messiah. 
And  the  high  priest  answered  and  sai«l 
unto  him.  The  Com.  text  seems  to  be  here 
right  in  its  reading.  The  'answered'  means 
responded  to  the  situation  presented  by 
the  persistent  silence  of  Jesus  (comp.  on  11 : 
25).  I  adjure  thee,  means  exactly  '  I  put 
thee  on  oath.'  See  the  same  Greek  term  in 
Gen.  24:  3,  'I  will  make  thee  swear  by  the 
Lord,'  and  comp.  Lev.  5:  1  (Eev.  Ver.), 
where  it  is  declared  to  be  a  sin  if  one  who  has 
witnessed  a  matter  "heareth  the  voice  of  ad- 
juration" and  does  not  tell  what  he  knows. 
Comp.  also  1  Kings  22:  16.  The  high  priest 
used  the  most  solemn  form  of  oath,  by  the 
living  God.  If  one  answered  after  such  an 
adjuration,  he  answered  on  oath  ;  the  mere 
ceremony  of  putting  on  oath  is  conventional, 
as  in  some  parts  of  our  country  men  take  an 
oath  by  pointing  to  heaven,  in  other  parts  by 
kissing  the  Bible.  So  then  Jesus  spoke  on 
oath  before  a  court  of  justice,  which  shows 
conclusively  that  he  did  not  mean  to  condemn 
all  such  oaths  when  he  said,  "Swear  not  at 
all"  (see  on  5:34);  that  he  spoke  of  oaths 
familiarly  used  in  conversation.  That  thou 
tell  us.  The  peculiar  Greek  construction  is 
explained  on  5:  29.  Whether  thou  be  the 
Christ,  the  Messiah,  see  on  2:4.  Here 
(Mark  and  Luke  also)  K.  James  rightly  in- 
serted the  article,  though  Tyn.,  Cran.,  Gen., 
had  simply  'Christ,'  as  K.  J.  has  in  many 
other  places.  Luke  here  gives  only  '  the 
Christ'  ;  Mark  adds  'the  Son  of  the  Blessed'  ; 
Matt,  the  Son  of  God.  It  is  evident  from 
•lohn  19:  7  that  'the  Son  of  God  '  was  under- 
stood to  mean  the  Messiah,  and  that  claiming 
to  be  the  Son  of  God  was  considered  blas- 
phemy, ^ut  it  does  not  follow  that  the  Jews 
used  or  understood  the  phrase  as  denoting  di- 


1  Answered'  is  omitted  by  X  B  L,  Meraph.,  Origen,  I  "Alexandrian"  alteration  due  to  the  apparent  incon- 
Cyril,  and  various  documents ;  but  it  may  well  be  au  '  gruity  of  answering  one  who  was  silent. 


Cii.  XXVI.] 


MATTHEW. 


549 


64  Jesus  saith  unto  him,  Thou  hast  said:  neverthe- 
less I  say  unto  you,  Hereafter  shall  ye  see  the  Son  of 
man  sitting  on  the  right  hand  of  power,  and  coming  in 
the  clouds  of  heaven. 

Go  Then  the  high  priest  rent  his  clothes,  saving,  He 
hath  spoken  blasphemy:  what  further  need  have  we 
of  witnesses?  behold,  now  ye  have  heard  his  blas- 
phemy. 


C4  thou  be  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God.  Jesus  saith 
unto  him, Thou  bast  said:  nevertheless  I  say  unto 
you,  Henceforth  ye  shall  see  the  Sou  of  man  sitting 
at  the  right  hand  of  power,  and  coiuiug  on  the 

65  clouds  of  heaven.  Then  the  high  priest  rent  his 
garments,  saying,  He  hath  spoken  blasphemy  :  what 
further  need  have  we  of  witnesses?  behold,  now  ye 


vinity,  since  they  spoke  of  blasphemy  quite 
loosely  (see  on  v.  65),  and  there  is  no  indica- 
tion in  the  Jewish  books  that  the  Messiaii  was 
expected  to  be  divine. — According  to  our 
ideas  and  legal  usages,  very  different  from 
those  prevailing  in  many  other  countries,  it 
is  unjust  to  call  on  an  accused  person  to  give 
testimony  against  himself;  and  so  it  is  often 
said  that  the  high  priest  dealt  unjustly  in 
calling  on  Jesus  to  testify.  The  law  of  Moses 
provided  that  in  some  cases  of  uncertainty 
the  accused  should  take  an  oath  upon  the 
matter;  see  Exod.  22:  10  f ;  Num.  5:  19  ff.;  1 
Kings  8:  31  f  Thus  the  high  priest's  course 
was  not  formally  illegal,  though  in  spirit  and 
intent  it  was  unjust.  It  is  of  late  coming  to 
be  provided  in  our  laws  that  an  accused  per- 
son may  testify  in  his  own  behalf,  but  cannot 
be  required  to  criminate  himself. 

64.  Jesus  knew  that  the  question  was  de- 
signed to  secure  a  ground  of  conviction.  But 
he  was  no  longer  silent.  Now  that  the  crisis 
had  arrived,  that  his  'hour'  was  come,  he 
would  not  decline  to  say  distinctly,  before  the 
highest  Jewish  tribunal,  that  he  was  the  Mes- 
siah. He  had  long  urged  the  disciples  to 
"tell  no  man  that  he  was  Jesus  the  Christ," 
or  the  Messiah  (see  on  16:  20),  because  the 
crisis  must  not  be  precipitated  before  his  work 
of  teaching  and  healing  in  every  district  of 
the  Holy  Laud  was  completed.  Only  a  few 
days  before  the  end  he  had  quietly  avoided 
saying  to  the  rulers  that  he  was  the  Messiah, 
while  allowing  the  people  to  think  so  (see  on 
21 :  15  f. ).  But  he  will  not  pass  to  his  death 
as  "despised  and  rejected"  without  having 
borne  distinct  public  testimony  that  he  is  the 
Messiah.  Thou  hast  said,  viz.,  hast  said 
what  is  true,  a  formula  of  affirmative  answer 
found  also  in  the  Talmud  (comp.  above  on  21 : 
4  f. ).  In  Mark  it  is  directly  '  I  am.'  In  Luke 
(w:6;f.)tho  answer  is  preceded  by  a  censure 
of  their  unbelief  and  unfairness.  Neverthe- 
less. Although  they  now  scorn  his  claim  to 
be  the  Messiah,  and  reject  all  the  evidence  in 
his  teachings  and  his  works,  yet  thpy  will 
henceforth  see  his   Messiahship   indubitably 


manifested.  Hereafter,  henceforth  is  the 
real  meaning.  So  Luke  22:  69,  the  Greek  in 
both  cases  being  literally  'from  now.'  The 
word  refers  to  something  that  would  be  true 
onward  from  the  time  of  speaking.  The  Sav- 
iour's death,  resurrection,  and  ascension,  the 
miracles  wrought  by  his  apostles  and  other 
gifts  of  the  Spirit,  the  spread  of  the  gospel 
and  its  beneficial  effects,  would  go  on  mani- 
festing him  to  be  the  Messiah,  sitting  on  the 
right  hand  of  power;  and  finally  they 
would  behold  his  second  coming  in,  on,  the 
clouds  of  heaven.  For  the  phrase,  'the 
Son  of  man,'  see  on  8:20.  This  expression 
would  remind  the  rulers  of  Dan.  7  :  13.  By 
this  title  Jesus  had  long  virtually  claimed  to 
be  the  Messiah,  though  not  distinctly  assert- 
ing it  in  public.  'Power'  (so  Mark  and 
Luke)  is  the  abstract  for  the  concrete 
(Meyer);  Talmud  and  Midrash  (Gill,  Wiin.) 
sometimes  use  the  term  'power'  to  denote 
God,  as  "The  Ten  Commandments  came  from 
the  mouth  of  power."  In  22 :  42-45  Jesus  had 
spoken  of  sitting  on  the  right  hand  of  God  as 
a  definitely  Messianic  phrase,  and  derived 
from  Psa.  110.  As  to  'coming  on  the  clouds 
of  heaven,'  comp.  on  24:  30;  that  was  said  to 
the  disciples  in  private ;  this  to  the  Sanhedrin. 
65  f.  The  high  priest  has  accomplished 
his  object  and  proceeds  to  make  much  of  the 
confession.  Rent  his  clothes,  the  usual 
expression  of  grief,  horror  (Actsuru),  or  other 
violent  and  uncontrollable  emotion.  The 
custom,  which  existed  also  among  the  early 
Greeks  and  Romans,  doubtless  originated 
(Bengel)  in  the  fact  that  excited  emotions 
often  cause  one's  garments  to  soem  confining. 
'Rent'  is  a  compound  verb,  thoroughly 
rent  to  pieces;  comp.  2  Kings  18  :  57;  19:  1. 
Mark  has  the  more  specific  term  which  de- 
notes the  under-garments,  of  which  several 
were  sometimes  worn  ;  see  on  5 :  40.  The 
Talmud  directs  (Lightf)  that  when  the  judges 
in  a  case  of  blasphemy  rend  their  garments, 
they  must  not  be  sewed  up  again.  Maimon- 
ides  shows  that  at  least  in  his  time  even  this 
expression    of    uncontrollable    emotion    was 


550 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXVI. 


66  What  think  ye?    They  answered  and  said,  He  is 
guilty  of  death. 

67  Then  did  they  spit  in  his  face,  and  buffeted  him  ; 
•ud  others  smote  him  with  the  palms  of  their  hands, 


66  have  heard  the  blasphemy :  what  think  ye?    They 

67  answered  and  said,  He  is  i  worthy  of  death.  Then 
did  they  spit  in  his  face  and  buffet  him :  and  some 
smote  him  *  with  the  palms  of  their  hands,  saying, 


1  Or,  liable  to.... 2  Or,  tcitk  rod: 


formulated  by  custom;  a  man  rent  all  gar- 
ments except  the  innermost  and  outermost ; 
and  rent  from  the  front  of  the  neck  down- 
wards to  the  length  of  a  hand.  The  high 
priest  was  forbidden  in  the  law  ( Lev. lo :  i6 ;  21 :  lo) 
to  rend  his  clothes;  but  this  was  in  mourning 
for  the  dead,  because  such  mourning  unfitted 
him  for  the  performance  of  official  duties,  and 
it  was  not  understood  as  prohibiting  the  prac- 
tice on  other  occasions;  see  examples  in 
1  Maccabees  11:71;  Jos.  "War,"  2,  15,4. 
He  hath  spoken  blasphemy.  It  is  not 
entirely  clear,  but  seems  probable,  that  the 
high  priest  here  understood  the  phrase  'the 
Son  of  God'  as  claiming  divinity;  comp. 
Luke  23 :  70.  At  any  rate  Jesus  had  dis- 
tinctly claimed  it  in  the  added  words  about 
sitting  at  the  right  hand  of  power,  etc.  In 
John  5:  18,  R.  V.,  he  was  accused  of  "  making 
himself  equal  with  God,"  because  he  "said 
God  was  his  Father,"  and  in  John  10:  50,  for 
fcaying  "  I  and  my  Father  are  one,"  the  Jews 
sought  to  stone  him,  "because  that  thou, 
being  a  man,  makest  thyself'God."  It  is  very 
hard  to  determine  how  much  the  Jews  really 
meant  by  these  charges,  as  accusatory  expres- 
sions are  apt  to  be  stronger  than  would  be 
used  in  calm  declaration.  Nor  is  the  question 
important  to  us,  since  the  Saviour  left  no 
doubt  as  to  the  meaning  of  his  answer,  and 
the  New  Test,  as  a  whole  teaches  that  Jesus 
Christ  is  the  Son  of  God  in  the  highest  and 
fullest  sense.  And  certainly,  if  Jesus  had 
only  been  a  human  teacher,  he  would  surely 
now  have  explained  himself  to  that  effect. 
What  think  ye  ?  This  was  the  regular  Greek 
phrase  for  putting  any  question  to  the  vote. 
They  answered  and  said.  They  took  no 
formal  vote,  but  decided  by  acclamation. 
He  Is  guilty  of  death,  or  liable  to  death 
(Rev.  Ver.  margin),  as  in  5:  21  f ,  'in danger 
of  So  Tyn.,  Gran.,  Gen.,  'worthy  to  die'  ; 
K.  James  followed  Wye.  and  Rheims,' guilty 
of  death,'  comp.  Num.  35:  31.  The  same 
term  is  here  used  in  Mark.  Death  was  the 
legal  punishment  of  blasphemy.  (Lev. 24:  is.) — 
The  Mishna  requires  ("Sanh."  v,  5)  that  where 
a  vote  would  condemn  to  death,  the  matter 


must  be  postponed  to  the  next  day,  when  after 
the  night's  reflection  any  of  those  who  voted 
to  condemn  may  change,  but  not  contrari- 
wise. If  this  rule  existed  in  the  traditional 
law  at  the  time  of  our  Lord,  we  can  image 
the  Sanhedrin  evading  it  by  construing  that 
they  had  virtually  voted  to  condemn  Jesus 
some  time  before  (John  u :  47-53),  or  that  the  meet- 
ing after  dawn  (2T:i)was  virtually  another 
session,  with  a  portion  of  night  for  reflection 
— which  would  have  been  a  device  quite  after 
their  fashion.  It  is,  however,  probable,  as 
Edersh.  and  Schiirer  remark,  that  these  were 
largely  ideal  regulations,  expressing  what  the 
Rabbis  thought  ought  to  be  done,  and  by  no 
means  strictly  followed. 

IV.  67  f.  Jesus  spit  upon,  buffeted,  and 
mocked.  Mark  14 :  65 ;  Luke  22 :  63-65.  Ob- 
serve that  while  Luke  has  transferred  the 
examination  and  condemnation  to  the  regular 
session  after  dawn,  he  puts  this  outrage  and 
mocking  first,  in  the  same  order  as  Matt,  and 
Mark.  Then  did  they  spit  in  his  face. 
This  would  most  naturally  mean  the  members 
of  the  Sanhedrin,  mentioned  in  the  preceding 
sentence,  but  might  mean  (comp.  27:  2)  the 
subordinate  officials  who  had  Jesus  in  custody, 
and  so  Luke  has  it  (22:63),  "the  men  that 
held  Jesus."  Mark's  statement  (1*  =  65.  Rev.  ver.) 
"some  began  to  spit  on  him the  offi- 
cers received  him  with  blows  of  their  hands," 
explains  that  some  members  of  the  Sanhedrin 
joined  the  subordinates  in  these  outrages. 
(Comp.  Acts  7  :  57  ;  23  :  2.)  They  would  be 
encouraged  (Keim)  by  finding  tr.at  thej- 
could  with  impunity  smite  him  whose  reported 
miracles  had  often  made  them  tremble.  Buf- 
feted him,  smote  him  with  the  fist.  So  Tyn., 
Cran.,  'buffeted  hym  wyth  fistes.'  Smote 
him  with  the  palms  of  their  hands,  as  in 
5:  39,  and  so  Latin  Versions,  Memph.,  and 
Gothic;  or  perhaps(Rev.  Ver.  wior^rin;,  'smote 
him  with  rods,'  as  Geneva.  The  .same  two 
terms  occur  in  Mark  14:  65.  Luke  saj-s 
(2-2:63B.  u.  Ver.)  they  "  mockcd  him,  beating 
him."  Prophesy,  meaning,  speak  by  divine 
inspiration,  not  necessarily,  nor  even  most 
commonly  in  Scripture,  involving  a  predic- 


Ch.  XXVI.] 


MATTHEW. 


551 


68  Saying,  Prophesy  unto  us,  thou  Christ,  Who  is  he  I  68  Prophesy  unto  ua,  thou  Christ:    who  is  he   that 
t  hat  smote  thee  ?  I       struck  thee  ? 


tion.  Here,  with  his  face  covered  (tnke  and  Mark), 
he  would  need  superhuman  knowledge  to 
tell  who  smote  him,  and  such  knowledge  the 
Messiah  might  be  expected  to  have.  Matt, 
alone  gives  ihe  taunting  address,  thou 
Christ,  or  simply  '  Christ.'  Luke  adds,  Rev. 
Ver.,  "And  many  other  things  spake  they 
against  him,  reviling  him."  Here  the  Jews 
mock  Jesus  as  a  pretended  prophet;  in  27: 
27  IF.,  the  Romans  will  mock  him  as  a  pre- 
tended king.  Amid  all  these  insults  of  word 
and  deed  he  was  still  silent.  Comp.  1  Peter 
2:  23. 

HOMILKTICAL   AND    PRACTICAL. 

V.  58.  Jeromk:  "Following  afar,  on  the 
road  to  denial."  Bengkl:  "Sat  with  the 
officers,  inopportune  good-fellowship." — 'To 
see  the  end.'  Hknry:  "  It  is  more  our  con- 
cern to  prepare  for  the  end,  whatever  it  may 
be,  than  curiously  to  enquire  what  the  end 
will  be.  The  event  is  God's,  but  the  duty  is 
ours." — V.  59.  Jesus  condemned,  but  right- 
eous. After  the  failure  of  false  witnesses,  he 
could  be  condemned  only  through  his  confes- 
sion of  what  should  have  been  a  reason  for 
reverencing  him.  The  traitor  confessed  him 
to  be  righteous.  (27:«.)  Pilate  found  no  fault 
in  him.  (Luke 23:  u.)  The  ccnturion  at  the  cross 
declared  him  righteous.  (Lukew:*:.)  The  day 
is  coming  when  every  tongue  will  confess  that 
he  is  Lord.  (Phu. 2:11.) — V.  61.  Bekgkl:  "By 
no  great  change  of  words  is  often  made  a 
great  calumny."— V.  63.  Origkn  :  "We 
learn  from  this  passage  to  despise  the  utter- 
ances of  calumniating  and  false  witnesses,  not 
holding  them  worthy  of  reply  or  of  resistance, 
when  by  their  contradictions  they  resist  each 
other.  It  is  a  greater  thing  to  maintain  a 
brave  and  self-respecting  silence,  than  to  de- 
fend oneself  to  no  purpose." — V.  64.  Hknry  : 
"He  thus  confessed  himself,  for  example  and 
encouragement  to  his  followers,  when  they 
are  called  to  it,  to  confess  him  before  men, 
whatever  hazards  they  run  by  it." — V.  66. 
Hall:  "O  Saviour,  this  is  not  the  last  time 
wherein  thou  hast  received  cruel  dooms  from 
them  that  profess  learning  and  holiness.  What 
wonder  is  it,  if  thy  weak  members  suffer  that 
which  was  endured  by  so  perfect  an  head." 


69-75.  The  Fall  of  Peter. 

Found  also  in  Mark  14 :  66-72 ;  Luke  22 :  56- 
62;  John  18:  15-18,  25-27. 

Peter's  three  denials  of  his  Lord  evidently- 
occurred  during  the  progress  of  the  Jewish 
trial,  which  seems  to  have  lasted  two  hours  or 
more.  (Luke22:59.)  We  scc  from  Johu  (comp. 
above  on  26  :  58)  that  the  first  denial  was  made 
while  Annas  was  questioning  Jesus;  and  it 
is  clear  from  comparing  all  the  narratives 
that  the  second  and  third  were  made  while 
Jesus  still  remained  at  the  high  priest's  house 
and  Peter  in  the  court,  and  probably  during 
the  trial  by  the  informal  meeting  of  the  San- 
hedrin.  {26:57-68.)  Now  Matt,  and  Mark  do 
not  record  the  examination  by  Annas ;  accord- 
ingly they  only  mention  at  the  outset  that 
Peter  followed  Jesus  afar  off  and  entered  the 
high  priest's  court,  and  then,  after  narrating 
the  trial  by  the  informal  meeting,  they  de- 
scribe Peter's  three  denials.  Luke  does  not 
give  either  the  examination  by  Annas  or  the 
informal  trial ;  accordingly,  as  soon  as  he 
brings  Peter  into  the  high  priest's  court,  he  at 
once  tells  of  the  three  denials.  John  has  no 
account  of  the  Jewish  trial  except  the  exami- 
nation by  Annas;  so  he  gives  the  first  dpiiial 
in  connection  with  the  appearance  of  Jesus 
before  Annas,  and  then,  after  narrating  the 
interrogation  and  telling  how  Annas  sent 
Jesus  to  Caiaphas,  he  speaks  at  once  of  the 
second  and  third  denials.  Thus  the  apparent 
dislocation  of  this  narrative  in  the  several 
Gospels  is satisfactoril J'  accounted  for.  Minute 
discrepancies  as  to  the  exact  place  and  time  of 
the  diflferent  denials  need  not  surprise  us.  The 
accounts  are  extremely  brief,  the  numerous 
persons  in  the  court  were  moving  about  and 
much  excited,  the  questions  addressed  to  Peter 
may  in  one  case  or  another  have  been  re- 
peated by  several  persons,  and  the  denial 
variously  made  to  each  of  these  fcomp.  on 
'began'  in  v.  74),  while  yet  there  were  three 
distinct  and  separate  denials,  as  indicated  in 
each  of  the  Gospels.  It  is  not  even  necessary 
to  suppose  that  they  all  give  the  three  in  the 
same  order.  To  make  out  (McCUllan  and 
some  others)  five  or  six  separate  denials,  and 
thereby  harmonize  the  details,  is  to  diverge 
from  the  Saviour's  express  prediction,  "thou 


I 


552 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXVI. 


69  Now  Peter  sat  wiihout  in  the  puluce:  and  a  dauisil 
cauie  uuto  biui,  saying,  Tbuu  alsu  wast  witli  Jesus  uf 
(jalilee. 

70  But  lie  denied  before  them  all,  saving,  I  know  uot 
what  ibou  sayest. 

71  Aud  when  he  was  gone  out  into  the  porch,  another 
maid  saw  biiu,  aud  said  unto  them  tliat  were  there.  This 
fellow  was  also  with  Jesus  of  Nazaretli. 

72  And  again  he  denied  with  an  oath,  I  do  not  know 
the  man. 

73  And  after  a  while  came  unto  him  they  that  stood 
by,  and  said  to  Peter,  Surelv  thou  also  art  oiie  of  them  ; 
for  thy  speech  bewrayeth  thee. 


69  Now  Peter  was  sitting  without  in  the  court:  and 
a  maid  came  unto  him,  saying,  Thou  also  wast  with 

70  Jesus  the  Galilaian.    But  he  denied  before  tlieni  all, 

71  saying,  1  know  not  what  thou  sayest.  Aud  when 
he  was  gone  out  into  the  porch,  another  vmid  saw 
him,  and  saith  unto  them  that  were  there,  This  man 

72  also  was  with  Jesus  the  Nazareue.    And  again  he 

73  denied  with  an  oath,  I  know  not  the  man.  And  alter 
a  little  while  they  that  stood  by  came  and  said  to 
Peter,  Of  a  truth  thou  also  art  erne  of  them  ;  for  thy 


shalt  deny  me  thrice,"  and  to  disregard  the 
stress  hiid  hy  all  four  narratives  upon  three 
denials.  Surely  much  more  is  lost  than  gained 
by  such  painful  harmonizing. 

First  Denial.  69  1".  Peter  sat  without 
in  the  palace,  or  court,  viz.,  in  the  court  of 
the  high  priest's  house  (26:58);  'without'  is 
said  in  contrast  with  the  audience  room  in 
which  Jesus  was  appearing  before  the  author- 
ities. Peter  was  not  in  this  room,  but  out  in 
the  open  air  of  the  court;  and  this  was  'be- 
•  neath,'  on  a  lower  level  than  the  audience 
room.  A  damsel,  viz.,  maid-servant ;  and 
literally,^  'one  maid,'  as  distinguished  from 
'another,'  in  v.  71.  So,  Mark  14:  66,  'one  of 
the  maids  of  the  high  priest.'  Came  unto 
him,  as  he  sat  in  the  court,  beside  the  fire  of 
charcoal ;  so  Mark  and  Luke.  John  says 
that  the  maid,  who  was  the  doorkeeper,  and 
who  was  induced  by  John  to  admit  Peter, 
asked  him  the  question  ;  and  this  might  seem 
in  conflict  with  the  other  accounts.  But 
John's  brief  statement  does  not  necessarily 
mean  that  she  asked  him  at  the  moment  of 
admitting  him.  She  would  very  naturally 
close  the  door  and  return  to  the  fire  herself, 
and  might  then  ask  the  question.  With 
Jesus  of  Galilee,  a  very  natural  expres- 
sion in  the  high  priest's  servant,  feeling  every- 
thing at  Jerusalem  to  be  immeasurably  supe- 
rior to  the  provinces.  Mark,  B.  U.,  'with  .Tesus 
the  Nazarene,'  and  so  Matt,  in  v.  71,  Kev. 
Ver.  We  have  often  seen  that  the  Evangelists 
do  not  undertake  in  all  cases  to  give  the  exact 
words  spoken;  we  are  concerned  only  with 
any  such  discrepancy  of  statement  as  might 


seem  to  impair  credibility.  I  know  not  what 
thou  sayest.  So  Mark;  Luke  'I  know  him 
not'  ;  in  John  she  asks  if  he  is  one  of  this  man's 
disciples,  and  he  answers  'I  am  not.'  There 
is  here  no  substantial  conflict. 

We  must  remember  Peter's  situation. 
Over-confidence  in  himself,  notwithstanding 
the  Masters  warning  (26:33-35),  had  led  to  lack 
of  watchfulness  (26:40f.);  suddenly  awaking, 
he  committed  a  rash  action  (51),  which  he 
might  very  reasonablj'  fear  would  be  avenged 
if  he  were  discovered ;  so  when  suddenly 
asked,  he  was  startled,  frightened,  and  hastily 
denied.  Then  he  was  deeper  in  trouble  than 
ever.  We  are  not  called  to  extenuate  his  con- 
duct, but  only  to  observe  that  it  was  psychco- 
logically  not  unnatural. 

Secokd  Dknial.  71  f.  When  he  was 
gone  oat  into  the  porch,  the  open  gateway 
passing  under  the  middle  of  one  side  of  the 
house  into  the  court;  Mark  calls  it  'the  fore- 
court.'* Luke  gives  at  this  point  no  note  of 
place.  John  gives  the  second  denial  as  made 
while  Peter  was  standing  and  warming  him- 
self. Possibly  the  first  and  second  denials  are 
by  him  given  in  reverse  order.  Observe  that 
he  here  says  generally  'they  said,'  while 
Matt,  has  'another'  (feminine),  Mark  'the 
maid,'  Luke  'another'  (masculine),  i.  e., 
another  person.  The  terms  of  address  and 
denial  slightly  diflTer  as  before. 

Third  Denial.  73  f.  And  after  a  while. 
Mark  says  'a  little  after,'  while  Luke  saj-s 
more  definitely,  'about  the  .space  of  one  hour 
after.'  Came  they  that  stood  by,  and  said 
to  Peter.    So  in  effect  Mark,  but  Luke  says. 


lit  is  not  certain  that  'one'  ever  becomps  in  New 
Test,  a  mere  indefinite  article;  the  most  likely  exam- 
ples in  Matt,  are  8 :  19;  21:  19,  (Rev.  Ver.  margin). 
In  the  present  passage  the  Latin  versions  and  Gothic 
have  'one,'  Memph.  'a,'  Pesh.  ambiguous.  R6nsch 
holds  that  itniu  is  sometimes  a  mere  indefinite  article; 
but  many  of  his  examples  are  clearly  forced,  and  none 
of  them  (including  this  passage)  seem  conclusive. 


2  The  statement  in  Com.  text  of  Mark  at  this  point, 
'  and  the  cock  crew,'  is  probably  spurious,  as  it  is  want- 
ing in  K  B  L,  one  Evang.,  Memph.,  and  one  copy  of  the 
Old  Latin,  and  might  be  very  naturally  placed  on  the 
margin  here  (and  creep  into  the  text),  as  explaining 
'twice'  in  Mark  14:  M,  72,  and  'the  second  time'  in 
72.  See  a  very  interesting  discussion  in  W  H.,  App. 
§323. 


Ch.  XXVI.] 


MATTHEW 


553 


74  Then  began  he  to  curse  aud  to  swear,  saying,  I  |  74  speech  bewrayeth  thee.  Then  began  he  to  curse  and 
know  uutthe  luan.    Aud  imiuediacely  the  cuck  crew.      1       to  £.wear,  I  know  nut  the  luaa.    And  straightway 


I 


'another  (person),'  and  John,  Rev.  Ver., 
'one  of  the  servants  of  the  high  priest,  being 
his  kinsman,  wtiose  ear  Peter  cut  off,'  wliicl) 
would  be  a  spe<3ially  alarming  fact,  especially 
when  he  asked,  "  Did  I  not  see  thee  in  the 
garden  with  him?"  Now  we  may  either  sup- 
pose that  a  question  asked  by  one  person  was 
taken  up  and  repeated  by  others,  which  would 
be  very  natural,  or  that  the  three  denials  are 
given  in  different  order  by  the  several  Gos- 
pels. Matt,  and  Mark  have  fa)  a  maid  in  the 
court,  (b)  another  maid  in  the  court,  (c)  the 
b^'standers,  apparently  in  the  court.  Luke 
has  (a)  a  maid  as  he  sat  by  the  fire,  (b)  an- 
other (person),  place  not  indicated,  (c)  some 
other  (person),  place  in  the  court,  as  indicated 
b^'  Luke  2*2:  60  f  John  has  (a)  the  maid  that 
kept  the  door,  (b)  plural,  apparently  tiie  per- 
sons with  whom  he  was  standing  and  warm- 
ing himself  (J"hn  i8:  is,  as),  (c)  one  of  the  serv- 
ants of  the  high  priest,  place  not  indicated. 
It  may  be  that  John  has  mentioned  the  second 
denial  first,  because  suggested  then  by  his  ac- 
count of  the  admission  of  Peter,  or  on  the 
other  hand,  that  Matt,  and  Mark  have 
changed  the  order.  John's  (b)  agrees  as  to 
the  plural  with  the  (c)  of  Matt,  and  Mark. 
The  vague  'another  person'  and  '.some  other 
person'  of  Luke,  treat  the  details  as  compar- 
atively unimportant.  "We  need  not  insist  on 
any  particular  theory  for  exactly  harmonizing 
tlie  several  statements.  There  is  nothing  in 
the  group  of  details  to  weaken  the  credibility 
of  the  narratives,  but  their  evident  independ- 
ence strengthens  their  credibility,  as  persons 
•iccustomed  to  compare  the  testimony  of  sev- 
eral witnesses  will  readily  see;  and  we  may 
be  content  to  notice  one  or  another  possible 
mode  of  combining  all  the  facts.  In  preach- 
ing or  Sunday-school  teaching,  it  would  be 
better  to  pa.s8  lightly  over  the  mere  hartnoniz- 
ing  of  details,  and  dwell  on  the  general  facts 
which  are  the  same  in  all  the  Gospels,  and 
which  yield  lessons  of  so  great  importance.       | 


This  third  denial  was  the  most  vehement  of 
all.  Peter  had  involved  himself  by  the  first 
in  the  apparent  necessity,  so  sadly  familiar  to 
human  observation  and  experience,  of  adher- 
ing to  an  initial  falsehood.  Now  the  bystand- 
ers insist  and  argue.  Surely,  of  a  truth,  i.  e., 
thou  also  art  one  of  them.  They  are  sure 
of  it.  I^r  thy  speech  bewrayeth  thee, 
literally,  makes  thee  manifest  (evident).  The 
English  word  bewray  meant  primarily  to  ac- 
cuse, and  is  of  Teutonic  origin.  The  entirely 
distinct  word  betray  is  connected  with  traitor, 
of  French  and  Latin  origin.  (See  Skeat. ) 
Mark  and  Luke  have 'for  thou  art,'  (Luke 
'he  is')  a  Galilean.'  Mark  would  be  more 
exactly  'for  even  thy  speech,'  or  '  for  thy 
speech  also,' as  in  8:9.  Perhaps  (Plump.) 
his  excitement  and  confusion  made  the  local 
peculiarities  of  speech  more  marked.!  Then 
began  he  (see  on  11 :  20),  suggests  that  it  was 
continued  some  time,  as  does  tlie  tense  of  the 
verbs  '  to  curse '  and  '  to  swear.'  This  implies 
various  expressions  of  denial,  periiaps  ad- 
dressed to  different  persons  (comp.  on  v.  69). 
He  had  already  used  an  oath  in  the  second 
denial.  (".72)  Cursing  would,  in  such  a  cas. , 
be  invoking  a  curse  upon  himself  if  he  were 
speaking  falsely,  and  so  would  be  even 
stronger  than  an  oath.  The  Jews  were  much 
given  to  a  careless  use  of  oaths  (see  on  5 :  33), 
and  it  may  be,  as  Alexander  supposes,  that 
Peter  relapsed  under  the  excitement  into  an 
early  habit,  which  he  had  abandoned  through 
the  Saviour's  teaching.  Alas!  for  human  na- 
ture; the  Word  made  flesh  was  rejected  by 
the  great  mass  of  his  own  people,  was  betrayed 
by  one  of  his  own  followers,  and  by  the  very 
leader  of  them  was  basely  denied,  again  and 
again,  with  oaths  and  curses.  See  1  Cor.  10: 
12.  And  immediately,  or  straightway,  the 
cock  crew.  Mark,  Rev.  Ver.,  and  John 
Rev.  Ver.  '  straightway ' :  Luke  '  immediately, 
while  he  yet  spake.'  The  Greek  noun  ha.s 
no  article  ;  it  does  not  mean  some  particular 


'  Galilean  peculiarities  of  speech  arc  repeatedly  men- 
tioned in  the  Talmud.  They  consisted  of  (a)  inter- 
change of  the  giitterals  .Mpph  aud  Ayin,  or  Cheth  and 
Ayin,  which  cannot  Ik;  illustrate*!  from  our  language! 
(b)  Interchange  of  the  palatals  Kaph  and  Qopli,  a  little 
like  the  negligent  fashion  in  which  some  now  pro- 
nounce quote,  quota,  quorum,  as  if  writieu  with  a  k; 


(c)  interchange  of  s  or  sh  and  th,  like  our  lisp,  and  the 
French  change  of  our  th  to  s  or  z  ;  (d^difTcrouce  of  some 
vowel  sounds,  like  English  home,  Scotch  hamc,  etc. 
Kxaraplesare  given  from  the  Talmud  in  Wctstein,  Rux- 
torf,  etc.  As  early  as  Judges  1'.' :  fi,  the  local  change  of 
shibboleth  to  sibboleth  was  marke<l  and  invariublu. 


554 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXVI. 


73  And  Peter  remembered  the  word  of  Jesus,  which 
aaiU  unto  bim,  Before  the  cock  crow,  thou  shall  deny 
me  thrice.    And  he  went  out  and  wept  bitterly. 


75  the  cock  crew.  And  Peter  remembered  the  word 
which  Jesus  had  said,  Before  the  cock  crow,  Thou 
Shalt  deny  me  thrice.  And  he  went  out,  and  wept 
bitterly. 


fowl,  and  our  English  article  only  denotes 
the  well-known  sign  of  coming  day.  Murk, 
'a  second  time,'  com  p.  above  on  26:  34; 
see  there  also  as  to  the  Talmudic  statement 
that  barn-yard  fowls  were  not  allowed  in  Je- 
rusalem. Aud  Peler  remembered.  Luke 
prefixes  "and  the  Lord  turned  and  looked 
upon  Peter."  The  Saviour  may  have  been 
in  the  high  priest's  audience  chamber,  either 
undergoing  the  informal  trial,  or  kept  there 
till  the  dawn  should  allow  a  formal  sessicm. 
Tills  chamber  might  be  open  to  the  inner 
court :  and  the  lights  in  the  room,  and  the  fire 
in  the  court,  would  make  the  pitying  Master 
and  the  fallen  disciple  visible  to  each  other. 
Otlierwise  we  may  suppose  that  the  attendants 
were  just  then  leading  Jesus  across  the  court. 
See  Mrs.  Browning's  two  sonnets,  "The 
Look,"  and  "The  Meaning  of  the  Look." 
And  he  went  out,  into  the  great  entrance 
as  before,  or  more  probably,  quite  out  of  the 
building.  At  such  a  moment  one  would  nat- 
urally long  to  be  alone.  And  wept  bitterly. 
So  Luke;  comp.  Isa.  22:  4.— Peter  is  seen  no 
more  in  the  history  till  after  our  Lord's  resur- 
rection, but  seems  to  have  sojourned  with  his 
friend  John  (John  20:  %,  10).  Some  of  the  early 
Latin  hymns  allude  to  a  legend  that  through 
life  he  never  heard  a  cock  crow  without 
weeping. 

HOMILETICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

Peter's  fall  and  rising  again.  (1)  Steps 
downward,  (a)  Self-confidence,  and  loud 
professions,  26:  33;  (b)  Lack  of  watchful- 
ness, v.  40  f ;  (c)  Taken  off  his  guard,  he 
does  a  rash  deed,  v.  51 ;  (d)  Alarmed,  yet 
still  self-confident,  he  takes  a  middle  course 
and  follows  at  a  distance,  v.  68;  (e)  Cour- 
ageous enough  to  venture  into  danger,  though 
wanting  courage  to  overcome  it,  v.  58 ;  (f). 
Suddenly  asked,  he  denies;  ,(g)  Feeling 
bound  by  this  denial,  and  frightened  by  the 
repeated  inquiry,  he  denies  a~ain  and  again, 
with  oaths  and  curses.  Alas,  alas!  (2) 
Climbing  upward,  through  God's  help,  (a) 
The  Lord  had  prayed  for  him  (Luke  22: 32),  and 
now  looked  upon  him  (Luke22:6i),  and  he  felt 
genuine  grief  and  shame ;  (b)  The  risen  Lord 


appeared  to  him  alone  (Luke 24: 34),  a  most 
touching  occasion  of  confession  and  forgive- 
ness; (c)  The  Lord  afterwards  delicately  re- 
minded him  of  his  loud  professions,  and 
while  no  longer  claiming  superiority  toothers, 
he  earnestly  avowed  his  love,  John  21 :  15  ff.; 
(d)  Helped  by  the  Pentecostal  Spirit,  he  bold- 
ly confessed  Christ  before  the  Sanhedrin  and 
the  nation,  Acts  4 :  10. 

Calvin :  "The  fall  of  Peter  is  a  mirror  of 
human  infirmity,  and  a  memorable  example 
of  God's  goodness  and  compassion.  Peter 
acted  inconsiderately  in  entering  the  higli 
priest's  court.  It  was  proper  to  follow  the  Mas- 
ter, but  he  had  been  wartied  of  his  coming 
defection,  and  he  ought  to  have  avoided  the 
occasi(m.  Often  thus  under  the  appearance 
of  virtue  do  believers  fling  themselves  into 
temptation.  Conscious  weakness  should  not 
hinderus  from  going  whithersoever  God  calls 
us;  but  it  ought  to  restrain  rashnessand  stim- 
ulate to  prayer." — V.  69.  Calvin:  "  He  who 
has  thrown  awaj'  the  fear  of  God,  may  trem- 
ble at  the  fall  of  a  leaf.  .  .  .  The  more  emi- 
nent one  is,  the  more  should  he  be  careful ; 
because  he  cannot  fall  from  his  high  place 
without  damaging  others." — V.  70.  Weiss 
("Life"):  "When  Peter  vowed  so  confi- 
dently that  he  would  go  with  his  Master  to 
death,  he  was  thinking,  nodoubt,  of  a  solemn 
testimony  to  him  for  whom  he  was  read3'  to 
sacrifice  everything.  But  a  great  deed  of 
heroism  is  often  easier  than  loyalty  in  small 
things." — V.  74.  Contrast  Peter  in  his  great- 
confession  (16:16),  wishing  to  stay  on  the 
Mount  of  Transfiguration  (17:  4),  and  making 
grand  promises  only  a  few  hours  before  this 
(26:33).— V.  75.  (1)  Seeing  that  Peter  fell, 
let  him  that  thinketh  he  standeth  take  heed 
lest  he  fall,  1  Cor.  10:  12.  (2)  Seeing  that 
Peter  was  forgiven  and  became  so  useful,  let 
him  that  knows  he  has  fallen  rise  up  in  earn- 
est repentance.  Luther:  "No  article  of 
the  Creed  is  so  hard  to  believe  as  this  :  I  be- 
lieve in  the  forgiveness  of  sins.  But  look  at 
Peter.  If  I  could  paint  a  portrait  of  Peter, 
I  would  write  on  every  hair  of  his  head  for- 
giveness of  sins." 


Ch.  XXVII.] 


MATTHEW. 


f55 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 


WHEN  the  morning  was  come,  all  the  chief  priests 
and  elders  of  the  people  took  counsel  against  Jesus 
to  put  him  to  death : 

2  And  when  they  had  bound  him,  they  led  him  away, 
a:id  delivered  him  to  Pontius  Pilate  the  govei-nor. 


1  Now  when  morning  was  come,  all  the  chief  priests 
and  the  elders  of  the  people  took  counsel  against 

2  .lesus  to  put.  him  to  death:  and  they  bound  him, 
and  led  him  away,  and  delivered  him  up  to  I'ilaie 
the  governor. 


Ch.    27:1-10.    Jbsus    Formally   Sen- 

TKNCED  AND   DELIVERED   TO   PiLATE.      SUI- 
CIDE  OF   JUDAS. 

This  section  divides  itself  into  v.   If.,  and 
V.  3-10. 

I.  1  f.  The  formal  meeting  of  the  Sanhe- 
drin.  Mark  15:1;  Luke  22 :  66-71.  It  seems 
greatly  best  to  suppose,  as  we  have  been 
doing,  that  while  the  real  trial  and  condem- 
nation of  Jesus  had  already  occurred  (26:57-6s), 
a  formal  session  of  the  Sanhedrin  was  held 
after  daybreak,  when  the  morniug  was 
come.  So  Mark  'in  the  morning,'  and  Luke 
'rt«  ?oonas  it  was  day.'  The  Mishna  ("  Sanh." 
IV.,  1)  expressly  provides  that  criminal  cases 
cm  be  decided  only  in  the  daytime,  and  that 
while  a  sentence  of  acquittal  may  be  made 
the  same  day,  a  sentence  of  condemnation 
must  be  postponed  to  the  next  day.  We  have 
seen  (on  26:  66)  how  the  latter  provision 
might  have  been  evaded,  but  the  former  seems 
to  have  been  here  regarded,  being  in  fact 
harder  to  evade.  Luke  has  not  described  the 
informal  meeting  and  sentence,  but  he  has 
just  before  mentioned  the  indignities  offered 
to  Jesus,  which  we  know  from  Matt,  and 
Mark  to  have  followed  that  sentence.  It  is 
natural  that  Luke,  in  describing  the  formal 
.session  should  include  some  things  that  oc- 
curred in  the  previous  investigation,  since 
this  made  no  difference  as  to  the  general  re- 
.sult;  nor  can  we  tell  how  far  the  formal 
meeting  would  repeat  the  processes  of  the 
other.  Whatever  view  may  be  adopted  as  to 
tlie  several  examinations  of  our  Lord  bj'  the 
Jews,  we  see  clearly  that  it  was  public  action, 
on  the  part  of  the  highest  national  authorities, 
and  was  afterwards  approved  even  by  the 
popular  voice.  (27:26.) — The  place  of  this  ses- 
sion may  have  been  the  high  priest's  resi- 
dence, as  before,  but  more  probably  was  the 
regular  hall  for  meetings  of  the  Sanhedrin 
(see  on  26:  69);   notice  especially  that  Luke 


22:  66  says, "  they  led  him  into  their  council," 
the  Sanhedrin. 

Took  counsel  against  Jesus  to  put  him 
to  death.  They  had  already  voted  that  he 
deserved  to  die  (26:66;,  and  would  only  need  to 
repeat  that  vote  in  tiie  formal  session.  But 
there  was  a  further  question  as  to  how  they 
could  actually  put  him  to  death,  as  the 
Romans  had  taken  from  the  Sanhedrin  (see 
on  26:  59)  the  riglit  to  inflict  capital  punish- 
ment, and  this  could  be  managed  only 
through  Pilate  the  governor  (see  on  27:  11), 
who  had  come  from  his  usual  residence  tit 
Cesarea  to  Jerusalem,  in  order  to  insure  order 
at  the  great  feast,  and  attend  to  any  adminis- 
trative points  that  might  come  up.  They 
probably  then  agreed  to  make  before  Pilate 
the  accusations  they  actually  did  make,  viz., 
that  Jesus  claimed  to  be  a  king,  and  forbade 
payment  of  tribute  to  Cesar  (Luke 23: 2),  and 
that  he  stirred  up  the  populace.  (Luku23:5. 14.) 
The  further  charge  of  blasphemy  (Johni9:7) 
they  would  hold  in  reserve.  The  Com.  text 
has  'Pontius  Pilate,'  as  in  Luke  3:  1;  Acts 
4:  27;  1  Tim.  6:  13;  but  'Pilate'  alone  is 
probably  correct,  according  to  some  of  the 
best  documents.'  As  to  Pilate,  and  the  term 
'governor,'  see  on  27:  11.  When  they  had 
bound  him.  So  Mark.  He  had  also  been 
bound  when  they  arrested  him  at  Gethsemane, 
John  18:  12,  24,  but  the  bonds  would  naturally 
be  at  least  in  part  removed  while  they  kept  him 
in  the  house.  The  persons  who  bound  Jesus 
and  led  him  away  are  naturally  understood 
to  be  not  the  chief  priests  and  elders  ^v.  1),  but 
the  officials  who  did  their  bidding.  The 
Mishna  directs  ("Sanh.,"  VI.,  1)  that  .sen- 
tence shall  be  followed  by  leading  away  to 
execution,  while  the  court  remain  in  session 
so  as  to  hear  any  new  evidence  that  may  be 
brought  in  the  criminal's  behalf,  or  any  rea- 
sonable appeal  he  may  make,  while  on  the 
way,  for  a  new  trial.     But  here  "the  whole 


'K  B  L2,  33,  102,   Memph.,  Theb.,  Pesh.,  Orlgen.  j  wise  Insert  it  in  Mark,  Luke,  and  John?    In  the  ab- 
We  might  suppose  Pontius  struck   out  here  because  j  sence  of  decisive  internal  considerations,  it  is  safest  to 
wanting  in  the  other  Gospels ;  or  inserte*!  bpcaiise  fa-  I  follow  documents  so  generally  right, 
miliar  to  the  early  Christians  ;  but  then  why  not  like-  I 


556 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXVII. 


3  Then  Judas,  which  had  betrayed  him,  when  be  saw 
that  he  was  cuudeiuned,  repented  himself,  and  brought 
again  the  thirty  pieces  of  silver  to  the  chief  priests  and 
elders, 

4  Saying.  I  have  sinned  in  that  I  haye  betrayed  the 
innoce'nt  blood.  And  they  said,  What  i*  that  to  us  ?  see 
thou  to  that. 

5  And  he  cast  down  the  pieces  of  silver  in  the  t«mple, 
and  departed,  and  went  and  hanged  himself. 


3  Then  Judas,  who  betrayed  him,  when  he  saw  that 
he  was  condemned,  repented  himhclf,  and  brought 
back  the  thirty  pieces  of  silver  to  the  chief  priests 

4  and  elders,  saying,  I  have  sinned  in  that  J  belraved 
1  innocent  blood.    But  they  said.  What  is  that  to  lis? 

5  see  thou  to  it.  And  he  cast  down  the  pieces  of  silver 
into  the  sanctuary,  and  departed  ;  and  he  went  away 


1  Man;  uicient  authorities  read,  righte^ 


company  of  them  rose  up,  and  brought  him 
before  Pilate."  (Lukew:  i,  Eev.  ver.)  He  was  not 
yet  on  the  way  to  execution,  and  they  need 
not  keep  the  Snnhedrin  in  session. 

II.  3-10.  The  sad  fate  of  Judas.  Not 
found  in  the  other  Gospels,  but  comp.  Acts 
1 :  16-19. 

(a)  Judas  returned  the  money  and  hanged 
himself,  (v.  3-5.)  Judas,  which  had  betrayed 
him,  see  on  10:4  as  to  his  earlier  history. 
When  he  saw  that  he  was  condemned, 
viz.,  that  Jesus  was  condemned  by  the  Sanhe- 
drin.  Perhaps  he  literally  saw  the  procession 
to  Pilate's  abode,  and  understood  it  to  mean 
that  the  Sanhedrin  had  condemned  him. 
This  must  have  occurred  before  the  cruci- 
fixion, as  only  the  condemnation  is  men- 
tioned. It  is  most  natural  to  follow  Matthew's 
order,  placing  it  before  the  trial  by  Pilate. 
Yet  that  is  not  a  necessary  view,  since  Matt, 
might  record  the  scene  here  to  avoid.a  break 
in  the  subsequent  narrative.  The  chief 
priests  and  elders  in  general  went  with  the 
procession  to  Pilate  (LukeM:i),  but  some  of 
them  may  have  gone  at  once  to  the  Court  of 
the  Priests,  in  order  to  oversee  the  morning 
preparations  for  worship.  The  chief  priests 
and  elders  are  mentioned  in  v.  3,  with  one 
article  for  both  names  (correct  text),  probably 
because  the  two  classes  were  closely  associated 
in  the  Sanhedrin  and  otherwise.  In  v.  1  the 
article  in  the  original  is  relocated  because  of 
the  added  words  '  of  the  people.'  Repented 
himself,  deeply  grieved  over  and  regretted 
his  conduct,  the  word  being  metamelomai^ 
quite  different  from  metanoeo,  which  is  used 
for  repenting  unto  salvation,  see  on  3:  2;  21 : 


29.  Brought  again  the  thirty  pieces  of 
silver,  see  on  26:  15.  In  that  I  have  be- 
trayed, delivered  up,  as  in  v.  2,  see  on  10 :  4 
and  17:  22.  Innocent  blood.  The  Ilev. 
Ver.,  margin,  'righteous  blood'  1  is  probably 
correct,  but  there  is  no  important  difference. 
The  reply  of  the  rulers  was  scornful.  Comp. 
Acts  18:  15.  In  the  temple.  Rev.  Ver.,  into 
the  sanctuary.  But  the  Com.  text,  'in  the 
sanctuary'  is  more  probably  correct."  The 
sanctuary  is  naos,  the  central  building  or  tem- 
ple proper,  see  on  4 :  5  and  21 :  12.  Some  have 
attempted  to  establish  an  occasional  loose  use 
of  Tiflfos  for  the  whole  sacred  enclosure,  but 
without  success.  Not  being  a  priest,  so  far  as 
we  have  any  reason  to  believe,  Judas  had  no 
right  to  enter  this  building,  or  even  the  Court 
of  the  Priests  that  surrounded  it.  He  must 
have  felt  desperate  and  reckless,  so  that  he 
rushed  into  the  Court  of  the  Priests,  or  into  the 
building  itself,  a'nd  flung  the  coins  ringing  on 
the  floor  of  the  sanctuary.  If  we  read  'into,' 
he  must  at  anj'  rate  have  entered  the  court, 
which  was  equally  forbidden.  And  went 
and  hanged  himself.  See  the  same  word 
in  2  Sam.  17 :  23 ;  Tobit  3  :  10.  As  to  the  fur- 
ther statements  in  Acts  1 :  18  f.,  see  below. 

In  connection  with  what  has  been  said  of 
Judas  in  10:  4;  26:  14,  24,  it  may  be  remarked 
that  our  Lord  gave  Judas  a  position  for  which 
he  appears  to  have  been  by  nature  specially 
fitted.  That  is  for  any  man  the  best  providen- 
tial assignment,  and  can  only  turn  out  other- 
wise through  his  own  grievous  fault.  (Comp. 
Edersh.)  Some  modern  critics  and  literary 
men,  in  view  of  Judas'  remorse  and  suicide, 
have  tried  to  construct  for  him  a  noble  char- 


1  It  is  read  by  B '(second  hand)  L,  Memph.,  Theb.,  Old  1 
Latin,  and  Vulg.,  Syriac  of  Jerus.,  Arm.,  ^thiopic, 
Origen,  and  other  Fathers.  The  Sept.  has  'innocent 
blood'  fifteen  times,  'blameless  blood'  three  times, 
'  righteous  blood'  four  times;  but  in  only  one  of  these 
is  that  expression  found  in  the  Hebrew.  .So  'righteous 
blood '  is  a  rare  expression,  and  more  likely  to  have 
been  changed  into  the  common '  innocent  blood '  than  j 


contrariwise.    In  New  Test,  'righteous  blood'  is  found 
only  in  Matt.  23 :  35 ;  '  innocent  blood '  not  at  all. 

«'  In  '  might  easily  be  changed  to  '  into,'  ny  persons 
who  knew  that  Judas  had  no  right  to  enter  the  sanc- 
tuary. It  is  probably  an  "  Alexandrian  "  alteration, 
being  found  in  K  L,  Origen,  Eus. :  and  W  H.  would 
doubtless  call  it  such  but  for  its  being  found  also  in  B. 


Ch.  XXVIL] 


MATTHEW. 


557 


6  And  the  chief  priests  took  the  silver  pieces,  and 
said,  It  is  not  lawful  for  to  put  them  into  the  treasury, 
because  it  is  the  price  of  blood. 

7  And  they  took  counsel,  and  bought  with  tbeui  the 
potter's  fleldj  to  bury  stangers  in. 

8  Wherefore  that  field  was  called,  The  field  of  blood, 
unto  this  day. 


6  and  banged  himself  And  the  chief  priests  took  the 
pieces  of  silver,  and  said.  It  is  not  lawful  to  put 
them  into  the  >  treasury,  since  it  isthe{)riceof  blood. 

7  And  they  took  counsel,  and  bought  with  them  the 

8  jwtter's  field,  to  bury  strangers  in.  Wherefore  that 
field  was  CiiUed,  The  field  of  blood,  unto  this  day. 


1  Or,  Corbanat,  that  is,  taered  treaaur}/.    Compare  Mark  vii.  II. 


acter— being  apparently  influenced  partly  by 
love  of  paradox,  partly  by  pity  and  charity, 
and  partly,  it  is  to  be  feared  (Olsh.),  by  a  low 
estimate  of  sin.  They  say  that  Judus,  like 
the  other  apostles,  was  expecting  Jesus  to  set 
up  a  worldly  kingdom,  in  which,  whoever 
was  otherwise  greatest,  he  might  hope  to  be 
Treasurer.  This  hope  would  feed  at  once  his 
ambition  and  his  covetousness.  Seeing  that 
the  Master  shrank  from  e.stablishing  a  worldly 
kingdom,  he  is  supposed  by  these  writers  to 
have  resolved  upon  a  diplomatic  stroke;  he 
would  betray  him  to  the  rulers,  and  then 
Jesus  would  be  obliged  to  deliver  himself  by 
force,  perhaps  by  miracle,  and  would  no 
longer  delay  to  assume  the  Messianic  throne. 
It  was  the  unexpected  and  mortifying  failure 
of  this  high  scheme  that  wrought  in  him  such 
intolerable  remorse.  Now  that  such  alone 
was  the  aim  of  Judas,  is  a  fancy  forbidden  by 
the  express  statement  of  John  that  he  was  "a 
thief"  (.ioUni2:6);  and  of  Jesus,  long  before, 
that  he  was  "a  devil"  (John6:7o);  and  by  the 
Saviour's  awful  words  (26: 24,ReY.ver.),  "  Woe 
unto  that  man  through  whom  the  Son  of 
man  is  betrayed!  Good  were  it  for  that  man 
if  he  had  not  been  born."  One  may  some- 
times incline  to  think  it  possible  that,  along 
with  the  low  avarice  which  accepted  a  small 
reward  for  treachery,  there  may  have  been 
connected  in  his  mind  vague  hopes  that  some- 
how Jesus  would  escape,  and  it  would  all  turn 
out  well.  See  an  excellent  article  in  this 
direction  by  Park  in  Smith's  "Bib.  Diet.," 
Amer.  Ed.,  vol.  2,  page  1498  ff.  But  it  is  dif- 
ficult to  suppose  the  elevated  aims  above  indi- 
cated to  have  been  cherished  by  a  thief  and  a 
traitor;  and  most  of  the  critics  in  question 
have  felt  it  necessary  for  their  theory  to  dis- 
parage the  Gospel  statements.  It  seems  much 
more  probable  that,  taking  literally  the  Sav- 
iour's predictions  that  he  would  be  crucified, 
and  perceiving  the  growing  enmity  and  fixed 
purpose  of  the  rulers,  Judas  was  minded  to 
save  what  he  could  out  of  the  wreck,  as  the 
end  of  his  course  of  petty  peculation,  and  as 
some  consolation  for  blasted  hopes  in  regard 


to  the  kingdom  and  its  treasury.  It  may  also 
be  that  he  was  angered  by  the  rebuke  during 
the  supper  at  Bethany  (see  above  on  26 :  10  f.), 
and  long  before  dissatisfied  at  gradually  per- 
ceiving how  Jesus  proposed  self-renunciation 
and  cross-bearing  instead  of  worldly  self-ag- 
grandizement. As  to  his  end,  we  know  that 
men  often  lay  plans  for  some  vile  act  in  a 
dreamy,  or  a  moody,  sullen  fashion,  and 
when  it  has  been  consummated,  awaking  to 
realize  what  they  have  done,  are  filled  with 
vain  regret  and  remorse.  It  might  easily 
have  been  so  with  Judas,  and  thus  his 
remorse  and  suicide  are  not  in  the  least 
inconsistent  with  his  having  been  a  low 
thief  and  a  shameful  traitor. — What  mourn- 
ful scenes  of  evil  encompass  the  awful  tragedy 
of  the  crucifixion, — Caiaphas  and  Pilate, 
Peter  and  Judas.  Let  these  help  us  to 
understand  the  sinfulness  of  human  nature 
and  the  dreadful  guilt  of  sin,  and  we  can  bet- 
ter appreciate  the  necessity,  significance,  and 
power  of  the  cross. 

(b)  How  the  money  was  disposed  of.  (v.  e-io.) 
To  put  them  into  the  treasury,  the  kor- 
banns  (Hebrew  word  borrowed  in  the  Greek), 
where  every  korhnn  (see  on  15:  6)  or  conse- 
crated article  was  deposited.  (Comp.  Jos. 
"  War,"  2,  9,  4.)  It  is  not  lawful  .... 
because  it  is  the  price  of  blood.  This  is 
supposed  to  have  been  inferred  from  Deut. 
23 :  18.  The  money  had  already  dishonored 
the  temple  by  being  thrown  on  its  floor. 
And  they  took  counsel,  probably  some 
hours  or  even  days  later,  when  they  had  more 
time  to  think  of  so  small  a  matter.  The  pot- 
ter's field,  spoken  of  as  known  by  that  name. 
To  bury  strangers  in.  This  was  a  contemp- 
tuous charity,  probably  referring  to  Gentiles 
who  died  at  Jerusalem,  as  they  would  have 
been  unwilling  to  bury  any  Jew  in  a  place 
having  a  taint  of  desecration.  The  field  of 
blood.  Acts  gives  also  the  Aramaic  term 
Aceldama.  The  tradition  fixing  the  place  of 
Aceldama  in  the  side  of  the  valley  of  Hin- 
nom,  on  the  south  of  Jerusalem,  goes  back  as 
far  as  Jerome  ("Onom,"),  while  Eus.  seems 


658 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXVII. 


9  Then  was  fulfilled  that  which  was  spoken  by  Jer- 
emy the  prophet,  saying,  And  they  took  the  thirty 
pieces  of  silver,  the  price  of  him  that  was  valued,  whom 
they  of  the  children  of  Israel  did  value; 


9  Then  was  fulfilled  that  which  was  spoken  through 
Jeremiah  the  prophet,  saying,  And 'they  took  the 
thirty  pieces  of  silver,  the  price  of  him  that  was 
priced,  ■'  whom  certain  of  the  children  of  Israel  did 


1  Or.  /loot 2  Or,  whom  tkeypriced  on  tht  part  of  the  tona  o/  ImraA. 


to  locate  it  on  the  north.  Comp.  Robinson, 
"  Bibl.  Res.,"  and  a  striiiing  description  in 
Hnckett's  "  Illustrations  of  Scripture."  Unto 
this  day,  shows  that  this  Gospel  was  written 
a  good  many  years  after  the  crucifixion  ;  it 
would  be  much  more  natural  in  a.  d.  60  than 
in  A.  D.  40. 

The  account  in  Acts  1 :  18  f.  differs  in  vari- 
ous points  from  that  here  given.  (1)  Matt. 
says  tlie  chief  priests  '  bought  the  field '  ;  Acts, 
'  this  man  purchased  (acquired)  a  field.'  The 
latter  is  a  high  wrought  expression,  perfectly 
intelligible  —  all  that  he  acquired  by  his 
treachery  was  a  field.  The  money  bought 
him  a  burial-place  ;  that  was  to  hira  the  sole 
financial  outcome  of  the  iniquitous  transac- 
tion. (2)  Matt,  says  he  'hanged  himself; 
Acts,  'falling  headlong,  he  burst  asunder  in 
the  midst,  and  all  his  bowels  gushed  out.' 
Why  should  these  be  called  inconsistent  state- 
ments? Suppose  that  he  hanged  himself  in 
the  potter's  field — probably  an  unenclosed 
spot,  from  which  potter's  clay  had  often  been 
obtained,  like  a  brickyard,  and  therefore  not 
costly;  and  suppose  that  the  rope,  or  a  limb 
<if  a  tree,  broke;  and  the  statements  are  all 
accounted  for.  (3)  Matt,  ascribes  the  name 
field  of  blood  to  the  fact  that  it  was  bought 
with  the  price  of  blood  ;  Acts,  to  the  fact  that 
his  oAvn  blood  was  poured  out  there.  All  the 
circumstances  (McClellan)  must  have  become 
known  to  the  Christians,  who  resided  at  Jeru- 
salem for  years  after  their  occurrence,  and 
would  feel  a  painful  interest  in  the  entire 
story.  One  of  the  reasons  for  that  name  does 
not  exclude  the  other. — These  several  explana- 
tions are  artificial,  but  not  highly  so,  and  are 
certainly  all  possible;  and  therefore  it  cannot 
be  fairly  said  that  the  accounts  are  incredible 
because  contradictory,  nor  that  the  writers 
were  erroneously  informed. 

9.  Then  was  fulfilled.  For  the  term 
'fulfilled,'  see  on  1:  22;  and  for  the  phrase 
'then  was  fulfilled,'  instead  of  'that  it  might 
be  fulfilled,'  comp.  on  2:  17.  It  was  natural 
to  shrink  from  referring  so  horrid  a  crime  in 
any  sense  to  the  divine  purpose.  Spoken  by, 
through,  Jeremiah,  viz.,  'by  God  through 


Jeremiah,'  see  on  1:  22;  2:  17.  Price  .  .  . 
was  valued  .  .  .  did  value.  The  same  word 
is  used  throughout  in  the  Greek;  the  repeti- 
tion being  painfully  impressive.  Com.  Ver. 
must  of  necessity  vary  the  trai;slation,  '  price,' 
'valued,'  'did  value'  ;  but  it  did  better  than 
Tyn,,  Cran.,  Gen.,  which  had  'price,' 
'valued,'  'bought' 

The  prophecy  is  evidently  derived  from 
Zech.  11 :  13,  and  yet  is  here  referred  to  Jere- 
miah. There  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  text. 
Augustine  already  remarks  that  the  few 
(Latin)  copies  which  omitted  the  name  (as 
also  Peshito  does),  or  substituted  Zechariali, 
were  evidently  trying  to  remove  a  difficulty. 
This  difficulty  has  been  the  subject  of  immense 
discussion.  The  principal  theories  are  as  fol- 
lows :  (1 )  Error  on  the  part  of  Matthew.  This 
is  apparently  a  very  easy  solution  of  Luther, 
Bez;a,  etc.,  and  is  popular  now  with  many, 
even  Keil  and  Wright  (on  Zechariah).  But 
some  have  surely  failed  to  consider  the  conse- 
quences involved  in  such  an  admission.  Per- 
sons who  earnestly  seek  another  solution,  or 
who  admit  they  cannot  find  one  and  are 
quietly  recognizing  an  unsolved  difficulty, 
may  be  jugt  as  honest  and  truth-loving  as 
those  who  with  reckless  bravery  cut  the  knot. 
(2)  Origen  and  Eus.  suggested,  and  many 
have  repeated,  that  it  might  be  a  mistake  of 
an  original  copyist,  which  is  of  course  a  mere 
assumption,  but  quite  as  likely  as  a  mistake  of 
the  Evangelist.  Morison  ingeniously  com- 
pares "strain  at  a  gnat"  in  23:  24,  which 
appears  to  have  been  a  slip  of  the  pen  or  a 
typographical  error  in  the  original  edition 
of  King  James.  (3)  The  notion  (Origen,  Je- 
rome, Ewald.  and  others),  that  it  was  taken 
from  some  Apocryphal  writing  ascribed  to 
Jeremiah,  is  arbitrary  and  hardly  worth  dis- 
cussing. (4)  Mede  suggested,  followed  by 
Turpie,  Wright,  and  others,  that  Jeremiah 
may  have  been  the  author  of  Zech.  ch.  9-11. 
This  would  partly  fall  in  with  the  recent 
theory  as  to  a  divided  authorship  of  that  book  ; 
but  the  theory  holds,  for  internal  reasons, 
that  the  author  must  have  belonged  to  the 
time  of  Micah  and  Isaiah.      Mede's  view  is 


Ch.  XXVII.] 


MATTHEW. 


559 


barely  possible.  Morison  well  says  that  it 
would  be  "a  critical  anachronism  "  to  sup- 
pose Matthew  indicating  in  this  fashion  the 
composite  authorship  of  the  book.  (5)  Light- 
foot  quotes  the  Talmud  as  saying  that,  in  the 
ancient  orJer  of  the  prophetic  books,  Jere- 
miah stood  first.  So  he  thinks  Matthew  has 
quoted  from  tlie  general  prophetic  collection 
as  the  Book  of  Jeremiah ;  comp.  the  Psalms 
of  David,  the  Proverbs  of  Solomon.  Tliis  is 
very  ingonious.  But  no  similar  quotation  is 
found  in  New  Test.  Hengstenberg  and  Cook 
("Bib.  Comm.")  notice  the  fact  that  only 
Jeremiah,  Isaiah,  and  Daniel  are  quoted  by 
name  in  the  Gospels,  Zech.  being  several 
times  quoted  or  referred  to  in  the  Gospels, 
and  many  times  in  New  Test.,  but  never 
named.  (6)  Hengstenberg  thinks  that  as  the 
later  prophets  often  reproduce  earlier  predic- 
tions, so  Zech.  was  here  really  reproducing 
Jcr.  18:  2  and  19:  2,  and  Matt,  intentionally 
refers  to  tlic  ori;?inal  source,  though  adopting 
mainly  the  later  form.  This  theory  is  ably 
argued  in  Hengst.'s  "Christology,"  and  Klie- 
futh  has  a  similar  thougli  distinct  theory  (see 
Wright^.  Beside  the  above-mentioned  fact 
that  Zech.  is  so  often  quoted  but  never 
named,  Hengst.  notices  also  that  Mark  1 :  2  f . 
refers  to  Isaiali  what  comes  partly  frt>m  Mal- 
achi,  giving  the  older  and  greater  prophet 
credit  for  the  whole,  the  two  predictions 
being  akin. — On  the  whole  this  last  seems  the 
most  nearly  satisfactory  theory;  but  some  of 
the  others  are  possible,  even  plausible.  If 
not  quite  content  with  any  of  these  explana- 
tions, we  had  better  leave  the  question  as  it 
stands,  remembering  how  slight  an  unknown 
circumstance  might  solve  it  in  a  moment,  and 
how  many  a.  once  celebrated  difficulty  has 
been  cleared  up  in  the  gradual  progress  of 
Biblical  knowledge.  Comp.  on  20:  29;  23:  35. 
In  Zechariah  11 :  13  the  prophet  in  vision  is 
a  representative  of  Jehovah  acting  as  shep- 
herd of  Israel.  The  flock  so  misbehave  that 
the  shepherd  calls  for  his  wages  to  quit.  The 
people  (flock)  show  him  contempt  by  valu- 
ing him  at  thirty  shekels,  the  price  of  a  slave. 
Jfthovah  says  to  the  shepherd,  "Fling  it  to 
the  potter,  the  glorious  price  at  which  I  was 
priced  by  them."  The  prophet  adds,  "And  I 
took  the  thirty  pieces  of  silver,  and  I  flung  it, 
in  the  house  of  Jehovah,  to  the  potter."  In 
like  manner,  Jesus  is  contemptuously  valued 


by  the  representatives  of  Israel  at  thirty  shek- 
els, and  this  is  flung  away  in  the  house  of  Je- 
hovah, and  goes  to  a  potter  for  the  purchase 
of  his  field.  The  two  cases  are  similar  inter- 
nally as  well  as  in  striking  external  points, 
and  the  Evangelist  declares  them  to  have  a 
prophetic  relation.  Comp.  on  1:  23;  2:  17  f. 
— Ewald,  Bleek,  Meyer,  and  others,  hold  that 
the  Hebrew  does  not  mean  'potter,'  but 
'treasury.'  They  change  the  vowels,  and 
make  an  unknown  word,  and  think  that  this 
is  required  by  the  subsequent  words  '  in  the 
house  of  Jehovah.'  It  is  enough  to  say  that 
the  money  flung  in  the  temple  did  go  to  the 
potter.  Some  have  suggested  the  artificial 
but  not  impossible  hypothe:;is  of  a  potter  who 
had  a  shop  in  the  temple  courts  and  supplied 
the  temple,  and  who  owned  the  piece  of  land 
that  was  bought. 

As  to  the  form  of  the  quotation,  Matt,  here 
leaves  the  Sept.  and  makes  considerable 
changes  in  the  expressions  of  the  Hebrew, 
but  only  such  as  bring  out  more  clearly  the 
meaning  which,  if  we  consider  the  passage  as 
prophetic,  is  really  conveyed  by  the  Hebrew. 
Comp.  on  2:  6. 

HOMILETICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

V.  3.  Downward  course  of  one  who  began 
as  a  teacher  and  an  apostle.  1)  Avarice,  2) 
Thievery,  John  12:  6,  3)  Betrayal,  4)  Re- 
morse, 6)  Suicide,  6)  His  own  place,  Acts  1  : 
2o. — Peter  and  Judas.  1)  They  both,  and 
they  only,  are  called  Satan,  16:  23;  John  6: 
70.  2)  They  both,  and  they  only,  turned 
openly  agjiinst  the  Master  at  the  end.  3) 
They  both  sorrowed  deeply,  but  in  one  it  was 
remorse,  in  the  other  it  was  humble  and  lov- 
ing repentance.  4)  One  committed  suicide, 
the  other  found  forgiveness  and  lived  along 
life  of  usefulness. — How  the  traitor  was 
treated.  1)  Eagerly  welcomed,  and  promptly 
paid, '26:  1-5.  2)  Solemnly  warned,  but  in 
vain,  26:24.  3)  Diligently  assisted,  26:47; 
John  18:  3.  4)  Scorned  and  slighted,  27:  4. 
6)  The  price  of  his  treachery  made  a  monu- 
ment of  his  ignominy  forever. 

V.  4.  "I  have  sinned."  Spurgeon  has  a 
sermon  that  introduces  seven  diflTerent  persons 
in  Scripture,  each  saying,  "I  have  sinned." 
"What  is  that  to  us?"  It  was  really  much 
to  them  ;  for  if  Judas  had  betrayed  a  righteous 
man,  they  had  condemned  him.     They  could 


560 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXVII. 


10  And  gave  them  for  the  potter's  field,  aa  the  Lord 
appoiuted  me. 

11  And  Jesus  stood  before  the  governor:  and  the  gov- 
ernor asked  hiui,  saying,  Art  tuou  the  King  of  the 
Jews?    And  Jesus  said  uuto  him.  Thou  sayest. 


10  price;  and  »they  gave  them  for  the  potter's  field, 
as  the  Lord  appointed  me. 

11  Now  Jesus  stood  before  the  governor:   and  the 
governor  asked  him,  saying.  Art  thou  the  King  of 


1  Some  ancient  autliorltlee  rcail.  I  gave. 


not  shift  their  guilt  upon  Judas,  as  Pilate 
could  not  shift  his  upon  the  Jews.  (27:24.) 
Hknry  :  "It  is  folly  for  us  to  think  that  the 
sins  of  others  are  nothing  to  us,  especially 
those  sins  that  we  are  any  way  accessory  to, 
or  partakers  in.  .  .  .  Sinners,  under  convic- 
tions, will  find  their  old  companions  in  sin 
but  miserable  comforters.  It  is  usual  for  those 
that  love  the  treason  to  hate  the  traitor." 
— V.  5.  How  often  does  gain  gotten  by  crime 
become  a  torment. — V.  6.  Scrupulosity  and 
injustice.  1)  They  would  pay  the  price,  but 
would  not  put  the  price  of  blood  in  the  treas- 
ury. 2)  They  would  not  enter  the  governor's 
abode  for  fear  of  defilement  (John  18:28),  but 
tliey  would  manoeuvre  and  lie  to  make  the 
governor  murder  the  righteous.  3)  Thej- 
were  horror-struck  at  a  claim  to  be  the  Mes- 
siah (26;65f.),  and  they  would  bribe  Roman 
soldiers  to  a  false  report  to  prevent  the  claim 
from  being  believed.  (2s:  12.) — V.  10.  Euthym.  : 
"Let  the  money-lovers  consider  how  Judas 
1)  committed  the  sin,  2)  did  not  enjoy  the 
money,  3)  lost  his  life."  Luthkr  :  "In  Ju- 
das we  see  two  things;  how  sin  at  first  easily 
slips  in,  but  afterwards  makes  such  a  horrible 
end." 

11-31.  Jesus  Tried  by  Pilate. 

Found  also  in  Mark  15:  2-20;  Luke  23:  2- 
25;  John  18:  28-19:16.  Luke  here  gives  a 
good  deal,  and  John  still  more,  of  matter  not 
found  in  Matt,  and  Mark ;  while  Matt,  has 
two  remarkable  points  not  found  in  the 
others,  viz.,  v.  19  and  v.  24  f.  This  section  in 
Matt,  divides  into  v.  11-14,  15-18,  19,  20-23, 
24  f ,  26,  27-31. 

I.  11-14.  Pilate  finds  no  grounds  of 
condemnation.  And  Jesus  stood  before 
the  governor,  viz.,  Pilate.  (27:2.)  The  time 
was  early  morning.  (27:1;  John  is :  28.)  The  place 
was  either  in  the  Castle  of  Anton ia,  at  the 
northwest  corner  of  the  temple  area,  or  at  the 
grand  palace  of  Herod  the  Great,  on  the 
western  side  of  the  city,  near  the  present 
•Jaffa  gate  ;  it  does  not  seem  possible  at  pres- 
ent to  decide  between  the  two  localities.  The 
Greek  word  translated  "governor"  is  a  gen- 
eral term  signifying  leader,  ruler,  governor  in 


general,  as  in  10:  18;  1  Peter  2:  14,  and  fre- 
quently applied  to  a  Roman  procurator,  as 
throughout  this  and  the  following  chapter.*, 
and  in  Acts  ch.  24-26;  so  sometimes  in  Jo- 
seph us. 

"When  Archelaus  was  banished  in  A.  d.  6 
(comp.  above,  end  of  ch.  2),  Judea  and  Sama- 
ria were  made  a  Roman  province,  governed 
by  a  procurator,  who  resided  at  Cesarea  as 
the  political  capital,  and  visited  Jerusalem 
upon  occasion,  especially  at  the  time  of  the 
great  feasts.  The  sixth  procurator,  A.  D.  2G- 
36,  was  Pontius  Pilatus,  who,  besides  New 
Test,  and  Jos.,  is  mentioned  by  Tacltu.* 
("Ann.,"  15,  44),  "  Christus,  in  the  reign  of 
Tiberius,  was  executed  by  the  procurator 
Pontius  Pilatus."  We  know  nothing  of 
Pilate's  history  before  entering  upon  oiBce. 
In  the  probably  four  years  he  had  now  been 
holding  it,  he  had  made  himself  very  odious 
to  the  Jews,  by  di.eregarding  their  religious 
convictions  and  feelings.  We  find  mention 
of  four  instances,  all  apparently  belonging  to 
this  earlj'  period,  (a)  In  removing  his  army 
from  Cesarea  to  Jerusalem  for  winter  quar- 
ters, he  sent  in  by  night  some  ensigns  bearing 
busts  of  Cesar,  while  former  governors  had 
used  other  ensigns  in  entering  Jerusalem,  out 
of  regard  for  Jewish  feeling  against  graven 
images.  Multitudes  of  the  people  went  to 
Cesarea  and  continued  for  five  daj-s  and 
nights  their  incessant  entreaties  for  the  re- 
moval of  these  images,  which  he  refused 
because  it  would  seem  an  insult  to  Cesar.  On 
the  sixth  day  he  let  in  soldiers  threatening  the 
suppliants  with  slaughter ;  but  they  prostrated 
themselves  and  bared  their  throats  before  the 
drawn  swords,  saying  that  they  would  gladly 
die  rather  than  allow  transgression  of  the 
law ;  so  ho  yielded,  and  ordered  back  the  im- 
ages (Jos.,  "Ant.,"  18,  3,  1;  "War,"  2,  9, 
2-4).  (b)  Philo,  in  urging  upon  Caius  Ca- 
ligula the  example  of  Tiberius,  tells  that 
Pilate  once  offered  up  in  the  palace  of  Herod 
some  golden  shields,  without  figures,  but  in- 
scribed, and  after  long  obstinately  refusing 
the  entreaties  of  the  people,  received  orders 
from   Tiberius    at   Rome  to  remove    them. 


Cii.  XXVII.] 


MATTHEW. 


561 


12  And  when  he  was  accused  of  the  chief  priests  and 
el(ler.-»,  he  answered  nothing. 

13  Then  said  Pilate  unto  him,  Hearest  thou  not  how 
many  things  they  witness  against  thee  ? 


12  the  Jews  ?    And  Jesus  said  unto  him,  Thou  savest. 
And  when  he  was  accused  by  the  chief  priesisand 

13  elders,  he  answered  nothing.   Then  suith  Pilate  unto 
him,  Uearest  thou  not  how  many  things  they  wit- 


See  that  curious  work,  written  soon  after 
A.  D.  40,  Phiio's  "Embassy  to  Caius,"  ?  38. 
(c)  He  used  the  sacred  treasure  called  Cor- 
ban  (Mark  7:11),  to  build  an  aqueduct  near 
fifty  miles  long.  On  his  return  to  Jeru- 
salem the  people  gathered  about  his  tribunal 
with  loud  clamors,  and  he  sent  among  them 
soldiers,  who  beat  them  savagelj'^  with  staves, 
killing  many,  while  others  were  trodden  to 
death  in  the  flight;  and  so  in  that  case  he  tri- 
umphed (Jos.  "War,"  2,3,  9).  (d)  He  slew  cer- 
tain Galileans  while  engaged  in  offering  sacri- 
fices at  the  temple,  so  that  their  blood  min- 
gled with  the  blood  of  their  sacrifices — to 
.Jewish  feeling  a  horrible  combination  of 
cruelty  and  profanation.  (Lukeis:  i.)  We  need 
not    wonder   that    Jos.   has    no    account    of 


Pilate  knew  that  they  designed  a  grave  accu- 
sation. He  must  have  repeatedly  heard  of 
Jesus  during  the  last  three  years,  of  the  great 
crowds  that  followed  him,  and  the  reported 
miracles,  but  also  that  he  seemed  to  have  no 
political  aims.  Luke  (Rev.  Ver. )  tells  that 
they  said,  "We  found  this  man  perverting 
our  nation,  and  forbidding  to  give  tribute  to 
Cesar,  and  saying  that  he  himself  is  Christ,  a 
king."  They  kept  the  purely  religious  ques- 
tion in  reserve  (John  19:  7),  and  put  forward 
political  accusations,  such  as  alone  properly 
concerned  a  Roman  governor  (comp.  Acts  18: 
12-17),  and  these  oftlie  most  serious  kind.  Now, 
in  Roman  trials  (Keim),  great  importance 
was  attached  to  a  confession  by  the  accused. 
Accordingly,  Pilate  asked  the  question  given 


this,  for  Philo  speaks  of  Pilate's  " successive  i  by  Matt.,  Mark,  and  Luke,   and  John,  Art 


murders  without  trial,"  declaring  that  he 
feared  any  appeal  to  Tiberius,  lest  the  embassy 
should  also  accuse  his  "acceptance  of  bribes, 
plunderings,  outrages,  and  wanton  insults, 
continual  and  most  grievous  cruelty,"  and 
characterizing  him  as  "  unbending,  self- 
willed,  harsh,  and  malignant."  These  facts 
and  statements  will  prepare  us  to  understand 
the  relations  of  the  accusers  and  the  judge  in 
the  trial  of  Jesus  before  Pilate.  It  should  be 
added  that  six  years  later  the  proconsul  of 
Syria,  who  was  the  procurator's  superior, 
upon  complaint  of  his  cruelty  towards  certain 
Samaritans,  ordered  him  to  Rome,  where  he 
arrived  after  the  death  of  Tiberius  ("Ant." 
18,  4,  1  f).  Eusebius  says  ("Hist."  IL  7), 
that  "in  the  time  of  Caius  (a.  d.  37-41)  Pilate 
fell  into  so  great  misfortunes  that  he  commit- 
ted suicide."  It  is  stated  by  Justin  Martyr, 
TertuUian,  and  Euseb.,  that  Pilate  made  an 
official  report  to  Tiberius  concerning  his  trial 


thou  the  king  of  the  Jews  ?  This  in  Matt, 
and  Mark  requires  something  said  by  the 
Jews  as  accounting  for  it,  which  John  and 
Luke  afford.  '  Thou '  is  emphatic,  being  sep- 
arately expressed  in  the  Greek.  Thon  say- 
est,  viz.,  sayest  what  is  true  (comp.  on  26:  25). 
John  shows  that  this  question  and  answer 
were  spoken  in  private  within  the  praetorium 
(John  18:  38),  and  that  Jesus  explained,  "My 
kingdom  is  not  of  this  world."  We  have  seen 
on  25 :  34  how  our  Lord  had  of  late  been 
speaking  of  himself  to  the  disciples  as  king, 
and  on  26:  64  how  before  the  Sanhedrin  he 
avowed  himself  the  Messiah,  and  thus  a  king. 
It  is  probably  to  this  confession  that  he  was 
the  king  of  the  Jews  that  Paul  refers  in  1 
Tim.  6:13,  Rev.  Ver.:  "Christ  Jesus,  who 
before  Pontius  Pilate  witnessed  the  good  con- 
fession." 

When  he  was  accused,  or,  'while  he  was 
being  accused.'     By  the  chief  priests  and 


uf  Jesus;  but  this  is  now  represented  only  by  i  elders,  first  one  speaking,  and  then  another, 
iinquestionably  spurious  writings?.  I  This  was  probably  both  before  and  after  Pi- 

John  relates  how  Pilate  came  out  from  the  ;  late's  private  interview  with  him.  To  never, 
praetorium,  because  the  rulers  were  unwilling  |  or,  not  even  to  one  word,  is  the  literal  transla- 
to  enter,  and  inquired  "What  accusation  !  tion.  Pilate's  remonstrance  (v.  13)  appears 
bring  ye  against  this  man?  '  They  replied  I  to  have  been  kindly' meant.  The  utter  silence 
that  he  was  an  evil-doer.  Upon  Pilate's  bid-  i  of  the  accused  seemed  wonderful,  (v.  u).  A 
ding  them  take  him  and  judge  him  them-  Roman  writer  says,  "Silence  is  a  kind  of  con- 
delves,  they  said  "  We  (emphatic)  are  not  per-  fession."  Did  Jesus  mean  thus  to  confess  the 
mitted   to  put  anyone  to  death";   and    so    charge  as  true  ?    There  was  something  about 

2L 


562 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXVIL 


14  And  he  answered  him  to  never  a  word:  insomuch 
that  the  governor  murvelled  gieatly. 

15  Now  at  that  feast  the  governor  was  wont  to  release 
unto  the  jieople  a  piisoner,  whom  they  would. 

IG  And  tliey  had  then  a  notable  prisoner,  called  Bar- 
abbas. 

17  Therefore  when  they  were  gathered  together,  Pi- 
late said  unto  theui,  Whom  will  ye  that  I  release  unto 
you?  Barabbas,  or  Jesus  which  iw  called  Christ? 


14  ness  against  thee?  And  he  gave  him  no  answer,  not 
even  to  one  word:  insoaiucli  that  the  governor  mar- 

15  veiled  greatly.  Now  at  i  the  feast  the  governor  was 
wont  to  release  unto  the  multitude  one  prisoner, 

16  whom  they  would.     And  they  had  then  a  notable 

17  prisoner,  called  Barabbas.  When  therefore  they 
were  gathered  together,  Pilate  said  untothera.  Whom 
will  ye  that  1  release  unto  you  ?    Barabbas,  or  Jesus 


him  which  disinclined  the  governor  to  think 
so.  How  many  things.  The  Greek  may 
mean  either  how  many  or  how  great,  indeed 
may  include  both — what  a  mass  of  things. 
Can  we  see  reasons  for  this  remarkable  si- 
lence, before  the  Eoman  as  well  as  the  Jew- 
ish tribunal  (26:63)?  (1)  He  has  already  been 
condemned  by  the  Sanhedrin  for  blasphemy. 
His  death  is  a  foregone  conclusion  with  them, 
and  Pilate  is  fettered  by  his  own  past  wrong- 
doing, and  must  yield  to  their  wishes.  It  will 
do  no  good  to  speak ;  it  would  be  casting 
pearls  before  swine.  The  only  charge  that 
needed  explanation  to  Pilate  he  did  explain 
to  him  in  private.  (2)  The  crisis  of  his  minis- 
try has  arrived,  his  '  hour '  is  now  come.  For 
two  years  he  has  prudently  avoided  exciting 
the  hostility  of  his  enemies,  and  the  fanati- 
cism of  his  friends.  But  there  is  no  occasion 
for  further  delaying  the  inevitable  collision. 
He  has  finished  his  work  of  teaching,  his  life 
of  humiliation,  and  the  hour  is  come  that  he 
should  be  glorified.  (John  12 :  23;  17 : 4.)  (3)  His 
death  is  not  only  inevitable,  but  necessary, 
and  he  now  voluntarily  submits  to  it.  (John 
10: 17  f.)  One  prayer  to  the  Father  might 
stop  it,  but  he  will  not  so  pray.  (Jotm  12:  27; 
Miitt.  26:5.1.)  Tiie  thought  of  this  hour  has  long 
been  a  burden  to  his  soul  (Luke  12: 50),  and  last 
night  its  approach  cost  him  a  long  and  pain- 
ful struggle  in  the  garden;  but  now  he  is 
ready  to  endure  the  cross,  despising  the 
shame,  for  the  joy  that  is  set  before  him.  (H«b. 

12:  2.) 

Luke  and  John  here  relate  that  Pilate  de- 
clared he  found  no  fault  in  the  accused.  (Lake 
23:4;  John  18: 38.)  So  the  trial  bcfore  him  was 
thus  far  a  failure.  Rut  the  Jewish  rulers 
(Luke23:5,  R.  V.)  "  werc  the  more  urgent,  saying, 
He  stirreth  up  the  people,  teaching  through- 
out all  Judea,  and  beginning  from  Galilee 
even  unto  this  place."  Thus  Pilate  learned 
that  the  accused  was  a  Galilean.  He  seized 
upon  this  fact  as  affording  a  prospect  of  an 
escape  from  this  unpleasant  trial,  and  at  the 


same  time  of  conciliating  Herod  Antipas,  the 
tetrarch  of  Galilee,  with  whom  he  had  been 
at  enmitj'.  So  he  sent  Jesus  to  Herod,  who 
had  come  to  Jerusalem  for  the  feast.  (Luke2:i:7-i2.) 
This  formed  the  second  stage  in  the  Eoman 
trial.  But  while  he  succeeded  in  conciliating 
Herod,  the  governor  failed  to  escape  the  re- 
sponsibility of  the  investigation.  Jesus  was 
utterly  silent  before  Herod  also,  and  was  sent 
back,  nothing  having  been  accomplished. 

II.  15-18.  Pilate  attempts  to  release  Jesus. 
Mark  15:  6-10;  Luke  23:  13-16;  John  18:  39  f. 
Summoning  the  rulers  and  the  people,  the 
procurator  declared  (Luke)  that  he,  and  like- 
wise Herod,  had  found  no  fault  in  this  man 
concerning  the  matters  of  accusation.  So  he 
proposed  v  sort  of  compromise,  "  I  will  there- 
fore chastise  him,  and  release  him."  He  hoped 
that  this  amount  of  punishment  might  satisfy 
the  hostility  of  the  accusers.  At  that  feast, 
Rev.  Ver.,  the  feast,  feast  by  feast,  whenever 
a  feast  occurred ;  but  the  reference  is  probably 
to  the  passover,  and  not  all  the  feasts.  The 
governor  was  wont  to  release  unto  the 
people,  multitude.  This  was  more  likely  a 
Roman  than  a  Jewish  custom,  but  its  origin 
is  quite  unknown.  Despots  have  often  found 
some  release  of  prisoners  to  be  popular  with 
the  many.  A,  owe,  prisoner.  This  is  clearly 
a  numeral,  and  not  an  indefinite  article,  comp. 
on  26 :  69.  They  had,  viz.,  the  governor  and 
those  associated  with  him  in  such  matters. 
Barabbas.  The  insurrection  against  the 
Romans  when  a  procurator  was  first  appointed 
had  left  some  popular  robbers,  who  were  re- 
garded as  patriots  (comp.  on  22 :  17).  It  is  not 
unlikely  that  Barabbas  was  one  of  those.  H& 
was  not  only  "a  robber"  (John is : 40),  but  had 
excited  an  insurrection  in  the  city,  during 
which  he  and  his  followers  had  committed 
murder.  { Mark  is:  7;  Luke  23: 19.)  These  facts  oc- 
count  for  Matthew's  calling  him  a  notable 
prisoner,  or  'a  prisoner  of  mark.'  It  is  also 
probable  that  the  two  robbers  crucified  with 
Jesus  were  Barabbas'   followers,  so  that  the 


Ch.  XXVII.] 


MATTHEW. 


563 


13  For  he  knew  that  for  envy  they  had  delivered  |  18  who  is  called  Christ  ?    For  he  knew  that  for  envy 


him. 

19  When  he  was  set  down  on  the  judgment  seat,  his 
wife  sent  unto  him,  saying.  Have  thou  nothing  to  do 
with  that  just  man :  for  I  have  suffered  many  things 
this  day  in  a  dream  because  of  him. 

20  But  the  chief  priests  and  elders  persuaded  the 
multitude  that  they  siiould  ask  Barabbas,  and  destroy 
Jesus. 


19  they  had  delivered  him  up.  And  while  he  was  sit- 
ting on  the  judgment-scat,  his  wife  sent  unto  him, 
saying,  Have  thou  nothing  to  do  with  that  righteous 
man  :  for  I  have  suffered  many  things  this  day  in  a 

20  dream  because  of  him.  Now  the  chief  priests  and 
the  elders  persuaded  the  multitudes  that  they  should 


Saviour  literally  took  his  place.  Jesus  was 
falsely  accused  of  sedition,  and  a  man  really 
f^uilty  of  sedition  was  released.  The  name 
Barabbas  occurs  frequently  in  the  Talmud, 
and  signifies  'son  of  Abba,'  or  'son  of  a 
teacher,'  it  being  common  to  call  a  rabbi 
'father.'  (23:9.)  Comp.  Barjonah  (i6:n),  Bar- 
tholomew. (10:2.)  The  name  might  mean 
simply  'son  of  his  fether,'  but  not  so  probably. 
A  few  documents  give  In  v.  16  and  17,  or  in  v. 
17  alone,  'Jesus  Barabbas.'  Everyone  feels 
this  to  be  an  interesting  reading,  but  the  evi- 
dence Is  too  slight  to  warrant  accepting  it,  as 
is  done  by  Fritz.,  Meyer,  Farrar,  and  others. 
Tregelles  has  shown  how  it  might  have  arisen 
through  a  mistake  in  copying;  see  also  Tisch. 
and  W  H.,  App.  Whom  will  ye  that  I  re- 
lease unto  you  ?  John  also  states,  and  Luke 
implies,  that  Pilate  suggested  the  release  of 
Jesus.  Mark  (is :  s)  at  first  seems  to  make  it 
come  from  the  people.  But  he  only  states 
that  the  thronging  multitude  at  that  point 
reminded  Pilate  of  the  custom,  a  very  natural 
thing  upon  coming  before  the  tribunal  early 
on  the  first  day  of  the  feast,  and  Pilate  took 
up  the  idea  and  asked  whether  they  wished 
him  to  release  Jesus.  For  envy  they  had 
delivered  him.  Mark  carefully  distinguishes 
— Pilate  addressed  "the  multitude,"  and  "per- 
ceived that  for  envy  the  chief  priests  had  de- 
livered him  up,"  R.  V.  Their  jealousy  arose 
from  the  fear  that  a  person  claiming  to  be  the 
Messiah  would  interfere  with  their  popularity 
and  power.  Pilate  might  well  enough  sup- 
pose that  the  multitude  would  have  little 
sympathy  with  this  feeling.  Or  Jesus, 
which  is  called  Christ.  We  usually  find 
'the  Christ,'  the  Messiah,  see  on  2:  4;  but 
here,  as  in  1:  1,  16,  and  probably  in  16:  20,  it 
is  simply  'Christ,'  a  proper  name. 

III.  19.  Message  from  Pilate's  wife.  This 
is  found  In  Matt.  only.  The  judgment  seat 
was  a  special  chair,  often  carried  about  by  a 
Roman  official  of  rank,  and  placed  as  a  seat 
of  justice  in  front  of  his  tent  or  house,  upon 
an  elevated  'pavement,'  tesselated  or  mosaic. 


The  Romans  were  ostentatious  of  publicity  in 
trials,  as  opposed  to  secret  investigations. 
Comp.  (Keim)  the  case  of  the  procurator 
Florus,  who  in  A.  D.  66,  after  spending  the 
night  in  Herod's  palace,  "  the  next  da}"- 
placed  in  front  of  the  palace  a  judgment  seat, 
and  sat  down ;  and  the  chief  priests  and  men  of 
power  and  all  that  was  most  distinguished  in  the 
city  stood  beside  the  judgment  seat."  (Jos., 
"War,"  2,  14,  8.)  This  curious  interruption 
from  Pilate's  wife  gave  time  for  the  rulers  to 
move  about  among  the  crowds  and  persuade 
them  to  ask  for  Barabbas.  (v.  20.)  It  is  sug- 
gested by  Edersh.  (comp.  above  on  26:  47) 
that  so  large  a  force  as  a  cohort,  commanded 
by  a  chiliarch,  could  not  have  been  furnished 
to  the  rulers  for  the  apprehension  of  Jesus 
without  authority  from  Pilate.  This  would 
account  for  the  fact  that  Pilate's  wife  knew 
what  was  going  on,  and  felt  distressed  and 
anxious.  Have  thou  nothing  to  do  with 
that  just  man;  the  same  Greek  construction 
as  in  8:  29;  John  2:  4.  This  day  In  the  Jew- 
ish sense,  beginning  at  sunset.  There  is  noth- 
ing here  to  indicate  a  divine  influence  in 
connection  with  the  dream,  and  it  can  be  ac- 
counted for  by  natural  causes.  The  message 
would  naturally  increase  the  governor's  re- 
luctance to  condemn  the  accused.  A  tradition, 
with  but  slight  support,  gives  to  Pilate's  wife 
the  name  of  Procla,  or  Claudia  Procula.  In 
like  manner,  the  two  robbers,  the  centurion, 
etc.,  have  received  traditional  names,  which 
interest  some  minds,  but  are  of  no  real  value. 
In  A.  D.  21,  it  was  proposed  in  the  Roman 
Senate  that  no  provincial  magistrate  should 
be  accompanied  by  his  wife,  as  liad  been  grow- 
ing common  ;  but  the  motion  failed.  Tacitus 
("  Ann.,"  III.,  33-3.5)  gives  a  summary  of  ar- 
guments on  both  sides. 

IV.  20-23.  The  people  choose  Barabbas 
rather  than  Jesus.  Mark  1.5:  11-14;  Luke 
28:  18-23;  John  18:  40.  The  chief  priests 
and  elders  persuaded  the  multitude, 
while  Pilate  was  occupied  with  the  message 
from  his  wife.     Notice  that  great  throngs  of 


564 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXVII. 


21  The  goTernor  answered  and  said  unto  them, 
Whether  of  the  twain  will  ye  that  I  release  unto  you? 
They  said,  Barabbas. 

22  Pilate  saith  unto  them,  Wh:it  shall  I  do  then  with 
Jesus  which  is  called  Christ  ?  They  &\l  say  unto  hiiu. 
Let  hiui  be  crucified. 

23  Aud  the  governor  said.  Why,  what  evil  hath  he 
done  ?  But  they  cried  out  the  more,  saying,  Let  him 
be  crucified. 

24  When  Pilate  saw  that  he  could  prevail  nothing, 
but  that  rather  a  tumult  was  made,  he  took  water,  and 
washed  his  hands  before  the  multitude,  saying,  I  am 
innocent  of  the  blood  of  this  just  person:  see  ye  to  it. 


21  ask  for  Barabbas,  and  destroy  .Tesus.  But  the  gov- 
ernor answered  and  said  unto  them.  Whether  of  the 
twain  will  ye  that  I  release  unto  you?     And  thoy 

22  said,  Barabbas.  Pilate  saith  nntotbem,  What  then 
shall  I  do  unto  Jesus  wlio  is  called  Christ?    Thev 

23  all  say,  Liet  him  be  crucified.  And  he  said,  Whv, 
what  evil   hath  he  done?    But   they  cried  out  ex- 

24  ceedingly,  saving.  Let  him  be  crncifietl.  So  when 
Pil-ite  saw  that  he  prevailed  nothing,  but  rather 
that  a  tumuli  was  arising,  betook  water,  and  washed 
his  hands  before  the  multitude,  saying,  I  am  inno- 


people  were  gathered  in  front  of  the  prseto- 
rium.  The  Jews  have  always  been  skillful 
politicians.  The  popular  zeal  about  Jesus  as 
the  Messiah  had  evidently  cooled,  and  prob- 
ably because  now  for  five  days  since  the  tri- 
umphal entry  he  had  done  nothing  towards 
establishing  himself  as  king.  Tlie  wily  dema- 
gogues could  say  that  the  highest  court  had 
tried  Jesus,  and  found  him  an  impostor  and  a 
blasphemer,  who  deserved  to  die,  and  they 
hoped  Pilate  would  crucify  him.  If  Barab- 
bas was  associated  with  patriotic  traditions,  as 
we  have  supposed  (on  v.  16),  it  was  easy  to 
excite  popular  good-will  towards  him.  Comp. 
the  modern  Greek  robbers  under  Turkish 
rule.  Mark,  Kev.  Ver.,  says,  "  the  chief  priests 
stirred  up  the  multitude,"  a  strong  term,  indi- 
cating that  they  roused  them  to  excited  feel- 
ing, for  Barabbas  or  against  Josus,  or  probably 
both.  '  Persuaded  that  they  should  ask',  is  a 
non-final  construction,  explained  on  5  :  29. — 
Alexander :  "  This  deliberate  j)reference  of  a 
bad  man  to  a  good  one,  of  a  justly  condemned 
criminal  to  one  whom  even  Pilate  recognized 
KS  innocent,  would  have  been  enough  to  brand 
the  conduct  of  the  priests  with  infamy.  But 
when  to  this  we  add  that  they  preferred  a 
murderer  to  the  Lord  of  life,  a  rebel  and  a 
robber  to  a  prophet,  to  their  own  Messiah, 
nay,  to  the  incarnate  Son  of  God  himself, 
this  perverseness  seems  almost  incredible  and 
altogether  irreconcilable  with  rectitude  of 
purpose  and  sincere  conviction."  Comp.  the 
striking  statement  by  Peter  in  Acts  3  :  13-15. 
— In  consequence  of  this  skillful  persuasion 
from  the  rulers,  the  multitudes  '  cried  out' 
(Luke and  John),  shouted  the  request.  What 
shall  I  do  then  with  Jesns  which  is  called 
Christ?  He  wishes  them  to  observe  ( Alex. ) 
that  the  effect  of  their  choosing  Barabbas  is  to 
leave  Jesus  in  danger,  hoping  that  this 
tliought  may  lead  them  to  change  the  request. 
They  all  say  unto  him,  Let  him  be  cru- 
cified.   The  hint  to  this  effect  had  probably 


been  given  the  crowd  by  the  rulers.  They 
could  thus  make  his  death  ignominious,  so  as 
to  break  his  hold  on  popular  admiration  ;  and 
could  also  have  an  excuse  for  saying  in  future, 
if  complained  of,  that  it  was  not  their  act  but 
that  of  the  Romans — as  some  Jews  anxiously 
maintain  now.  They  knew  not  that  undt^r 
an  overruling  Providence  they  were  bring- 
ing about  a  form  of  death  most  suitable  to 
atonement,  as  involving  "shedding  of  blood," 
and  causing  wounds  that  would  be  marks  of 
identification  after  resurrection,  without  the 
distressing  mutilations  ctiused  by  stoning. 
As  to  the  term,  ^crucified,'  see  on  16:  24, 
and  27  :  35.  Why,  what  evil  hath  he  done  ? 
Pilate  had  no  liking  for  the  rulers,  and  un- 
i  derstood  their  jealousj'^  of  Jesus,  (v. is.)  And 
where  his  own  interests  or  passions  were  not 
involved,  he  had  some  sentiment  of  Roman 
justice.  So  he  remonstrates  with  the  crowd. 
Luke  tells  us  that  he  declared,  "I  find  no 
cause  of  death  in  him,"  B.  U.  Ver.,  and  a 
second  time  proposed  (Luke  23;  16,22),  as  a  sort  of 
compromise  that  might  satisfy  the  enemies  of 
Jesus,  "I  will  therefore  chastise  him  and  let 
him  go."  All  this,  as  Chrys.  says,  was  weak 
and  unmanly  conduct ;  see  below  on  v.  24. 
But  they  cried  out  the  more,  or  exceed- 
ingly. An  excited  throng  is  often  more  bois- 
terous in  proportion  as  it  has  less  reason. 
Comp.  Acts  19 :  34. 

24.  Pilate  tries  to  shift  the  responsibility, 
and  the  people  assume  it.  This  is  recorded 
by  Matt.  only. — Saw  that  he  could  prevail 
nothing,  that  he  did  no  good  by  his  sugges- 
tions. Why  was  the  man  of  power  thus 
powerless?  Why  could  he  not  say,  Fiatjus- 
titia,  mat  caelum  ?  Let  justice  be  done,  if  the 
heavens  fall.  He  was  evidently  very  anxious 
to  avoid  condemning  the  innocent,  for  he 
made  in  all  six  distinct  efforts  to  escape  the 
difficulty:  (1)  sending  Jesus  to  Herod;  (2) 
suggesting  that  he  might  be  released  accord- 
ing to  the  custom ;  (3)  proposing  to  compro- 


Ch.  XXVII.] 


MATTHEW. 


565 


25  Then  answered  all  the  people,  and  said,  His  blood  j 
he  on  us,  and  on  our  children. 

26  Then  released  he  Barabbas  unto  them  :  and  when 
he  had  scourged  Jesus,  he  delivered  him  to  be  crucified.  | 


cent  lof  the  blood  of  this  righteous  man:  see  ye 

25  to  it.    And  all  the  people  answered  and  said,  His 

26  blood  be  ou  us,  and  on  our  children.  Then  released 
he  unto  them  Barabbas:  but  Jesus  he  scourged  and 
delivered  to  be  crucified. 


1  Some  ancieni  auchorities  read,  of  thit  blood ;  see  ye,  etc. 


mise  by  scourging  and  releasing,  Luke  23: 22  f.; 
(4)  washing  his  hand-i  and  disclaiming  respon- 
sibility ;  (5)  proposing  to  turn  the  case  over  to 
the  Jewish  rulers,  John  19:  6;  (6)  appealing 
and  remonstrating  before  he  pronounced 
judgment,  John  19:  14  f.  Pilate  was  not  a 
man  of  heroic  mould,  but  he  was  "self-willed 
and  obstinate."  Why  could  he  not  do  what 
he  so  greatly  desired  ?  He  was  entangled  by 
his  own  previous  wrong-doing,  see  on  v.  11. 
He  had  made  rulers  and  people  hate  him 
thoroughly,  so  that  they  would  be  glad  of  an 
excuse  for  reporting  him  to  Tiberius ;  and 
he  knew  that  the  suspicious  and  jealous  em- 
peror would  be  slow  to  pass  over  the  charge 
that  he  let  go  one  who  claimed  to  be  king. 
Pilate  was  weak  now  because  he  had  formerly 
been  wicked.  Like  many  a  politician,  his 
record  was  in  the  way  of  his  conscience.  A 
tumult  was  made,  or,  vms  arising.  The 
Romans  desired  two  things  in  the  provinces, 
tribute  and  peace.  A  successful  governor  was 
one  who  kept  everything  quiet,  and  popular 
tumult  was  greatly  disliked,  as  being  trouble- 
some and  expensive,  if  notdangerous.  Washed 
his  hands  before  the  multitude.  The  law 
of  Moses  had  directed  this  ceremony  in  a 
peculiar  case  of  real  innocence  (oem.  21 : 6-9) ;  an 
image  was  drawn  from  it  in  Psa.  26 :  6.  Pilate 
might  easily  become  acquainted  with  this 
Jewish  custom,  which  was  in  itself  a  very 
natural  symbol.  Innocent  of  the  blood  of 
this  just  person,  or  righteous  man.  The 
shorter  text  of  margin  Rev.  Ver.  is  quite 
probably  correct,  'innocent  of  this  blood'; 
there  is  no  important  difference,  for  Pilate 
elsewhere  declares  him  to  be  righteous,  Luke 
23:  14;  John  19:4.  But  the  governor  was 
no^nnocent.  Plump.:  "One  of  the  popular 
poets  of  his  own  time  and  country  might  have 
taught  him  the  nullity  of  such  a  formal 
ablution — 

'  Too  easy  souls,  who  dream  the  crystal  flood 
Can  wash  away  the  fearful  guilt  of  blood.' 

Ovid,  '  fhtt:  li.  45." 

And  he  himself  felt  that  he  was  not  inno- 


cent, for  it  was  afterwards  that  he  made  the 
two  new  efforts  in  John  19  :  4-16  to  overcome 
the  opposition  of  the  Jews.  Then  answered 
all  the  people.  Not  simply  some;  it  was  a 
general  cry.  His  blood  be  on  us  and  on  our 
children.  Jerome:  "A  fine  inheritance  the 
Jews  leave  to  their  children."  Josephus  tells 
that  in  the  insurrection  against  Floras,  about 
A.  D.  65,  "  many  of  the  Jews  were  apprehended 
and  brought  before  Florus,  who  first  scourged 
and  then  crucified  them."  'And  Titus,  during 
the  siege,  a.  d.  70,  caused  many  captured  fugi- 
tives, sometimes  five  hundred  a  day,  to  be 
"scourged  and  tortured  in  every  form,  and 
then  crucified  in  front  of  the  ramparts.  .  .  . 
And  so  great  was  their  number  that  there  was 
no  space  for  the  crosses,  nor  were  there  crosses 
for  the  bodies."     ("War,"  2,  14,  9;  5,  11,  1.) 

VL  36.  Jesus  delivered  to  be  crucified. 
Mark  15:  15;  Luke  23:  24  f . ;  John  19:  1. 
Scourged.  The  terrible  Roman  scourging 
carried  with  it  into  the  provinces  the  Latin 
word,  which  is  here  borrowed  into  the  Greek 
of  Matt,  and  Mark,  and  so  into  the  Syriac 
(Pesh.)  and  Coptic  (Memph.)  Jerome  here 
remarks  that  it  was  according  to  the  Roman 
laws  that  one  who  is  crucified  shall  first  be 
scourged.  Wet.  quotes  Greek,  Roman,  and 
Jewish  writers  as  showing  that  it  was  common 
to  scourge  before  crucifying;  comp.  Jos. 
above.  The  sufferer  was  stripped  and  bound 
to  a  pillar  or  post,  bending  forward  so  as  to 
expose  his  back  completely;  the  heavy  whip 
or  strap  often  contained  bits  of  bone  or  metal, 
and  tore  the  quivering  flesh  into  one  bloody 
mass.  The  law  of  Moses  had  provided 
(Dent.  25:  s),  that  a  scourging  should  not  exceed 
forty  stripes,  and  Jewish  custom  made  sure 
of  this  by  stopping  at  "forty  save  one" 
(2Cor.  u:2«);  but  the  Romau  scourgers  were 
restricted  by  nothing  but  strength  and  inclina- 
tion. We  ought  to  feel  a  shuddering  grati- 
tude at  our  inability  to  conceive  the  consov 
quences  of  this  cruel  infliction.  Delivered,  to 
some  of  his  soldiers.  C"") 

VII.  37-31.  Jesus  mocked  by  the  soldiers. 


566 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXVII. 


2"  Then  the  soldiers  of  the  ogovernor  took  Jesus  into 
the  comiuon  hall,  aud  gathered  uuto  him  the  whole 
band  o/  soldiers. 

28  And  they  stripped  him,  and  put  on  him  a  scarlet 
robe. 

29  And  when  they  had  platted  a  crown  of  thorns, 
they  put  it  upon  his  head,  and  a  reed  in  his  right  hand: 
anti  they  bowed  the  kn  e  before  him,  and  mocked  him, 
saying,  Hail,  King  of  the  Jew.i ! 

8U  And  they  spit  upon  him,  aud  took  the  reed,  and 
smote  him  on  the  head. 

ai  And  after  that  they  had  mocked  hhn,  they  took 
the  robe  off  from  him,  aud  put  his  own  raiment  on  him, 
and  led  him  away  to  crucify  him. 


27  Then  the  soldiers  of  the  governor  took  Jesus  into 
the  1  Prsetorium,  and  gathered  unto  him  the  whole 

28  2  band.    Aud  they  s  stripped  him,  and  put  on  hiui  a 

29  scarlet  robe.  And  they  plaited  a  crown  of  thorns 
and  put  it  upon  his  head,  and  a  reed  in  his  right 
hand;    and  they    kneeled    down  before  him,  and 

30  mocked  him,  saying,  Hail,  King  of  the  Jewsl  And 
they  spat  upon  him,  and  took  the  reed  and  smote 

31  him  on  the  head.  And  when  tliey  had  mocked  him, 
they  took  off  from  him  the  robe,  and  put  on  him 
his  garmeuts,  aud  led  him  away  to  ciucify  him. 


a  Or,  governor's  hoiue. 1  Or,  palace. . .  .2  Or,  cohort. . .  .3  Some  ancient  authorities  read,  clothed. 


and  led  away  to  be  crucified.  Mark  15:  16- 
20;   John   19:  2-16.      The   soldiers   of  the 

governor,  the  Roman  soldiers  in  immediate 
attendance.  These  were  seldom  Italians 
(.\otsio:  i),  but  drawn  from  all  parts  of  the  em- 
pire. They  may  in  this  case  have  been  Syr- 
ians, or  may  have  been  Germans.  Took 
Jesus  into  the  common  hall.  In  Eev. 
Ver.,  palace  was  used  by  English  Revisers. 
This  is  not  the  word  rendered  'palace'  in 
Com.  Ver.  of  26:  3,  58,  69,  but  another  term, 
the  Roman  pristorium  (borrowed  in  the  Greek), 
denoting  the  prsetor's  tent  or  abode,  the  gen- 
eral's head-quarters.  The  American  Revisers 
wisely  preferred  to  render  prcetorium.  The 
trial  and  the  scourging  had  taken  place  in 
front  of  the  praetorium,  in  a  broad  open  space 
where  the  judgment  seat  was  placed  and  the 
crowds  assembled.  The  mocking  that  follows 
occurred  within  the  praetorium,  and  after- 
wards the  sufferer  was  again  led  out  by  Pilate, 
for  another  appeal  to  the  people.  ( John  i9 : 5,  is.) 
And  gathered  unto  him  the  whole  band, 
or  'cohort'  {margin,  Rev.  Ver.),  comp.  on 
26:  47.  The  expression  (Meyer)  is  of  course 
popular,  not  necessarily  implying  that  every 
soldier  of  the  cohort  was  present;  but  it  was  a 
large  number.  And  they  stripped  him. 
There  can  be  little  doubt  that  this  is  the  cor- 
rect text;  that  of  margin,  Rev.  Ver.  (differing 
in  the  Greek  by  only  one  letter)  would  mean 
that  having  previously  stripped  him  for  the 
scourging  (Acts  16:22),  they  now  replaced  his 
garments  and  then  put  round  him  the  scarlet 
cloak.  A  scarlet  robe.  Mark  and  John, 
'purple.'  The  ancients  did  not  so  carefully 
discriminate  colors  as  we  do,  and  royal  purple 
is  believed  to  have  included  all  tints  from  sky- 
blue  to  crimson.  The  term  here  rendered 
'robe'  denotes  a  short  red  cloak  worn  by 
Roman  military  and  civil  oiBcials.  The  sol- 
diers would  naturally  take  this  as  a  mocking 


substitute  for  a  king's  purple  robe;  indeed,  a 
Roman  emperor  might  wear  it.  A  crown  of 
thorns.  So  Mark  and  John.  The  crown 
would  simply  be  a  garland.  The  plant  em- 
ployed cannot  certainly  be  determined,  but 
was  most  probably  the  nubk  of  the  Arabs,  "  a 
tree  which  is  found  in  all  the  warmer  parts  of 
Palestine,  and  about  Jerusalem.  .  .  .  The 
flexible  boughs  are  tough,  and  well  suited  to 
form  a  garland,  and  the  thorns  are  numerous 
and  sharp"  (Tristram,  "Nat.  Hist.").  The 
thorns  were  of  course  unpleasant  to  the  brow, 
but  not  excessively  painful,  and  were  probably 
used  more  in  derision  than  in  cruelt3^  A 
reed  in  his  right  hand,  as  a  mock  sceptre. 
Hail,  King  of  the  Jews!  The  Jews  had 
mocked  him  as  a  pretended  prophet  (26:68)  ; 
here  the  Romans  mock  him  as  a  pretended 
king.  Spit  upon  him  (Mark  likewise),  as  the 
Jews  had  done  in  their  mocking.  (26:67.)  And 
took  the  reed  and  smote  him  on  the 
head.  So  Mark.  The  tense  of  'smote'  is 
imperfect,  a  continued  smiting,  and  so  in 
Mark  as  to  the  spitting  also.  Then  restoring 
his  own  garments,  they  led  him  away  to 
crucity  him.  So  Mark,  Luke,  John.  John 
interposes  an  account  not  given  by  the  other 
Evangelists,  of  a  renewed  effort  made  by 
Pilate  once  and  again,  to  excite  popular  com- 
passion and  change  the  result.  But  the  wily 
Jewish  rulers  knew  his  weak  point  and  their 
advantage,  and  said  (Johni9:i2\  "If  thou  let 
this  man  go,  thou  art  not  Cesar's  friend:  who- 
soever maketh  himself  a  king  speaketh  against 
Cesar."  We  have  seen  (on  v.  24)  why  Pilate 
felt  helpless  in  presence  of  this  thought.  And 
so  his  last  efforts  had  failed. 

HOMILETICAL  AND   PRACTICAL. 

V.  If.  Hekry  :  "Many  oppose  Christ's 
holy  religion,  upon  a  mistake  of  the  nature 
of  it ;  they  dress  it  up  in  false  colors,  and  they 


a 


Ch.  XXVIL] 


MATTHEW. 


567 


cross. 


•io      And  as  thev  came  out,  they  found  a  wan  of  Cy- 
I  ^^  rent"  Simon  bV name:  him  they  icou.pelled  to  go 


1  Gr.  impretied. 


fight  against  it."  Griffith:  "S^.^I^^y  ^^ 
tme  heart  will  speak  out  boldly,  md>iferent  to 
circu,nstanoes,-will  not  endeavor  to  cl.p  and 
tear  and  file  the  form  of  its  utterances,  m 
order  to  avoid  collision  with  misconception 
and  prejudice."-V.  14.  There  is  a  time  to 
speak  and  atime  to  be  silent.-V.  19.  Hekry: 
''It  is  an  instance  of  true  love  to  our  fr.ends 
and  relations  to  do  what  we  can  to  keep  them 
from  sin."-V.  21.  Barabbas.  1)  The  son  of 
a  religious  teacher  sometimes  becomes  very 
wicked      2)    People  often  choose  some  evil 


was  lifted  up  that  he  might  draw  all  men  unto 

himself.  , 

32-56.  Crucifixion  of  Jesus,  i^ound 
also  in  Mark  15:  21-41;  Luke  23:  26-49; 
John  19-  17-37.  In  their  accounts  ot  the 
crucifixion,  Matt,  and  Mark  most  nearly 
agree  in  the  selection  and  order  of  the  mate- 
ri°vl  as  they  have  been  doing  since  19:  1. 
Luke  eives  much  that  they  do  not  contain, 
and  John's  narrative  is  nearly  all  additional 
to  the  other  three.  Matthew's  account  di- 
vides itself  into  V.  32-34,  35-38,  39-44    45-50 


/U     VlUes    liseii    nil-"    '•  ' '1    --  :^ 

wiu«.t=v..      ^,    ^^-r-  o^  I  r,i.56_Theiime  of  the  crucifixion  was  beyond 

person  or  thing  in  preference  to  Ch"st     3     ^1  o6      ^^^^  ^  ^   ^^    ^^3^   ^^  ,„d 

A   man  guilty   and   condemned  -ay  escape    ^-^^^^  ^^   ^   3      .^       ,^^  ,,y  ,nhe  month 

uli\ssome.thnesvoxdiaboli.-\.M.  ukk       ,  |        '  ^     ^^^^^  the  stupefying  draught. 

.'The  Lord  Jesus  suffered  as  an  evil-doer,  jet  j  ™ '   ^  „„t   ^^t  out  of  the  prae- 

neither  his  judge  nor  his  prosecutors  couM  ^  And  as  they^  c  ^^  ^^^  j^^^  ^^  ^^^^^^  ^^  ^^^^ 
find  that  he  had  done  any   evil.    -V.   f^' 1  '      ^f  Mark  and  Luke  that  Simon  was 

.  _     „^l>.oo.    whv    (in 


not  men    10  »cc  rtii^v.-o     -  ,       j 

For  be  it  that  ye  curse  yourselves;  why  do 
you  draw  down  the  curse  upon  your  children 
also?"  Calvin:  "There  is  no  doubt  that 
the  Jews  felt  secure  in  devoting  themselves 
supposing  their  cause  to  be  just  in  the  sight  of 
God-  but  inconsiderate  zeal  drives  them 
headlong  to  cut  off  from  themselves  all  hope 
of  pardon  for  their  wickedness.     Hence  we 


cumins   '•"^''  ^'    "         «     ,  -i.      ^ 

tomary  and  natural  to  go  out  of  the  city  for 

executions.       (Nun,.  15  :  35  f. ;   1   Kings  n  :  U  =  Acts  7  :  58.) 

A  man  of  Cyrene.  Cyrene  was  an  old 
Greek  settlement  on  the  coast  of  Africa, 
immediately  south  of  Greece,  and  west  of 
Alexandria.  Being  a  place  of  much  trade 
it  contained  many  Jews;  the  second 
Book  of     Maccabees   (^^m)    was    originally 


of  pardon  for  ^^eir  wickedne^      xa.u^    «^    ^_^.^^^^        ^^^^  j^^^^  ^,  Cyrene 
learn  how    anxiously  in  all    Judgment.  1     .     .jo^.a  in  Acts  2:  10;  6:9; 


ICaill     11""       «•'•-" -'  -  „        no 

should  avoid  headlong  rashness.  -V.  ^b, 
Lessons  from  the  case  of  Pilate.  1)  Skcpti- 
cism  and  superstition  often  go  tog«ther- 
"  What  is  truth  ?  "  and  the  dream.  2)  Skep- 
ticism will  sometimes  turn  away  from  the 
richest  sources  of  instruction  and  the  amplest 
evidence.  3)  A  man  feebly  anxious  to  do 
right  may  be  sorely  embarrassed  by  previous 
wrong  doing.     4)  A  man  cannot  make  a  de- 


n.entionedinActs2:10;  6:9;  11:20;  13:1, 
•ill  going  to  show  that  Cyrenean  Jews  were, 
numerous;  and  often  seen  m  Jerusalem  and 
vicinity  Simon  by  name.  The  name 
shows  that  he  was  a  Jew.  Mark  adds,  "the 
father  of  Alexander  and  Kufus,"  who  mu.st 
for  some  reason  have  been  well  known 
among  the  Christians  at  the  time  when  Mark 
wrote      We  cannot  say  whether  this  was  the 


wrong  doing.     4)  A  man  cannot  make  a  de     wr  ^^^   ^^    ^^  ^^^  ^^^^^^  ^^.^^  ^^^^ 

cision  and  evade  the  responsibility  of ^t  J)    Ku  ^^^  ^^^^  ^^^^^^  ^^^^^^  ^.^^^^^ 

Others  may  voluntarily  share  a  ";«yj"'^'  ;  ^^J'i^.oming  out  of  the  country,"  just  enter- 


568 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXVIL 


33  And  when  they  were  come  unto  a  place  called  I  33  ttilh  th-em,  that  he  might  bear  his  cross.    And  when 
Golgotha,  that  is  to  say,  a  pl.ice  of  a  skull,  |       they  were  couie  unto  a  place  called  Golgotha,  that  is 


i 


pelled,  more  exactly  impressed  (Rev.  Ver.  I 
margin),  a  peculiar  word  employed  by  Mark  i 
also,  and  explained  above  on  5:  41.  To  bear 
his  cross.  We  have  seen  on  16:  24  that  it 
was  customary  to  make  the  condemned  carry 
his  cross  to  the  place  of  crucifixion.  Meyer 
shows  that  this  was  usually  the  upright  post, 
the  transverse  piece  or  pieces  being  carried  ; 
separately  and  fastened  on  after  reaching  the 
place;  in  some  instances  (Keim)  the  accused 
bore  the  transverse  portion,  perhaps  in  rare 
instances  the  whole.  John  says  (i9:17,e.v.) 
that  Jesus  went  out,  bearing  the  cross  for 
himself.  So  we  must  suppose  that  the  burden 
proved  too  great  for  one  who  had  spent  a 
sleepless  and  troubled  night,  including  the 
supper  and  farewell  discourse,  the  agony  in 
Gethsemane,  the  apprehension  and  series  of 
trials,  the  repeated  mockings  and  terrible 
Roman  scourging;  and  when  he  fell  under 
the  burden  or  walked  too  slowly  for  their 
convenience,  the  soldiers  used  their  power  of 
impressing  the  first  stout  man  they  met. 
Luke  says  they  "laid  on  him  the  cross,  to 
bear  it  after  Jesus."  Some  think  this  means 
that  Simon  walked  behind  Jesus,  bearing  one 
end  of  the  piece  of  timber;  but  the  more  ob- 
vious view  is  probably  correct. — On  the  wa3', 
Jesus  was  accompanied  (^I'UkeM:  27-32,  R.v.)  by  "a 
great  company  of  the  people,  and  of  women," 
who  were  bewailing  him;  and  in  tender  com- 
passion he  broke  his  calm  silence  to  say, 
"  Daughters  of  Jerusalem,  weep  not  for  me, 
but  weep  for  yourselves,  and  for  your  chil- 
dren," and  went  on  with  an  intimation  of 
coming  national  calamities,  which  we  now 
readilj'^  understand  as  referring  to  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem. 

Unto  a  place  called  Golgotha,  that  is 
to  say,  A  place  of  a  skull.  In  Hebrew 
gulgoleth  is  'skull,'  from  a  root  meaning  to 
roll,  indicating  the  globular  form  of  a  skull. 
This  in  Aramaic  would  be  gulgoltha,  which  | 
is  found  in  the  Syriac  of  Jerusalem,  and  i 
easily   contracted,  by  omitting  either  I,  into  \ 


gugoltha  (Syriac,  Pesh.,  and  Hark.),  or  gol- 
gotha,  the  form  found  in  most  documents. 
Thus  the  word  means  simply  skull,  and  so 
Luke  (23:33,  Rev.  Ver.)  says,  "  unto  the  place 
which  is  called  The  skull,"  while  Matt., 
Mark,  and  John  liave  literally  'skull-place.' 
The  notion  was  early  suggested  (Jerome)  that 
this  denoted  a  burial-ground,  or  a  place  of  exe- 
cution, marked  by  a  skull  or  skulls  lying  on 
the  surface.i  But  the  Jewish  law  did  not 
allow  bones  to  remain  unburied,  and  this 
would  have  been  carefully  observed  near  the 
city.  So  it  must  have  been  (Cyril  of  Jerus. ) 
a  round  hill  or  rock,  somewhat  resembling  a 
skull  in  shape.  Mark,  liUke,  and  John  all 
have  the  Greek  definite  article,  '  unto  the 
place,'  indicating  that  it  was  known  by  this 
name.  It  is  c(mimon  among  us  to  call  a 
rounded  mountain-top  or  hill-top  a  head,  as 
"Cesar's  Head"  in  the  Blue  Ridge;  comp. 
headland. 

It  was  suggested  in  the  last  century  (Her- 
zog),  and  has  been  fairly  established  bj- 
Robinson  ("Biblical  Researches")  and  others, 
that  this  cannot  have  been  the  place  dis- 
covered at  the  request  of  Helena,  the  mother 
of  Constantine,  and  now  covered  by  "the 
Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre."  Golgotha 
was  "without  (or  outside)  the  gate"  (Heb.  i3:i2), 
while  "nigh  to  the  city"  (John  19 : 20);  but  the 
Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  is  far  within 
any  probable  position  of  the  city  wall  at  the 
time  of  the  crucifixion.  The  reverence  many 
feel  for  whatever  has  been  believed  for  fifteen 
hundred  years  has  caused  earnest  resistance 
to  this  conclusion,  but  in  vain;  see  results 
of  recent  English  explorations  in  Conder,  I, 
pages  361-371. — The  site  of  Golgotha  has  for  a 
generation  and  more  been  apparently  quite 
unknown.  But  Thenius,  A.  D.  1849,  and 
independently  Fisher  Howe,  pamphlet  on 
"The  True  Site  of  Calvary"  (New  York, 
Randolph,  1871),  suggested  a  theory  which 
has  of  late  been  adopted  by  many.  The 
northern  extension  of  the  Temple  Hill,  beyond 


1  Accordingly,  Tyn.,  Cran.,  Gen.,  rendered  '  a  place 
of  dead  men's  skulls,'  though  the  Greeic  is  singular, '  a 
place  of  a  skull.'  So  they  did  also  In  Mark.  But  in 
Luke  (23:  .S!)  this  rendering  was  impossiide,  and  so 
they  fell  back  4ipon  the  Latin   translation  Calvaria, 


which  meant  skull,  and  gave  us  Calvary.  Tertullian 
already  began  to  treat  this  Calvaria  as  the  name  of  a 
place.  .Teronie  mentions  the  notion  of  some  that  Adam 
was  buried  in  Golgotha,  and  Christ's  blood  dropped 
upon  his  tomb ;  and  says  the  people  liked  to  hear  it. 


Ch.  XXVIL] 


MATTHEW. 


569 


34  Tbey  gave  biiu  vinegar  to  drink  mingled  with 
gall:  and  when  tie  had  tabled  thertoj',  he  would  not 
drink. 

3o  And  they  crucified  bim,  and  parted  his  garments, 
castiuglots:  that  it  might  bo  fulfilled  which  wassjmken 
by  the  pvophet,  They  parted  my  garments  among  them, 
and  upon  my  vesture  did  tbey  cast  lots. 


34  to  say,  The  place  of  a  skull,  tbey  gave  him  wine  to 
drink  mingled  with  gall:  and  when  be  bud  lasted 

35  it,  he  would  not  drink.     And  when  tbey  had  cruci- 
hed  bim,  they  parted  his  garments  among  them, 


the  walls,  rises  into  a  rounded  hill  resembling 
the  top  of  a  skull,  and  some  sixty  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  surrounding  ground.  A  cut 
across  the  ridge  to  protect  the  wall  from  being 
commanded  by  an  enemy's  military  engines, 
gives  to  this  rounded  hill  a  perpendicular 
southern  face,  in  whicli  is  the  entrance  to  a 
cave  called  the  Grotto  of  Jeremiah.  Seen 
from  the  Mount  of  Olives  and  other  points  of 
good  view,  this  hill  looks  strikingly  like  a 
skull,  with  a  great  eyeless  socket.  The  cut 
across  the  ridge  must  have  been  ancient,  from 
military  necessity,  and  the  cave  is  probably 
ancient  too.  The  theory  is  that  this  hill  was 
Golgotha  or  Cavalry.  The  site  fulfills  all  the 
conditions.  It  is  outside  the  great  northern 
gate,  and  near.  The  hill  rises  beside,  and  its 
summit  is  in  full  view  of,  the  great  northern 
road,  which  accounts  for  passers  by  (v.  39,  Mark 
15:29);  and  the  Komans  were  accustomed  to 
crucify  in  a  conspicuous  place,  to  make 
the  lesson  more  notable.  It  is  in  a  region 
abounding  in  ancient  tombs,  which  accounts 
for  Joseph's  garden  and  ton)b.  And  this  site 
accounts  for  the  tradition  of  a  hill,  "Mount 
Calvary,"  which  is  traced  back  to  the  fourth 
century.  A  Jewish  tradition  points  to  this 
hill  as  "the  place  of  stoning,"  i.  e.,  the  reg- 
ular place  for  executions.  And  a  Christian 
tradition  makes  it  the  scene  of  Stephen's 
death,  afterwards  by  tradition  located  else- 
where.—  This  theory  was  adopted  by  the 
late  Bishop  Gobat  of  Jerusalem,  by  General 
(Chinese) Gordon,  "Reflections  in  Palestine," 
188.^,  and  by  Professor  Sir  J.  W.  Dawson, 
"Syria  and  Palestine,"  1885.  It  is  favored 
by  SchaflT,  "Through  Bible  Lands,"  and 
Conder,  both  publishing  in  1878,  and  is  advo- 
cated by  Edersh.  Dr.  Selah  Merrill,  Amer. 
Consul  at  Jerus.,  in  "  Andover  Review," 
Nov.  I880,  says  that  "for  some  years  past 
there  has  been  a  growing  conviction  "  to  this 
effect  and  that  "  hundreds  of  Christian  tour- 
ists visit  the  place  every  year,  and  few  of 
them  go  awa.y  unconvinced  that  both  the 
arguments  and  the  strong  probability  are  in 
favor  of "  this  view. 
C>ave  him  vinegar  (or  wine)   to  drink, 


mingled  with  gall.  Mark,  '  wine  mingled 
with  myrrh.'  The  correct  text  in  Matthew 
is  clearly  'wine;'  it  was  probably  changed 
in  many  documents  to  agree  with  v.  48  below; 
and  with  Psa.  69:  21.  Talmud  Bab.  says 
(Lightf. )  that  to  criminals  on  the  way  to  exe- 
cution was  given  a  drink  consisting  of  wine 
mixed  with  a  bit  of  frankincense  to  stupefy 
them,  and  that  according  to  tradition,  the 
noble  women  of  Jerusalem  furnished  this  at 
their  own  expense.  This  may  be  connected 
in  our  minds  with  the  "daughters  of  Jerusa- 
lem," who  had  sorrowfully  accompanied  the 
procession.  (Luke  2s:  27.)  The  term  'gall'  in 
Matt,  must  be  used  generally  to  denote  any 
bitter  and  nauseous  substance,  which  in  this 
case  would  be  some  bitter  vegetable  narcotic. 
It  would  seem  (Keim,  Plump.),  that  Mat- 
thew's word  sometimes  denotes  wormwood; 
see  Sept.  of  Deut.  29:  18;  Prov.  5:  4.  Keim  : 
"The  drink  might  have  been  prepared  from 
poppies  or  wormwood.  Simpson,  the  discov- 
erer of  chloroform,  thought  of  hashish,  the 
Indian  extract  of  hemp."  Dr.  A.  Coles,  "Life 
of  our  Lord  in  Verse,"  (New  York,  Apple- 
ton),  suggests  mandragora,  mandrake,  "which 
is  said  to  have  been  employed  by  the  ancients 
as  an  anaasthetic  in  surgical  operations." 

II.  35-38.  He  is  crucified  between  two 
robbers.  Mark  15:  24-27;  Luke  23:  32  f  ; 
John  19:  18-22.  And  they  crucified  him. 
For  the  different  kinds  of  cross,  see  the  Bible 
Dictionaries.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
Saviour's  cross  was  of  the  shape  with  which 
we  are  familiar,  an  upright  post  with  a  trans- 
verse piece  some  distance  b^low  the  top,  the 
inscription  being  placed  "above  his  head." 
But  the  cross  was  not  so  high  as  the  ordinary 
representation,  the  person  being  usually  but 
a  foot  or  two  above  the  ground,  and  this  would 
especially  be  the  case  in  Palestine,  where  tim- 
ber was  scarce.  The  hands  wore  nailed  to  the 
transverse  beam.  This  sometimes  extended 
across  the  post  at  right  angles;  but  in  other 
cases  consisted  of  two  parts  sloping  upward 
from  the  po.«t,  so  that  the  body  seemed  to 
hang  by  the  hands,  though  it  was  really  sup- 
ported by  a  projecting  peg.     The  feet  were 


570 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXVII. 


36  And  sitting  down  they  watched  hiiii  there ;  I  36  casting  lots :  and  they  sat  and  watched  hiui  tliere. 

37  And  set  up  over  his  head  liis  accu>atiou  written,    37  And  they  set  up  over  his  head  his  accusation  writ- 
THIS  IS  JliSUsJ  TilK  KINU  OF  THE  JEWS. 


usually  nailed  to  the  post,  we  do  not  know 
whether  together  or  separately;  but  more 
probably  tlie  latter.  They  were  sometimes 
drawn  up  so  that  the  soles  rested  against  the 
post,  but  in  other  cases  stood  upon  a  projec- 
tion. It  has  been  maintained  by  Paulus  and 
others  that  the  feet  of  Jesus  were  not  nailed, 
but  bound  to  the  post  or  left  loose.  But  the 
risen  Saviour  identified  liimself  by  showing 
"liis  hands  and  his  feet"  (Luke 24: 39 f.),  and 
certain  supposed  ancient  evidence  that  only 
the  hands  were  nailed  in  crucifixion  is  indis- 
tinct, and  far  out-weighed  by  contrary  state- 
ments. (See  Meyer,  Smith's  "Bib.  Diet." 
Amer.  ed.,  "Crucifixion,"  or  Keim).  It  can- 
not be  determined  whether  the  sufferer  was 
fastened  to  his  cross  before  or  after  its  eleva- 
tion; the  method  appears  to  have  varied. — The 
physical  suffering  produced  by  crucifixion 
was  fearful.  The  constrained  and  immovable 
posture  of  the  body  and  arms  would  grad- 
ually produce  violent  aching  and  cramps;  the 
pierced  limbs  became  inflamed,  producing 
fever  and  thirst;  the  circulation  of  the  blood 
being  hindered,  it  gathered  in  the  head  and 
lungs,  causing  great  distress;  the  body  would 
gradually  grow  stiff,  and  the  vital  powers 
sink  from  exhaustion.  (See  Kichter  in  Schaff.) 
Our  Lord's  mental  suffering  (v.  46)  must  have 
been  greater  still ;  but  we  should  not  under- 
rate tlie  physical. 

A  cross  mark  of  various  shapes  appears  as  a 
symbol  in  several  ancient  religions.  But  this 
has  really  nothing  to  do  with  Christianity, 
into  which  the  cross  did  not  enter  as  a  symbol, 
but  as  a  historical  fact.  Persons  interested  in 
the  doubtful  symbolisms  referred  to  may  find 
an  account  of  them  in  Baring-Gould's  "Me- 
diaeval Myths,"  and  a  condensed  statement  in 
"Homiletic  Review,"  Jan.,  1886,  p.  76  ff. 

Mark  tells  us  (i5:25)  that  the  crucifixion 
began  at  "the  third  hour,"  which  soon  afler 
the  equinox  would  be  almost  exactly  9  a.  m. 
John  18:  14  long  seemed  hopelessly  to  contra- 
dict this,  by  saying  "  it  was  about  the  sixth 
hour"  when  Pilate  was  ending  the' trial.  But 
the  view  of  Wieseler  and  Ewald  is  now  widely 


adopted,  that  the  Fourth  Gospel  counts  the 
hours  as  we  do,  making  the  sixth  hour  6  a.  m., 
and  we  could  easily  suppose  that  the  prepara- 
tions consumed  the  intervening  three  hours. 
This  view  is  strenuously  opposed  by  Farrar 
(App.  to  "Life  of  Christ"),  but  he  is  answered 
by  McClelian,  p.  737  ff. ;  see  also  Westcott  on 
John.  All  the  passages  of  John  in  which 
hours  of  the  day  are  mentioned  m:iy  be  read- 
ily understood  in  this  way,  and  it  seems  to  he 
necessary  for  John  20:  19,  when  compared  with 
Luke  24 :  29,  36.— At  this  point  Luke  mentions 
(23: 34)  that  Jesus  said,  "  Father,  forgive  them ; 
for  they  know  not  what  they  do."  Ev^ry  one 
feels  that  these  must  be  words  of  Jesus,  and 
they  are  most  probably  genuine  as  a  part  of 
Luke's  Gospel,  though  it  is  hard  to  account 
for  their  absence  from  some  important  early 
documents. 

And  parted  his  garments  among  them, 
casting  lots.  John  explains  in  detail  that 
they  "made  four  parts,  to  every  soldier  a 
part,"  there  being  a  quaternion  or  group  of 
four  soldiers  detailed  to  crucify  and  guard 
each  prisoner  (comp.  Acts  12:  4),  who  natu- 
rally took  his  clothing  as  their  perquisite. 
John  also  adds  that  his  'coat,'  or  tunic,  the 
undergarment  (see  above  on  5:  40),  "was 
without  seam,  woven  fnmi  the  top  through- 
out," apparently  a  costlj'  garment,  and  no 
doubt  a  gift  of  affection,  and  that  being  un- 
willing to  "rend"  this,  they  cast  lots  for  it; 
and  that  this  occurred  in  the  course  of  provi-  J 
dence  "that  the  Scripture  might  be  fulfilled 
(comp.  above  on  1  :  22),  which  saith,  They 
parted  my  garments  among  them,  and 
upon  my  vesture  did  they  cast  lots.  This 
quotation  from  Psa.  22:  18  was  introduced  ■ 
by  some  copyists  into  Matt.,  being  given  in 
V.  35  by  documents  of  no  great  value.  Jew- 
ish feeling  reauired  (Mishna,  Sanh.,  VI,  3) 
that  the  person  of  one  stripped  when  about  to 
be  stoned  should  not  be  left  wholly  exposed  ; 
and  though  the  Roman  custom  for  crucifixion 
was  otherwise,  we  may  perhaps  suppose  that 
Jewish  feeling  was  in  this  case  regarded. 

And  they  set  up^  over  his  head  his  accu- 


1  iSonie  grammarians  and  commentators  have  earn-  I  to  he  rendered  like  a  phiperfect, '  had  set  up,'  because 
estly  discussed  the  question  whether  this  aorist  ought  I  they  think  the  inscription  must  have  been  put  up  be- 


Ch.  XXVIL] 


MATTHEW. 


571 


38  Then  were  there  two  thieves  crucified  with  him; 
one  on  the  right  hand,  and  another  on  the  left. 

39  And  they  that  passed  by  reviled  him,  wagging 
their  heads, 


38  ten,  this  is  jesus  the  king  of  the  jews.    Then 
are  there  erucitied  with  him  two  rtjbbers,  one  on  the 

39  right   hand,  and  one  on  the  left.    And  they  that 
passed  by  railed  on  hiiu,  wagging  their  heads,  and 


sation  written,  it  being  common  to  put  over 
a  crucified  man  a  statement  of  his  crime.  We 
know  not  whether  in  this  case,  as  in  one  de- 
scribed by  Suetonius,  the  title  was  borne 
before  the  criminal  in  the  procession.  John 
says  (19:  20,  correct  text),  "it  was  written  in 
Hebrew,  and  in  Latin,  and  in  Greek."  The 
first  (Aramaic)  was  the  language  of  the  people, 
the  second  that  of  the  civil  rulers,  the  third 
that  of  general  intercourse  throughout  that 
part  of  the  world.  A  pillar  was  dug  up  at 
Jerusalem  not  many  years  ago,  bearing  an 
inscription  in  these  three  languages.  The  in- 
scription on  the  cross  is  given  in  diiferent 
terms  by  the  four  Gospels.  "We  have  seen 
that  the  same  is  to  some  extent  true  of  the 
words  spoken  from  heaven  at  the  baptism 
and  the  transfiguration,  so  as  to  show  beyond 
question  that  the  Evangelists  are  not  solicitous 
to  give  always  the  exact  words.  It  is  very 
likely  that  the  inscription  was  verbally  differ- 
ent in  the  three  languages ;  and  it  has  been  in- 
geniously suggested  (Westcott,  "Int."  p.  328) 
that  John,  who  says  carefully,  'and  it  was 
written,'  etc.,  gives  the  exact  Greek  form, 
'Jesus  of  Nazareth,  the  King  of  the  Jews,'  of 
which  Mark  gives  only  the  special  point  of 
accusation,  'the  King  of  the  Jews'  ;  and  that 
then  Matt,  has  the  Hebrew,  and  Luke  the 
Latin  form.  This  is  possible,  but  the  matter 
is  of  little  importance,  as  the  inscription  is 
substantfally  the  same  in  all  the  forms.  John 
adds  that  Pilate  himself  wrote  the  inscrip- 
titm,  and  curtly  refused  tc  alter  it  it  when  re- 
quested. He  had  been  compelled  to  yield  the 
main  point,  and  he  was  determined  not  to 
yield  here  ;  see  as  to  his  character  on  '27 :  11. 

Then  were  there  two  thieves  (robbers) 
crncified  with  him.  It  is  quite  likely  that 
these  were  comrades  of  Barabbas  («t:16),  who 
would  have  been  here  between  them  had  not 
Jesus  taken  his  place.  Our  Lord  had  said 
the  night  before  (i.ukeM:37),  "This  that  is 
written  must  yet  be  fulfilled  in  me.  And  he 
was  reckoned  among  the  transgressors."  (i«a. 
53:12.)     This    was    substantially    fulfilled    by 


punishing  him  as  if  for  transgression ;  but  all 
the  more  strikingly  by  associating  him  with 
actual  transgressors.  Wetstein  gives  passages 
of  ancient  writers  which  show  that  crucifixion 
was  the  regular  punishment  for  robbery.  The 
Greek  language  has  two  words,  kleptes  'thief,' 
and  leistes  'robber,'  differing  very  much  as 
our  words  do.  The  former  occurs  sixteen 
times  in  New  Test.,  and  in  Com.  Ver.  is 
always  correctly  rendered  'thief  ;  the  latter 
is  four  times  correctly  rendered  '  robber,' 
but  eleven  times  'thief;  including  all  the 
references  to  the  two  persons  crucified  with 
Jesus,  and  also  Matt.  21 :  13;  26:  55.  In  John 
10:  1,  8  the  distinction  is  observed  in  Com. 
Version.  One  evil  result  of  this  irregular 
translation  has  been  that  people  would  read 
"Barabbas  was  a  robber"  (John is :4o),  and  it 
did  not  occur  to  them  that  these  two  were  like 
him.  Besides,  a  robber  would  be  more  likely 
than  a  thief  to  exhibit  the  character  shown  by 
the  penitent  on  the  cross.  Rev.  Ver.,  and 
other  recent  versions,  observe  the  distinction 
throughout,  as  there  is  no  difficulty  whatever 
in  doing.  Luke  has  here  a  general  term, 
'malefactors'  or  evil-doers;  John  simply 
'two  others.' 

III.  39-44.  On  the  cross  he  is  mocked 
and  reviled.  Mark  15:  29-32;  Luke 23:  35-43. 
Crucifixion  itself  was  the  most  disgraceful 
punishment  in  use,  being  appointed  by  the 
Romans  for  slaves,  and  expressly  forbidden 
for  Roman  citizens— while  the  law  of  Moses 
(Dent.  21 :  28)  declared  one  "  accursed  "  who  even 
after  being  killed  was  hanged  on  a  tree.  In 
this  case  all  that  could  bethought  of  was  done 
to  aggravate  the  disgrace.  Several  different 
classes  of  persons  joined  in  railing  and  mock- 
ing at  Jesus.  We  must  remember  the  similar 
treatment  when  he  appeared  before  the  vSan- 
hedrin  (26:67  r.),  before  Herod  (Luke 23: 11),  and 
before  Pilate.  (27:27-31.) 

(a)  They  that  passed  by,  probably  along 
a  road  leading  into  and  out  of  the  city,  which 
according  to  the  above-stated  theory  concern- 
ing Golgotha  (on  v.  83)  would  be  the  great 


fore  they  parted  the  garmentn.  This  is  mere  learned  I  up  this  or  that  point.  Besides,  who  knows  that  the 
trifling.  Any  animated  writer,  in  narrating  a  series  soldiers  would  nail  up  the  title  before  they  divided  the 
ol  occurrences,  would  consult  convenience  as  to  taking  j  plunder? 


572 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXVII. 


40  And  saying,  Thou  that  destroyest  the  temple,  and 
buildest  U  in  three  days,  save  thyself.  If  thou  be  the 
Son  of  God,  come  dowii  fpom  the  cross. 

41  Likewise  also  the  chief  priests  mocking  him,  with 
the  scribes  and  elders,  saiil, 

42  He  saved  others:  himself  he  cannot  save.  If  he 
be  the  King  of  Israel,  let  him  now  come  down  from  the 
cross,  and  we  will  believe  him. 

43  He  trusted  in  God  ;  let  him  deliver  him  now,  if  he 
will  have  him :  for  he  said,  I  am  the  Sou  ol  God. 


40  saying.  Thou  that  destroyest  the  i  temple,  and  build- 
est  it  in  three  days,  save  thvself :  if  thou  art  the  Sun 

41  of  God,  come  down  from  the  cross.  In  like  manner 
also  the  chief  priests  mocking  him,  wiih  the  scribes 

42  and  elders,  said.  He  saved  others;  ^  himself  he  can- 
not save.  He  is  the  King  of  Israel;  let  him  now 
come  down  from  the  cross,  and  we  will  believe  on 

43  him.  He  trusteth  onGod:  let  hiai  deliver  hiu)  now, 
if  he  desireth  him :  for  he  said,  I  am  the  Son  of  God. 


1  Or.  (ancCuary 2  Or,  can  he  not  save  hitiuelift 


northern  road.  Some  have  inferred  that  this 
must  have  been  a  working  day,  and  not  the 
first  day  of  the  passover,  which  would  be  a 
Sabliath  ;  but  Edersh.  says  that  "traveling, 
which  was  forbidden  on  Sabbaths,  was  not 
prohibited  on  feast-days,"  adding  that  "this 
is  distinctly  stated  in  the  Talmud."  Reviled 
him.  The  Greek  word  is  borrowed  as  'blas- 
phemed' in  9:  3;  26:  65,  and  explained 
above  on  12:  31.  Com.  Ver.  translated  it 
'railed  on  him'  in  the  parallel  passages, 
Mark  15:  29,  Luke  23:  39.  Thou  that  de- 
stroyest the  temple,  etc.  This  accusation 
(see  on  26:  61)  the  rulers  had  probably  spread 
while  persuading  the  crowds  to  prefer  Barab- 
bas.  Save  thyself.  The  word  is  used  (see 
on  1 :  21j  both  of  bodily  and  spiritual  saving. 
If  thou  be  the  Son  of  God,  as  in  4:  3,  6. 
The  form  of  expression  assumes  that  he  is  the 
Son  of  God,  but  their  whole  tone  and  manner 
showed  that  they  meant  the  contrary.  It  is 
not  clear  that  the  Jews  understood  this  ex- 
pression to  carry  the  idea  of  Deity  (comp.  on 
26:  63)  ;  they  certainly  understood  that  one 
who  assumed  it  claimed  supernatural  power. 

(b)  The  chief  priests  ...  with  the 
scribes  and  elders.  Of  these  three  classes 
the  Sanhedrin  was  constituted  (see  on  26:  59); 
so  all  classes  of  the  rulers  took  part  in  the 
mocking.  "While  the  other  mockers  all  ad- 
dre.ss  Jesus,  the  rulers  do  not  condescend  to 
speak  to  him,  but  speak  contemptuously 
about  him  in  his  presence.  Notice  Mark  15: 
31,  R.V.,  "mocking  him  among  themselves"; 
and  Luke  has  the  same  difference.  The  rulers 
make  three  distinct  taunts.  (1)  He  saved 
others,  probably  refers  to  bodily  healing. 
The  other  clause  maj'  be  either  an  assertion 
or  a  question  {jnargin.  Rev.  Ver.),  as  the 
Greek  in  this  class  of  expressions  makes  no 
difference;  the  substantial  meaning  is  the 
same  either  way.     (2)  If  he  be  the  King  of 


Israel.  This  is  said  in  irony,  derision.  He 
had  that  morning  claimed  before  them  to  be 
the  Messiah  (26: ear.),  and  the  Messiah  was  of 
course  to  be  king;  the  inscription  also  de- 
clared him  to  be  the  King  of  Israel.  Euthym.: 
"  For  as  they  could  not  change  the  inscription, 
they  try  to  prove  it  false."  The  irony  not 
being  understood,  'if  was  inserted,  like  v.  40, 
and  passed  into  most  documents,  but  is  want- 
ing in  some  of  the  earliest  and  best.i  And 
we  will  believe  him,  or,  on  him.  They 
would  hav6  done  no  such  thing.  He  had 
wrought  miracles  even  more  wonderful,  and 
upon  learning  it  they  were  only  the  more  dc- 
terniined  to  kill  him.  (John  11 :  47-53.)  Our  Lord 
never  responded  to  any  demand  for  signs  of 
his  mission.  (3)  He  trusted  in  God,  prop- 
erly perfect  tense,  has  placed  his  trust  on  God 
and  keeps  it  there.  'Trusted,'  past  tense, 
Com.  Ver.,  is  an  erroneous  translation  ;  '  on  ' 
here  and  in  v.  42  is  the  literal  meaning  of  the 
Greek  preposition.  The  similar  words  of 
Psa.  22:  8  probably  occurred  to  the  rulers 
through  general  familiarity  as  expressing 
their  thought — a  sort  of  unconscious  Messi- 
anic quotation  (cotnp.  below  on  v.  46),  like 
the  unconscious  Messianic  prediction  of  Caia- 
phas  in  John  11 :  51  f. — Edersh.:  "These  jeers 
cast  contempt  on  the  four  great  facts  in  tlie 
Life  and  Work  of  Jesus,  which  were  also  the 
underlying  ideas  of  the  Messianic  Kingdom  : 
the  new  relationship  of  Israel's  religion  and 
temple  ('thou  that  destroyst  the  temple  and 
buildest  it  in  three  days')  ;  the  new  relation- 
ship to  the  Father  through  the  Messiah,  the 
Son  of  God  ('if  Thou  art  the  Son  of  God  ' 
R.  V.) ;  the  new  all-sufficient  help  brought  to 
body  and  soul  in  salvation  ( '  He  saved  others' ); 
and  finally,  the  new  relationship  to  Israel  in 
the  fulfillment  and  perfecting  of  its  mission 
through  its  King  ('He  is  the  King  of  Israel, 
R.  V.')." 


1  Wanting  in  K  B  D  L,  33, 102,  Theb.    If  origlaally  present  there  would  bare  been  no  objection  to  it. 


Ch.  XXVIL] 


MATTHEW. 


573 


..,  „ith  hiiirT44  And  the  robbers  also  that  were  crucified  with  him 

44  The  thieves  also,  which  were  crucified  with  him,    44  ^na  ^.^^  ^^^  ^^^  reproach.         ,    .  „^„  ^^„ 

-1  ^ZX^-^o.r  there  wa«  dar.ness  over    45      Now^  from  the  sixth  hour  there  was  dar.ness 

all  the  land  unto  the  ninth  hour. 


(c)  Luke  states  (^3:36)  that  "the  soldiers 
abo  mocked  him,"  offering  him  the  sour  wme 
they  were  drinking.  At  a  later  period,  this 
wa«  given  him  in  kindness.  (Joua  is :  29.) 

(dlThe  thieves  also;  better  as  in  Rev. 
Ver    the  robbers  (see  on  v.  38)  also  that  were 
crucified  with  him,   cast  upon  lum  the  same 
reproach,  viz.,  that  he  had  professed  to  trust 
in  God  and  claimed  to  he  the  Son  of  God, 
and  yet  was  not  now  delivered.     Cast   the 
same  in  his  teeth,  is  a  vigorous  jmage  of 
Com.  Ver.,  but  not  presented  by  the  Greek 
Mark  makes  a  similar  statement,    th^y  that 
were  crucified    with    him   reproached  him 
But  in  Luke  we  find   a  striking  ^f^'^l 
There   (Lu.e 23: 39-43),    "one  of  the  malefactors 
railed  on  him,"  as  pretending  to  be  the  Mes- 
Ih     while  the  other  believed  that  he  «;as 
the  Messiah;  yea,  more  discerning  than  the 
Twelve,  he  believed  that  though  now  despi.ed 
and  rejected  he  would  come  again  as  king 
even  as  he  had  of  late  been  teachmg  I-  e  9^  ^ 
',r..M.u..5:3i  =  i6:28),   aiid  in    humblc    peut.on, 
said,  "Jesus,  remember  me  Nvlien  thou  com-  , 
est  in  thy  kingdom,"  R.y-     How  he  le>ir  ed 
80  much,   and  understood  so  well,  we  do  not 
know,    but  the  Saviour,  who  made  no   re- 
sponse to  taunts  and  rev ilings,  from  wh^vtso- 
ever    source,     answered    the    first    word  of 
petition,   and  promised    more    than   he  had 
asked      Not  merely  shall  the  penitent  robber 
t    remembered    when   the    crucified  comes 
again  as  king,  but  "  To-day  shalt  thou  be  with 
Tin  Paradle."-Now  theque.tion  has  been 
n,uch  discussed,  and  cannot  be  solved  wth 
certainty,  how  we  are  to  -concile  Luke  s^ic- 
count  with  that  of   Matt,   and  Mark^    The 
prevailing  view   is  that  both  the  robbers  at 
iir.t  reviled,  and  afterwards  .me  of  them,  im- 
nre^sed     by   the    Saviour's    aspect    and    his 
prayer  for  the  crucifiers,  and  perhaps  recall- 
fng  earlier  knowledge  of  his  teachings  and 
n.fracles,  became  now  convinced  that  he  wa 
indeed  the  Messiah.     This  makes  it  all  the 
„H.re  wonderful  that  he  should  understand  so 
thoroughly,  though  of  course  not  -m possible 
under  special   divine   influence.      B.it  Matt, 
and  Mark  may   be  under.-tood,  with    many 
Lpositors,  as   merely    including   m  general 


the    Saviour's    fellow-suflTerers    among    the 
different    classes    of    revilers,    without    dis- 
tinguishing between   the  two,  which  would 
have  required  a  full  account  of  a  matter  they 
did  not  undertake  to  narrate.     If  it  be  asked 
how  they  could  omit  this,  the  same  question 
arises  as  to  their  giving  only  one  of  the  seven 
v^ords  .on   the  cross,   and  so  in   many  other 
cases.     In  this  view  the  penitent  robber  may 
have  become  a  believer  in  Jesus  as  the  Mes- 
siah on  some  earlier  day,  since  his  crime,  yet 
hardly  since  his  sentence,  for  among  the  Jews 
that  was  quickly  followed  by  execution  (see 
on  27 :  1).— However  this   may  be   regarded, 
we  must  remember  the  general  and  impress- 
ive   fact    that  Jesus  was    reviled    by   many 
classes  of  persons,  by  the  people  at  large,  the 
rulers  (all  sections   of  the  Sanhedrin),   the 
soldiers ;  and  even  participation  in  suffering 
did  not  prevent  reviling.     This  mocking  and 
railing  probably    began   when    he  was  first 
lifted  on  the  cross,  and  continued  from  time 
to  time.     Observe  that  all  the  verbs  here, 
'railed,'    'said,'    (v.4i),   'reproached'  (v. «, Rev. 
ver. ),  are  in  the  Greek  imperfect  tense,  denot- 
ing 'continued  or  repeated  action.— At  some 
I  point  during  the  first  three  hours  occurred  the 
I  pathetic  incident  of  John  19:  25-37,  "Behold 
thy  son,"  and  "  Behold  thy  mother."     Thus 
I  the  Saviour  spoke  three  times  that  we  know 
I  of  during  the  first  half  of  the  crucifixion. 
IV    45-50.     He  cries  out  in  the  darkness, 
and  dies.     Mark  15  :  33-37  ;  Luke  2? :  44-46  ; 
John  19  .  28-30.     From  the  sixth  hour  .... 
nnto  the  ninth  hour  (comp.  on  20:  3),  from 
twelve  o'clock  to  about  three  P.  M  Darkness, 
supernatural.     It  cannot  have  been  an  eclipse 
of  the  sun,  because  the  Passover  was  at  the 
middle  of  the  month,  and  the  month  always 
I  began  with  the  new  moon,  so  that  the  moon 
1  was  now  full,  i.  e.,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
'  earth  from  the  sun.     Thus  all  the  long  discus- 
!  sion  about  the  account  of  an  eclipse  said  to 
I  have  been  given  by  Phlegon,  a  writer  of  the 
I  second  century,  is  beside  the  mark,  for  this 
j  was  not  an  eclipse.     'The  sun's  light  failing.' 
1  Rev.  Ver.,  Luke  23:  45  (correct  text),   need 
!  not  mean  what  is  technically  called  an  eclipse, 
but  simply  states  that  the  sun  failed,  without 


574 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXVII. 


■to  And  about  the  ninth  hour  Jesus  cried  with  a  loud 
voice,  saying,  Eli,  Eli,  lama  siibachthani?  that  is  lo 
say.  My  Ciwi.  luy  Goil,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me? 

47  Some  of  them  that  stoml  there,  when  they  heard 
that,  said,  This  maii  calieth  for  Klias. 


46  all  the  i  land  until  the  ninth  hour.  And  about  the 
ninth  hour  Jesus  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  saying, 
Kli,  Eli,  lama  sabachthani?  that  is.  My  God,  myGoo, 

47  2  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me?  And  some  of  them 
that  stood  there,  when  they  heard  it,  said.  This  man 


1  Or,  earth. . .  .'I  Or.  tohf  didst  thou  forsake  me  t 


indicating  the  cause.  All  men  feel  alarmed 
by  any  sudden  and  great  darkness.  The  Rab- 
bis said  (Wiin..)  that  such  an  occurrence  was 
a  bad  sign  for  the  world,  and  was  to  be  ex- 
pected upon  occasion  of  certain  great  crimes 
or  misfortunes.  Wetstein  has  many  passages 
from  Greek  and  Latin  authors  showing!  a  sim- 
ilar feeling.  'Over  all  the  land,  viz.,  of 
Palestine.  The  word  might  mean  '  earth  ' 
{margin  Kev.  Ver.),  comp.  on  6:  5;  but  it 
was  dark,  naturally,  over  half  the  earth,  and 
a  miraculous  darkness  over  all  the  enlight- 
ened half  is  improbable,  seeing  that  so  large 
a  proportion  of  the  persons  involved  would 
not  know  its  meaning,  and  so  it  would  be  a 
useless  miracle.  The  supernatural  darkness 
was  an  appropriate  concomitant,  and  may  be 
regarded  as  a  sort  of  symbol  of  the  Saviour's 
mental  suffering,  which  at  last  found  expres- 
sion in  his  loud  cry.  Through  nearly  all  this 
period  he  seems  to  have  continued  silent.  He 
must  have  been  enduring  a  dark  sorrow,  a 
crushing  grief,  even  greater  than  in  Gethsem- 
ane,  seeing  that  he  speaks  here  in  more  im- 
passioned distress  ;  and  here,  as  there  (see  on 
'26:  44),  it  can  be  explained  only  by  the  fact 
that  "he  was  wounded  for  our  transgressions," 
was  "made  sin  for  us,"  "gave  his  life  a  ran- 
som for  many"  (comp.  on  20:  28).  Cried 
with  a  loud  voice,  showing  great  suffering. 
Eli,  Eli,  lama  sabacthani.  The  original 
words  are  given,  because  Eli,  explains  the 
supposition  of 'some'  (Mark  likewise)  of  the 
bystanders,  that  he  was  calling  for  Elijah. 
The  first  words  are  here  given  in  the  Hebrew, 
like  the  Psalm,  but  by  Mark  in  the  Aramaic 
Eloi,  which  Jesus  had  doubtless  spoken.  The 
last  word  is  given  by  both  in  the  Aramaic  (so 
in  the  Targum,  Buxtorf),  the  Hebrew  having 
another  term  ^  of  the  same  sense.  Our  Lord's 
borrowing  the  phraseology  of  Psa.  22:  1,  does 
not  show  that  Psalm  to  be  Messianic;  comp. 
his  borrowing  in  Luke  2-^:  46  from  Psa.  31:  5, 
and  his  answering  each  of  Satan's  three 
special  temptations  by  quoting  from   Deut. 


chap.  6-8.  Still,  as  Psalm  22 :  13,  was  a  Mes- 
sianic prophecy  (John  i9: 24),  we  may  suppose  that 
22 :  1  was  designed  by  the  Spirit  of  inspira- 
tion to  be  used  by  the  Messiah  on  the  cross.  It 
is  commonly  said  that  Psa.  22  was  not  regarded 
by  the  Jews  as  Messianic.  Edersh.  (App.  IX) 
gives  two  references  to  it  (v.  7, 15)  as  applied  to 
the  Messiah  in  a  collection  made  in  the  thir- 
teenth century,  but  believed  to  consist  of 
ancient  material.  Tertullian  thought  that 
Psa.  22  "contains  the  whole  passion  of 
Christ."  Why  hast  thou  forsaken  me?  A 
more  literal  translation  would  be,  Why  didst 
thou  forsake  me  (margin  Rev.  Ver.),  but  it 
would  amount  to  the  same  thing.  'Why'  is 
not  here  '  for  what  cause,'  but  '  to  what  end ' ; 
yet  the  distinction  must  not  be  pressed  (comp. 
9:  4i.  If  the  question  be  asked  in  what  sense 
the  Father  forsook  the  Son,  the  answer  is  that 
we  really  do  not  know.  In  himself  the  Sav- 
iour was  still  well-pleasing  to  the  Father,  in 
voluntarily  laying  down  his  life  that  he  might 
take  it  again  (Jobnio:  i7f.) ;  it  must  have  been 
as  our  substitute,  because  he  "  bare  our  sins  in 
his  own  body  on  the  tree,"  that  he  was  for- 
saken. If  it  be  asked  how  he  could  feel  him- 
self to  be  forsaken,  we  must  remember  that  a 
human  soul  as  well  as  a  human  body  was  here 
suffering,  a  human  soul  thinking  and  feeling 
within  human  limitations  (Mark  13:32),  not  psy- 
chologically unlike  the  action  of  other  devout 
souls  when  in  some  great  and  overwhelming 
sorrow.  Comp.  W.  N.  Clarke  on  Mark  15  :  84. 
Hanna :  "  It  was  the  sensible  comfort  only  of 
the  divine  presence  and  favor  that  was  for  the 
I  time  withdrawn  ;  the  felt  inflowings  of  the 
divine  love  that  were  for  the  time  checked. 
But  what  a  time  of  agony  must  that  have 
been  to  him  who  knew,  as  none  other  could, 
what  it  was  to  bask  in  the  light  of  his  Father's 
countenance;  who  felt,  as  none  other  could, 
that  his  favor  indeed  was  life  !  On  us — .so 
little  do  we  know  or  feel  what  it  is  to  be  for- 
saken by  God — the  thought  of  it,  or  sense  of 
it,  may  make  but  a  slight  impression,  produce 


*  Hebrew  'azavthani,  which  some  "  Western  "  documents  have  endeavored  to  reproduce  here  by  changing 
into  zaphlhani  and  similar  forms;  so  also  in  Mark. 


MATTHEW. 


575 


Ch.  XXVIL] 

-^^^-ri;;;r;;;^y  one  of  then,  ran   and  t^l  48  -''^ILnijah     And  s^.ai^^^^^^^^^ 
Blunge,  and  tilled  i<  with  vinegar,  and  put  U  on  a  reed,          ^'^f  j  ';^„\%;PJl_|u'a  gave  hin.  to  drink.    And  the 
and  gave  him  to  dnnU.                                ,v.„,  irnn,  will          rest  said.  Let  te  ;  let  us  see  whether  Elijah  cometh 
49  The  rest  said.  Let  be,  let  us  see  whether  Elias  will    ^  i^^'J^e  hilu.i    And  Jesus  cried  again  w.ih  a  loud 
"Tiesus,' whin  he  had  cried  again  with  a  loud  voice, 
yielded  up  the  ghost.  ' 

The  reed  probably  means  in  general  a  staff 
for  walking,  which  we  in  like  manner  call  a 
cane.  From  John  19:  29  it  appears  to  have 
been  made  from  a  stalk  of  hyssop;  and  Tris- 


but  little  heartfelt  misery ;  but  to  him  it  was 
the  consummation  and  concentration  of  all 
woe,  beyond  which  there  was  and  could  be  no 
deeper  anguish  for  the  soul." 

This  man  calleth  for  Elias,  or  Elijah. 
The  grand  figure  which  Elijah  made  in  the 


tram    ("Nat.    Hist.")   says    that  the  caper, 
which  is  probably  the  Biblical  hyssop,  would 


The  grand  figure  which  J^.ijan  maue  .......    --  -  ---    -  ^^  f,,^^,  f,,t  in  length. 

history,  and  the  promise  of  his  c"--^-  ^fj^  Tirine^aw.^  probably  a  sort  of  sour  wfne, 
4:  5  f.,  caused  him  to  stand  out  in  the  Je     sh  j  ^1  -^^^  "^f  -l^,,      I  ^..bt  diluted  with 

mind  as  the  greatest  of  the  P^i^P^f  "^^here  ,  ^^  "=h  vme  K  ^^^.^^^  ^  ^^^ 

was  a  general  expectation,  derived  from  Mai      wa^^^^^^ 

that  he  would  work  various  wonders  ^^^P"  r'XrmJuth      John  shows  (ib^'^b)  that  it 
„iR.  14^     Tt  is  not  ea«v  to  determine  whether  I  parched  moutn.     jonn  bnuws  ; 

on  16:  14).  ^^'^  "^^^'^  ^^  "..  rnisrenre^enta-  was  done  in  consequence  of  his  saying  I 
this  utterance  was  a  mocking  misrcpreenta     w        ^  ^^^    stupefying 

tion  by  Jews,  or  a  misunderstanding  ^^  ;  *';"^^',^  ^f.^^  beginning,  but  asked  for  this 
Koman  soldiers.  Jews  can  hardly  have  really  .  ^-"f^^^^^  j;„^^^  ^,ben  near  the  end.  Then 
nusunderstood,    for    the    opening    vowel    ^'[  j  ^''^^   ™^^^  (John),  "  It  is  fin- 

E.  has  to  the  Oriental  ear  a  -y  /  J-  J  ^Ltal  finally  a  fourth  (Luk%,  "  Father 
^""denT  plLe'mighf  hlv^^^  thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit."     So 

Tnted    with    the'  poifular    expectations    there  were  four  sayings  close  together    and 
acquainted    w   Ithe^popu  P     .^  I    ,^,  the  end;    and  with   the  three  uttered 

""Tf"  t  t!n  pr^blbly  describing  the  during  the  first  three  hours,  we  find  in  all 
imperfect    tense,     prooaoiy  _,___.»      .^    __^  =„^in.rc  on   the  cross,  of  which  one  is 


kindly  soldier  as  repeatedly  applying  the 
sponge  to  the  sufferers  parched  lips.  The 
rest  said,  imperfect  tense,  describing  them 
as  engaged  in  saying.  Bengel:  "After  the 
dreadful  darkness  they  returned  to  scoffing.  ' 
Let  be,  let  things  stay  as  they  are;  do  not 
give  him  any  aid  or  comfort-see  if  Elijah 
will  hear  his  prayer;   for  if  so,  all  his  wants 


seven  sayings  on  the  cross,  of  which  one  is 
recorded  by  Matt,  and  Mark  only,  three  by 
Luke  only,  three  by  John  only. 

Cried  again  with  a  loud  voice,  Mark 
likewise.  This  seems  to  denote  great  bodily 
suffering.  The  sayings  just  quoted  from  Luke 
and  John  can  hardly  be  here  meant,  for  they 
were  not  of  such  a  nature  as  to  be  uttered  in  a 


•n  1      .,nnlied      Thev  seem  to  have  amused    loud  voice  ;  it  must  have  been  a  cry  of  pain 
will  be  supplied,     ^"^^^y  ^^•^™ /"  ,  or  distress      This  great  outcry  in  the  moment 

"^ 1        ^I        .  i„j  onnthpr  1  death  whereas  .lohn  makes  it  follow;  but  that  differ- 

1  The  addition  in  m^roinne^  Ir^'the  e  cnTe  o't  :  e     1  wll  onl,  have  been  a  reason  for  removing  the 
took  a  spear  and  pierced  his  side,  ana  mere  can...  u      ^  .        ,         f      ,,„  ^^  54  or  .56,  or  else  there 

wa.er..ndblood,.mustbere.ardeda.aninsert,onfro^^ 

John  19:  31.  It  is  found  In  N  B  C  L  U  r,  a  c'' =>  ^^i^l^  I,  „„j  „„  ea.e.  The  pas- 
sives, and  less  important  versions,  Chrys  C  ril.  Th  '^^^^^^^  ,.,,  „.;,,en  by  some  student  on  the  n.ar- 
„n,y  shows,  as  we  have  seen  in  "Y?"'  ;;;^*^;;^^^^^^  ^  ,f  Matt,  from  memory,  an.l  by  a  copyist  awkwardly 
(comp.  on  24:.%),  that  X  R,  even  ^'^'^.^'''^^'"P^';  f,"roduccd   into  the  text.    No  critic  would  question 

rr:nrr  srs:^~..:s::-arr , ;;;;: ;-  -  -  pe.uasion  of  some  th.  b  x  c  l  -can 

repre'Int   the    picrung  as  preceding   the    Saviour's    do  no  wrong." 


576 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXVII. 


51  And,  behold,  the  vail  of  the  temple  was  rent  in 
twain  from  the  top  to  the  bottom  ;  and  the  earth  did 
quake,  and  the  rocks  rent ; 

52  And  the  graves  were  opened ;  and  many  bodies  of 
the  saints  which  slept  arose, 

33  And  came  out  of  the  graves  after  his  resurrection, 
and  went  into  the  holy  city,  and  appeared  unto  many. 


51  voice,  and  yielded  up  his  spirit.  And  behold,  the 
veil  of  the  ^temple  was  rent  in  twain  from  tlie  top  to 

52  the  bottom  ;  and  the  earth  did  quake ;  and  the  rocks 
were  rent ;  and  the  tombs  were  opened  ;  and  many 

53  bodies  of  the  saints  that  had  fallen  asleep  were 
raised;  and  coming  forth  out  of  the  tombs  a'ter  his 
resurrection  they  entered  into  the  holy  city  and 


1  Or,  sanctuary. 


thought  to  show  that  our  Lord  died  from  a 
bursting  of  the  heart.  This  is  argued  with 
great  force  by  Stroud,  "  Physical  Cause  of  the 
Death  of  Christ,"  republished  in  New  York, 
and  by  Hanna,  Aj)p.  to  "Life  of  Christ." 
The  question  possesses  a  certain  kind  of  inter- 


dread  upon  the  very  throne  of  God,  and  come 
with  boldness  to  the  throne  of  grace.  (Het.  4 ;  i6 ; 
10:19.) — The  other  portent  is  mentioned  bi* 
Matt.  only.  Earthquakes  are  common  in 
Palestine,  and  this  earthquake  need  not  be 
thought  supernatural.     The  earthquake  might 


est,  but  cannot  be  settled.     Let  us  beware  of   naturally   rend  rocks   and   open   tombs — not 
spending  too   much  thought  upon   the  sur-    graves  like  ours,  but  tombs  in  the  rock.  (Comp. 


roundings  and  pln-sical  conditions  of  our 
Lord's  death.  The  great  matter  is  that  he 
"died  for  our  sins,"  "tasted  death  for  every 
man." — Yielded  up  the  ghost  (spirit).  The 
closing  expiration  seems  a  natural  indication 
of  letting  the  immaterial  in  us,  which  is 
oftenest  called  spirit,  go  forth  from  the  body 
"unto  God  who  gave  it."  'Gave  up  the 
ghost'  was  good  in  old  English,  but  we  do  not 
now  use  'ghost'  in  that  sense. 

50-55.  Portents  following  his  death,  and 
the  effects.  Mark  15 ;  38-41 ;  Luke  '23  :  47-49. 
The  vail  of  the  temple  (nnos,  see  on  4:  5), 
was  a  richly  wrought  and  heavy  curtain  which 
hung  between  the  "Holy  Place"  and  the 
"Holy  of  Holies."  (Exod.zB: 31-35.)  There  are 
some  Talmudic  statements  to  the  effect  thtit 
this  vail  was  double  in  the  second  temple, 
but  that  is  a  matter  of  no  consequence;  nor 
have  we  anything  to  do  here  with  an  outer 
vail  (Grimm),  which  hung  between  the  porch 
and  the  Holy  Place.  Once  a  j'ear  the  high 
priest  lifted  a  corner  of  this  heavy  curtain  and 
passed  into  the  Holy  of  Holies,  carrying  sac- 
rificial blood  which  he  sprinkled  on  the  mercy 
seat,  and  made  supplication  for  the  forgive- 
ness of  his  own  sins  and  those  of  the  people. 
(Heh. 9:7.)  The  suddcu  rcudiiig  of  this  vail 
from  the  top  to  the  bottom  (Mark  likewise, 
.showing  that  it  was  not  done  by  human 
agency)  symbolized  the  complete  opening  for 
all  of  a  way  of  access  through  Christ  to  the 
throne  of  divine  mercy.  Christ,  our  high 
priest,  has  entered  the  true  Holy  of  Holies  in 
heaven,  offering  once  for  all  the  all-sufficient 


on  27  :  61.)  But  the  rising  of  the  dead  was  of 
course  supernatural.  Notice  that  they  were 
bodies  of  the  saints.  The  clause  after  his 
resurrection  is  ambiguous,  as  it  maj'  be  con- 
nected with  what  precedes  or  what  follow.*. 
It  is  more  naturally  connected  with  what  fol- 
lows ;  then  we  understand  that  they  rose  at 
the  time  of  Christ's  doath,  when  the  earth- 
quake opened  the  tombs,  but  ai)peared  only 
after  he  appeared.  It  may  be  that  they  ap- 
peared only  to  believers,  who  knew  that 
Jesus  had  risen.  The  conjecture  of  Plump, 
concerning  this  matter  is  of  some  interest. 
He  holds  that  the  tombs  opened  by  the  earth- 
quake were  near  Jerusalem,  and  as  the  term 
"saints"  was  almost  from  the  first  applied  to 
Christians,  he  thinks  that  these  saints  were 
believers  in  Jesus  who  liad  died  before  his 
crucifixion.  On  this  supposition,  we  see  some 
reason  for  their  appearing  to  Christian  friends 
and  kindred,  in  order  to  show  that  they  were 
not  shut  out  from  a  share  in  the  kingdom. 
(Comp.  1  Thess.  4 :  13  f.)  "The  statement  that 
they  did  not  appear  till  after  our  Lord's  resur- 
rection, is  from  this  point  of  view  significant. 
The  disciples  were  thus  taught  to  look  on  that 
resurrection,  not  as  an  isolated  phenomenon  ; 
but  as  the  'first  fruits'  of  the  victory  over 
death  (1  Cor.  15:20),  in  which  not  they  them- 
selves only,  but  those  also  whom  they  had 
loved  and  lost  were  to  be  sharers." — The  holy 
city,  comp.  on  4  :  5. 

Our  Lord's  death  is  described  as  specially 
impressing  three  classes  of  persons,  (a)  The 
Roman  centurion,  or  as  we  should  say,  captain 


atoning  sacrifice  of  his  own  blood  (Heb.  9: 11 -mi  ;    (see  on  8:  5),  and  also  his  soldiers  who  con- 


and  now  in  his  name  we  may  look  without  i  ducted  the  crucifixion,   were  convinced  that 


Ch.  XXVII.] 


MATTHEW. 


677 


54  Now  when  the  centurion,  and  they  that  were  with 
him,  watching  Jesus,  saw  the  earthquake,  and  those 
things  that  were  done,  they  teared  greatly,  saying. 
Truly,  this  was  the  Son  of  God. 

.55  And  many  women  were  there,  beholding  afar  off, 
which  followed  Jesus  from  Galilee,  ministering  unto 
bim ; 

56  Among  which  was  Mary  Magdalene,  and  Mary 
the  mother  of  James  and  Joses,  and  the  mother  of 
Zebedee's  ohildren. 


54  appeared  unto  many.  Now  the  centurion,  and  they 
that  were  with  him  watching  Jesus,  when  they  saw 
tlie  earthquake,  and  the  things  that  were  done, 
feared  exceedingly,  saying,  Truly  this  was  ithe  Sou 

55  of  God.  And  many  women  were  there  beholding 
from  afar,  who  had  followed  Jesus  from  Galilee, 

56  ministering  unto  him:  among  whom  was  Mary 
Magdalene,  and  Mary  the  mother  of  James  and 
Joses,  and  the  mother  of  the  sons  of  Zebedee. 


1  Or,  a  ton  of  God. 


Jesus  was  what  he  claimed  to  be.  When  .  .  . 
they  saw  the  earthquake,  and  those 
things  that  were  done,  were  taking  place 
(correct  text),  or  cotning  to  pass  (corap.  on 
1:  22),  apparently  referring  to  the  long-con- 
tinued supernatural  darkness,  and  perhaps 
also  to  the  Saviour's  aspect  and  expressions, 
they  feared  exceedingly.  (Rev.  Ver. )  Well 
they  might  fear;  for  they  had  been  engaged 
in  putting  to  an  ignominious  death  one  who, 
as  thej-  now  felt  sure,  was  not  a  criminal,  not 
an  impostor  nor  a  fanatic,  but  truly  the  Son 
of  God.  Was,  because  his  life  had  ended. 
Mark  has  the  same  expression  as  Matt.  Luke 
gives  "Certainly  this  was  a  righteous  man." 
If  so,  he  was  what  he  claimed  to  be,  and  he 
had  claimed  to  be  the  Son  of  God.  So  the 
difference  is  only  apparent,  and  in  fact  we 
may  in  this  case  suppose  that  he  used  both 
expressions.  The  Greek  might  mean  '  a  son 
of  God,"  and  some  suppose  that  the  heathen 
centurion  thought  only  of  one  among  many 
demigods.  But  this  Greek  phrase  is  very 
often  used  as  definite,  determined  by  the  con- 
nection, and  here  it  is  easy  to  suppose  that  he 
had  borrowed  the  phrase  from  the  Jews,  and 
understood  it  in  their  sense,  which  was  more 
or  less  vague.  (Comp.  on  2G:  63.) 

(b)  "All  the  multitudes  that  came  together 
to  this  sight,"  the  throngs  of  Jewish  specta- 
tors (Luke23:48,  Rer.  ver.),  " returned smitingthcir 
breasts,"  satisfied  that  a  great  wrong  had  been 
done,  and  fearing  that  they  would  suflTer  for  it. 

(c)  Many  of  his  own  followers  beheld  his 
death,  with  tlie  deepest  grief.  Many  women. 
But  Luke  mentions  also  men — "all  his  ac- 
quaintances" (Luke 23: 49),  nominative  plural, 
masculine.  Beholding  afar  off,  through 
timidity,  and  through  delicacy.  The  only 
women  of  his  following  who  cnme  near  the  CTo^» 
were  his  mother  and  her  sister,  Mary  the  wife 
ofClopas,  and  Mary  Magdalene,  (.rohn  i9:2i.) 
Ministering  unto  him.  They  personally 
brought  and  prepared  food ;    and  they  also 


furnished  money  wherewith  to  purchase  food 
and  to  pay  for  cooking  it — all  this  being  sug- 
gested by  the  term  and  circumstances,  comp. 
Luke  8:  2  f. 

.Mary  Magdalene,  i.  e.,  from  Magdala, 
probably  the  place  now  called  Mejdel,  on  the 
western  shore  of  the  Lake  of  Galilee  (see  on 
15:  39,  where  the  correct  text  is  Magadan.) 
Mary  Magdalene  has  received  scant  justice  in 
Christian  literature  and  art.  The  heavy  aflJic- 
tion  of  being  possessed  by  "seven  demons," 
from  which  it  was  doubtless  Jesus  that  deliv 
ered  her,  does  not  prove  that  she  had  been  ex- 
ceptionally wicked.  A  late  tradition  identi- 
fied her  with  the  "  woman  that  was  a  sinner," 
in  Luke  7  :  87  ff.  This  tradition  is  first  men- 
tioned in  Jerome  and  Ambrose,  was  probably 
nothing  but  an  inference  from  the  severe  de- 
moniacal possession,  and  was  never  received 
in  the  Greek  Church.  The  identification  is 
not  only  unsupported  by  anything  in  Scrip- 
ture, but  rendered  highly  improbable  by  the 
way  in  which  Luke  just  afterwards  mentions 
Mary  Magdalene  as  a  new  personage.  (Luke  8  2.) 
Next.it  was  taken  forgranted  that  the  "  woiT)an 
that  was  a  sinner"  had  been  guilty  of  unchas- 
tity,  and  upon  this  foundation  only,  this  highly 
improbable  tradition,  and  this  uncertain 
supposition,  it  long  ago  became  common  to 
call  an  abandoned  woman  a  Magdalen.  The 
celebrated  paintings  of  the  Magdalen  are  /lis- 
torinnlly  an  abomination,  and  religiously  quite 
hurtful.  There  is  at  Dresden  a  painting  "of 
the  School  of  Titian,"  which  represents  her  as 
a  woman  of  middle  age,  once  very  beautiful, 
with  deep  lines  of  suffering  in  her  face  but 
over  it  all  a  look  of  gentleness,  peace,  and  un- 
utterable gratitude.  This  conception  is  his- 
torically reasonable.  Christ  did  save  persons 
of  the  class  to  which  she  is  usually  referred 
(21:32),  and  will  save  such  persons  still  if  they 
repent  and  believe  him  ;  but  that  is  no  reason 
for  involving  this  special  friend  of  his  in  un- 
deserved dishonor.    The  usage  about  Mary 


2M 


678 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXVJI. 


cannot  now  be  wholly  corrected,  but  it  may 
be  personally  avoided.  AVith  tliis  list  of  tliree 
women,  'Mary  Magdalene,  and  Mary  tiie 
mother  of  James  and  Joses,  and  the  mother 
of  tiie  sons  of  Zebedee,'  conip.  Mark's  three 
(15:49,  Ee».ver.;  16:1),  "Mary  Magdalene,  and 
Miiry  the  mother  of  James  the  Little,  and 
of  Joses,  and  Salome.''  This  leaves  little 
doubt  that  the  mother  of  Zcbedee's  sons  was 
Salome.  Again,  in  John  (i9:«),  the  women 
present  are  "his  mother,  and  his  mother's  sis- 
ter, Mary  the  wife  of  Clopas,  and  Miiry  Mag- 
dalene." Here  his  mother's  sister  might  be 
Mary  the  Avife  of  Clopas.  But  it  is  not  likely 
that  two  sisters  would  be  named  Mary  ;  and  if 
we  understand  that  here  are  four  distinct 
persons,  then  they  fall  into  two  groups,  the 
first  group  being  two  unnamed  persons,  the 
second  two  named  persons — and  this  rhythmi- 
cal form  of  statement  (Westcott  on  John)  re- 
sembles the  style  of  the  Fourth  Gospel.  Now 
it  is  generally  agreed  that  John's  "  Mary  the 
wife  of  Clopas"  is  the  same  as  "Mary  the 
mother  of  James  the  Little  and  of  Joses"  in 
Mark  and  Matt.  (Comp.  on  10:  3.)  Leave 
aside  then  the  mother  of  Jesus  in  John's  list, 
with  Mary  Magdalene,  who  is  the  same  in  all, 
and  it  becomes  highly  probable  that  Salome, 
the  mother  of  Zebedee' s  sons,  was  the  sister  of 
our  Lord's  mother.  This  theory  helps  to  ac- 
count for  the  prominence  of  James  and  John, 
and  for  the  ambitious  request  of  their  mother 
in  20:20.  Then  also  John's  omission  of  his 
mother's  name  would  be  (Westcott)  exactly 
like  his  constant  omission  of  his  own  name. 
These  devout  and  loving  women,  and  (Luke) 
some  men  with  them,  saw  for  themselves  that 
the  Master  really  died,  and  where  he  was 
buried,  (t,  ei.) 

HOMILETICAL  AND  PRACTICAL. 

Sermons  and  devotional  books  often  give 
overwrought  descriptions  of  the  crucifixion. 
The  feelings  excited  by  contemplating  it 
ought  to  be  natural  and  genuine,  and  not  gal- 
vanized.    It  is  better  to  imitate  the  reserve 


and  simplicity  of  the  Evangelists,  making  our 
narration  and  description  quiet  and  inelabo- 
rate. Any  other  course  is  injudicious,  in 
questionable  taste,  and  really  irreverent. 

V.  32.  Simon  of  Cyrene.  1)  A  man  shar- 
ing undeserved  reproach.  2)  A  man  render- 
ing involuntary  service  to  Christ.  3)  Yet, 
let  us  hope,  learning  to  walk  voluntarily  after 
Christ,  bearing  his  own  cross  ('6: 2*),  as  we 
know  that  his  two  sons  did.  (Mark  is ;  21.)  Calvin  : 
"In  the  sight  of  men,  this  task  brought  hira 
to  the  lowest  degradation ;  but  God  turned  it 
into  the  highest  honor." 

"Shall  Simon  bear  thy  cross  alone. 
And  other  !>aint8  be  free  ? 
Each  saint  of  thine  shall  find  his  own. 
And  there  is  one  for  me."  1 

V.  33.  Because  of  Gethsemane  and  Golgo- 
tha, we  sinners  may  hope  for  Paradise. — 
V.  35.  Shakkspeare: 

"In  those  holy  fields 
Over  whose  acres  walked  those  blessed  feet, 
Which  fourteen  hundred  years  ago  were  nailed, 
For  our  advantage,  on  the  bitter  cross." 

V.  40.  "Save  thyself."  How  easily  he 
could  have  done  so !  But  his  object  was  still 
to  save  others  (v.  41) ;  he  was  dying  that  men 
might  live.— V.  42.  Ettthym:  "And  he 
would  have  come  down,  if  it  had  been  true 
that  they  would  believe.  Like  them  are 
many  now  who  propose  their  own  conditions 
of  believing,  but  really  would  not  believe  on 
any  condition."  Calvin:  "It  is  too  common 
with  the  impious  to  measure  the  power  of  God 
by  present  appearances,  so  that  whatever  he 
does  not  do,  they  think  he  cannot  do."     V.  46 

1)  He  is  my  God,  yet  he  has  forsaken   me. 

2)  He  has  forsaken  me,  yet  he  is  my  God. — 
Mrs.  Browning: 

"Yea,  once  Immanuel's  orphaned  cry  his  universe 

hath  shaken. 
It  went  up  single,  echoless, '  My  God,  I  am  forsaken  !  • 
It  went  up  from  the  Holy's  lips  amid  his  lost  creation, 
That,  of  the  lost,  no  son  should  use  those  words  of 

desolation." 

V.  47.  Henry  :  "  It  is  no  new  thing  for  the 


1  Recent  hymn  books  have : 

'*  Must  Jesus  bpar  the  cross  a'one,"  etc. 
Having  in  youth  heard  it  sung  with  "Simon"  in- 
stead, we  have  long  been  sati^<fled,  on  principles  of 
text  criticism,  that  this  was  the  original  form.  A 
friend  who  has  given  much  attention  to  hymnology, 
recently  stated  that  the  stanza  in  the  above-quoted 


form  is  taken  from  the  "Penitential  Cries  "of  Rev. 
Thomas  Shepherd,  of  Braintree,  Essex,  England,  pub- 
lished in  1692.  The  hymn  in  its  now  common  shape 
has  borrowed  only  this  one  stanza  from  the  original. 
It  is  credited  in  some  collections  to  Prof.  G.  N.  Allen, 
18o2,  who  wrote  the  familiar  tune,  and  may  have  made 
the  changes  and  the  additions. 


Ch.  XXVII.] 


MATTHEW. 


579 


57  When  the  even  was  come,  there  came  a  rich  man 
of  Arimathea,  named  Joseph,  who  also  himself  was 
Jesus'  disciple : 


57      And  when  even  was  come,  there  came  a  rich  man 
from  Arimatheea,  named  Joseph,  who  also  himself 


most  pious  devotions  of  the  best  men  to  "be 
ridiculed  and  abused  by  profane  scoffers. — 
V.  50.  Jer.  Taylor:  "O  holy  and  immacu- 
late Lamb  of  God,  who  wert  pleased  to  suffer 
shame  and  sorrow,  teach  me  to  apprehend  the 
baseness  of  sin,  in  proportion  to  the  greatness 
of  those  calamities  which  my  sin  made  it  nec- 
essary for  Thee  to  suffer,  that  I  may  hate  the 
cause  of  Thy  sufferings,  and  adore  Thy  mercy, 
and  imitate  Thy  charity,  and  copy  out  Thy 
patience  and  humility,  and  love  Thy  person 
to  the  uttermost  extent  and  degrees  of  my  af- 
fections."— Through  the  cross  of  Christ  may 
the  world  be  crucified  unto  us,  and  we  unto 
the  world  (Gal.  6:  14.)— V.  51.  Our  "great 
High  Priest,  Jesus  the  Son  of  God,"  has 
passed  through  the  vail  of  the  heavens  into 
the  true  sanctuary,  and  there  ever  lives  to  in- 
tercede; let  us  therefore  come  with  boldness. 
(Heb.  «:u-i6;7:25.) — V.  54.  If  men  wiU  but  look 
candidly  at  the  life  and  death,  the  teachings 
and  claims  of  Jesus  Christ,  must  they  not 
acknowledge  him  to  be  more  than  a  mere 
man? — V.  5-5.  Calvin:  "When  the  disciples 
had  fled  hither  and  thither,  yet  some  women 
from  their  company  had  been  kept  by  God  as 
witnesses  ;  more  brightly  then  shone  out  their 
piety  towards  the  Master." 

57-66.  Jesus  Buried  and  Remaining 
IN  THE  Tomb. 

Found  also  in  Mark  15 :  42-47  ;  Luke  23 : 
50-56 ;  John  19  :  31-42. 

Before  the  interment  comes  the  proposition 
of  the  Jews  (John)  to  break  the  legs  of  the 
three  crucified  persons,  which  was  usually 
followed  (Edersh.)  by  giving  them  a  death- 
stroke.  The  object  of  the  proposition  was 
that  they  might  die  and  be  removed  before 
sunset,  when  the  great  Sabbath  of  the  Passover 
week  would  begin.  The  soldiers  were  sur- 
prised to  find  Jesus  dead  already,  as  persons 
usually  remained  alive  on  a  cross  more  than 
twenty-four  hours,  and  sometimes  even  for 
three  days;  and  one  of  them  pierced  his  side 
with  a  spear,  bringing  out  blood  and  water. 
John  appeals  to  this  as  seen  by  himself,  prob- 
ably because  it  proved  that  Jesus  had  a  real 
human  body,  in  opposition  to  the  Docctic 
notions  referred  to  in  1  John  4:  2;  2  John  7, 
and  that  he  was  really  dead. 


L  57-61.  The  burial.  Luther :  ''From 
this  conclusion  of  the  history  of  our  Lord's 
passion  we  see  what  the  death  of  our  dear 
Lord  Christ  has  effected,  both  with  his  friends 
and  his  enemies.  The  enemies  become  un- 
quiet and  fearful,  and  evidently  fall  deeper 
into  sin.  But  those  who  love  the  Lord  Christ, 
although  they  are  feeble,  fearful  folk,  are  yet 
through  the  death  of  Christ  consoled  and  con- 
fident, and  venture  now  upon  what  before 
they  would  not  have  dared  to  think  about." 
We  see  that  the  Father,  who  appeared  to  have 
"forsaken"  Christ,  is  exercising  a  special 
providence  over  his  death  and  interment, 
with  reference  to  his  speedy  resurrection. 
His  bones  were  not  broken  like  those  of  the 
robbers,  nor  his  body  flung  into  a  public  re- 
ceptacle, but  while  "numbered  with  trans- 
gressors "  he  "  was  with  the  rich  in  his  death" 
(isa.53:9-i2) ;  his  tomb  was  in  a  conspicuous 
place,  was  occupied  by  no  other  body,  closed 
with  the  government  seal  and  guarded  by 
Roman  soldiers. — When  the  even  was 
come,  towards  sunset,  which  at  that  season 
would  be  about  6  p.  M.  A  rich  man  of  Ari- 
mathea, a  place  not  otherwise  known.  The 
name  is  obviously  formed  upon  Ramah,'high 
place,'  dual  Raniathaim,  the  name  of  several 
cities  in  Palestine.  Luke  says  it  was  "  a  city 
of  the  Jews,"  which  probably  means  of  Judea. 
Eusebius  and  Jerome  ("Onom.")  held  it  to 
be  the  Ramathaim  of  1  Sam.  1  :  1,  which  was 
Samuel's  birth-place,  apparently  a  few  miles 
northward  from  Jerusalem;  the  Sept.  calls 
this  place  Armathaim,  and  Jos.  ("Ant.,"  6, 
10,  2)  Armatha.  The  fact  that  Joseph  was 
rich  explains  his  owning  grounds  near  the 
city,  and  also  adds  importance  to  the  marks 
of  respect  he  paid  to  Jesus.  Mark  and  Luke 
say  he  was  "a  councillor,"  i.  e.,  a  member  of 
the  Sanhedrin,  and  Luke  adds  "a  good  man 
and  a  righteous— he  had  not  consented  to 
their  counsel  and  deed."  John  says,  "in  the 
place  where  he  was  crucified  there  was  a 
garden,  and  in  the  garden  a  new  tomb." 
Joseph  may  have  stood  in  his  garden,  which 
perhaps  occupied  a  slope  of  the  hill  on  whose 
summit  tlie  crosses  stood  (.see  on  27:  33),  and 
his  eye  falling  on  the  unoccupied  tomb,  he 
determined  upon  his  course.    Who  also  him- 


580 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXVII. 


58  He  went  to  Pilate,  and  begged  the  body  of  Jesus. 
Then  Pilate  commanded  the  body  to  be  delivered. 

59  And  when  Joseph  had  taken  the  body,  he  wrapped 
it  in  a  clean  linen  cloth, 

60  And  laid  it  in  his  own  new  tomb,  which  he  had 
hewn  out  in  the  rock  :  and  he  rolled  a  great  stone  to 
the  door  of  the  sepulchre,  and  departed. 


58  was  Jesus'  disciple:  this  man  went  to  Pilate,  and 
asked  for  the  body  of  Jesus.    Then    Pilate  coiu- 

59  manded  it  to  be  given  up.    And  Joseph  took  the 

60  body,  and  wrapped  it  in  a  clean  linen  cloth,  and  laid 
it  in  his  own  new  tomb,  which  he  had  hewn  out  in 
the  rock :  and  he  rolled  a  great  stone  to  the  door  of 


self  Avas  Jesus*  disciple  (comp.  on  5:1), 
John  adding  "but  secretly,  for  fear  of  the 
Jews."  He  the  more  readily  became  a  dis- 
ciple because  (Marit)  he  was  "  looking  for  the 
kingdom  of  God."  Went  to  Pilate,  Mark 
adding  "  boldly."  It  required  courage  to 
offer  so  much  honor  to  one  whom  bis  asso- 
ciates of  the  Sanhedrin  had  sentenced  for 
blasphemy,  and  who  had  died  an  ignomin- 
ious death.  He  had  shrunk  from  declaring 
himself  a  disciple,  but  now,  when  all  the 
wiirld  had  turned  against  Jesus,  he  came 
out  boldly.  As  the  execution  was  by  the 
Koman  ftuthorities,  their  permission  was 
naturally  required  in  order  to  take  charge 
of  the  body.  The  Romans  often  left  the 
b  )dies  of  crucitied  persons  on  the  cross 
till  they  decayed  or  were  devoured  by  birds  of 
prey,  just  as  in  England  and  the  American 
colonies  bodies  used  to  be  hung  in  chains  ;  but 
the  law  of  Moses  required  that  a  dead  body 
hung  on  a  tree  should  not  remain  over  night,  as 
it  would  defile  the  land.  (Dent.  21 :  23.)  Jos.  says 
("  War,"  4,  5,  2),  "  The  Jews  are  so  attentive 
to  the  rites  of  sepulture  as  to  take  down  even 
those  who  have  undergone  the  sentence  of 
crucifixion,  and  inter  them  before  sunset." 
Be§:ged.  Asked  is  the  exact  meaning,  not 
'begged,'  as  in  Com.  Ver.  Mark  relates  that 
Pilate  wondered  if  he  had  died  so  much  sooner 
than  was  common  with  the  crucified,  and  sent 
to  ask  the  centurion  in  charge.  This  message 
(though  the  distance  was  small),  and  the  va- 
rious purchases,  took  a  considerable  part  of 
the  time  between  three  and  six  o'clock,  and 
made  it  needful  to  act  promptly,  and  for- 
tunate that  "the  tomb  was  nigh  at  hand" 
(John).  Commanded  the  body  to  be  de- 
livered, not  requiring  money,  as  was  so  com- 
mon when  favors  were  asked  from  the  Koman 
governors.  (ac«2*:26.)  Mark  says  in  effect, 
"made  a  present  of  the  corpse  to  Joseph." 
'The  body,'  after  'commanded,'  is  wanting 
in  several  of  the  best  early  documents,  and 
was  easily  added  from  the  preceding  sentence. 
— It  was,  perhaps,  some  little  comfort  to  Pi- 
late to  see  respect  shown  the  remains  of  one 


whom  he  had  so  reluctantly  yielded  to  an 
undeserved  punishment. 

Took  the  body,  Mark  and  Luke  'took 
down,'  which  was  the  "descent  from  the 
Cross,"  so  often  represented  in  pictures.  They 
of  course  washed  off  the  stains  of  blood. 
Wrapped  it  in  a  clean  linen  cloth,  which 
Mark  mentions  his  purchasing.  John  adds, 
"There  came  also  Nicoderaus,  he  who  at  the 
first  came  to  him  by  night,  bringing  a  mix- 
ture of  myrrh  and  aloes,  about  a  hundred 
pound  weight."  The  hundred  pounds  (prob- 
ably of  twelve  oz.  each)  could  be  easily  borne 
by  two  servants.  In  the  funeral  procession 
of  Herod  the  Great,  five  hundred  domestics 
and  freedmen  bore  spices  (Jos.  "Ant,"  17,  8, 
3;  "War,"  1,  33,  9).  A  rabbinical  writing 
says  (Wet.  on  John)  that  at  the  funeral  of 
Gamaliel  the  elder,  a  proselyte  burned  more 
than  eighty  pounds  of  balsam. — Nicodemus 
doubtless  recalled  with  deep  ejnotion,  as  he 
aided  in  taking  down  the  body,  what  Jesus 
had  said  in  their  conversation  of  three  years 
before  (John3:-u):  "As  Moses  lifted  up  the 
serpent  in  the  wilderness,  even  so  must  the 
Son  of  man  be  lifted  up." — The  linen  cloth, 
in  consequence  of  their  haste,  was  probably 
not  torn  into  many  narrow  strips,  as  in  the 
case  of  Lazarus  (Jnhn  11 :  44\  but  into  several 
pieces,  and  these  are  called  cloths  (plural)  in 
John  19:  40;  20:  5-7;  Luke  24:  12.  There 
was  also  a  napkin,  or  as  we  should  say,  hand- 
kerchief (John  20: 7),  probably  put  under  the 
chin  and  tied  over  the  head,  so  as  to  keep  the 
features  in  position,  (comp.  John  11 ;  44).  In 
his  own  new  tomb.  It  was  a  special  honor 
to  occupy  a  new  tomb,  like  riding  the  ass's 
colt,  "whereon  no  man  ever  yet  sat,"  see 
above  on  21 :  2;  and  all  the  more  that  it  was 
the  tomb  of  a  wealthy  member  of  the  San- 
hedrin. Comp.  Isa.  53:9.  Which  he  had 
hewn  out  in  the  rock  (Mark  and  Luke 
likewise),  a  better  kind  of  tomb  than  a  cave 
(John  n: so),  less  subject  to  dripping  water,  and 
to  decay  of  the  walls.  The  rock  tombs  now 
found  around  Jerusalem  usually  present  a 
number  of  recesses  in  the  walls,  each   large 


Ch.  XXVII.] 


MATTHEW. 


581 


61  And  there  was  Mary  Magdalene,  and  the  other 
Mary,  sitting  over  against  the  sepulchre. 

62  Now  the  next  day,  that  followed  the  day  of  the 
preparation,  the  chief  priests  and  Pharisees  came  to- 
gether unto  Pilate, 

3  Saying,  Sir,  we  remember  that  that  deceiver  said, 
while  he  was  yet  alive,  After  three  days  I  will  rise 
again. 


61  the  tomb,  and, departed.  And  Mary  Magdalene 
was  there,  and  the  other  Mary,  sitting  over  agaiust 
the  sepulchre. 

62  Now  on  the  morrow,  which  is  the  day  after  the 
Preparation,  the  chief  priests  and  the  Pharisees  were 

63  gathered  together  unto  Pilate,  saying.  Sir,  we  re- 
member that  that  deceiver  said,  while  he  was  yet 


enough  to  hold  one  body.    Rolled  a  great 

stone,  too  large  to  lift;  comp.  Mark  16:3, 
and  below  28 :  2.  This  was  designed  to  keep 
out  beasts  and  birds  of  prey,  and  petty  thieves. 
The  Talmud  (Keim)  often  mentions  the^ro^aZ, 
'roll-stone,'  in  describing  interments.  One 
large  tomb  now  exists,  half  a  mile  or  so  north 
of  the  city,  which  has  a  circular  stone,  like  a 
millstone  on  edge,  cut  from  the  solid  rock, 
with  the  channel  in  which  it  revolves  (see 
engraving  in  Clarke  on  Mark,  or  Hovey  on 
John),  and  originally  furnished  with  a  secret 
fastening,  doubtless  in  the  hope  of  keeping 
out  robbers,  who  might  plunder  the  spices, 
costly  linen,  jewelry.— Mary  Magdalene, 
and  the  other  Mary,  sitting  over  agaiust 
the  sepulchre;  comp.  27:  56.  Luke  adds 
that  they  "beheld  the  tomb,  and  how  his 
body  was  laid,"  so  that  they  knew  whither  to 
go  on  the  next  morning  but  one.  They  would 
naturally  keep  at  some  distance  (27:55)  while 
the  body  was  preparing  for  the  tomb,  and 
thus  might  not  know  how  amply  Nicodemus 
had  anticipated  them  in  providing  spices;  or, 
they  may  have  wished  to  complete  a  process 
which  they  knew  had  been  hastily  performed. 
— Com.  Ver.  quite  confounds  two  Greek  words, 
both  signifying  a  tomb.  The  difference  is  of 
no  great  practical  importance,  but  they  ought 
to  be  kept  distinct,  as  in  Rev. Ver.,  which 
consistently  gives  'tomb'  in  v.  52  f.,  60,  and 
so  in  8:  28;  2-3:  29,  and  'sepulchre'  in  v.  61, 
64,  66  and  28:  1,  and  in  23:  27,  29;  so  in  the 
other  Gospels. 

II.  63-66.  The  sepulchre  sealed  and 
guarded.  This  is  narrated  by  Matt,  alone. 
Next  day,  etc. ;  Rev.  Ver.,  the  morrow, 
which  is  the  day  after  the  Preparation.  The 
Preparation  usually  meant  the  day  of  prepa- 
ration for  the  Sabbath.  This  curious  circum- 
locution for  the  Sabbath  may  have  been  used 
(Plump.)  because  the  term  'Sabbath'  would 
in  this  case  have  been  ambiguous,  as  the  day 
of  the  crucifixion  was  itself  observed  as  a 
Sabbath,  being  the  first  day  of  a  feast. 
The  chief  priests  and  Pharisees.  The 
chief  priests  were  at  this  time  mostly  Sud- 


ducees,  and  so  the  two  parties  were  uniting 
in  the  matter.  Comp.  21:  45;  22:  16,  23,  34. 
We  remember,  literally,  we  remembered,  at 
some  time  since  the  crucifixion.  That  de- 
ceiver. They  can  now  assume  that  he  was  a 
deceiver  (comp.  John  7:  12),  since  he  has  been 
put  to  a  disgraceful  death.  The  world  is 
much  disposed  to  judge  character  by  circum- 
stances and  outward  results.  After  three 
days  I  will  rise  again.  The  present  tense 
(Rev.  Ver.)  gives  an  assured  fact,  comp.  2:  4; 
26 :  2.  There  is  record  of  his  predicting  this  in 
16:  21 ;  17:  23;  20:  19.  We  do  not  know  how 
the  rulers  learned  that  he  had  made  such  a  pre- 
diction ;  possibly  from  Judas,  when  he  first 
came  to  them.  (26:15.)  How  can  we  account 
for  the  fact  that  the  rulers  remembered,  while 
the  disciples  seem  to  have  forgotten  the 
prediction?  It  is  probable  that  the  latter 
regarded  the  whole  idea  of  the  Messiah's 
being  killed  and  rising  again  as  something 
figurative.  Peter,  James,  and  John,  being 
directed  to  tell  no  man  of  the  Transfiguration 
"save  when  the  Son  of  man  should  have 
risen  again  from  the  dead,"  were  accustomed 
to  "question  one  with  another  what  the  ris- 
ing from  the  dead  should  mean."  (Mark9:9f.) 
They  could  not  believe  that  the  glorious  King 
Messiah  would  be  literally  killed  and  literally 
rise  again.  Comp.  on  17:  9.  Men  are  much 
disposed  to  "interpret  spiritually"  when  the 
literal  sense  conflicts  with  their  fixed  opinions. 
If  taken  as  only  meaning  something  figura- 
tive, the  prediction  would  be  more  readily 
forgotten,  till  the  literal  fulfillment  brought  it 
to  mind.  So  the  angels  said  to  the  women 
(Luke24:6),  "  Remcmbcr  how  he  spake  unto 
you  when  he  was  yet  in  Galilee,  saying  that 
the  Son  of  man  must  .  .  .  the  third  day  rise 
again."  The  rulers,  on  the  other  hand,  when 
they  heard  of  such  a  prediction,  would  think 
of  it  only  in  a  literal  sense,  and  so  they  re- 
membered it. 

After  three  days  has  been  insisted  on  by 
some  as  showing,  here  and  in  Mark  9:  31 
(correct  text\  that  Jesus  must  have  lain  sev- 
enty-two hours  in  the  tomb,  which  tiiey  sup- 


682 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXVII. 


6t  CommRnd  therefore  that  the  sepulchre  be  made 
sure  until  the  third  day,  lest  his  disciples  come  by 
night,  and  steal  him  away,  and  say  uiuo  the  people,  He 
is  risen  from  the  dead:  so  the  last  error  shall  be  worse 
than  the  first. 

(m  Pilate  said  unto  them.  Ye  have  a  watch  :  go  your 
wav,  make  it  as  sure  as  ye  can. 

66  So  they  went,  and  made  the  sepulchre  sure,  seal- 
ing the  stone,  and  setting  a  watch. 


64  alive.  After  three  days  I  rise  again.  Command 
therefore  that  the  sepulchre  be  made  sure  until  the 
third  day,  lest  haply  his  disciples  come  and  steal 
liim  away,  and  say  unto  the  people.  He  is  risen  from 

65  the  dead :  and  the  last  error  will  be  wor^  than  the 
first.    Pilate  said  unto  them,  i  Ye  have  a  guard  :  go, 

66  2  make  it  as  sure  as  ye  can.  So  they  went,  and  made 
the  sepulchre  sure,  sealing  the  stone,  the  guard  being 
with  them. 


1  Or,  Tate  a  guard.. . .2  Or.  make  it  sure,  ai  ye  knoa. 


pose  to  be  confirmed  by  '  three  days  and  three 
nights '  in  Matt.  12 :  40.  But  the  only  natural 
way  to  understand  'after  three  days'  in  the 
mouth  of  Jew,  Greek,  or  Roman,  would  be 
(comp.  on  26:  2)  to  count  both  the  first  and  the 
last  da3',  so  that  it  would  mean  any  time  on 
the  third  day.  The  phrase  '  on  the  third  day  ' 
is  employed  in  seven  independent  statements 
about  our  Lord's  resurrection;  (1)  in  16:21 

(and  Luke  9:  22)  ;     (2)  in   17:  23    (and  Mark  9:  3.  common 

text);  (3)  in  20:  19  (andLukeis:^) ;  (4)  in  Luke 
24 :  7 ;  (5)  in  Luke  24  :  21 ;  (6)  in  Luke  24  :  46  ; 
(7)  in  1  Cor.  15 :  4.  There  is  then  an  appar- 
ent conflict  between  these  seven  statements 
and  Matt.  12:  40,  while  the  other  expression, 
'after  three  days,'  distinctly  sides,  according 
to  known  usage,  with  the  former,  and  is  in- 
deed parallel  in  Mark  9  :  31  (correct  text)  to 
the  former  in  Matt.  16  :  21 ;  Luke  9:  22,  and 
in  Mark  10 :  34  to  Matt.  20 :  19  and  Luke  18 : 
33;  comp.  here  also  v.  64  with  63.  Now  'the 
third  day,'  so  often  used,  cannot  possibly  mean 
after  seventy-two  hours,  while  the  single  state- 
ment 'three  days  and  three  nights'  can  be 
understood  as  meaning  three  onahs  or  night- 
day  periods  of  twenty-four  hours,  any  part  of 
such  a  period  being  counted,  according  to  the 
Talmud,  as  a  whole onaA  (see on  12:  40).  There 
is  therefore  no  propriety  whatever  in  saying 
that  our  Lord  remained  in  the  grave  seventy- 
two  hours.  And  the  narratives  show  that  it 
was  in  fact  a  very  small  portion  of  one  day, 
all  of  a  second,  and  less  than  half  of  a  third 
da3\-rl'est  his  disciples  come.  By  night 
is  given  in  none  of  the  earliest  manuscripts 
and  few  of  the  early  versions,  and  was  ob- 
viously added  from  28 :  13.  Ye  have  a  watch, 
or,  take  a  guard  {margin,  Rev.  Ver.).  The 
Greek  is  ambiguous,  and  either  the  indicative 
or  the  imperative  idea  will  suit  the  connection, 
the  former  being  somewhat  more  probable. 
Make  it  as  sure  as  ye  can.  As  sure  as  ye 
know  (how  to  do),  is  a  more  literal  translation 
(margin,  Rev.  Ver.),  and  would  indicate  such 
measures  as  they  understood  and  actually 
proceeded  to  take.     So  they  went,  not  prob- 


ably a  Sabbath  day's  journey,  though  in  their 
present  mood  tliat  would  not  have  restrained 
them.  Setting  a  watch,  or  as  Rev.  Ver., 
the  guard  being  with  them.  The  guard  were 
present  and  united  with  the  rulers  in  sealing 
the  stone;  and  then  of  course  remained  to 
watch  the  sealed  tomb.  (Comp.  28:  11.)  To 
break  a  seal  fixed  by  government  authority 
would  be  a  high  crime,  bringing  condign  pun- 
ishment. (Comp.  Dan.  6:  17.)  A  cord  was 
probably  drawn  across  the  stone  which  closed 
the  door,  and  its  ends  were  fastened  by  seals 
to  the  walls.  This  labor  was  contrary  to  all 
the  Jewish  ideas  of  Sabbath  observance,  and 
would  be  performed  by  the  chief  priests  and 
Pharisees  only  in  some  extraordinary  emer- 
gency, even  as  they  had  on  the  first  day  of 
the  feast  condemne  1  the  Saviour  and  secured 
his  execution.  We  may  suppose  ("Bib. 
Comm.")  that  they  had  expected  Pilate  him- 
self to  take  all  these  steps,  and  when  he  simply 
authorized  them,  to  do  so,  they  could  not 
draw  back.  It  is  diflScult  to  suppose  they  did 
the  sealing  after  sunset,  when  the  Sabbath 
was  ended,  for  that  would  not  be  'on  the  mor- 
row' (v.  62)  after  the  crucifixion  and  inter- 
ment. 

HOMILETICAL    AND   PRACTICAL. 

V.  57.  Joseph  of  Arimathea.  1)  A  mem- 
ber of  the  Sanhedrin,  who  had  refused  to  go 
with  the  current.  2)  A  man  of  high  oflScial 
and  social  position,  who  at  a  crisis  was  ready 
to  risk  all.  3)  A  wealthy  man,  whom  the 
governor  would  listen  to,  and  who  could 
offer  the  most  honorable  burial  to  the  body  of 
the  crucified.  4)  A  man  who  looked  for  the 
kingdom  of  God  and  knew  it  when  he  found 
it.  5)  A  disciple  of  Christ,  whose  timidity  we 
must  not  judge  harshly,  since  he  came  out  so 
grandly  at  last. — Henry:  "Worldly  wealth, 
though  it  is  to  many  an  objection  in  religion's 
way,  yet  in  some  services  to  be  done  for  Christ 
it  is  an  advantage  and  an  opportunity,  and  it 
is  well  for  those  who  have  it,  if  withal  they 
have  a  heart  to  use  it  for  God's  glory.' 


Ch.  XXVIII.] 


MATTHEW. 


583 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 


IN  the  end  of  the  sabbath,  as  it  began  to  dawn  toward  I 
the  first  day  of  the  week,  came  Mary  Magdalene 
and  the  other  Mary  to  see  the  sepulchre.  I 


1      Now  late  on  the  sabbath  day,  as  it  began  to  dawn 
toward  the  tirst  day  of  tne  week,  came  Mary  Magda- 


"  Resting  from  his  work  to-day, 
In  the  tomb  the  Saviour  lay  ; 
Still  he  slept,  from  head  to  feet 
Shrouded  in  the  winding-sheet, 
Lying  in  the  rock  alone, 
Hidden  by  the  sealed  stone. 

"  Let  me  hew  thee.  Lord,  a  shrine 
In  this  rocky  heart  of  mine, 
Where,  in  pure  embalmed  cell, 
None  but  thou  may  ever  dwell. 

"  Myrrh  and  spices  will  I  bring, 
True  aflfection's  offering ; 
Close  the  door  from  sight  and  sound 
Of  the  busy  world  around ; 
And  in  patient  watch  remain 
Till  my  Lord  appear  again." 

T.  Whytehead,  1842. 

V.  66.  Chrys.  :  "They  who  seized  him 
when  living,  are  afraid  of  him  when  dead. 
And  3'et  if  he  had  been  a  mere  man,  they  had 
reason  to  have  taken  courage.  But  that  tiiey 
might  learn,  that  when  living  also  he  ondured 
of  his  will  what  he  did  endure;  behold,  botli 
a  seal,  a  stone,  and  a  watch,  and  they  were 
not  able  to  hold  him." 


Ch.  28:  1-15.  The  Resurrection  of 
Jesus. 

Found  also  in  Mark  16:  1-11  ;  Luke  24:  1- 
12;  John  20:  1-18.  Comp.  1  Cor.  15:  1-8. 
The  live  narratives  of  our  Lord's  resurrection 
and  appearances  differ  much  as  to  the  details, 
but  only  in  the  way  common  when  there  are 
several  independent  and  brief  accounts  of  the 
same  series  of  events.  If  the  narratives  are 
found  to  agree  substantially,  then  the  differ- 
ences of  detail  show  them  to  be  independent, 
and  really  strengthen  their  credibility.  The 
details  in  this  case  can  all  be  harmonized  by 
reasonable  suppositions.  If  at  some  points 
the  only  explanations  thus  far  offered  seem 
artificial  and  strained,  we  mu.st  remember  that 
the  total  information  given  on  the  suhject  is 
quite  limited  and  yet  embraces  a  great  varietj' 
of  distinct  matters,  and  it  could  not  be  ex- 
pected that  the  relations  between  these  \v<)uld 
be  everywhere  made  perfectly  clear;  also  that 
the  progress  of  research  is  in  every  generation 
clearing  up  some  question  tiiat  was  long  con- 


sidered difficult.  The  sacred  writers  do  not 
treat  their  Lord's  resurrection  as  a  doubtful 
point,  needing  to  be  established  by  their  state- 
ments, but  as  an  unquestionable  fact.  Each 
of  them  gives  such  information  concerning  it 
as  bears  upon  the  design  of  his  particular 
writing.  Thus  in  Matt,  the  earthquake  con- 
nects itself  with  that  of  27  :  51 ;  the  report  of 
the  guard  bears  upon  a  story  current  among 
the  Jews;  the  prominence  given  to  Galilee 
accords  with  the  large  space  occupied  in  tliis 
Gospel  by  the  Galilean  ministry;  and  the 
Great  Commission  shows  the  true  nature  of 
the  Messianic  reign,  as  spiritual,  and  destined 
to  be  universal. 

This  section  of  Matt,  divides  itself  into  v. 
1-4,  5-7,  8-10,  11-15. 

I.  1-4.  Certain  devout  women  find  the 
st<me  rolled  away  from  the  sepulchre. — In 
the  end«  etc.  The  Rev.  Ver.  begins  with  7inw, 
the  Greek  de,  the  usual  particle  of  transition. 
It  might  here  be  rendered  'but,'  expressing 
an  opposition  between  the  precautions  of  the 
rulers  and  the  events  which  here  follow. 
End  ofthe  Sabbath,  (Rev.  Ver.,  late  on  the 
Sabbath  day,)  as  it  began  to  dawn  toward 
the  first  day  ofthe  week.  This  opening  ex- 
pression is  not  easy  to  interpret.  'Late  on  the 
Sabbath  day'  is  the  only  natural  and  woll- 
.supported  meaning.  But  the  Jewish  Sabbath 
ended  at  sunset,  while  Matthew's  account 
indicates,  and  the  other  Gospels  distinctly 
declare,  that  our  Lord's  resurrection  occurred 
in  the  early  morning.  The  other  expression, 
'as  it  began  to  dawn,'  might  refer  to  the  be- 
ginning of  the  new  day  after  sunset,  as  it 
apparently  does  in  Luke  28:  54.  There  are 
three  wa3's  in  which  Matthew's  opening 
phrase  may  be  understood,  so  as  not  to  con- 
flict with  the  other  Gospels,  (a)  It  may  per- 
haps mean 'after  the  Sabbath.'  and  many  in- 
sist that  this  is  made  necessary  by  what  follows 
and  by  the  other  accounts.  It  is  not  clearly 
made  out,  but  is  maintained  by  such  author- 
ities as  Fritzscho,  Grimm,  Godet,  and  others, 
that  the  Greek  phrase  can  have  this  meaning, 
(b)  '  Lsite  on  the  Sabbath  day'  may  perhaps 
reckon  the  following  night  as  a  part  of  the 


584 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXVIII. 


2  And,  behold,  there"  was  a  great  earthquake:  for  the 
an^l  of  the  Lord  descended  from  heaven,  and  came 
and  rolled  back  the  stone  from  the  door,  and  sat  upon  it. 

S  His  countenance  was  like  lightning,  and  his  rai- 
ment white  as  snow : 

4  And  for  fear  of  him  the  keepers  did  shake,  and 
became  as  dead  nien. 


2  lene  and  the  other  Mary  to  see  the  sepulchre.  And 
behold,  there  was  a  great  earthquake;  for  an  angel 
of  the  Lord  descended  from  heaven,  and  came  and 

3  rolled  away  the  stone,  and  sat  upon  it.  His  appear- 
ance wiis  as  lightning,  and  his  raiment  white  as 

4  snow :  and  for  fuar  of  him  the  watchers  did  quake. 


a  Or,  had  iM». 


Sabbath,  departing  from  the  Jewish  usage. 
This  interpretation  is  given  by  Me^'er,  and 
vigorously  stated  by  Morison :  "The  difficulty 
vanishes  if  we  suppose  that  the  method  of 
adding  diurnally  the  night  to  the  day,  rather 
than  the  day  to  the  night,  had  got  more  or 
less  into  common  use  among  the  Jews,  so  that 
there  were  two  ways  of  reckoning  complete 
astronomical  days;  namely,  first  by  night- 
days,  and  secondly  by  day-nights.  Here  the 
Evangelist  was  thinking  of  day-night  (see  next 
clause),  and  hence  'late  in  that  day-night' 
would  mean  about  the  end  of  the  night  that 
followed  the  day  of  the  Sabbath."  This  ex- 
planation is  possible,  but  is  certainly  strained, 
(c)  '  Late  in  the  Sabbath  '  maj'^  be  taken  in  its 
ordinary  sense  of  before  sunset,  and  we  may 
understand,  with  McClellan  and  Westcott  on 
John,  that  Matt,  here  mentions  a  previous 
visit  by  the  two  women,  quite  distinct  from 
the  visit  of  next  morning.  This  also  is  pos- 
sible, but  difficult;  for  'the  women'  of  v.  5 
are  almost  necessarily  understood  to  be  those 
of  v.  1  ;  and  after  seeing  the  guard,  if  not  the 
seal,  on  the  previous  visit,  how  could  they 
expect  admission  into  the  tomb  ?  Thus  no 
one  of  the  explanations  is  easy,  and  entirely 
satisfactory  ;  but  as  each  of  them  is  possible, 
it  will  not  do  to  say  that  Matt,  is  here  in  irre- 
concilable conflict  with  the  other  Gospels.  If 
compelled  to  select,  we  should  prefer  (b),  and 
understand  that  Matthew's  opening  statement 
refers  to  the  morning  dawn.  Mark  has  it, 
'  very  early  on  the  first  day  of  the  week .... 
when  the  sun  was  risen,'  which  may  mean 
only  the  first  rays  of  morning  light,  which 
really  come  from  the  sun ;  Luke  says,  '  at 
early  dawn'  ;  John  'while  it  was  yet  dark.' 
The  Orientals  have  always  been  accustomed 
to  early  rising.  The  gates  would  be  closed  at 
sunset  and  opened  at  dawn.  The  first  day 
of  the  week  is,  in  Greek,  a  peculiar  expres- 


sion, answering  to  a  well-known  Kabbinical 
phrase  (Lightf.),  but  there  is  no  doubt  as  to 
its  meaning.  Came  Mary  Magdalene  and 
the  other  Mary ;  the  mother  of  James  the 
Little  and  of  Joses,  27:56;  Mark  15:40. 
Mark  adds  (16:1)  Salome;  Luke  (24:.io)  adds 
Joanna  (com p.  Luke  8:  3),  and  indicates  that 
there  were  yet  others.  There  may  have  been 
two  difl'erent  parties,  that  of  Joanna  and 
others  coming  later;  so  Westcott,  Edersh. 
To  see  the  sepulchre.  The  verb  means  to 
behold,  as  a  spectacle;  so  in  27:55,  and  a 
kindred  term  in  6:  1.  They  designed  also,  if 
it  should  appear  practicable  and  appropriate, 
to  'anoint  him'  (Marki6:i),  and  brought  with 
them  spices  (Lnko  24 :  i)  which  they  had  provided 
the  evening  before,   when  the   Sabbath  was 

past.   (Mark.)        As    thC}'     went  (Mark  16  :  3,  Rev.  Ver.), 

they  were  concerned  about  the  question,  "Who 
shall  roll  us  away  the  stone  from  the  door  of 
the  tomb?"  for  they  knew  from  observation 
of  the  interment  that  ^'  it  was  exceeding  great" 

(Mark  16  :  4,  Rev.  Ver.,  omp.  Matt.  27  :  60),     and    a    ffiau's 

strength  would  be  necessary. 

And  behold.  Matthew  often  thus  intro- 
duces matter  of  special  wonder;  and  here  it 
was  peculiarly  appropriate.  The  account  in 
V.  2-4  is  found  in  this  Gospel  only.  The  great 
earthquake  is  here  distinctly  supernatural, 
but  that  does  not  prove  that  tiie  same  was  true 
in  27:  51.i  As  to  angels,  see  on  18:  10.  The 
comparison  of  the  angel's  appearance  to 
lightningand  his  raiment  to  snow,  recalls  the 
Transfiguration.  The  general  term  rendered 
"appearance"  (R.  V.  )  was  unwarrantably 
restricted  by  Tyn.and  successors  to  the  counte- 
nance, perhaps  from  comparison  of  Dan.  10 :  5. 
The  keepers,  or  watchers,  same  word  as  in 
27:  54.  Shake,  quake,  same  Greek  root  as  in 
the  word  rendered  'earthquake.'  Matthew's 
language  would  allow,  but  does  not  require 
us  to  believe,  that  the  women  saw  the  angel 


iThe  margin  of  Com.  Ver.  here  gave 'had  been'  for  |  lating  the  aorist  by  the  pluperfect.  It  is  only  the  con- 
'  was'  to  indicate  that  the  earthquake,  etc.,  preceded  neclion  in  the  Greek  that  shows  one  action  to  lie  prior 
their  coming.  But  Matthew's  connection  leaves  that  to  the  other,  and  the  connection  can  show  it  in 
doubtful.    There  should  be  great  caution  about  trans-    English. 


Ch.  XXVIII.] 


MATTHEW. 


685 


5  And  the  angel  answered  and  said  nntothe  women, 
Fear  not  ye:  for  1  know  that  ye  seek  Je:>us,  which  was 
crucified : 

6  He  is  not  here :  for  he  is  risen,  as  he  said.  Come, 
see  the  place  where  the  Lord  lay. 


5  and  became  as  dead  men.    And  the  angel  answered 
aud  said  iintu  ihe  women,  tear  not  ye:  lor  I  know 

6  that  ye  seek  Jesus,  who  hath  lieen  crucified.    He  is 
not  here :  for  he  is  risen,  even  as  he  said.    Come, 


roll  away  the  stone;'  Murk  shows  the  con- 
trary, for  while  discussing,  as  they  approach, 
the  question  who  shall  roll  it  away,  '  looking 
up,'  they  see  that  it  is  rolled  back  (perfect 
tense),  they  see  the  result,  not  the  process; 
and  so  Luke  and  John.  They  "were  per- 
plexed" (Luke)  by  finding  the  sepulchre 
open,  but  it  does  not  occur  to  them  that  the 
Lord  has  risen.   See  below  v.  5  f. 

The  Fourth  Gospel,  which  gives  an  account 
of  the  movements  of  Miiry  Magdalene,  says 
that  seeing  the  stone  taken  away  she  ran  to 
Peter  and  John  and  said,  "  They  have  taken 
away  the  Lord  out  of  the  tomb,  and  we  know 
not  where  they  have  laid  him."  Observe 
that  'we'  accords  with  the  statement  of  Matt, 
that  she  had  gone  in  company.  She  had  evi- 
dently no  idea  thatthe  Lord  had  come  to  life. 
(Comp.  also  .John  20:  13.)  Peter  was  probably 
at  John's  place  of  resiJence  in  the  city. 
(johui9:27.)  They  appear  to  have  been  old 
friends  (comp.  on  26:  17)  ;  John  had  secured 
Peter's  admission  to  the  court  of  the  high 
priest,  where  the  mournful  fall  occurred,  and 
now  received  Peter,  penitent  and  ashamed, 
to  his  own  abode.  So  Peter  and  John  set 
forth,  running  towards  the  tomb  (Johu20:3f.), 
followed  by  Mary  Magdalene. 

II.  5-7.  An  angel  tells  them  that  Jesus  is 

risen.        (Mark  16:  5-7;  Luke  i*  :*-«.)        The    ailgCl     is 

here  obviously  the  one  that  had  rolled  away 
the  stone.  Mark,  who  has  not  told  how  the 
stone  was  rolled  away,  says  that  "entering 
into  the  tomb  they  saw  a  young  man  sittingon 
the  right  side,  arrayed  in  a  white  robe,"  Rev. 
Ver.  As  this  young  man  said  what  Matt, 
ascribes  to  the  angel,  we  understand  that  he 
was  the  angel.  Luke  says  "tw>men  stood 
by  iheni  in  dazzling  apparel,"  Rev.  Ver.,  and 
gave  them  the  same  information.  Some  un- 
derstand that  this  was  at  a  later  point,  and 
that  is  possible.  But  we  have  had  several  in- 
stances of  one  person  mentioned  in  a  narra- 
tive, and  two  persons  in  another  narrative  of 


thesameevent.  (Comp.  on8:  28;  20:  30.)  We 
have  only  to  suppose  here,  as  in  those  cases, 
that  one  of  the  two  was  more  conspicuous  and 
acted  as  spokesman,  and  the  variety  of  state- 
ment becomes  natural.  John  also  tells  that 
Mary  Magdalene  presently  saw  "two  angels 
in  white  sitting,  one  at  the  head,  and  one  at 
the  feet,  where  the  body  of  Jesus  had  lain." 
The  images  used  in  the  several  narratives  to 
describe  the  appearance  of  the  angel  or  angels, 
differ  precisely  as  at  the  Transfiguration.  The 
different  positions  and  postures  mentioned 
are  readily  understood  as  obtaining  at  differ- 
ent times  during  the  rapid  series  of  events. 
Such  slight  points  of  disagreement  only  add 
to  the  naturalness  and  verisimilitude  of  the 
total  report. 

Answered  (comp.  on  11 :  25),  responded  to 
their  look  of  perplexity,  amazement,  and  fear 
(Mark  and  Luke).  Luke  says  that  in  affright 
they  "bowed  down  their  faces  to  the  earth," 
Rev.  Ver.  And  said  nnto  the  women. 
We  know  from  John  that  Mary  Magdalene 
had  now  left,  but  we  have  seen  that  Salome 
and  Joanna,  and  apparently  others,  were 
present  with 'the  other  Mary.'  Fear  not 
ye,  with  emphasis  on  'j'e,'  as  it  is  separately 
expressed  in  the  Greek;  not  so  in  v.  10.  The 
guard  might  well  be  alarmed  (t.  «),  but  these 
who  came  to  seek  Jesus  had  no  cause  for  fear. 
For  I  know.  This  gives  a  remedy  for  fear 
by  telling  the  great  reason  they  have  for  joy ; 
comp.  V.  8.  Jesus,  which  was  crucified, 
or  sinjply  ^  Jesus  the  crucified.'  For  he  is 
risen,  as  he  said.  In  Luke  (2«:6f.)  they  are 
bidden  to  remember  how  when  still  in  Galilee 
he  predicted  that  he  would  be  crucified  and 
rise  again  the  third  day.  Come,  see  the 
place  where  the  Lord  lay.  'AVhere  he 
lay'  (margin,  Rev.  Ver.)  is  probably  correct." 
John  vividly  describes  (20:5(r.)  the  appearance 
of  the  tomb,  as  seen  (a  little  later)  by  himself 
and  Peter;  and  intimates  that  the  orderly 
disposition  of  the  linen  cloths  and  the  hand- 


I'The  stone'  stands  without  addition  in  K  B  D,  sev-  |  Memph.,  Arm.,  JFAh.,  Orlgen,  and  some  other  Greek 
eral  cursives,  Old  Latin,  and  Viilir.,  JE\\\.,  Oripen.  |  Fathers.  'The  Ix>rd'  would  be  easily  insorlod  from 
>rany  documents  added  '  from  the  door,'  and  some  also  some  student's  marplna'  note,  hut  was  not  lil:o!y  to  l)e 
adiled  'of  the  tomb,'  by  assimilation  to  Mark  16:3.  omitted.    The  addition  is  what  W  IL  call  "Western 

sit  is  found  without  'the   Lord'  in  X  B,  33,   102     and  Syrian." 


586 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXVlII. 


7  And  go  quickly,  and  tell  his  disciples  that  he  is 
risen  I'roiu  the  dead  ;  and,  behold,  he  goeth  before  you 
into  Galilee;  there  shall  ye  see  him:  lo,  I  have  told 
you. 

8  And  they  departed  quickly  from  the  sepulchre  with 
fear  and  great  joy  ;  and  did  run  to  bring  his  disciples 
word. 

a  And  as  they  went  to  tell  his  disciples,  behold,  Jesus 
met  them,  saying,  All  hail.  And  they  came  and  held 
him  by  the  fe«t,  and  worshipped  him. 


7  see  the  place  '  where  the  Lord  lny.  And  go  quickly , 
and  tell  his  disciples,  He  is  risenfrom  the  dead  ;  and 
lo,  he  goeth  before  you  into  Galilee;  there  shall  ve 

8  see  him:  lo,  I  have'told  you.  And  they  departed 
quickly  Irom  the  tomb  with  fear  and  great  joy,  and 

9  ran  to  bring  his  disciples  word.  And  behold,  Jesus 
met  them,  saying,  All  hail.    And  they  came  and 


1  Maoy  ancient  «uthi>riUea  read,  whera  he  (ay. 


kerchief,  showing  that  here  was  no  work  of 
robbers,  nor  removal  of  a  dead  body  to 
another  tomb,  caused  him  to  "believe,"  viz., 
that  the  Master  was  alive  again.  This  same 
impressive  situation  the  women  beheld.  And 
go  quickly,  and  tell  his  disciples. 
"Quickly,"  so  that  they  may  thesooner  have 
opportunity  to  rise  out  of  their  distress  and 
despair.  And  behold,  same  word  as  'be- 
hold '  in  V.  2  and  v.  9.  He  goeth  before  you 
into  Galilee,  as  Jesus  had  promised  in 
26 :  32;  and  the  same  verb  is  used  here  as  there, 
meaning  '  he  goes  before  and  leads  you,'  as  a 
shepherd  his  flock.  (Johnio:*.)  The  present 
tense  represents  the  action  as  sure  and  near. 
There  shall  ye  see  him.  This  does  not 
necessarily  exclude  the  possibility  of  their 
seeing  him  elsewhere,  before  or  after,  and  we 
know  from  Luke  and  John  that  they  saw  him 
in  Jeru.<alem  and  vicinity,  both  before  going 
to  Galilee  and  after  returning.  But  tlie  em- 
phasis here  laid  on  their  seeing  him  in  Galilee 
accords  well  with  the  view  (comp.  below  on 
v.  16),  that  on  a  certain  mountain  in  Galilee 
was  to  be  the  great  meeting,  where  many  dis- 
ciples should  receive  the  Great  Commission, 
thus  differencing  this  coming  event  from  the 
appearances  on  that  same  day  at  Jerusalem  to 
a  comparatively  small  number.  Notice 
Luke's  statement  (24:9,  r.  v.)  that  the  women 
"told  all  these  things  to  the  eleven,  and  to  all 
the  rest."  Did  they  not  then  understand  a 
message  to  'the  disciples'  as  not  merely  to 
the  eleven  but  to  all  the  known  disciples  then 
present  at  Jerusalem?  Now  most  of  these 
had  come  from  Galilee,  and  when  the  feast  of 
the  Passover  was  over  it  would  be  natural  that 
they  should  'depart  into  Galilee.'  (v.  to.)  Re- 
member, too,  that  already  on  the  evening 
before  the  crucifixion  Jesus  had  promised  to 
meet  them  in  Galilee,  (as:.'-.'.)  There  is  also 
force  in  the  suggestion  (McClellan)  that  in 
Galilee  their  minds  might  be  more  rapidly 
weaned  away  from  the  notion  of  a  temporal 


kingdom,  which  partially  reasserted  itself 
afterwards  when  they  returned  to  Jerusalem 
before  the  ascension.  (Aot3i:6.) — Lo,  I  have 
told  you.  Here  Mark,  who  has  agreed  with 
Matt,  almost  word  for  word  through  several 
lines,  has  'even  ashe  told  you.'  Some  "West- 
ern" documents  changed  Mark  to  be  like 
Matthew. 

ly.  8-10.  Jesus  meets  them  as  they  hasten 
away.  Mark  16 :  8  Quickly,  as  the  angel 
bade  them,  v.  7;  and  did  run.  The  word 
sepulchre.  Rev.  Ver.,  tomb,  changes  from 
that  of  V.  1  (comp.  on  27:  61),  though  there  is 
no  important  difference  in  substantial  mean- 
ing. With  fear  and  great  joy.  The  fear 
(v. 5)  has  not  ceased,  but  it  has  become  mingled 
with  great  joy.  Mark  (i6:8.  r.  v.)  says  strongly, 
"for  trembling  and  astonishment  had  come 
upon  them."  He  adds,  "  and  they  said  noth- 
i"ng  to  any  one;  for  they  were  afraid,"  i.  e., 
they  spoke  to  no  one  they  met  on  the  way, 
being  too  much  occupied  with  the  fear  pro- 
duced by  what  had  occurred.  To  bring  his 
disciples  word.  The  most  of  the  disciples 
were  not  at  the  same  place  as  Peter  and  John. 
It  has  been  suggested  that  they  probably  re- 
tired to  Bethany,  as  they  and  the  Master  had 
been  wont  to  do  every  evening.  (^Luke  21:37.) 
Jesus  met  them  saying.  All  hail.  This  is 
simply  the  common  Greek  salutation,  ren- 
dered '  hail '  in  26  :  49;  27 :  30,  and  tbere  is  no 
reason  for  rendering  it  otherwise  here.  The 
'air  was  introduced  by  Tyndale.  The  com- 
mon text  prefixes  'as  they  went  to  tell  his 
disciples,'  but  this  is  a  mere  explanatory  ad- 
dition brought  in  from  the  margin.  Held 
him,  literally,  seized  or  'grasped,'  the  action 
showing  great  humility  and  veneration.  Tliis 
was  not  censured,  and  yet  the  Saviour  said  to 

Mary      Magdalene       (John   2O:   n.  Rev.  Ver.,  morsrm), 

"Take  not  hold  on  me;  for  I  am  not  yet  as- 
cended unto  the  Father."  The  most  probable 
explanation  of  the  difference  is  that  Mary 
supposed  this  was  only  the  Master's  "spirit," 


Cn.  XXVIIL] 


MATTHEW. 


587 


10  Then  said  Jesus  unto  them,  Be  not  afraiil:  go  tell 
my  brethren  that  they  go  into  Galilee,  aud  there  shall 
they  see  me. 

11  Now  when  they  were  going,  behold,  some  of  the 
watch  came  into  the  city,  and  shewed  unto  the  ehiel' 
priests  all  the  things  that  were  done. 


10  took  hoi  J  of  his  feet,  and  worshipped  him.  Then 
saith  .lesiis  unto  them,  Fear  not :  go  tell  my  breth- 
ren that  they  depart  into  Galilee,  and  there  shall 
they  see  me, 

11  Now  while  they  were  going,  behold,  some  of  the 
guard  came  into  the  city,  and  told  unto  the  chiSf 


as  the  disciples  did  the  same  evening  (Luke24: 37), 
and  was  proposing  to  test  the  reality  of  the 
bodily  appearance,  which  experiment  Jesus 
rebuked.  Worshipped.  Bengel :  "Jesus 
before  his  passion  was  worshipped  by  others 
rather  than  his  disciples."  Go  tell,  my 
brethren.  It  was  special  kindness  thus  to 
speak  of  them  (conip.  12:  50;  2o :  40;  John 
20:  17),  when  they  were  likely  to  feel  special 
humiliation  at  the  thouglit  that  they  had  all 
forsaken  him,  and  one  of  them  denied  him. 
It  was  apparently  for  the  same  purpose  that 
the  angel  had  expressly  added  the  name  of 
Peter  (Marki6:7),  lest  the  sadly  fallen  one 
should  fear  to  think  that  a  message  to  the  dis- 
ciples of  Jesus  could  any  longer  be  regarded 
as  a  message  to  him. 

Meantime  Peter  and  John  arrived  at  the 
tomb,  saw  it  empty,  and  returned  home. 
(John  20: 3-10.)  Mary  Magdalene  remained  be- 
hind, standing  without,  weeping.  And  pres- 
ently Jesus  appeared  to  her,  in  that  aifecting 
interview  which  John  describes  in  20:  11-18. 
If  the  expression  '  he  appeared  first  to  Mary 
Magdalene'  (Marki6:9)  be  regarded  as  genuine 
and  chronological,  then  it  may  be  thought 
that  as  she  departed  to  tell  the  disciples 
(Johu20:i8),  Jesus  also  departed,  and  overtook 
the  other  women.  As  he  suddenly  appeared 
that  evening  in  a  room  with  closed  doors 
(John20:i9),  there  was  already,  from  the  resur- 
rection onward,  something  supernatural  in  his 
bodily  condition  and  movements,  and  so  it  may 
be  that  he  overtook  them,  though  they  were 
running.  But  if  Mark  16:  9-20  be  considered 
spurious,'  or  if  'first'  be  there  understood 
to  mean  simply  the  first  of  the  three  appear- 
ances which  that  passage  describes,  then  we 
can  dispense  with  the  supposition  just  made 
as  to  locomotion,  and  suppose  that  Jesus  '  met ' 
the  other  women  a  few  moments  after  their 
departure,  and  then,  returning  to  the  tomb, 
appeared  to  Mary  Magdalene. 

The  question  has  been  frequently  discussed, 


why  these  angelic  appearances,  and  first  ap- 
pearances of  the  Lord  himself,  were  made 
only  to  women.  Tlie  women  went  early,  and 
being  the  first  believers  present,  gained  the 
first  knowledge  of  what  had  occurred.  But 
why  did  neither  the  angels  nor  the  Lord  ap- 
pear to  Peter  and  John?  If  we  adopt  the 
simpler  view  as  above,  that  Jesus  appeared 
first  to  the  women  on  their  way  (periiaps  to 
Bethany),  and  then  returning  appeared  to 
Mary  Magdalene,  it  might  be  enough  to  sup- 
pose that  he  did  not  reach  the  tomb  till  after 
Peter  and  John  left.  As  to  the  angels,  it 
would  be  a  question  whether  the  women  re- 
ceived the  angelic  communication  because  of 
their  faith,  or  needed  it  in  order  to  faith. 
John  believed,  merely  from  observing  the 
order  that  prevailed  in  the  emptj'  tomb;  and 
Peter  was  the  first  person  to  whom  the  L«rd 
afterwards  appeared  in  the  course  of  the  day. 

(I.uke24:34.) 

V.  11-15.  False  report  by  some  of  the 
guard.  This  is  found  in  Matt.  only.  It  was 
natural  that  he,  rather  than  the  other  Evan- 
gelists, should  give  it,  because  he  wrote  es- 
pecially for  Jews,  among  whom  this  report 
had  spread,  (v.  is.)  When  they  were  going. 
The  events  were  exciting,  and  nobody  de- 
layed. Some  of  the  watch  came  into  the 
city  ;  perhaps  the  rest  remained  until  ofl[icially 
authorized  to  leave.  And  shewed  unto  the 
chief  priests.  These  had  taken  them  out  to 
the  sepulchre  (27:65f.),  and  very  likely  stated 
their  fear  that  the  disciples  of  the  buried  one 
would  come  and  steal  him  away.  At  any 
rate,  the  chief  priests  had  stationed  them,  by 
Pilate's  permission,  and  to  the  chief  priests 
they  reported.  According  to  Roman  disci- 
pline, they  were  liable  to  very  severe  punish- 
ment for  losing  what  they  guarded.  They 
thought  that  an  account  of  the  angelic  appear- 
ance and  the  stone  rolled  away  would  have 
influence  with  the  Jewish  authorities,  and  so 
their  crime  as  soldiers  might  somehow  be  for- 


iThis  is  a  question  which,  in  the  present  state  of  |  strong  (see  W  H.,  Appendix,  p.  28-51),  that  we  think  it 
knowledge,  it  is  very  hard  to  determine.  Rut  the  ex-  should  not  now  be  appeale<i  to  for  proof  texts,  nor  in- 
ternal and  internal  evidence  against  the  passage  is  so  ,  sisled  ou  in  harmonizing  the  Gos]k>1s  at  this  point. 


588 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXVIII. 


12  And  when  they  were  assembled  with  the  elders, 
and  had  tikeu  cuuusel,  they  gave  large  money  unto 
the  soldiers. 

13  Saying,  Say  ye,  His  disciples  came  by  night,  and 
stole  him  au-ay  while  we  slept. 

U  And  if  this  come  to  the  governor's  ears,  we  will 
persuade  him,  and  secure  you. 

15  So  they  took  the  money,  and  did  as  they  were 
taught :  and  this  saying  is  commonly  reported  among 
the  Jews  until  this  day. 


12  priests  all  the  things  that  were  come  to  pass.  And 
when  they  were  as.sembled  with  the  elders,  and  had 
taken  counsel,  they  g:ive  large  money  unto  the  sol- 

13  diers,  sayinj;.  Say  ye.  His  disciples  came  by  night, 

14  atid  stole  liim  away  while  we  slept.  And  if  this 
icome  to  the  governor's  ears,  we  will  persuade  him, 

15  and  rid  you  of  care.  So  they  took  the  mouov,  and 
did  as  they  were  taught:  and'this  saying  was  spread 
abroad  among  the  Jews,  and  continueth  until  this  day. 


1  Or,  come  to  a  hearing  be/ore  the  governor. 


given.  Accordingly,  they  told  the  chief  priests 
all  the  things  that  were  come  to  pasij. 

The  story  must  hsive  excited  great  surprise 
and  alarm,  biit  it  wrought  no  repentance. 
Alas!  for  these  bad  men,  they  were  now,  like 
Pilate,  so  entangled  by  previous  wiciiedness, 
that  it  seemed  they  must  go  forward.  They 
had  said,  "  Let  him  now  come  down  from  the 
cross,  and  we  will  believe  on  him"  (27:  42; Rev. 
ver.);  behold,  he  has  done  something  still 
more  wonderful,  yet  they  do  not  believe,  no, 
nor  make  further  inquiry,  but  simply  bribe 
the  witnesses  to  report  a  stupid  falsehood. 
Large  money,  or  'quite  a  number  of  silver 
(pieces),'  which  would  most  naturally  mean 
shekels,  26:  15.  His  disciples  .  .  .  stole 
him  away  while  Ave  slept.  The  statement 
is  absurd  on  its  face,  for  if  asleep  they  did  not 
know  it,  and  if  one  of  them  knew,  he  could 
have  awaked  the  others.  It  also  confesses  on 
their  part  a  criminal  breach  of  discipline.  If 
this  come  to  the  governor's  ears  ;  so  Tyn., 
Cran.,  and  K.  James.  It  much  more  likely 
means,  with  Geneva  and  margin,  Rev.  Ver., 
'come  to  be  heard  before  the  govern  or, '1  be 
tried  before  him.  (See  Buttm.,  p.  336.)  We 
Avill  persuade  him  (' we  '  being  emphatic), 
not  simply  by  argument  and  .personal  influ- 
ence, but  by  the  consideration  they  had  just 
brought  to  bear  upon  the  soldiers  themselves. 
Wet.  gives  several  passages  of  Greek  authors 
in  which  mention  is  made  of  persuading 
men  by  means  of  money.  Philo  expressly 
states  (see  on  27:  11)  that  Pilate  was  a  bribe- 
taker, as  we  know  was  true  of  Felix.  (Acts 24: 26.) 
And  secure  you,  literally,  and  make,  you  to 
hf.  ioithoid  anxiety,  the  same  root  as  in  6:  25  ft". 
And  did  as  they  were  taught.  The  rulers, 
doubtless,  kept  quiet  until  after  Pentecost, 
when  the  disciples  began  to  declare  and  to 
prove  that  Jesus  was  risen,  and  then  made  the 
soldiers  tell  their  false  story.   Until  this  day. 


the  time  when  Matt,  wrote  his  Gospel,  comp. 
on  27:8.  Justin  Martyr  says  to  the  Jew 
Tryphon  (ch.  108),  "You  (the  Jews)  selected 
men  and  sent  them  into  all  the  world,  pro- 
claiming that  a  certain  atlieistic  and  lawless 
sect  has  arisen  from' one  Jesus,  a  Galilean  de- 
ceiver, whom  we  crucified,  but  his  disciples 
stole  him  by  night  from  the  tomb,  and  deceive 
men  by  saying  that  he  has  risen  from  tiie  dead 
and  ascended  into  heaven."  The  absurd  and 
blasphemous  mediaeval  Jewish  legend  called 
"Toldoth  Jeshu"  expands  this  allegation. 

Attempts  are  still  made,  by  men  whose  the- 
ories cannot  be  otherwise  maintained,  to  set 
aside  the  fact  of  our  Lord's  resurrection.  No 
intelligent  critic  now  holds  that  Jesus  did  not 
really  die,  or  that  he  died,  but  his  resurrection 
was  a  mere  imposture  on  the  part  of  his  disci- 
ples. The  now  common  theory  of  unbelieving 
critics  is  that  it  was  a  vision,  or,  in  some  waj^ 
an  illusion,  on  their  part.  These  men  are  not 
mere  disinterested  inquirers  after  truth,  as 
they  sometimes  assert;  they  have  to  account 
for  Christianity,  as  having  in  it,  according  to 
them,  nothing  supernatural,  and  yet  as  a  great 
power  in  the  world;  as  affording  the  noblest 
ethical  teachings,  and  presenting  the  unri- 
valed character  of  Christ,  and  as  unquestion- 
ably based  by  its  propagators  on  belief  in  a 
risen  Saviour.  Of  course,  men  so  ingenious 
will  make  some  plausible  show  of  explaining 
away  the  evidence,  or  flinging  around  the 
subject  some  appearance  of  doubt,  as  skillful 
lawj'ers  know  how  to  do  with  the  weakest 
case.  See  an  examination  of  their  theories  in 
Milligan,  Lect.  Ill,  and  brief  and  vigorous 
discussions  in  Godet,  Weiss  ("Life"),  and 
Edersh.;  see  also  a  curious  and  powerful  refu- 
tation of  these  skeptical  theories  by  Keim,  on 
grounds  as  rationalistic  as  their  own. — The 
great  fact  stands.  Westcott  ("Gospel  of  the 
Res."):     "It  has  been  shown  that  the  resur- 


iB  has  here  a  "Western"  reading,  found  in   B  D,  j  '  be  heard  by  the  governor,'  which  was  manifestly  in- 
and  Latin  versions,  Aupo  instead  of  epj,  making  it  mean  1  troduced  for  simplification. 


Ch.  XXVITI.] 


MATTHEW. 


689 


rection  is  not  an  isolated  event  in  history,  liut 
at  once  the  end  and  the  beginning  of  vast  de- 
velopments of  life  and  thought;  that  it  is  the 
climax  of  a  long  series  of  divine  dispensations 
which  find  in  it  their  complement  and  expla- 
nation; that  it  has  formed  the  starting-point 
of  all  progressive  modern  society,  ever  pre- 
senting itself  in  new  lights,  according  to  the 
immediate  wants  of  the  age."  Then  after  re- 
stating the  evidence,  he  adds,  "  Taking  all  the 
evidence  together,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say 
that  there  is  no  single  historic  incident  better 
or  more  variously  supported  than  the  Resur- 
rection of  Christ."  And  let  it  be  remem- 
bered how  much  this  great  fact  carries  with 
it.  The  resurrection  of  Christ  establishes  the 
divine  origin  of  his  mission  and  teachings;  it 
gives  God's  sanction  to  all  his  claims,  and  he 
claimed  to  be  the  Messiah,  to  speak  by  divine 
authority,  to  be  one  with  God.  Rom.  1 :  4. 
Hannn:  "Jesus  had  publicly  periled  his 
reputation  as  the  Christ  of  God,  on^tiie  occur- 
rence of  this  event.  When  challenged  to  give 
some  sign  in  support  of  his  pretensions,  it  was 
to  his  future  resurrection  from  the  dead,  and 
to  it  alone,  that  he  appealed.  (john2:M;Mntt.  12: 
38-41.)  Often,  and  that  in  terms  incapable  of 
misconstruction,  had  our  Lord  foretold  his 
resurrection.  It  carried  ttius  along  with  it  a 
triple  proof  of  the  divinity  of  our  Lord's  mis- 
sion. It  was  the  fulfillment  of  a  prophecy,  as 
well  as  tlie  working  of  a  miracle;  that  miracle 
wrought,  and  that  prophecy  fulfilled,  in  an- 
swer to  a  solemn  and  confident  appeal  made 
beforehand  by  Christ  to  this  event  as  the 
crowning  testimony  to  his  Messiahship." 

HOMILETICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

V.  5.  Seeking  the  Crucified,  finding  the 
Risen  One.— V.  7.  "Go  quickly."  1)  Relig- 
ious excitement  should  prompt  to  religious 
exertion.  2)  Where  others  are  sorrowing,  we 
tell  twice  if  we  tell  quickly,  the  news  that  will 
cheerthem. — "Lo,  I  have  toldyou."  Hknry: 
"  Those  messengers  from  God  that  discharge 
their  trust  faithfully,  mny  take  the  comfort 
of  that,  whatever  the  success  be.  Acts  20:  20  f." 
—V.  8.  EuTHYM. :  "  With  fear,  at  the  strange 
things  they  saw;  with  great  joy,  at  the  good 
news  they  heard.'' — V.  9.  It  was  while  the}' 
were  hastening  to  honor  the  Saviour  and  re- 
joice his  disciples,  that  he  met  them. — V.  10. 
The  Saviour  recognizes  the   imjjortance  of 


repetition  in  giving  instruction.  {Comp.  v.  7.) 
— "My  brethren."  1)  This  suggests  humility, 
at  our  utter  un worthiness  of  the  honor.  2)  It 
encourages  return  if  we  have  forsaken  him. 

3)  It  stimulates  to  diligence  in  doing  the  will 
of  God,  12  :  50.  4)  It  reminds  us  that  we  can 
serve  him  by  serving  the  least  of  his  brethren, 
25:40.  Hall:  "Beloved  Jesus,  how  dost 
thou  raise  the  titles  of  thy  followers  with 
thyself  I  At  first  they  were  thy  servants,  then 
disciples,  a  little  before  thy  death  they  were 
thy  friends ;  now,  after  thy  resurrection,  they 
are  thy  brethren." — V.  11-15.  The  chief  priests 
and  the  guard.  1)  No  multiplication  of  evi- 
dence will  convince  those  who  are  stubbornly 
resolved  not  to  believe.  2)  Think  of  religious 
teachers  serving  God  by  a  purchased  lie.  3) 
Bribery  required  further  and  heavier  bribes; 
first  a  trifle  to  Judas,  now  large  money  to  the 
soldiers,  and  presently,  perhaps,  the  governor. 

4)  A  falsehood  will  be  long-lived  if  it  suits 
men's  prejudices,  (v.  is.)  5)  Eftbrts  against  the 
truth  sometimes  help  its  progress ;  the  seal 
and  the  guard  only  make  it  more  clear  that 
the  Saviour  rose  from  the  dead. — V.  13. 
ScHAFF :  "  Men  in  the  infatuation  of  unbelief 
will  believe  any  story,  however  improbable." 
— V.  15.  Chrys.  :  "  Seest  thou  again  the  di.s- 
ciples'  love  of  truth,  how  they  are  not  ashamed 
of  saj'ing  even  this,  that  such  a  report  pre- 
vailed against  them." 

The  resurrection  of  Christ  is  not  only  a  pil- 
lar of  Christian  evidence,  but  has  important 
theological  and  practical  relations,  (a)  It 
completed  his  work  of  atonement,  and  stamped 
it  with  divine  approval ;  Rom.  4:  24  f.  ;  8:  44 ; 
2  Cor.  5:  15.  (Rev.  Ver.)  Accordingly,  to 
believe  that  God  raised  the  Lord  Jesus  from 
the  dead  is  to  believe  the  gospel ;  Rom.  10:  9. 
See  Milligan,  "Lect."  IV".  (b)  It  is  the 
ground  and  pledge  of  his  people's  resurrection. 
(1)  Of  their  spiritual  resurrection,  to  walk  in 
nevmess  of  life;  Rom.  6:4;  Col.  2:  12  f. ; 
3:1-4.  See  We-stcott,  "The  Gospel  of  the 
Resurrection";  Liddon,  "Easter  Sermons," 
2  vols.,  1885,  (treating  numerous  aspects  and 
relations  of  our  Lord's  Resurrection).  (2)  Of 
the  resurrection  of  the  body;  1  Cor.  15:  20; 
1  Thess.  4:  14  ;  Phil.  3  :  10  f.  See  Candlish, 
"Life  in  a  Risen  Saviour"  (Lectures  on 
1  Cor.  16) ;  Liddon.  (c)  It  is  represented  in 
baptism;  Rom.  and  Col.  (as  above),  (d)  It 
is  celebrated  on  the  Lord's  Day. 


590 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXVIII. 


16  Then  the  eleven  disciples  went  away  into  Galilee,  1 16      But   the  eleven  disciples  went  into  Galilee,  unto 
into  a  mouutaiu  where  Jesus  had  appuiuied  them.  |       tb«  mouutaiu   where  Jesus  had   appointed  theui. 


16-20.  Jksits  Appears  to  the  Disci- 
PLKS  AMD  Gives  them  a  Commission. 

Found  also  in  Mark  16:  9-20;  Luke  24:  13- 
53;  John  20:  19  to  22 :  25 ;  1  Cor.  15:1-8. 
Combining  the  four  Gospels  and  Paul's  ac- 
count we  find  recorded  ten  appearances  of  our 
Lord  between  the  resurrection  and  the  ascen- 
sion ;  comp.  the  Harmonies  of  Kobinson  and 
Clark,  and  that  of  Augustine,  IIL  §  83;  also 
Westcott  on  John,  beginning  of  chap.  20.  (1) 
To  the  women  ;  in  Matt.  (2)  To  Mary  Mag- 
dalene; in  John  [and  Mark].  (3)  To  Simon 
Peter;  in  Luke  and  Paul.  (4)  To  the  two 
going  to  Emmaus;  in  Luke  [and  Mark].  (5) 
To  the  apostles,  exceptThomas;  in  Luke,  John 
[and  Mark].  —  These  five  appearances  were 
on  the  day  of  the  resurrection,  and  at  or  near 
Jerusalem.  (6)  To  the  apostles,  including 
Thomas,  a  week  later  at  Jerusalem  ;  in  John 
and  Paul.  (7)  To  seven  disciples  at  the  Sea 
of  Galilee;  in  John.  (8)  To  the  apostles,  and 
probably  at  the  same  time  to  above  five  hun- 
dred brethren,  on  a  mountain  in  Galilee;  in 
Matt,  and  Paul.  (9j  To  James;  in  Paul. 
(10)  To  the  apostles,  just  before  the  ascension  ; 
in  Luke;  (Acts)  and  Paul. — Then  comes  the 
Ascension;  in  Luke,  Gospel  and  Acts  [and 
in  Mark]. — Of  these  ten  appearances  Matt, 
records  but  two,  viz.,  1  and  8;  Luke  records 
four;  John  four;  Paul  five;  Mark  (if  16:  9- 
20  be  genuine),  three.  Thus  the  events  fol- 
lowing the  resurrection  are  to  be  sought  much 
more  in  the  other  narratives  than  in  Matt. 
But  the  one  appearance  and  commission  here 
given  must  be  regarded  as  of  very  great 
interest  and  importance. 

As  to  our  Lord's  appearances  in  general, 
certain  points  may  be  noted,  (a)  He  appeared 
under  a  great  variety  of  circumstances;  as  to 
places,  times  of  day  and  night,  number  of 
persons.  This  seemed  to  leave  no  doubt  of 
the  fact  that  he  had  risen,  and  to  make  his 
followers  thoroughly  familiar  with  it.  (b)  He 
took  great  pains  to  show  that  here  was  a  real 
body,  of  "flesh  and  bones,"  not  "a  spirit"; 
and  that  it  was  the  .same  body,  with  the  marks 
of  crucifixion,  (c)  Yet  he  appeared  only  ten 
times  that  we  know  of,  in  forty  days.  And 
he  never  remained  long  in  their  company. 
He  was  thus  preparing  them  to  live  without 
him.      See  Hanna  and  Geikie.     (d)  He  ap- 


peared suddenly  in  a  room  with  closed  doors 
(John  M:  26),  SO  that  souietimcs  he  was  not  at  first 

recognized.      (Luke  24:  16;  John  21  :  4.)         "With     tllis 

agrees  the  expression  of  Mark  16:  12,  "in  an- 
other (that  is,  in  a  changed)  form."  It  would 
seem  that  his  body  was  already  partially  trans- 
formed, as  it  were  beginning  to  be  glorified. 
This,  with  the  foregoing,  would  prepare  his 
followers  for  thinking  of  him  aright  after  his 
ascension ;  comp.  Ellicott,  Hanna.  Yet  he 
was  not,  as  some  have  thought,  fully  glorified, 
completely  changed  into  a  "spiritual  body," 
at  the  resurrection,  for  he  afterwards  ate  food, 
(e)  He  appeared  only  to  his  disciples,  though 
once  to  above  five  hundred  of  these.  (1)  Per- 
haps they  were  alone  able  to  appreciate  the 
change  in  him;  comp.  Westcott,  "Gosp.  of 
Kes.";  Milligan,  "  Lect.  I."  (2)  Had  he 
appeared  to  others,  we  can  see  that  the  mul- 
titude would  have  blazed  with  fanaticism, 
worse  than  ever;  and  the  rulers  would  have 
furiously  sought  to  slaj'  him  afresh,  as  they 
proposed  with  reference  to  Lazarus.  (John  12  : 
10.)  It  was  necJissary  to  lift  friend  and  foe  to 
the  thought  of  his  spiritual  work ;  and  this 
would  have  been  defeated  by  his  bodily  ap- 
pearance to  the  multitudes  at  this  time. 

Then,  or  btit,  in  opposition  to  what  the  sol- 
diers and  the  chief  priests  did,  the  eleven  dis- 
ciples carried  out  the  Saviour's  direction. 
The  Greek  could  be  rendered  "now,"  as  a 
particle  of  transition,  though  the  connection 
here  indicates  the  other  idea  of  opposition  ; 
but  'then,'  as  in  Com.  Yer.,  would  suggest  a 
notion  quite  foreign  to  the  Greek.  The 
eleven  disciples  went.  Matthew  gives  no 
means  of  judging  how  soon.  But  we  see  from 
John  20:  26  that  it  was  more  than  a  week 
after  the  resurrection,  and  from  Acts  1  :  3  that 
it  was  within  forty  days  thereafter.  It  is 
commonly  taken  for  granted  that  the  commis- 
sion of  V.  19  was  given  shortly  before  the 
ascension,  and  hence  the  arrangement  of  the 
Harmonies  as  above  indicated.  But  this  is  hy 
no  means  certain,  for  in  John  20:  22  ff.,  we  find 
a  commission  given  on  the  very  day  of  the 
resurrection.  So  we  cannot  decide  at  what 
point  in  the  four  weeks  preceding  the  ascen- 
sion the  appearance  recorded  by  Matt,  oc- 
curred. And  if  Matthew's  record  seems  to 
suggest  that  the  disciples  went  promptly  to 


Ch.  XXVIIL] 


MATTHEW. 


591 


17  And  when  they  saw  bim,  they  worshipp«d  him: 
but  some  doubted. 


17  And  when  they  saw  him,  they  worshipped  him:  but 


Gulilee  (after  the  week  required  by  John  20: 
26),  and  that  this  appearance  and  commission 
<!ame  not  many  days  after  their  arrival  in 
Galilee,  there  is  nothing  to  forbid  the  adop- 
tion of  that  view.  If  we  suppose  that  above  five 
Imndred  were  present,  it  would  require  sev- 
eral days  to  circulate  the  private  invitation. 
Into  Galilee.  See  description  of  the  district 
on  4:  12,  2:5.  Matthew's  account  of  our  Lord's 
ministry,  except  the  last  week  or  two,  is  con- 
fined to  the  ministry  in  Galilee.  (4:12-18:35.) 
That  is  probably  the  reason  why  he  seized 
with  exclusive  interest  upon  the  direction 
to  go  to  Galilee  (28:7, 10 ;comp. 26:32),  with 
the  appearance  and  commission  which  fol- 
lowed accordinglj'.  Comp.  on  28:  7.  Luke 
tells  only  of  appearances  in  Jerusalem  and 
vicinity  ;  John  gives  appearances  both  in  Je- 
rusalem and  in  Galilee.  When  it  is  said  that 
Matt,  appears  to  exclude  all  other  appear- 
ances than  those  he  has  described,  it  may  be 
answered  that  from  Luke,  ch.  24,  one  might 
understand  our  Lord's  Ascension  to  have 
taken  place  on  the  day  of  the  resurrection, 
while  from  Luke's  statement  in  Acts  1:  3,  we 
know  that  forty  days  intervened. 

Into  a  (the)  mountain  AVhere  Jesus  had 
appointed  them.  AVe  have  not  been  told  of 
a  mountain,  or  other  particular  place  in  Gali- 
lee, as  appointed  for  the  promised  meeting. 
But  Matt.  (R.  V.)  speaks  of  it  as  '  the  moun- 
tain,' one  definitely  appointed  or  assigned; 
and  there  is  nothing  in  the  other  accounts  to 
conflict  with  this  representation.  "VVe  have 
no  means  of  judging  what  particular  moun- 
tain it  was,  and  conjecture  is  idle.  A  very 
late  and  very  silly  tradition  makes  it  mean 
tlie  northern  part  of  the  Mount  of  Olives, 
.said  to  have  been  called  'Galilee';  .euch  a 
meaning  in  v.  7,  10,  and  in  20:  32,  isoutoftlio 
question.  The  selection  of  a  mountain,  which 
would  be  a  retired  place,  and  the  formal  ap- 
pointment of  the  meeting  at  that  place,  sug-  I 
gests  something  more  than  a  mere  meeting 
with  the  eleven,  such  as  we  know  from  J<ihn 
to  have  been  held  once  and  again  before  leav- 
ing Jerusalem.  Now  Paul  (icor.  i5:b)  says 
that  Jesus  appeared  to  "above  five  hundred 
brethren  at  once,''  the  greater  part  of  whom 
remained  as  living  witnesses  some  twenty- 
seven  years  later.     The  supposition  that  tiiis 


appearance  is  to  be  connected  with  the  one  in 
Matt.,  accounts  for  the  retired  place  and  the 
formal  appointment.     It  also  helps  to  explain 
why  this  meeting  was  to  be  in  Galilee,  both 
because  Galilee  contained  a  larger  number  of 
pronounced  and  trustworthy  disciples  of  Jesus 
than  Judea  or  Perea,  and  because  it  was  far- 
ther from  the  watchful  jealousy  of  the  rulers 
at  Jerusalem.     This  accounts  also  for  the  stress 
laid  at  the  outset  on  going  to  Galilee  and  there 
seeing  him  ;  there  was  to  be  the  great  meeting 
with  many  disciples,  and  the  giving  of  the 
Great  Commission  (comp.   on   v.   7).     These 
two  appearances  are  placed  together  in  the 
Harmonies  of  Kobinson  and  Clark,  and  by 
many  very  able  recent  expositors,  including 
Ellicott,  Godet,   Weiss.     They  worshipped 
him.    This  was  not  merely  homage  to  a  king 
(as  in  2:  2;  9:  18,  ftnd  often),  but  probably 
involved  the  conviction  that  he  was  divine. 
Thomas  had  already  expressed  his  personal 
conviction  to  this  effect.  (J"hn  20:28.)     Even  the 
Saviour's  bodily  appearance  seems  to  have 
been,   since  the  resurrection,  so  altered  and 
spiritualized  (see  above),  that  they  felt  more 
inclined  than  formerly  to  worship  him,  be- 
sides the  awe  with  which  he  was  invested  by 
the  fact  of  having  raised   himself  from  the 
dead.  (John  lo:  is.)    But  some  doubted.    The 
peculiar  Greek  construction  is  the  same  as  in 
26:  67.     The  subject  of  doubt  mu.st  have  been 
whether  this  was  their  Lord  really  come  to 
life.     From  Matt,  alone  we  should  naturally 
understand  that  the  doubters  were  some  of  the 
eleven,  and  this  is  in  itself  entirely  possible, 
even  as  at  first  they  "disbelieved  for  joy' 
(Luke 24 :  41.  R.  V.),  or  from  prcvious  despondency. 
(i,uke24;2i;  John20:25.)    Such  Continued  doubt  is 
more  intelligible  if  we  suppose  this  to  have 
occurred  in  the  earlj*  part  of  the  forty  days. 
The  accounts  all  go  to  show  that  the  apostles 
were  by  no  means  swift  to  accept  the  great 
and  amazing  fact  of  their  Muster's  resurrec- 
tion, and  that  they  became  all  fully  convinced 
nt  last  only  becau.«e  of  multiplied  and  varied 
evidence — a  fact  which  makes  their  final  con- 
viction and  testimony  all  the  more  valuable 
to  us.     Jerome;    "Their  doubting  increases 
our  faith."     If  we  suppo.^e  the   "above  five 
hundred"   to  have  been  present  on  the  same 
occasion,    then    'some    doubted'    may  mean 


592 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXVIII. 


18  And  Jesus  came  and  spake  unto  theiu,  saying,  All 
power  is  given  unto  lueju  lieaven  and  in  earth. 

la  Go  ye  therelore,  and  teacli  all  nations,  baptizing 
them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Sou,  and 
of  the  Uoly  Ghost : 


18  some  doubted.  And  Jesus  came  to  them,  and  spake 
unto  them,  saying,  All  authority  hath  been  given 

19  unto  me  in  heaven  and  on  earth.  Go  ye  therefore, 
and  make  disciples  of  all  the  nations,  baptizing  them 
into  the  name  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son  and  of 


some  of  the  five  hundred,  though  not  of  the 
eleven.  We  should  in  thsit  case  suppose  Matt, 
to  be  writing  simply  as  an  eye-witness,  men- 
tioning persons  whose  presence  his  narrative 
has  not  accounted  for.  Whoever  the  doubters 
were,  we  may  feel  confident  that  their  doubts 
were  removed  by  the  words  that  follow,  and  by 
the  ascension  and  the  Pentecostal  gift.  Some 
take  the  phrase,  and  Jesus  came,  as  sug- 
gesting that  he  suddenly  appeared  at  a  dis- 
tance, and  the  doubting  continued  only  until 
he  came  near.  And  spake  unto  them.  We 
maj'  well  suppose  that  he  first  said  many  other 
things.  What  is  here  given  divides  itself  into 
three  parts;  (a)  The  assertion  of  authority,  v. 
18;  ^b)  The  commission,  v.  19  f . ;  (c)  The 
promise,  v  20  b. 

(a)  18.  All  power.  Jesus  claims  universal 
authority.  We  have  seen  on  9:  6  that  the 
Greek  word  denotes  permission,  privilege, 
right,  authority,  and  it  sometimes  suggests 
the  power  naturally  attendant  upon  author- 
ity, or  necessary  to  enforce  it.  In  this  pas- 
sage ''authority^  is  the  correct  translation,  and 
the  idea  of  corresponding  power  is  suggested. 
All  power  {authority)  in  heaven  and  in 
earth,  evidently  denotes  complete  and  uni- 
versal authority.  Calvin:  "He  must  have 
supreme  and  truly  divine  dominion,  who 
commands  eternal  life  to  be  promised  in  his 
name,  the  whole  world  to  be  reduced  under 
his  swaj-,  and  a  doctrine  to  be  promulgated 
which  is  to  subdue  every  high  thing  and  bring 
low  the  human  race.  And  certainly  the  apos- 
tles would  never  have  been  persuaded  to  at- 
tempt so  arduous  a  task,  had  they  not  known 
that  their  Protector  and  Avenger  was  sitting 
in  the  heavens,  to  whom  supreme  dominion 
had  been  given."  But  by  the  very  fact  of 
saying  'in  heaven  and  in  (or  on)  earth,'  the 
Saviour  showed  that  he  did  not  mean  the 
authority  of  a  temporal  king,  such  as  even 
the  disciples  so  persistently  believed  that  the 
Messiah  would  be.  Is  given,  more  literally, 
was  given,  without  saj'ingwhen,  and  leaving 


it  to  be  understood  that  the  authority  thus 
given  is  still  possessed.  We  might  suppose  a 
reference  to  the  councils  of  eternity,  but  more 
likely  the  gift  was  at  his  incarnation,  as  in 
11:  27,  Kev.  Ver.,  "all  things  have  been  de- 
livered unto  me  of  my  Father,"  and  perhaps 
was  consummated  at  his  resurrection.  Comp. 
in  general  Dan.  7:  13  f.  The  giver  was  God 
the  Father;  comp.  especiall}' John  13:  3  and 
17:  2,  also  Matt.  9:  8;  20:  23;  21:  23;  John 
5:  27;  12:  49.  We  learn  elsewhere  that  tliis 
authority  given  to  the  God-man,  the  Medi- 
ator, is  a  temporary  gift.  When  he  shall  have 
subjected  to  himself  all  opposing  authority 
among  men,  then  he  will  deliver  up  this  dele- 
gated authority  of  the  King  Messiah  to  God, 
even  the  Father,  and  his  special  mediatorial 
dominion  will  be  re-absorbed  into  the  univer- 
sal and  eternal  dominion  of  God  (1  Cor.  15  : 
24-28).  It  is  on  the  basis  of  this  mediatorial 
authority,  in  heaven  and  on  earth,  that  the 
Saviour  issues  his  commission  to  his  followers. 
Go  ye  therefore.  This  'therefore' ^  should 
never  be  overlooked  when  we  think  of  the 
commission  (comp.  'therefore,'  in  Heb.  4:  10). 
It  was  a  despised  Galilean,  a  wandering  and 
homeless  teacher,  that  gave  this  audacious 
command ;  but  it  was  a  teacher  just  raised 
from  the  dead,  and  endowed  by  God  with 
universal  authority.  Hanna :  "When  Jesus 
said,  'Go,  make  disciples  of  all  nations,'  he 
announced  in  the  simplest  and  least  ostenta- 
tious way  the  most  original,  the  broadest,  the 
sublimest  enterprise  that  ever  human  beings 
have  been  called  upon  to  accomplish." 

(b)  19  f,  Jesus  gives  direction  that  all  the 
nations  shall  be  discipled  unto  him,  and 
taught  to  keep  his  commandments.  If  the 
"above  five  hundred"  were  present  (see  above 
on  V.  16),  then  this  commission  was  not  ad- 
dressed to  the  Eleven  only;  and  it  is  plain 
from  Acts  8:  2,  4,  that  the  first  Christians  all 
set  themselves  to  carry  it  out.  Judaism  in 
general  was  not  a  missionary  religion.  It  was 
willing  for  Gentiles  to  come,  as  the  prophets 


1  The  reading  is  not  certain  ;  the  word  Is  omitted  by 
many  documents,  and  may  have  t>een  Inserted  to  bring 
out  the  relation  between  this  and  the  foregoing  clause. 


But  that  relation  evidently  exists,  whether  expressed 
by  a  particle  or  not. 


Ch.  XXVIII.] 


MATTHEW. 


593 


had  predicted  they  would,  but  it  had  no 
thought  of  going.  The  later  Judaism  had 
developed  a  zeal  in  proselyting,  which  in  it- 
self would  have  been  comir.endable ;  but  it 
proselyted  to  mere  formalism  and  hypocrisy  ; 
(comp.  on  23:  15).  Christianity  is  essentially 
a  missionary  religion,  analogous  to  the  great 
conquering  nations,  the  Komans,  English, 
Russians.  It  must  spread,  by  a  law  of  its 
nature  ;  it  must  be  active  at  the  extremities,  or 
it  becomes  chilled  at  the  heart;  must  be  en- 
larging its  circumference,  or  its  very  centre 
tends  to  be  defaced.  We  learn  from  Luke 
(24: 47-49)  that  they  were  not  to  go  immediately, 
but  to  tarry  at  Jerusalem  for  the  promised 
gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit's  power.  Tliis  came 
in  a  very  short  time,  and  yet  they  tarried 
long,  apparently  several  years;  for  the  great 
Pentecost  was  probably  in  a.  d.  30,  and  the 
death  of  Stephen  in  A.  d.  36  or  37.  It  re- 
quired persecution  at  last  to  scatter  them,  and 
then  they  "  went  about  preaching  the  word." 

(aoU8:  4,  Hev.  Ver.) 

Teach,  Rev.  Ver.,  make  disciples  of,  or 
more  exactly,  disciple.  We  greatly  need  an 
English  verb  'disciple,'  for  this  passage,  and 
for  13 :  52  and  Acts  14 :  21.  In  John  4  :  1,  the 
literal  translation  is  '  makes  disciples.'  The 
Syriac  (Pesh.)  here  exactly  reproduces  the 
Greek,  by  means  of  a  causative  form,  prob- 


instruction  (ii:29),  accepting  what  he  says  as 
true  because  he  says  it,  and  submitting  to  his 
requirements  as  right  because  he  makes  them. 
Towards  a  mere  human  and  uninspired 
teacher  we  can  properly  feel  and  act  thus 
only  within  narrow  limits;  but  the  Great 
Teacher  has  perfect  wisdom  and  unlimited 
authority.  We  see  then  that  Christ's  inti- 
mated authority  (v.  is)  is  not  only  the  basis  of 
our  duty  to  disciple  others,  but  the  basis  of  all 
true  discipleship.  His  teacliings  and  require- 
ments are  perfectly  wise  and  righteous  and 
good,  and  we  may  see  this  to  some  extent  at 
the  outset,  and  more  and  more  as  we  go  on  in 
the  disciple's  life ;  but  we  accept  them  at  once, 
and  set  about  conforming  to  them,  because  he 
has  a  perfect  right  to  be  believed  and  obeyed. 
As  to  the  noun  'disciple,'  see  on  5:  1.  We 
know  from  other  Scriptures  that  in  order  to 
men's  becoming  true  disciples  to  Christ,  there 
is  needed,  not  merely'  human  instruction  and 
influence,  but  a  special  work  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  of  God. 

All  (the)  nations,  the  Greek  having  the 
article.  Not  merely  the  contiguous,  or  the 
kindred  nations,  not  merely  the  most  culti- 
vated, but  all  the  nations.  Discipleship  to 
Christ  is  possible  to  all,  necessary  to  all.  Our 
Lord  bus  already  predicted  that  the  good 
news  shall  be  preached   in  the  whole  world 


ably  devised  for  the  purpose,  and  quite  dis-    (m-.k),  and  that  when  he  finally  comes  for 


tinct  from  'teach'  in  v.  20.  The  Latin  and 
the  Coptic  were  unable  to  make  the  distinc- 
tion, and  the  Latin  failure  extended  itself  to 
the  early  English  and  German  translations. 
Some  later  Germans  have  rendered  'make 
disciples  of,'  as  in  several  recent  English  ver- 
si(ms.  The  verb  'disciple'  is  found  once 
in  Shak.     ("All's  Well,"   1,  2,  28),  once  in 


judgment  "before  him  shall  be  gathered  all 
the  nations."  (25:32.)  So  in  the  latest  commis- 
sion, given  just  before  the  ascension,  "and 
that  repentance  and  remission  of  sins  should 
be  preached  in  his  name  unto  all  the  nations, 
beginning  from  Jerusalem."'  (Luke24:4Y,  r.v.) 
And  if  Mark  16  :  9-20.  R.  V.,  be  accepted  as 
genuine,  the  commission  there  given  reads, 


Spenser's  "Faery  Queene,"  b.  iv.,  c.  1),  also  "Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  und  preach  the 
in  Hammond  (d.  A.  D.  1660)  ;  it  is  called  ob-  |  gospel  to  the  whole  creation."  In  Matt, 
solete  by  Webster,  but  recognized  by  Richard-  j  10:  5,  Rev.  Ver.,  the  Twelve  were  forbidden 
son,  Worcester,  Stormonth,  etc.  There  may  j  to  go  "into  any  way  of  the  Gentiles"  ;  but 
be  doubt  as  yet  about  introducing  it  into  a  !  that  was  a  temporary  and  limited  mission; 
popular  version,  though  employed  here  by  j  the  final  and  permanent  mission  made  them 
Am.  Bib.  Un.  and  by  Davidson,  but  it  may  be  |  begin  with  the  Jews  (i.nko24: 47),  but  go  into 
used  in  religious  discourse  with  great  advan-  j  every  way  of  the  Gentiles,  disciple  all  the 
tage.  'Teach,'  in  all  early  English  versions,  nations.  The  idea  of  one  religion  for  all  the 
was  a  very  imperfect  translation,  confounding  !  world  then  seemed  very  strange.  Liddon  (IT, 
this  term  with  that  in  v.  20,  which  really!  247):  "  No  existing  religion  could  a'm  at  it, 
means  'teach.'  To  disciple  a  person  to  Christ  [  since  the  existing  religions  were  believed  to 
is  to  bring  him  into  the  relation  of  pupil  to  j  he  merely  the  products  of  national  instincts 
teacher,  "taking  his  yoke"  of  authoritative  I -md  aspiraiions ;  each  religion  was  part  of  the 

2N 


594 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXVIIL       ^ 


furniture  of  a  nation,  or  at  most  of  a  race. 
Celsus,  looking  out  on  Christianity  in  the 
second  century  of  our  era,  with  the  feelings 
of  Gibbon  or  of  Voltaire,  said  that  a  man  must 
be  out  of  his  mind  to  think  that  Greeks  and 
Barbarians,  Romans  and  Scythians,  bondmen 
and  freemen,  could  ever  have  one  religion. 
Nevertheless  this  was  the  purpose  of  our 
Lord." 

Baptizing  them.  See  the  term  explained 
on  3 :  6.  It  is  here  the  present  participle,' 
as  is  'teaching'  in  the  next  clause.  This  con- 
struction might  grammatically  mean,  if  called 
for  by  the  natural  relation  between  the  actions, 
or  by  the  connection  here,  or  by  the  known 
relations  as  elsewhere  set  forth,  '  disciple  by 
baptizing  ...  by  teaching '  ;  and  so  many 
understand  it.  But  the  general  teachings  of 
Scripture  do  not  allow  us  to  think  that  disci- 
pling  can  be  effected  by  a  ceremony  and  a  sub- 
sequent course  of  instruction  in  Christ's  pre- 
cepts. We  must  therefore  understand  that  the 
present  participles  give  baptizing  and  teach- 
ing as  in  a  general  way  concomitants  of  dis- 
cipling,  the  ceremonj'  attending  it  promptly 
and  once  for  all,  the  instruction  in  precepts 
beginning  immediatelj',  and  continued  with- 
out limit,  from  the  nature  of  the  case. 

In,  or  (Rev.  Ver.)  into,  the  name,  is  the 
most  obvious  and  commonest  translation  of 
the  Greek  phrase  (eis  to  onoma).  The  same 
preposition  and  case  are  found  after  baptize 
in  Acts  8:  16;  19:  5;  1  Cor.  1:  13,  and  (with 
other  nouns)  in  Gal.  3:  27;  Rom.  6:  3  (twice); 
1  Cor.  10:  2;  comp.  also  Matt.  10:  41  f. ; 
18:20.  Now  if  we  take  this  obvious  sense 
'into,'  the  question  will  arise  whether  the 
ceremony  actually  brings  the  person  into  the 
name,  into  Christ,  into  Paul,  Moses,  etc.,  or 
whether  it  only  represents,  symbolizes,  the 
relation  thus  indicated.  Those  who  believe 
in  baptismal  regeneration,  or  in  baptism  as 
constituting  regeneration,  will  of  course  take 
the  phrase  in  the  former  sense;  others  will 
understand  that  the  ceremony  only  represents 
the  person's  introduction  into  the  name,  into 
Christ.  In  either  case  the  idea  denoted  by 
'into'  seems  to  be  a  highly  important,  and 
with  those  who  believe  in  baptismal  regene- 
ration, etc.,  an  essential  element  in  the  signifi- 


cance of  the  ceremony.  Now  it  is  to  be 
observed  that  Luke  in  Acts,  while  twice  using 
'into  the  name'  (eis  to  onoma)  (as  above 
cited),  in  2:  38  has  epi  toi  onomati  (so  also  in 
Matt.  18:  5;  24:  5),  'upon  the  name,'  upon 
this  as  basis  or  ground  of  the  ceremony,  and 
in  10:48  en  toi  onomati,  'in  the  name,' 
within  the  limits  of  it,  with  relation  to  it  and 
it  al<me.  If  then  the  idea  attached  to  'into  ' 
be  highly  important,  or  even  essential,  how 
do  we  account  for  the  fact  that  Luke  uses 
these  other  expressions,  which  maj'  with  some 
effort  be  construed  as  equivalent,  but  will 
quite  fail  to  indicate  the  important  conception 
in  question?  It  would  seem  clear  that  Luke, 
when  recording  the  action  of  the  apostles  in 
carrying  out  the  commission,  did  not  regard 
the  distinctive  notion  of  'into'  as  essential  or 
highly  important,  or  he  would  not  have  used 
that  phrase  twice,  and  twice  the  otherphrases. 
And  those  who  insist  on  the  most  obvious 
translation  of  eis  by  'into,'  must  beware  of 
treating  any  particular  interpretation  of  the 
expression  as  very  important,  in  the  presence 
of  Luke's  usage.  The  question  may  also  arise 
whether  it  is  not  better,  with  the  great  gram- 
matical commentators  Fritzsche  and  Meyer 
(comp.  also  Weiss)  to  understand  eistoonom.a 
as  meaning  in  all  these  cases  '  unto  the  name,' 
with  reference  to  the  name,  as  that  to  which 
the  ceremony  is  restricted.  Then  it  becomes 
plain  at  once  that  Luke's  other  phrases  give 
substantially'  the  same  sense,  and  we  see  why 
he  has  varied  the  expression  at  will.  This 
rendering  is  felt  by  all  to  be  necessary  in  1 
Cor.  10:  2,  'baptized  unto  Moses,'  which  only 
Davidson  ventures  to  translate  'into  Moses.' 
Noyes  says  'into  the  name,'  but  'to  Moses'  ; 
Darby  'to  the  name'  and  'unto  Moses.' 
And  in  Gal.  3:  27;  Rom.  6:  3,  'unto'  gives 
a  thoroughly  appropriate  conception,  'bap- 
tized unto  Christ,'  with  distinct  and  exclu- 
sive reference  to  him;  i.  e.,  the  ceremony 
does  not  refer  to  Moses,  or  to  Paul,  but  to 
Christ.  And  note  especially  the  appropriate, 
ness  in  Rom.  6:  3,  "  all  we  who  were  baptized 
unto  Christ  Jesus  were  baptized  unto  his 
death."  Our  baptism  in  referring  to  Christ 
Jesus  referred  especiallj'  to  his  death.  "We 
were  buried  therefore  with  him  through  the 


1  The  aorist  participle  is  read  by  B  D,  without  other  support,  and  in  obvious  assimilation  to  the  aorist  par- 
ticiple and  verb  which  precede. 


Ch.  XXVIII.] 


MATTHEW. 


595 


baptism  unto  death,"  etc.  "We  believe  then 
that  it  would  be  a  decided  improvement  to 
render  baptize  eis  everywhere  by  'unto.'  If 
this  be  not  done,  it  would  be  less  misleading 
to  retain  the  customary  baptismal  formula  'in 
the  name,'  and  thus  avoid  suggesting  a  con- 
ception which  Luke's  usage  clearly  forbids.* 
Or  if  '  into  '  be  employed  as  the  most  obvious 
translation,  then  we  should  beware  of  treating 
the  distinctive  notion  it  suggests  as  essential 
or  important,  when  Luke  has  evidently  not 
so  considered. 

In  Hebrew  thought  and  feeling,  the  name 
of  God  was  peculiarly  sacred,  as  representing 
him.  It  must  not  be  spoken  irreverently, 
and  later  Jewish  feeling  exaggerated  this  into 
a  rule  that  the  proper  namfe  Yahweh  must 
not  be  pronounced  at  all,  but  another  word 
substituted.  (Comp.  on  22:  44.)  The  name 
of  God  must  not  in  an  oath  be  taken  in  vain, 
but  the  oath  by  that  name  must  be  solemnly 
taken  and  sacredly  kept.  In  numerous  pas- 
sages of  the  Old  Testament,  the  name  of  God 
solemnly  represented  himself;  to  perform  any 
action  with  express  reference  to  his  name  gave 
the  action  a  sacred  character.  And  so  in  the 
New  Testament  use,  '  hallowed  be  thy  name,' 
'did  we  not  prophesy  by  thy  name,'  'in  his 
name  shall  the  Gentiles  hope,'  'where  two  or 
three  are  gathered  together  in  my  name,' 
'many  shall  come  in  my  name,'  etc.  In  such 
phrases  a  great  variety  of  specific  ideas  will 
arise  according  to  the  natural  relations  of  the 
particular  objects  and  actions,  and  the  con- 
nection of  the  statement;  but  in  all  cases  the 
name  is  a  sacred  representative  of  the  person. 
Thus  'baptized  unto  the  name  of  Paul'  is  an 
impressive  way  of  saying  '  baptized  unto 
Paul,'  like  'baptized  unto  Moses' ;  'baptized 
unto  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus'  (Aomsiie;  i9:5) 
and  'baptized  on  (in)  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ'  (Acts 2: 88;  10:48),  are  an  impressive 
equivalent  for 'baptized  unto  Christ'  (o»i.3:27; 
Rom. 6:s);  and  'baptize  unto  the  name  of  the 
Father  and  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit' 
is  a  solemn  way  of  saying  'unto  the  Father, 
and  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Spirit.' 

Baptism  then  is  here  enjoined  as  to  be  per- 
formed with  express  reference  to  the  Holy  1 


Trinity.  Comp.  2  Cor.  13:  14.  From  this,  no 
doubt,  arose  the  quite  early  practice  of  baptiz- 
ing three  times,  a  practice  still  maintained  in 
the  Greek  Church,  and  in  Germany  and 
America  by  the  Tunkers  or  Dunkards,  and 
some  others.  It  is  not  an  unnatural  concep- 
tion, and  not  in  itself  particularly  objection- 
able, but  it  has  no  warrant  in  Scripture;  and 
indeed,  the  form  of  expression  here  employed, 
'unto  the  name'  being  used  only  once,  is 
distinctly  unfavorable  to  that  practice.  It 
should  also  be  discouraged  as  tending  to  exalt 
the  ceremonial  element,  while  New  Test. 
Christianity  has  the  minimum  of  ceremony. 

It  is  very  natural  that  Christians  should 
everywhere  employ  in  baptizing  this  phrase, 
'unto  (into,  in)  the  name  of  the  Father  and 
of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit,'  and  we  see 
no  reason  for  departing  from  it.  But  it  is  of 
doubtful  propriety  to  call  this  a  law,  and  to 
insist  that  baptism  would  not  be  "valid " 
without  the  use  of  this  particular  phrase.  For 
it  must  be  remembered  that  baptize  is  no- 
where else  in  the  New  Test,  associated  with 
this  particular  expression.  In  Acts  and  the 
Epistles  we  find  only 'the  Lord  Jesus,'  or 
'Jesus  Christ,'  or  simply  'Christ.'  We  may 
well  enough  understand  that  this  is  a  com- 
pendious expression,  which  touches  the  main 
point  or  peculiarity  of  the  great  Christian 
purification.  We  could  not  wisely  infer  from 
that  usage  that  it  is  improper  or  undesirable 
to  employ  the  full  expression  given  by  Matt., 
but  we  are  bound  to  understand  that  it  is  not 
indispensable.  There  would  be  nothing  gained 
in  practice  by  using  one  of  the  shorter  phrases 
given  in  Acts  and  Paul,  but  there  is  some- 
thing gained  in  just  conception  if  we  abstain 
from  regarding  the  expression  in  Matt,  as 
having  the  character  of  a  law,  about  which 
we  should  then  have  to  suppose  that  Luke 
and  Paul  had  been  strangely  negligent. 
Pluniptre  fancies  (after  Cyprian,  "Ep.  73," 
c.  17,  18)  that  it  was  enough  for  Jewish  con- 
verts "to  be  baptized  into  the  name  of  Jesus 
as  the  Messiah,"  while  heathen  converts,  who 
"were  without  God  in  the  world,"  and  had 
not  known  the  Father,  needed  the  other  and 
fuller  formula.    But  Paul  has  not  used  it. 


1  Tertulllan  gives  in  nomrn,  but  the  Latin  versions  in 
all  forms,  and  numerous  I^tin  Fathers  quoted  by  Saba- 
tier,  give  in  nomine.    The  Memphitic  seems  to  be  equlv-  | 


alent  to  tn  nomen ;  the  Syriac  cannot  well  make  the 
distinction. 


596 


MATTHEW. 


[Ch.  XXVIII. 


20  Teaching  them  to  observe  all  thinp  whatsoever  I  |  20  the  Holy  Spirit :  teaching  them  to  observe  all  things 
have  commanded  you:  and,  lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  whatsoever  I  commanded  you:  and  lo,  I  am  with 
et^i  unto  the  end  of  the  world.    Amen.  |       you  i  alway,  even  unto  i  the  end  of  the  world. 


1  Or.  tUlthe  daf 2  Or,  emtummation  of  the  age. 


and  his  converts  were  mainly  heathen,^ — It 
was  probably  this  passage  and  the  great  ben- 
ediction of  2  Cor.  13:  14  that  made  the  Eng- 
lish Kevisers  unwilling  to  adopt  the  sugges- 
tion of  their  American  associates,  and  change 
'Holy  Ghost'  into  'Holy  Spirit'  (comp.  on 
1 :  18).  The  former  will,  no  doubt,  long  con- 
tinue to  be  employed  in  certain  phrases  of 
devotion  ;  but  it  would  be  a  gain  to  uniform- 
ity and  clearness  of  rendering,  if  the  latter 
were  everywhere  used  in  the  translations. 

The  design  of  Christian  baptism  seems  to  be 
indicated  as  threefold.  (1)  The  element  em- 
ployed represents  purification;  "arise,  and  be 
baptized,  and  wash  away  thy  sins,  calling  on 
his  name."(Acts22:i6, R.  v.)  This  meaning  it  has 
in  common  with  the  Old  Testament  purifica- 
tions of  every  kind,  being  a  very  impressive 
kind  of  purification,  because  "the  putting 
away  of  the  filth  of  the  flesh"  (iPet3:2i;  is  in 
this  case  so  complete.  (2)  The  action  per- 
formed symbolizes  burial  and  resurrection, 
the  actual  burial  and  resurrection  of  Christ, 
and  the  spiritual  death  and  resurrection  of 
the  believer  in  union  with  Christ.  (Rom.  6:sff. ; 
Gal. 3:27.)  (3)  To  havc  this  ceremony  per- 
formed upon  ourselves  in  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ,  or  in  the  name  of  the  Father  and  of 
the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  is  a  sort  of 
oath  of  allegiance  or  pledge  of  devotion  to 
him  as  our  Savionr,  and  our  God;  we  are 
not  baptized  unto  Mo.ses  or  unto  Paul,  but 
unto  Christ,  unto  the  Trinity.  Hence  it  was 
a  pleasant  fancy  of  the  early  Latin  Christians 
to  call  baptism  a  sncramentum,  the  Roman 
soldier's  oath  of  absolute  devotion  and  obedi- 
ence to  his  general;  though  the  word  sacra- 
ment afterwards  came  to  be  gradually  em- 
ployed in  applications  and  senses  quite  foreign 
to  the  New  Testament. 

Teaching  them  to  observe  all  things 
whatsoever  I  have  commanded  yon.  Bap- 
tism is  a  mere  ceremonial  and  initial  act  of  obe- 
dience to  Christ,  which  should  be  followed  by 
a  lifelong  obedience  to  all  his  commandments. 


The  person  who  is  discipled  and  baptized  is 
only  started  in  a  course  of  Christian  living. 
Notice  that  it  is  not  simply  teaching  them  the 
commandments  of  Christ,  but  teaching  them 
to  observe  his  commandments.  They  who 
disciple  and  baptize  men  must  teach  them  the 
duty  of  obeying  Christ  in  all  things;  and  the 
Christian  instructor  has  still  fallen  short  of 
his  task  unless  those  whom  he  is  called  to  in- 
struct have  both  learned  what  Christ's  com- 
mandments are,  and  have  learned  to  observe 
them.  Notice  also  the  emphatic  and  compre- 
hensive terms,  'all  things  whatsoever  I  have 
commanded  you.'  The  risen  Redeemer  looks 
back  upon  his  now  finished  work  of  teaching 
and  speaks  of  it  all  in  the  past  tense,  as  he 
already  often  did  in  the  prayer  of  John  17,  on 
the  night  before  the  crucifixion.  These  com- 
pleted commandments  would  be  hereafter 
brought  fully  to  the  remembrance  of  the 
disciples  by  the  new  Paraclete  who  would 
soon  take  the  Saviour's  place  as  their  instruc- 
tor aqid  counsellor  (John  u:  le,  26),  and  this  whole 
mass  of  sacred  instruction  and  duty,  without 
omission  or  alteration,  they  must  teach  those 
whom  they  disciple  to  observe.  Liddon  : 
"This  is  not  the  least  noteworthy  feature  of 
our  Lord's  words,  that  he  does  not  foresee  a 
time  or  circumstances  when  any  part  of  his 
teaching  will  become  antiquated  or  untrue, 
inappropriate  or  needless." 

How  vast  is  the  range  of  thought  presented 
or  suggested  by  this  saj'ing  of  our  Lord.  (1) 
Theology,  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  and 
the  Mediatorial  authority  of  Christ.  (2)  Dis- 
cipleship,  and  the  work  of  discipling  others. 
(3)  The  great  missionary  idea,  'all  the  na- 
tions.' (4)  The  ceremonial  element  of  Chris- 
tianity. (5)  Christian  ethics.  (6)  Christ's 
perpetual  spiritual  presence  with  those  who 
serve  him.     (7)  Christ's  final  coming. 

(c)  20  b.  Jesus  gives  assurance  of  his  per- 
petual spiritual  presence  with  all  engaged  in 
discipling  others  and  in  observing  his  com- 
mandments.    Obedience  to  the  Great  Com- 


1  In   the  "Didac/ie,"  ch.  7,  and  in  Justin  Martyr,    among  the  Fathers  as  to  whether  baptism  in  the  name 
"Apol.  I,"  chap.  61,  the  formula  of  Matthew  is  given,    of  Jesus  would  suffice.    See  Herzog,  "Taufe,"  4). 
as  if  a  matter  of  course.    There  was  no  little  dispute  j 


Ch.  XXVIII.] 


MATTHEW. 


597 


mission  is  based  on  his  universal  and  complete 
authority  (^-is),  and  encouraged  by  the 
promise  of  his  unfailing  and  sustaining  pres- 
ence. And  this  clearly  applies,  not  merely 
to  the  apostles,  but  to  disciples  of  every  period, 
even  to  the  end ;  comp.  18:  20.  True  Chris- 
tian workers  may  be  despised  by  skeptical 
philosophers  and  some  pretentious  men  of 
science  or  men  of  letters;  but  history  has 
shown  that  they  are  a  power  in  the  world, 
and  that  power  is  explained  by  the  perpetual 
presence  of  their  Lord  and  Redeemer. 

Many  things  in  this  Gospel  have  been  intro- 
duced by  lo  or  behold,  calling  attention  to 
what  follows  as  wonderful ;  but  surely  none 
more  fitly  than  this  its  marvelous  and  blessed 
closing  word.  I  is  separately  expressed  in  the 
Greek,  and  is  therefore  emphatic.  Alway  is 
literally  {margin,  Rev.  Ver. ),  all  the  days; 
days  of  strength  and  of  weakness,  days  of  suc- 
cess and  of  failure,  of  joy  and  of  sorrow,  of 
youth  and  of  age,  days  of  life  and  day  of 
death — all  the  days.  (Comp.  "Westcott,  "  Reve- 
lation of  the  Risen  Lord.")  The  end  of  the 


world  is  literally  (margin,  Rev.  Ver.),  the 
consuTnmation  of  the  age,  or  of  the  world- 
period  (comp.  on  13:  39;  24:  3),  viz.,  of  that 
world-period  which  was  introduced  by  the 
Messiah's  coming,  and  will  be  consummated 
by  his  second  coming.  Then  his  spiritual 
presence  will  become  a  visible  presence,  but 
none  the  less  spiritual,  sustaining,  and  delight- 
ful ;  then  we  shall  see  him  whom  not  having 
seen  we  love,  and  shall  know  even  as  also  we 
were  known. 

Jesus,  the  very  thought  of  thee 
With  sweetness  fills  my  breast; 

But  sweeter  far  thy  face  to  see, 
And  in  thy  presence  rest. 

May  every  heart  confess  thy  name, 

And  ever  thee  adore ; 
And  seeking  thee,  itself  inflame 

To  seek  thee  more  and  more ! 

Grant  me,  while  here  on  earth  I  stay, 

Thy  love  to  feel  and  know  ; 
And  when  from  hence  I  pass  away, 

To  me  thy  glory  show. 

Bebnabd  of  ClaibvauXjTE.  by  Casweli.. 


INDEX  I. 


AUTHORS   QUOTED   OR   REFERRED   TO. 

Much  space  has  been  saved  by  giving  only  an  author's  name,  frequently  abbreviated. 
This  seems  to  create  a  necessity  fur  an  explanatory  list,  and  some  elementary  information 
about  authors  and  the  works  quoted  is  added  for  the  benefit  of  junior  students,  and  of 
general  readers  anxious  to  know  the  country,  age,  and  religious  positions  of  the  authori- 
ties adduced  on  some  question  in  which  they  feel  interest.  Those  mentioned  only  once 
are  there  sufficiently  described,  and  usually  not  included  in  this  list.  The  early  Chris- 
tian authors  are  called  Fathers,  without  observing  the  Romish  distinction  between  fatiiers 
and  writers.  Where  no  date  is  given,  the  author  is  supposed  to  be  still  living  (1886). 
German  authors  will  be  understood  to  be  Protestant,  unless  otherwise  stated.  Only  such 
works  of  an  author  are  mentioned  as  have  been  quoted  or  referred  to  in  the  Commentary 
The  titles  are  all  given  in  English,  and  the  original  language  mentioned  where  a  work 
is  not  known  to  have  been  translated.  The  books  of  reference  employed  in  making  this 
list  are  Herzog,  Schaff-Herzog,  Smith's  Dictionary,  the  general  Cyclopedias. 


Aboth,  Pirque  Aboth,  'Chapters  of  Fathers.' 
a  section  of  the  Mishna.  Translation  with 
notes  by  C.  Taylor,  "Sayings  of  the  Jew- 
ish Fathers." 

AcHELis,  Germany.  The  Sermon  on  the 
Mount.     1875. 

^scHYLUS,  (b.  c.  525-456). 

JEth.,  ^thiopic  version  of  the  New  Test., 
probably  made  in  Fifth  century. 

Alexander,  J.  Addison,  (1809-1860).  Pres- 
byterian Theological  Prof,  in  Princeton. 
Commentaries  on  Mark,  Matthew,  Isaiah, 
Psalms. 

"Alexandrian"  text,  see  Westcott  and 
Hort's  Introduction. 

Alf.,  Alford,  Henry,  (1810-1871).  Dean  of 
Canterbury.     Greek  Testament. 

Amer.  App.,  American  Appendix  to  the 
Revised  English  Version  of  1881.  The 
Revised  text  given  in  this  Commentary 
is  one  conformed  to  the  preferences  ex- 
pressed in  that  appendix. 

Amkr.    Bib.   Un.,  or  Bib.  Un..  the  Revised 


Andrews,  S.  J.,  Episcopal  clergyman.  Con- 
necticut.    Life  of  Our  Lord. 

Anon,  or  Anonymous,  an  unfinished  and 
anonymous  Latin  Commentary  on  Mat- 
thew, printed  in  the  works  of  Chry.sostom 
(Migne.  vi.);  usually  called  Opus  Imper- 
fectum  in  Matt. 

Anthology,  Greek.  A  collection  of  short 
Greek  poems  and  poetical  sayings. 

Ant.,  or  Antoninus,  M.  Aurelinus  (a.  d. 
121-180).  Roman  Emperor.  Medita- 
tions. 

Apolinarius,  (in  Cramer).  Fragments  of  a 
Greek  Christian  writer,  probably  one  who 
died  A.  d.  390. 

Aquila,  (Second  century,  first  half).  Jewish 
Proselyte.  Fragments  of  Greek  transla- 
tion of  Old  Test. 

Aq.,  or  Aquino.s,  Thomas  of  Aquino  (1227- 
1274).  Schola.stic  Theologian.  Catena 
Aurea,  a  Commentary*  on  the  Gospels, 
composed  of  extracts   from   Fathers  and 


later  writers. 
New   Test.,    published    in    18fi5,    by   the    Arm.,    Armenian  version  of  the  New  Test., 
American  Bible  Union;    now   published  probably  made  in  Fifth  century, 

by    the    American    Baptist    Publication    Arnold i.      Gormany.      Roman    Catholic. 
Society.  I         Commentary  on  Ma/thew  (in  Gorman). 

599 


600 


INDEX  I. 


A.RNOT,  William  (1808-1875).  Scotland.  Pres- 
byterian minister.     On  tlie  Parables. 

Aug.,  or  Augustine  (a.  d.  353-430).  Latin 
father.  Harmony  of  the  Gospels.  Ser- 
mon on  the  Mount  (Trench's  ed). 

Baft.  Quarterly,  Philadelphia,  1867-1877 ; 
Bapt.  Quarterly  Review,  New  York,  from 
1885. 

Barxes,  Albert  (1798-1870).  Philadelphia. 
Presbyterian  minister.  Notes  on  the 
Gospels. 

Bartlett,  S.  C.  Congregational  minister. 
PresidentDartmouth  College,  New  Hamp- 
shire.    From  Egypt  to  Palestine.    1879. 

Beda  (674-735).  England.  Commentary  on 
Matthew. 

Bengel,  John  Albr.  (1687-1752).  Germany. 
Gnomon  of  the  New  Testament. 

Bib.  Comm.,  Bible  Commentary,  called  in 
England  Speaker's  Comm.  On  Matthew, 
by  Mansel,  completed  by  the  editor, 
Canon  Cook. 

Bib.  Un.,  or  B.  U.,  see  Amer.  Bib.  Un. 

Bib.  Sac,  Bibliotheca  Sacra,  Quarterly  Re- 
view, formerly  published  at  Andover, 
Mass.,  now  at  Oberliii,  Oliio. 

Bleek,  Friedrich,  (1793-1859).  Germany. 
Synoptical  Explanation  of  the  three  first 
Gospels  (in  German).  Introduction  to 
the  New  Test. 

Blyth,  F.  C,  Church  of  England.  Thoughts 
on  the  Lord's  Prayer. 

Boardmax,  G.  D.,  Philadelphia.  Baptist 
Minister.  The  Mountain  Instruction. 
The  Model  Prayer. 

BoYCE,  J.  P.,  President  South.  Bapt.  Theol. 
Sem.,  Louisville.  A  brief  Catechism  of 
Bible  Doctrine. 

Bruce,  Alex.  B.,  Glasgow,  Scotland.  Pres- 
byterian Prof.  The  Training  of  the 
Twelve.  The  Parabolic  Teaching  of  Christ. 

BuTTM.,  or  Buttmann,  Alex.  Germany. 
Grammar  of  New  Testament  Greek. 

BuxTORF  (1564-1629).  Switzerland.  Hebrew 
and  Chaldee  Lexicon  (in  Latin).  Jewish 
Synagogue  (in  Latin). 

Calderwood,  H.,  Scotland.  Prof.  Moral 
Philosoph3'.     The  Parables  of  our  Lord. 

Calvix,  (1509-1564).  Commentary  on  the 
New  Test. 


Caspari,  Ch.  Edwd.  Germany.  Chronol. 
and  Geograph.  Introduction  to  the  Life 
of  Christ. 

Chrys.,  or  Chrysostom.  (347-407).  Greek 
Father.  Homilies  on  Matt.  The  "fol- 
lowers" of  Chrys.,  often  mentioned  with 
hiu),  are  Theophyiact  and  Euthymius. 

Cicero,  (b.  c.  106-43). 

Clark,  G.  W.,  New  Jersey.  Baptist  minis- 
ter. Harmony  of  the  Gospels.  Commen- 
mentary  on  Matt.  Both  published  by 
Amer.  Bapt.  Pub.  Soc. 

Clarke,  W.  N.,  Toronto,  Canada.  Prof,  in 
Baptist  College.  Commentar3'  on  Mark., 
Amer.  Bapt.  Pub.  Soc. 

Clem.  Al.,  or  Clement  Alex.  Clement  of 
Alexandria  ^flou^ished  about  a.  d.  200). 
Greek  Father.  Works  partly  translated 
from  Greek. 

Coleridge,  H.  J.  English  Jesuit.  The 
Life  of  our  Life. 

Com.  Ver.  The  Common  English  Version 
of  the  Bible,  often  unwarrantably  called 
"Authorized  Version." 

CoNANT,  Thos.  J.,  Brooklyn.  Baptist  Theo- 
log.  Prof.  Revision  of  Matt.,  with  Notes. 
On  Baptizein.    Amer.  Bapt.  Pub.  Soc. 

CoNDER,  Claude  R.,  English  Engineer,  en- 
gaged in  Survey  of  Palestine.  Tent 
Work  in  Palestine. 

Corn.  A  Lap.,  see  Lapide. 

CovERDALE,  (1488-1569).  Church  of  England. 
English  translation  of  the  Bible  (1535). 

Cramer,  John  Anthony,  formerly  Professor 
in  Oxford.  Catena  of  Greek  Fatiiers  to 
the  New  Test.  (1844). 

Cran.,  or  Cranmer  (1489-1556).  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury.  An  English  translation 
of  the  Bible,  see  "Great  Bible." 

Cremer,  Hermann.  Germany.  Biblical- 
theological  Lexicon  of  New  Testament 
Greek.  Second  edition  translated,  third 
and  fourth  editions  enlarged. 

CuRTius,  George  (1820-1885).  Germany. 
Classical  Prof.  Principles  of  Greek  Ety- 
mology. 

Cyprian  (Third  century).  Latin  Father. 
Works. 

Darby,  John  Nelson  (1801-1882).  Church  of 
England,  afterwards  leader  among  the 
Plymouth  Brethren.  A  New  Translation 
of  the   New   Test.      London.      Morrish. 


INDEX.  I. 


601 


Demophiltjs,  a  Greek  Pythagorean  philoso- 
pher, date  unknown. 
Delitzsch,  Franz  (born   1813).     Germany. 

"A  Day  at  Capernaum,"  1873. 
De  Wette  (1780-1849).    Germany.  Exegeti- 

cal  Hand-book  to  New  Test,  (in  German). 
DiDACHE.      The  so-called  Teaching  of  the 

Twelve  Apostles,  written  in  the  Second 

century  (probably  latter  part). 
DiOD.  Sic,  Diodorus  Siculus  (flourished  about 

Christian  Era).     Universal  History  (in 

Greek). 
DoLLiNGER,  I.    Germany.     "Old  Catholic." 

The  First  Age  of  Christianity  and  the 

Church. 
DouAY  version,  see  Rheims. 
Dykes,   J.   Oswald.     London.   Presbyterian 

minister.    "  The  Manifesto  of  the  King." 

(Sermon  on  the  Mount). 

Ebrard,  John  Hen.  Aug.  (born  1818).  Ger- 
many. Criticism  of  the  Gospel  History, 
1842,  1850. 

EccE  Homo.  Anonymous  work  on  Life  of 
Christ,  but  written  by  Prof.  J.  R.  Seeley, 
London. 

EccLUS.,  Ecclesiasticus,  "Wisdom  of  Jesus  the 
son  of  Sirach,  a  book  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment Apocrypha,  written  about  b.  c.  190. 

Edersh.,  Edersheim,  Alfred.  Church  of 
England.  Life  and  Times  of  Jesus  the 
Messiah.  Sketches  of  Jewish  Social  Life. 
The  Temple. 

Egyptian  Versions:  (1)  Memph.,  or  Mem- 
phitio,  in  Lower  (Northern)  Egypt.  (2) 
Theb.,  or  Thebaic,  in  Upper  (Southern) 
Egypt.  Both  were  probably  made  late  in 
the  Second,  or  early  in  the  Third  cen- 
tury. 

Ellicott,  Chas.  John.  (1819).  Bishop  of 
Gloucester  and  Bristol.  Historical  Lec- 
tures on  Life  of  Christ.  On  Revision. 
Commentaries  on  Galatians  to  Philemon. 
New  Test.  Commentary  for  English  Read- 
ers, edited  by  Ellicott,  see  Plumptre. 

Epictetus  (flourished  a.  d.  90).  Stoic  Phi- 
losopher.    Discourses,  etc. 

2  EsDRAS,  one  of  the  Old  Test.  Apocryphal 
books. 

Euripides  (b.  c.  480-406). 

Eus.,  Eusebius  (about  A.  v.  260-340).  Greek 
Father.  Ecclesiastical  History.  Com- 
mentary on  the  Psalms. 


EusTATHius  (died  A.  d.  337).  Bishop  of  An- 
tioeh. 

EuTHYM.,  Euthymius  Zygadenus  (Twelfth 
century).  Byzantine  Greek  writer.  Com- 
mentaries on  the  Four  Gospels. 

EwALi),  Henry  Geo.  Aug.  (1803-1876).  Ger- 
many. History  of  Christ  and  His  Times. 
Three  first  Gospels.  1830. 

Expositor,  The,  monthly.     London. 

Fairbairn,  Patrick  (1805-1874).  Scotland. 
Presbyterian  minister.  Hermeneutical 
Manual. 

Fairbairn,  A.  M.,  England.  Independent 
College  principal.  Studies  in  the  Life  of 
Christ. 

Farrar,  F.  "W.,  Church  of  England.  Life 
of  Christ.     Mercy  and  Judgment. 

Fish,  H.  C.  (1820-1877).  New  Jersey.  Bapt. 
minister.     Bible  Lands  Illustrated. 

Fritz.,  or  Fritzsche,  Karl  Fred.  Aug.  (1801- 
1846).  Gerniany.  Commentaries  on  Mat- 
thew, 1826,  and  on  Mark,  1830  (both  in 
Latin). 

Geiger,    Abraham    (1810-1874).      Germany. 

Jewish  rabbi.     Judaism  and  Its  History. 

Sadducees  and  Pharisees.     (Both  in  Ger- 
man). 
Geikie,  C.     Church  of  England.     Life  and 

Words  of  Christ. 
Gen.,  or  Geneva,  an  English  version  of  the 

Bible  (1557). 
Gill,  John  (1697-1771).    London.   Bapt.  min- 
ister.    Commentary  on  the  Bible.     Body 

of  Divinity. 
Gloag,    p.    J.,   Scotland.      Presb.   minister. 

Exegetical  Studies. 
GoDET,  Frederic  (born  1812).     Switzerland. 

Commentaries  on   Luke    and    on   John. 

New  Testament  Studies. 
GoEBEL.     Germany.     The  Parables  of  Jesus. 
Goodwin,  W.  W.,  Prof  of  Greek  in  Harvard 

University.     Greek  Moods  and  Tenses. 
Gothic,    Version    of  New    Test.,   made   in 

Fourth  century. 
Great  Bible,  an  English  version  in  a  large 

volume  (15^59),  second  ed.  with  preface  by 

Cranmer,  and  hence  often  called  Cran- 

mer's  Bible. 
Greg.  Naz.,  Gregory  Nazinnzen  (a.  d.  3.30- 

390).     Greek  Father.     Works  (in  Greek 

and  Latin). 


602 


INDEX  I. 


Griffith,  Thomas.  Church  of  England. 
Studies  of  the  Divine  Master. 

Grimm,  C.  L.  Wilibald  (born  1807).  Ger- 
many. Lexicon  of  the  Greek  Test,  (in 
Latin),  2d  ed.,  1879.  (Thayer's  Lexicon, 
1886,  translates  Grimm  entire,  and  makes 
valuable  additions.) 

Grotius,  Hugo  (1583-1645).  Holland.  An- 
notations upon  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments (in  Latin). 

GuERiN.  France.  Description  of  Palestine 
(in  French).     7  volumes. 

Hall,  Bp.  Hall  (1574-1656).  Joseph  Hall, 
Bishop  of  Norwich.  Contemplations 
upon  the  New  Testament. 

Hanna,  Wm.  (1808-1882).  Scotland.  Presb. 
minister.     Life  of  Christ. 

Harris,  John  (1802-1858).  England.  Inde- 
pendent minister.  The  Great  Com- 
mission.    Mammon. 

Hase,  Karl  Aug.  (born  1800).  Germany. 
Life  of  Jesus.  (Fifth  ed.,  1865,  in  Ger- 
man.) 

Hausrath,  Adolph  (born  1837).  Germany. 
History  of  New  Testament  Times.  3d 
ed.,  1879. 

Hengstenberg,  Ernest  Wilh.  (1802-1869). 
Germany.  Christology  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. 

Henry,  Matthew  (1662-1714).  England.  In- 
dependent minister.  Exposition  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments. 

Hermas  (Second  century).  Book  called  "The 
Shepherd";  among  the  so-called  Apos- 
tolic Fathers. 

Her.,  Herodotus  (b.  c.  484-420).     History. 

Herzog,  John  Jacob  (1805-1882).  Germany. 
Theological  Encyclopaedia  (in  German). 
Second  Ed.  chiefly  used,  18  volumes  out. 

Hervey,  Lord  A.  England.  The  Genealo- 
gies of  our  Saviour. 

Hesiod.     Early  Greek  poet,  date  unknown. 

Hessey,  Jas.  Aug.  (born  1814).  On  the 
Lord's  Day,  Bampton  Lectures,  1860. 

Hill,  General  D.  H.  North  Carolina.  Pres- 
byterian layman.  The  Sermon  on  the 
Mount. 

HiLLEL  (died  about  Christian  era).  Jewish 
Kabbi.     Sayings  preserved  in  Talmud. 

HoMiLETic  Eeview,  monthly.  New  York, 
10  Dey  Street. 

HoRT,  see  Westcott  and  Hort ;  also  articles 
in  periodicals  by  F.  J.  A.  Hort. 


Hovey,  a.  Massachusetts.  Baptist  Presi- 
dent Theological  School.  On  John. 
1885.  On  the  Scriptural  Law  of  Divorce. 
Both  published  by  the  Amer.  Bapt.  Pub. 
Soc. 

Humphry,  Wm.  Gilson  (1815-188G)  Church 
of  England.  Commentary  on  Rev.  Ver. 
of  New  Test,  (explaining  changes). 

Ignatius.  Greek  Father.  Martyred  about 
A.  D.  110  (Bishop  Lightfoot).  Seven 
Epistles. 

Iliad. 

Independent,  The,  weekly  religious  paper. 
New  York. 

iRENiEus  (flourished  Second  century,  latter 
half).  Greek  Father.  "Against  Here- 
sies." 

Irving,  Edward  (1792-1834).  Scotland  and 
England.  Minister.  Sermons  on  John 
the  Baptist  (in  Works). 

J  ELF,  W.  E.  Church  of  England.  Greek 
Grammar,  two  volumes,  fourth  edition. 

Jerome  (about  a.  d.  340-420).  Latin  Father. 
On  Matthew.  Latin  Translation  of  Eu- 
sebius  on  Names  of  Places,  see  Eusebius. 

Jones,  Tiberius  G.  Virginia.  Baptist  min- 
ister. "  The  Great  Misnomer"  (Com- 
munion),  Nashville,  Tenn. 

JosEPHUS  (born  a.  d.  37  or  38,  died  after 
A.  D.  100).  "Ant.",  Antiquities  (Ancient 
History)  of  the  Jews;  "War,"  History 
of  the  Jewish  War;  "Life,"  Autobiog- 
raphy; "ag.  Ap.",  Against  Apion. 

Julian  (a.  d.  331-363).  Eoraan  Emperor, 
called  "the  Apostate."  Works  (in 
Greek). 

Justin,  Martyr  (flourished  Second  century, 
middle).  Greek  Father.  Two  Apologies. 
Dialogue  with  Trypho. 

Keble,  John  (1792-1866).  Church  of  Eng- 
land.    The  Christian  Year. 

Keil,  Karl  Fried,  (born  1807).  Germany. 
Commentary  on  Matthew  fin  German). 

Keim,  Theodore  (1825-1878).  Germany.  Je- 
sus of  Nazara. 

K.  J.,  or  K.  James,  the  English  version  made 
for  King  James,  published  1611.  The 
Com.  "Ver.  as  now  printed,  differs  in 
many  slight  details. 

KiMCHi  (1160-1240).  France.  Jewish  Kabbi. 
Hebrew  Commentaries. 


INDEX  I. 


603 


KiRTLEY,  J.   A.     Kentucky.     Baptist   min 

ister.     On  the  Design  of  Baptism.     Cin 

cinnati. 
KiTTO,  John  (1804-1864).     English  Layman 

Daily  Bible  Illustrations.     CyclopsEdia  of 

Biblical  Literature. 
KOHLER.      Germany.     John  the  Baptist  (in 

German). 

Lachmann,  Karl  (1793-1851).  Germany.  Pro- 
fessor of  Philology.  Text  of  Greek  Testa- 
ment.    1831,  3  ed.  1846. 

Lap.,  or  a  Lapide,  Cornelius  a  Lapide  (1568- 
1637).  France  and  Rome.  Roman  Cath- 
olic.    Commentary  on  the  Gospels. 

Landor,  Walter  Savage  (1775-1864).  Eng- 
lish Man  of  Letters. 

Lange,  John  Peter  (1802-1880).  Germany. 
Commentary  on  Matthew.    Life  of  Christ. 

Latin  Versions:  (1)  Old  Latin  version  or 
versions,  made  first  in  Second  century, 
and  new  or  revised  versions  in  several 
following  centuries.  (2)  Latin  Vulgate, 
made  at  end  of  Fourth  century. 

L.  and  S.,  or  Lid.  and  Scott.  H.  G.  Liddell 
and  Robert  Scott.  Church  of  England. 
Greek-English  Lexicon,  sixth  and  seventh 
editions. 

LiDDON,  H.  P.,  Canon  of  St.  Paul's.  Easter 
Sermons. 

Lf.,  or  LiGHTF.,  John  Lightfoot  (1602-1675). 
Church  of  England.     Works. 

Bp.  Liqhtf.,  J.  B.  Lightfoot,  Bishop  of  Dur- 
ham. "Rev.",  on  a  Fresh  Revision  of 
the  English  New  Testament.  Commen- 
taries on  Galatians,  Philippians,  Colos- 
sians;  also  on  Clement  of  Rome,  and  on 
Ignatius  and  Polycarp.  Articles  in  Con- 
temporary Review. 

LoRiMER,  G.  C.  Chicago.  Baptist  minister. 
Jesus  the  World's  Saviour. 

Luther,  Martin  (1483-1546).  Exposition  of 
the  Gospels,  collected  from  his  works. 
(In  German). 

LuTT.,  LuTTER.,  Lutteroth,  Henri.  France. 
Exposition  of  the  Gospel,  according  to 
Matthew  (in  French). 

Lynch,  W.  F.  (1801-1865).  American  naval 
officer.  U.  S.  Expedition  to  the  River 
Jordan  and  the  Dead  Sea. 

Maccabees,  First,  Second,  Third,  Fourth. 
Among  the  Old  Test.  Apocryphal  books.  I 


Maimonides  (1135-1204).  Jewish  scholar  in 
Spain,  etc.     Commentary  on  the  Misiina. 

Mal.,  Maldonatus  (1533-1583).  Spain  and 
France.  Jesuit.  Commentary  on  the 
Four  Gospels  (in  Latin). 

Mansel,  Henry  Longueville  (1820-1871). 
Church  of  England.  Commentary  on 
(part  of )  Matthew,  in  "Bible  Comm." 

Margoliouth,  Moses.  Church  of  England. 
The  Lord's  Prayer. 

Maundrell.  English.  Traveler  in  Pales- 
tine about  1690. 

McClellan,    J.    B.      Church    of   England. 
New  Test.,  with  Notes,  etc.,  Vol.  1. 
McGarvey,  J.  W.,  Kentucky.     Disciples, 
or  Christians.      Minister  and  Professor. 
Lands  of  the  Bible. 

Memph.,  Memphitic,  see  Egyptian  versions. 

Merrill,  Selah.  American  Consul  at  Jeru- 
salem. Congregational  minister.  Gali- 
lee in  the  Time  of  our  Lord.  East  of  the 
Jordan. 

Meyer,  Hein.  Aug.  Wilh.,  (18G0-1873).  Ger- 
many. Commentary  on  New  Testament. 
His  own  latest  edition  on  Matthew  has 
been  used,  not  that  edited  by  Weiss,  whose 
views  were  taken  from  his  ow'n  works. 

Midrash,  plural,  Midrashim.  Jewish 
Commentaries  on  several  books  of  Old 
Test.     Usually  later  than  Talmud. 

Mill,  W.  H.  Church  of  England.  On  the 
Mythical  Interpretation  of  the  Gospels. 

MiLLiGAN,  Wm.  Scotland.  Presb.  Theolog. 
Prof.  Articles  in  Contemporary  Review 
for  Aug.  and  Nov.,  1868.  Lectures  on 
the  Resurrection  of  our  Lord. 

MiSHNA,  Jewish  traditions  written  down  to- 
wards end  of  Second  century.  Latin 
Translation  by  Surenhusius;  English 
translations  of  some  portions  by  Barclay, 
and  by  Sola  and  Raphall. 

Montet,  Ed.,  France.  Origin  of  the  Pharisee 
and  Sadducee  parties  (in  French). 

Moulton,  W.  F.  English  Wesleyan  Theolog. 
Prof.  Translation  of  Winer,  with  copious 
footnotes. 

MuLLACH,  F.  W.  A.  Germany.  The  Speech 
of  the  (modern)  Greek  Common  People 
(in  German). 

NicoDKMUS,  Gospel  of.  An  apocryphal 
writing  of  the  Second  or  Third  century. 


604 


INDEX  I. 


NiCOLL,  Wm.  Robertson.  Scotland.  Presb. 
minister.  Editor  of  the  Expositor  (1885). 
The  Incarnate  Saviour. 

Notes,  G.  R.  (1798-1868).  Prof,  in  Harvard 
University.  Unitarian.  New  Test,  trans- 
lated (1868). 

Odyssey. 

Olsh.,  or  Olshausen,    Hermann    (1796-1839). 

Germany.     Commentary  on  New  Test. 
Onom.  Onomasticon,  seeEusebiusand  Jerome. 
Optatus,  (Fourth  century).     Donatist.     On 

the  scliism  of  the  Donatists. 
Origen,  (about  a.  d.,  185 — about  254).    Greek 

Father.     On   Matthew.      On   Luke.     On 

Prayer.     Other  works,    and  extracts  in 

Cramer. 

Parkee,  Joseph.  London.  Independent 
minister.  "These  Sayings  of  Mine."  In- 
ner Life  of  Christ. 

Pascal,  Blaise  (1623-1662).  France.  Ro- 
man Catholic  (Jansenist).     Thoughts. 

Philo,  Philo  the  Jew  (an  old  man  in  A.  D. 
40).     Alexandria.     Works. 

PiRQE  Aboth,  see  Aboth. 

Plato  (about  b.  c,  428-347). 

Pliny  (a.  d.,  23-79).     Natural  History. 

Plutarch  (flourished  latter  part  of  First 
century).  Greek.  Parallel  Lives.  Mor- 
als, or  Miscellaneous  Writings. 

PoLLOK,  Robert  (1799-1827).  Scotland.  The 
Course  of  Time. 

PORTEUS,  B.  (1731-1808).  English  Bishop. 
Works. 

Psalms  of  Solomon,  so  called,  probably 
written  about  b.  c.  45. 

Pythagoras  (Sixth  century  b.  c.)-  Greek 
philosopher.     Fragments. 

QuESNEL,  Pasquier  (1634-1719).  France.  Ro- 
man Catholic.  New  Testament,  with 
moral  reflections. 

Qtjintiliak  (about  a.  d.  40—118).  Roman 
writer  on  Rhetoric. 

Rabantts  (about  776-856).  French  abbot. 
Quoted  from  Aquinas. 

Rawlinsok,  George  (born  about  1815). 
Church  of  England.  Seven  Great  Em- 
pires. 

Recovery  of  Jerusalem,  see  Warren  and 
Wilson. 


Reflections.  Practical  Reflections  on  every 
verse  of  the  Gospel.  By  an  English 
Clergyman.     1881. 

Reuss,  Ed.  Strassburg,  Germany.  Synopsis 
of  the  three  first  Gospels. 

Reynolds,  H.  R.  England.  Independent 
College  President.  On  John  the  Bap- 
tist. 

Rheims,  a  translation  of  the  New  Test,  into 
English  (1582),  made  from  the  Latin  Vul- 
gate by  Roman  Catholics  at  Rheims  in 
France..  The  Old  Test,  in  1609,  at 
Doua^-,  called  Douay  Version. 

Riddle,  M.  B.  Connecticut,  Presb.  Theolog- 
ical Prof  New  Editions  of  Robinson's 
Harmonies. 

RiTTER,  Karl  (1779-1859).  Germany.  On 
the  Geography  of  Palestine. 

Robinson,  Edward  (1794-1863).  New  Eng- 
land and  New  York.  Presb.  Theological 
Professor.  Greek  Harmony  of  the  Gos- 
pels, and  Englisii  Harmony  (new  editions 
by  Riddle).  Lexicon  of  New  Test. 
Greek.  Biblical  Researches  in  Egypt, 
Arabia  Petraea,  and  the  Holy  Land. 
Physical  Geography  of  Palestine. 

Robinson,  Thomas.  England.  The  Evan- 
gelists and  the  Mishna  (1859). 

Rochefoucauld  (1613-1680).  France.  Moral 
Maxims  (in  French). 

RoNSCH.  Hermann.  Germany.  The  Italic 
(Old  Latin),  and  the  Vulgate;  a  gram- 
matical treatise  (in  German). 

RosT  AND  Palm.  Germany.  Greek  lexi- 
con (in  German). 

RusKiN,  John  (born  1819).  England.  The 
Lord's  Prayer.    Other  works. 

SCHAFF,  Philip.  New  York.  Presb.  Theolog. 
Prof  Commentary  on  Matthew.  Com- 
panion to  the  Revised  Test.  Church  His- 
tory (second  ed. )  On  the  Person  of 
Christ.  On  Revision  (including  the  trea- 
tises of  Ellicott,  Lightfoot,  and  Trench). 

Schneckenburger,  Matthias.  Germany. 
How  old  is  the  Jewish  Proselyte  Bap- 
tism ?   (in  German).    1828. 

ScHOTTGEN,  Christian  (1687-1751).  Germany. 
Horae  Ebraicae  et  Talmudicae  (Illustra- 
tions of  the  New  Test,  from  the"Talmud). 
(In  Latin.) 

ScHURER,  Emil,  Germany.  History  of  the 
Jewish  People  in  the  Time  of  Christ. 


INDEX  I. 


605 


Schwab,  M.  French  Jew.  Talmud  Jeru- 
salem translated  into  French,  nearly 
finished ;    into  English,  begun. 

ScRiVENEK,  F.  H.  A.  Church  of  England. 
Introduction  to  the  Criticism  of  the  New 
Test.    (Third  ed.,  improved). 

SENECA(died  A.  D.  65).  Eoman  Stoic.  Works. 

Septuagint,  the  familiar  Greek  translation 
of  the  Old  Test,  made  by  different  per- 
sons, probably  between  B.  c.  285  and  130. 

Shakespeare  (1564-1616), 

SiRACH,  see  Ecclus. 

Skeat,  W.  W.  Prof,  in  Cambridge  Univer- 
sity, England.  Etymological  Diet,  of  the 
English  language. 

Smith's  Dict.,  or  Smith,  Bib.  Diet.,  Smith, 
William.  Church  of  England.  Diction- 
ary of  the  Bible;  American  edition,  en- 
larged by  Hackett  and  Abbot.  Dict.  Chr. 
Ant.,  Dictionary  Christian  Antiquities. 

Smith,  Philip.  Church  of  England.  Manual 
of  New  Testament  History. 

Spurgeon,  C.  H.    Sermons. 

Stanford,  Charles.  England.  Baptist  min- 
ister.    The  Lord's  Prayer. 

Stanley,  A.  P.  (1815-1881).  Dean  of  West- 
minster.    Sinai  and  Palestine. 

Steinmeyer,  F.  L.  Germany.  The  Mira- 
cles of  our  Lord. 

Stier,  Rudolph.  (1800-1862).  Germany. 
Words  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 

Strabo  (flourished  about  Christian  Era). 
Geography  (Roman  Empire).  (In  Greek). 

Suetonius  (flourished  early  part  of  Second 
cent.).     Roman.    The  Twelve  Caesars. 

SuiCER  (1620-16&i).  Ecclesiastical  Thesau- 
rus (in  Latin). 

SuiD AS  (probably  Tenth  century).  A  Greek 
Lexicon. 

Symmachus  (Second  century,  latter  half)- 
Samaritan,  Jewish  proselyte,  or  Judaiz- 
ing  Christian.  Translated  Old  Test,  into 
Greek;  fragments  remain. 

Syriac  versions:  (1)  Old(Curetonian)  Syriac, 
probably  made  in  Second  Cent.  (2)  Pe- 
shito,  a  revision  in  the  Third  cent.  (3) 
Harklean,  made  in  the  Sixth  cent.,  and 
revised  in  the  Seventh.  (4)  Jerusalem 
Syriac,  Gospel  "Lessons,"  of  unknown 
date,  but  with  an  early  form  of  text. 

"Syrian"  text,  according  to  the  theory  of 
Westcott  and  Hort,  see  their  Introduc- 
tion. 


Tacitus  (flourished  about  a.  d.  100).  Roman. 
Annals.     History. 

Talmud  of  Jerusalem  (Third  century, 
compare  Mishna).  Quoted  from  Schwab, 
or  at  second  hand. 

Talmud  of  Babylon  (Fifth  century,  com- 
pare Mishna).  Quoted  at  second  hand, 
or  from  German  translation  by  Wiinsche. 

Taylor,  Jer.,  Jeremy  Taylor  (1613-1667). 
English  Bishop.     Life  of  Christ. 

Tennyson.  Alfred  Lord  (born  1809).  Eng- 
land. 

Theb.,  Thebaic,  see  Egyptian  versions. 

Theod.  Mops.  Theodore  of  Mopsuestia  (about 
A.  D.  656^29).  Greek  Father.  Frag- 
ments of  Commentary  on  Gospels. 

Theodotion.  (Second  century,  middle). 
Greek,  Jewish  proselyte.  Translated 
Old  Test,  into  Greek  ;   fragments  remain. 

Thyeophyl.,  Thcophylact.  (Eleventh  cen- 
tury). Greek  Commentator.  On  the 
Gospels. 

Tholuck,  Friedrioh  Aug.  (1799-1877).  Ger- 
many. The  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  Com- 
mentary on  John. 

Thomas,  D.  English  Independent  minister. 
Homiletical  Commentary  on  Matthew. 

Thomson,  W.  M.  Amer.  Presb.  minister  and 
missionary  to  Syria.  Some  references  to 
first  ed.  "Land  and  Book."  Others  to 
enlarged  ed.,  by  pages  of  Volumes  I., 
IL,  IIL 

TiscH.,  or  Tischendorf,  L.  F.  C.  (1815-1874). 
Germany.  Greek  Testament  (Eighth 
larger  edition).  Synopsis  Evangelica 
(Harmony  of  the  Go.spels). 

Toy,  C.  H.  Prof,  in  Sou.  Bapt.  Theol.  Sem., 
now  in  Harvard  University.  Quotations 
in  the  New  Testament.  Articles  in  peri- 
odicals. 

Treg.,  Tregelles,  Samuel  P.  (1813-1875). 
England.  Plymouth  Brethren.  Greek 
New  Test. 

Trench,  R.  C.  (1807-1886).  Archbishop  of 
Dublin.  On  a  Revision.  Synonyms  of 
the  New  Test.  Miracles  of  our  Lord. 
Parables  of  our  Lord.  Studios  in  the 
Gospels.  Translations  of  Auffustino's  Har- 
mony of  the  Gospels,  and  Sermon  on  the 
Mount. 

Tristram,  H.  B.  Church  of  England.  Nat- 
ural History  of  the  Bible.  The  Land  of 
Moab. 


606 


INDEX  I. 


Tyndale,  William  (1484^1536).    New  Test. 

translated  into  English  (1525). 
Tyrek,  C.  Virginia.    Baptist  minister.  "The 

Living  Epistle." 
TuRPiK,  D.  M.   Scotland.     Presb.  minister. 

The  Old  Test,  in  the  New. 

Ullmann  (1796-1865).      The    Sinlessness  of 

Jesus. 
TJPHAM,  F.  W.  New  York.   The  Wise  Men. 

Van  de  Velde.  Officer  in  Dutch  Navy. 
Map  of  the  Holy  Land,  and  accompany- 
ing Memoir  (1858). 

Vbdder,  H.  C.  New  York.  Baptist  minis- 
ter. Article  on  "The  Trial  of  Christ," 
in  Bibl.  Sacra,  Oct  1882. 

Warfield,  Benj.  B.  Pennsylvania.  Presb. 
Theolog.  Prof.     Articles  in  periodicals. 

Warrex.  English  Captain  of  Engineers. 
Excavations  at  Jerusalem  (in  "Kecovery 
of  Jerusalem"). 

Wayland,  Francis  (1796-1865).  Baptist. 
President  Brown  University.  University 
Sermons. 

Weiss,  Bernhard.  Germany.  Life  of  Jesus. 
The  Matthew- Gospel  (in  German). 

Wellhausen,  Julius  (born  1844).  Germany. 
Pharisees  and  Sadducees  (in  German). 

Wkstcott,  B.  F.  Church  of  England.  Com- 
mentary on  John  (in  Bible  Comm.).  In- 
troduction to  Study  of  the  Gospels.  The 
Gospel  of  the  Eesurrection.  Revelation 
of  the  Risen  Lord.  Articles  in  Smiths 
Diet.  Bib.     See  also  W  H. 

W  H.,  or  Westcott  and  Hort.  Church  of 
England.  Greek  Testament,  Vol.  I, 
Greek  text;  Vol.  2,  Introduction  and 
Appendix.   Int.  by  Hort. 

"Western"  text,  according  to  the  theory 
of  Westcott  and  Hort,  see  their  Introduc- 
tion. 

Wet.,  Wetstoin.  Holland.  Greek  Testa- 
tament,   with    numerous    extracts    from 


Greek  and  Roman,  and  from  Jewish 
writers.     (In  Latin  and  Greek). 

WiESELER,  Karl.  Germany.  Chronological 
Synopsis  of  the  Life  of  Christ. 

Williams,  Wm.  R.  (1801-1884).  New  York. 
Baptist  minister.     The  Lord's  Prayer. 

Wilson.  English  Captain  of  Engineers. 
Survey  of  Jerusalem  and  Sea  of  Galilee. 
(In  "Recovery  of  Jerusalem.") 

Win.,  or  Winer,  Geo.  Benedict.  (1789-1858). 
Germany.  Grammar  of  the  New.  Test. 
Diction  ;  the  references  are  to  the  pages  of 
Thayer's  translation,  with  those  of  Moul- 
ton's  translation  added  in  square  brackets ; 
where  no  page  is  given,  the  student  can 
find  it  by  consulting  Winer's  Index  of 
Passages.     Bible  Dictionary  (in  German). 

Wisdom  of  Solomon.  An  apocryphal  book 
of  the  Old  Test.,  written  at  Alexandria, 
probably  not  long  before  the  Christian 
era. 

Woolsey,  T.  D.  Congregational  minister, 
formerly  President  of  Yale  College.  On 
Divorce. 

Wordsworth.  English  Bishop.  Commen- 
tary on  the  Bible. 

WoRDSW.,  or  Wordsworth,  C.  (died  about 
1884).  Bishop  of  Lincoln.  The  Holy 
Bible,  with  Notes. 

Wright,  C.  H.  H.  Church  of  England. 
Zechariah  and  his  prophecies.  (Bampton 
Lectures,  1879.) 

WiJN.,  or  Wunsche;  Germany.  Illustration 
of  the  Gospel-  from  Talmud,  and  Midra- 
shim  (in  German).  One  volume  of  Ger- 
man translation  of  Talmud  of  Babylon. 

Wyc,  or  Wyclif,  John  (about  1317-1384). 
Roman  Catholic  and  Reformer.  English 
translation  of  the  Bible  (1380). 

YoTJNO,  Edward.  (1684-1765).  Church  of 
England.     Night  Thoughts. 

ZwiNGLl.    (1484-1531).   Switzerland.   Works. 


Information  as  to  text-criticism  maybe  had  from  any  of  the  following:  (1)  More  elaborate 
works.  Scrivener's  "Introduction  to  Text-criticism  of  the  NewTest.,"  third  edition  (conserv- 
ative). Westcott  and  Hort' s  "Introduction,"  in  Vol.  II  (progressive).  (2)  Shorter  works. 
Mitchell's  "Critical  Hand-book."  SchaflTs  "Companion  to  the  Revised  Version,"  or 
SchafF's  "Introduction  to  Westcott  and  Hort,"  in  Vol.  1  (American  ed.)  (3)  For  readers 
not  acquainted  with  Greek,  Scrivener's  "Six  Lectures."  Milligan  and  Roberts,  "The  Words 
of  the  New  Test."  (progressive). 


INDEX  II. 


TOPICS    DISCTTSST?!),    TERMS    EXPLAINED,    PERSONS    AND    PLACES    DESCRIBED,    IN    THE    COM- 
MENTARY  ON    THE   PASSAGES   NAMED. 


Alms,  6 :  2. 

Andrew,  10:  2. 

Angels,  and  the  Belief  in  Guardian  Angels, 
18:  10.     Angels  at  the  Tomb,  28:  5,  10. 

Answer,  11:  25. 

Anxiety,  6:  25. 

Apostles,  the  Twelve,  10:  2. 

Appearances  of  Jesus  after  his  Resurrec- 
tion, 28:  16. 

Apparition,  14:  26. 

Archelaus,  2:  22,  and  end  of  2:  23. 

Arimathea,  27:  57. 

Article,  Indefinite,  8:  19. 

Authority,  9 :  6 ;  28 :  18. 

Barabbas,  27 :  16. 

Bankers,  25 :  27. 

Baptism,  Design  of  28:  19;  3:  14. 

Baptist,  The,  3:  1. 

Baptizk,  3:  6;  in  Water,  3:  11;  in  the  Holy 

Ghost  and   Fire,   3:   11;    in   (unto,  into) 

the  Nanje,  28:  19. 
Bar-Jonah,  16:  17. 
Bartholomew,  10:  3. 
Bed,  9 :  2. 
Beelzebul,  12:  24. 
Bethany,  21 :  17. 
Bethlehem,  2:  1. 
Bethphage,  21 :  1. 

Bethsaida,  11 :  21.    Bethsnida  Julias,  14;  34. 
Bind  and  Loose,  16:  19;  18:  18. 
Blasphemy    against   the    Holy    Spirit,   12: 

31,  32. 
Blessed,  5:  3. 
Bottles,  Skins,  9:  16. 
Brkad,  4:3;  7:9;  26:  26. 
Brethren  of  the  Lord,  12:  46;  13:  65. 
Buddha,  Temptation  of,  4:  11. 

C^sar,  22:  17. 

Cesarea  Philippi,  16:  13. 

Caiaphas,  26:  57. 


Calvary,  27:  33. 

Camel  Through  needle's  eye,  19:  24. 

Canaan,  15:  21. 

Canaanite,  Properly  Cananite,  or  Canan- 

aean,  10:  4. 
Capernaum,  4:  13. 
Celibacy,  19:  11. 
Centurion,  8:  5. 
Chief  Priests,  2:  4. 
Child,  as  an  Object-lesson,  18:  3.    Christians 

must  be  Childlike,  18:  5,  10;  19:  14. 
Chorazin,  11 :  21. 
Christ,  1:1;  the  Christ,  2:  4. 
Church,  16:  18;  18:  17.      The  English  word 

Church,  18:  17. 
Cleansing  the  Temple,  21 :  12. 
CORBAN,  15:  5. 
Corn,  12:  1. 

Cross,  Take  up,  16:  24;  27:  32. 
Crucifixion,  27:  85. 
Cyrene,  27 :  32. 

Damnation,  23 :  33. 

Dancing,  14:  0. 

Day  of  Judgment,  7 :  22 ;  11 :  22 ;  25 :  31. 

Decapolis,  15:  29. 

Defile,  15:  11. 

Degrees  of  Future  Punishment,  11:  22;  12: 

41;  2:5:  13;  25:  46. 
Demon,  8:  31. 
Demoniac,  Demoniacal  Possessions,  8:   31; 

12:  43. 
Devil,  4:  1.      Hurtful  conceptions  of  bim, 

4:  1  (Horn,  and  Pract. ).     Possessed  with 

Devils,  see  Demoniac. 
Dinner,  22:  4. 
Disciple,  Disciples,  4:  18;  5:  1.    Disciples  of 

John,  9:  14.     To  disciple,  28:  19. 
Discrepancies,  Remarks  as  to  Explaining, 

1:  12,  17;   2:  23;  3:  17;  4:  12;  9:  10,  14; 

20:  29;  23:  85;  27:  9. 
DIVORCE,  5:  31,  32;  19:  3,  9. 

607 


608 


INDEX  II. 


Doctor,  23 :  8. 

Dogs,  7:6;  15:26. 

Dove,  Representing  the  Holy  Spirit,  3:  16. 

Dreams,  1 :  20. 

Eagles,  24 :  28. 

Egypt,  2:  13. 

Elijah,  11:  14;  17:  11;  27:  47. 

Emmanuel,  1:  23. 

Enemies,  Love  of,  6:  44. 

Era,  Christian,  2:16,  19. 

EssENES,  3 :  7. 

Eternal  Punishment,  25:  46. 

Evening,  14:  15. 

Everlasting,  25:  46. 

Evil,  or  the  Evil  (one),  5  :  37 ;   6 :  13. 

Farthing,  5:  26. 

Fasting  of  .Jesus,  4 :  2.      Conditions  of  our 

Fasting  with  Propriety,  6:  17;  9 :  15. 
Father,  6:  9. 
Feeding    the   Multitude,  14:  13-21:  15; 

32-38. 
Fig  Tree,  Barren,  21 :  19. 
Firstborn  Son,  1 :  25. 
Fool,  5 :  22. 
Forgiveness,  6:  12. 
Fornication,  5:  32. 
Fourteen,  Three  sets  of  Names,  1 :  17. 
Fulfil,  1:22;  5:  17. 

Gadarenes,  Gerasenes,  Gergesenes,  8:  28. 

Galilee,  4:  12,  23.  Sea  of  Galilee,  4:  18. 
Our  Lord  making  Circuits  of  Galilee, 
4 :  23.  Galilean  Peculiarities  of  Speech, 
26:  73.  On  the  Mountain  in  Galilee,  28: 
16. 

Garments,  Jewish,  5:  40;  27 :  35. 

Gehenna,  5:  22. 

Genealogies,  1:  1.  Genealogies  of  Christ 
in  Matthew  and  Luke,  1 :  17. 

Gennesaret,  Plain  of,  14:  34. 

Gethsemane.  26:  36. 

Ghost,  and  Holy  Ghost,  1 :  18. 

Gifts,  2:  11. 

Golden  Rule,  7 :  12. 

Golgotha,  27 :  33. 

Gospel.  1 :  1.  Gospels,  Relations  of  the  Four, 
2  :  23. 

Hades,  11:  23;  16:  18. 
Happy,  5:  3. 

Harmonizing  the  Gospel  Narrative,  see  Dis- 
crepancies. 


Healing,  Extent  of  our  Lord's,  4:  23. 

Heart,  6:  21. 

Hell,  5:  22;  11:  23;  16:  18. 

Hem  of  Garment,  9 :  19 ;   23 :  5. 

Herod  THE  King,  2:  1.  His  Successors,  2:  20. 

Herod  Antipas,  2:  20;  14:  Iff.;   16:6. 

Herodias,  14 :  1,  4,  6,  11. 

Herodians,  22:  16. 

His,  For  Its,  24:  32. 

Immanuel,  1 :  23. 

Incarnation,  1 :  25  (Horn,  and  Pract.). 

Interest,  25 :  27. 

James  the  Son  of  Alpheus,  10:  3. 

James  the  Son  of  Zebedee,  10:  2. 

Jehovah,  Yahweh,  22:  44. 

Jeremiah,  16:  14. 

Jericho,  20:  29. 

Jerusalem,  21 :  1 ;  23 :  37 ;  24 :  1. 

Jesus,  The  Name,  1:  21.     Youth  of  Jesus,  at 

the  end  of  2:  23. 
John  the  Apostle,  10 :  2. 
John  the  Baptist,  3:1  ff. ;  4:  12;  9:  14ff. ; 

11:  2-19;    14:  1-13;    17:  10-13;  21:  25,  32. 
John's  Baptism.  Its  Relation   to  Christian 

Baptism,  11 :  11. 
Jonah  and  the  Sea-monster,  12:  40. 
Jordan,  3:  6.    Beyond  Jordan,  4  :  15.    Region 

about  Jordan,  3  :  5. 
Joseph  the  Husband  of  Mary,  1 :  18 ;  End  of 

chap.  2  ;    13  :  55. 
Joseph  of  Arimathea,  27:  57. 
Judaizing  Christianity,  9  :  17. 
.TuDAS  of  Galilee,  22:  17. 
Judas  Iscariot,  10:  4;  26:  14;   27:  3,  ff. 
JuDEA,  2:  20. 

Kingdom,  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  3:2;  6:. 10. 

Keys  of  the  Kingdom,  16:  19;  Coming  in 

His  Kingdom,  16:  28. 
Know,  7 :  23. 

Lamps,  25 :  1. 

Lawyer,  22:  35. 

Leaven,  10:  6. 

Lending,  5 :  42. 

Leprosy,  8:  2. 

Life,  Soul,  Spirit,  16:  26. 

Lilies,  6:  28. 

Limestone  Rock  in  Galilee,  7 :  24;  13:  5. 

Locusts,  3:  4. 

Lust,  5 :  28. 


INDEX  II. 


609 


Mach^rus,  11 :  2 ;  14 :  3. 

Magadan,  15:  39. 

Magdala,  14 :  34. 

Magi,  2:1. 

Mammon,  6:  24. 

Mariamne,  2:  1. 

Marriages,  Levirate,  22:  24. 

Mary,  the  Mother  of  Jesus,  1 :  18;  12:  46-50. 

Mary  Magdalene,  27  :  56. 

Master,  Different  words  so  Translated,  8: 
19. 

Matthew,  9:  9;  10:  3. 

Measure,  13 :  33. 

MiLL-STONE,  18:  6-^24:  41. 

Miracles  of  Jesus,  4:  23;  12:  88. 

Mountain,  the,  5:1;  14:  23.  A  High  Moun- 
tain, 17:  1.     The  Mountains,  24:  16. 

Mustard,  13:  31. 

Mysteries,  13:  11. 

Name  of  God,  28:  19. 

Names,  having  Different  Forms  in  0.  T,  and 

N.  T.,  1 :  2. 
Nathanael,  see  Bartholomew. 
Nazareth,  2:  23;  13:  54. 
Nets,  Different  Kinds,  13  :  47. 
Non-resistance,  5 :  39. 


Oaths,  5:33,34;  23:  18ff.  ; 
Offend,  5:  29. 
Olives,  Mount  of,  21 :  1. 


i:  63. 


Palestine,  2 :  20. 

Parable.  Meanings  of  the  Word,  our  Lord's 
Design  in  using  Parables,  Groups  of  Para- 
bles, Interpretation  of  Parables,  13:  3. 

Parallelism  in  Hebrew  Poetry,  4:  16. 

Passovers  of  Our  Lord's  Ministry,  12:  1. 

Pearls,  Costly,  13:  46. 

Penitence,  Penance,  3:  1. 

Perfect,  5 :  48. 

Perea,  19 :  1. 

Pktkr,  a  Married  Man,  8:  14;  General  ac- 
count of  Peter,  10:  2;  Peter  the  Kock,  16: 
18;  Peter's  Denials,  26:  69  ff. 

Pharisees,  3:  7;  16:  1. 

Philip,  the  Apostle,  10:  3. 

Philip,  the  T(!trarch,2:20. 

Phoenicia,  15:  21. 

Phylacteries,  23:  5. 

Pilate,  27  :  11,  24.    Pilate's  Wife,  27  :  19. 

Play  upon  Words,  8:  22;  16:  18,  25. 

Poor,  6:  3. 


Possessed  with  Devils,  see  Demoniacs. 

Power,  9:6;  28  :  18. 

Prayer,  Secret,  6:6.  The  Lord's  Prayer. 
6:9. 

Preach,  the  Different  Greek  words  so  Trans- 
lated, 4 :  17. 

Priests,  Chief,  2 :  4. 

Property,  Our  Lord's  Destroying,  8:  32; 
21 :  19. 

Prophet,  Prophesy,  7  :  22 ;  13 :  57. 

Proselyte,  23:  15.    Proselyte-baptism,  3:  6. 

Proverbs,  Used  by  Our  Lord,  7:  5,  6,  12; 
13:  3. 

Publicans,  5:  46. 

Punishment,  25 :  46. 

Quotations  from  Old  Test.  Explained, 
1:  23;  2:  5,  15,  17,  23;  3:  3;  4:  4,  6,  7, 
10,  14;  5:  33,  38,  43;  8:  17;  11:  10;  12: 
17,  40;  13:  14,  35;  15:  7;  19:  7;  21 :  4, 
42;  22:  32,  43;  23:  35;  24:  15;  26:  31; 
27:  46. 

Kansom,  20:  28. 

Kegeneration,  19 :  28. 

Eepent,  3 :  1 ;  27  :  3. 

Repetitions  in  our  Lord's  Teaching,  5 :  1. 

Resurrection,  22 :  29  ff.  Fact  of  our  Lord's 
Resurrection,  28:  15. 

Righteousness,  5:  6;  6:  33. 

Rock,  16 :  18. 

Sabbath,  12:  8. 

Sackcloth  and  Ashes,  11 :  21. 

Sadducees,  3:  7;  16:  1,  6;  22:  31. 

Saint,  1:  1. 

Salome,  the  Daughter  of  Herodias,  14 :  6  ff. 

Salome,  Probably  the  Wife  of  Zebedee, 
27:  56. 

Salt,  5:  13. 

Salutations,  23:  7. 

Samaria,  Samaritans,  10:  5. 

Sanhedrin,  26:  59. 

Save,  1 :  21. 

Scourging,  27:  26. 

Scribes,  2:  4;  7:  29;  18:  52. 

Sea  of  Galilee,  sec  Galilee. 

Sepulchres,  23:  27. 

Servant,  Different  Greek  words  so  Trans- 
lated, 8:  6;  18:  27. 

Sheba,  12:  42. 

Sheep  and  Goats,  25:  32. 

Shkwbread,  12:  4. 

Ship,  4:  22. 


20 


610 


INDEX  II. 


Simon  the  Cananite,  10:  3. 

Simon  of  Cyrene,  27 :  32. 

Simon  Peter,  10:  2. 

Sinners,  9 :  10. 

Sitting  at  Meat,  or  Reclining,  8 :  11. 

Sodom,  11 :  24. 

Son  OF  God,  4 :  3.     Son  of  Man,  8 :  20.     Sons 

of   the   Kingdom,    8:    12.     Sons    of  the 

Bride-chamber,  9:  15. 
Soul,  16 :  25. 

Star  of  the  Wise  Men,  2:  2. 
Stones,  21 :  42 ;  24 :  1. 
Strait,  7:  13. 

Stumble,  Stumbling-block,  5:  29. 
Supper,  22 :  4. 
Synagogues,  4:  23. 
Syrophenician  Mother,  15 :  22. 

Talent,  18:  24;  25:  15. 

Tares,  13 :  25. 

Teach,  28:  19. 

Temple,  two  Greek  words  so  Translated,  4: 

5.     The  Temple  Described,  21 :  12;  24:  1. 

Veil  of  the  Temple,  27  :  51. 
Tempt,  4:  1.    How  Could  Jesus  be  Tempted? 

4:  1.    Tempting  God,  4:  7.    Bring  us  Not 

into  Temptation,  6:  13. 
Tetrarch,  2:  20. 
Thaddeus,  10:  3. 

Then,  a  Favorite  "Word  with  Matthew,  3:  13. 
Thief,  Which  should  be  'Robber,'  27:  38. 

The  Penitent  Thief  (robber;,  27:  44. 
Thought,  6:  25. 

Three  Days  in  the  Tomb,  27:  63. 
Time,  Season,  Opportunity,  11 :  25. 


Tradition,  15 :  2  f. 

Transfiguration,  its  Design,  17 :  4,  9. 
Treasure,  Hid,  13  :  44. 
Tribulation,  13:  21. 
Tribute-money,  17:  24;  22:  17,  19. 
Triumphal  Entry,  21 :  4,  6. 
Trust,  and  Hope,  12:  21. 
Tyre  and  Sidon,  11:  21;  15:  21. 

Unclean  Spirits,  12 :  43-45. 
Understand,  13 :  19. 

Varied  Translation  of  the  Same  Word,  25:  46. 

Virgin,  1 :  23,  25 ;  25  :  1. 

Voice  From  Heaven,  3:  17;  17:  5. 

Wash,  15 :  2. 

Watches  of  the  Night,  14 :  25. 

Water,  Baptize  in,  3:  11. 

Weddings,  25:  1. 

Wilderness  of  Judea,  3:  1;  4:  1. 

Wine,  11:  18. 

Wise,  7:  24;  10:  16. 

Wise  Men,  see  Magi. 

Woes,  23:  13. 

Women  Grinding,  24:  41. 

Women  Named  in  the  Genealogy  of  Christ, 

1:  3. 
World,  End  of,  13:  39;  24:  3;  28:  20. 

Yoke  of  a  Teacher,  11 :  29. 

Zachariah,  Son  of  Barachiah,  23:  35. 
Zealots,  At  the  end  of  2:  23;  10:  3. 


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